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Back To Basics: 100 Simple Classic Recipes With A Twist: A Cookbook
Chef Michael goes back to basics—with a twist! Back to Basics features 100 simple and delicious classic recipes, ingredients, and cooking techniques. And in every recipe, Chef Michael shows how easy it is to add a twist or two to your cooking. You’ll never get stuck making a dish just one way!
Chock full of mouth-watering photography to inspire you, Back to Basics is all about Chef Michael’s simple approach to cooking basics. Once you understand the elements behind a dish, you can then stir your own personality into your cooking. You’ll see how easy it is to impress family and friends in your own kitchen. And once you know the basic rules, you can break them.
Chef Michael’s passionate commitment to cooking simple, classic recipes will inspire and guide you to lots of great new flavours in your kitchen!
Chock full of mouth-watering photography to inspire you, Back to Basics is all about Chef Michael’s simple approach to cooking basics. Once you understand the elements behind a dish, you can then stir your own personality into your cooking. You’ll see how easy it is to impress family and friends in your own kitchen. And once you know the basic rules, you can break them.
Chef Michael’s passionate commitment to cooking simple, classic recipes will inspire and guide you to lots of great new flavours in your kitchen!
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2013
About the author
Michael Smith
14 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Chef Michael Smith graduated with honors from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1991. He worked in London, South American and Caribbean restaurants before coming back to North America and Manhattan.
In 1992 he moved to Prince Edward Island, from where he has become Canada's best-known chef, the winner of the James Beard Award for Cooking Show Excellence and host of Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef on Food Network Canada and in 26 other countries.
He is today an award winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, roving Canadian cuisine ambassador, restaurant chef and home cook.
Chef Michael Smith graduated with honors from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1991. He worked in London, South American and Caribbean restaurants before coming back to North America and Manhattan.
In 1992 he moved to Prince Edward Island, from where he has become Canada's best-known chef, the winner of the James Beard Award for Cooking Show Excellence and host of Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef on Food Network Canada and in 26 other countries.
He is today an award winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, roving Canadian cuisine ambassador, restaurant chef and home cook.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 20, 2018
I like a cookbook with recipes that call for ingredients that I can find without having to live in a major city with specialty food items or equipment available. This is that kind of cookbook, and I have bookmarked fourteen recipes to try, from sweet potato salad and pasta to bread and dessert.
I also like that there is a photo for every recipe, which seem well organized and clearly written.
I’ve used other Michael Smith cookbooks, and his book of make ahead recipes in on my wish list.
I also like that there is a photo for every recipe, which seem well organized and clearly written.
I’ve used other Michael Smith cookbooks, and his book of make ahead recipes in on my wish list.
December 5, 2013
This review is made possible by Penguin Canada's Daily December Delights holiday campaign.
" Success is defined not by whether you cook exactly the way I do but by whether you and your table are enjoying yourselves. Nothing is more fun than taking pride in something you created yourself, then taking a bow for the inevitable compliments!" -- Michael Smith, Back to Basics
Since the debut of The Inn Chef, Chef Michael Smith's casual charm and easy manner has been a fixture on Canadian televisions. Unlike celebrity chefs, who make their name with one tv show or publish a single book and then ride off into the sunset "working" as a judge on a reality TV show, Michael Smith is as prolific as ever in writing and developing recipes. We love that he calls himself a "nutritional activist"!
His seventh cookbook (SEVENTH!!) Back to Basics features 100 recipes that remind you how delightful it can be to cook with fresh and nutritious ingredients. The organization of the book reads like a menu: salads, mains, sides, and sweets. Finding a dish to suit your mood is simple. Each recipe is accompanied by a vibrant full-page photo that tantalizes your tastebuds. This feature may seem like a no-brainer but SO many cookbooks don't have photos OR, even more vexing, the photos and recipes are in entirely different sections of the book. It is essential that we, the home cooks, have an image of what we are trying to create!
The recipes themselves are concise and clear. Instructions as well as the ingredients required can be located at a glance without having to wade through irrelevant anecdotes. Chef Michael Smith doesn't ask for devices or methods that are beyond the reach of a novice cook. No sous-vide here! Our favourite feature: each recipe includes a "twist," a hallmark of Michael Smith's style, which encourages you to experiment and personalize his dishes. Michael Smith wants to inspire you!
One thing that jumped out at us was the prevalence of "pan-rushing," which he explains is a trick he learned as a line cook. Simply: you sear a piece of meat, build the sauce in the pan, and simmer them together to finish. This method is quick and allows you to create a flavourful dish without a billion pots and pans! We were so intrigued by the technique that we tested the "Pan-rushed Salmon with Bacon Clam Chowder (p.123)." The results were delicious. The soup was creamy and luxurious. The salmon was so tender. And, just like Michael Smith would have wanted, we added our own "twist" to his recipe and threw in some corn. Had HoM not selected the wrong sized pan to start, we also would have dirtied only ONE pan as the method intended.
We also tried his "Green Apple Salad (p.17)," which proved a light accompaniment to the rich main. Genius: cheese toast croutons! So crunchy and chewy. Who could ever have have plain old dusty croutons again?!
Back to Basics is a great addition to every cook's bookshelf. As he's done throughout his career, he's making good food accessible and achievable in our humble kitchens. For many people, cooking can be a chore or even scary. Michael Smith provides readers with guidelines but then gives you permission, nay encourages you, to be creative and have fun! Perhaps the best compliment we can pay to this book is that we enjoyed cooking and eating from it. By Smith's own criteria, this makes it a resounding success.
--- Clementine & HoM
" Success is defined not by whether you cook exactly the way I do but by whether you and your table are enjoying yourselves. Nothing is more fun than taking pride in something you created yourself, then taking a bow for the inevitable compliments!" -- Michael Smith, Back to Basics
Since the debut of The Inn Chef, Chef Michael Smith's casual charm and easy manner has been a fixture on Canadian televisions. Unlike celebrity chefs, who make their name with one tv show or publish a single book and then ride off into the sunset "working" as a judge on a reality TV show, Michael Smith is as prolific as ever in writing and developing recipes. We love that he calls himself a "nutritional activist"!
His seventh cookbook (SEVENTH!!) Back to Basics features 100 recipes that remind you how delightful it can be to cook with fresh and nutritious ingredients. The organization of the book reads like a menu: salads, mains, sides, and sweets. Finding a dish to suit your mood is simple. Each recipe is accompanied by a vibrant full-page photo that tantalizes your tastebuds. This feature may seem like a no-brainer but SO many cookbooks don't have photos OR, even more vexing, the photos and recipes are in entirely different sections of the book. It is essential that we, the home cooks, have an image of what we are trying to create!
The recipes themselves are concise and clear. Instructions as well as the ingredients required can be located at a glance without having to wade through irrelevant anecdotes. Chef Michael Smith doesn't ask for devices or methods that are beyond the reach of a novice cook. No sous-vide here! Our favourite feature: each recipe includes a "twist," a hallmark of Michael Smith's style, which encourages you to experiment and personalize his dishes. Michael Smith wants to inspire you!
One thing that jumped out at us was the prevalence of "pan-rushing," which he explains is a trick he learned as a line cook. Simply: you sear a piece of meat, build the sauce in the pan, and simmer them together to finish. This method is quick and allows you to create a flavourful dish without a billion pots and pans! We were so intrigued by the technique that we tested the "Pan-rushed Salmon with Bacon Clam Chowder (p.123)." The results were delicious. The soup was creamy and luxurious. The salmon was so tender. And, just like Michael Smith would have wanted, we added our own "twist" to his recipe and threw in some corn. Had HoM not selected the wrong sized pan to start, we also would have dirtied only ONE pan as the method intended.
We also tried his "Green Apple Salad (p.17)," which proved a light accompaniment to the rich main. Genius: cheese toast croutons! So crunchy and chewy. Who could ever have have plain old dusty croutons again?!
Back to Basics is a great addition to every cook's bookshelf. As he's done throughout his career, he's making good food accessible and achievable in our humble kitchens. For many people, cooking can be a chore or even scary. Michael Smith provides readers with guidelines but then gives you permission, nay encourages you, to be creative and have fun! Perhaps the best compliment we can pay to this book is that we enjoyed cooking and eating from it. By Smith's own criteria, this makes it a resounding success.
--- Clementine & HoM
January 17, 2014
I am quite disappointed. His recipes were rather lackluster. The approach looked promising: take classics and give them a modern twist. But none of the recipes inspired me. I tried the tropical fruit crumble but the flavors just weren't hitting it. I appreciate that Michael Smith had modern healthy recipes though. I liked his chef at home show on the food network. I am still going to check out his previous books, even if this one didn't deliver.
November 4, 2013
Found some really good looking recipes in this one.
August 27, 2017
I wasn't too sure if this was my type of cookbook when I first purchased it because of all the meat recipes. Now I am grateful that I followed my instincts, as there are many great recipes for vegetables and salads. Even the baking recipes look amazing and I can't wait to try the apple fritters. An interesting take on many familiar recipes.
April 29, 2019
I found this cookbook to be just as appealing as his shows on the Food Network. He has a wonderful style of teaching that shines both on video and here in his cookbook.
While yes, some of the recipes are incredibly simple, they give you the basics to expand on and grow as a home cook.
I'm not one to cook with a recipe, and Chef Michael encourages me to brank out into new flavours that I've been uncertain to try.
I recommend this to any home cook who likes to cook without a recipe.
While yes, some of the recipes are incredibly simple, they give you the basics to expand on and grow as a home cook.
I'm not one to cook with a recipe, and Chef Michael encourages me to brank out into new flavours that I've been uncertain to try.
I recommend this to any home cook who likes to cook without a recipe.
August 21, 2014
Currently making our way through this cook book. So far we have tried a handful of recipes and every one of them is delicious. I like the twist on classic recipes. The instructions are easy to follow, ingredients are listed for easy reference and the photographs are mouthwatering to look at.
Cannot wait to try the other recipes this summer!
Cannot wait to try the other recipes this summer!
December 6, 2013
Michael always writes entertaining and informative books. I love that he's Canadian. His latest endeavour is a back to basics edition that incorporates taste with ease.
May 8, 2015
Easy and diverse enough even for menial kitchen skills!
August 24, 2015
Didn't have anything I wanted to try.
December 14, 2016
Notbad easy ideas
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews