How to Slice an Onion: Cooking Basics and Beyond--Hundreds of Tips, Techniques, Recipes, Food Facts, and Folklore [Hardcover]

Bunny Crumpacker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

If you can slice an onion, you can cook almost anything. That's the first premise of this book. There are dozens more, all underlining the happy thought that cooking is easier than they tell you it is.

 

The recipes and tips here--and there are many--are simple: it's flavor that counts, not a list of ingredients longer than a kitchen cabinet can bear. The methods are uncomplicated (mix vegetables and olive oil right in the roasting pan; why bother with a bowl?). Kitchen mythology, we learn, is one thing, and food history another. Mythology: the need for expensive slot-top box holders for knives. History: Did you ever wonder who Granny Smith was?

 

How to Slice an Onion demystifies the culinary arts, making cooking simple for the beginner and opening new possibilities for the experienced cook. It's a kitchen companion, a friend at hand when you stand at the stove, a fascinating and amusing look at the history of the food we eat, and a charming guide to the fundamentals and finer details of good home cooking.

 

For the beginner, the accomplished chef, and even for those who just like to read about food, this book is a good friend to have in the kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Author Crumpacker (The Sex Life of Food, Old-Time Brand Name Desserts, Old-Time Brand Name Cookbook) provides a running start for those new to the kitchen in this down-to-earth guide to cooking. Beginning with the properly sliced onion, Crumpacker explains the hows of cooking as well as the whys: readers will learn why roasting a chicken upside-down is preferable (it keeps the white meat moist), how you can salvage overcooked scrambled eggs (a little butter or sour cream), and the best way to crush tomatoes for homemade marinara sauce (by hand). These and other tips won't bowl over veteran cooks, but Crumpacker's simple advice will rapidly build cookery confidence in those used to dining on canned or pre-made products. Crumpacker manages to hit most of the high points, including vinaigrettes and sides, pastas, classic mains like pork chops and roast chicken, desserts and even simple infusions like Eau-de-Vie and Limoncello. Though bolstered with recipes, Crumpacker's crisp prose makes this volume a winner-the next best thing to having a chef at your side as you prepare to tackle a new dish.

Review

Advance Praise for HOW TO SLICE AN ONION:

 

"Beginning with the properly sliced onion, Crumpacker explains the hows of cooking as well as the whys: readers will learn why roasting a chicken upside-down is preferable (it keeps the white meat moist), how you can salvage overcooked scrambled eggs (a little butter or sour cream), and the best way to crush tomatoes for homemade marinara sauce (by hand)....Crumpacker’s simple advice will rapidly build cookery confidence in those used to dining on canned or pre-made products. Crumpacker manages to hit most of the high points, including vinaigrettes and sides, pastas, classic mains like pork chops and roast chicken, desserts and even simple infusions like Eau-de-Vie and Limoncello. Though bolstered with recipes, Crumpacker’s crisp prose makes this volume a winner—the next best thing to having a chef at your side as you prepare to tackle a new dish.

--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

Praise for Bunny Crumpacker and her books:

 

"Delectable."

--People

 

"Perfectly browsable, richly poetic."

--The Washington Post Book World

 

"Hilarious."

--The Wall Street Journal

 

"Simple, attractive recipes."

--John Thorne, Outlaw Cook and Simple Cooking

 

"Clever insights and lyrical aphorisms."

--Publishers Weekly

 

"Vivid and utterly fascinating."

--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312537182
• ISBN-13: 978-0312537180
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect for the beginner, but something for the expert, too, September 14, 2009

By 

Jilann S. Picariello "Bookaholic" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Slice an Onion: Cooking Basics and Beyond--Hundreds of Tips, Techniques, Recipes, Food Facts, and Folklore (Hardcover)

This book is all the things you wish your mother had taught you in the kitchen, but she probably didn't. Neither did I, as a matter of fact, which is why I got copies for both of my 20-something sons. I'm also getting a few copies as gifts for college grads, and even one friend who just turned 40 and says he wants to cook for himself for the first time. It's packed with good ideas and information--some of it things that I am learning for the first time, even though I've been cooking for 25 years!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like your best friend in the kitchen, September 10, 2010

By 

Dee Ess - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Slice an Onion: Cooking Basics and Beyond--Hundreds of Tips, Techniques, Recipes, Food Facts, and Folklore (Hardcover)

This super smart, practical, unpretentious little book is great not only for new cooks, but for old ones (like me). Cooking for a family large or small is different from cooking for one or two in lots of ways - for starters, motivation & appetites are way different & this book takes us by the hand & reintroduces us to the basic pleasures & purposes of cooking. Rules are rare, like "Don't put your knives in the dishwasher," no impossible standards or expensive equipment, just day-to-day easy, accessible & non-time-consuming sessions in the kitchen with an experienced, humorous, loving friend who also chats w/you about the stuff you're doing together. I LOVE this book.