No More Takeout by Stephen Hartigan

No More Takeout by Stephen Hartigan

Even the best takeout food gets boring after a while--and expensive. But how do people develop basic kitchen skills and become accomplished home cooks? This unique cookbook shows them the way, offering a complete illustrated guide to cooking basics and beyond. It provides more than 100 recipes--from simple to spectacular--and demonstrates how to prepare them using step-by-step full-color photographs. Chef Stephen Hartigan divides his recipes into three levels: Level I includes basic comfort foods and simple snacks; Level II ups the ante with more sophisticated skills and flavor twists; Level III goes for broke with elegant dishes to impress the family ...or that special someone. Written in lively, conversational style, the book includes nearly 400 color photos, advice on equipping a kitchen, sample menus with easy-to-follow game plans, and lots of helpful tips and sidebars. Stephen Hartigan (New York, NY) trained at top London restaurants and was named one of the top ten chefs in Ireland. Since moving to the U.S., he has worked at New York's Caf? Gray and as a private chef to a prominent entertainment attorney. Jerry Boak (New York, NY) is a freelance writer who has also worked at top restaurants in New York and Seattle.

This book offers an interesting concept: Imagine all the dishes you buy already prepared and would like to know how to makeUse the step-by-step photos here and you'll learn how. The authors are Stephen Hartigan, a private chef who has worked in top London restaurants, and Jerry Boak, a writer and web designer. To make the lasagna pictured on the cover, you'll see how to layer the tomato sauce, the ricotta mixture, and the noodles. An eggplant Parmesan takes you through the batter stages, into the pan, and then the baking dish. They really begin at the beginning: fried or scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes. Entrees include satay chicken skewers, meatballs, pork chops, quick chili. Desserts: lemon tart, special occasion cake. So many cooks, me among them, assume you know how to chop an onion, turn broccoli into florets, or separate an egg. These authors assume you know nothing. An accessible volume for anyone trying to wean himself from carry out. It's never very good! It's so expensive! Put down those keys and head to the kitchen. (The Boston Globe, April 22, 2009) These are men's cookbooks. Oh, they don't come right out and say it, but they're written by men, and those are men's hands in the photos, and the covers are a manly orange-and-brown. So all cooking men are the same? Heavens, no. One book is for Cooking Dude, the other for Cooking Wonk. The target audience of 'No More Takeout!' is not Cooking Dude yet. He's Reheating Dude, and he's beginning to realize he could do better. He's not likely to throw in with Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker, but a small, colorful do-it-yourself guide to cooking might catch his eye. Right upfront, No More Takeout stipulates that no cooking experience is needed. It starts with 20 pages of equipment and glossary - and then assumes that Dude is going to skip right to the cooking. So each recipe includes an equipment list and page-number keys for relevant techniques. It's a bit annoying, having to flip to page xxiv for a tutorial on sweating, but it allows the recipes to have airy display on one or facing pages. Level 1 has entry-level meals: fried eggs, baked potatoes, spaghetti with meat sauce. Level 2 is more involved (roasted chicken, veal Milanese), Level 3 challenging (pot stickers, pan-seared bass). All told, it's more than 100 recipes, including desserts, snacks and sides. Hearty is the most frequent description. Personal chef Hartigan and writer/designer Boak are generous with encouragement and predictions of impressed friends. In that way, it's like the cookbooks for young brides of 50 years ago, in the days before Dudes. (San Jose Mercury News, May 5, 2009)

Stephen Hartigan trained at top London restaurants, including The Ivy and Le Caprice, and was named one of the top ten chefs in Ireland. Since moving to the United States, he has worked at New York's Cafe Gray and is currently the private chef for prominent entertainment attorney Allen Grubman. He has finessed the fine art of cooking both comforting family meals and blowout party menus-sometimes even in the same day. He has cooked for dozens of celebrities, including Barbara Walters, Regis Philbin, Madonna, and Gwen Stefani. Jerry Boak is a freelance writer and Web designer. He has worked at top restaurants in New York and Seattle. He holds an MFA degree from Columbia University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780470169988
ISBN 10	0470169982
Title	No More Takeout
Author	Stephen Hartigan
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Year published	2009-04-23
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable