Cooking: 600 Recipes, 1500 Photographs, One Kitchen Education

by James Peterson

In an era of outfitted home kitchens and food fascination, it's no wonder home cooks who never learned the fundamentals of the kitchen are intimidated. Twenty years ago, James Peterson could relate, and so he taught himself by cooking his way through professional kitchens and stacks of books, logging the lessons of his kitchen education one by one. Now one of the country's most revered cooking teachers, Peterson provides the confidence-building instructions home cooks need to teach themselves to cook consistently with ease and success. COOKING is the only all-in-one instructional that details the techniques that cooks really need to master, teaches all the basic recipes, and includes hundreds of photos that illuminate and inspire.

   • Cooking authority James Peterson's definitive, all-inclusive learn-to-cook cookbook.
   • 600 hard-working recipes everyone should know how to make-from the perfect roasted chicken to bouillabaisse and apple pie.
   • 1,500 instructional photos, showing exactly how recipes are made, teach food-literate novices to cook with confidence and more advanced cooks to expand their repertoire.
   • James Peterson has more than 1 million cookbooks in print.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Nonfiction

560 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

James Peterson grew up in northern California and studied chemistry and philosophy at UC Berkeley. After his studies, he traveled around the world, working his way through Asia, by land, to Europe. Eventually he landed in Paris and was amazed by the French attitude toward food and drink. (This was in the mid seventies when food in America was practically non-existent.) It was in France that he found his calling. As he was running short on funds, Jim found a job picking grapes in the south of France where he lived with a family for two weeks. He has never forgotten the sumptuous lunches prepared by the vigneron's wife. After his initial inspiration, Jim returned to the United States and got a job as a short-order cook. This was his first cooking job and while the cuisine was not 3-star, there was still the need for speed and organization. After saving money for a year and a half, Jim returned to France. After begging his way in, he ended up working at two of what were then among France's greatest restaurants, George Blanc and Vivarois. It was his experiences in these restaurants that shaped his style of cooking and drove his pursuit of cuisine as a career. Jim also studied pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

By a series of serendipitous events, James found himself a partner/chef in a small French restaurant in Greenwich Village, called Le Petit Robert. It was here that he was able to experiment and invent and shape his own unique approach to cooking. The restaurant was reviewed in a wide variety of major publications including Gourmet Magazine where it was called "...what may be the most creative restaurant in New York." It was no doubt in part because of his extravagant use of truffles and foie gras, that the restaurant, after four years, was forced to close. At a loss, Jim started teaching cooking at the French Culinary Institute and later, at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, now ICE. Jim spent a year developing curriculum for the French Culinary Institute.

After translating a series of French pastry books, Jim established a relationship with a publisher who encouraged him to write his own book. His first book, Sauces, published in 1991, continues to sell as well now as it did the first year after publication. It won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award and put James on the map as a serious writer and teacher. Other books followed: Splendid Soups, nominated for both a James Beard and IACP Award, Fish & Shellfish, nominated for both awards and a winner of an IACP Award, Vegetables, winner of a James Beard Award, The Essentials of Cooking, nominated for both awards.

It was during the writing and preparation of Fish & Shellfish that Jim starting taking his own pictures for his books. This started what has become a twenty-year obsession with photography. He set out to write and photograph a definitive technique book similar to Jacques Pepin's La Technique except in full color and updated. After the publication of The Essentials of Cooking Jim embarked on four small, photograph-laden, books about food and wine including Simply Salmon, The Duck Cookbook, Sweet Wines, and Simply Shrimp. After the completion of these four books, Jim set out on producing the monumental Cooking which is his attempt at explaining and illustrating the most important basics of cooking. Cooking won a James Beard Award for best single subject. When Cooking was published, Jim set out to tackle baking. A two-year project ensued during which Jim shot over 3000 pictures (with film!) for the definitive Baking. Baking went on to win a James Beard Award in the dessert and baking category. Exhausted after these behemoths, Jim wrote a book dedicated to simple dishes--dishes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Out this last August, Kitchen Simple has been acclaimed as an important collection of simple yet elegant recipes. The latest project is the publication of the second edition of Jim's award-winning Vegetables. This new edition will hav

Reviews

[Lablover · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just can't go wrong with a James Peterson book. The author covers some basic techniques that many people just don't master such as how to cook an egg properly. Peterson explains how to make the perfect boiled egg whether you like it soft or hard. Unlike other cookbooks in which only the end product is pictured, this book offers step by step pictures with many recipes and techniques. This is my second Peterson cookbook and definitely will not be my last. If you love to cook WELL, then this is a book for you.

[Taffnerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep checking this out from the library. I really should just buy it. It's worth the $50 for the garlic broth recipe alone!

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book... I'm not sure if this is why it hasn't been in our kitchen too much, but I sure like to pick it up and peruse in the living room.

Not quite a Utility cookbook, despite the title... more of a coffee table book. It's beautiful, glossy, and you won't want it anywhere near a splattering pot of tomato sauce.

[Eunice · Rating 4 out of 5]

not really a recipe book. more like a gi-normous reference book for how to cook including such seemingly simple tips for boiling an egg (gives you a minute-to-minute countdown on stages of the cooking egg which i have found helpful in attaining my soft-boiled egg all the time) to more complicated recipes involving trimming, roasting, caramelizing, straining, simmering, degreasing and then the final braising step. definitely not for Rachael Ray fans or vegetarians for that matter as the book is very heavy in the meat department including a recipe or two for veal. and for those looking to cut fat out of your diet, there's a lovely recipe involving pureeing duck fat.

as a mostly vegetarian aspiring cook, i very much like his detailed description for extracting the most flavors from food. he explains the difference between oily herbs (thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano) and watery herbs (chives, basil, cilantro, parsley, tarragon) and tells you which are better dried (oily) and which is better suspended in a fat (watery herbs in compound butter or oil) or vinegar (tarragon).

there are photographs to guide in the kneading and forming of different dough products (baguettes, fettucine), and to demonstrate the various vegetable cuts (chiffonade, paysannie, brunoise, rondelles, julienne, batonnets).

i admit i am a total dork for encyclopedic information dissecting down to the molecular science of things, so that may be one of the biggest draws of this book to my greasy little, food-splattered hands. i like that he explains the little details for why certain steps are best for the item that is being cooked at hand. that may seem overwhelming, but if you break down the individual recipes, you will be building up a vast repertoire to allow you to cook up whatever fancy appeases your palate.

keep in mind, that Peterson did cut his teeth in French cuisine, so that's the main focus; though, there are token recipes for two Korma recipes, hot and sour soup, the obligatory Thai curry, guacamole, chutneys and a few Italian dishes.

now i'm ready for Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

[Metya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baking and cooking

This book is very helpfull, with beautifull picture and easy to read methods.. I have the other book: BAKING by James Peterson on my Ipad, and very satisfied with that book, So I bought this book: COOKING (the hard copy) and waited for almost a month (im living in South east asia, every time i went home from work i checked my counter to see wether the book has arrived.. LOL)
After i got it, Im very satisfied with the book. The book gives a well explained recipee, it gives the detail on how the end result should be: the texture, flavor, and a short history about it. The detailed step by step picture help me to do it exactly like it supposes to be done.
Love it..

Thank you James for COOKING!!

www.mycookroom.wordpress.com

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

this may be the best (and most beautiful) book of cooking knowledge and techniques evah! step by step explanations of cooking techniques and recipes that i did not even know existed - and i am an ardent home chef. so worth a look - and a great cookbook to have in your collection for those moments that you suddenly need to know how to tell the sex of a lobster, make a beurre blanc, or gauge the doneness of an egg cooked for 2 minutes.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed exhaustive technique oriented book. I would consider this a good choice for new brides and new cooks - nicely laid out, good pictures, precise. Excellent choice.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best reference I've seen! It's hefty and expensive. Peterson calls it a kitchen education, and that's exactly what it is.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

JAMES pETERSON IS AN EXCELLENT GUY WITH TECHNIQUE AND THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK FOR THAT

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book. A new classic on fairly simple cooking. A must have in your kitchen.

[Yasmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, it's three stars, BUT.. If you're just starting out cooking, this book is immensely useful and I totally recommend it. I rarely use it though.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Large heavy book but photos only used when needed to support an explanation. Modern versions of classic recipes from a variety of cultures.

[Ryan]

3.5 stars:

Very clear, confidence-inspiring photos for many preparations.

While Peterson is experienced and opinionated, the tome can't seem to decide if it is a textbook or a cookbook and consequently, doesn't quite succeed as either - still, this remains a good reference for traditional/proper techniques and recipes. There is also a surprisingly large/thorough section devoted to baking - master its contents and you would do well on the Great British Baking Show.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too impressive at least in terms of tips/techniques (which this book supposedly has but I didn't see anything revelatory)

[Cutestar · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful :)

[graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. For a guy who's learning to cook, this is essential: so many recopies and how-to photos it's unreal. I do have two beefs with the book:
1. It's so nice that I don't want to actually cook with it for fear of marring it; I'll get over it, I'm sure
2. The bulk of the recipes require expensive ingredients; I make do and substitute stuff, but there's so many things I decline to try because I can't afford them. Some day...

Still: this book is freaking amazing.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid level technique book.