About this item
Salt has been an essential dining element since the invention of the kitchen table. But today, specialty salts come in a vast variety of forms and flavors. Smokey salts, salts infused with clay or charcoal, herby and spicy salts, salt with extra umami or a hint of sugar are being added to many recipes, to layer more flavor, and not simply to enhance the flavors already there. It's a feast for the tongue, and colorful salts also add visual interest to dishes, and the varying textures add crunch.But how do you decide which to buy -- and how do you get the most out of them once you've brought them back home to your kitchen? Salt will show you how to choose and how use them in simple, delicious recipes for every meal of the day. You will learn how to cook, cure, and bake with them.
About the Author
Chef Leslie Bilderback, CMB
is a pastry chef, culinary instructor, and author of Mug Meals, No Churn Ice Cream, The Spiralized Kitchen (2015, St Martins Press) , Mug Cakes; 100 Speedy Microwave Treats to Satisfy your Sweet Tooth, (St Martins Press, (2013) , The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Chef, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comfort Food, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spices and Herbs (Alpha Books, 2007) , The Complete Idiot's Guide to Good Food from the Good Book, (Alpha Books, 2008) , The Complete Idiot's Guide to Snack Cakes, (Alpha Books, 2008) , The Complete Idiot's Guide to Splendid Salads, (Alpha Books, 2009) , The Everything Guide to Family Nutrition (Adams Media, 2009) , and The Everything Bread Book (Adams Media, 2011) , and she collaborated with Pastry Chef Sherry Yard of Spago on the James Beard Award-winning The Secrets of Baking (Houghton Mifflin, 2003) . Chef Bilderback writes a regular column in The Arroyo Monthly, (arroyomonthly.com) , and has been profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Art Culinaire, Culinary Trends Magazine, CookingSchools.com, Bridges USA, and Living Fit Magazine. She is the creator of CulinaryMasterclass.com, a website devoted to developing culinary skills with fresh, seasonal recipes.
In addition to writing, Chef Bilderback teaches nutrition to kids throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District on behalf of the USDA's Nutrition Network, and travels extensively with the United States Navy training CS's in the finer points of culinary arts. She is ranked as one of the top 50 chef instructors in the nation on Chef2Chef.com. After her appearance on the Food Network's pastry competition show Sweet Genius, Chef Bilderback realized how much she missed day-to-day baking, and went back to work as a pastry chef at N/NAKA in Los Angeles, owned and operated by her former student, Niki Nakayama.
