From the Bookshelf - Cooking Without a Recipe

Thursday June 11, 2009

©Scribner/Simon & Schuster

I realized that I was officially a "good cook" a few months after culinary school, when I found myself cooking up a delicious dish without having to look at a single recipe. Indeed, being able to look in the pantry and visualize a dish, or knowing instinctively what ingredients go with what, is the sign of an accomplished cook. And there seems to be an increasing number of cookbooks dedicated to helping home cooks achieve this type of confidence in the kitchen.

Two I've picked up recently include Ratio: The Secret Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman (Author of The Making of a Chef and The Soul of a Chef), and The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (Authors of Culinary Artistry). Ratio has an interesting concept: Ruhlman simplifies many complicated-seeming recipes, such as breads and doughs, custards, sauces and sausages, into a simple ratio. For instance, the ratio for bread is simply 5 parts flour to 3 parts water (plus yeast and salt, of course). Ruhlman explains the techniques behind making the various types of foods, and encourages readers to liberate themselves by experimenting. If you've always been nervous about cooking without the safety net of a recipe, this book will certainly demystify some of the science behind cooking, and help you feel free to experiment and improvise.

Meanwhile, The Flavor Bible expands on an idea that Dornenburg and Page touched upon in their books Culinary Artistry and What to Drink With What to Eat; indexing different ingredients with their complementary flavors. There's a section on regional and international flavor profiles, little essays from chefs about the idea of flavors and pairings, and a guide to different cuts of meat. If you're looking for recipes, you won't find any here; this book is truly intended as a reference and a jumping-off point for your own creations. For accomplished cooks who already have their techniques down pat, it'll be a great resource to get more inventive with their own creations.

What's your favorite non-recipe food reference book?

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