The Improvisational Cook

by Sally Schneider

“Schneider weans home cooks off their training wheels and provides a springboard from which they can leap out of the box, craft their own distinctive dishes, and let their new instinctive and creative juices flow.”
—Mario Batali   Everyday meat loaf, roast chicken, and cornbread become inspired new dishes in the hands of The Improvisational Cook. Sally Schneider, bestselling author of A New Way to Cook , encourages home chefs to be creative and daring, to “cook out of the box,” in order to create their own culinary magic. Encouraging freedom from strict recipes and set lists of ingredients, The Improvisational Cook is the ideal cookbook for anyone who has ever considered pairing prosciutto with roasted peaches or putting parmesan on french fries.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Culinary, Reference

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Inder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooh, I really like this book. Steve made the most wonderful chicken from it (and yes, I ate a little), while I made some gorgeous white beans with crispy sage. Uh, yum!

I've returned it to the library, but I'll probably have to check it out again.

I really appreciate the improvisational approach, but that was my style anyway. I can't remember the last time I faithfully followed a recipe (Steve, on the other hand, is a recipe follower). I tend to just work with what I have, use cookbooks for ideas rather than recipes, and make tons of substitutions. Do things always turn out well? No. But sometimes they turn out better than I expected, and I get to take some credit for that.

If I could really understand the principles in this book, I would be a better improvisational cook - her theories of flavor harmonies, etc., are excellent. But then we hit another obstacle - my attention span.

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like what she says about improvising, but on a more basic level the dishes she gravitates towards aren't as appealing to me. There's very little about beans, and surprisingly there seems to be much more meat than vegetable dishes. So for a vegetarian or someone who eats more vegetarian food, this is a book worth getting from the library rather than the bookstore.

I also think this book shines when it is systematic, as in the section on ingredient combinations where she basically says "what grows together goes together", and the recipes and variations would have benefited from that as well. Each recipe has a section called "understanding"... understanding how that recipe and its variations work... and that really adds to the usefulness of the book.

[Bglassman Glassman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suffer from total performance anxiety in the kitchen. This book alters the way I approach a meal, and a set of recipes, and makes it possible to do really interesting things with what is at hand. Most important, it does what PowerPoint does -- it provides templates that you can fill in. Serious chefs, like serious communicators, don't settle for PowerPoint. Nor will they settle for The Improvisational Cook. But for the rest of us, who would like to be able to throw something good together when an unexpected guest arrives, and have it come out together and on time, it's a godsend.

[Meghan Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook has rocked my world. I read it like a novel. There are very few photos, but my mouth was watering with every page. Despite the fact that there are tons of recipes in this book I wouldn't make, I feel truly inspired by all the possible improvisations that begin within. The entire dessert section is phenomenal. I can't wait to try a bunch of these ideas this summer and fall, when the produce is fresh.

[Kate Peckham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in my kitchen, out on the shelf. I refer to it several times a week when I'm cooking. I love it. It has given me permission to be creative in the kitchen. I always thought I couldn't cook until I gave myself permission to fail. This book gave me a whole new perspective. I have a special place in my heart for any book that can do that.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, I've learned that I am not a lazy cook that just uses what's on hand instead of heading to the store... I'm an improvisational cook! Now I just have to learn more of the techniques in the book.

[Ann Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. I've ordered it from Better World Books, to have a keeper copy. Great ideas, great inspiration to get away from recipes.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently Sally Schneider is well known as a contributor to "The Splendid Table" on public radio and as the writer of the syndicated newspaper column "The Improvisational Cook." As I have never heard the programme nor read the column, I had to take Chef Schneider on the words she committed to this ample book. The organization of the text is difficult to understand. She describes one of her favourite dishes and then explains a variety of ways in which it can be changed by adding and/or deleting ingredients. Her tips on technique along the way are useful as are some of her ideas. Many of these are not at all innovative but rather "old tricks." Anyone but the newest cook should be able to figure out that onions in a recipe might be replaced by leeks or shallots or scallions. Likewise, that any recipe made with blackberries might do as well with raspberries, Marionberries or salmon berries. Likewise, that a dish with bacon in it might be amenable to substituting pancetta, prosciutto or capicola. If a dish works well with turnips, it will probably work just as well with parsnips, rutabagas or celeriac. A recipe calling for white sugar might be tweaked by using brown sugar or maple sugar or molasses or Thai palm sugar. It is not that there is anything wrong with this book, but rather that it could do more better. Three preferable texts, for the home cook wishing to spread the culinary wings and soar a bit, would be the following: Pam Anderson, How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart, New York: Broadway, 2000; Tom Colicchio, Think Like a Chef, New York: Clarkson Potter, 2000; and Harold McGee, Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes, New York: Penguin Press HC, 2010.

[Qtprep1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The metacookbooks that take this tack are up against a challenge: It’s hard to teach intuition, which in truth can only fully arise through experience. But it is possible to come close. Sally Schneider’s The Improvisational Cook does a passable job of this, but reads a little too densely for a book about being spontaneous. “

[Juli Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special. I like the concept behind this one, and perhaps it would be a good place to start as a beginner cook. But most of the recipes were so basic that I can't foresee myself using any of them any time soon.

[Elizabeth]

As seen in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Much of the process of improvising involves cultivating a mind-set - open, associative, resourceful - that spurs ideas and lets them flow. It's being willing to ask: What would happen if? ... Then you just go ahead and try out your idea, experiment with an open mind and without fear of the outcome, the mess you make, and the possibly imperfect results. This flies in the face of our notions of what cooking is "supposed" to be and look like - a stylist setting, an orderly series of events, one following the other, an in-control, perfectly composed chef." (p. 8)

"Cooking creatively is about "listening" to what your senses are telling you about your ingredients and acting on you intuition. Tasting a summer apricot, you detect the faintest flavor of herbs - and decide to roast the apricots with some thyme leaves and lemon zest to bring out those inherent flavors. The flavors of a chicken in red wine you've made seem muted after you roll a taste on your tongue, "listening" to the way it hits each part, you add some cherry-infused balsamic vinegar - a previous improvisation - to lift the flavors. Or, noting the dried-fruit quality of an olive paste you are making, you add some dried currants to accentuate the fruitness and offset the olives' saltiness." (p. 9)

"Creativity involves reliquishing total control and allowing an idea to develop organically. Often this means that you start out with one thing in mind but, as you cook, the idea shifts and evolves until you find yourself on a different path than the one you started on. If you don't demand that you, or your food, be "perfect," you'll learn from experience, gradually absorbing what you need to know and gaining greater control over flavors, textures, and deliciousness." (p. 9)

"One of the most exciting sources of inspiration is collabortion with another cook. You bring your mutual sensibilities to bear in a kind of spontaneous free assocation that starts with a simple conversation. Ideas build and spark each other, one dropped for a better refinement, another added, until gradually the concept for disk emerges." (p. 15)

[Build a wider collection of flavor memories through travel, dining out, cooking shows, etc.]

[May · Rating 2 out of 5]

+ side: detailed explanations on how one can improvise a basic recipe such as almost homemade mayonnaise and salt-roasted trout
- side: no pictures of any of the recipes. All we get are some photos of ingredients which if you were cooking Asian or Middle Eastern, would be necessary but since the author stays safely within the confines of North American/European fare, I would have preferred photos of the dishes themselves. Also, I didn't find many of the recipes all that appealing. For one thing, how can I not figure out how to improvise when it comes to macaroni & cheese? Still I managed to find a few interesting recipes including one for crisp brick-cooked chicken that I can't wait to try out. Seems like a really intriguing cooking technique.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really only skimmed this for recipes, so my review is incomplete, but here goes. I like Schneider's approach of breaking down recipes into (A) methods and (B) flavor combinations. For me, though, there was a lot I already knew and some things that didn't really interest me. I do hope to try some recipes, but I'm already so accustomed to improvising that I'll probably use the ideas just to tweak what I'm already doing. For beginning or less confident cooks, this could be a great way to jump to the next level, but it's not a book I need on my shelf at this point.

[Aguess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great cookbook. I hated to return it to the library last week. It has the kind of recipes that can set you off on culinary adventures of your own. And because the basic recipes are so simple, you might not even need the book in the kitchen while you are cooking. it might be the only cookbook in my collection that could avoid the inevitable food stains!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rechecked multiple times from library. Will p/u a used copy soon. Love the creativity this inspired in me. I'm usually much more comfortable cooking from a recipe, but this gave me some "ground rules" and creates a comfort zone where I feel I can safely experiment.

[Laverne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great addition to your bookshelf in the kitchen. If you are like me and use recipes as a guide rather than a prescription, this is the book for you. So many great ideas to bring your cooking to the next level.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook works from my basic philosphy of cooking: understand the basics of a recipe and then experiment with lots of versions. The slow roasted pork is wonderful!! I also love her slaws, and slow roasted tomatoes.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great concept for a cookbook. Following a recipe and then using the techniques and flavor profiles to improvise with ingredients at hand. I've already tried a few of the recipes with great success.

[Nancy Schechtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific! This is what I try to teach my students. Think outside the box. Use what you like and what you have on hand.
The book is basic and full of information. Great book for cooks who are trying to venture out.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

What grows together, goes together. We know.

[Sandy]

since i refuse to follow recipes but sometimes like to flip through cookbooks when i feel like i have been eating the same thing too often--this woman is smart and creative

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully written, eye-opening cookbook about how to cook as well as what to cook.

[Christopher Prosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

cookbooks

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas in this one by a former Martha Stewart-kitchen cook (I believe, might need to double check that).

[Superkirsten Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

yum. what grows together goes together. since i'm a haphazard cook, i love reading about general ideas rather than recipes with no flexibility.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. the recipes are simple but taste delicious and aren't boring. I bought this for myself a week ago online and am waiting for it to arrive so I can start cooking again!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Simple, quick recipes. Well-written. Good weekend book. I love the fried egg-asapargus-parmigiano.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me really wanna cook. Thats what a cookbook should do.

[Mindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to browse through, but didn't really find anything I want to try.