Ever wonder what goes on in a busy kitchen, why your meal comes late or shows up poorly cooked? The temptation is to blame the waiter, but there are a world of cooks behind those swinging doors, and Ruhlman marches you right into it. It's a world where, when everything is going right, time halts and consciousness expands. And when a few things go wrong, the earth begins to wobble on its axis. Ruhlamn has the writerly skills to make the education of a chef a visceral experience. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YAAThe Culinary Institute of America is known as "the Harvard of cooking schools" and many of this country's best-known chefs are graduates. Ruhlman enrolled as a student with the intention of writing this book, which begins as a chronicle of the intense, high-pressure grind of classes and cooking. However, it turns into an engrossing personal account as, his every effort critiqued, the author determines to become a student and not just impersonate one. YAs will enjoy Ruhlman's anecdotes about his instructors and his classmatesYsome of whom are still in their teens. The appendix offers a chart showing the course work for associate degrees. This will appeal to anyone aspiring to a career as a chef as well as to those interested in food preparation, presentation, and the restaurant industry in America.APatricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

With thousands of photos showing step-by-step instructions, you'll learn to identify and trim any kind of meat, seafood, fruit, and vegetable, and extensive photos and descriptions of spices, pasta, and grains take the guesswork out of new and unusual recipes. Seemingly complicated techniques for recipes such as Hollandaise Sauce are described with photos and with so many tips, tricks, and troubleshooting guides you feel as though an instructor is cooking alongside you. Organized from the simplest techniques and most basic information to the more complicated, you can use this book as a reference guide, a resource for increasing your confidence in the kitchen, or as a recipe-filled cookbook. The seventh edition has been completely reworked to include more-contemporary techniques alongside classic, more-sophisticated recipes, and there's greater emphasis on food safety, nutrition, and technology in the kitchen. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Library Journal
In the seventh revised edition of the basic textbook for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the editors claim that they explain to the potential chef not just how to cook, but why the CIA insists on doing things the way it does. Since the CIA is often criticized for problems ranging from its devotion to classic French technique to its role in maintaining the patriarchy that dominates the profession, such justification seems in order. But there is actually little of it, either in the introductory essays or in the text that follows. There is little else to find fault with in this well-organized, comprehensive text. But while anyone aspiring to a career in food service may find it useful, it falls short of being a good learning text for the average cook. Its recipes are all written in scaled formulas, rather than in the cups and spoons measures most consumers use. In addition, those recipes mostly yield ten servings, and the task of reducing them to manageable proportions will put off most nonprofessional users. So although this is an excellent guide to the profession, it is recommended only for academic libraries supporting culinary programs and larger public libraries with comprehensive cookery collections. Tom Cooper, Richmond Heights Memorial Lib., MO
Copyright 2001 Reed business Information, Inc.

The Professional Pastry Chef contains encyclopedic guidance on the preparation and presentation of an abundant array of pastries and desserts––including breads, cakes, cookies, tarts, petits fours, croissants, Danish pastries, mousses, soufflés, ice creams, sorbets, and sauces, syrups, and fillings––plus a completely new chapter covering flatbreads, crackers, and rolls.

Moving effortlessly between the most basic puff pastry and such subtly contemporary creations as Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cassis Panna Cotta Topping and Meyer Lemon Tarts with Lemon-Verbena Whipped Cream, The Professional Pastry Chef puts a world of edible delights within reach. The Fourth Edition contains more than 650 recipes, which offer a new emphasis on American applications of European techniques with yields suitable for restaurant service or for entertaining at home.

Throughout, award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Bo Friberg explains not only how to perform procedures but also the principles behind them, helping to build a firm foundation based on understanding rather than memorized formulas. His clear explanations provide an easy-to-follow guide through ingredients and mise en place preparation as well as pastry equipment, techniques, and plated presentation. Chef Friberg's step-by-step instructions are generously supplemented with illustrations that demystify even the most complex procedures, while ready-to-use templates are included to help save time and effort in the kitchen.

Finished dishes are brought to life with almost 100 vivid color photographs that add a sublime touch of visual inspiration, along with new Chef's Tips and sidebars that offer instant access to key material where and when it's needed.

Whether used to develop skills or refine techniques, to gain or simply broaden a repertoire, The Professional Pastry Chef is filled with information and ideas for creating mouthwatering baked goods and tantalizing desserts––today and for years to come.

There is a complete buying and cooking guide for the many rice varieties, as well as other whole grains such as barley, millet, wheat berry, and quinoa. Many of the recipes provide convenient alternative cooking methods for traditional dishes like Italian risottos (the Italian Sausage Risotto is wonderful). Hensperger and Kaufmann show the rice cooker can also work miracles for hot breakfast cereals and porridges with such recipes as Hot Fruited Oatmeal. Delightful main courses include Steamed Ginger Salmon and Asparagus in Black Bean Sauce, and the meal is done almost exclusively within the rice cooker for simple preparation and cleanup. The dessert section has many ideas beyond the expected Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding--the Poached Pears with Grand Marnier Custard Sauce is one elegant and sophisticated example. Both authors of this cookbook are seasoned food writers and this combined effort gives tasty, easy, and healthy recipes that will motivate you to use what has been, until now, an underutilized appliance. --Teresa Simanton --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Hensperger is well known as the author of a dozen or so books on bread. Here, she and Kaufmann, food editor of the San Jose Mercury News, show just how versatile a simple rice cooker can be. They start with rice, of course, providing an excellent guide to the numerous varieties now available and cooking directions. Included are recipes for dozens of rice dishes from risotto to sushi and a chapter on other grains. There are also recipes that use the cooker to steam vegetables, main dishes, dim sum, and tamales, and readers will find a good assortment of desserts, from silky custards to creamy puddings. Other books, such as Stephanie Lyness's Cooking with Steam (o.p.), have focused on various aspects of "steam cuisine," but Hensperger and Kaufmann's is far more ambitious and wide-ranging. For most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Copyright 2001 Cahners business Information, Inc.