Ruhlman's Twenty    by Michael Ruhlman & Donna Turner Ruhlman Order:  USA  Can Chronicle, 2011 (2011) Hardcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth If you are, by any chance, looking for a cookbook that is absolutely perfect for a beginner cook, look no further. Come to think of it, if you want to buy a present for a friend who is a good cook, this is also the book for you. Ruhlman's Twenty is a stupendous cookbook that I would have given my left arm for when I started cooking. I always liked to cook but never could find the right book for me. I needed something that would demonstrate techniques and give me tips on how to make the foods I wanted to make. This glorious how to tome brings twenty techniques right into your kitchen, along with one hundred up-to-date recipes. For instance, take the recipe for Dutch Oven Bread. First comes a mouthwatering photo of the bread itself residing in the Dutch oven in which it was baked. The recipe, of course, accompanies this. Then, most important of all, turn the page to see photos showing exactly how to make the bread – step-by-step. How can you go wrong? These photos are to be found accompanying 20 recipes, carefully detailing the techniques. They show just exactly how to create the particular recipe and then, of course, to make it more clear as to how to mix and shape others of the same type of recipe. These photos show how the finished product can and should look. Along with these help aids are tips to make your cooking easier but more successful than ever. Ruhlman's Twenty 'demystifies the fundamental concepts that can change how cooks at all levels approach their cooking. From basic ingredients to cooking processes such as roasting, grilling and poaching ... reveals the essential techniques on which all cooks should focus.' 'Ruhlman's Twenty is a culinary philosophy that transcends the common cookbook to pave the way for a new manner of cooking.' What are you waiting for? Get your own copy and then a few more for presents. Trust me on this. You won't regret it. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews