Along with the title the
subtitle The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook
makes intent of this cookbook by Clara Paul and Eric Treuille very clear. Published
by Firefly Books, the book stresses the importance of basic skills and how to
build upon them to become a whiz in the kitchen. That is done through text and
pictures across twelve chapters that each address a needed skill.
After a multipage
introduction and multi-page lists of essential kitchen equipment, the book gets
going with “Sauce Skills.” After a brief intro that explains, among other
things, how you will now learn to make perfect gravy and hollandaise, it begins
with “Tomato Sauce” on pages 18-19. Instead of using such sauce from a jar or
can, this tells you how to make your own by way of a list of ingredients and
directions. Along with tomato sauce, vinaigrette, and gravy, one can learn how
to make “White Sauce” (page 28), “Sugar Syrup” (page 32) and “Chocolate Sauce”
(page 33) among others.
While there is not any
nutritional information on the recipes, most have pictures of the finished
items as well as a color coded “expert tips” section with additional good
advice. This same format is followed throughout the hardback cookbook. Each
recipe is skill numbered to reflect the title. Therefore, the aforementioned “Chocolate
Sauce” of page 33 is skill number 18.
“Vegetable Skills” comes
next so that you can learn to do more than bring a pot of water to boil and
throw something in. Along with teaching you how to slice as well as dice an onion,
peeling tomato and shallots, there is information on how to handle herbs
correctly. Also included here is how to go about “Blanching” (page 52),
“Caramelizing Onions” (page 58), and “Bouquet Garnii” (page 62) among others.
After dealing with vegies it
is time to move on to “Fruit And Nut Skills.” Starting on page 64, the authors
take you through “Coring Fruit” (page 67), “Preparing Pomegranate” (page 71),
“Toasting And Skinning Nuts” (page 82) and “Dry-Or Pan-Toasting Nuts” (page
83), among others.
After an introduction that
also explains the different cuts of beef, tip number 70 on “Cutting Beef”
(pages 88-89) leads off “Meat Skills.” Learn how to go about “Cooking Streak”
(page 90), “Preparing A Rack Of Lamb” (page 101) and “Roasting Pork With
Stuffing” (page 104) among others. While often a chart of beef cuts is included
on a chapter on meats, a nice touch in this book are the two charts reflecting
cuts of lamb and pork.
You can do a lot with
chicken and they are the subject of next chapter section titled “Poultry
Skills.” Along with different ways to prepare various types of chicken, there
is also information on “Scoring A Duck Breast” (page 120) and “Searing a Duck
Breast” (page 121).
We go from the land to the
sea next with “Seafood Skills.” After a two page deal on “Identifying And Choosing
Fish (tip number 100 on pages 124-125), various ways of preparing a fish of different
types from cleaning to cooking are covered. Also included here is tip number 116
“Identifying And Choosing Shellfish” (pages 140-141), how to peel as well as devein
your shrimp (pages 142-143), “Cooking Crab (pages 144-145) among other items.
If you ever wanted to know how to go about “Preparing Squid” the information is
here at the end of the section on pages 154-155.
The highly versatile and
common in a lot of dishes, the egg comes next with “Egg Skills.” Along with how
to crack one properly and how to separate yolk from the white, one can learn to
make a “Soufflé” on pages 166-167 among other skills. This chapter section is one
of the shortest in the book.
“Pastry and Baking Skills”
come next with an introduction on page 168. Then we are led through “Making
Basic Pie Crust” (pages 170-171), how to go about “Beating Butter and Sugar”
(page 178) the right way and making “Phyllo Pastry” (page 194), among other
topics.
We move a bit backwards with
the next chapter “Pasta, Grain, Legume and Bread Skills.” Along with teaching
you how to go about “Making Fresh Pasta” (pages 200-201) and “Cooking Pasta”
(page 203) correctly there is information here on making your own “Ravioli”
(pages 204-205), a “Basic Risotto” (pages 212-213), “Making Bread Crumbs” (page
219) and making “Melba Toast” (page 222) among other ideas are here.
“Broth Skills” come next and
start on page 224. The recipes here include making a “Brown Broth” (pages 228-229),
a “Vegetable Broth” (page 230) along with other information such as “Skimming
Broths” (page 232) and “Clarifying Broth” on page 234-235.
The very short chapter “Spice
Skills” is the twelfth and final section. Toasting and grinding spices are
explained as is how to go about “Soaking Saffron” (page 290) and tip 200 “Using
a Vanilla Bean” (page 291).
A four page glossary of
ingredients comes next followed by a three page dictionary of terms. That leads
readers into the usual one page of resources and two pages of conversion charts.
That is followed by a five page index.
Despite the obvious lack of
nutritional information of any type throughout the book, The 200 Skills Every Cook Must
Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook
is a good cookbook. The pictures are colorful and illustrative of what is being
taught and the text is simple and straight forward. The color coded tabs for
each section are a nice touch and can make finding the section one is looking
for quicker. Another nice touch is the color coded “expert tips” section in
each chapter that highlight information that will help the user turn out
quality food. A solidly good book that shows users how to build on the skills
they have or learn new ones The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step
Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook is a good hardback
reference material for your kitchen endeavors.
The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook
Clara
Paul and Eric Treuille
Firefly
Books
2013
ISBN#
978-1-77085-210-5
Hardback
260
Pages
$29.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas
Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
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