Salt to Taste: The Key to Confident, Delicious Cooking [Hardcover]

Marco Canora (Author), Cathy Young (Author), John Kernick (Photographer), Tom Colicchio (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

The key to confident cooking lies not in learning to follow intricate recipes but rather in mastering a select handful of truly appealing yet straightforward dishes that invite experimentation and improvisation to reflect the seasons and the cook’s own palate.

In Salt to Taste, Chef Marco Canora presents a tempting repertoire of 100 soulful recipes that embody this philosophy perfectly: food that is comforting and familiar but with a depth of flavor and timeless appeal that mark the dishes as true essentials of the contemporary table. Each meticulously written recipe offers insightful lessons drawn both from memories of his mother’s cooking and his years as one of New York’s most respected chefs, guiding the way to a delicious dish every time. Extensive chef’s notes suggest ways to streamline the process and enhance the savory results, marrying the precision of the professional kitchen with the warmth of home cooking.

Those looking to elevate their cooking from merely good to truly spectacular will find much here to inspire them, while those in need of culinary coaching will learn that creating greatness is within reach. With a little forethought, care, practice, and observation, any cook can quickly gain the confidence to "salt to taste."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marco Canora is the co-owner and executive chef of New York’s Beard-nominated Hearth, Insieme (the recipient of a Michelin star), and Terroir restaurants and, prior to striking out on his own, held various positions in such highly regarded kitchens as Grammercy Tavern and the famed Cibreo in Florence, Italy. He was the original chef of Craft restaurant, which won a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant during his tenure there, and oversaw the menus of Craftbar and Craftsteak in Las Vegas.

Catherine Young, a former editor at Saveur magazine, is a food writer who has worked on a number of award-winning cookbooks and contributed articles and recipes to many food publications.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594867801
• ISBN-13: 978-1594867804
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #343,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sensory Feast, November 10, 2009

By 

New York City cook (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Salt to Taste: The Key to Confident, Delicious Cooking (Hardcover)

From the recipes, to the photos, to the simple, clear writing, this book is wonderful. It will be my Christmas gift for all my cooking friends (and may end up under the tree of a few who don't cook, but who will enjoy its beauty).

Canora and Young provide a totally readable and thoughtful explanation of how to achieve great taste from cooking simple food at home. They explain, for example, something like soffritto (you know, that base of onion, carrots, and celery, for so much of Italian cooking), so you understand its importance and what difference it makes to cook it shorter or longer. This kind of seemingly basic information and its philosophy of cooking makes me keep opening it to read and to cook. The parsnip soup is on the stove right now and it is so delicious.

Buy this book!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Room on Your Shelf for This Wonderful Cookbook!, November 29, 2009

By 

E. Samuels "Book lover" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Salt to Taste: The Key to Confident, Delicious Cooking (Hardcover)

I have more cookbooks than I could possibly use in a lifetime (a lifetime that lasts 500 years), and this book is one of those rare finds that I now reach for on a regular basis. The book is beautifully presented with great pictures and actually interesting and helpful passages on technique, all of which make the book a great coffee table book, but then you get to the recipes and all I can say is "WOW!!!!!". There's something here for everyone, a bolognese that takes over 4 hours (and is actually worth the time --- YUM!!!!!) to a delicious and simple penne with butter, parmigiana and sage that is not only tasty and pretty enough to serve to company but easy enough to throw together at the end of a long day at work (it also has the clean, straight forward tastes that will please even a small child). This cookbook is definitely a keeper that you will reach for time and again and will become stained with the evidence of use; a crumpled page from liquid spillage here, and a little tomato sauce stain there - - evidence that, in my opinion, shows that a cookbook is actually used and worth taking up a space on the shelf.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sensational Cookbook, November 4, 2009

By 

TRP (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Salt to Taste: The Key to Confident, Delicious Cooking (Hardcover)

I've had the pleasure of eating Marco Canora's food at both Craft and Hearth and have long wondered how he coaxes such intense flavor from such simple ingredients. In SALT TO TASTE, Mr. Canora's secrets are revealed. This book is chock-full of delicious recipes and useful techniques for the home cook. Better still, it's as much fun to read as to cook from. My copy is only a week old and is already splattered and grimy and looks like hell. In my house, that's the sign of a fine cookbook. Very highly recommended.