Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniques is your road map to cooking success. A comprehensive guide to basic tools and equipment for the home kitchen, with special features explaining the differences among cookware materials and a primer on cutlery styles and uses, and a step-by-step tutorial on key cooking tasks--cutting vegetables into a variety of shapes; boning and skinning a chicken breast; filling and frosting a layer cake and moreit is a must-have for every kitchen.Also included are more than 50 recipe staples: perfect poached salmon, classic roast chicken, homemade chicken and beef stock, and dozens of vinaigrettes and sauces. Even when using a recipe from another cookbook, Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniqueswill be your guide to scores of kitchen tasks. With friendly explanations of 250 techniques, 200 tools, and over 1500 full-color photographs, whether you are anovice inthe kitchen or a seasoned home cook, this book is the ultimate source of kitchen wisdom.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Newens is a Certified Culinary Professional, and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.
Thomas Keller was named "America's Best Chef" by "Time magazine and is the only person to receive consecutive "Best Chef" awards from the James Beard Foundation. "The French Laundry Cookbook (Artisan, 1999) won an IACP trifecta: "Cookbook of the Year," "Best First Cookbook," and "Best Photography." Keller has opened a Bouchon at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and two Bouchon Bakeries--one in Napa and one in New York City, where he has also opened Per Se.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tools & Techniques.
If anyone has read my blog or any of my equipment reviews here, you know I'm a kitchen gadget junkie. I also have a number of cookbooks. Would Tools & Techniques be worth it? You betcha.
This book is wonderful! You can find beautiful food photography throughout the book. It is truly a reference worth adding to your kitchen library. You can use it to replace whatever general cookbook you're using, like the Betty Crocker Cookbook or the Better Homes & Garden's Cookbook. Trust me.
Tools
While not quite exhaustive, this book is quite comprehensive. There about 50 pages dedicated to tools. The book provides a brief description of each tool and, in some cases, instructions for use. Everything is well-written and easy to understand. This book doesn't go into the same level of detail about the "how" something works like Alton Brown's Gear. Additionally, Gear is Brown's philosophy about exactly what you need in your kitchen. Tools & Techniques makes no such recommendation. It's understood that you should buy it all (it is a Williams-Sonoma book.)
The sections are:
-Bakeware: baking sheets; pie & tart pans; cake pans; and other bakeware
-Bakeware Materials
-Baking Tools: pie & pastry tools and cake-baking tools
-Cook's Tools: general tools; bowls; graters & shredders; strainers; fish & shellfish tools; meat & poultry tools; fruit & vegetable tools; and specialty tools
-Cookware: basic cookware & specialty cookware
-Cookware Materials
-Cutlery & Accessories: basic knives; specialty tools; cutting tools; sharpeners & honing devices; and other cutlery and accessories
-Knife Construction
-Electrics: blenders, mixers & food processors and specialty electrics
-Grilling Tools: basic grilling tools and grilling accessories
-Measuring Tools & Timers: measuring tools and thermometers
-Pasta & Bread Equipment: pasta equipment and bread & pizza equipment
Techniques
The majority of the book is spent on techniques. There are 312 different techniques and recipes. These range from the basic like whipping cream to the advanced like puff pastry. I found the fish and pasta section to be robust. I would have liked to see an herb guide (pairing herbs with foods) and the meat maps that show where the various cuts are on the animals.
The sections are:
-Baking & Pastry Basics
-Breads & Batters
-Cakes
-Cookies & Bars
-Cooking Basics
-Egg Cookery
-Fish
-Fruit
-Grains & Legumes
-Grilling Basics
-Herbs & Spices
-Knife Skills
-Meat
-Pasta
-Pies & Tarts
-Poultry
-Sauces
-Shellfish
-Stocks
-Vegetables
I recommend this book to almost everyone. If you have only one cookbook, get this one. If you are a beginning cook, get this one. If you are an intermediate cook, get this one. If you're advanced and already know how to make puff pastry, French lamb and make choux pastry, you don't need this book.
If anyone has read my blog or any of my equipment reviews here, you know I'm a kitchen gadget junkie. I also have a number of cookbooks. Would Tools & Techniques be worth it? You betcha.
This book is wonderful! You can find beautiful food photography throughout the book. It is truly a reference worth adding to your kitchen library. You can use it to replace whatever general cookbook you're using, like the Betty Crocker Cookbook or the Better Homes & Garden's Cookbook. Trust me.
Tools
While not quite exhaustive, this book is quite comprehensive. There about 50 pages dedicated to tools. The book provides a brief description of each tool and, in some cases, instructions for use. Everything is well-written and easy to understand. This book doesn't go into the same level of detail about the "how" something works like Alton Brown's Gear. Additionally, Gear is Brown's philosophy about exactly what you need in your kitchen. Tools & Techniques makes no such recommendation. It's understood that you should buy it all (it is a Williams-Sonoma book.)
The sections are:
-Bakeware: baking sheets; pie & tart pans; cake pans; and other bakeware
-Bakeware Materials
-Baking Tools: pie & pastry tools and cake-baking tools
-Cook's Tools: general tools; bowls; graters & shredders; strainers; fish & shellfish tools; meat & poultry tools; fruit & vegetable tools; and specialty tools
-Cookware: basic cookware & specialty cookware
-Cookware Materials
-Cutlery & Accessories: basic knives; specialty tools; cutting tools; sharpeners & honing devices; and other cutlery and accessories
-Knife Construction
-Electrics: blenders, mixers & food processors and specialty electrics
-Grilling Tools: basic grilling tools and grilling accessories
-Measuring Tools & Timers: measuring tools and thermometers
-Pasta & Bread Equipment: pasta equipment and bread & pizza equipment
Techniques
The majority of the book is spent on techniques. There are 312 different techniques and recipes. These range from the basic like whipping cream to the advanced like puff pastry. I found the fish and pasta section to be robust. I would have liked to see an herb guide (pairing herbs with foods) and the meat maps that show where the various cuts are on the animals.
The sections are:
-Baking & Pastry Basics
-Breads & Batters
-Cakes
-Cookies & Bars
-Cooking Basics
-Egg Cookery
-Fish
-Fruit
-Grains & Legumes
-Grilling Basics
-Herbs & Spices
-Knife Skills
-Meat
-Pasta
-Pies & Tarts
-Poultry
-Sauces
-Shellfish
-Stocks
-Vegetables
I recommend this book to almost everyone. If you have only one cookbook, get this one. If you are a beginning cook, get this one. If you are an intermediate cook, get this one. If you're advanced and already know how to make puff pastry, French lamb and make choux pastry, you don't need this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you like to cook, you will LOVE this book!!! It is perfect for the beginner to advanced home cook or aspiring chef. The beautiful photographs accurately depict the clearly written instructions for an extremely wide array of techniques. It is the book I have been searching for - I highly recommend it :)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Tools & Techniques is a very well written book. The area on tools is very informative and the techniques areas are very helpful. The authors even provide a few receipes throught which I found helpful and have already tried. It is also a well made book with glossy pages and ample photos. Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Helpful for a beginner
I thought this book would give tips and techniques for some tricky or complicated dishes, but it was more of a "cooking for dummies" kind of thing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by L. Goss
Gorgoues and informative
Loved this book. It has all the answers you need and quite beautiful to just browse through. I would recommend as a gift for any avid cook.
Published 7 months ago by AliB
GREAT BOOK FOR COOKING BASICS
This book is a great reference tool when looking to improve on your basics of cooking. If you want to have a cookbook in a stand on your counter this should be the one. Read more
Published 10 months ago by AZJAY
Tools & Techniques
Exactly what I was looking for, a wonderfully informative book that lives up to the title. The first half is filled with photos and descriptions of kitchen tools both simple and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by jennifer moser
Great cookbook! It will boost your confidence in the kitchen!
I just received this book from Amazon and I can't get over how much I love it! If this book is anything, it is a confidence builder. Read more
Published 16 months ago by mpqtpie
Cooking at Home
This book is excellent for information for any at home cook or chef. I am a culinary student and really like the information it provides and answers questions that I am looking... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Greg Long
Decent reference book
Its a good reference book.The only thing I'm amazed at is how much butter they use!! They could have used some alternatives. Gave me lists of pots that I need to get. Very nice.
Published 20 months ago by D. Crosby
Excellent
I borrowed this book from my public library and will now buy it. The book has an excellent comprehensive list of techniques that are well explained through words and step-by-step... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Mr. Scott D. Smith
Wonderful purchase!!
I was super happy with my purchase! I was very impressed with the wonderful condition of my book when it arrived. The seller provided me with a great experience! Five stars!!!
Published on November 23, 2009 by G. Carroll
william sonoma has it all
A friend and I shopped in Charlotte, NC this past Fall and stopped in our favorite store. Which happened to be the main reason we went to Charlotte in the first place. Read more
Published on January 3, 2009 by K. C. Hambrick
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
