Learn to cook if you like to cook. Learn to COOK :: The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor

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Learn to COOK - The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor

List Price: $34.95
Our Price: $24.82
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Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.657
EAN: 9780060599768
ISBN: 0060599766
Label: William Morrow Cookbooks
Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2005-11-01
Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks
Release Date: 2005-11-01
Studio: William Morrow Cookbooks

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Editorial Reviews:

The secret to transforming easy dishes into extraordinary meals? Fresh herbs. In The Herbal Kitchen, IACP award-winning cookbook author and acclaimed Herbfarm Restaurant chef Jerry Traunfeld presents simple dishes using herbs straight from the market, windowsill, or garden.

Until recently, the fresh herbs available in supermarkets were limited to parsley and maybe dill. Today, thyme, rosemary, basil, cilantro, mint, and sage are among the many fresh herbs as close as the produce section or the farmer's market. Not to mention marjoram, lovage, tarragon, lavender, shiso, and so many others.

Jerry shows you how to incorporate these fresh herbs into your everyday home meals. So whether preparing a workday supper for the family, a special dinner for two or four, or a feast for a table of guests, using fresh herbs in your cooking will result in fresh and vibrant food.

The Herbal Kitchen includes some recipes that are home variations of the innovative dishes Jerry prepares at the Herbfarm, while others are fresh takes on familiar classics such as Herb Garden Lasagna or Shrimp in Garlic-Sage Butter. All are uncomplicated and prep time is minimal -- with the emphasis on spontaneity and the unmistakable flavors of fresh herbs.

Start off with Asparagus and Lemon Thyme Soup, Spicy Verbena Meatballs, or Rye-Thyme Cheese Straws before moving on to Cinnamon Basil Chicken, Side of Salmon Slow-Roasted in Dill, and Root Ribbons with Sage. Delectable desserts include Warm Lavender Almond Cakes, Rhubarb Mint Cobbler, and a sinful Chocolate Peppermint Tart.

Once you're hooked on cooking with fresh herbs, you'll want to grow them yourself. The Herbal Kitchen is filled with important tips for growing, harvesting, and handling each of the herbs used in the recipes. Valuable information on the varieties of each herb is also highlighted, such as how to tell the difference between Greek oregano and Italian oregano, why you always want to choose bay laurel over California bay, and what type of lavender is best for cooking.

Filled with stunning photos of the herbs, the techniques for handling them, and the finished dishes, Jerry's definitive guide is sure to be a classic, reached for again and again.

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Beautiful and useful
Comment: Absolutely beautiful cookbook with lots of photos and extra info on herbs and other ingredients. I have already made 2 recipes and they were both simple and delicious!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Easy and Delicious Recipes, Even for the Non-Cook
Comment: I hardly cook - the local takeout places know me all too well. But, occasionally, I'll bust something out for my book club or a potluck. I've been using the recipes in this book almost exclusively and they always turn out amazing, even the first time. They don't have a ton of ingredients and Jerry Traunfeld explains the steps remarkably well, so I'm not likely to get myself into a mess of trouble trying to cook. The Herbed Skillet Souffle was my first pass at folding egg whites and the results were delicious. I love the Cherry Tomato, Melon and Mint Salad - an unusual combination that makes me look like I know what I'm doing, but easy enough for a child to prepare. And, the Frothy Tarragon Sauce atop asparagus was incredible.

There is something about the way it's written, with careful descriptions of each dish and obvious love for food, that is truly inspiring.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Simple and Fresh never tasted so good!
Comment: My wife and I have been fortunate enough to eat at The Herb Garden (located in the Pacific NW), but for those who can't make it up here, or can't afford the rather expensive experience of it, here is the answer! Head Chef Jerry Traunfeld's recipes are surprisingly easy, and every single one we've tried (we're working our way through the book) has been a hit. Not just okay. AWESOME. So go to your local market, or out into your garden, get the freshest produce and herbs available, and hit the kitchen. You'll be glad you did!

Customer Rating:

Summary: This is my best cookbook.
Comment: I've never seen anything like this. This book makes me smarter. The recipes are much simpler than some other books I own, but the food comes out tasting -- amazing. And the recipe I just cooked (cinnamon chicken) ended up *looking* like it did in the book's photograph. Think about that for a while.

That's another great thing about this book -- it has a lot of photographs, and that helps me (a novice cook) a lot.

I think Mr. Traunfeld understands food in a way that other people don't. In simple things, like how to brown chicken pieces in olive oil, he's just practical and -- more correct than other books I have. Put it skin-side down in the oil and *leave it alone* for at least six minutes, then flip it over for two, then take it out. Yikes. It looked great.

But in his use of herbs and spices, he's some kind of saint. I think the Japanese have a phrase for it: "Living National Treasure." Who else would ever tell you to cook what amounts to Chicken Cacciatore with cinnamon sticks and star anise?

It scared me, but I did it, and oh my. It was one of the best three meals I've cooked in my life. (And it Looked Like The Picture.)

How about mushroom and nutmeg bread pudding for Thanksgiving? He said something like "It's like stuffing from Heaven." So I tried it, and I guess I'll be making it forever now. My wife was hiding packages of it in the refrigerator so she could eat it later. I'm not making this up. That recipe was simple, too.

What if all the most miraculous things are simple, after someone shows them to you?

I decided that a guy like that deserves more than the buck or two he got paid because I bought his book. :-)

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Eight Months Later
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It's August, 2008 now, and I have just finished my first attempt at Basil Lime Fizz from this book. I decided I would write this before I finished my first glass of it.

This is crazy. I want to give this guy another star, even if it breaks the Amazon Ranking Algorithm.

Since I wrote the first review, above, I have made this drink (He has several recipes for drinks, ice cream, and appetizers.) as well as the appetizers called Saltimbocca. Everything I have made from this book has turned out perfectly! I am cook of average ability -- an occasionally enthusiastic amateur who only knows how to do one meal by heart. I have never had *every* recipe from a book work out well before.

Not only work out well, but these things have each become instant-classic, top-ten-favorite things in my modest repertoire. And I have never looked at one of Mr. Traunfeld's recipes and thought "what the heck does *this* mean?" I think his are the only books where that doesn't happen.

Here's another detail about how practical he is. In another recipe, he said to carmelize onions in a sauce pan rather than a frying pan, because that will keep the juices from evaporating longer and help the process -- and you can stir the onions quickly without having them fly out of the pan. He has details like that all through his books. These are pointers to becoming a good craftsman with food, even while he's showing you how to do genius-level things with herbs.

I feel like a baseball talent scout who just watched a new kid hit five consecutive pitches out of the park. We -- really -- need to hire this guy.

...

Now I will finish my fizz.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Wonderful Info on Herbs-Recipes, Cultivation, and Deliscious Photos!
Comment: This books has wonderful herb cultivation tips, as well as recipes using those freshly grown herbs! The photos are a bonus! The book, "Flavoring with Culinary Herbs: Tips, Recipes, and Cultivation" by Mary El-Baz would be a great companion to this book!

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