That deep golden brown, slightly crisp surface and succulent, tender interior are the qualities of a perfectly cooked steak, chop, chicken breast, or fish fillet at a fine restaurant. You try to duplicate the recipe at home, but the flavors just aren't as rich, the textures just not quite as appealing. What do professional chefs know that you don't? The answer is searing, and it's shockingly easy to do it at home. Learn to sear, and you can create restaurant-quality dishes in your own kitchen. It's a must-have skill for all meat and seafood lovers, since it will enable you to coax the maximum flavor from each morsel of food. Searing requires very little prep or cooking time, very few ingredients and tools, and very little effort to turn out unbelievably impressive dishes. In 15 to 20 minutes, you can put together a fantastic meal. And that's what Seared to Perfection is all about. Cooking instructor Lucy Vaserfirer covers all the basics of this cooking technique in her introduction, including how to select ingredients and cookware. And then come the approximately 100 recipes, whose titles speak for themselves: Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Sauce. Flatiron Steaks with Sautéed Mushrooms. Brined Pork Chops. Duck Breasts with Blackberry-Port Sauce. Salmon Fillets with Green Peppercorn Sauce. And much, much more.
Seared to Perfection
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Editorial Reviews
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Lucy Vaserfirer teaches us how to master the art of searing, a technique little known outside the professional kitchen. For the first time home cooks will be able to successfully recreate restaurant-style dishes with the confidence of a chef. Seared to Perfection is a must for any serious home cook. -Janie Hibler, James Beard Award-winning author of Wild About Game, and founding member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals --Janie Hibler
Masterful yet practical, this book is a treasure. Well-written recipes and techniques are decisive and instructive, written in a warm and inviting come into my kitchen and cook with me voice. Pure Lucy and pure perfection. -Marie Simmons, James Beard Award-winning author of The Good Egg and Sur La Table's Things Cooks Love --Marie Simmons
Masterful yet practical, this book is a treasure. Well-written recipes and techniques are decisive and instructive, written in a warm and inviting come into my kitchen and cook with me voice. Pure Lucy and pure perfection. -Marie Simmons, James Beard Award-winning author of The Good Egg and Sur La Table's Things Cooks Love --Marie Simmons
About the Author
Lucy Vaserfirer is an Adjunct Instructor of cooking at Clark College in Vancouver, WA, and has taught home cooks and bakers for years. She has written for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cooking Schools & Teachers Section Membership Newsletter, Northwest Palate, and Hospitality News, and writes for her own educational food blog Hungry Cravings, an online resource for demystifying complicated cooking and baking techniques and offering delicious, foolproof recipes. She holds Le Cordon Bleu associate degrees in both culinary arts and patisserie & baking, as well as a Bachelors of Business Administration in marketing.
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More About the Author
Lucy Vaserfirer is a culinary educator, chef, recipe developer, food blogger, food stylist, food photographer, and the author of Flavored Butters: How to Make Them, Shape Them, and Use Them as Spreads, Toppings, and Sauces and Seared to Perfection: The Simple Art of Sealing in Flavor. Her entertaining and educational blog, Hungry Cravings, demystifies complicated cooking and baking techniques and offers delicious, foolproof recipes. Lucy teaches at Clark College in Washington and Mount Hood Community College in Oregon and has taught both home and professional cooks and bakers for years. A Le Cordon Bleu graduate with degrees in both culinary arts and patisserie and baking, she lives with her husband in Vancouver, Washington.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have been following the author's blog Hungry Cravings for a while now and this book is an extension of that blog, educating home cooks on the craft of cooking like a chef. While the book does not have a lot of photography her blog does!
This is a wonderful book that really has helped my cooking all around. Before reading this book and trying many of the recipes, I wouldn't actually get my pans hot enough for a proper Maillard reaction - the result? Dry, gray meats that aren't very tasty and aren't cooked through properly. I would constantly touch the food in the pan, moving it around and preventing it from searing properly. After reading the recipes and making a few mistakes, I realized I needed to stop fussing with the food and just let it cook. This helped greatly and now I am much more comfortable preparing foods than I was before.
Also, before really experimenting with this book I never made sauces with my meals. After cooking with this book and really paying attention I have learned how to make sauces following recipes, but also the fundamentals of sauce making so I am much more willing to try things on my own.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for great tasting and quick recipes (searing is a very quick preparation method), anyone who likes to cook and wants to increase their skill level or anyone who enjoys being in the kitchen.
This is a wonderful book that really has helped my cooking all around. Before reading this book and trying many of the recipes, I wouldn't actually get my pans hot enough for a proper Maillard reaction - the result? Dry, gray meats that aren't very tasty and aren't cooked through properly. I would constantly touch the food in the pan, moving it around and preventing it from searing properly. After reading the recipes and making a few mistakes, I realized I needed to stop fussing with the food and just let it cook. This helped greatly and now I am much more comfortable preparing foods than I was before.
Also, before really experimenting with this book I never made sauces with my meals. After cooking with this book and really paying attention I have learned how to make sauces following recipes, but also the fundamentals of sauce making so I am much more willing to try things on my own.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for great tasting and quick recipes (searing is a very quick preparation method), anyone who likes to cook and wants to increase their skill level or anyone who enjoys being in the kitchen.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Debby
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just received and read this cookbook, and it's worth the price. I've been following Lucy Vaserfirer's blog for some time, so I was happy to support her endeavor in writing a cookbook. I'm a food blogger, myself, but I cannot imagine writing a cookbook of my own. I'm simply don't have the time. With that said, I'm an aficionado of searing & roasting. It's how I cook, several time a week. Lucy give very clear instructions on the art of searing. This is a great book for beginners, and even for the more advanced (like me). No, I haven't made any recipes from here... yet. It's just a matter of time, but I can already tell by reading the ingredients that she has a great selection. The lamb chops with rosemary are first on my list of "must try". The only thing I didn't pay attention to, when I bought this book -- and I should have gotten the clue by the inexpensive price (under $13.00)is that the only photograph is on the front cover...which is quite tasty looking. I'm a highly visual person, so I need to try to draw on my imagination in making these. Of course, had she included color photographs with each recipe, the price point would have been at least $40.00 each. Overall, I'll keep the book and will come back to update once I've actually made some of the recipes. Searing is something I teach, myself, to students where I work. I'm glad she wrote this book, as I will recommended whenever I teach a class on searing.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book explains and teaches searing better than any book or text available. The Recipes are quite tasty and are easy to follow. The author explains the techniques so you can use in season available items and make a great dinner. I have enjoyed over a dozen of the recipes and used the techniques to create a few on my own. I highly recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By ec
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought several copies to give to friends as "searing" seems to be popular but no one knows how to do it well at home. My sister and I love seared Ahi - and I got tired of getting cooked Ahi.
Look forward to trying more recipes and hearing more from this young up and comer in the foodie world!
Look forward to trying more recipes and hearing more from this young up and comer in the foodie world!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Thuan Nguyen
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love love love this book. I have tried 4 recipes in the first weeek that I received the book, and they all turned out beautifully that I feel like I have been cooking for years. I flambed for the first time in my 51 years and found that it is not so scary after all with the instructions Lucy gives. I have only been cooking for 2 years and I am my worst critique, but I am very confident to use any one of these recipes for my guests. The ingredients are important in a recipe but just as important is the searing technique that Lucy teaches in this book. I am excited and looking forward to try out every recipe in this wonderful book!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Jose C
Format:Hardcover
First things first. This book is full to the gills with wonderful recipes and tips written in an easy to understand way that will appeal to skill sets from the new cook to the aspiring restaurateur. Breaking the book up by protein makes this also very easy to use with what you just have on hand in your pantry with very little extra ingredients needed.
Having cooked from the book I can also say that the recipes are top notch and taste great. While the focus is always clearly on the searing, Lucy never fails to give the accoutrements their due and everything contributes to dishes that taste great and end up teaching you much more than how to sear those scallops you wish you could cook like the pros on TV.
On top of all of that this is a ridiculously good deal for the price Amazon is charging. We've all been in the situation where we need to add a couple bucks to get that free shipping. Why not add this book instead of that CD you really don't want and get more than your money's worth!
Having cooked from the book I can also say that the recipes are top notch and taste great. While the focus is always clearly on the searing, Lucy never fails to give the accoutrements their due and everything contributes to dishes that taste great and end up teaching you much more than how to sear those scallops you wish you could cook like the pros on TV.
On top of all of that this is a ridiculously good deal for the price Amazon is charging. We've all been in the situation where we need to add a couple bucks to get that free shipping. Why not add this book instead of that CD you really don't want and get more than your money's worth!
By mburr
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I learned many things from this book, and often review the recipes and processes as I cook. Now that I understand searing, it all makes sense. Now I can cook meats that are moist and full of flavor. I love this author! Her new book on flavored butters is delightful.
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
