The Kitchen Companion

by Jim Haynes and Polly Clingerman

Book Overview

Kitchen clods everywhere will be grateful to Polly Clingerman, who has compressed 30 years of culinary experience into one handy reference volume. Her book does include more than 100 recipes. But the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0942320441
• ISBN13: 9780942320442
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: American Cooking Guild
• Length: 457 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Truly a Kitchen Companion!

This book was a gift to us from a few years ago. We refer to it all the time for cooking times, temperatures, etc. My favorite part is the substitutions list. Very informative, very helpful. It's a staple of our kitchen. We liked it so much, we bought it as a wedding present for some friends.

A Staple for Every Kitchen

A mark of a good cookbook is how worn it is (and how splotchy, flour-y and bendable) My Kitchen Companion is covered with flour, oil spots, and opens right up to the Basic Pancake recipe.Polly Clingerman is a marvel at explaining the most simple recipes without being patronizing (like for scrambled eggs) and the most ingenious delicacies without being complicated (like delices savoyardes). This book has saved me many frenzied trips to the grocery store because she includes many substitution tables (how to convert all-purpose flour into self-rising flour, for instance). It's also saved many meals that could have been ruined by adding too much salt or baking too long (she recommends adding a lot of whipped cream to burned desserts!).All in all, this has been a tremendous resource in every sense of the word, filled with over 100 yummy recipes and many more cooking tips. I can't wait to see what else she has written.

Best book in my kitchen!

I love this book. I've been cooking for 20 years, but found there were still plenty of gaps in my knowledge. This book fills those gaps. It's a terrific reference on everything from correct temperature to cook the "new pork" to microwaving to herb substitutions. I'm buying a copy for my sister for Christmas. I know this is one gift she will love.

The book you'll keep reaching for time and again!

I got this book as a gift and it's been such a wonderful resource in my own kitchen, that I've given it to several people as well. Almost any kitchen question you may have is answered in this terrific book.

fabulous for new cooks and experienced too

This book taught me more about cooking than 20 years experience had. It contains discussions and explanations of problems that can arise, along with solutions (or disguises, if there are no solutions). Each type of food is covered in a separate chapter, rather than being an alphabetical listing of short tips like the "Tiptionary". An excellent reference for any cook, and a great read for those interested in WHY the souffle falls ...