The second in a series of highly accessible and instructive single-subject books covering basic to advanced techniques that will make you a better cook. According to James Beard-award winning cookbook author Michael Ruhlman, "Braising is what cooking is truly about -- transformation. You start with a tough, often inexpensive, cut of meat, and through your care and knowledge as a cook, you turn it into something tender and succulent and exquisite. That is true cooking, cooking that engages both mind and soul." Among the recipes featured in this second book in Ruhlmans's new "how-to" series are Moroccan Lamb Tagine, Classic Yankee Pot Roast, Mexican Pork and Posole Stew with Dried Chilis, Braised Fennel, and a Corned Beef and Cabbage Braise. As with the other books in this line, practical information about essential tools and staple pantry items will be outlined, along with straightforward and clearly presented advice and dozens of colorphotographs showcasing both finished dishes and step-by-step cooking techniques.

In this first in a new series of books focusing on cooking methods, an award-winning cookbook author, food writer, and online culinary expert explores one of the most fundamental cooking techniques: roasting. Humankind has been roasting for millennia. The term originally referred to cooking over an open fire, usually on some kind of spit, and has evolved to describe cooking of meat or vegetables or even fruit in an oven, a "dry heat" (and usually high-heat) method of making things irresistibly appetizing. Michael Ruhlman has developed a reputation for providing lucid, no-nonsense cooking advice as sharp as a good chef's knife. "Of all our cooking terms," Ruhlman writes, "sautéed, grilled, poached, broiled -- I believe roasted is the most evocative adjective we can attach to our food, conjuring as it does ideas of deep rich flavors and delicious browning." Ruhlman's How to Roast combines practical advice -- what tools you need, staple ingredients to have on hand, how to get the most out of your oven -- with 20 original and mouthwatering recipes, chosen to showcase a wide range of roasting methods and results, from "The Icon" (roast chicken), to Monkfish Roasted with Tomatoes and Basil, to Roasted Peaches with Mint Créme Fraiche. Dozens of color photographs offer step-by-step illustration as well as finished-dish showpieces.

From the James Beard Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author. “Through the recipes for 10 classic meals, he covers how to cook almost anything.” —Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa From Scratch looks at ten favorite meals, including roast chicken, the perfect omelet, and paella—and then, through 175 recipes, explores myriad alternate pathways that the kitchen invites. A delicious lasagna can be ready in about an hour, or you could turn it into a project: try making and adding some homemade sausage. Explore the limits of from-scratch cooking: make your own pasta, grow your own tomatoes, and make your own homemade mozzarella and ricotta. Ruhlman tells you how. There are easy and more complex versions for most dishes, vegetarian options, side dishes, sub-dishes, and strategies for leftovers. Ruhlman reflects on the ways that cooking from scratch brings people together, how it can calm the nerves and focus the mind, and how it nourishes us, body and soul. “Like a master chef clarifying a murky stock into a crystal-clear consommé, Ruhlman detangles the complex web of technique, myth, and folklore that is cooking . . . The lessons are set up in such a way that you can decide exactly how deep a dive you want to take, though with a guide like Ruhlman at your side, that’s most likely a mouth-first leap straight into the deep end.” —J. Kenji López-Alt, New York Times-bestselling-author of The Wok “He’s like a good friend joining you in the kitchen, and this book will certainly become the home cook’s trusted companion.” —Thomas Keller, chef/proprietor, The French Laundry

Michael Ruhlman’s groundbreaking New York Times bestseller takes us to the very “truth” of cooking: it is not about recipes but rather about basic ratios and fundamental techniques that makes all food come together, simply. When you know a culinary ratio, it’s not like knowing a single recipe, it’s instantly knowing a thousand. Why spend time sorting through the millions of cookie recipes available in books, magazines, and on the Internet? Isn’t it easier just to remember 1-2-3? That’s the ratio of ingredients that always make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want—chocolate, lemon and orange zest, nuts, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite additions. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture. Ratios are the starting point from which a thousand variations begin. Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor. Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes. As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists, Michael Ruhlman blasts through the surplus of information and delivers this innovative, straightforward book that cuts to the core of cooking. Ratio provides one of the greatest kitchen lessons there is—and it makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

Another master class from award-winning culinary expert Michael Ruhlman: how to cook on your stovetop, featuring accessible instruction and exceptional recipes to elevate the cooking of beginners and professionals alike. The sauté station is the place all aspiring restaurant chefs want to be: the "hot seat," where the action happens. The same is true at home, where a good sauté unlocks the pleasures of dishes such as Veal Scaloppini, Sautéed Mushrooms, Chicken Schnitzel with Sage Spaetzle, Sautéed Duck Breast with Rhubarab Gastrique, and Flatiron Steak with Sautéed Shallots and Tarragon Butter. In How to Sauté, Ruhlman gives you essential information and straightforward advice about the tools you need (and which ones you don't); tips on stocking your pantry for the greatest efficiency, flexibility, and flavor; and dozens of color photographs showcasing finished dishes and step-by-step cooking techniques.

Rare is the cookbook that redefines how we cook. And rare is the author who can do so with the ease and expertise of acclaimed writer and culinary authority Michael Ruhlman.

Notes on cooking: from stock to finesse -- The elements of cooking A to Z.