La Varenne Pratique

I am at a time in my life where I can spend more time cooking and perfecting my skills so I ordered La Verenne Pratique. It gives detailed how to instructions and pictures for everything to do with cooking from using a chef's knife to chop fresh herbs to boning a chicken. It starts out on page 9 with weights and measures conversions from U.S. to metric to Imperial. For example 1/4 cup of flour = 30g(metric) = 1 oz. (Imperial).This list covers flour from 1/4 cup to 2 cupssugar from 1/4 cup to 1 cupbutter 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) to 1 cupBreadcrumbs (fresh) 1 cup (dried) 1 cupCheese (grated cheddar) 1 cup (soft ricotta) 1 cupRice (cooked) 1 cup (uncooked) 1 cupAlmonds whole 1 cup sliced 1 cup chopped 1 cupwalnuts 1 cuphazelnuts 1 cupriasins 1 cupIt has a table fo liquid conversions from 2 Tbsp to 4 qts into metric & Imperial and oven temperature conversions from farenheit to celcius from 225*F to 500*FIt is broken down into 5 parts:Part 1:Herbs spices & flavorings Stocks & soupsSauces Milk, cheese & eggsFats & oilsPart 2:Fish ShellfishPoultry & game birds Meat & chartuteriePart 3:Vegetables MushroomsGrains & legumes PastaPart 4:Flour, breads & batters Pastry & cookiescakes & icings Sugar & chocolateCold desserts & ice creams Fruits & nutsPart 5:Preserving & freezing Microwave cookingCooking equipment Glossary of culinary termsFor example in the Stocks &soups part there is an introduction for each of these sections giving useful info. on what is is, ingredients, when it is done and what to watch out for and it covers:Skimming stocks & broths Removing fat from stocks & brothsseasoning stocks & broths Straining stocks & brothspresenting soups Accompaniments to soupsWhite & brown stocksRecipe for white veal stock-- with substitutions for chicken stock, game stock, brown veal stock, brown stock & beef stock.Fish stock with a recipe to make about 1 qt.Vegetable stockCourt bouillon & a recipe for Basic court bouillonBroth-based soups--recipe for Minestrone di verdura & variation for Minestrone alla fiorentina.ConsommeHow to make chicken or beef consomme, jellied consommeMaking royale garnishBread-thickened soups with a recipe for French onion soup & Aigo saouFish & shellfish soups Bisques with a recipe for shrimp bisqueGumbos Pureed soupsEnrichments to soups Cream soupsCold soupsThe book is slightly over 500 pgs and covers every aspect of the culinary arts. I highly recommend this book as a kitchen reference guide when attempting new recipes. Since I bought this book I have gotten out of my food rut and have ventured into unknown territory (for me) making orange chicken (very good), chicken Marengo (with cognac), my wife still talks about that one and I have a 5# eye round roast marinating for 5 days in the refrigerator for sauerbraten this weekend. If you are at all intimidated by some recipes or cooking techniques, buy this book...you will get over it.

I borrowed this book from my public library to see how accurate the rave reviews were. My only disappointment is that I waited until the book went out of print. There's a good reason used copies are selling at around twice the original cover price.This book really has it all. The photography is both beautiful and informative. Instead of showing just finished products that offer more spectacle than instruction, these photos give you a practical look at what the steps along the way should look like. The text, while sometimes brief, is clear and concise. Some books offer instructions along the lines of "beat until soft peaks form" for even the most complex procedures. One will find almost the same brevity here, but the author manages something of an instructional miracle here. The statements are short, but they offer the Goldilocks touch of giving you enough detail to get it right but not so much info that you can't keep it all in your head.There's plenty of general info on all manner of ingredients, technique, and basic preparations as well. Did I mention that I am devastated that the publisher has withdrawn it? Let's hope for a new edition. The current asking price for used editions may be a little out of reach for most of us, but if you're looking for a special gift for that cookbook junkie on your list, you will make someone very happy with this one. (To my friends and family, that's not a hint. I swear.)

Why is it superb? Anne Willan is a true EXPERT in cooking food! Her books are extremely well organized and attractive. She teaches you so much about traditional cooking and provides excellent French recipes! It is obvious that Anne Willan was well educated in cuisine schools and graduated at the top of her class! Bravo, Ms. Willan!!!

I have been playing with my food since my first ever dish [classic baked egg custard] and adore cooking and learning about cooking. This book is amazing, not just descriptions but well thought out and executed photos. This is going to be FUN!!! I would really recommend this book paired with anything by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin if you want to take your cooking game to new heights.

Anne Willan... You can never go wrong with her cookbooks. Her detailed methods and easy writing makes it a charm to cook with her books. I have tried so far three recipes and they turned out beautifully, as always.I would recommend this book to novice and experienced cooks.A final note: I thought this book might be too thick to be practical. However, owing to the high quality of binding, it is just fine. Actually you do no even need a book holder.

satisfied customer

I keep this on my kitchen counter. It is a great reference guide for different foods and how to prepare them. I have learned so much from this book, and I wasn't a novice in the kitchen by any means. Not only does it tell you how to prepare the foods, but it tells you how to store them too. I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to learn some of the technicalities of cooking and baking, without having to go to cooking school.

A wonderful book that instructs through pictures and words. For someone who wants to learn how in a practical way but also learn the knowledge of the processes behind the task, this is an awesome book. It is written clearly and concisely enough that you can choose a recipe and follow it and feel assured that it will be delicious. A really great book for someone who wants to learn the how to of cooking.

Love it!!!

Book arrived quickly and was just as described. Super happy with this purchase!

Great, as advertised