Michael Ruhlman

"Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, "Ratio" is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen -- water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs -- work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes."--Jacket.

The author of The Soul of a Chef looks at the new role of the chef in contemporary cultureFor his previous explorations into the restaurant kitchen and the men and women who call it home, Michael Ruhlman has been described by Anthony Bourdain as "the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs—and on the business of preparing food." In The Reach of a Chef, Ruhlman examines the profound shift in American culture that has raised restaurant cooking to the level of performance art and the status of the chef to celebrity CEO. Bibliophiles and foodies alike will savor this intimate meeting with some of the most famous chefs in the kitchens of the hottest restaurants in the world.

There are fewer than 10,000 wooden boats in America but the circulation of WoodenBoat magazine exceeds 100,000. What is it about wooden boats that has captured the popular imagination? With the "lively blend of reportage [and] reflection" (Los Angeles Times), Michael Ruhlman sets off to Martha's Vineyard-the location of a renowned boatyard-to find out. As refined as a Stradivarius and as ruggedly powerful as an ocean vessel, wooden boats and the art of crafting them nearly fell victim to the modern era. Yet as cheap plastic and fiberglass boats proliferated the seas, a handful of craftsmen persevered. Today, the makers of these handmade miracles of curves and wood are highly sought-after artisans and wooden boats have emerged as a magnificent metaphor for the "old and true" in our homogenized, throwaway culture. At the heart of Wooden Boats is Rebecca-a sixty-foot modern pleasure schooner being constructed, with centuries-old techniques, to outlast any other boat today. Ruhlman follows Rebecca's construction and profiles the vivid personalities at work in a boatyard filled with stories of the sea. His exciting chronicle will enthrall not just wooden boat owners but also craftspeople of every stripe, nature enthusiasts, and seafaring and landlocked fans of compelling nonfiction. -- Publisher description

A look into the medical field with regards to heart transplants and general heart defects. We have come a long way and it shows.

Just over a decade ago, journalist Michael Ruhlman donned a chef's jacket and houndstooth-check pants to join the students at the Culinary Institute of America, the country's oldest and most influential cooking school. But The Making of a Chef is not just about holding a knife or slicing an onion; it's also about the nature and spirit of being a professional cook and the people who enter the profession. As Ruhlman -- now an expert on the fundamentals of cooking -- recounts his growing mastery of the skills of his adopted profession, he propels himself and his readers through a score of kitchens and classrooms in search of the elusive, unnameable elements of great food. Incisively reported, with an insider's passion and attention to detail, The Making of a Chef remains the most vivid and compelling memoir of a professional culinary education on record. - Publisher.

The second in a new series of highly accessible and instructive single-subject books covering basic to advanced techniques that will make you a better cook. According to author Michael Ruhlman, braising is what cooking is truly about - transformation. You start with a tough, often inexpensive, cut of meat, and through your care and knowledge as a cook, you turn it into something tender and succulent and exquisite. That is true cooking, cooking that engages both mind and soul.

"For culinary expert Michael Ruhlman, the ultimate goal in cooking is flavor, and for certain dishes nothing introduces it half as well as schmaltz. A staple ingredient in traditional Jewish cuisine, schmaltz (or rendered chicken fat), is at risk of disappearing from use due to modern dietary trends and misperceptions about this versatile and flavor-packed ingredient. 'The Book of Schmaltz' acts as a primer on schmaltz, taking a fresh look at traditional dishes like kugel, kishke, and kreplach, and also venturing into contemporary recipes that take advantage of the versatility of this marvelous fat. Potatoes cooked with schmaltz take on a crispness and satisfying flavor that vegetable oil can't produce. Meats and starches have a depth and complexity that set them apart from the same dishes prepared with olive oil or butter."--From publisher description.

Michael Ruhlman offers incisive commentary on America's relationship with its food and investigates the overlooked source of so much of it--the grocery store. In a culture obsessed with food--how it looks, what it tastes like, where it comes from, what is good for us--there are often more questions than answers. Ruhlman proposes that the best practices for consuming wisely could be hiding in plain sight--in the aisles of your local supermarket. Using the human story of the family-run Midwestern chain Heinen's as an anchor to this journalistic narrative, he dives into the mysterious world of supermarkets and the ways in which we produce, consume, and distribute food. Grocery examines how rapidly supermarkets--and our food and culture--have changed since the days of your friendly neighborhood grocer. But rather than waxing nostalgic for the age of mom-and-pop shops, Ruhlman seeks to understand how our food needs have shifted since the mid-twentieth century, and how these needs mirror our cultural ones.

The author documents the history of his home, describing its first owners at the turn of the twentieth century and his own family's acquisition of the house, and presents his perspectives on how a house reflects the American dream.

Ruhlman shares the secrets of roasting, one of the most elemental culinary techniques. The term originally referred to cooking over an open fire, and has evolved to describe the cooking of meat, vegetables, and even fruit in an oven, a dry-heat method of making things irresistibly appealing. He showcases a wide range of roasting methods, designed to help you get the most out of your oven.

Offers over one hundred recipes for dishes featuring eggs, from simple techniques for making poached and scrambled eggs, to recipes for brioche and soufflés, covering a wide variety of sweet and savory creations.