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• by:
• Schneider, Sally

Now in paper!

The bestselling author of A New Way to Cook shows home cooks how to create their own culinary magic and make everyday cooking creative every day. In The Improvisational Cook, Sally Schneider helps home cooks declare their independence from recipes and set lists of ingredients and offers an invitation to a fun, more spontaneous way to cook. The secret is in understanding the internal “logic” of a recipe and its creative possibilities.

Start with an essential recipes, such as Caramelized Onions. Following Schneider’s easy, step-by-step advice, those carmelized onions can become a savory onion jam; a real onion dip; a quick bruschetta topped with the onions, anchovies, and olives; or a rustic onion soup with dried porcini mushrooms in just a step or two.

The possibilities are endless. Slow-roast fish at 300 degrees, along with some cherry tomatoes and olives for a sauce. Prepare a savory lemon jam to go with lamb or veal chops, or turn it into a cake filling. Roast a whole lobster instead of a fish in a salt crust. Add minced rosemary or Earl Grey tea to butter cookie dough. Turn a brownie batter into an elegant pepper-scented chocolate cake.

Schneider gives cooks the know-how to embellish, adapt, change, alter, modify, and experiment in their cooking with plenty of encouragement and helpful information--the tools and insights they need to find their own voice and cook improvisationally, from where to find inspiration to learning “what goes with what” to organzing the kitchen to make improvising easier.