Michael Ruhlman's "The Reach of a Chef"

Hi food history fans - if anyone is interested in Michael Ruhlman's The Reach of a Chef, I have posted a review of the recent paperback release. Just click on the touchstone. I apologize - it is a little long - I noticed that no one had reviewed it, so I decided to go off a bit.

I've haven't read anything by Ruhlman yet.
Here is his web address: http://www.ruhlman.com/about.html

I just became aware of him, he was on a segement of Anthony Bourdain tavel channel show, which featured Cleveland Ohio. Very quirky.

I'm new to Library Thing how do you make links work.

I love Ruhlman. I have Ratios, Charcuterie, The Elements of Cooking, and I just bought Ruhlman's Twenty. His cookbooks are not just for recipes, you can sit on the couch and read them. I have learned so much about food and why certain techniques work best on which foods. In Ratios for example he explains that most recipes can be scaled up or down if you know the basic ratios of the main ingredients. I highly recommend this little book to food history buffs because old recipes rarely have quantities that make sense. This book can help you sort it out.

I love his writing too...didn't know about Ratios, though. Have to look that one up. Was Charcuterie good?

Charcuterie was very good. It is about curing, salting, smoking, and other ways of preserving meat and vegetables. The chapter on terrines was very interesting because I never realized how fancy meatloaf could be when cooked properly. I can't wait to try making sausages.

I am now about half way through Rhulman's Twenty and I am amazed. I am an experienced cook but I have learned so much already from this book. I just made the slow-cooked scrambled eggs with cheese from the book and served them on thin sour-dough toast points with gently sweated onions and carrots. They were superb.