Aida Mollenkamp's Keys to the Kitchen: The Essential Reference for Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook

by Aida Mollenkamp, Alex Farnum (Photographer)

Food Network and Cooking Channel star Aida Mollenkamp lays an invaluable foundation for cooks in Keys to the Kitchen . This comprehensive manual collects more than 300 innovative, contemporary recipes as well as color photographs, plenty of informative illustrations, a substantial technique primer, and helpful how-to information on subjects as wide-ranging as rust removal, throwing a cocktail party, and knife skills. For members of the tech-savvy new generation who can't cook but want to, this essential reference guide makes an ideal starting place and for those already at ease in the kitchen it's full of "who knew" moments for expanding their repertoire of great recipes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Foodie

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2012

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll start by saying I love cookbooks and have been collecting them for over 50 years. This is one of the best resource cookbooks I have seen. I think it would make a perfect gift for anyone starting their first home or for anyone who enjoys learning more about cooking.

The advice is sensible and amazingly complete. The recipes do not require ingredients that have to be mail ordered or a professional kitchen to make.

The chef teaches technique (and the reasons why certain procedures are best) so that the cook can branch out and apply the recipe to other ingredients.

If you're a foodie, a newbie to food prep, or anyone who appreciates good cooking I think you'll enjoy this cookbook. I really was impressed with its thoroughness and helpfulness.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have never even boiled water and you now find yourself in your first apartment on your own then this is the book for you. If you can cook somewhat but you are petrified to deviate from a recipe by even one iota then this is the book for you. The author takes you step by step form outfitting your kitchen based on what you plan to do in there to how to pick food at the grocery store, store it prep it, and cook it, even without a recipe. Except for the sustainable food lecture (which I agree with) she is not very preachy. She has a very straight forward tone. As someone with 50 plus years in the kitchen, both at home and professionally, I found only a few new tips and even less I disagreed with. So, if I had not already taught my children these things I would buy the book for them.

[Katelyn Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for children!! ... boring for an adult. Reminded me of 7th grade home economics.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent

Not as many aha moments as I thought but definitely a good collection of tips, tricks and recipes. Three stars

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book only partly lives up to it's name.

-An essential reference, yes. Lots of great beginner cooking tips/techniques, kitchen and pantry set up, general food knowledge, and some basic recipes in the Set-up and How to sections.
-Becoming a more accomplished cook, yes. The final section, titled The Rift, contains go-to recipes for cooks that are confident enough in their own skill and don't really need to have their hand held through the cooking process, or "from the hip" as Mollenkamp refers to it.
-Becoming an adventurous cook, I'm not so sure. About half of the main recipes are what you'd expect and explained simply but with good detail. But the main issue with the book is when it tries to get adventurous, it's not very successful. Twists to classic recipes or combining multiple ethnic techniques, ingredients & dishes (to make one conglomeration that can't be described as anything in the end) doesn't give me much ambition to try theses recipes. I was mostly confused trying to figure out how it were supposed to be appetizing and in the end wasn't very hungry...which is a pretty rare feat for a cookbook.

[Erin Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear directions, with the first quarter of the book being how to set up a kitchen, how to measure, how to hold a knife, what all the terms mean, how to buy spices… basically all the things I left home not knowing and spend the next decade struggling to learn. I haven't made all the recipes, but the ones I have, worked. The quick flip through passes the "what the heck is that, and how/where do I buy it?" ingredient test. There are a few things that I do differently, but that is personal preference. There are a few things missing, like how to season a cast iron pan, but that is a fairly political topic and I can see why she left it out. The reference for meat cuts is worth having. The demonstration of how to debone a chicken is very good. There is a glossary, a meal planning section, a little bit of etiquette.

I am fond of cook books I can actually read and learn from as compared to ones that are merely a pile of recipes. This one more than fills that requirement.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good starter cookbook. It tries to get you, as a beginner, to see how to riff (her word) on the recipes as soon as possible. My favourite part was the bit at the end where she talked about how flavours worked together.

While much of this information can be gleaned by the practice of cooking, it is nice to see a starter put these indispensables in one place. The only issue that I have with this book is the mention of seasonality without respect to location. There is some sense that everyone has these things in the same season. I wonder at the lack of mention of what I guess you could call terroir. I just find it hard to find some of those ingredients together in Canada. That is all.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not even all the way through this book (although almost done w/the non recipe portion) and I adore it. It gives such useful tips for prep & cooking. I consider myself a decent cook but in the first 80 pages of this book I learned so many facts that made me stop and say, OHHH, that makes sense! The proverbial lightbulb went on. This is a fantastic reference book for anyone who is interested in cooking and also cooking more creatively than their typical boneless, skinless chicken breast (I will never look at BSCB the same!).

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great reference for people who want to polish their cooking skills and want to develop more intuition so that they can move away from strictly following recipes all the time. i can also see it working for people who have very little cooking experience, because the book is organized into foundation recipes (e.g., all of the different ways to cook an egg!) and then more involved entrees and sides. each of the more involved recipes still includes a featured skill/technique to practice and examples of variations on the base recipe.

[Yasmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains a lot of basic information which covers what I already know, so I usually skip those. A few recipes I bookmarked and I'm willing to try:
Almond Brioche Sticky Buns (Though my sticky buns are pretty unbeatable, I'm curious to try other people's approaches)
Summer Vegetable Farro Salad (I'm always on the lookout for a beautiful farro salad!)
Balsamic Caramel Chicken with Roasted Eggplant
Indian Style Braised Butter Chicken (Again, my butter chicken is perfected, but I still want to try new things)
Coconut Chai Coffee Cake (Can't get enough of coffee cakes)

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keys To the Kitchen is an ideal first cookbook gift for the novice cook (think college student or newly weds), but it also is a wonderful reference for the advanced home cook. I love the design used for techniques and whatnot. If you like matte pages in cookbooks as I do (I think it looks nicer for the photographs), you will enjoy flipping through this.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well organized and gives lots of tips on saving time and doing prep work, lots of information about various foods -- meats, produce, grains, etc. I haven' quite gotten to the recipes, but I'm sure I'll find some interesting ones to try.

I found this book via a county wide book-read. Interesting choice for that kind of event, actually.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is better as a technique guide, especially for beginners, than for recipes. I gave it a 4 recipe audition and nothing was worth repeating or tweeking. Back to the library for this book and back to Smitten Kitchen for me.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic cookbook for a novice, maybe? The design is nice enough, but the one recipe I tried - the peanut butter banana bread didn't win me over. My husband, on the other hand, was very happy to snack on that loaf until it disappeared. Pass. Back to the library it goes.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit, I skimmed a lot of it. The recipes didn't really strike my fancy, but there is a lot of good info. If this wasn't a library book, it could be a really good reference - maybe not worth buying though.

[Kasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cookbooks I've ever purchased. I've read it cover to cover I don't know how many times. Everything is clear and concise, the layout is phenomenal, the photographs are gorgeous, and excellent recipes. Everything a cookbook should be.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the setup in this book, I'm not sure I would make all the recipes.

[Margaret Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave me lots of cooking ideas and quick fixes for questions I never bothered to ask. I'm excited to try out a lot of the techniques and recipes!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a lot of useful information for beginners, and some interesting recipes. Would make a great gift for a graduate moving out on their own and cooking for the first time.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great cookbook, look of basic general information.
Great sections on meat especially basic butchering.
Would have been nice to have more photos, but can't go wrong with this one.

[Amy Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook is beautiful cover to cover. Found a recipe that I'd been looking for since I went to Peru in 2004--Lomo Saltado--and it was EXCELLENT!

[Angela]

Big Library Read= big craving for delicious meals

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful first cookbook for the beginner cook. Lots of explanations for cooking techniques along with lots of recipes to try that are not your usual beginner recipes.

[Vampire-lk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cookbook!! Awesome advice for beginning to become profit chef!!

[Ginger Robins mercaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful, but basic, information. Would like to use it for reference. Would like to try some of the recipes.

[Nathan Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is good its not the great but it is cool. i cooked one of the dishes but I forgot the name of the dishes it was ok. but no good

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Library Read 2014

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts 1&2 were the MOST valuable, a must read for any aspiring cook

[Jerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

I love the fact she has tip & tricks as well as recipes. I borrowed this from the library but would definitely like to purchase!!

[Sonia]

Even though I've been cooking for about 30 years, I still have a lot to learn! This book shows you how to do the basics as well as more advanced cooking.