Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks
Second Edition
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Tips, techniques, shortcuts, sources, inspiration, and answers to frequently asked questions, plus one hundred triple-tested recipes to make you a better cook. Theres no one more qualified than Linda Carucci to reveal the insider secrets and shortcuts that professional chefs use every day.
More than just a cookbook, in the ten years since the first edition of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks has made its way into the hands of forty thousand cooks across the United States, this has become an indispensable go-to guide for internal doneness temperatures, what to look for in cooking equipment, and which cooking methods bring out the best in which foods.
Each of the one-hundred-plus recipes was tested at least three times, each time by a different cook unprecedented for a cookbook. Recipe testers comments and feedback inspired the books widely praised Sidebars and Recipe Secrets scattered throughout: Whats that green tinge on my potatoes? (Solanine . . . and its toxic.) How can I prepare risotto for company without being held hostage in the kitchen? (Learn restaurant chefs tips and techniques in Secrets to Successful Risotto.) Whats the fuss about all these different salts? (Join Linda as she takes you on a guided tasting of todays most commonly used cooking saltsand spills the beans about why chefs have certain favorites.)
Youll appreciate the authors warmth and expertise as a teacher as she takes you step by step through the preparation of classics like Roasted Stuffed Turkey with Pan Gravy, My Grandmothers Baked Stuffed Manicotti with Twenty-Minute Tomato Sauce, and Apple Crisp with Bourbon and SpIce Cream. And then its on to sensational show-stoppers such as Paella with Shellfish, Sausage, and Chicken; Double-Crusted Timpano with Fusilli, Ricotta, and Tender Little Meatballs; and White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Raspberry Coulis.
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Carucci has no TV program or series of books to her name. She is, foremost, a teacher who has worked her way through the ranks of culinary America for 20 years. Trained at the California Culinary Academy, she went on to become one of the IACP's Cooking Teachers of the Year. If this first cookbook is any indication, that was a well-deserved honor. There's much to learn here, and Carucci presents the information clearly without dumbing it down, whether she's addressing the crucial roles of salt and butter or the fact that an enzyme in some people's saliva makes cilantro taste, to them, like soap. The first 50 pages cover cooking basics and dig into topics like understanding the palate and using knives. Drawings throughout illustrate such feats as slitting squid and butterflying boneless chicken breasts. Of the 100 recipes offered, the best combine Carucci's formal training with her Italian ancestry. There are cinematic mega-dishes like Double-Crusted Timpano with Fusilli, Ricotta, and Tender Little Meatballs; staples like Chicken Cacciatore, and Braised Calamari in Red Sauce; and four different risottos. Adventuresome dishes include Vietnamese-Style Honey-Glazed Pork Skewers, and Turkey Mole, with over two dozen ingredients. Chocolate appears not only in that mole but also in a handful of rich desserts like Devil's Food Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache. However, the greatest pleasures are the scores of tips and secrets alluded to in the title. "Beware of scallops that look pure white." "Potatoes cook evenly if you start with cold water." Who knew?
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