Product Description
Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as “a minor masterpiece” when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they’re made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.

Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.

On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as “molecular gastronomy.” Though other books have now been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.

Among the major themes addressed throughout this new edition are:

Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality

The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients

Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully

The particular substances that give foods their flavors and that give us pleasure

Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods

On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.Amazon.com Review
A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.
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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

Grated Potato Kugel - great recipe for Chanukah.

Kugel is a common way of adding specialness to a Shabbat or Yom Tov meal.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium potatoes
• 3 eggs
• 1 onion
• About 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of white pepper (optional)
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Preparation:

Grate raw pared potatoes.
Squeeze out excess liquid.
Grate onion into the pulp. Mix well.
Add eggs, salt. Mix well. Add as much flour as necessary to make a batter that would drop from a spoon. Again mix well.
Heat shortening in baking pan and fold into batter.
Turn batter into greased baking pan.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees F, until the top turns nicely browned and crisp around the edges.

Serve 4 to 6.

We all know there a lot of ham left after the fest dinners. There are several good recipes to use up the leftover ham.

Ham and Broccoli Ring
Ham and Bean Soup
Ham and Macaroni Bake
Cuban Cubano Sandwich

Ham and broccoli ring

Ingredients:

1 cup broccoli (chopped)
1 1/2 cups ham (diced)
3/4 cup chedder cheese (shredded)
2 pakages crossiant rolls

Preparation:

Lay the crossiant rolls on a sprayed cookie sheet in the shape of a circle. So the points are facing the edges of the cookie sheet. Make a sturdy base with the widest part of the dough, make sure there are no gaps.
Mix broccoli, ham and cheese in a medium bowl.
Spoon mixture on the crossiant about one inch across the dough ring and about one inch high, or until all the mix is used.
Fold the points of the dough over the mix and press into the inside of the ring. It is best if there are some openings on the top of the ring.
Bake according to the instructions on the crossiant tube.
Let cool about 10 minutes.
You can use spinach if you don’t want to use broccoli.
This is a good way to get kids who are picky eaters to eat veggies.

Ham and Bean soup

Ingredients:

leftover ham cut into small pieces
a large onion diced
5 or 6 pieces of celery diced
1 bag great northern beans
2 cans of tomato soup
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 ham bone
1 bag of carrots sliced in bite sized pieces

Preparation:

Fill a stockpot about half way with water. Add the onion, celery, carrots, beans and ham bone in.
Let cook on medium flame until beans are cooked well. then add the ham and cook an addition 30 minutes.
Add the tomato soup and cook about 30 more minutes.

Ham and Macaroni Bake

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. elbow macaroni
1 can cream of celery soup
1/4 c. milk
1 sm. onion, minced fine
1 c. diced cooked ham
1 c. (1/4 lb.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Stir macaroni into large amount boiling salted water and cook per package direction. Drain well and rinse in cold water.
Stir in soup, milk, onion, ham and half the cheese. Pour into buttered 6 cup baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and more ham cut into thin slices if desired.
Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) for 30 minutes.

Cuban Cubano Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 Cuban bread bun or substitute French bread roll (not a baguette) or a Kaiser roll
1 pound roasted pork shredded - boneless center loin is suggested
1/2 pound baked ham - a mild and sweet flavored ham
1/4 pound Swiss cheese
12 dill pickle slices
3 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

Cut ham into thin slices. Cut a dill pickle into narrow slices, or use pre-cut slices Cut cheese into thin slices.
Slice bread bun in half lengthwise, or if using a French bread roll, cut lengthwise to make a 6 inch length.  Lightly butter inside of each bread slice. On buttered side, layer ingredients starting with the pickles, then the roast pork, ham (1 to 2 slices), and the cheese on top.
Pre-heat sandwich grill or a griddle pan large enough to hold 1 or 2 sandwiches. Spray cooking oil on grill or pan surfaces. Place sandwich(es) in grill or pan and flatten sandwich by either closing grill lid, or if using an open pan, place a meat press, such as a bacon press, over top of sandwich. A heavy object such as a brick wrapped in tin foil can be used to compress the bread, meat, and cheese.
Grill sandwiches 2 to 3 minutes per side, removing when cheese melts and outsides of bread are golden brown.
Slice sandwiches in half and serve.

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 cup of water
1 (6 ounce) can lemonade concentrate, frozen
2 cups ice cubes
5 fresh strawberries, hulled

Preparation:

Place the lemonade concentrate, water and ice cubes into the blender.
Process until ice is finely blended.
Add strawberries, puree until well blended.
Taste, adjust flavors if you like.
This recipe is very flexible, you can use virtually any fruits in it.

Frozen Lemonade With Blackberry Puree

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup simple syrup
1 pint fresh blackberries, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
plus some fresh blackberries to garnish
4 1/2 cups ice cubes
4 fresh mint sprigs

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the 1 1/4 cups of lemon juice, the orange juice and the 3/4 cups of simple syrup. Set aside.
2. In another small bowl, stir together the blackberry juice, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons simple syrup. Set aside.
3. Put the ice cubes in a blender, add the lemon juice mixture. Set up “the ice crush feature” of the blender or high speed, blend until smooth.
4. Put one tablespoon of the blackberry puree into each of 4 glasses. Pour in the frozen lemonade, dividing evenly. Garnish each one with a mint sprig and few blackberries. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz.) package salad green
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 (12 oz.) bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 cup thin sliced celery
1 (10 oz.) package frozen green peas, thawed
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. Place greens in big glass bowl. Layer celery, green peppers, onion, bacon and peas over greens.
2. Spread mayonnaise evenly over peas, covering the top wholly and sealing off to edge of bowl. Patter with cheese.
3. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 12 hours to blend flavors. Toss prior to serving, if desired.