The Improvisational Cook

I am astonished by the reviewer who disliked several of the recipes in The Improvisational Cook. It is my current favorite cookbook and I don't say this lightly; I'm a serious cook with an extensive library of cookbooks. Over the past few months I have pretty much cooked my way through the book and have yet to find a recipe that did not live up to it's promise and delight my family and guests. Guests have asked for recipes and the the book has become my favorite gift to give to friends. I have learned so much from this book, it has provided me with many inspiring tools and ideas for improvising. I can only imagine that the reviewer just didn't "get" Schneider's sensibility. I think this book is a must have for both novice as well as experienced cooks!

`the improvisational cook' by notable cookbook author, Sally Schneider is an inspired approach to a fascinating aspect of cooking. It is notably superior to the one other book I have reviewed on this subject, `How to Cook Without a Book' by Pam Anderson. Unlike Ms. Anderson, Madame Schneider is aiming at high end cooking rather than quick or easy cooking. Ms. Schneider's precepts are not original. Her suggestions have appeared here and there in hundreds of other books, most notably in `How to Think Like a Chef' by Tom Colicchio' and in several different books by the Brits, Nigel Slater (`Appetite', `the Kitchen Diaries') and Nigella Lawson (`How to Eat'). Even if you do not consult these books or other similar books, you will acquire an understanding of Ms. Schneider's principles by simply cooking on a regular basis, working with a wide variety of recipes from at least two or three different cuisines, preferably including one native (such as Italian, Mexican, Polish, Jewish, Southern, Pennsylvania Dutch, or whatever) to cooks in your immediate family. This is due to my belief that learning how to cook well is very much like learning how to play chess. All good chess instruction books are little more than collections of games with commentaries on the techniques used in each game. What Ms. Schneider has is a great way with presenting her principles. Her basic approach is an odd admixture of the `Julia Child' model of master recipes with the `Elizabeth David' approach (especially in her earliest books) of minimal information on precise measurements. Surrounding this is a special emphasis on paying attention to and thinking about the taste and smell of ingredients. If you don't think this is important, watch the combatants on `Iron Chef America'. The moment the theme ingredient is unveiled, you will see Bobby or Mario or Masaharu or Cat taking a piece of the mound of goodies and giving it a taste. This is followed by constant tasting as the dishes progress throughout the course of the hour's competition. Thus, one of Ms. Schneider's main principles of improvisation is to smell and taste the goodies and reflect on the various flavors and aromas, and what they have in common with the flavors and aromas of other foods. A second major principle is that of `terroir', commonly expressed as `what grows together, goes together'. Three of the most famous examples may be strawberries and rhubarb in America, the apples and butter or Normandy, France and the vanilla and chocolate of Mexico and Central America. The most common mode of using this principle is in combining wines with food, but it obviously has wider application, as wines are only really important in the cuisines of Western Europe. The heart of the book lies in 51 master recipes, all relatively simple, and from three to eight `improvisations which are primarily variations of the technique or uses of the results of the technique. A simple example of variations is the recipe for herbal salt. An ex

"The Improvisational Cook" is my favorite cookbook. The style appeals to me because I learned to cook using what was in the larder, which forces improvisation. And it fills a vacuum which has often bothered me: all the great cooks eventually talk about going into the market to see what looks good and cooking from there, but almost none close the loop on how to take advantage of that great-looking salsify, or those gorgeous tomatoes, or the perfect melon. Author Sally Schneider takes unrehearsed cooking to a new level, by engaging the reader in a conversation about the process of improvisation, with plenty of examples (including exact recipes for those who aren't quite ready to let go of the safety net of the tried and true -- and variations for those who are). It is marvelously freeing to connect with a cook who loves the moment of discovery as much as the moment of delivery. One example is her garlic and fried sage infused oil, which led me to the discovery that I too, can make infused oils (and even vodkas!) that work. But the star example is her base recipe for Chocolate Wonders, which is almost guaranteed to provoke the response, "These are the best cookies I've ever had!" Duly tested, duly proven by actual responses from recipients of our Christmas cookie packages. These ARE the best chocolate cookies in the world. That recipe and the improvisational alternatives she provides is alone worth the price of admission. But to me, the lasting value of the book is the empowerment she provides by giving us a way of thinking about cooking, that allows us to cook in the moment.

Not only is the book beautiful to look at, the ideas are great too. I especially liked the herb/spice pairing pages, and the "Understanding" sections in each food group. This is how I've liked to cook for years, and always thought I was cheating when I improvised on a recipe. I have been validated by this lovely author/chef and couldnt be happier about it

Break free from recipes by learning techniques and then how to expand them to additional dishes. For example, leeks with hazelnut oil expanded to leek noodles with creme fraiche and hazelnut oil to steamed asparagus with hazelnut oil, creamed swiss chard with hazelnut oil, roasted potatoes with hazelnut oil and hazelnut dipping sauce for steamed artichokes. This aids in the matching of techniques with different ingredients, combining of ingredients and flavors, extension of basic recipe, etc. The improv is an experimental and learned thing, which takes willingness to fail/succeed. This book is an aid in all that, providing some attempts of the author which one can springboard from. This is nothing new in cookbook world however. Ming Tsai for one has been ahead of the curve here, coming out with his wonderful version of this three years ago: Simply Ming: Easy Techniques for East-West Meals. Schneider's efforts though are not to be bypassed, as she provides her creative approaches and encouraging examples to take the home chef to the next level of learning to reach out on one's own in creating recipes from scratch building on previous utilized dishes/techniques.