Lateral Cooking: One Dish Leads to Another

I love every detail in this book! It is not like any other cookbooks where you can just pick a recipe and apply it. It explains the logic behind each recipe.Each recipe builds on the previous one. I think it is a great way to explain dishes!Just love it!!

The book was purchased as "new," and though it arrived in a thick package, there was no wrapping of the book or cushioning of any kind to keep it from being jostled in route. Consequently, the corners were in less than pristine condition. It's fine as is, but because it was purchased as a gift, those small imperfections are bothersome.

Well written and very interesting threads that the author as connected. I fully enjoy going through this book.

This is a very cool, empowering, cooking-school-in-a book-type-book. It would be well loved by a curious cook, who would prefer to understand what defines a dish, and how one dish is tied to the next, rather than just be given recipes for a given dinner. There’s lots of ideas about how you can branch out from and spark those creative juices to really make a dish your own right after the individual recipes.Because there are some open-ended recipes like an Espagnole, a Veloute, and a béchamel, that require the cook to have an idea of what to do with those once you make them, I think the book would be a good fit for a somewhat experienced cook that’s going to have an idea, or an adventurous soul who would find it fun to figure out. There are some general ideas in the opening of the chapters.The chapters are: Learning to Cook Sideways * Bread * Cornbread, Polenta & Gnocchi * Batter * Roux * Stock, Soup & Stew * Nuts * Cake & Biscuits * Chocolate * Sugar * Custard * Sauce * PastryMeasurements are given in kilograms, grams, liters, milliliters, tablespoons, and teaspoons, and the temperatures are given in Celsius. I googled and wrote American translations for the measurements and temps in the book as I went along. I used a scale to weigh in grams, but it’s nice to have a rough idea so you know how much to buy at the store.The author has a fun voice. She has a contagious enthusiasm for food, and wants to ignite that same cooking passion in the reader. I felt like playing in the roux chapter. The author starts by talking about the history of roux and what part it plays in the culinary world, discussing how nouvelle cuisine banished it, throwing out the baby with the bath water, in favor of the new. She quotes Julia Child who called the banishment of roux “an act of needless vandalism”. The recipes she teaches in this chapter are Gumbo, Espagnole, Veloute, Bechamel & White Sauce, Souffle: Cheese Souffle, and Croquettes. Her instructions and techniques are terrific! You’ll have success with the dishes!My thoughts and pics of the dishes we tried:1-6) Gumbo – p 162. This is a delicious gumbo! The flavor is outstanding and comes mainly from that gorgeous mahogany roux. The recipe called for 1 kg of chicken joints. I used 2 pounds of boneless chicken thighs and breasts.7-12) Bechamel – p 180. This has a very light roux. I used the bechamel to make a garlicky gouda mac and cheese. Perfection.13-14) Souffle: Cheese souffle – p 186. Perfect gruyere souffles.15-19) Croquettes: Chicken Croquettes – p 192. I subbed in half chicken and half crisp bacon. Her directions are outstanding. This batter was so much easier to work with than any other croquette recipe I’ve used before. Zero frustration and they came out wonderfully!I received a copy to explore and share my thoughts.

This is a dense, hard read. I like details and stories around recipes, but the book just isn't very useful. Feels like I'm reading a textbook and have to hunt for the "recipes". There are a few recipes in the book that are clearly laid out with list of ingredients & clear steps, but MOST are just buried in paragraphs of text with difficult writing. Not useful at all. I love cookbooks but I hate to say that I'm going to give this one away. For the record, I'm a voracious reader, and I even enjoy reading scientific articles. This book, however, feels like too much of a slog and is not useful to me.

This book is exactly what I was looking for during the COVID-19 quarantine. I've been baking and pickling and exploring new techniques envious of people who seem to be able to turn something into nothing. Then I finally cracked open this book from my shelf!This is for people who are looking for a tool in the kitchen. This is not a book to purchase because you want a great recipe for hollandaise (though it does have one). It's for those who maybe know the basics of hollandaise but want to dig deeper and want to know what happens when something the adjusted slightly. Take the first chapter of the book about bread. We start with a recipe of flour + water and then swim through pages adding a bit more fat and flavor. I'm finding it fascinating.I wish I had a copy with weight measurements for the baking recipes. I have the US publication where everything has been converted (good for pounds and temps!). I hope folks in the US someday lear how much easier this makes cooking! Or perhaps that is just my very bias opinion. :)

Tiny text and even smaller light pink notes. Not very usable because of required flipping back and forth.

Gosto muito do livro, mas veio com os cantos estragados e com um risco na lombada.