Book excerpt: Welcome to a whole new kind of cookbook. "Knowing how to cook has challenged lots of men. Women, too. What most people learn is a specific recipe: how to make this pasta sauce, or that loaf of bread. What about learning how to cook in general? And not just the 'how' but the 'how come?' That requires a technique book. "What you'll find in this book is an alphabetical list of sixty-five recipe-driven, technique-centered explications that build out into hundreds of dishes. "Armed with the knowledge of the simple mechanics of a dish, the five or so steps it takes to make it, you can walk into the market, find what's fresh (or on special), bring it home, and have dinner on the table without any worries, any overly romantic pretensions, or any cookbooks piled on the floor: fresh every time—and your way, too." —from the Introduction "The recipes are structured without being fussy and the majority are relatively easy. This is a welcome rarity, imparting a useful, innovative framework as well as the confidence to depart from it." —Publishers Weekly