PART ONE

COOKING BASICS

"WHEN YOU COOK, YOU NEVER STOP LEARNING. THAT'S THE FASCINATION OF IT."

–JAMES BEARD

If you're an experienced cook, pat yourself on the back as you go through this section, secure in the knowledge that you already have the basics under your belt. Reading it will reinforce the skills you've already mastered and affirm that we're approaching the stove from the same perspective. You'll discover the hows and whys behind the techniques and methods you've picked up over time, just as I did in cooking school. Understanding cooking on this level is rewarding and gives you the surefooted confidence you need to cook with new ingredients and create new recipes.

If you're a less experienced cook, this section will provide you with an elementary understanding of cooking, including the hows and whys of twelve basic cooking methods, divided into two primary categories, moist heat and dry heat. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to figure out why your Chicken Cacciatore (page 202) could come out tender and moist one time and dry and tough another, or how to ensure that your flank steak always develops a flavorful crust when you grill.

Along with cooking techniques, in this section, you will find information on kitchen equipment, knife skills, how cooking affects the flavor and texture of foods, using your senses when you cook, seasoning to taste, and more.

EQUIPMENT MATTERS

I'm not exactly what you'd call an equipment junkie, but over the years a few favorite pots, pans, tools, and gadgets have found their way into my kitchen — and into my heart. Teaching in cookware stores, cooking schools, and private homes across the United States has provided me a terrific opportunity to test-drive other cooks' knives, colanders, and cutting boards. Here's my short list of basic equipment you'll need to prepare the recipes in this book.

COOKWARE

Sturdy, dependable pots and pans are a necessity, and just about every line of cookware can be purchased in a set. But, before you invest in someone else's idea of the perfect set, do two things: First, be sure you have plenty of room to store all the pieces. Second, ask yourself if you'd be better off buying just a few of the pieces you really need as open stock (single purchase) and putting any money saved toward something else.

How do you know what type of cookware to choose? Sometimes, as with glass-top ranges or high-BTU-output cooktops, the features of your particular stove dictate the type of cookware that will work best for you. Considering heat conduction alone, copper, cast iron, and aluminum all perform well. But each of these has drawbacks. As a surface on pots and pans, aluminum has fallen out of favor due to its link with health conditions such as hardening of the arteries. However, it's not unusual to find cookware with an aluminum core, where the metal is sandwiched between copper and/or stainless steel. Many cooks (count me among them) are enamored of copper and cast-iron pieces, but each requires a commitment to upkeep that some people aren't willing to make. Here are the specific sizes and brands of pots and pans I find particularly useful.

POTS

If you like the performance of cast iron, an all-purpose, porcelain-enameled, cast-iron 8-quart Le Creuset (pronounced luh crew-zay) Dutch oven can't be beat for braising or making soups. In fact, recipe testers who made the short ribs on page 237 in a Le Creuset Dutch oven unwittingly shaved off as much as a half hour of cooking time, thanks to its even heating and heat-retention properties. This line is easy to clean, too. On the downside, Le Creuset pots are superheavy, and I wouldn't recommend them to children or to people with weak wrists or arthritis in the arms or hands. One-third of their weight is in the lid, so it's possible to lighten the load significantly if you don't put the lid on until you get to your destination, be it the oven or storage cabinet.

For cooking pasta, nothing I have beats the old, thin, lightweight, copper-bottomed 6-quart Revere Ware pot I've been using since grad school. I'd never choose a heavier pot over this old friend for pasta because the water takes so much longer to boil in those behemoths.

SAUCEPANS

All-Clad saucepans are both dependable and a cinch to clean. They're dishwasher safe, too, which comes in handy after you've melted sugar. I particularly love the curved bottom on All-Clad's saucier pans (see illustration, page 104), a shape ideal for risottos, sauces, and puddings, as there's no corner to trap food (see Sources for buying All-Clad seconds online). I constantly reach for my 51/2-quart saucier. When it comes to saucepans, it's good to have a 1-quart pan for small jobs, such as poaching an egg or two, and at least one all-purpose 3- or 4-quart pan for cooking vegetables and the like.

STIR-FRY PAN

Urged on in an article in Fine Cooking magazine by the late Barbara Tropp, I bought a lightweight, nonstick, unlabeled 14-inch stir-fry pan at a restaurant supply warehouse (see Sources). I was won over before I even cooked in this pan once I saw how easy it is to wash, especially compared to my dear, old round-bottomed wok. Its flat bottom allows it to sit directly on the burner of my gas stove, in contact with the flame, and the pan is so light I can...