Allez Cuisine! Help me make magic in the kitchen.
January 21, 2011 1:43 AM Subscribe
What are the best resources for learning advanced cooking skills at home?
I've been cooking for quite some time, and have a good knowledge of most kitchen skills. I love making things from scratch. I know my way around the kitchen and I know how to put a meal together. I want to take that to a new level.
I'm interested in learning the kinds of things you would learn from cooking school or working with a good chef. I realize neither of these things can be fully replicated without actually doing them, but I'd like to get as close as possible on my own.
The things I'm looking for are: Technique. Being able to braise, boil, roast, fry, sauté, sear things perfectly and consistently. Knowing how to clean and prep any cut of meat or type of vegetable. Understanding what the different techniques of preparation and heat do and how to apply them. Understanding the fundamentals of seasonings and sauces. Basically the knowledge that lets you take whatever you have in the kitchen and make a meal of it on the spot, because you know how to cook whatever is there, no matter what it might be.
I can already do this to some extent, and it usually turns out quite good, and every once in a while turns out not so good. I want to bump this up to having it turning out great consistently. I want to know what's possible with each ingredient, and then come up with a harmonious way to match it with whatever else I have.
I want to make magic in the kitchen and to share that with others. Help me to get there.
I've been cooking for quite some time, and have a good knowledge of most kitchen skills. I love making things from scratch. I know my way around the kitchen and I know how to put a meal together. I want to take that to a new level.
I'm interested in learning the kinds of things you would learn from cooking school or working with a good chef. I realize neither of these things can be fully replicated without actually doing them, but I'd like to get as close as possible on my own.
The things I'm looking for are: Technique. Being able to braise, boil, roast, fry, sauté, sear things perfectly and consistently. Knowing how to clean and prep any cut of meat or type of vegetable. Understanding what the different techniques of preparation and heat do and how to apply them. Understanding the fundamentals of seasonings and sauces. Basically the knowledge that lets you take whatever you have in the kitchen and make a meal of it on the spot, because you know how to cook whatever is there, no matter what it might be.
I can already do this to some extent, and it usually turns out quite good, and every once in a while turns out not so good. I want to bump this up to having it turning out great consistently. I want to know what's possible with each ingredient, and then come up with a harmonious way to match it with whatever else I have.
I want to make magic in the kitchen and to share that with others. Help me to get there.
A friend of mine that went to some big-time cooking school handed me a copy of Professional Cooking when I expressed interest in developing my cooking repetoire. He said this was the book they worked out of, and he could have saved himself an assload of time and money if he'd just bought the book and slowly went through it.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:07 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:07 AM on January 21, 2011
I recently worked for a very prominent chef under his catering business as a server during holidays. He studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and won the gold with team USA in the 2008 culinary Olympics in Germany. I learned an incredible amount just by interacting with the kitchen briefly. At slow points in the year he would let people apprentice or just come in and learn during down time because of his passion for the art of cooking. I suggest looking for a local chef with skills you want to learn and just share your mutual passions. I know you mentioned wanting to go at it alone but a day in the kitchen with this chef would be better than reading every cooking book in Barnes & Noble.
posted by isopropyl at 3:49 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by isopropyl at 3:49 AM on January 21, 2011
I've found Youtube and some studying on the internet invaluable in calculating how to make some more difficult dishes.... though I expect nothing can replace real time with a real chef in a real kitchen.
posted by TravellingDen at 5:15 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by TravellingDen at 5:15 AM on January 21, 2011
Another vote for the Professional Chef. Your library probably has a copy. It has the information on what you seek.
Practice, practice, practice. I think the best way to take your skills to that next level is to concentrate on one thing and repeatedly practice it until you are good at it. As in other learnings that is the best way to learn from your mistakes. If you wait too long between practice sessions you may forget and repeat your mistakes. Cut up a chicken every other day or so for a few weeks until you can do it without thinking, make a hollandaise every other day until it is perfect every time, etc.
posted by caddis at 5:24 AM on January 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Practice, practice, practice. I think the best way to take your skills to that next level is to concentrate on one thing and repeatedly practice it until you are good at it. As in other learnings that is the best way to learn from your mistakes. If you wait too long between practice sessions you may forget and repeat your mistakes. Cut up a chicken every other day or so for a few weeks until you can do it without thinking, make a hollandaise every other day until it is perfect every time, etc.
posted by caddis at 5:24 AM on January 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Good suggestions so far.
On a more pragmatic note: Though fairly recent and not particularly fancy or advanced, Ratio by Ruhlman is a great shortcut to the sort of improvisational cooking you're looking for, but is more baking oriented than anything else. Bittman's cookbooks are also full of "...and here are six bazillion other variations on this theme" and that makes them great for ideas about how to use up oddball ingredients.
posted by pjaust at 5:43 AM on January 21, 2011
On a more pragmatic note: Though fairly recent and not particularly fancy or advanced, Ratio by Ruhlman is a great shortcut to the sort of improvisational cooking you're looking for, but is more baking oriented than anything else. Bittman's cookbooks are also full of "...and here are six bazillion other variations on this theme" and that makes them great for ideas about how to use up oddball ingredients.
posted by pjaust at 5:43 AM on January 21, 2011
I can't emphasize enough what caddis said: practice, practice, practice. And even when you do get that hollandaise perfect, there will be a time when it breaks. That's the nature of the beast.
We used Professional Cooking in my culinary school but I have to say that I prefer The Professional Chef. I'll also second anything by Bittman. Let me add: two books by Sally Schneider, The Improvisational Cook and A New Way To Cook.
If you can manage it someday, I'd highly, highly recommend a cooking class. With what you said you're looking to do, I'd suggest butchery or an advanced skills class. You won't believe what you'll learn in a butchery class, seriously. It's amazing.
posted by cooker girl at 6:08 AM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
We used Professional Cooking in my culinary school but I have to say that I prefer The Professional Chef. I'll also second anything by Bittman. Let me add: two books by Sally Schneider, The Improvisational Cook and A New Way To Cook.
If you can manage it someday, I'd highly, highly recommend a cooking class. With what you said you're looking to do, I'd suggest butchery or an advanced skills class. You won't believe what you'll learn in a butchery class, seriously. It's amazing.
posted by cooker girl at 6:08 AM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Let me second paindemie's recommendations. I would also recommend The Zuni Cafe cookbook by Judy Rodgers and Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio for more good theoretical background.
But if consistency and mastery are what you are after, caddis is right that practice is what it takes.
Actually, practice and experimentation. What I mean by that is... do not just do one thing repeatedly until you can do it without thinking. Rather, do one thing (or make one recipe) repeatedly, experimenting with the details (how much liquid to put in a braise, how long to cook and at what temp, skim or don't skim, resting time, glaze under the broiler or not, reduce the stock or not, use a roux or not) so that you become intimately familiar with how each of these variables affects your food. Do not just take a chef's word on it that a roux will muddle the flavors of your sauce. Perhaps reducing over heat does things to the flavor profile that you do not like.
Do this with another recipe or technique. Be aware of how what you do affects what your food does. This is how to really understand your ingredients, techniques and tools. It will allow you to adjust depending on these factors, which will allow you to become more consistently excellent, as well as allow you to take your food in new directions.
posted by AceRock at 6:09 AM on January 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
But if consistency and mastery are what you are after, caddis is right that practice is what it takes.
Actually, practice and experimentation. What I mean by that is... do not just do one thing repeatedly until you can do it without thinking. Rather, do one thing (or make one recipe) repeatedly, experimenting with the details (how much liquid to put in a braise, how long to cook and at what temp, skim or don't skim, resting time, glaze under the broiler or not, reduce the stock or not, use a roux or not) so that you become intimately familiar with how each of these variables affects your food. Do not just take a chef's word on it that a roux will muddle the flavors of your sauce. Perhaps reducing over heat does things to the flavor profile that you do not like.
Do this with another recipe or technique. Be aware of how what you do affects what your food does. This is how to really understand your ingredients, techniques and tools. It will allow you to adjust depending on these factors, which will allow you to become more consistently excellent, as well as allow you to take your food in new directions.
posted by AceRock at 6:09 AM on January 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Knife skills. This cannot be stressed enough. Basically after about 6 months if cutting for 10 hours a day cannot be replicated regarding its effect on both your ability to know when it needs to be sharpened and honed. You learn where your fingers go, and you learn how to pay attention to precision. After two years for 10 hours a day you'll start rouse the knife as an extension of you - meaning that you sort of forget. Then maim yourself slightly. Spend an evening in the hospital er getting stitched up and then go back to cutting the next day. Learn to do it all with a nice big bandage. Over the next two years, learn the extension of the knife as yourself, without the complacency which led to the accident.
At the same time cut a lot of onions so your eyes burn nonstop, and hot peppers so every nick on your hands burn regardless of glove usage. Cut them until you no longer notice the pain.
At the same time, pick fresh herbs - particularly thyme - pick it so there are no stems and so you could fill a meatloaf pan every week. Scale up for other herbs.
Now, forget about foods that you like. Find the pickiest eater and make foods so that he/she likes it and make it not only the same every time, but make it so that what you taste is what that picky eater tastes.
If you like french food, find out about one region in france. Find out what ingredients areavailable there naitively. Constrain your ingredient list to just that region. Do this for each french province. Repeat for each country who's cuisine you like. After you have mastered the pallate of a region, then start to think about what the quinteasential dish is for a given area. Now, think about trade partners and sstart to allow things like north african cuisine to mingle with your french cuisine. Repeat and expand. Learn to understand the geopolitical culture interaction and its impact on ingredient availability and usage.
If I haven't stressed it enough, learn to understand why something is used in a recipe. Then, once you can really disect both the cultural and chemical reason for an ingredient to be included, then strike out on your own and start creating some magic in the kitchen
Lastly, never be afraid of doing the dishes afterwards. Cleaning it after you cook it will improve your desire to do it right and not destroy the pan in the process.
Good kuck
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:09 AM on January 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
At the same time cut a lot of onions so your eyes burn nonstop, and hot peppers so every nick on your hands burn regardless of glove usage. Cut them until you no longer notice the pain.
At the same time, pick fresh herbs - particularly thyme - pick it so there are no stems and so you could fill a meatloaf pan every week. Scale up for other herbs.
Now, forget about foods that you like. Find the pickiest eater and make foods so that he/she likes it and make it not only the same every time, but make it so that what you taste is what that picky eater tastes.
If you like french food, find out about one region in france. Find out what ingredients areavailable there naitively. Constrain your ingredient list to just that region. Do this for each french province. Repeat for each country who's cuisine you like. After you have mastered the pallate of a region, then start to think about what the quinteasential dish is for a given area. Now, think about trade partners and sstart to allow things like north african cuisine to mingle with your french cuisine. Repeat and expand. Learn to understand the geopolitical culture interaction and its impact on ingredient availability and usage.
If I haven't stressed it enough, learn to understand why something is used in a recipe. Then, once you can really disect both the cultural and chemical reason for an ingredient to be included, then strike out on your own and start creating some magic in the kitchen
Lastly, never be afraid of doing the dishes afterwards. Cleaning it after you cook it will improve your desire to do it right and not destroy the pan in the process.
Good kuck
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:09 AM on January 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Also, failures in the kitchen are how we measure the depth of our success. Don't be afraid of them, learn from them. Effectively do an autopsy on all your food - both the good and the bad. Never over credit your success unless it is truly deserved after a critical analysis.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:15 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:15 AM on January 21, 2011
I can't believe nobody mentioned Rouxbe. I think it's exactly what you are looking for.
posted by leigh1 at 6:45 AM on January 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by leigh1 at 6:45 AM on January 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
You probably don't want On Food and Cooking - it's very much the science of food; but Harold McGees new book, Keys to Good Cooking is probably more practical for actually making food.
posted by ambilevous at 6:52 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by ambilevous at 6:52 AM on January 21, 2011
Came in to offer Rouxbe, so will simply second it.
posted by trip and a half at 7:38 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by trip and a half at 7:38 AM on January 21, 2011
I would say take cooking classes. You don't say where you are, but the CIA has 2 campuses, one in napa and one in hyde park. The cordon bleu has plenty of campuses across the US as well as johnson and wales. All of these schools have non-professional, fast-track, classes available.
Barring taking classes, can you join, or start a cooking meetup? The techniques you mention above are basic cooking skills, not advanced. If you are still working on these, then help from others may be the best way to go.
I also recommend the professional chef- it truly will give you the tools to cook correctly.
posted by TheBones at 7:55 AM on January 21, 2011
Barring taking classes, can you join, or start a cooking meetup? The techniques you mention above are basic cooking skills, not advanced. If you are still working on these, then help from others may be the best way to go.
I also recommend the professional chef- it truly will give you the tools to cook correctly.
posted by TheBones at 7:55 AM on January 21, 2011
The way to Cook by Julia Child is an invaluable resource in this house. It is very much focused on technique, rather than recipes, although it does give you master recipes and various riffs on them. Her soup chapter alone has taught me a lot.
posted by Gilbert at 8:01 AM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Gilbert at 8:01 AM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I haven't tried it myself, but Top Chef University looks like a great resource for advanced cooking.
posted by msk1985 at 8:35 AM on January 21, 2011
posted by msk1985 at 8:35 AM on January 21, 2011
On cooking classes: having taken a bunch, here are my thoughts on which ones are worth the money if you're already a decent cook.
1. Recipe-following classes like 3 Kinds of Brownies! Salads! Ribs Five Ways! Skip them. They're generally for people who can't/won't try recipes on their own and need the instructor to hold their hand throughout the process. The focus is more on getting a final product than on the interim steps.
2. The Food or Wine of Wherever. These are usually laid-back demonstration or cooking classes and/or a chance to get tipsy. But for the price of the class you can usually buy a good cookbook and a few bottles of wine or ingredients to make the dishes yourself and you'll probably retain more knowledge that way.
3. Techniques of...baking...fish...chocolate, etc. These usually cost more, may meet over a few days, and are heavy on tools, practical tips, and generalities that you can apply as you see fit. The people who take these tend to be avid cooks and you might learn as much from each other as you do from the teacher.
4. Recipe testing/development. Not often offered but fun and useful in terms of helping you think systematically about how you cook.
5. Butchery. Trendy, but expensive and rarely DIY because the meat costs so much - say, $1200 for a side of beef or $100-300 for a pig/boar. The demonstrations are somewhat interesting, but unless you have the money and the space to buy entire sides of animals, you're not going to be doing this much yourself.
posted by paindemie at 1:55 PM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
1. Recipe-following classes like 3 Kinds of Brownies! Salads! Ribs Five Ways! Skip them. They're generally for people who can't/won't try recipes on their own and need the instructor to hold their hand throughout the process. The focus is more on getting a final product than on the interim steps.
2. The Food or Wine of Wherever. These are usually laid-back demonstration or cooking classes and/or a chance to get tipsy. But for the price of the class you can usually buy a good cookbook and a few bottles of wine or ingredients to make the dishes yourself and you'll probably retain more knowledge that way.
3. Techniques of...baking...fish...chocolate, etc. These usually cost more, may meet over a few days, and are heavy on tools, practical tips, and generalities that you can apply as you see fit. The people who take these tend to be avid cooks and you might learn as much from each other as you do from the teacher.
4. Recipe testing/development. Not often offered but fun and useful in terms of helping you think systematically about how you cook.
5. Butchery. Trendy, but expensive and rarely DIY because the meat costs so much - say, $1200 for a side of beef or $100-300 for a pig/boar. The demonstrations are somewhat interesting, but unless you have the money and the space to buy entire sides of animals, you're not going to be doing this much yourself.
posted by paindemie at 1:55 PM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all for your answers! I'll be looking into a lot of these things. Additional suggestions are very welcome!
For everyone saying practice, I agree. The vast majority of what I've learned I've learned through doing, so I know how important it is. My living situation right now is such that I don't have my own kitchen. I cook as much as I am able to in this circumstance, but when I have my own kitchen again I plan on practicing more, no matter the results.
I do experiment as well, that's one of the things I enjoy the most in the kitchen. I love figuring out just what something needs to add that last missing flavor, or coming up with a "You know what would be good with this?" when you're in the middle of cooking something else. I've already got a pretty good idea how a lot of things interact, but when a new experiment doesn't turn out well, I end up feeling like it's because I didn't understand the properties well enough of some new ingredient or technique I was trying. Hence the question.
For everyone recommending the Professional Chef, I will see what I can do about picking up a copy. I've thought about getting one in the past, but a few things stopped me. The price, for one, and that all the recipes in it are restaurant scale. I've also read conflicting opinions on the various editions of it, does anyone have a particular edition they would recommend?
For those of you that have been in culinary school, share your tips! What are the most important things you did when you were learning? What's the most important thing you learned?
paindemie: Thanks for the book suggestions! I've read a bit of On Food and Cooking, and stopped because didn't find it all that practical, but I feel silly now for not having done it the way you suggest and using it as a supplement to a recipe rather than as a standalone work. I'll have to give it another shot. The other books sound great and I will look into them.
Thanks for the rundown about the cooking classes as well. Hmm. Your description of a butchery class sounds pretty different than what I was expecting. I thought it would be more small-scale, home oriented stuff rather than trendy and expensive.
isopropyl: I don't want to go it alone! I'd love to work with a professional chef, I just didn't think it was a feasible option, hence the asking about resources for doing it by myself. I'm a little nervous to ask a local chef, since I know chefs can be super busy, but I'll see what I can do.
TravellingDen: Any specific youtube videos or websites you can recommend?
pjaust: I've read a little bit of Ruhlman before, but have been meaning to read more. I will look into that one, thanks!
cooker girl: Ooh, those Schneider books sound great. I've never heard of her before, and look forward to reading those. Taking a butchery class is also a good suggestion. I've gone back and forth between vegetarianism in the past, but when I'm not vegetarian, meat preparation is one of those places I always felt a bit lacking in. Where would you take one of those? It sounds like that would be something only offered at a cooking school.
Nanukthedog: That's great advice. I already try to do some of those things, although not quite to the extent you've laid out. I really appreciate your suggestion on regional cooking as well. I love food from so many different places, and that's a great way of learning them. As for the dishes, that's one thing I've already got covered! I discovered long ago washing dishes and cooking go hand in hand, so I learned to not begrudge doing them.
leigh1: Rouxbe looks really interesting, thanks for the suggestion. I'll look more into it when I have the chance.
ambivelous: Thanks! I had no idea he had a new book out. I have read some of On Food and Cooking before, and while I found it interesting, I didn't find it all that practical. Looking forward to seeing what his new book has to offer.
Gilbert: For as much as I've read and heard about Julia Child, I haven't actually looked into any of her books yet. I will remedy that, thanks to your suggestion.
posted by wander at 10:25 PM on January 21, 2011
For everyone saying practice, I agree. The vast majority of what I've learned I've learned through doing, so I know how important it is. My living situation right now is such that I don't have my own kitchen. I cook as much as I am able to in this circumstance, but when I have my own kitchen again I plan on practicing more, no matter the results.
I do experiment as well, that's one of the things I enjoy the most in the kitchen. I love figuring out just what something needs to add that last missing flavor, or coming up with a "You know what would be good with this?" when you're in the middle of cooking something else. I've already got a pretty good idea how a lot of things interact, but when a new experiment doesn't turn out well, I end up feeling like it's because I didn't understand the properties well enough of some new ingredient or technique I was trying. Hence the question.
For everyone recommending the Professional Chef, I will see what I can do about picking up a copy. I've thought about getting one in the past, but a few things stopped me. The price, for one, and that all the recipes in it are restaurant scale. I've also read conflicting opinions on the various editions of it, does anyone have a particular edition they would recommend?
For those of you that have been in culinary school, share your tips! What are the most important things you did when you were learning? What's the most important thing you learned?
paindemie: Thanks for the book suggestions! I've read a bit of On Food and Cooking, and stopped because didn't find it all that practical, but I feel silly now for not having done it the way you suggest and using it as a supplement to a recipe rather than as a standalone work. I'll have to give it another shot. The other books sound great and I will look into them.
Thanks for the rundown about the cooking classes as well. Hmm. Your description of a butchery class sounds pretty different than what I was expecting. I thought it would be more small-scale, home oriented stuff rather than trendy and expensive.
isopropyl: I don't want to go it alone! I'd love to work with a professional chef, I just didn't think it was a feasible option, hence the asking about resources for doing it by myself. I'm a little nervous to ask a local chef, since I know chefs can be super busy, but I'll see what I can do.
TravellingDen: Any specific youtube videos or websites you can recommend?
pjaust: I've read a little bit of Ruhlman before, but have been meaning to read more. I will look into that one, thanks!
cooker girl: Ooh, those Schneider books sound great. I've never heard of her before, and look forward to reading those. Taking a butchery class is also a good suggestion. I've gone back and forth between vegetarianism in the past, but when I'm not vegetarian, meat preparation is one of those places I always felt a bit lacking in. Where would you take one of those? It sounds like that would be something only offered at a cooking school.
Nanukthedog: That's great advice. I already try to do some of those things, although not quite to the extent you've laid out. I really appreciate your suggestion on regional cooking as well. I love food from so many different places, and that's a great way of learning them. As for the dishes, that's one thing I've already got covered! I discovered long ago washing dishes and cooking go hand in hand, so I learned to not begrudge doing them.
leigh1: Rouxbe looks really interesting, thanks for the suggestion. I'll look more into it when I have the chance.
ambivelous: Thanks! I had no idea he had a new book out. I have read some of On Food and Cooking before, and while I found it interesting, I didn't find it all that practical. Looking forward to seeing what his new book has to offer.
Gilbert: For as much as I've read and heard about Julia Child, I haven't actually looked into any of her books yet. I will remedy that, thanks to your suggestion.
posted by wander at 10:25 PM on January 21, 2011
wander, you should try Harold McGee's latest book Keys to Good Cooking. It's much more practically minded than On food and cooking.
And FoodPairing is all the inspiration you need for experimenting with combinations of different flavours in the kitchen.
posted by lioness at 3:48 AM on January 22, 2011
And FoodPairing is all the inspiration you need for experimenting with combinations of different flavours in the kitchen.
posted by lioness at 3:48 AM on January 22, 2011
For everyone recommending the Professional Chef, I will see what I can do about picking up a copy. I've thought about getting one in the past, but a few things stopped me. The price, for one, and that all the recipes in it are restaurant scale.
This is not the kind of book you buy for the recipes. It is the techniques that matter. You could get a lot out of this or a similar book just by reading it through. It is a nice reference to have but the "Joy of Cooking" has much of the same information without the detail if you just need to double check proportions, temperatures etc. No kitchen should be without "Joy." If your library has one then great. This is an expensive book so buying new is not justified except for the wealthy or fanatical, at least in my opinion. Used copies can be had at reasonable prices. If you like Alton Brown's technical analysis of why he does certain things then you will love McGee's book. This is not something to read cover to cover unless you like reading encyclopedias and dictionaries. I think it less useful as a primer on technique but invaluable as a reference. Again, used copies of the latest edition are starting to become available at reasonable prices. The "Professional Chef" and its ilk will teach you the technique and much of the whys, McGee will teach you all the whys and more so that you can adapt the technique to your situation. I think it would be most valuable to someone who already is well versed in the techniques. Frankly, despite your stated desire to improve your mojo here it sounds like you already have a good foundation so I would get one of these as well if you find one at the right price.
posted by caddis at 5:50 AM on January 22, 2011
This is not the kind of book you buy for the recipes. It is the techniques that matter. You could get a lot out of this or a similar book just by reading it through. It is a nice reference to have but the "Joy of Cooking" has much of the same information without the detail if you just need to double check proportions, temperatures etc. No kitchen should be without "Joy." If your library has one then great. This is an expensive book so buying new is not justified except for the wealthy or fanatical, at least in my opinion. Used copies can be had at reasonable prices. If you like Alton Brown's technical analysis of why he does certain things then you will love McGee's book. This is not something to read cover to cover unless you like reading encyclopedias and dictionaries. I think it less useful as a primer on technique but invaluable as a reference. Again, used copies of the latest edition are starting to become available at reasonable prices. The "Professional Chef" and its ilk will teach you the technique and much of the whys, McGee will teach you all the whys and more so that you can adapt the technique to your situation. I think it would be most valuable to someone who already is well versed in the techniques. Frankly, despite your stated desire to improve your mojo here it sounds like you already have a good foundation so I would get one of these as well if you find one at the right price.
posted by caddis at 5:50 AM on January 22, 2011
The French Culinary Institute in New York, which is at the forefront of technically advanced cooking techniques, has an excellent blog & podcast: Cooking Issues.
posted by conrad53 at 9:08 AM on January 23, 2011
posted by conrad53 at 9:08 AM on January 23, 2011
Oh, and do not worry about the recipes being restaurant scale. This kind of book is not about the recipes, it is about how to cook. The recipes are mere examples of that. In my copy, not the most current edition, they take up only a small section at the back of the book. It is almost like they felt that they had to include some recipes as technically this is a cookbook. Of course, if you master everything else the book has to teach you will not need anyone else's recipes except as perhaps idea fodder for making your own.
posted by caddis at 5:11 AM on January 24, 2011
posted by caddis at 5:11 AM on January 24, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
For knife skills, see anything that Norman Weinstein has written, like Mastering Knife Skills.
For technique, get The Professional Chef, and read Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking alongside recipes you want to try.
Take a look at The Flavor Bible for information on classic and novel seasoning combinations. The culinary bookstore Kitchen Arts & Letters will surely have advice on where to look for the fundamentals of sauces in the French tradition and others.
posted by paindemie at 2:17 AM on January 21, 2011 [3 favorites]