Tips, techniques, shortcuts, sources, inspiration, and answers to frequently asked questions, plus one hundred triple-tested recipes to make you a better cook. There's no one more qualified than Linda Carucci to reveal the insider secrets and shortcuts that professional chefs use every day.

More than just a cookbook, in the ten years since the first edition of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks has made its way into the hands of forty thousand cooks across the United States, this has become an indispensable go-to guide for internal doneness temperatures, what to look for in cooking equipment, and which cooking methods bring out the best in which foods.

Each of the one-hundred-plus recipes was tested at least three times, each time by a different cook-- unprecedented for a cookbook. Recipe testers' comments and feedback inspired the book's widely praised Sidebars and Recipe Secrets scattered throughout: What's that green tinge on my potatoes? (Solanine . . . and it's toxic.) How can I prepare risotto for company without being held hostage in the kitchen? (Learn restaurant chefs' tips and techniques in Secrets to Successful Risotto.) What's the fuss about all these different salts? (Join Linda as she takes you on a guided tasting of today's most commonly used cooking salts--and spills the beans about why chefs have certain favorites.)

You'll appreciate the author's warmth and expertise as a teacher as she takes you step by step through the preparation of classics like Roasted Stuffed Turkey with Pan Gravy, My Grandmother's Baked Stuffed Manicotti with Twenty-Minute Tomato Sauce, and Apple Crisp with Bourbon and Sp'Ice Cream. And then it's on to sensational show-stoppers such as Paella with Shellfish, Sausage, and Chicken; Double-Crusted Timpano with Fusilli, Ricotta, and Tender Little Meatballs; and White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Raspberry Coulis.