Baker - Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks

thank you!

Its amazing to think that after writing ten cookbooks, the eleventh can still be so interesting and fun! Its not just that I love what I do every day but also that I love the people who do it with me. First and foremost is my wonderful team: Barbara Libath and Lidey Heuck work on the cookbooks and television shows with me. Theyre such happy, smart, and thoughtful women and I look forward to seeing them every single day.

Next is my incredible publisher, Clarkson Potter. Weve been together since my first book contract in 1997yikes! My deep thanks go to some of the loveliest and smartest people in the business, which is why when most authors are moving from publisher to publisher, Ive stayed put for twenty years. Thank you to Maya Mavjee, the incomparable head of Crown Publishing; to David Drake, who has the best advice about all kinds of things; to Aaron Wehner, the head of Clarkson Potter, who is so wise about cookbooks; to my wonderful editors, Pam Krauss and Raquel Pelzel; my amazing publicist, Kate Tyler; and Marysarah Quinn, the head of design at Crown who so generously still designs all my books herself. Writing cookbooks is definitely a team sport and Im playing with the A team.

And this is yet another book photographed by the brilliant Quentin Bacon. This time, we had Cyd McDowell (with backup by Christine Albano) preparing beautiful food and Miguel Flores-Vianna, who so graciously agreed to take a break from his gorgeous photography, come back and style for us. We developed a slightly different in the kitchen style for this book and I hope youll like it as much as I do.

Thank you also to my amazing friend and agent, Esther Newberg, who takes care of business so I can do the fun stuff: write cookbooks. And finally to my friend Sarah Leah Chase, who writes her own cookbooks and who inspires me with new ideas and recipes all year long.

time like a pro

In my recipes the recommended internal temperatures indicate when meat should be removed from the oven and left to rest under foil, not when it is fully cooked. As it rests, residual heat will continue to cook the meat and bring it to the target temps listed below. Its important to note that guidelines for cooking meat have changed in recent years. At one time people were afraid that rare or undercooked meat might carry diseases, particularly pork, which was associated with trichinosis. To ensure safety it had to be cooked to 180 degrees, which resulted in overcooked, dry meat. Now that trichinosis is no longer a danger, I cook pork to 137 or 140 degrees and it comes out rosy, moist, and delicious.

swap like a pro

I cant tell you how many times someone has told me they tried one of my recipes with a few small changes and wasnt happy with the outcome. Swapping ingredients doesnt always workif a sauce calls for one cup of heavy cream and you decide to use skim milk instead, it will curdle and never thicken. (Not to mention that it just wont taste the same!) If you want to change a recipe, I recommend following the recipe as written first to understand how it works, then make adjustments the next time. That said, if youre about to start cooking and realize youre missing a key ingredient, the substitutions below will save you a run to the grocery store without compromising on flavor.

recipe index

cocktails

soups & salads

dinner

vegetables & sides

dessert

breakfast

pro basics

cocktails

arrange a bar like a pro

I was a caterer for decades and, no matter how many guests there were, I always set up the bar the same way. Of course, for large parties there was a bartender to make the drinks, but the same arrangement works as well for a self-service bar, and to this day I use the same system at home when I entertain.

You want everything you need on the table so you dont have to scurry to the kitchen every time a new guest arrives. This isnt the time to empty your liquor cabinetwrite a bar menu and stick to it. I like to have one mixed cocktail like whiskey sours premade in a pitcher or a bottle of Champagne in a bucket of ice and water, plus vodka, bourbon, scotch, rum, and gin. Make sure there is plenty of ice and a bowl of fruit for garnishes.

I set a table against a wall with a row of spirits, wine, mixers, and juices at the back, all lined up with the labels facing out. In front of these, I place the glasses; two or three kinds are usually enough. If Im renting glasses, Ill just order hand-blown stemmed all-purpose wine and Champagne glasses. (Renting glasses isnt terribly expensive and guess what? You dont need to wash them before you send them back!) Allow two glasses per person.

I arrange the glasses in a triangle, with the first row at the back of the table, in front of the spirits and mixers. The second row is one glass shorter at each end and so on until you have a tight triangle of glasses in very straight rows. If you have a large number of glasses, you can arrange them in two triangles, instead of one.

To finish the bar, put a pretty dish of crudits or salted nuts in front and, if theres room, a vase of flowers. The good news is that you can set this all up a day in advance and just fill the pitchers and ice bucket on the day of the party. I love to see people making drinks for themselves and then for each other, catching up, and getting the party started all by themselves!