Michael Ruhlman

The second in a new series of highly accessible and instructive single-subject books covering basic to advanced techniques that will make you a better cook. According to author Michael Ruhlman, braising is what cooking is truly about - transformation. You start with a tough, often inexpensive, cut of meat, and through your care and knowledge as a cook, you turn it into something tender and succulent and exquisite. That is true cooking, cooking that...

Observes and writes about three distinctive chefs -- Brian Polcyn (of the Five Lakes Grill in Milford, Michigan), Michael Symon (of Cleveland's Lola Bistro) and Thomas Keller (of Napa Valley's the French Laundry).

In addition to providing 125 classic recipes for sausages, terrines, and pates, the authors expand the definition of "charcuterie" to include anything preserved or prepared ahead such as Mediterranean olive and vegetable rillettes, duck confit, and pickles and sauerkraut.

Notes on cooking: from stock to finesse -- The elements of cooking A to Z. "Americans are on a roll in the kitchen--we've never been better or smarter about cooking. But how does a beginning cook become good, a good cook great? Modeled on Strunk and White's 'The elements of style', 'The elements of cooking' is an opinionated volume ... that pares the essentials of good cooking ..." "Not only does this book deconstruct the essential knowledge of the...

"For culinary expert Michael Ruhlman, the ultimate goal in cooking is flavor, and for certain dishes nothing introduces it half as well as schmaltz. A staple ingredient in traditional Jewish cuisine, schmaltz (or rendered chicken fat), is at risk of disappearing from use due to modern dietary trends and misperceptions about this versatile and flavor-packed ingredient. 'The Book of Schmaltz' acts as a primer on schmaltz, taking a fresh look at traditional...

"Thomas Keller, chef/proprietor of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensely focused courses."--BOOK JACKET. "From innovative soup techniques, to the proper way to cook green vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking...

Presents the results of the collaboration among chef Eric Ripert, Columbian artist Valentino Cortazar, photographers Tammar and Shimon Rothstein, author Michael Ruhlman, and chef's assistant Andrea Glick, as they traveled to four different locales in four different seasons to cook and create. Includes nearly 150 recipes.