[.ca] Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (ISBN 0471292753)

From Amazon.com:
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

GREAT book-but be prepared to read and learn:
If you are looking for a recipie book to throw over something when you get home from work-pass this book up; It will overwhelm and confuse you. If you truly want to learn how sauce is made-this is it! Starting with stocks and moving through the basics of about every sort of classical sauce, it not only tells you the method, but the theory and how to take it where you want to go. These are the methods that pros such as myself use on a daily basis in the finest kitchens to create those wonderfull sauces that you get on plates. There may be some terms and ingredients you are not familar with-but, as cooking is a grand adventure, you will have a wider taste and knowldge of the craft. I do warn you that you will really sit down and read this book and asorb it. I have been cooking for almost 10 years in fine kitchens, and I have been learning things almost from the first page! Plus, in this new edition, he covers more exotic things such as Thai style curry pastes and other Asian stocks and sauces..making the book even more usefull that it was before. EVERY pro chef and skilled home cook should have this book!

almost overkill:
If you ever wanted to know the inner workings of sauces this it the book for you. Everything you could possibly want to know about making a sauce is in this book. Although it isn't completly obvious from looking at this web page this book is enormous(could be used for killing mice), and thorough. You will learn many different styles and techniques. There are only two complaints I have about this book. It caters more to expensive restaurant chefs than to inexpensive home cooked meals. This isn't entirely true, it let's you know what shortcuts you can take, but it berates you for taking them. The other complaint, It is overkill, unless you are a proffesional chef there is very little chance you will everyone of the techniques discussed. This book is full of recipies, but I feel that they are only there as an example. A chapter will talk about a technique and then show recipies, that do exactly what the chapter talked about. Don't buy this book for recipies, but buy it because you really want to learn how to cook. I haven't followed any of the recipies in this book to the letter, but because I read about the theory I modified/improvised some seriously good sauces. If you want recipes there are better things out there for that.

An academic book about cooking!:
The book: In twenty chapters, Mr. James Peterson reviews, details, lists, describes and definitely reveals all topics and aspects related to the essence of cooking: Sauces. You start with a brief, joyful and full-of-information chapter about the history of Sauce making. Equipments to follow, with smart advises to have you avoiding spending money on the wrong piece. Three chapters after this give you the basic of the sauce which are (3) Ingredients, (4) Stock, Glaces \o, Jus\c and Essences and (5) Liaison. You would plunge endlessly after this in recipes of sauces in fifteen beautiful and delicious chapters leaving no information behind, and covering sauces of all kinds and for all types of food, from white sauce, through meat and fish sauces, salad sauces, puree sauces, pasta sauces, Asian sauces and finally dessert sauces. In hardcover, more than 600 pages in total, 32 colored pages with clear useful photos, and 7 appendixes that include Glossary of terms and full Index, the presentation of this book is excellent. Opinion: One can argue that you do not need such "deep" book for cooking. Well, this is incorrect, since the book is well chaptered, enabling using it for (a) getting quick recipe for the dinner tonight; (b) reading completes chapters for academic research (?); (c) or enjoying few hours of quiet and entertaining readings. The "Recipe Contents" index in the beginning is very helpful for the amateur of cooking, the indexes and appendixes are of similar value for the researching work and the reading of chapter-by-chapter is adequate for reading hobby. The style of writing is excellent considering the subject. One minor defect is the absence of clear picture and separate chapter (or chapters) about the Arabian and Middle Eastern sauces, since it is embedded unnoticeably in the contents and not separately detailed for obtaining its unique tastes (try Nigella Lawson books on this topics). However, the well-structured contents and the wide knowledge that you would obtain from this book waive off any serious critics. The book is definitely nothing like cold and technical "the complete book of..." series. Reading the first three chapters would give you a strong command on cooking in general and in preparing sauces in particular, although it is not necessary if you are simply looking for recipes. Some titles like "The Relative Thickening Power of Liaison" might be offensive, but do not be troubled, since it is rather useless for home cooking, and followed by titles like "A Few Thoughts about Wine", would definitely calm you and give you good idea about the character of the writer. In few words, it is great book, a valuable assistance and guide for new pleasures of cooking and enjoying foods and really deserves to purchase and embellish your bookshelf or library for long time.

Good but not great:
If you want names, ingredients and recipes this is the book. If you want to understand sauces so you can cook without a book, then skip this one.

Extraordinary book on sauces:
As others have commented, this isn't designed to be a recipe book. Instead, this book *teaches* you what sauces are all about. You'll learn the history. You'll learn the techniques. You'll learn the ingredients. In the end, you will be armed with the knowledge to *create* your own sauces rather than just execute others' recipes. This ranks up there as one my most cherished books on cooking. Any serious cook who cares about sauces should get this!