How to Slice an Onion: Cooking Basics and Beyond--Hundreds of Tips, Techniques, Recipes, Food Facts, and Folklore

If you can slice an onion, you can cook almost anything. That's the first premise of this book. There are dozens more, all underlining the happy thought that cooking is easier than they tell you it is. The recipes and tips here--and there are many--are simple: it's flavor that counts, not a list of ingredients longer than a kitchen cabinet can bear. The methods are uncomplicated (mix vegetables and olive oil right in the roasting pan; why bother with a bowl?). Kitchen mythology, we learn, is one thing, and food history another. Mythology: the need for expensive slot-top box holders for knives. History: Did you ever wonder who Granny Smith was? How to Slice an Onion demystifies the culinary arts, making cooking simple for the beginner and opening new possibilities for the experienced cook. It's a kitchen companion, a friend at hand when you stand at the stove, a fascinating and amusing look at the history of the food we eat, and a charming guide to the fundamentals and finer details of good home cooking. For the beginner, the accomplished chef, and even for those who just like to read about food, this book is a good friend to have in the kitchen.

About the Author :
Bunny Crumpacker, a New York native, has been a professional caterer, editor, newspaper columnist, and school community relations officer. Her book reviews appear in The Washington Post. She is the author of The Sex Life of Food, Perfect Figures, and two cookbooks based on food and recipe pamphlets issued from 1875 to 1950--a chronicle of American cooking in those years. She and her husband, a record producer, lived in the Hudson River Valley region, just north of New York City.

Review :
Advance Praise for HOW TO SLICE AN ONION: "Beginning with the properly sliced onion, Crumpacker explains the hows of cooking as well as the whys: readers will learn why roasting a chicken upside-down is preferable (it keeps the white meat moist), how you can salvage overcooked scrambled eggs (a little butter or sour cream), and the best way to crush tomatoes for homemade marinara sauce (by hand)....Crumpacker's simple advice will rapidly build cookery confidence in those used to dining on canned or pre-made products. Crumpacker manages to hit most of the high points, including vinaigrettes and sides, pastas, classic mains like pork chops and roast chicken, desserts and even simple infusions like Eau-de-Vie and Limoncello. Though bolstered with recipes, Crumpacker's crisp prose makes this volume a winner--the next best thing to having a chef at your side as you prepare to tackle a new dish.--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review) Praise for Bunny Crumpacker and her books: "Delectable." --"People" "Perfectly browsable, richly poetic."--"The Washington Post Book World" "Hilarious."--"The Wall Street Journal" "Simple, attractive recipes."--John Thorne, "Outlaw Cook and Simple Cooking" "Clever insights and lyrical aphorisms."--"Publishers Weekly" "Vivid and utterly fascinating."--"Library Journal" Though bolstered with recipes, Crumpacker's crisp prose makes this volume a winner-the next best thing to having a chef at your side as you prepare to tackle a new dish. Publishers Weekly (starred review) "