Saucier's Apprentice 
asked by bigdv on November 27, 2006 11:38 PM
Here is the first book all the great sauces of practical, workable system. Raymond Sokolov, the widely admired former Food Editor of The first to point out that the hitherto mysterious saucier's art, as practiced by the best restaurant chefs, is based on what amounts to an elegant "fast food" technique. And this is what he demonstrates in his unique, useful, and witty book:
-- How to prepare, at your leisure, the three fundamental classic sauces (the "mother" sauces from which all others evolve: Brown, White, and Fish Veloute)...
-- How to freeze them in one-meal-size containers, ready for use at a moment's notice...
-- How to transform any of these basic put-away sauces, quickly and easily, into the exact ones that French chefs are famous for and serve in the finest restaurants...
-- How to prepare the classic dish for which each sauce is traditionally used, with suggestions for enhancing simpler fare (the recipes run the gamut from Duckling a la Bigarade to Poached Eggs Petit-Duc -- that is, with Chateaubriand Sauce).
Mr. Sokolov has conceived, then, a comprehensive collection of recipes -- authoritative, clear, and easy to follow -- as well as an inventive method of cooking for the average kitchen. Peppered with culinary lore and with reassuring accounts of the author's own experiences as a modern-day Saucier's Apprentice, here is a book that will appeal to every good amateur cook who wants to produce sumptuous fare at home for occasions great and small.
-- How to prepare, at your leisure, the three fundamental classic sauces (the "mother" sauces from which all others evolve: Brown, White, and Fish Veloute)...
-- How to freeze them in one-meal-size containers, ready for use at a moment's notice...
-- How to transform any of these basic put-away sauces, quickly and easily, into the exact ones that French chefs are famous for and serve in the finest restaurants...
-- How to prepare the classic dish for which each sauce is traditionally used, with suggestions for enhancing simpler fare (the recipes run the gamut from Duckling a la Bigarade to Poached Eggs Petit-Duc -- that is, with Chateaubriand Sauce).
Mr. Sokolov has conceived, then, a comprehensive collection of recipes -- authoritative, clear, and easy to follow -- as well as an inventive method of cooking for the average kitchen. Peppered with culinary lore and with reassuring accounts of the author's own experiences as a modern-day Saucier's Apprentice, here is a book that will appeal to every good amateur cook who wants to produce sumptuous fare at home for occasions great and small.
Reviews
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I first was introduced to this book at culinary school in the early 1990s. This is a modern look at the classic techniques of the 19th century Escoffier, the foremost authority on French cookery as established by Careme. Escoffier brought order to the professional kitchen, and maintained the high standards of the French palate. The recipes included in this book, however antiquated, are the basic principles of cooking all professional chefs, and serious "foodies" alike, should use in their cooking every day. With a little imagination, every cook can create his or her own signature dishes by using delicious sauces to accompany their fresh and perfectly cooked meat, fish or vegetable. Even more delightful, the historian in me is fascinated with the historical accounts of the development of French cookery; and the comic in me so enjoys the wit used in the author's address to such a serious subject of many a cook's discipline and heart.
reviewed by versed on November 28, 2006 6:24 AM
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I have browsed through many sauce books in the past several years, and found two to be indispensable: Raymond Sokolov's THE SAUCIER'S APPRENTICE and Michel Roux's SAUCES. Both books accomplish their goals impeccably. Roux wishes to present readers with a faster way to produce restaurant quality sauces, providing readers with beautiful appetizing photos for each sauce in the process. It is a book meant not to scare off amateur chefs who are inclined to choose a "Betty Crocker" book rather than a real top notch text on traditional French cooking. Sokolov, on the other hand, appeals to the already converted French gourmet/gourmand. There are no photos, nor are they necessary, since his language is so descriptive and precise, it really creates a photo in your mind.
I spent two days preparing the mother sauce for brown sauces and the result was spectacular. I've eaten at many of the top four and five star restaurants in New York, many restaurants throughout Europe (I lived in Germany near the French border for over three years), many restaurants in Chicago, and have never tasted better sauces than those I produced at home from the mother sauce. Here's the trick. You should follow Sokolov's instructions. After you've been through the process, you can get creative if you wish. But keep in mind Sokolov's goal is to teach amateur and professional chefs how to make TRADITIONAL SAUCES, not modern incarnations that use lots of fruits, etc.
I spent two days preparing the mother sauce for brown sauces and the result was spectacular. I've eaten at many of the top four and five star restaurants in New York, many restaurants throughout Europe (I lived in Germany near the French border for over three years), many restaurants in Chicago, and have never tasted better sauces than those I produced at home from the mother sauce. Here's the trick. You should follow Sokolov's instructions. After you've been through the process, you can get creative if you wish. But keep in mind Sokolov's goal is to teach amateur and professional chefs how to make TRADITIONAL SAUCES, not modern incarnations that use lots of fruits, etc.
reviewed by john316 on November 29, 2006 11:53 AM
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This book was recommended to me by a professional chef I was taking lessons with, while I have not been through the entire book it looks great and takes the mystery out of sauces. Nothing like a great sauce to make an every day meal special...Go for it
reviewed by bestseller on November 29, 2006 7:20 PM