Rating: 
Summary: actually GOOD for beginners and all levels
Review: I find this cookbook to be very USEFUL for the beginner cook. I work in a library and several new books go through my hands every day. This book is not a traditional cookbook where you follow a recipe; it shows you, with step-by-step color photographs, how to perform the basic and advanced techniques involved in cooking. How DO you prepare an artichoke, a chicken for roasting, etc.? Recipes too often tell you to DO something that you don't know how to do, and this book is a great reference tool for the novice and expert cook. After all, I can borrow this book any time but I am buying it for myself...what does that tell you?
Rating:
Summary: A great book from a master chef
Review: I recently had the honor of taking 10 hours of classes from Jim Peterson in Aspen. He is the flame bearer for Julia Child and her classical-French-food-in-America's-households approach to cuisine. In Essentials of Cooking one can find a reference book of techniques, much like Housewives found in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. What makes Essentials superior is that it is wonderfully illustrated with copious photographs by Jim himself. It is a must have for any kitchen, especially that of the beginner. With Essentials one gains the knowlege necessary to unlock the language of all other cookbooks, I definetely reccomend it as a gift to yourself or anyone else!
Rating:
Summary: Pictures, pictures, pictures, pictures.
Review: It's difficult to fully understand the appeal of this book until you've seen the pictures taken. In the author's own words, "I've tried to make the photographs cheery (see how easy this is!) and life-like--they were shot under real-life conditions in my cramped Brooklyn apartment--so that if the going gets rough, things won't seem utterly hopeless."Before reading this book I wouldn't touch anything that didn't go in the microwave. After about a month with this book, I was making great soups and a mean paella. Just looking at the beautiful pictures motivated me to mimic the skills shown in the photographs and to go the extra three miles to get better quality food. For each technique, Mr. Peterson offers the bare-bones, this is how to do it description as well as an explanation of the variables that make one recipe different from another. I love this book. Looking through it makes me hungry. Luckily I have a fast metabolism. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: All-star for prep essentials
Review: Known for his great cookbooks like the ones on sauces and soups, Peterson gives the home culinary world a wonderful resource on the basics for prep to do great things with our food. Mine now has moved to above my prep area where I refer to it often. Unlike some other fine works on techniques, this one is so easy to work with: large photos (0ver 1100 of them) simply explained and step-by-step clear photos. From the prep of different types of fruits and veggies to clarifying butter to the one he really helped me on lately, peeling chestnuts. Also, valuable secitons on pasta, deboning fowl and fish, butterflying, etc. This has it all. Concludes with an excellent glossary of 25 pages. Outstanding!
Rating: 
Summary: must have
Review: Not as exhaustive as his "Sauces" book, but valuable for filling my knowledge gaps in techniques and preparation. Step by step photos are helpful. Great refresher course.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE FOR ALL FOOD LOVERS
Review: One of the best books to have for cooking. It's not really a recipe book but it does contain some basic/simple recipes and instructions to best cook/prepare certain foods. It's got great color photgraphs that illustrate the instructions and steps. This book gives you a basic understanding of how to prepare and cook foods from poaching fruits to making your own fish soup base, to cooking a rack of lamb.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE FOR ALL FOOD LOVERS
Review: One of the best books to have for cooking. It's not really a recipe book but it does contain some basic/simple recipes and instructions to best cook/prepare certain foods. It's got great color photgraphs that illustrate the instructions and steps. This book gives you a basic understanding of how to prepare and cook foods from poaching fruits to making your own fish soup base, to cooking a rack of lamb.
Rating:
Summary: An essential addition to any home cooking library!
Review: Peterson's book is an important contribution to cooking literature because it focuses on techniques. Through detailed pictures and explanation, Peterson does an excellent job of conveying the concept that cooking is a craft. Once you master the basic techniques of this craft, you can buy whatever is fresh in the market and prepare it without a recipe. I have taken years of cooking lessons, and feel this is the finest example I've seen of a book that makes cooking instruction readily accessible to non-professionals.
Rating:
Summary: Great discussion of the basics
Review: This book covers the basics very well. The descriptions of what to do and why are excellent. Most of the photographs are useful for the beginner. Surprisingly, and somewhat comically, the recipes don't include quantities which means that the reader must already have a feel for the relative amounts. This is an odd assumption for a book that focuses on the basics. Nonetheless, the real value of this book is that it makes the process of cooking clear. Knowing what to expect, and why certain steps matter, is of help to any cook.
Rating:
Summary: Great discussion of the basics
Review: This book covers the basics very well. The descriptions of what to do and why are excellent. Most of the photographs are useful for the beginner. Surprisingly, and somewhat comically, the recipes don't include quantities which means that the reader must already have a feel for the relative amounts. This is an odd assumption for a book that focuses on the basics. Nonetheless, the real value of this book is that it makes the process of cooking clear. Knowing what to expect, and why certain steps matter, is of help to any cook.
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