Part autobiography, part culinary history, Steal the Menu is former New York Times food editor Raymond Sokolov’s account of four decades of eating. From his pathbreaking dispatches on nouvelle cuisine in France to finding top-notch Chinese dishes at a New Jersey gas station to picking the brain of the most Michelin-starred chef in the world, Sokolov captures the colorful characters and mouth watering meals that define food today. Throughout, he shares a lifetime of personal anecdotes, including infuriating President Nixon’s daughter over a wedding cake, as well as prescient observations on one of the most tumultuous—and exciting—periods in gastronomic history.
Here is the first book all the great sauces of practical, workable system. Raymond Sokolov, the widely admired former Food Editor of The first to point out that the hitherto mysterious saucier's art, as practiced by the best restaurant chefs, is based on what amounts to an elegant "fast food" technique. And this is what he demonstrates in his unique, useful, and witty book: -- How to prepare, at your leisure, the three fundamental classic sauces (the "mother" sauces from which all others evolve: Brown, White, and Fish Veloute)... -- How to freeze them in one-meal-size containers, ready for use at a moment's notice... -- How to transform any of these basic put-away sauces, quickly and easily, into the exact ones that French chefs are famous for and serve in the finest restaurants... -- How to prepare the classic dish for which each sauce is traditionally used, with suggestions for enhancing simpler fare (the recipes run the gamut from Duckling a la Bigarade to Poached Eggs Petit-Duc -- that is, with Chateaubriand Sauce). Mr. Sokolov has conceived, then, a comprehensive collection of recipes -- authoritative, clear, and easy to follow -- as well as an inventive method of cooking for the average kitchen. Peppered with culinary lore and with reassuring accounts of the author's own experiences as a modern-day Saucier's Apprentice, here is a book that will appeal to every good amateur cook who wants to produce sumptuous fare at home for occasions great and small.
When Christopher Columbus stumbled upon America in 1492, the Italians had no pasta with tomato sauce, the Chinese had no spicy Szechuan cuisine, and the Aztecs in Mexico were eating tacos filled with live insects instead of beef. In this lively, always surprising history of the world through a gourmet's eyes, Raymond Sokolov explains how all of us -- Europeans, Americans, Africans, and Asians -- came to eat what we eat today. He journeys with the reader to far-flung ports of the former Spanish empire in search of the points where the menus of two hemispheres merged. In the process he shows that our idea of "traditional" cuisine in contrast to today's inventive new dishes ignores the food revolution that has been going on for the last 500 years. Why We Eat What We Eat is an exploration of the astonishing changes in the world's tastes that let us partake in a delightful, and edifying, feast for the mind."--Publisher's description.
A fully revised and updated edition of Raymond Sokolov's classic kitchen primer for beginning chefs of all ages, filled with 150 simple, sophisticated recipes, easy–to–learn techniques, and indispensable advice. First published in 1986, Ray Sokolov's How To Cook is the ultimate book for beginning cooks of all ages. Unlike most kitchen primers, How To Cook does not assume any prior cooking instruction or skills, but rather guides the reader through the entire cooking process with simple explanations in ordinary language. There are no fancy cooking terms or special gadget here, just easy, indispensable techniques and foolproof recipes for every occasion. In this revised paperback edition, Sokolov addresses the increased sophistication of even adamant non–cooks in today's food–obsessed climate, while he sticks to the unfussy, straightforward approach that made the original such a hit. Home cooks will learn everything they need for years worth of fabulous meals, from how to decipher recipe measurements, to how to fry an egg, to how to steam a lobster. Even readers weaned on frozen pizza will find recipes they can master, for last minute meals, special occasions and entertaining, and even holidays–all made from scratch with fresh, accessible ingredients. Experienced cooks will appreciate the simple elegance of such flavorful dishes as Veal Scallopini or Pears Poached in Red Wine. Written with Sokolov's trademark wit and wisdom, How To Cook is an invaluable kitchen classic you'll turn to again and again.
Raymond Sokolov applies to vegetables the original concept of his book THE COOK'S CANON: 101 Classic Recipes Everyone Should Know, fusing imaginative recipes with a wealth of food lore. His more than 40 years' experience as a cookbook author and food historian provide a wealth of background for vegetable recipes from around the world, from traditional American (succotash) to Chinese (Sichuan spicy tofu) as well as French (Spinach Mornay) and Italian (Pasta e faglioli). All the recipes are high points of the culinary imagination, great dishes in which vegetables are the featured ingredient. This is not a vegetarian cookbook. Many of the recipes include meat, but with the vegetables at center stage. For each vegetable discussed and each recipe, Sokolov provides historical and cultural background with many witty comments based on his wide reading in food history and his training as a classicist. Classic Comparisons: CHEZ PANISSE VEGETABLES by Waters, Harper, 1996, $35, 0060171472 (113,914cc, isis) VEGETABLES by Peterson, Morrow, 1998, $35, 0688146589 (27,191cc, isis)
In the early 1980s, on assignment from the American Museum of Natural History, Raymond Sokolov crisscrossed America in search of traditional regional cuisines. He returned with a cornucopia of recipes that few at the time seemed eager to preserve--recipes such as boudin blanc, persimmon fudge, and, for the truly adventurous, roast bear paws. The essays here collected were meant to celebrate these vanishing, quintessentially American foods. Since its first publication, however, Fading Feast has proven to be not a farewell, but the forerunner of renewed interest in these regional treasures. Written with panache and gusto--and featuring eleven essays not included in the original version--this new edition is as timely and entertaining now as when Sokolov first set out to record our native culinary customs.
Covering every major skill and technique needed to cook well, this guide provides step-by-step demonstrations that encompass dishes from scrambled eggs to Christmas goose
A lavishly illustrated look at the history and traditions of Jewish cooking features 135 fully-illustrated recipes, as well as witty commentary by the former food editor of The New York Times.
A cookbook that focuses on grain-based dishes, low in fat, low in cholesterol, & high in fiber. The recipes use the five major grains -- wheat, corn, rice, oats, & barley -- for starters, the center of a meal, important accompaniments, or desserts. Also uses the seven minor grains: amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, rye, tef & wild rice. Includes information about the origins & cultivation of different grains. "A wonderful book that makes a genuine contribution to the literature of food & opens new horizons for eating sensibly & enjoying it." Illustrated.
Fun to read and filled with helpful information, this cookbook for beginning cooks of all ages explains basic processes in ordinary language. The 150 simple recipes are, for the most part, the basic foods of American tradition, ranging from fried eggs to chicken soup to steamed lobster and apple pie. Illustrations.
From the bestselling author of THE LAST TEMPLAR, an action-packed adventure thriller of an ancient mystery and its deadly impact on the present. Siberia, 1916. A mine turns into a bloodbath when its miners attack each other, savagely and ferociously. Minutes later, two men - a horrified scientist and infamous Russian mystic Rasputin - hit a detonator, blowing up the mine to conceal all evidence of the carnage. New York, present day. FBI agent Sean Reilly is tasked with a new, disturbing case. A Russian embassy attaché seems to have committed suicide by jumping out of a fourth-floor window. The apartment's owners have gone missing, while a faceless killer roams New York City, leaving a trail of death in his wake. Reilly's investigation uncovers a deadly search for a mysterious device whose origins reach back to the darkest days of the Cold War and to Imperial Russia and which, in the wrong hands, could have a devastating impact on the modern world.
Raymond Khoury, the international bestselling author of The Last Templar, is back with another ingenious, fast-paced thriller that straddles present-day NYC and Russia in the early 1900s—the time of the infamous Rasputin and his mysterious rise to power. FBI special agent Sean Reilly is tasked with a delicate case. A Russian diplomat seems to have committed suicide by jumping out of a sixth-floor window in Queens, New York. The apartment’s owners are missing, while a faceless killer known only as Koschey—“the Deathless”—is roaming the city and leaving a trail of death in his wake. Joined by Russian FSB agent Larisa Tchoumitcheva, Reilly’s investigation soon uncovers a deadly, desperate search for a mysterious device whose origins reach back in time to the darkest days of the Cold War and to Imperial Russia. A device that, in the wrong hands, could have a devastating impact on our world. Packed with the twists and suspense, the impeccable historical research, and the present and past story lines that Khoury’s fans have come to expect, Rasputin’s Shadow will keep readers turning pages long into the night.
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