The Art of Simple Food
Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution: A Cookbook
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4.8 • 20 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
An indispensable resource for home cooks from the woman who changed the way Americans think about food.
Perhaps more responsible than anyone for the revolution in the way we eat, cook, and think about food, Alice Waters has “single-handedly chang[ed] the American palate” according to the New York Times. Her simple but inventive dishes focus on a passion for flavor and a reverence for locally produced, seasonal foods.
With an essential repertoire of timeless, approachable recipes chosen to enhance and showcase great ingredients, The Art of Simple Food is an indispensable resource for home cooks. Here you will find Alice’s philosophy on everything from stocking your kitchen, to mastering fundamentals and preparing delicious, seasonal inspired meals all year long. Always true to her philosophy that a perfect meal is one that’s balanced in texture, color, and flavor, Waters helps us embrace the seasons’ bounty and make the best choices when selecting ingredients. Fill your market basket with pristine produce, healthful grains, and responsibly raised meat, poultry, and seafood, then embark on a voyage of culinary rediscovery that reminds us that the most gratifying dish is often the least complex.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The delicious dishes described in the latest cookbook from Chez Panisse founder Waters, such as a four-ingredient Soda Bread and Cauliflower Salad with Olives and Capers, are simple indeed, though the book's structure is complex, if intuitive. After a useful discussion of ingredients and equipment come chapters on techniques, such as making broth and soup. Each of these includes three or four recipes that rely on the technique described, which can lead to repetition (still preferable to a lack of guidance): a chapter on roasting contains two pages of instructions on roasting a chicken (including a hint to salt it a day in advance for juicy results), followed by a recipe for Roast Chicken that is simply an abbreviated version of those two pages. The final third of the book divides many more recipes traditionally into salads, pasta and so forth. Waters taps an almost endless supply of ideas for appealing and fresh yet low-stress dishes: Zucchini Ragout with Bacon and Tomato, Onion Custard Pie, Chocolate Crackle Cookies with almonds and a little brandy. Whether explaining why salting food properly is key or describing the steps to creating the ideal Grilled Cheese Sandwich, she continues to prove herself one of our best modern-day food writers.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful!
I try to review every eBook I purchase and rarely do I rate 5 stars because most are just not worthy. However, this one deserves more than 5 stars! Beautifully written with TONS of basic recipes that are simple. This is not your average cookbook - I feel it is written more for a beginner because she goes step by step and gives explanations as to how and why a recipe would work. For example: put parchment paper (draw and cut circle) at bottom of springform pan so it does not stick. Makes sense, but I never thought of that! Ingredients in this book always seem to be 5 or less with staples you should have on hand already, so I did not have to make all these small purchase to make a dish. Her recipes remind me of my grandmother, who lived in Europe on a farm :) Simple delicious cooking without the fuss that most modern chefs do nowadays. It truly goes back to basics. I love this book and would highly recommend!
Shockingly good
One of my top five nonfiction books of all time and, of course, one of my favorite cookbooks. I enjoy cooking but am always tied to a recipe and feel frustrated by having to track down exotic ingredients in the grocery store. I started searching for a cookbook that could help me “just cook dinner.” This book makes me feel fully equipped to create a huge variety(!) of healthy (!) and delicious (!) meals that are also made with seasonal ingredients (!). But the recipes are so simple and easy to change up as needed that I feel like I was born knowing how to cook, not just a recipe slave. I might add that I have dietary restrictions and can still make most of the recipes in this book because they are so wholesome. I wish someone had given me this book for a high school graduation present. But now, at long last…