200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook into a Great Cook

Think of this book as cooking skills for dummies ratcheted up to a higher level.... Well organized and explained. --Booklist This book will turn a good cook into a great cook. --Vancouver Sun This step-by-step guide to essential cooking techniques explains and illustrates every important cooking method that, once mastered, will give a cook the confidence to make all dishes, no matter the challenge. The ten chapters describe essential tools and equipment, and explain tried-and-tested procedures to prepare a wide range of items perfectly and consistently. The book includes Essential Equipment Knives, utensils, pots and pans, ovenware, bakeware, gadgets and machines Sauces Gravy, vinaigrette, mayonnaise, hollandaise, pastry cream, caramel, chocolate, and more Vegetables Slicing, julienne, charring peppers, peeling tomatoes and more Fruits and Nuts Peeling, skinning, pitting, poaching fruit and more Meat Cuts of beef, lamb and pork boning, roasting and more Poultry Trussing, stuffing, spatchcocking, boning, jointing and more Fish Boning, filleting, poaching, broiling, and more Seafood Deveining shrimp, cracking crab, preparing squid, and more Eggs Testing eggs for freshness, poaching, baking, souffle and more Pastry and Baking Puff pastry, buttercream, pavlova and more Pasta, Grain, Legume, Bread Ravioli, risotto, polenta, croutons and more Broths Brown, vegetable, and fish broths skimming and freezing Spices Toasting and grinding spices, using a vanilla bean 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have is the one secret ingredient that turns any cook into a great one.