Notes on Cooking - A Short Guide to an Essential Craft

"Notes on Cooking" is a very useful, highly enjoyable collection of tips for any cook. You'll want to keep it by your stove to peruse as you're waiting for the water to boil.

"Notes on Cooking" provides in a concise format the kind of information you'd pay big dollars for in a professional cooking class. It's filled with advice, cooking tips, and philosophy related to the craft of cooking. You'll find common sense, but rarely thought of tips such as "Shop locally. If you are prone to seasonal allergies, buy and eat local honey. Local bees collect pollen from local flora. Eating continual small doses of their honey can act like a series of immunology injections, strengthening your tolerance and lessening your allergic discomfort." Also, restaurant secrets are shared such as "Dull food? Brighten with acid or salt. Enrich with fat. Restaurants use animal fat and salt to enhance flavor. Vinegar, lemon juice, finishing oils, butter, and sugar are also old standbys."

The tips are divided into 19 different category chapters including Tools & Equipment and Temperature. Some advice is organizational, other notes will give you perspective on thinking like a chef in your recipe preparations. The chapters organize the notes, but it's not the kind of book you can easily turn to as you're in the middle of a recipe. Instead, you need to treat this book more like a series of short lessons to read and absorb so that they become part of you without the need for reference.

"Note on Cooking" works on different levels. The novice chef will pick up advice to make him feel more competent in the kitchen. The experienced cook will find information that will help to make her even better. This is a unique book that will be appreciated by any foodie and would make a lovely host or hostess gift. Or pick one up for yourself so that you have something useful to read as you wait for the water to boil.