Stewart is universally recognized as the domestic doyenne of the 21st century. A successful business woman and publisher, she is also the author of numerous cookbooks and domestic handbooks. Martha Stewart's Cooking School, co-written with Martha Stewart Living's food editor Sarah Carey, is intuitively laid out, clearly written, and beautifully photographed. It shares useful cooking tips and practical recipes to help cooks of all skill levels hone their craft.
The Bible of Cooking Techniques
The book is organized according to cooking techniques, and covers an exhaustive range of skills from the most humble methods, including boiling eggs, to the most complicated, such as making a perfect soufflé. Organized like a teacher’s curriculum guide, each chapter guides the aspiring cook through the basics of each technique then culminates in a recipe which requires the learner to practice the skills highlighted.
For those who are kitchen novices, the clear, easy to follow instructions are essential to developing new skills. For those more experienced cooks, each chapter functions as a helpful refresher, and provides an opportunity for practice through delicious recipes.
An Advocate for Quality Ingredients
Throughout its pages, the book stresses what is perhaps the most important and also most overlooked cooking tip: the importance of quality ingredients. The first chapter, for example, includes an overview of various herbs and highlights some of their most common and flavourful uses.
A Primer of Cooking Tools
Besides guiding cooks of all skill levels through a range of skills, the book provides indispensable advice about selecting and using the proper tools in the kitchen. The books basic premise is that a well-stocked kitchen includes the best quality, multi-purpose tools available. What’s more, the book provides instruction about how to use kitchen tools, such as the omnipresent chef’s knife, properly.
A Practical and Beautiful Book
Like her previous offerings, Martha Stewart’s new book is beautifully photographed, including instructive shots of food, techniques, and tools. Each chapter contains step-by-step photographs to guide the reader through each cooking process. In addition to its essential place in the kitchen, however, the exquisitely illustrated guide would be equally welcome as a coffee table book.
Those with an interest in proper and meticulous technique will find this book a worthwhile investment. Likewise, those who are responsible for their own kitchens, who need a basic cooking primer, will also find this book a vital addition to their kitchen libraries. A beautiful, hard-cover coffee-table book, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School is sure to become a oft-used and well-loved heirloom, handed down amongst generations of cooks.
(ISBN 978-0-307-39644-0, 504 pages, Clarkson Potter)
