Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking by Naomi Pomeroy with Jamie Feldmar and food photographer Chris Court, is an ambitious and inspiring collection of beautiful & delicious food that looks like it came out of a 5-Star restaurant, but was really crafted right from your own home kitchen! This is hefty, healthy-sized compilation of recipes. The hardcover book weighs in at over 4-pounds, and a bit more than 1 1/4-inch thick!
Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking by Naomi Pomeroy
What I really liked about this cookbook is that through the 378 pages of content and recipes for success, beautiful food, and photography – these recipes are doable and the ingredient list is attainable and reasonable, largely depending on the season for some of the freshest most tastiest ingredients (produce). The author has included, where applicable, “Seasonal Variations” side note suggestions for substitutions depending on the time of year or season.
The collection of recipes are categorized into 12 sections with accompanying supportive chapters for Ingredients, Equipment, Techniques, and a chapter entitled “Pantry” which the author deems as the secret weapons! Chapters include Sauces, Starters, Soups, Salads, Vegetables, Eggs, Seafood, Poultry, Pork, Beef, Lamb, and Desserts & Pastry.
It’s a visually stunning book with an even more impressive lineup of dishes and complimentary elements to it that make it not only practical, but also something of an art book too! The layout is arranged nicely with gorgeous food photography on practically every page. The typeset or font is a tad small for the size of the book, with the ingredients set off even more smaller. However, it’s not a deal breaker and it’s attractively set. There are personal, descriptive headnotes before most (if not all) the recipes, which I always appreciate as it gives me more insight into not only why the recipe might have been included, but that personal touch by the author as to why it’s special.
Admittedly, as can be the case with any cookbook in your collection, there are some recipes that I most likely will not venture into like the Foie Gras Mousse or the Steak Tartare on Brioche with Quail Eggs (which btw is visually presented beautifully!) – though by no fault of the author, just personal preference.
So many recipes that need to be tried but will highlight just a few of my long list…looking forward to make: Smoky Tomato Velouté with Parmesan Straws (p.97), Fennel Gratin (p.164) & Blistered Cauliflower w/Anchovy, Garlic, and Chile Flakes (p.168), the gorgeous Duchess Potatoes with Smoked Onion Soubise (p.189), Sherry-Glazed Pork Belly (p.251), and what would life be without dessert…Buttermilk-Black Pepper Ice Cream (doesn’t that sound intriguing?) (p.296), Apricot-Brown Butter Tart (have to wait for delicious apricot season!) (p.312), and because I have a kumquat stash from our garden trees – the Pistachio Meringue Cake with Fresh Citrus, Candied Kumquats, and Cardamom Caramel Sauce (p.322)! Also, not to be excluded is Naomi’s “Pantry” chapter that shares some complimentary elements to your dishes with a touch of homemade goodness like Fried Garlic Chips (p.353), Olive Oil and Black Pepper Crackers (p.366), and Champagne-Poached Apricots (p.368)!
Dabbling with a couple of recipes over the winter holidays last year, did not allow me enough time to capture images of some of my experiments from the book before publishing this review, but there will be several follow-ups to share.
Beautiful and practical cookbook that’s not going on the bookshelf, but being placed within arms reach to keep close at hand to delve into!
I received a complimentary review copy of “Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking” by Naomi Pomeroy, from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way. I was not monetarily compensated, obligated to write a review, or write a favorable review. Links to the book may contain Amazon.com affiliate links where, if clicked and a purchase is made from that click, I may earn a tiny percentage of the sale that is applied for TeenieCakes.com operating expenses. Read more here.
