Cooking by James Peterson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cooking
Book Review: A truly terrific kitchen bible!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, so where do I begin?! I think that I'll start off by saying that this is simply a GREAT book! It does what it says in the title - "Cooking". There're over 500 pages worth of recipes, step-by-step techniques, over 1,500 pictures for those of you who are visual learners, and more! How do I emphasize this enough.. The table of contents are 6 large pages long and consist of:
1. Techniques - e.g. roasting, braising, poaching, smoking, steaming, sauteing, barbecuing, boiling.
2. Starters - e.g. cheese puffs, canapes, tartlets, foie gras terrine, chicken liver mousse, fried squid, crab cakes.
3. Broths and soups - e.g. brown chicken broth, fish broth,, beef consomme, mushroom soup, miso soup, tomato soup, french onion soup, gazpacho, Thai hot-and-spicy shrimp soup, Chinese hot-and-sour soup, oxtail soup.
4. Salads - e.g. vinaigretter, caesar salad, mushroom and duck confit salad, salad nicoise, japanese cucumber sald, pasta or rice salad.
5. Eggs and cheese - e.g. cheese souffles, quiche, cheese fondue.
6. Shellfish - e.g. mussels steamed in white wine, clam chowder, oyster on the half shell, sauteed scallops, shrimp tagine, boiled lobster, blue crab soup, braised squid.
7. Fish - e.g. Salmon teriyaki, red wine fish stew, skates with caper and lemon, grilled tuna, Indian style braised fillet of stiped bass.
8. Beef - e.g. grilled/broiled steak, tenderloin sandwich, the best burgers, beef stew, boeuf a la bourguignonne.
9. Veal - e.g. roasted veal, veal pot roast, veal piccata, sauteed calf's liver, braised sweetbreads with root vegetable mecedoine.
10. Lamb - e.g. braised lamb shank with garlic, roast lamb, lab stew, lamb korma, lamb pot roast.
11. Pork - e.g. roast country ham, pork loin roast, pork tenderloin with apples, barbecued pork spareribs, sweet and sour pork.
12. Chicken and turkey - e.g. roast chicken, provencal chicken with aioli, tomatoes and basil; chicken fricassee with morels, Thai chicken curry, Fried chicken, roast turkey and gravy.
13. Duck and small birds - e.g. sauteed duck breasts, slow roasted duck with red cabbage and apples, duck confit, sauteed whole quail.
14. Vegetables, beans, and herbs - e.g. boiled/steamed vegetables, basic spinach, glazed baby carrots, roast vegetables, baked potatoes, french fries, grilled zucchini, bell peppers with herbs and anchovies, cauliflower gratin, cassoulet.
15. Sauces, salsas, and chutneys - e.g. bechamel sauce, creme anglaise, beurre blanc, bordelaise sauce, brown sauce, bolognese sauce, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, pesto, yakitori sauce, guacamole, Vietnamese basic fish dipping sauce, herb chutney.
16. Pasta, rice, and polenta - e.g. fresh egg pasta noodles, raviolo, aioli, linquine, lasagne, risotto, couscous, rice pilaf, polenta.
17. Quick breads and flat cakes - e.g. blueberry muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles, french toast.
18. Breads - e.g. basic white bread, baguettes, ciabatta, sourdough bread, rye bread, pizza dough, pita bread, focaccia, brioche, cinnamon rolls.
19. Cakes - e.g. classic sponge cakes, pound cakes, angel food cake, Devil's food cake, cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, meringue.
20. Pies and tarts - e.g. apple pie, pecan pie, banana cream pie, cherry cobblers, lemon curd, brown butter.
21. Pastries - e.g. puff pastry, napolens, croissants, danish pastries, eclairs.
22. Custards, souffles, and mousses - e.g. cremem brulee, ginger pots de creme, zabaglione, panna cotta, souffles, narquise, chocolate mousse.
23. Cookies - e.g. butter cookies, shortbread, madeleines, almond tuiles, macaroons, biscotti, brownies, lemon bars.
Plus MANY MANY MORE!!!
(PHEW!)
The recipes are very straightforward and clearly written, making it extremely easy to follow. The book doesn't call for too many hard-to-find ingredients, which is always a bonus! I've tried several recipes already and they've all worked wonderfully and are fail-proof! I cannot recommend this book enough. It'll be suitable for all levels, but especially good for beginners and casual cooks who wants to learn new and correct skills and techniques - as this book has sooooo many pictures showing you how to do things. For those who are experienced cooks, you'll also benefit from this book as it gives you plenty of ideas on what you can do with different cuts of meat, etc.
Overall, a must-buy, a kitchen bible, a good reference. Buy it! You will not be disappointed!
Book Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is great. It works for every skill level. Worth every penny and more. If your looking for a great cook book then you found it. I like this book so much that I bought one as a gift for my sister and one for myself.Book Review: Amazing Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a relly excellent cookbook for chefs who want to expand their cooking knowledge and skills. It is extremely informative and the pictures inside are beautiful.
I would recommend this book for someone who knows a bit about cooking already, as James Peterson does not have the most detailed instructions. This is not a knock on the book in fact I prefer it this way, however, it might not be the best book to pick up if you've never cooked before. The book also deals with alot of exotic meats and ingredients. I hope that some day I will be able to cook a veal rib roast, but it will probably not be often. When that day comes I will know where to turn for a recipe though.
All said this is a great book to learn franco-american cooking and a great way to learn some basic techniques to add to your cooking skill set.
Book Review: BEAUTIFUL cookbook!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This cookbook is truly a gem. It is an abridged culinary education, which is perfect for an aspiring home cook like me. Every single thing I have cooked and baked from this book has turned out beautifully thanks to the step-by-step instructions and photos alongside. I do not eat meat, but made the braised short-ribs for a dinner party and they were met with rave reviews!
I highly recommend this cookbook to aspiring home chefs!
Book Review: Best General Cooking and Baking Book Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I cannot overstate how good a book this is for the maniacially dedicated amateur. While I have dozens of classics to choose from, my favorite go to books for real "stretching" over the past twenty years have been Pepin's Technique/Methode and Kamman's New Making of a Cook. Peterson's 'Cooking' is far broader than Pepin's and comes with much better instructions and pictures than Kamman's, whose incessant scientific editorial comments can be bothersome.
Peterson's approach is no nonsense, modern and worldy; many of us view Hot and Sour Soup, Chile Rillenos or Indian Chutney as everyday eating out staples, and if we like the presentation or want to "shoot" the chef in action, our cell phones are on the ready. This then is the sheer genius of the work. Peterson teaches, with simple instructions and copius "how to" color photos (1500), both basic and advanced principles and then gives us recipes (600) tips and techniques that employ these skills for an evolving everyday mastery of more than just basic french cuisine. Beginners can easily master fluffy omelettes, linguine with clam sauce or thai curry. More advanced cooks can go for terrine of foie gras or croissants from scratch. Even the holiday only cook can find out how to roast turkey and get a carmelized crust for the gravy- how many once in while cooks get treated to those kinds of tips? Everything seems so accessible!
To be sure other texts offer more in depth text and picture coverage of specific areas (Rinehart's 'Bread Bakers Apprentice' or Pepin's 'Technique/Methode' with instructions for the arduous but rewarding 48hr. meat glaze are good examples). And there are more genuinely encyclopedic books of great value- James Beard's 'American Cookery' comes to mind. Still, with numerous alternative recommendations to the recipes, this book covers a vast canvas of modern cookery. We even get a colored pictorial "degree of doneness" guide to steak "bleu" showing 90 degrees all the way through to medium well at 145. Your guests will be fascinated choosing their "color" and will leave your home knowing what temperature they like!
One glaring deficiency is that Peterson does not provide US or metric weight measurements to more easily execute and scale recipes- a major disappointment. Another early complaint- I've only had this book two weeks but have already spent many hours with it reading and cooking- is that Peterson tells his audience that plain jane salt is "fine" for regular use when even the most novice cook should be instructed to use Kosher salt (at minimum) for reduced salinity and increased control. I know- get a life!
In summary, the beauty of this book more than any I've seen is that rather than showing us how to prepare a fish dish, Peterson teaches us how to fish (figuratively). This fundamental skill development, so available at both the novice and advanced levels, across so many genres of food, is what makes this work a "budding" classic. Peterson is no stranger to James Beard Foundation and other awards. And as there are only two reviews on Amazon at 31 December, we can see just how new and relatively undiscovered this work is(published 2007).
I have ordered copies of this for my children, nieces and nephews. They are aware of my obsessions, as well as the the smells and tastes of my kitchen, and so too have begun gravitating toward more adventurous eating and cooking. What a great introduction to the joys of mastering a broad array of culinary skills, from the how to's of vinagrettes, starters and sauces, through meats, fish, veggies, eggs and souffles, complemented with a surprisngly strong take on breads, pies, pastries, and cakes. 'Cookbook' is the single best of its kind. A real winner.