Customer Reviews

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best cookbooks I've ever had. My collection is now up to about 300 cookbooks, and this one ranks right up at the top. The organization is fantastic. In terms of usability, it is also excellent. Each recipe has the hours it will take to cook along with the serving size right in front. The directions could not be any clearer. The recipe chapters are organized by food type - vegetables, seafood, poultry and game, beef, veal, pork, lamb.

The recipes are easy. The author explains not only how, but why each step is taken. The recipes we've tried have turned out GREAT and our guests have been very impressed with the dinners we've served from this book.


I especially appreciated the explanations of the different types of cookware at the beginning of the book. A lot of topics I had questions about she answers -- types of meat cuts, braising vs. crock pot/slow cookers (she has about the same opinion of slow cookers as my Mom, who is another great cook - that it can be easy but generally has inferior results) and she has a nice resource section for purchasing items. I also liked the wine suggestions.

The photography is beautiful. This is a good book for both beginners and experienced cooks because it explains things in great detail and has the standard favorite recipes, but it also has a great selection of more unusual recipes that I've not seen in other cookbooks.

I'll be giving lots of these as gifts at Christmas.

Braising is the quintessential French cooking technique, as typical of Western Europe as stir-frying is of the Far East. Molly Stevens has given us an excellent book `All About Braising' which adheres to the very basic cooking principle that if you pay close attention to all the little details of good ingredients, your cooking will invariably improve. So, the book is almost as much about identifying and buying the best ingredients for braising as it is about braising itself.

The name `braising', based on `brazier' and heating on hot coals mislead me for years when I knew more about French than I did about cooking and before I started reading about cooking in earnest. I imagined it was a type of grilling when it's only real connection to hot coals is the very old technique of placing coals on the top of Dutch Ovens cast with rimmed lids to accommodate the coals.

It is also easy to confuse braising with stewing. Braising is a very well-defined method characterized by browning a relatively large cut of protein or vegetable, followed by cooking over a low, all-around heat with liquid extending about 1/3 the way up the height of the primary ingredient. The braising container is tightly lidded so that vapor does not escape the cooking pot and designed to encourage condensation to drip back down on the braised food. Some braising vessels are also designed to leave little very little headroom between the primary ingredient and the lid. Stewing is a much less well defined technique which does not require a lid and is generally done with much more liquid and smaller pieces of food than a braise.

The list of classic `comfort food' braised dishes is long and familiar to Western foodies, headed up by coq au vin, sauerbraten, braised lamb shanks, and osso bucco. And, these are just the headliners. Ms. Stevens gives us chapters on braising vegetables, seafood, poultry, beef, veal, pork, and lamb. I was not surprised to find recipes for braising vegetables as sauerkraut and other cabbage dishes are well-known braise ingredients, but I was surprised to find braises for fish and some veal cuts. Fish is great for all the fast cooking methods such as sautés, grills, broiling, and poaching. Overcooking is the most common danger with fin fish and shellfish cookery. But, the virtue of braising is that it is the premier cooking method for infusing a protein with flavor from the braising liquid and it is typically done at a relatively low temperature. That means that the principles behind poaching fish apply also to braises, in that you can cook fish to about 160 degrees Fahrenheit and keep it there almost indefinitely without its drying out.

As braising is a very clearly characterized cooking method with a long tradition behind it, it is not surprising that their many different cookpots have evolved to accommodate the method. Almost all of us foodies have an adequate arsenal of Dutch ovens made of either naked cast iron or the traditional French enameled cast iron. I am so in love with my Le Cruset enameled ironware, all my cast iron and Calphalon heavy aluminum ware is gathering dust. Most of us also have large lidded skillets, although I never thought of them as braising pots until I read this book. My fondest recent kitchenware discovery is the Le Cruset bistro pan in enameled cast iron. My two sizes acquired about two years ago are my most commonly used pots next to my 8-quart Dutch oven. Other pots commonly used for braises are braiser pans, typically of lined copper, buffet casseroles, gratin dishes (lidded with parchment paper or foil), and a Doufeu, a Dutch oven lookalike with a well in the lid to accommodate ice to help condense the cooking liquid in the braise.

If I were teaching cooking, I believe braising is the first technique I would teach, as it is evident from this book that the technique is very easy and it makes the very best use of less expensive cuts of meat. It is not a fast method, but it should be the method of choice when you need to feed a large family and you can be in the house while the dish is cooking. This does not mean there are no techniques you need to master, and the author explains the how and the why of braising better than anyone I have read to date, including my culinary hero, Alton Brown. The only little detail I have found unmentioned is the paradox braising shares with poaching in that if you overcook protein, even while sitting in liquid, all the fat and collagen will cook out of the meat fibers leaving it dry in the midst of water, stock, and wine. But, once you know the basics, braising strikes me as one of the very easiest techniques with which to improvise. As a long cooking method, the margin for error with the cooking time is very large and the risks are very small. The most common error will probably be nothing more than a somewhat too dry protein.

In spite of the fact that braising is a very easy technique, the author's directions for the recipes in this book are detailed in the extreme. This is another reason this is an excellent text for beginning cooks. Nothing is left to the imagination. Not only are the instructions detailed and clear, they are labeled with the names of all the traditional braising steps, so if you have read the introductory material well, you will be reminded of why you are doing each step. The author clearly states that crock pot methods are basically braises, but the author does not discuss the method in detail, and it is good she does not, as the differences are sufficient to warrant your searching out a good slow cooker book for that subject.

An excellent book I highly recommend for your kitchen cookbook shelf.

Coming together to eat from a communal pot a delicious meal with conversation, author Molly Stevens discovered was a significant part of her family and her life, thus this wonderful book.

On top of all this, the wonderful aromas generated over the hours of sumptuous, slow cooking provide additional blessings of braising meals. Her inspiration came from all over the globe, from informal to classic recipes.

Find, experiment and find wonderful culinary community experiences in this collection. I have already with the following: Pork Riblets in Vietnamese Caramel Sauce; Country-Style Pork Ribs Braised with Mango, Lime & Coconut; Osso Buco all Milanese; Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze; Chicken Do-Piaza (Indian Spiced Chicken Smothered in Onions); Tuna Pot Roast with Tomato, Basil & Capers; Creamy Braised Brussels Sprouts; The Simplest Potato & Leeks Braise.

With each delectable recipe comes great, thorough instructions, as well as wine/drink recommendations. Additionaly, there is frequent sidebar discussion on technique, ingredient, e.g. "using banana leaves." An excellent source listing as well as fantastic "An Opinionated Pantry."

This is large (421 pg.) resource that is easy and fun to use and will bring great response from your diners.

I purchased this cookbook when it first came out and have made numerous recipes all of which were great. A few of my favorites so far....Pork roast w/ apricots, cardamom & ginger; Zin Pot Roast; Veal shanks with rosemary and honey and whole chicken braised with pears & Rosemanry. The instructions, ingredients, and style of the recipes rank high in my opinion. Molly Stevens has produced a cookbook that offers sophisticated yet uncomplicated one dish meals glamourous enough for the best of company.

This was somewhat of an impulse buy for me as I was looking for a new book that I could get some Atkins-friendly recipes. Some of my favorite recipes are braises so I'm glad I was drawn to this book.

I have been very happy with the recipes I have tried so far: "Savoy Cabbage Gratin with Saint-Marcellin Cheese", "Soy Braised Chicken Thighs with Star Anise & Orange Peel", "Vietnamese Braised Scallops" and "Monkfish Braised with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil".

I was pleased with the section on what sorts of cookware can be used to braise. And I found the author's detailed instructions of cuts of meat to use ... with illustrations to be particularly helpful. The color photographs were appealing.

My only quibble would be in the actual quality of the book itself ... no dust jacket.

I am a busy professional bachelor that has always cooked for several days at a time and then used the microwave liberally - often with mediocre results. With its focus on simple recipes that usually keep well for days and tolerate reheating beautifully, this cookbook has changed the way I eat. Before I found it, I struggled to locate recipes that were both easy to prepare and kept well. No longer. Those 30-minute meal-type cookbooks are pathetic compared to this.

Some of my favorite recipes include:

World's Best Braised Green Cabbage - it takes about 5 minutes (not counting cooking time) and almost no money to prepare but is far superior to any stewed cabbage I've ever eaten.

Braised Potatoes with Garlic and Bay Leaves - it is the best preparation of Potatoes EVER and is easy to throw together. They are like hot, savory candy when they come out of the oven.

Creamy Braised Brussel Sprouts - a completely different and superior way to cook brussel sprouts.

Quick Lemony Chicken with Prunes and Green Olives - Yes, it has prunes in it, but it comes together like voodoo and is fantastic with twice baked potatoes and a green salad.

Chicken Do-Piaza - I often combine this with the recipe for Caulifower, Potatoes and Peas Indian-Style for a one-pot meal with amazing Indian flavors.

Pork Loin Braised in Milk - This recipe, which like many in the book has very few ingredients, turns a pork roast (it doesn't have to be a loin) into something that tastes like a giant piece of creamy, mild Italian sausage.

The recommendations for side dishes and wine pairings are excellent. I am just beginning to explore wines and this book has helped me make some excellent discoveries. You will find yourself justifying the purchase of a bottle of wine because the meals are so good that they deserve the respect.

Finally, please note that many of the recipes include one or more simple variations, further expanding the variety of dishes the book has to offer. For example, if you get tired of the potatoes with garlic and bay, try it with rosemary and beef stock instead. It is just as good!

Buy this book for yourself and all your closest friends, then set up a dinner club to explore all the recipes. You'll feel like instant gourmet cooks and gourmands - because you will be! Dinner will become an event to savor every night!

This has quickly become one of my favorite cookbooks. I had never prepared food this way but was intrigued when I saw the book while browsing in a bookstore. The recipies are excellent, the instructions clear and consistent in their methodology. Braising is not only a way to prepare inexpensive cuts of meat so that they taste fantastic; it is also a way to leave your hands free for company. Helpful recipes for stocks are also included. Not one of those cookbooks where you will use a fraction of the recipes -- this one is a keeper!

4 years later I am ready to order another copy as my first is falling apart.

It's hard to believe any book, whether it's a cookbook or any other type of book, receives 5 star reviews from everyone who reviews it. The reason that I gave it 5 stars is it is as much of a tutorial as it is a cookbook. Each and every aspect of braising is explained so well that you can accomplish the recipes with confidence and feel free to go above and beyond them.

I thought that braising was a technique to make a tough, otherwise useless cut of meat tender. How wrong I was. The book explains that there are two methods, Short Braising for ingredients such as: Radishes, Belgium Endive, Haddock, Tuna or Scallops and Long Braising for Beef, Pork, etc.

The equipment section is also excellent. Instead of telling you that a particular item is necessary, the author explains the many types of skillets and dutch ovens that would be adequate for braising. Not one pot or skillet will accomplish all types of braising and any cook with a well stocked kitchen may already have the equipment necessary for success.

I almost forgot to mention that almost every major ingredient has a sidebar in the book that explains what the item is, how to tell if it's fresh, how to store it, and so on. Belgium Endive is a great example as well as Habibut, Maple Syrup, Fennel, Artichokes, and the list goes on.

Once again, I will say that this is a fine addition to my cooking library, it will help me to increase my skill as a cook, and I want to thank Molly Stevens for it.

It's hard to pick a favorite cookbook, but this one is probably it for me. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Every recipe is dripping with flavors and fall-apart-in-your-mouth goodness.
2. Braising is hard to screw up. Everything is cooked until it falls apart, so it doesn't matter if you forget about it and it ends up cooking for an extra half hour.
3. Most of the recipes freeze well and are easy to make a lot of.
4. The recipes are flexible--leave something out, throw something extra in, it'll probably still be delicious.
5. Most of the recipes are reasonably healthy, especially if you cook in a cast iron dutch oven so you don't need much oil.
6. The book instills you with enough confidence to pick a bunch of ingredients and invent your own braises, which is a great way to use up leftover vegetables. The book is not just recipes--it's also a system of cooking that can be applied to anything.

This book works beautifully for me: on the weekends, when I have time, I can do one of the slow braises in quantity and enjoy it during the week; during the week, I can choose one of the quicker stove-top dishes and enjoy it right away. I love the book so much I have given it to many of my friends and, judging by their enthusiastic feedback so far, they would all give it 5 stars as well! Great book, great gift.