Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making [Hardcover]

Back in 1991, when the first edition of Sauces was published, it's as though James Peterson said, "Okay, this is what we know so far. Where do you want to go from here?" The "what we know so far" part started with the Greeks and Romans, moved through the Middle Ages, into the Renaissance, through the 17th and 18th centuries, and right on into time as we know it, time that can be tasted in the sauce.

The "where do you want to go" part continues to evolve, as it always will, but remains just as evident in the way we sauce our creations, both elegant and fundamental. In the second edition of Sauces, released seven years after the first, the "we" has expanded beyond Frenchmen and their disciples, and now includes the broader range of flavors experienced by Italians as pasta sauces, as well as New World cooks and their counterparts in the Middle East and throughout greater Asia. The solid base from which all this grows, however, remains the lessons learned in the French kitchen--and a better kitchen for such lessons has never been developed.

To cook is one thing, to sauce another. The right sauce lifts the right dish to a wholly different plateau of dining than would be the case if the cook didn't bother. This can be a humble pasta sauce created as a perfect balance of ingredients on hand, or a carefully considered sauce the ingredients of which have been developed at the stove over days, not mere hours.

In the sauce can be seen the reflection of the cook. There is no room to hide. In the well-crafted sauce can be found the ultimate expression of simplicity, which leaves even less room to hide. It is James Peterson's great talent that he can draw the home cook and professional cook into his dialogue on sauces, and teach them both how to stay afloat in such shallow waters.

Peterson gives the reader--in close to 600 pages, mind you--the continuum on which sauces have been based in culinary history. He gives the reader the kitchen science that allows sauces to work. He gives the reader the techniques necessary to follow along where many a cook has already whisked up a splendid creation. But most of all, he gives the reader permission to go ahead and be creative, to cut loose with knowledge and technique in hand and discover for oneself the way an inkling of a flavor idea can find its way to a dish and make the combined ingredients lift off the plate. Or not. Finding out what doesn't work can be just as important.

This is a book that can be taken to bed and savored, page by page, sauce by sauce. It is a book that should be on the shelf in any kitchen, professional or homebody alike. It is not a book to ever gather dust and need dusting. --Schuyler Ingle

"Here is yet another cookbook that can stand among the best reference works. I suspect it's a harbinger of kindred books to come as publishers begin to respond to a growing audience of cook-readers who hunger for connected, nuanced, reliably researched information.." --Gourmet Magazine "James Peterson has done for sauces that which Escoffier did for the cuisine of La Belle Epoque.. Sauces is a manual for the professional cook and, as such, it will rapidly become a classic and indispensable reference.." --Richard Olney, From the Foreword "It's the single contemporary reference on the subject that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. I love Jim's recipes (and there are gems all over the place here), but what's special about Sauces is the text: It reads so well that this is the kind of book you can take to bed." --Mark Bittman, From the Foreword "This is a book I wish I had written myself.. Every few decades a book is written that says all there is to say on a subject, or has all the information and passion that sets the standard for professional and amateurs alike. Sauces is one of the best culinary books of this century in English.." --Jeremiah Tower, Stars Restaurant "The art of sauce making is the cornerstone of serious cooking. This book is a must for the new generation of creative cooks who wish to build on the classical French foundation with contemporary, delicious variations." --Daniel Boulud, Daniel "It is a special reference book--comprehensive and inspiring.." --Alice Waters, Chez Panisse

Sauces, winner of the1991 James Beard Cookbook-of-the-Year award and the ultimate reference for sauce making, is now available in a new, update and expanded edition. With more than 325 recipes in all, this book includes all-new chapters on Asian sauces and pasta sauces, plus new recipes that cater to lighter, contemporary tastes.

Sauces Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making Second Edition James Peterson "After a couple of decades of anarchy and chaos in the kitchen disguised as la nouvelle cuisine, a treatise such as Sauces, grounded in common sense, infuses one with renewed faith." So says no less an authority than Richard Olney, who as the acknowledged master of the contemporary culinary arts, possesses the perspective to judge what is merely history, and what is truly historic. Since its publication in 1991, Sauces has proven itself a landmark work, winning The James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook of the Year award, and garnering worldwide acclaim for its author, James Peterson, who with his very first book established a reputation as one of the most literate and knowledgeable individuals among the vast ranks of culinary writers. By marrying the best of well-practiced techniques and methods with the adventurous innovation of the contemporary art, Peterson has forged a new direction for sauce making that rings as true for home cooks as it does for professional chefs. Sauces has been as much a celebration of cooking as it was a teaching volume because it is, at its heart, a reflection of Peterson’s romance and devotion in the kitchen. Sauces is firmly dedicated not only to broadening the cook’s appreciation and understanding of sauce-making’s traditional principles, but also to empowering the reader to become an adept improviser. We are reminded that cooking is an art, and no art can thrive without the freedom to change and evolve. More than just a compendium of recipes, Sauces explains how and why the ingredients of a sauce are combined. Structured around the framework of classical French cooking, it provides in thorough detail explanations of, and instructions for, preparing both traditional and contemporary versions of most every sauce imaginable. Classic white and brown sauces, both starch-thickened and flourless; popular meat and fish sauces made with drippings and juices; sauces based on egg yolks, including béarnaise, hollandaise, mayonnaise and their variations; sauces made with butter, including the beurre blanc-based sauces that revolutionized modern cooking; vegetable purees; dessert sauces, and many more. The Second Edition addresses the growing appreciation for Asian cuisine, whose bold flavors have helped make it a staple of the modern healthy diet. Peterson serves up an overview of both ingredients and techniques for a collection of favorite Asian recipes. Pasta sauces, which were absent in the first edition, get Peterson’s meticulous treatment here, and the techniques for making other types of sauces can be used here to create flavorful and satisfying dishes. Peterson goes straight to the heart of the culinary art to explain, in plain language, how ingredients work together, and groups the recipes according to their basic ingredients such as olive oil, seafood, and vegetables. As always, Peterson reminds the reader that the recipes are ultimately a guide, and encourages cooks to explore great new tastes through their own creative efforts. Joining the more than 500 recipes in the Second Edition are the author’s 190 color photographs that clearly illustrate the fundamentals of good sauce making. Peterson also provides a practical discussion of pairing wine and food, as well as guidelines for improvisation and tips for restaurant chefs. A new bibliography and source list of purveyors enables readers to expand their knowledge and enhance their creativity, all in all making a must-have reference for one of the most exciting and challenging areas of cooking.

"Here is yet another cookbook that can stand among the best reference works. I suspect it’s a harbinger of kindred books to come as publishers begin to respond to a growing audience of cook-readers who hunger for connected, nuanced, reliably researched information…." —Gourmet Magazine "James Peterson has done for sauces that which Escoffier did for the cuisine of La Belle Époque…. Sauces is a manual for the professional cook and, as such, it will rapidly become a classic and indispensable reference…." —Richard Olney, From the Foreword "It’s the single contemporary reference on the subject that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. I love Jim’s recipes (and there are gems all over the place here), but what’s special about Sauces is the text: It reads so well that this is the kind of book you can take to bed." —Mark Bittman, From the Foreword "This is a book I wish I had written myself…. Every few decades a book is written that says all there is to say on a subject, or has all the information and passion that sets the standard for professional and amateurs alike. Sauces is one of the best culinary books of this century in English…." —Jeremiah Tower, Stars Restaurant "The art of sauce making is the cornerstone of serious cooking. This book is a must for the new generation of creative cooks who wish to build on the classical French foundation with contemporary, delicious variations." —Daniel Boulud, Daniel "It is a special reference book—comprehensive and inspiring…." —Alice Waters, Chez Panisse

About the Author After studying chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, James Peterson fell in love with food while picking grapes for a winemaker in the south of France. He studied in France at Le Cordon Bleu, and later worked at the then three-star restaurants Le Vivarois and Chez La Mere Blanc (now Georges Blanc). Peterson returned to the United States in 1979 and was partner and chef at Le Petit Robert in New York's Greenwich Village, and has also taught and developed curriculum at The French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and taught at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School. Peterson has translated six French books on pastry and baking, and is the author of Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, the first edition of which was The James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year in 1992. He also wrote Splendid Soups, which was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award in 1994, and Fish and Shellfish, winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Julia Child Award for best book on a single subject. His latest book, Vegetables, appeared in the spring of 1998.