The editors of Southern Living have recently released a cookbook to teach the basic techniques of baking, boiling, braising, frying, grilling, roasting, sauteeing and steaming to home cooks with the help of full-color photograph illustrations in "Home Cooking Basics."
Confused about what cookware you need or what a dutch oven looks like? The photo guide shows you. Unsure about bakeware? That's covered too. There's also photo illustrated sections on knives, tools, power tools and even a section on traditional place settings and serving pieces, as well as barware.
There's also sections ingredients like different kinds of spices, sugars and salts, vinegars, fats and oils, rice, other grains, corn, nuts and seeds, multiple sections on cheeses, beans, vegetables, greens, herbs and fruits.
There is also illustrations on different cuts of poultry, pork, beef and fish and shellfish.
There's also photo illustrations on prep work like how to peel an avacado, cut a chicken, seed a cucumber, beat egg whites to stiff peaks and much more. The kitchen basics are definitely shown here so anyone can master a technique.
There are also several recipes in each section of technique - like no bake, bake, boil, braise, fry, grill, roast, saute and steam. Once home cooks have mastered these basic techniques with the step-by-step photo illustrations, they can move on to the traditional "recipes" part of the cookbook.
The recipes are divided into Appetizers & Beverages, Breakfast & Brunch, Breads, Sandwiches & Soups, Meats & Poultry, Fish & Shellfish, Desserts and Sauces & Condiments.
Appetizers are dishes like Tex-Mex Shrimp Cocktail. Breakfasts & Brunch dishes include One-Dish Blackberry French Toast. Breads include Biscuit Beignets and Garlic-Herb Bread. Sandwiches & Soups include Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches and Pumpkin-Acorn Squash Soup.
Meats & Poultry include Southern Stuffed Rosemary Chicken, Pork Roast with Carolina Gravy and Fennel-Crusted Rib Roast. Fish & Shellfish have recipes like Blacked Salmon with Hash Browns and Green Onions. Side Dishes include Fried Green Tomatoes. Desserts round things out with Coca-Cola Cake.
Sauces & Condiments include Watermelon Salsa.
I love breakfast food, just not during breakfast time. So one night for dinner I made Buttermilk-Pear Pancakes. The pancakes themselves were light and fluffy, and easy to make, using baking mix and buttermilk. The Fresh Pear-Cinnamon Topping, just required pears, cinnamon, honey, butter and lemon cooked together into a nice sauce to top the pancakes. It was sweet, but not overly so, and the pear and cinnamon flavors were perfect for fall.
For anyone wanting to learn how to cook meals for their families, brush up on cooking skills or just looking for some Southern recipes to try, be sure to check this valuable resource out.
"Southern Living Home Cooking Basics" is published by Oxmoor House. It is $29.95.
