How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart

Learn what makes a recipe tick, says How to Cook Without a Book author Pam Anderson, and you'll serve great food fast. Recognizing that most cooks feel challenged in the face of daily meal making, Anderson provides a game plan: prepare dishes based on available ingredients and simple cooking techniques you've mastered--not on recipes you've got to look up and ingredients you'll need to shop for--and you maximize the potential of kitchen ease. Cooks looking for a way to address the what-will-we-have-tonight quandary definitively, or those who feel they lack the energy or know-how to tackle cooking every night, should find the book essential. In chapters such as "Simple Stir-Frys" or "Weeknight Ravioli and Lasagna," Anderson presents a particular cooking procedure, provides a recipe that embodies it in its basic form (the protein-adaptable Weeknight Stir-Fry, for example), then offers simple variations (such as Stir-Fried Chicken with Asparagus and Mushrooms or Stir-Fried Shrimp with Pepper and Scallions). Chapters conclude with an at-a-glance review of key technique points. Following Anderson's tips and innovations, lasagna, for example, becomes a weeknight option (use egg-roll wrappers for the pasta, Anderson advises, and forgo the baking); she also shows how, once mastered, her Big Fat Omelet, which serves four, can become the basis for a wide range of lunch and dinner entrées. With a comprehensive pantry section and a dessert chapter that puts frozen puff pastry to work in imaginative ways, the book is a trove of information that cooks can use and depend on. --Arthur Boehm From Publishers Weekly Former executive editor of Cook's magazine and author of The Perfect Recipe, Anderson wants to teach Americans a new way to cookAwithout relying on recipes. It's somewhat surprising, then, to discover that this book is full of recipes. However, readers may cotton to Anderson's method: each chapter consists of a simple technique, basic recipe, variations, key points and a little mnemonic device used to recall the technique. The techniques are, for the most part, terrific time-savers, such as cutting out the back before roasting a whole chicken or making one giant omelet to serve four people so that everyone can eat together. Variations are good, too, although many are so similar to one another that it seems a little repetitious to include a recipe for each (in turn, many of the recipes refer back to the original, resulting in a lot of page-flipping). A chapter on tomato sauces, for example, includes the basic Simple Tomato Sauce, as well as Tomato Sauce with Dried Porcini, Tomato Sauce with Sweet Onions and Thyme, Tomato Sauce with Shrimp and Red Pepper Flakes and many others. A chapter on pan sauces is a winner, encompassing Red Wine-Dijon Pan Sauce, Port Wine Pan Sauce with Dried Cranberries and Balsamic Pan Sauce with Pine Nuts and Raisins. In the end, this cookbook is a solid collection of simple, quick recipes, but with its sometimes scattered format, it is unlikely to free everyday cooks from the tyranny of recipes. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Praise for How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson:" How to Cook Without a Book should win a prize for most understated cookbook title. What Pam Anderson really outlines here is a culinary tradition for today's American family; a practical, nourishing, and delicious way to deal with your family's everyday food life without written-in-stone recipes and without fuss or arcane ingredients. You'll love Pam holding your hand while you create the dishes that your children and grandchildren will one day certainly be cooking without a book."--Arthur Schwartz, author of What to Cook and Naples at Table "For down-to-earth, 'can-do' cooking that tastes terrific, nobody does it better than Pam Anderson. The book's common sense tips and kitchen wisdom will not only inspire new cooks but inform well-seasoned ones, too."--Rick Rodgers, author of Thanksgiving 101 and Christmas 101 "[The] book gives you confidence that [the recipes] will work, and you will not be disappointed."-- The New York Times "Her writing is sensible and easy to understand. Useful and challenging enough for both experienced cooks and novices."-- Philadelphia Inquirer "My pick for cookbook of the year. . . . It's a book that both novices and experienced cooks will appreciate."-- Times/Post Intelligencer , Seattle, WA"If you want to produce contemporary perfections in standards like meatloaf, roast turkey, cole slaw, and cobbler, this is the book for you." -- Chattanooga Times From the Inside Flap grew up watching her parents and grandparents make dinner every night by simply taking the ingredients on hand and cooking them with the techniques they knew. Times have changed. Today we have an overwhelming array of ingredients and a fraction of the cooking time, but Anderson believes the secret to getting dinner on the table lies in the past. After a long day, who has the energy to look up a recipe and search for the right ingredients before ever starting to cook? To make dinner night after night, Anderson believes the first two steps--looking for a recipe, then scrambling for the exact ingredients--must be eliminated.xa0xa0Understanding that most recipes are simply "variations on a theme," she innovatively teaches technique, ultimately eliminating the need for recipes.Once the technique or formula is mastered, Anderson encourages inexperienced as well as veteran cooks to spread their culinary wings.xa0xa0For example, after learning to sear a steak Pam Anderson is the former executive editor of Cook's Illustrated and author of the bestselling The Perfect Recipe: Getting It Right Every Time--Making Our Favorite Dishes the Absolute Best They Can Be .xa0xa0She lives with her husband and their two daughters in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and makes dinner (almost) every night. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Right StuffStocking the Refrigerator, Freezer, and Pantry Cooking without a book starts with a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry. One of the signs of a successful businessperson is how few times she handles the same piece of mail. To me, one of the signs of a successful working cook is how few times she shops for food.For want of any meal planning, many cooks end up repeatedly running to the store. Since most American family schedules are erratic and unpredictable, long-term meal planning can be frustrating, but running to the grocery store every day or two also takes time and energy that most people just don't have.On vacation, I shop every day because I enjoy it. When I work, however, I try to stock up once a week, running back maybe once more if I'm entertaining or I've left something off the list. Every few weeks I go to my gourmet store for olives, cheese, oil, vinegar, and other pantry items. I also stop at a good bakery for French and Italian bread, which I freeze.I take time to shop because if I find myself with an empty refrigerator at 6:00 on Wednesday night, I'm more likely to grab the family and head for a restaurant. Surrounding yourself with good food is the first step in effortless cooking.In stocking my freezer, refrigerator, and pantry, I'm neither frugal nor extravagant. Sometimes I get hit with sticker shock at the checkout, but when I think of what I would have spent if our family had gone out for dinner even once during the week, I quickly realize that food shopping is a bargain.The following pantry, refrigerator, and freezer lists may look long. Although many of the items are necessities (e.g. canned tomatoes, chicken stock, salt, onions, garlic, oil, vinegar), others are not. Simply pick and choose from each list what looks good and makes sense for you. Besides, you probably have many of the ingredients in your kitchen now. And, once you're stocked, it's just a matter of replenishing the supply now and again. As time goes on, you will internalize the list and automatically know what's missing from week to week. Poultry, Meat, and Fish Depending on your preferences, keep the following in your refrigerator or freezer. Unless you plan to use it within a day or two of purchase, freeze all meat, poultry, and fish. They can be defrosted in the refrigerator or microwaved to room temperature at the last minute. Poultry * Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) * Whole chickens * Chicken wings * Turkey cutlets (or boneless skinless turkey breast that can easily be sliced into cutlets) * Ground turkey * Turkey or chicken sausages * Duck breasts Beef * Boneless New York strip steaks * Boneless rib-eye steaks * Filet mignons * Ground chuck Pork * Thick-cut boneless pork chops or boneless rib-end pork loin roast for cutting into chops * Pork tenderloin for cutting into medallions * Raw and cooked sausage (Italian, chorizo, andouille, or kielbasa) * Bacon * A hunk of deli-style baked ham (or turkey). After letting package after package of sliced-to-order deli meat spoil within a few days of purchase, I've started buying larger pieces of these meats. This way the meat lasts much longer, and I can cut it the way I want--slices for sandwiches, julienne for salads, small dice for omelets, and large dice for soup. If you can't use what you've bought within a week, divide it and freeze one half. Fish and Shellfish * Shrimp * Any fish fillet, such as thick flounder, catfish, snapper, tilapia, grouper, or other thin, white-fleshed fish * Any fish steak, such as tuna, swordfish, or salmon * Jumbo dry scallops * Littleneck, top neck, or small cherrystone clams, eaten within a day or two of purchase * Mussels, eaten within a day or two of purchase Food for the Freezer * Frozen green peas, spinach (two 10-ounce packages of spinach serve four people), and corn. On the nights when the vegetable bin is low or you need an instant vegetable, it's nice to look in the freezer and find something. It's also good to have corn on hand for soups and chowders, and for freshening up quick polenta. * Good-quality bread. Well-made bread can turn a good meal into a great one. I shop for bread once every couple of weeks. I buy and freeze at least four baguettes, some crusty rolls for soup, and often a loaf of raisin bread or challah for breakfast. * A quart of premium vanilla ice cream. Having a quart of vanilla ice cream in the freezer is like having a little black dress in the closet. Adorned or not, it's the ultimate quick dessert. * Two packages of frozen fruit such as strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries. With frozen fruit on hand you can have a cobbler in the oven in ten minutes. They're also handy for baking a batch of muffins on the weekend. * Frozen puff pastry. This is one of my favorite convenience products. If I've got a sheet of puff pastry, I can whip out turnovers, tarts, and quick cookies with very little effort and no recipe. Food for the Refrigerator * Buy fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits that keep well, then store them properly. * In addition to seasonal fruits and vegetables, I almost always have the following on hand: Carrots Cucumbers Celery Red or yellow peppers Parsley and other fresh herbs on occasion Cabbage Lemons Romaine hearts and other lettuces Limes* Although the following vegetables are not stored in the refrigerator, they are included in this section. For extended life, keep them in a cool, dark place. Baking potatoes At least one red onion Red boiling potatoes A couple of heads of garlic A bag of yellow onions GingerrootBesides low-fat milk, I keep the following dairy items in the refrigerator: * Milk * Eggs * Butter * Buttermilk. Since it has a relatively long shelf life, I use it for pancakes, muffins, biscuits, and corn muffins * Heavy cream. Like buttermilk, heavy cream has a long shelf life and it's great to have around for impromptu entertaining and simple pan sauces * Three or four cheeses of your choice. A good sharp cheddar, some sort of blue or goat cheese, a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a bar of cream cheese are my favorites. * Low-fat plain yogurt for making yogurt cheese and desserts. If not used for those purposes, it can always be sweetened and eaten for breakfast. Food for the PantryGeneral Pantry * Large and small cans of low-sodium chicken broth * Bottled clam juice * Cans of crushed and whole tomatoes packed in purée * Canned tuna * Canned clams * Anchovies or anchovy paste * Evaporated milk * Peanut butter * Honey * jam and/or jelly * Dried mushrooms * Oils: olive, sesame, and vegetable * 1 jar roasted red peppers * Pastas: spaghetti, macaroni, egg noodles, and couscous * Grains: long-grain white rice, instant polenta * Dijon mustard * Capers * Vinegars: red and white wine, balsamic, and rice wine * Ketchup * Barbecue sauce * Bottled horseradish * Soy sauce * Asian fish sauce * Marinated artichokes * Canned beans: black, white, and chickpeas * Mayonnaise * Dried breadcrumbs * Dried fruit: raisins or currants and cranberries * 1 jar each: piquant black olives such as kalamata and green olives Baking * All-purpose flour * Salt * Cornmeal * Granulated sugar * Light or dark brown sugar * Baking powder * Baking soda * Unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate * Chocolate chips * Unsweetened cocoa powder * Vanilla extract Herbs and Spices * Basil * Bay leaves * Ground black pepper * Ground cinnamon * Ground cloves * Ground cumin * Curry powder * Herbes de Provence * Ground nutmeg or whole nutmeg for grating fresh * Oregano * Hot red pepper flakes * Sage leaves * Dried thyme leaves Read more