Book Information: Tips Cooks Love

tips cooks Book Information: Tips Cooks LoveTips Cooks Love

Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!

by Sur La Table, Rick Rodgers

Price: $15.00
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-8344-9
ISBN-10: 0-7407-8344-0
Format: Paperback
Size: 5 x 7 in.
Page Count: 408 pages

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Tips Cooks Love Reviews

tips cooks Tips Cooks Love Reviews“The title really does say it all. This is a great book to have close at hand in the kitchen. If you have a question about how something is done chances are you’ll find the answer in this book. Arranged from A to Z authors Spears and Sur La Table give real advice, tricks, and tips on hundreds of subjects. Why is my turkey breast dry? Why did my cheesecake crack? How do I achieve a lump-free gravy? These questions and more are answered. This book is not only for the beginning cook; seasoned pros can use it too. It not only covers tips on cooking, it also discusses equipment, ingredients, and processes. There are also ten deconstructed recipes designed to put the learned tips into perspective.” ––100 Miles http://1hundredmiles.blogspot.com/2010/01/25-miles-odds-ends.html

“This nicely designed little paperback has tons of alphabeti­cally arranged topics: comments on ingredients (artichokes, maple syrup, peanut butter, scallions); pointed discussions of techniques, such as brining, tips for grilling, braising and roasting; definitions of esoteric food terms (chemical leaveners, beurre manie, mezzalu­na); charts of metric equivalents and volumes of various size casse­roles and roasting pans — and rec­ipes as well” ––Montgomery Advertiser http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091220/LIFESTYLE/912200342/Cookbooks-An-easy-recipe-for-holiday-gift-giving

“This small but handy volume contains more than 500 tips, shortcuts and techniques to make cooks’ lives easier and their food better. The alphabetical entries go from acidulated water to zest.” ––Winston Salem Journal http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/dec/02/012140/food-briefs/

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About Sur La Table

About Sur La Table: Founded in Seattle in 1972, Sur La Table provides authentic cooking tools from around the world. Its array of cooking programs is one of the largest in the nation, and its recent book The Art and Soul of Baking with Cindy Mushet won the 2009 IACP Cookbook Award for Baking.

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Video: Tips Cooks Love author Rick Rodgers makes Mile-High Apple Pie on View From The Bay

rick rodgers view Video: Tips Cooks Love author Rick Rodgers makes Mile High Apple Pie on View From The Bay

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Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!

tips cooks Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!For a Cook You Love  . . . even if it’s yourself.

There’s no place like home for the holidays—particularly the dining room. But the cooks among us may feel differently as they slave away on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned chef, everyone gets stumped at one point or another. Why is the turkey breast dry? Why did the cheesecake crack? And how in the world do I achieve luscious, lump-free gravy?

Sur La Table and award-winning instructor Rick Rodgers aim to answer these mysteries and more in Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook! (Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, $15.00), a pocket-sized guide filled with year-round practical knowledge that recipes often don’t include. The  authorities are aligned to give real advice, tricks, and tips on hundreds of subjects, ranging from A to Z for easy browsing.

For just a taste, section M alone covers mandoline, mangoes, maple syrup, marinades and marinating, measuring, meat, meat pounder, melons, metric conversions, mezzaluna, molasses, mortar and pestle, muffins, mushrooms, and mussels. And each of the listed subjects contains multiple tips, not just one or two.

In addition to all of the tricks and secrets, there are 10 deconstructed recipes designed to put the learned tips into perspective. So after you’ve read up on parchment paper, for example, you can put the guide to use making caramels for stocking stuffers.

The advice is just specific enough to be what you need when you need it, and just broad enough to be applicable in the next meal you make. And that’s the idea. Because being a better cook is about knowledge, and Tips Cooks Love is about increasing your culinary IQ.

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About Rick Rogers and Sur La Table

rrodgers About Rick Rogers and Sur La TableRick Rodgers

Rick Rodgers is the author of over 30 cookbooks, including the best-selling Fondue and Ready and Waiting. A busy culinary educator, he was named Outstanding Cooking Teacher by Bon Appétit magazine.

Sur La Table

Culinary retailer Sur La Table is the trusted authority when it comes to all things cooking related.  Sur La Table entices aficionados and curious beginners alike with its amazing selection of cookware, tools, cookbooks, and cooking school programs designed to make any cook’s life easier.  The original store and headquarters are in Seattle, WA.

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Fleur De Sel Caramels

tips cooks Fleur De Sel CaramelsFrom Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!, by Sur La Table, and Rick Rodgers

Makes  36 Caramels

Salt is usually considered a savory flavor, but it is often sneaked into caramel desserts where it acts to heighten the interplay between bitter and sweet. A pinch of crunchy sea salt flakes on each caramel identifies it as an out-of-the-ordinary candy experience.

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon, plus more for topping
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan. Line the bottom and 4 sides of the pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang the rim on all sides by about 2 inches. (The overhang will be used as “handles” to remove the caramel slab from the pan.)

2. In a saucepan, bring the cream, butter, and salt to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often until the butter melts. Remove from the heat.

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Tips

From Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!, by Sur La Table, and Rick Rodgers

Salt

Salt is either mined from underground deposits or collected from evaporated seawater. Although the salt in both cases is primarily made up of sodium chloride, the differences in flavor depend largely on the minerals present in the earth or water from which the salt was taken.

Kosher salt (which can come from either land or sea sources) has coarse, irregular crystals and is typically free of additives. It has nothing to do specifically with religious laws—the large irregular flakes are used to draw out the blood of raw meat, a process called koshering. Kosher salt is easy to pick up with your  fingers and sprinkle on meat (where it can be easily seen, helping to avoid oversalting) or for other seasoning jobs. Unless specifically called for, don’t use kosher salt in baking, as it doesn’t dissolve well in batters and dough, and its flaky texture can often be detected.

Parchment Paper

Parchment paper is often sold in rolls, so when you want to use it, it remains in a curl. When you buy a roll, take a few minutes to cut it into lengths to fit your baking sheets. Put the stack of cut sheets between two baking sheets, then store them together to “iron” the parchment flat. If you have to use curly paper, butter the pan first to help the paper adhere.

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Panfried Skirt Steaks with Red Wine Béarnaise Sauce

tips cooks Panfried Skirt Steaks with Red Wine Béarnaise SauceFrom Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!, by Sur La Table, and Rick Rodgers

Serves 4

Skirt steak is one of the most flavorful cuts and can be quickly panfried in a skillet on the stove top. The sophisticated and easy béarnaise sauce—it’s made in a blender—gives the steak a nice touch of class. When you cook the steak, be sure to turn on the range hood to avoid smoking up the kitchen.

• 4 (7-ounce) skirt steaks
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

RED WINE BÉARNAISE SAUCE
• ¼ cup hearty red wine, such as Cabernet-Shiraz blend
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped  shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• Kosher salt

Trim a few pieces of fat from the steaks and reserve. Mix together the salt and pepper, and season the steaks all over with the mixture. Let the steaks stand at room temperature while you make the sauce.

To make the béarnaise sauce, combine the wine, vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and coarsely ground pepper in a small, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Reserve the solids in the sieve.

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