Product Description

Cooking today is multidimensional: it's about creating soul-warming comfort food for friends and family; making healthy, flavorful meals in a limited amount of time; inviting the flavors of ethnic cuisines into our kitchens; and preparing tasty, sumptuous meals for holidays and special occasions. The increasing availability of high-quality, local, and exotic ingredients has transformed the way we cook with delicious results. This comprehensive volume, with its tremendous breadth of recipes, reflects this new diverse interest in food. Among its more than 370 recipes are time-tested classics, fresh new favorites gleaned from restaurant menus, popular ethnic dishes customized for the home cook, and dozens of breakfast and dessert choices, from the simple to the spectacular. In short, The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook celebrates the pleasures of cooking in all its forms.

Whether you are stir-frying a spicy basil-scented chicken dish for a simple weeknight supper, grilling fish steaks for a summer cookout, preparing a standing rib roast as the centerpiece for a multicourse special-occasion meal, or simply looking for a recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies or the ultimate cheesecake, this book is the perfect resource. The recipes are organized into twelve chapters so you can easily find the right dish for your needs. These include: Appetizers; Soups; Salads; Fish and Shellfish; Poultry; Beef and Veal; Pork and Lamb; Vegetables; Breads; Desserts; and Breakfast and Brunch. Sumptuous photographs for every recipe will show you how the finished dish should look. Dozens of photographed sidebars throughout the book illuminate cooking techniques, explain how to work with unfamiliar ingredients, and suggest flavorful sauces or condiments to accompany the main recipe.

Among the recipes are classics that you will come back to again and again, like stuffed mushrooms, Cobb salad, potato gratin, Louisiana-style gumbo, bistro-style roast chicken, eggs Benedict, and devil's food cake. You will also find many dishes inspired by international flavors, such as pot stickers, gazpacho, tabbouleh, carnitas, tandooristyle chicken and tiramisu -- all destined to become new favorites in your home. Look, too, for plenty of kid-friendly recipes such as baked macaroni and cheese, chicken potpie, spaghetti and meatballs, and chocolate brownies, all of which could become some of the most-requested dishes in your cooking repertory.

In addition to the recipes, a comprehensive reference section in the back of the cookbook offers dozens of the basic recipes you'll need for stocks and sauces, bread, pasta, and pie doughs, and dessert sauces and frostings. Also included are a full glossary of cooking terms and ingredients as well as cooking charts that will make it easy for you to find ingredient substitutes, doneness temperatures for meat and poultry, measurement equivalents, and more.

No matter the occasion, The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook will provide the perfect recipe and plenty of inspiration for many years to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8602 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review
I have always admired Chuck for his relentless drive to find the perfect piece of equipment and his commitment to the art of the kitchen. From teaching classes at his store on Rodeo Drive to buying equipment at his flagship San Francisco store in the late 1970s, I have always considered Chuck Williams and his company an integral part of my culinary journey. The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, extensive, thorough, and lavishly illustrated, reflects that search for quality that is the trademark of its founder.-- Jacques PÉpin, PBS-TV cooking series host, cookbook author, and teacher

Chuck Williams is an American icon for a reason. He truly understands the relationship between simplicity and style. For decades, his store, Williams-Sonoma, culled through hundreds of coffee makers and roasting pans to offer the only one that you really need to own. It was always simple, beautiful, and of the best quality. Chuck's cookbooks do the same thing. His recipes are exactly what you want to eat, use simple ingredients, and they're delicious. This is a wonderful book!-- Ina Garten, author, Barefoot Contessa cookbooks

Customer Reviews

Great solid cookbook
I have a ton of cookbooks, but this one is my favorite. The ingredients are not hard to find; they dont require fancy set-up for the recipes, and the give great little tips on the side bars. Not to mention, I have never tried a recipe from Williams-Sonoma that hasn't been a hit with my guests. I have done an all-WS Thanksgiving for the past three years, and everything is always fantastic.

Perhaps not essential but good none the less
There are some truly wonderful recipes in this book. If you're looking for basic home cooking and recipes for Stroganoff and Lasagna then this book may not be for you. It goes a fair bit beyond the basics with some very interesting recipes from all over the world. Its a beautiful book with wonderful photography.

Too bad it does not talk about the origins of the recipes. I always like a bit of background so I can talk a little about the food when entertaining.

These Recipes are NOT Essential Home Cooking.
It's titled The Essential Recipe Collection For Today's Home Cook, that's certainly a tall order. First off this cookbook is huge, it's over 450 pages, the pages are glossy so they would hold up over time, the pictures are lovely and there are lots of them.

There are tips scattered throughout the cookbook. Such ideas as to ripen an avocado is to place it in a paperbag with a banana. The ethylene gases emitted by the banana will speed the ripening process of the avocado. Every page has some sort of tidbit or tip included.

These recipes are advertised for the home cook. So to me that means food you would serve on a daily basis. That wouldn't include a lot of these recipes. The one for deviled eggs was to make the filling using capers, champagne vinegar, parsley, and anchovies. I did like the tip about after boiling the eggs to crack them and leave soak in the water for an hour before peeling. I'll have to try that next time. But to serve these deviled eggs at the next family reunion? I don't think so.

Another recipe was Tuna Tartare on Ruffles Potato Chips. Is this sushi on potato chips? No kidding it was sushi grade tuna mixed with a raw egg served on Ruffles potato chips. This is for the home cook?

Another recipe was Steak Tartare on Baguette Croutes. This time you used raw filet mignon with capers. There are lots of caper recipes just to warn you. So as not to be outdone with the raw fish, there's Ceviche. I've never and will never serve my children raw fish and eggs for dinner. That is not essential home cooking.

If you're describing a cookbook that is "essential home cooking" then you're referring to Betty Crocker Big Red CookbookBetty Crocker's Cookbook (5-Ring Binder) or even The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook: America's Bestselling Step-by-Step Cookbook, with More Than 1,400 Recipes. This falls into the same category as the new Martha Stewart Cooking School Cook book. It's too high end for the everyday dinner.

I made the corn bread with dried blueberries. It was not very good. The corn bread was dry and not very tasty. I also made the chocolate chip cookies and they were dry as well. I'll just go back to the Tollhouse recipe on the bag.

If you like the Martha Stewart Cooking School cookbook then this is just for you. If you want a cookbook that is truly essential home recipes then go for the Betty Crocker Cookbook (you know, the big red one) or Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook or even Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe book. This one is a coffee table book at best.