How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food Book

Acknowledgments

Introduction
The five distinct elements of good cooking, and why simple things are best.

Equipment
What does the well-equipped kitchen need to prepare great meals? Not much, it turns out. Here's a list of the basics, and why you need each one--or why you don't.

Techniques
Cooking doesn't require a lot of fancy knifework, but there are a few basic skills worth knowing. They're all described here.

Appetizers
For snacks, entertaining, and formal dinners, here are simple appetizers to be eaten with forks, toothpicks, or fingers, from Roasted Buttered Nuts to Vegetable Tempura to dips and chips.

Soups
The easiest and most leisurely of all substantial foods, soups are also the most flexible: They can be made in advance, frozen, cooked halfway and finished later, and practically ignored. Plus, stocks made easy.

Salads
Few meals are quicker to make than salads, and once you know the basic rules--and the essentials of salad dressings--the process is easier than ever.

Pasta
A near-countless assortment of pasta recipes and variations, with rules for improvising so that you can always make a pasta dish--regardless of how little food there seems to be in the house. Plus the basics of Asian noodle dishes, with recipes.

Grains
The simplest, most straightforward side dishes from some of the earth's most basic and healthy foods. Or: Carbs beyond rice and potatoes.

Breads
Learn how to tailor bread-making to your own busy schedule--the food processor and new strains of yeast make it easier than ever. Plus, dozens of quick breads, muffins, and biscuits--most in under an hour.

Pizza, Bruschetta, Sandwiches, Pitas, and Burritos
Yes, you can make pizza at home, and the possible toppings go way beyond what you can get anywhere else. With quick sandwiches, burritos, pitas, and more.

Fish
Have fear of fish? Conquer it here--how to buy, how to store, and how to cook, with scores of descriptions of individual fish and shellfish and plenty of simple, foolproof recipes.

Poultry
America's new favorite meat is a blank canvas--here's how to make it taste great, with every technique explained in detail and more recipes than you'll ever need.

Meat
Beef, pork, veal and lamb--the traditional favorites prepared in old and new ways, with an emphasis on hearty flavors and simple preparations.

Beans
The good news: You don't have to soak. Beans are convenient, ultra-healthy, and, with these recipes, delicious.

Vegetables
Confused by the wild assortment in the supermarket produce section? Here are descriptions of every vegetable you're likely to find, with cooking instructions and simple, delicious recipes for all of them.

Fruits
A guide to "new" and old fruits, with detailed preparation advice and a host of fruit-first recipes.

Desserts
These are the old-fashioned beauties: custards, puddings, ice creams, and sorbets, from plain to fancy. Plus a few dessert sauces.

Pies, Tarts, and Pastries
Classic pastries, from Apple Pie to Strawberry Tart, made easy, with clear directions about making the best-tasting, most foolproof crusts.

Cookies, Brownies, and Cakes
Easy recipes for favorite baked goods. Check this out for desserts, or for baking with the kids.

Eggs, Breakfast, and Brunch Dishes
Eggs remain the fastest, most convenient high-quality protein source around. Here's how to prepare them perfectly, with a minimum of fuss Plus pancakes, waffles, and granola.

Sauces, Salsas, and Spice Mixtures
Quick, simple mixtures to grace everything, from pasta to the most basic grilled or broiled dishes. Salsas, pestos, classic sauces, and many more.

Beverages
From coffee to brandy, a primer on beverages of all kinds and how to make and serve them.

Menus
Quick Recipes
Glossary
Fifty Cookbooks I'd Rather Not Live Without
Mail-Order Sources
List of Illustrations
Index