Sauces

Sauces By James Peterson, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008. Hardcover. $50; 612 pages

Peterson is the Stephen King of the single-topic food book—staggeringly prolific—and this, the third edition of a volume first published more than 20 years ago, is pretty much an advanced degree in technical sauce making. If you didn't know the difference between an integral meat sauce and a brown sauce, you will now. Recipes include simmered stews, such as classic Pot au Feu and roasted hunks of meat with sauces to pair with them. Peterson delivers his trademark mixture of detail and clarity (his books really do read well). This is professional grade but also a fantastic resource for novice cooks ready to study at the apron strings of a master.

GIVE THIS TO: Very serious cooks. —P.W.