The Breakaway Cook: Recipes That Break Away from the Ordinary

by Eric Gower

Fusion cooking broke the rules first––now Gower's breaking fusion's rules with The Breakway Cook . Despite the explosion of farmers' markets, ethnic grocers, and creative restaurants in America, lots of home cooks remain puzzled by the bewildering array of choices, and don't have the confidence to break away from tradition. Eric helps home cooks everywhere approach unfamiliar ingredients from different global regions and combine them for some amazing results of flavor. "Breakaway" cooking pays homage to culinary traditions yet uses innovative techniques and ingredients to give home cooks a new approach to their dishes, marrying unintimidating flavors with the old standards. Sample his Miso Orange Pepper Roasted Chicken, or tease your tongue with his take on Fluffy Herby Eggs, and you'll be convinced. It's not fusion––it's fusion that makes sense. And the cardinal rule is to season with authority. Don't be afraid of the spice cabinet anymore, and use presentation to create a simple, appealing meal. Spend less time fussing about the preparation and clean–up, and more time enjoying food and its huge role in our daily lives. To further this quick and mindful approach to cooking, Eric will take us shopping in local and ethnic markets, teach the importance of table setting and presentation, and stress visual aesthetics, especially regarding pottery and ceramics. Eric helps you reconstruct your approach to the kitchen, highlighting the seasonings and essential ingredients or "Global Flavor Blasts," such as tamarind, pomegranate molasses, miso, yuzu, green tea, Chinese plum sauce, mole, among many others, that will liberate your cooking and provide a lifetime of fantastic eating. Using Gower's recipes as broad outlines, you can be creative as you go, and within his framework you will discover your own genius in the kitchen. We feel better when we eat better, and it's easier to be productive, creative, and relaxed when the food part of life is under control. Enter The Breakaway Cook . In addition to the recipes, The Breakaway Cook includes stunning, full–color photos by Annabelle Breakey throughout the text; a guide to using flavored salts in your dishes; sidebars on wine, tea and sake; and ideas for even shorter–cuts on Gower's easy–to–follow recipes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Reference, Cooking, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[lisa church · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a fantastic way of looking at cooking. thinking a little differently, trying some new ways of cooking the things you have always cooked plus learning some new dishes.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a nice cookbook and a refreshing adventure in new flavor combinations. I have a number of the recipes marked for making but haven't done so yet. The intro and overview are well worth reading as are breakout sections. I am inspired by the flavored salts.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite new cookbook of the year. Eric Gower's approach is to keep a well-stocked pantry of "global flavor bursts" -- ingredients like flavored salts, pomegranate molasses, miso paste, maccha powder -- that are easy to use and bring tremendous flavor and style to simple dishes. Try sprinkling a nice ripe tomato with lavender-infused sea salt, or adding tangy Greek yogurt to an herby dish of scrambled eggs and you'll see immediately. This is inventive, flexible cooking that is accessible to the home cook in the best possible sense. And the book is gorgeously illustrated.

[Deno Marcum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book for the upscale home cook. I also believe Eric Gower is on to something here with his quick and easy style of cooking termed "Breakaway Cooking" which incorporates the use flavor packed ingredients he calls "Flavor Blasts". And no other cookbook author in my collection has formed such a clear opinion of salt as Eric does in his introductory essay on the subject. This is one of my favorite cookbooks for fresh and simple cooking ideas. I look forward to fresh new books by this author.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book and the author's other book The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, are my favorites when i am craving unique food with an Asian flair. Gower does an excellent job with very creative recipes that are simple to make and taste great. I have made the matcha salt, matcha truffles, and the poached eggs and the edamame shiso salad all out of this book and all posted on my blog: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/ (Just search for Eric Gower in the search feature there for a closer look).

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his 2nd book Eric Gower presents "global flavors" in easy to cook, amazingly flavorful recipes. More than just a cookbook, Breakaway is a STYLE of cooking which promotes eating fresh and flavorful food. A truly INSPIRING food reference book.

[Eling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea behind this book, but didn't particularly care for the tone of the writing; and I while I believe the recipes seem fairly straightforward and probably tasty, I am not convinced the ingredients are ones that I would regularly reach for myself. And as always: needs more photos!