Think Like a Chef: A Cookbook

By Tom Colicchio

Book Overview

With Think Like a Chef , Tom Colicchio has created a new kind of cookbook. Rather than list a series of restaurant recipes, he uses simple steps to deconstruct a chef's creative process, making it easily available to any home cook. He starts with techniques: What's roasting, for example, and how do you do it in the oven or on top of the stove? He also gets you comfortable with braising, sautéing, and making stocks and sauces. Next he introduces simple "ingredients" -- roasted tomatoes, say, or braised artichokes -- and tells you how to use them in a variety of ways. So those easy roasted tomatoes may be turned into anything from a vinaigrette to a caramelized tomato tart, with many delicious options in between. In a section called Trilogies, Tom takes three ingredients and puts them together to make one dish that's quick and other dishes that are increasingly more involved. As Tom says, "Juxtaposed in interesting ways, these ingredients prove that the whole can be greater than the sum of their parts," and you'll agree once you've tasted the Ragout of Asparagus, Morels, and Ramps or the Baked Free-Form "Ravioli" -- both dishes made with the same trilogy of ingredients. The final section of the books offers simple recipes for components -- from zucchini with lemon thyme to roasted endive with whole spices to boulangerie potatoes -- that can be used in endless combinations. Written in Tom's warm and friendly voice and illustrated with glorious photographs of finished dishes, Think Like a Chef will bring out the master chef in all of us.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307406954
• ISBN13: 9780307406958
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.4" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

I love this book

First let me say that the roast chicken won me over on the peanut oil issue. Peanut oil and chicken are great together! That recipe is the simplest and if you are a beginner, that is one you should try at least once! I love how simple this book is. It really inspires me to go the the grocery and just wing it. To the reviewer who found him arrogant, I say he is no more arrogant than the NY chefs I've met! At least he's willing to give away his personal point of view so we can all benefit! One other thing, for the reviewer who didn't know what to replace with what -- savoy greens can be easily replaced by other greens or some other cabbage if necessary, as are many of the ingredients. If you have questions about this, see Rose Elliot's 'The Complete Vegetarian Cuisine' -- it has full-color pages of beautiful photographs of all the exotic grains, vegetables, legumes and greens, and how to use them, so you can learn what to replace things with.

More than just a cook book!

The thing I like most about this book is that its written in a way that makes the reader feel like their having a conversation with a good friend. The Chef starts by taking us through his learnings and experiences(I would have bought the book for this section alone, finding it interesting and entertaining) of his craft, then explains in layman's terms culinary phrases and definitions in a pleasant, easy to understand way. He then offers receipes that have few ingredients, yet turn out delicious dishes that are as appealing to the palate as they are to the eye, all while being relativly easy to prepare. I plan on buying this book for friends and family I know that have a passion for food and a desire to expand their culinary knowledge. Thank you Chef Colicchio!

ESSENTIAL FOR THE SERIOUS HOME COOK

Few cookbooks help you to understand how to achieve real excellence; this one does. Colicchio has a profound understanding of the importance of primary materials, and he always knows how best to treat them. His short rib with pickled hot peppers is sheer genius. His maxim "what grows together, goes together" has led him to novel combinations that become perfectly natural as soon as you try them. This is not a cookbook for beginners, or for people who want step-by-step simplicity. It is a book for people who think--for those who appreciate refinement, restraint, and purity of flavor.