Cooking

James Peterson is a master chef and in his book gives the foodie the chance to learn from his experiences and gain some of his wisdom and insights in the kitchen. I am a cooking school grad (and former pastry chef) and as a "pro" in the field I found his explanations to be clear and concise. The book could be read by someone new to cooking and someone experienced and EACH would take away something of value! I recommend this to any foodie who LOVES to cook and wants to learn how to do it right!

I love all of James Peterson's books and recipes that I have tried....this one is the best so far... the book is well worth twice the price! It is exceptional for any level of cook- wish that I had this as my FIRST cookbook... it may have been the only one I truly needed to learn from! The section on lamb is stunning....

`Cooking' by culinary teacher extraordinaire, James Peterson has every symptom of being this veteran writer's magnum opus. Since Peterson has written many other excellent cookbooks, he may have created the problem for this book of living up to his earlier works. In fact, he has written the definitive book on `Sauces' plus `Fish and Shellfish', `Splendid Soups', `Essentials of Cooking', `Glorious French Food', and `What's a Cook to Do', which are among the best on their subject. This last volume is possibly the best book of the `Tips and Tricks' genre. If you have none of Peterson's other books, your decision easy. Like most of his other books in their genres, this is among the best textbooks on cooking techniques for amateur cooks. Other books in this class are Madeleine Kamman's `The New Making of a Cook' and Darina Allen's `Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook'. It is better than the CIA's `The New Professional Chef', which is oriented toward restaurant cooking. The only cooking textbook I would recommend to supplement this book for most people is Jacques Pepin's classic `Complete Techniques'. Peterson sees and says things which most other culinary writers miss or take for granted. High among this list of insights is that for the dedicated amateur cook, specific recipes are far less important than the mastering of general principals, so that one can reach that desirable plateau of culinary skill where you can cook without a cookbook. Two of my favorites I found in this book are the observation that olive oil is NOT a good oil for vinaigrettes (it becomes bitter) and when sautéing fish in aluminum pans, they must be heated quite hot or the fish will certainly stick. To be sure, the objective of dedicating time exclusively to learning how to cook may not be for everyone. One can eat well and be well nourished by following Rachael Ray's recipes by rote, even if it takes you twice as long as the speedy Rachael. If cooking quickly is what you need, this book may not be for you (however, following Rachael's recipes is improved greatly by mastering techniques in this book). Thus, Peterson begins his book with a discussion of the ten basic cooking methods. From there, Peterson has chapters of recipes covering virtually every major ingredient and style of cooking. And, that is all he has. True to his title, this book is about `Cooking' and nothing else. It has no bibliography, no chapter on cooking equipment, no chapter on sanitation, no chapter on kitchen safety, and no chapter on nutrition. All of these things are important, but to paraphrase the famous line from `The Hustler', "This is Ames, Man. No gambling, no bowling, no card playing, just `Cooking'". To enhance that concentration on cooking, Peterson begins with one of the best Tables of Contents I've seen in a fair while. Every recipe in the 22 chapters from `Starters' to `Cookies' is in the TofA. Another major feature of the book is the truly encyclopedic array of `How To' photographic essays d