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Kitchen Simple: Essential Recipes for Everyday Cooking [A Cookbook]
Hundreds of recipes designed to get exceptional meals on the table in under an hour
With Kitchen Simple , James Peterson, one of America’s most celebrated cookbook authors and renowned cooking instructors, delivers a definitive resource for the busy home cook. Elevating routine, weekday fare into exciting culinary creations, Peterson proves unequivocally that great food need not be complicated or time-consuming to prepare.
More than 200 recipes, such as Summer Steak Salad, Mexican-Style Gazpacho, White Bean Bruschetta, Red Cabbage with Bacon and Apples, and Ricotta Ravioli, are thoughtfully streamlined to require no more than thirty minutes of active prep time with delivery to the table in under an hour. For leisurely meals and celebratory occasions, there are also dozens of luxe dishes, like Red Wine Pot Roast, Eggplant Parmigiano, Duck Confit, and Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce. And, from the master of sauces, comes a paired-down primer on making foolproof Mayonnaise, Caper and Herb Sauce for vegetables and chicken, and an easy Béarnaise to dress up grilled fish.
Kitchen Simple presents creative possibilities for weeknight meals, quick-and-easy breakfasts, impromptu dinner parties, and inspired last-minute desserts. And with Peterson’s invaluable variations, cooks can confidently substitute harder-to-find ingredients with items already at hand. Additional advice on how to stock a pantry with staples to make everyday cooking even easier, plus an inventory of truly indispensable kitchen tools make Kitchen Simple a go-to source of inspiration for cooks of all novice or experienced, time-pressed or laid-back, casual or serious.
With Kitchen Simple , James Peterson, one of America’s most celebrated cookbook authors and renowned cooking instructors, delivers a definitive resource for the busy home cook. Elevating routine, weekday fare into exciting culinary creations, Peterson proves unequivocally that great food need not be complicated or time-consuming to prepare.
More than 200 recipes, such as Summer Steak Salad, Mexican-Style Gazpacho, White Bean Bruschetta, Red Cabbage with Bacon and Apples, and Ricotta Ravioli, are thoughtfully streamlined to require no more than thirty minutes of active prep time with delivery to the table in under an hour. For leisurely meals and celebratory occasions, there are also dozens of luxe dishes, like Red Wine Pot Roast, Eggplant Parmigiano, Duck Confit, and Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce. And, from the master of sauces, comes a paired-down primer on making foolproof Mayonnaise, Caper and Herb Sauce for vegetables and chicken, and an easy Béarnaise to dress up grilled fish.
Kitchen Simple presents creative possibilities for weeknight meals, quick-and-easy breakfasts, impromptu dinner parties, and inspired last-minute desserts. And with Peterson’s invaluable variations, cooks can confidently substitute harder-to-find ingredients with items already at hand. Additional advice on how to stock a pantry with staples to make everyday cooking even easier, plus an inventory of truly indispensable kitchen tools make Kitchen Simple a go-to source of inspiration for cooks of all novice or experienced, time-pressed or laid-back, casual or serious.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
62 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
James Peterson
333 books46 followersJames Peterson grew up in northern California and studied chemistry and philosophy at UC Berkeley. After his studies, he traveled around the world, working his way through Asia, by land, to Europe. Eventually he landed in Paris and was amazed by the French attitude toward food and drink. (This was in the mid seventies when food in America was practically non-existent.) It was in France that he found his calling. As he was running short on funds, Jim found a job picking grapes in the south of France where he lived with a family for two weeks. He has never forgotten the sumptuous lunches prepared by the vigneron's wife. After his initial inspiration, Jim returned to the United States and got a job as a short-order cook. This was his first cooking job and while the cuisine was not 3-star, there was still the need for speed and organization. After saving money for a year and a half, Jim returned to France. After begging his way in, he ended up working at two of what were then among France's greatest restaurants, George Blanc and Vivarois. It was his experiences in these restaurants that shaped his style of cooking and drove his pursuit of cuisine as a career. Jim also studied pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
By a series of serendipitous events, James found himself a partner/chef in a small French restaurant in Greenwich Village, called Le Petit Robert. It was here that he was able to experiment and invent and shape his own unique approach to cooking. The restaurant was reviewed in a wide variety of major publications including Gourmet Magazine where it was called "...what may be the most creative restaurant in New York." It was no doubt in part because of his extravagant use of truffles and foie gras, that the restaurant, after four years, was forced to close. At a loss, Jim started teaching cooking at the French Culinary Institute and later, at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, now ICE. Jim spent a year developing curriculum for the French Culinary Institute.
After translating a series of French pastry books, Jim established a relationship with a publisher who encouraged him to write his own book. His first book, Sauces, published in 1991, continues to sell as well now as it did the first year after publication. It won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award and put James on the map as a serious writer and teacher. Other books followed: Splendid Soups, nominated for both a James Beard and IACP Award, Fish & Shellfish, nominated for both awards and a winner of an IACP Award, Vegetables, winner of a James Beard Award, The Essentials of Cooking, nominated for both awards.
It was during the writing and preparation of Fish & Shellfish that Jim starting taking his own pictures for his books. This started what has become a twenty-year obsession with photography. He set out to write and photograph a definitive technique book similar to Jacques Pepin's La Technique except in full color and updated. After the publication of The Essentials of Cooking Jim embarked on four small, photograph-laden, books about food and wine including Simply Salmon, The Duck Cookbook, Sweet Wines, and Simply Shrimp. After the completion of these four books, Jim set out on producing the monumental Cooking which is his attempt at explaining and illustrating the most important basics of cooking. Cooking won a James Beard Award for best single subject. When Cooking was published, Jim set out to tackle baking. A two-year project ensued during which Jim shot over 3000 pictures (with film!) for the definitive Baking. Baking went on to win a James Beard Award in the dessert and baking category. Exhausted after these behemoths, Jim wrote a book dedicated to simple dishes--dishes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Out this last August, Kitchen Simple has been acclaimed as an important collection of simple yet elegant recipes. The latest project is the publication of the second edition of Jim's award-winning Vegetables. This new edition will hav
By a series of serendipitous events, James found himself a partner/chef in a small French restaurant in Greenwich Village, called Le Petit Robert. It was here that he was able to experiment and invent and shape his own unique approach to cooking. The restaurant was reviewed in a wide variety of major publications including Gourmet Magazine where it was called "...what may be the most creative restaurant in New York." It was no doubt in part because of his extravagant use of truffles and foie gras, that the restaurant, after four years, was forced to close. At a loss, Jim started teaching cooking at the French Culinary Institute and later, at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, now ICE. Jim spent a year developing curriculum for the French Culinary Institute.
After translating a series of French pastry books, Jim established a relationship with a publisher who encouraged him to write his own book. His first book, Sauces, published in 1991, continues to sell as well now as it did the first year after publication. It won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award and put James on the map as a serious writer and teacher. Other books followed: Splendid Soups, nominated for both a James Beard and IACP Award, Fish & Shellfish, nominated for both awards and a winner of an IACP Award, Vegetables, winner of a James Beard Award, The Essentials of Cooking, nominated for both awards.
It was during the writing and preparation of Fish & Shellfish that Jim starting taking his own pictures for his books. This started what has become a twenty-year obsession with photography. He set out to write and photograph a definitive technique book similar to Jacques Pepin's La Technique except in full color and updated. After the publication of The Essentials of Cooking Jim embarked on four small, photograph-laden, books about food and wine including Simply Salmon, The Duck Cookbook, Sweet Wines, and Simply Shrimp. After the completion of these four books, Jim set out on producing the monumental Cooking which is his attempt at explaining and illustrating the most important basics of cooking. Cooking won a James Beard Award for best single subject. When Cooking was published, Jim set out to tackle baking. A two-year project ensued during which Jim shot over 3000 pictures (with film!) for the definitive Baking. Baking went on to win a James Beard Award in the dessert and baking category. Exhausted after these behemoths, Jim wrote a book dedicated to simple dishes--dishes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Out this last August, Kitchen Simple has been acclaimed as an important collection of simple yet elegant recipes. The latest project is the publication of the second edition of Jim's award-winning Vegetables. This new edition will hav
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 21, 2016
There is honestly not one recipe in this book I want to cook.
Except maybe dandelion greens covered in bacon grease and vinegar. Or cabbage fried in bacon grease and vinegar. (And I'm being serious.)
Except maybe dandelion greens covered in bacon grease and vinegar. Or cabbage fried in bacon grease and vinegar. (And I'm being serious.)
January 24, 2019
This book is called Kitchen Simple, which makes you think the recipes inside would be, well, simple. While I did flip through this whole book, it lost me on page 5 with this bit of info regarding vinegar (of which good quality is hard to find, according to the author):
"Although perhaps not simple, the best solution is to buy yourself an oak barrel and make your own vinegar by adding the ends of bottles of wine to the cask and keeping the cask in a warm place. In any case, buy the best (which is often the most expensive) vinegar you can find."
Yeahhhh okay dude. I'm throwing you some major side-eye here.
Apart from this, there wasn't much in this book I was interested in. I may try a few of the side dishes and desserts, but that's about it.
"Although perhaps not simple, the best solution is to buy yourself an oak barrel and make your own vinegar by adding the ends of bottles of wine to the cask and keeping the cask in a warm place. In any case, buy the best (which is often the most expensive) vinegar you can find."
Yeahhhh okay dude. I'm throwing you some major side-eye here.
Apart from this, there wasn't much in this book I was interested in. I may try a few of the side dishes and desserts, but that's about it.
November 10, 2011
nothing to write home about....I was a little disapointed....
July 21, 2014
I love James Peterson's books but I didn't find a lot here that peaked my interest.
February 12, 2022
This is a book of assumptions, which are stated in plain within the introduction. Basically this book might appeal to you if:
* you have a fully equipped kitchen.
* you have a fully stocked pantry.
* you have an adult palette.
* you have the space and time to multitask between two or three dishes at once for a full course meal.
* you are an omnivore whose desires go beyond ordering take out, pre-prepared meals, crockpot meals, and microwave dinners.
* you actually want to cook.
That's a lot of assumptions.
Half hour to one hour recipes with limited ingredients and serving sizes? Someone who's single might be down with that. Especially if they're culinary inclined and open to hosting to a party of three or four. Would a working mom with a family of three kids be as eager for this book? Hmm, that could be stretching it. Kids could help, but...
Granted, some recipes in here are that simple like French toast, roasted vegetables, and clam chowder. Some can call for ingredients which I'm not sure falls into the simple or everyday, depending on where you live. Roquetfort cheese and duck breasts anyone?
Kitchen Simple is a fun read that indulged my curiosity. Its real strength are in the informational bubbles about ideal cooking equipment, handling ingredients, and preparation methods. Enjoyed myself with this one.
* you have a fully equipped kitchen.
* you have a fully stocked pantry.
* you have an adult palette.
* you have the space and time to multitask between two or three dishes at once for a full course meal.
* you are an omnivore whose desires go beyond ordering take out, pre-prepared meals, crockpot meals, and microwave dinners.
* you actually want to cook.
That's a lot of assumptions.
Half hour to one hour recipes with limited ingredients and serving sizes? Someone who's single might be down with that. Especially if they're culinary inclined and open to hosting to a party of three or four. Would a working mom with a family of three kids be as eager for this book? Hmm, that could be stretching it. Kids could help, but...
Granted, some recipes in here are that simple like French toast, roasted vegetables, and clam chowder. Some can call for ingredients which I'm not sure falls into the simple or everyday, depending on where you live. Roquetfort cheese and duck breasts anyone?
Kitchen Simple is a fun read that indulged my curiosity. Its real strength are in the informational bubbles about ideal cooking equipment, handling ingredients, and preparation methods. Enjoyed myself with this one.
February 17, 2019
BookBub $1.99 . This is an excellent idea book for us old cooks set into a 7 day cycle of old tried and true recipes, and a helpful guide for all those new cooks in the family. I was very pleased to add this to my kitchen library - and it also encourages me to grab the phone look for ideas in the grocery story rather than hitting that rack of cookbooks in my sun room - which I rarely remember to do when making out my shopping list. Thank you, BookBub, for this excellent deal!
December 10, 2011
Making good, wholesome food from scratch is a great power; this book is invaluable for those who want to harness that power. Whether you are a novice in the kitchen or a seasoned cook (pun almost not intended), James Peterson, who has won 6 more James Beard awards than I have, has written the greatest companion for this endeavor. It begins with ample information on stocking a pantry, cooking techniques, and cooking tools, but the real value is in the recipes themselves, which are written in a concise, easy-to-follow manner and whose variety can add pizzazz to any home cook's repertoire. Did you know you can make your own crème fraîche with a little cream inoculated with some humble buttermilk? I didn't, but it works like a charm and has become a common practice in my household. Simple vegetable soups, satisfying salad dishes, hearty meat dishes, even cassoulet and duck confit get their due treatment within these pages, and it is all finished off with a handful of elegant desserts. It is my belief that every working kitchen could make use of this book. If home cooking had a textbook, this is it.
March 27, 2012
Really a 4.5. This is definitely one for my cookbook collection. If you made handfuls of these recipes part of your repertoire, you could cook for almost any occasion and anyone.
Short but delicious ingredient lists, clear and uncomplicated instructions, yummy photos! I can certainly understand how James Peterson won six James Beard awards!
Short but delicious ingredient lists, clear and uncomplicated instructions, yummy photos! I can certainly understand how James Peterson won six James Beard awards!
cooking
May 18, 2013Added to cooking folder of book club
February 15, 2016
I didn't need a new Joy of Cooking/Betty Crocker Cookbook.
January 12, 2014
A very good collection of basic recipes.
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December 21, 2018Kindle Deal
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews