Cook It Right! The Comprehensive Source for Substitutions, Equivalents and Cooking Tips - Softcover

Nowak, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962775681 ISBN 13: 9780962775680

Publisher: Sandcastle Pub, 1994

Synopsis

"This book fills a great gap and is an invaluable reference for both beginning and experienced cooks...it's a volume that I will quickly add to my collection of books and certainly one I will be unwilling to part with," says Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook fame. Barbara Nowak, professional special events consultant and radio talk show host, has been successfully rescuing chefs from kitchen emergencies for more than twenty years. Her book helps everyone save dinner plans because of missing ingredients, encourages more creative cooking and takes the guesswork out of measuring and substitution. Included are more than 350 listings of different foods, ingredients and substitutions, detailed cooking tips with instructions to help you avoid time-consuming and costly mistakes, and answers to nagging questions such as when is baking powder too old to use? This book is the best reference for cooking substitutions, equivalents and preparation tips written for the novice, cookbook collector and professional chef alike.

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About this title

About the Author

Barbara Nowak is a columnist, radio talk show host and television personality. She writes newspaper columns on food and restaurants and hosts a syndicated radio show with her sister. She hosts a weekly cooking segment on the popular "Today At Home" on the Home and Garden Television network. She represents consumer products on the MOR Galleria home shopping channel and appears in television commercials broadcast nationwide.

From the Back Cover

The Secret is Out! Want to cook more creatively and take the guesswork out of measuring and substituting? Here is everything you will need to successfully handle that unexpected cooking emergency and turn out a tasty meal. What's inside this extraordinary resource? More than 350 listings of different foods, ingredients and substitutions Detailed cooking tips with instructions to help you avoid time-consuming, costly mistakes Answers to those nagging cooking questions such as when is baking powder too old to use? (see page B-1)

Testimonials for Barbara Nowak and Cook It Right! The Comprehensive Source for Substitutions, Equivalents and Cooking Tips:

"This new book fills a great gap and is an invaluable reference for both beginning and experienced cooks. This is a volume that I will quickly add to my collection of books and certainly one I will be unwilling to part with." -Martin Yan, Yan Can Cook

"Next to the dictionary, Cook It Right! is the most valuable reference book for the home. Every amateur and veteran cook will find essential information-and will find it quickly thanks to the book's easy-to-follow format." -Paul Wallach, Restaurant Critic, Radio Host, Columnist

"This resource book will make every foodservice professional's daily life easier. A must for those working with quantity, quality menus." -Michael Roman, Director of Education, Cater Source, Inc.

Reviews

Any cook who has ever wondered how many carrots to chop to make a cup or how to "translate" a European baking recipe that calls for sheets of gelatin will find Nowak's book an essential reference. Pages and pages of charts of alphabetically listed ingredients give yields for "prepped" ingredients (even, for example, how many apples will make four cups of applesauce); both substitutions where appropriate and recipes for homemade versions of chili powder, mayonnaise, and many other ingredients; and lots of cooking and preparation hints. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Barbara Nowak: "It wasn't until I got married that cooking became more than a passing thought. For a short time, Paul and I tried to live on love and his tune casserole. But even for two young, nutrition-unconscious people, there was a limit to the amount of cheese food product we could eat. Like most home cooks, I learned my way around the kitchen by following recipes. Because my attempts were by trial and error, there were times when even my best efforts ended in disaster. I reached the conclusion that recipes, in spite of their great promise upon first reading, don't always provide a clear path to successful results.

COOK IT RIGHT! came about because I needed a cooking compass to guide me through certain recipes. For example, the first time I made a recipe for chicken enchiladas that called for 5 cups of cook chicken, I didn't have a clue about how much raw chicken to buy. Each time I came up with an answer (either by personal experimentation or by research) to a quandary like that, I wrote it down on an index card and filed it in a show box. Admittedly, this was no high-tech solution, but my card catalog helped me out hundreds of times. All the time I was collecting information, I thought about turning it into a book. Eventually I good down to the task of writing, and two years later, I was still investigating new food products and techniques and updating existing entries.

When you use this book, please note the following: All the temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit, unless otherwise indicated. Entries are arranged alphabetically by word, rather than by letter. For example, bran and bran flour precede brandy; and corn grits and corn syrup appear before corn flakes.

The information in the book is presented in column form, and in two colors. The first column lists the food or ingredient. If the food is also known by another name, the alternative name is presented in parentheses. Each alternative name also appears I the alphabetical listing and is cross-referenced to the primary name. The second and third columns provide yield and equivalent information. They refer to different forms and measures of the same ingredient.

The remaining columns are shaded I green and provide the substitution information. The first shaded column tells the purpose of the substitution. For example, the substitution for flour will depend on whether it is to be used for thickening, baking, yeast bread or for combating wheat allergies. The next two shaded columns describe possible substitute ingredients and the amounts of these substitutes you should use. Occasionally, the recommended substitutions require specific cooking instructions or explanations. In those cases, a footnote number appears next to the substitution. The last shaded column, instructions for substituting, provides the footnoted information.

Cooking and preparation tips appear in boxed areas immediately to the side or below the food or ingredient. Finally, we've included pages for the letters "U" and "X" because the world of food ingredients spans the globe. If you have ingredients which should be listed in these two sections, we've left you a place to record them. Then please, write to me at Sandcastle Publishing and let me know. I'm always interested in new ingredients, their equivalents and tasty substitutions. I believe you'll find COOK IT RIGHT! a valuable reference tool And I sincerely hope that this book will also add to your daily enjoyment of cooking."

Edition details

• Publisher: Sandcastle Pub
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0962775681
• ISBN 13: 9780962775680
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 175