Amazon.com description: Product Description: Cooking well is about more than just knife skills and finding a favorite lasagna recipe. It's about knowing when to reach for a nonstick skillet and when not to, why you "reverse sear" thick chops, and what umami really is. The New Essentials Cookbook presents a new approach to building skills and gaining confidence in the kitchen with a lineup of what we consider today's essential dishes, from Fish Tacos to One-Pot "Baked" Ziti to Olive Oil-Yogurt Cake, each paired with insightful, practical lessons designed to help in your larger culinary life as you tackle all kinds of recipes--that is, to help you think like a cook.

Whether you have no cooking experience or are looking to expand your skills, there's something valuable to discover on every page. Learn to cook steaks like chefs do with Butter-Basted Ribeye Steak, try your hand at smashing cucumbers for a nearly effortless Sichuan salad, and make the microwave your new best friend to jump-start crisp Pan-Roasted Potatoes. By laying out the building blocks of cooking and building flavor in The Simplest Way to Cook Everything and then taking you to the next level with chapters for everyday recipes, including Breakfast, Salads and Bowls, Sides that Go with Any Meal, and Weeknight Dinners, the book offers a fresh and fun way to learn cooking and technique. It culiminates with (slightly) more advanced chapters for Sunday Suppers and Back-Pocket Baking and Desserts you'll be proud to share with friends and family. And evey recipe is fully illustrated with photos highlighting the key steps, to ensure your creations turn out right.