Best Kitchen Basics beats the revolutionary drum in the domestic kitchen - no longer are high-end techniques or recipes the sole domain of award-winning restaurants. Here, Mark Best breaks it down, putting the individual elements of each recipe into the home cook's hands and empowering them to think differently. It includes 100 original recipes built around 30 accessible ingredients - from eggplant to pumpkin to chocolate and eggs. Best Kitchen Basics ups the ante on the familiar. Best insists that it is not a question of luxurious ingredients, simply the knowledge and wherewithal to unlock the beauty of some of the most basic elements of cooking. In the case of mushrooms, for example, he starts with a basic recipe for classically stuffed mushrooms, and develops to the next step requiring a little more application of fermenting mushrooms. And then, for the enthusiastic cook with a little more time on their hands, a mushroom ravioli in mushroom consomme. In addition to recipes, Best takes readers on "skills sessions". He unpacks the building blocks of the best chefs, includes step-by-step guides and shares snippets of technical detail. The book does not aspire to be comprehensive, rather an enjoyable - and useful - insight into one man's craft. Originally inspired by a well-thumbed recipe collection left to him by his beloved grandmother, Best has set the tone for an accessible, engaging book that will prompt cooks to take their skills and mindset to another level.

"Claire is a clever cook who writes recipes, which are useful, affordable and practical (not as easy as it sounds). This is a book filled with recipes which you WILL cook, new ideas and twists on old friends. Bravo Claire, a lovely book in every way." – Anna Jones Most of us buy the same ingredients week in, week out, and cook the same old recipes. Cookery writer Claire Thomson wants to encourage people to ditch the boring chicken stir-fry, the all-too-predictable spag bol and dreary fish pie, and enliven their cooking and eating. Claire takes our 10 favourite supermarket ingredients and reinvents them as modern classics. With sections on chicken, tomatoes, eggs, cheese, minced meat, pasta, potatoes, salad, lemon and chocolate, each chapter covers the basics about that ingredient, then offers recipes using each in ways that will brighten up mealtimes. Claire's cooking is simple yet imaginative, and her kitchen expertise and knowledge of flavour combinations mean that these dishes will become your new standby meals. This is the new essential cookbook, a modern solution to the eternal question: "What shall I cook tonight?"

A New York Times Bestseller Winner of the James Beard Award for General Cooking and the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award "The one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to cook or where your skill level falls."—New York Times Book Review Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)—and use a foolproof method that works every time? As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

Just as Hugh Acheson brought a chef's mind to the slow cooker in The Chef and the Slow Cooker, so he brings a home cook's perspective to sous vide, with 90 recipes that demystify the technology for readers and unlock all of its potential. NAMED ONE OF FALL'S BEST COOKBOOKS BY FOOD & WINE Whether he’s working with fire and a pan, your grandpa’s slow cooker, or a cutting-edge sous vide setup, Hugh Acheson wants to make your cooking life easier, more fun, and more delicious. And while cooking sous vide—a method where food is sealed in plastic bags or glass jars, then cooked in a precise, temperature-controlled water bath—used to be for chefs in high-end restaurants, Hugh is here to help home cooks bring this rather friendly piece of technology into their kitchens. The beauty of sous vide is its ease and consistency—it can cook a steak medium-rare, or a piece of fish to tender, just-doneness every single time . . . and hold it there until you're ready to eat, whether dinner is in ten minutes or eight hours away. But to unlock the method’s creative secrets, Hugh shows you how to get the best sear on that steak after it comes out of the bath, demonstrates which dishes play best with extra-long, extra-slow cooking, and opens up the whole world of vegetables to a technology most known for cooking meat and fish. Praise for Sous Vide “High-end cooking comes to the home kitchen in this fun, clear approach to a gourmet technique. . . . [Hugh] Acheson writes with such charm that he can make warm water interesting.”—Publishers Weekly

"Cooking For Dummies could be the first and only book in your kitchen." — William Rice, Food and Wine Columnist, Chicago Tribune "Cooking — like anything — must be fun and should not be taken too seriously. Cooking For Dummies helps us do just that." — Ferdinand Metz, President, The Culinary Institute of America Contains Over 150 Recipes — From Soups to Soufflés Is your idea of a home-cooked meal a frozen dinner, macaroni & cheese from a box, or a pizza? Well, don't let your phobia of cooking keep you out of the kitchen. With Cooking For Dummies® as your guide, you'll find quick answers to all your cooking dilemmas. This book is filled with time-saving tips and techniques, money-saving strategies, and more than 150 easy-to-prepare recipes! Inside, you'll discover how to: Grill, roast, braise, and sauteé like a pro Create vegetarian dishes with flavor and zest Impress your friends and family by creating elegant (but easy-to-prepare) dishes Find fool-proof ways to fix your cooking mistakes Organize your kitchen so that everything is accessible Use your appliances, utensils, and gadgets Mix, measure, and substitute ingredients in your recipes Make a dazzling dinner out of what you've got in your pantry Keep your budget intact while shopping at the market

Passionate, engaged and accessible, Kitchen Essentials is a cookbook full of great food and techniques to help demystify the art of home cookery. With his thirty years' experience as a chef and a teacher, Gary Maclean brings insight, wisdom and humour to the kitchen. Kitchen Essentials will make the fundamentals of home cooking truly straightforward - and joyful - for everyone. Gary Maclean has the expertise of a top chef as well as phenomenal teaching and communication skills. This winning combination informs the unique mix of know-how, top tips and recipes in Kitchen Essentials. Gary Maclean is the perfect teacher for anyone looking to enhance their joy of home cooking.

The next best thing to having Mark Bittman in the kitchen with you Mark Bittman's highly acclaimed, bestselling book How to Cook Everything is an indispensable guide for any modern cook. With How to Cook Everything The Basics he reveals how truly easy it is to learn fundamental techniques and recipes. From dicing vegetables and roasting meat, to cooking building-block meals that include salads, soups, poultry, meats, fish, sides, and desserts, Bittman explains what every home cook, particularly novices, should know. 1,000 beautiful and instructive photographs throughout the book reveal key preparation details that make every dish inviting and accessible. With clear and straightforward directions, Bittman's practical tips and variation ideas, and visual cues that accompany each of the 185 recipes, cooking with How to Cook Everything The Basics is like having Bittman in the kitchen with you. This is the essential teaching cookbook, with 1,000 photos illustrating every technique and recipe; the result is a comprehensive reference that’s both visually stunning and utterly practical. Special Basics features scattered throughout simplify broad subjects with sections like “Think of Vegetables in Groups,” “How to Cook Any Grain,” and “5 Rules for Buying and Storing Seafood.” 600 demonstration photos each build on a step from the recipe to teach a core lesson, like “Cracking an Egg,” “Using Pasta Water,” “Recognizing Doneness,” and “Crimping the Pie Shut.” Detailed notes appear in blue type near selected images. Here Mark highlights what to look for during a particular step and offers handy advice and other helpful asides. Tips and variations let cooks hone their skills and be creative.