The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking (The Teaching Company, The Great Courses)

4 DVD set with full-color hardcover book. Food is both an art and a science, and mastering both requires an understanding of the fundamentals. The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking is a course of 24 highly visual and instructional lessons in which you'll get a first-hand education in the essentials of cooking from an expert who's not just entertaining, but trained to teach how to actually cook. Chef Briwa has devoted his entire career to showing audiences around the world the craft behind cooking, gastronomy, and flavor dynamics. A former chef at several California restaurants, he's also spoken, presented, and judged at professional cooking conferences and competitions, including the International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference and the National Restaurant Association Show. Learn the culinary secrets of CIA-trained chefs. Explore in depth each of the major cooking techniques any chef must know. Learn how to work with unique tastes and ingredients to expand your palate. Rediscover the joy of cooking and eating. 24 - 30 minute lectures: Cooking-Ingredients, technique and flavor; Your Most Essential Tool-Knives, More Essential Tools-From pots to shears; Saute-Dry-heat cooking with fat; Roasting-Dry-heat cooking without fat; Frying-Dry-heat cooking with fat; From Poach to Steam-Mist-heat cooking; Braising and Stewing-COmbination Cooking; Herbs and Spices-Flavor on demand; Sauces-From beurre blanch to bechamel; Grains and Legumes-Cooking for great flavor; Salads from the Cold Kitchen; Eggs-From the classic to the contemporary; Soups from Around the World; From Fetticcine to Orecchiette-Fresh and dry pasta; Meat; Seafood; Vegetables in Glorious Variety; A Few Great Desserts for Grown-Ups; THirst-The new flavor frontier and Crafting a Meal, Engaging the Senses.