The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life

by Timothy Ferriss    (Find this book)
WHAT IF YOU COULD BECOME WORLD-CLASS IN ANYTHING IN 6 MONTHS OR LESS?

The 4-Hour Chef isn’t just a cookbook. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure guide to the world of rapid learning.

#1 New York Times bestselling author (and lifelong non-cook) Tim Ferriss takes you from Manhattan to Okinawa, and from Silicon Valley to Calcutta, unearthing the secrets of the world’s fastest learners and greatest chefs. Ferriss uses cooking to explain “meta-learning,” a step-by-step process that can be used to master anything, whether searing steak or shooting 3-pointers in basketball. That is the real “recipe” of The 4-Hour Chef.

You'll train inside the kitchen for everything outside the kitchen. Featuring tips and tricks from chess prodigies, world-renowned chefs, pro athletes, master sommeliers, super models, and everyone in between, this “cookbook for people who don’t buy cookbooks” is a guide to mastering cooking and life.

The 4-Hour Chef is a five-stop journey through the art and science of learning:

1. META-LEARNING. Before you learn to cook, you must learn to learn. META charts the path to doubling your learning potential.
2. THE DOMESTIC. DOM is where you learn the building blocks of cooking. These are the ABCs (techniques) that can take you from Dr, Seuss to Shakespeare.
3. THE WILD. Becoming a master student requires self-sufficiency in all things. WILD teaches you to hunt, forage, and survive.
4. THE SCIENTIST. SCI is the mad scientist and modernist painter wrapped into one. This is where you rediscover whimsy and wonder.
5. THE PROFESSIONAL. Swaraj, a term usually associated with Mahatma Gandhi, can be translated as “self-rule.” In PRO, we’ll look at how the best in the world become the best in the world, and how you can chart your own path far beyond this book.  --  Publisher Marketing

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat

by Bee Wilson    (Find this book)

Since prehistory, humans have braved sharp knives, fire, and grindstones to transform raw ingredients into something delicious—or at least edible. Tools shape what we eat, but they have also transformed how we consume, and how we think about, our food. Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous-vide of the modernist kitchen. It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating: a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks.

In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer Bee Wilson provides a wonderful and witty tour of the evolution of cooking around the world, revealing the hidden history of everyday objects we often take for granted. Knives—perhaps our most important gastronomic tool—predate the discovery of fire, whereas the fork endured centuries of ridicule before gaining widespread acceptance; pots and pans have been around for millennia, while plates are a relatively recent invention. Many once-new technologies have become essential elements of any well-stocked kitchen—mortars and pestles, serrated knives, stainless steel pots, refrigerators. Others have proved only passing fancies, or were supplanted by better technologies; one would be hard pressed now to find a water-powered egg whisk, a magnet-operated spit roaster, a cider owl, or a turnspit dog. Although many tools have disappeared from the modern kitchen, they have left us with traditions, tastes, and even physical characteristics that we would never have possessed otherwise.

Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture. The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor.  --  Publisher Marketing

Hungry Girl to the Max!: The Ultimate Guilt-Free Cookbook

by Lisa Lillien    (Find this book)

Go TO THE MAX with the most massive and complete Hungry Girl cookbook ever—-650 recipes from the guru of guilt-free eating! 

Consider this your HUNGRY GIRL BIBLE. In Hungry Girl to the Max!, Lisa Lillien has created a book that is a must-have for anyone who craves insanely delicious food without the high-calorie price tag! HG classics like large-and-in-charge egg mugs, oversized oatmeal bowls, crock-pot recipes, comfort foods, foil-pack dishes, and fast-food swaps are all here. You’ll also find single-serving recipes, dishes with five ingredients or less, meatless meals, and more. Including:

*Chili Cheese Egg Mug (195 calories)

*Cinna-Raisin Oatmeal (301 calories) 

*Over the Rainbow Pancakes (267 calories) 

*Onion Rings Parm (176 calories)

*Garlic-Bread White Pizza (289 calories) 

*Southwestern Meatloaf (232 calories) 

*Cheesed-Up Taco Turkey Burgers (219 calories) 

*Veggie-Loaded Cashew Chicken (318 calories) 

*Gooey-Good Fuji Apple Pie (159 calories) 

*Chocolate PB Pretzel Cupcakes (135 calories) 

. . . and SO much more!  --  Publisher Marketing

The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen

by America's Test Kitchen   (Find this book)
In this radical new approach to home cooking, we use science to explain what goes on in the kitchen. Unlike other food science books, we make a direct and practical connection between the science and the cooking. We divide the book into 50 core principles, support them through detailed yet friendly explanations, bring them alive with color illustrations and inventive experiments, and reinforce them through recipes that put the principle to work. At Cook's Illustrated, we've been asking why in the kitchen for over 20 years and often find our answers in science. We believe good science makes great food and that understanding basic science will make you a great cook.  --  Publisher Marketing

Secrets of the Best Chefs: Recipes, Techniques, and Tricks from America's Greatest Cooks

by Adams D Roberts    (Find this book)
Some people say you can only learn to cook by doing. So Adam Roberts, creator of the award-winning blog The Amateur Gourmet, set out to cook in 50 of America's best kitchens to figure out how any average Joe or Jane can cook like a seasoned pro. From Alice Waters's garden to José Andrés's home kitchen, it was a journey peppered with rock-star chefs and dedicated home cooks unified by a common passion, one that Roberts understands deeply and transfers to the reader with flair, thoughtfulness, and good humor: a love and appreciation of cooking. Roberts adapts recipes from Hugh Acheson, Lidia Bastianich, Roy Choi, Harold Dieterle, Sara Moulton, and more.
 

The culmination of that journey is a cookbook filled with lessons, tips, and tricks from the most admired chefs in America, including how to properly dress a salad, bake a no-fail piecrust, make light and airy pasta, and stir-fry in a wok, plus how to improve your knife skills, eliminate wasteful food practices, and create recipes of your very own. Most important, Roberts has adapted 150 of the chefs' signature recipes into totally doable dishes for the home cook. Now anyone can learn to cook like a pro!  --  Publisher Marketing

Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust

by Ina Garten    (Find this book)

Millions of people love Ina Garten because she writes recipes that make home cooks look great; family and friends shower them with praise and yet the dishes couldn’t be simpler to prepare using ingredients found in any grocery store. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, the Food Network star takes easy a step further, sharing her secrets for pulling off deeply satisfying meals that have that “wow!” factor we all crave.

Start with delicious Dukes Cosmopolitans made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus Jalapeño Cheddar Crackers that everyone will devour. Lunches include Hot Smoked Salmon, Lobster & Potato Salad, and Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, all featuring old-fashioned flavors with the volume turned up. Elegant Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise and show-stopping Seared Scallops & Potato Celery Root Purée are just two of the many fabulous dinner recipes. And your guests will always remember the desserts, from Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze to Salted Caramel Brownies.

For Ina, “foolproof” means more than just making one dish successfully; it’s also about planning a menu, including coordinating everything so it all gets to the table at the same time. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, Ina shows you how to make a game plan so everything is served hot while you keep your cool. There are notes throughout detailing where a recipe can go wrong to keep you on track, plus tips for making recipes in advance. It’s as though Ina is there in the kitchen with you guiding you every step of the way.

With 150 gorgeous color photographs and Ina’s invaluable tips, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof is a stunning yet infinitely practical cookbook that home cooks will turn to again and again.  --  Publisher Marketing

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

by Deb Perelman    (Find this book)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Winner of the IACP Julia Child First Book Award * Named one of" Cooking Light" magazine's Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years
The long-awaited cookbook by Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen--home cook, photographer, and celebrated food blogger.
Deb Perelman loves to cook. She isn't a chef or a restaurant owner--she's never even waitressed. Cooking in her tiny Manhattan kitchen was, at least at first, for special occasions--and, too often, an unnecessarily daunting venture. Deb found herself overwhelmed by the number of recipes available to her. Have you ever searched for the perfect birthday cake on Google? You'll get more than three million results. Where do you start? What if you pick a recipe that's downright bad?
So Deb founded her award-winning blog, Smitten Kitchen, on the premise that cooking should be a pleasure, and that the results of your labor can--and should--be delicious . . . every time. Deb is a firm believer that there are no bad cooks, just bad recipes. She has dedicated herself to creating and finding the best of the best and adapting the recipes for the everyday cook.
And now, with the same warmth, candor, and can-do spirit her blog is known for, Deb presents her first cookbook: more than 100 recipes--almost entirely new, plus a few favorites from the site--all gorgeously illustrated with hundreds of her beautiful color photographs.
"The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook "is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking. Here you'll find better uses for your favorite vegetables: asparagus blanketing a pizza; ratatouille dressing up a sandwich; cauliflower masquerading as pesto. These are recipes you'll bookmark and use so often they become your own, recipes you'll slip to a friend who wants to impress her new in-laws, and recipes with simple ingredients that yield amazing results in a minimum amount of time. Deb tells you her favorite summer cocktail; how to lose your fear of cooking for a crowd; and the essential items you need for your own kitchen. From salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and galettes; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake, Deb knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion.  --  Publisher Marketing

Now Eat This! Italian: Favorite Dishes from the Real Mamas of Italy: All Under 350 Calories

by Rocco Dispirito    (Find this book)
Weight-conscious readers no longer have to deprive themselves of the ever-popular cuisine of Italy. NOW EAT THIS! ITALIAN is the solution. With more than 85 classic recipes-all under 350 calories-readers can keep the weight off and still indulge in delectable pastas and Italian-style favorites. In this book, Rocco proves that Italian food doesn't have to be calorie packed to be delicious. With these full-flavor, low-fat recipes, readers can indulge without gaining weight. NOW EAT THIS! ITALIAN includes sinful pastas, sauces, and desserts, including: Fettuccini Alfredo, Mama's Famed Meatballs, Calamari Fritti, Chicken Parmigiana, Uncle Joe's Sausage and Peppers, Cannoli, and much more  --  Publisher Marketing

Forks Over Knives the Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year

by Del Sroufe    (Find this book)
A whole-foods, plant-based diet has never been easier or tastier 300 brand-new recipes for cooking the "Forks Over Knives" way, every day!
"Forks Over Knives" the book, the film, the movement is back again in a "Cookbook." The secret is out: If you want to lose weight, lower your cholesterol, and prevent (or even reverse!) chronic conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, the right food is your best medicine. Thousands of people have cut out meat, dairy, and oils and seen amazing results. If you are among them or you'd like to be you need this cookbook.
Del Sroufe, the man behind some of the mouthwatering meals in the film, proves that the "Forks Over Knives" philosophy is not about what you "can t" eat, but what you "can." Chef Del and his collaborators Julieanna Hever, Judy Micklewright, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and Darshana Thacker transform wholesome fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes into 300 recipes classic and unexpected, globally and seasonally inspired, and for every meal of the day, all through the year:
Breakfast: Very Berry Smoothie, Breakfast Quinoa with Apple Compote
Salads, Soups and Stews: Kale Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing, Lotsa Vegetable Chowder, Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Stew
Pasta and Noodle Dishes: Sicilian Cauliflower Linguine, Stir-Fried Noodles with Spring Vegetables
Stir-Fried, Grilled and Hashed Vegetables: Grilled Eggplant Steaks
Baked and Stuffed Vegetables: Millet-Stuffed Chard Rolls
The Amazing Bean: White Beans and Escarole with Parsnips
Great Grains: Polenta Pizza with Tomatoes and Basil
Desserts: Apricot Fig Squares, Bursting with Berries Cobbler
. . . and much more!
Simple, affordable, and delicious, the recipes in "Forks Over Knives The Cookbook" put the power of real healthy food in your hands. Start cooking the whole-food, plant-based way today it could save your life!" --  Publisher Marketing

Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine That's Easy and Delicious

by Laura Theodore    (Find this book)
Embrace healthful eating . . . one mouthwatering recipe at a time. In this companion cookbook to her new public television series, Jazzy Vegetarian, host Laura Theodore reveals how to create fabulous yet effortless plant-based recipes that will fit any need, whether you want to completely overhaul your diet or simply add a few exciting vegan dishes to your weekly repertoire.
Laura divulges her secrets for creating light, wholesome, satisfying recipes that everyone can master. Whether she's sharing tips for how to be more efficient in the kitchen or explaining the best way to shop for organic produce, Laura's passion for cooking is contagious.
Jazzy Vegetarian delivers show-stopping guidance and recipes. Readers will also enjoy an abundance of enticing photographs that offer a peek behind the Jazzy scenes into the creation of the show.  --  Publisher Marketing