7-time James Beard Award Winner, COOKBOOK WRITER, COOKING TEACHER, FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER
By “round fish” we don’t mean a fish that’s actually round, but rather a fish that swims in a “normal” way, with belly down and dorsal back fins up. This is in contrast to a “flatfish,” which is relatively flat (duh) and nestles in the…
Many of us have fish poachers but when it comes to poaching a flatfish like a sole or flounder, we’re lost. The standard solution to this quandary is a special fish poacher called a turbotière, diamond-shaped, with handles on the ends and a rack for…
Don’t confuse salt cod (bacalao) with stockfish. Stockfish is air-dried and requires a longer soaking period.Salt cod comes in many different qualities, by far the best shown here. Often, it is yellow (a sign of progressing rancidity) or excessively dry and thin. Look for the…
You’ll learn a lot a lot about fish soups and stews if you make a bouillabaisse but it also helps to study soups and stews from other countries. The oldest and most simple approach to making a fish soup is simply to toss whole cleaned…
by James Peterson The Cook’s Indispensable Companion Every few decades a chef or teacher writes a cookbook that offers such depth of subject matter and cooking inspiration that it becomes a virtual bible for amateur and professional alike. Author James Peterson, who wrote Sauces, a…
by James Peterson Whether poached or grilled, smoked or sauteed, salmon is as versatile as it is elegant. In Simply Salmon, best-selling cookbook author and acclaimed teacher James Peterson offers 65 irresistible recipes for everyone’s favorite fish. Using the informative photos and detailed instructions that…
Unlike meats, which are braised for long periods to break down connective tissue and muscle, fish is braised only long enough to cook it through. (Octopus, cuttlefish, and squid are an exception.) Braising, of course, is cooking in a small amount of liquid, the idea…
When arriving in France after a long absence, three imperatives assert themselves: the need for oysters, a farm-made Camembert and sole meunière. Oysters are usually had on the first day and Camembert by that evening, but sole meunière awaits the first meal in a real…
No dish, except for perhaps cassoulet, French onion soup, or salade niçoise, invites so much polemic as bouillabaisse. Bouillabaisse aficionados range from the ultra-conservative (bouillabaisse can only be made feet from the Mediterranean using only seven varieties of fish) to relatively liberal (bouillabaisse can be…
by James Peterson A French Approach to the Classics In Glorious French Food, James Peterson explores the essential ingredients, techniques, and recipes of French cooking to uncover the underlying principles and connections that have helped define its unique culinary traditions. Through this broadened perspective, he…