How To Dress An Egg: Surprising and Simple Ways to Cook Dinner

by Ned Baldwin, Peter Kaminsky

Overview

Learn to cook one thing exceptionally well and you open the door to a multitude of possibilities, with no need for special equipment or fussy techniques. That’s the premise of this book.

Ned Baldwin, a home cook who taught himself to be an excellent chef, sees no reason why anyone else can’t do the same. By showcasing one ingredient per method, Baldwin introduces all the skills a cook will ever need to prepare endless pleasurable meals. Get a big, beefy hit from a hanger steak by cooking it in the oven; master salad-making with leafy greens; grill fillets of sea bass for crispy skin and moist flesh; roast an explosively juicy chicken (the secret is to cook it on the floor of the oven); bake leeks to soft perfection; and more.

Each dish is elaborated on in different ways to expand the technique into unlikely, inventive recipes that are jumping-off points for endless creativity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328521835
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	7.94(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

NED BALDWIN earned an MA in sculpture from Yale and pursued a career in the visual arts and building, but the art and science of cooking fascinated him. He apprenticed with Alain Ducasse and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and also worked with Tom Colicchio at Craft, before becoming Prune’s chef de cuisine. He is the owner of Houseman (the name means “house man’s food") in New York City, where he lives. He is a fisherman, hiker, cycler, traveler, and an eater.

PETER KAMINSKY has written seventeen cookbooks, including Seven Fires with Francis Mallmann. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

11/18/2019

In this chatty everyman’s guide, Kaminsky (coauthor, Mallmann on Fire) and Baldwin, “a home cook who became a restaurant chef who remains a home cook at heart,” lay out master recipes, then riff on them with variations. The basics are, for the most part, familiar: roast chicken, fish fillets with crispy skin, and eggplant cooked to the point of collapse—though braised beef tongue is one distinctive exception. Most of the combinations slant toward comfort food: roasted pork shoulder is cut into chunks and served with clams and mint, and a whole sea bass is wreathed in sweet peppers and cherries. The only sweet master recipe is for chocolate ganache that is then transformed into hot chocolate or drizzled over cheese and charred pieces of baguette for dessert. Cast in colloquial prose (accompanied by winsome hand-drawn illustrations), Baldwin’s recipes feels eminently doable, but sometimes so much so that readers may wonder whether they need recipes for four variations on hard-boiled eggs with toppings or for three different vegetables (carrots, leeks, and beets) cooked using the same “covered-pot” method. Simplicity works as both pro and con in this encouraging but not groundbreaking guide. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

One has to cook with precision and confidence to pull off ‘simple’ cooking. Ned’s common sense approach is evident on every page.” —Tom Colicchio “This book will make you hungry and happy. It will send you into the kitchen again and again!” —Ruth Reichl   “If you follow Ned Baldwin’s good recipes and sage advice, you’ll be able to dress an egg. You’ll also be able to ingeniously change up chicken, pork, shrimp, beets, leeks, broccoli, chocolate, and more. Best of all, you’ll learn to follow your senses and to create foods you love and foods you’ll be excited to give family and friends. Keep this book close—you’ll be consulting it often.” —Dorie Greenspan, award-winning author of Everyday Dorie   “Ned Baldwin has a startling gift for creating scrumptiousness. How to Dress an Egg is a secret treasure, full of tweaks and twists for rendering familiar-seeming dishes into delicious food that you want to eat now, now, now! It has been a long time since I’ve seen a book that makes me want to eat everything in it—if possible, tonight.” —Bill Buford, editor, journalist, and author of Heat     “Don't let Ned Baldwin's success as a chef intimidate you—he has the soul and humility of a home cook. How to Dress an Egg is brimming with astute tips and irresistible recipes that will elevate your dinner game for good.” —Amanda Hesser, Co-founder and CEO of Food52 "This collection of varied and delicious suggestions for dressing up basic key recipes is recommended for home cooks looking to add some flair to their meals." —Library Journal "Instills confidence, and even injects a bit of fun into the food preparation." —Booklist —

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

Chef Baldwin collaborates with food writer Kaminsky (Seven Fires) to create a collection focusing on a few cardinal foods or techniques, as well as variations on those themes. The meat and poultry entrees, for instance, each include at least four to five distinct riffs on the initial recipe. What sets this book apart is the variety of the "starter" items and the wide-ranging options that follow, which go beyond simply varying condiments or flavors to create entirely different dishes. Large full-color photos accompany most recipes, which also feature a headnote with additional suggestions and tips. Many recipes involve separately prepared components. VERDICT This collection of varied and delicious suggestions for dressing up basic key recipes is recommended for home cooks looking to add some flair to their meals.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Library Journal