"Seymour Man" > wrote in message
om...

> I am getting serious about my cooking. One
> thing I would like to have is some sort of
> professional techniques book. It doesnt have
> to have to have recipes just techniques.
>
> Right now the book i use the most is Joy
> of Cooking, but would like something more
> advanced.
<snip>

There are lots and lots of choices out there; each book brings a
slightly different perspective. Here's a sample of what I've got on
my shelves (this comes from an admitted cookbook slut, with around
1500 cookbooks in my collection):

* Culinary Institute of America's "New Professional Chef"
* "La Varenne Pratique"
* "The Professional Pastry Chef"
* Julia Child's "The Way to Cook" and "Baking with Julia"
* Charlotte Turgeon's (editor of Larousse Gastronomique) "Creative
Cooking Course", 1982 and 1985 editions
* James Petersons "Essentials of Cooking," "Sauces," "Vegetables,"
"Splendid Soups" and "Fish and Shellfish"
* The Grand Diplome Cooking Course (20 volume set)
* Charlie Trotter's "The Kitchen Sessions," "Seafood" and
"Desserts" -- he talks a lot about ingredients and flavor
combinations, which I find very interesting (plus the books are
visually beautiful)

And no food library is complete without:
* "The Oxford Companion to Food"
* "Larousse Gastronomique"
* "The Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine"
* Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking"

And Shirley Corrigher's "Cookwise" (which I don't have yet, so clearly
my own library's nothing *like* complete yet ).

A lot of it depends on your emphasis: do you bake a lot (see Alice
Medrich's book "Cocolat")? Do you grill a lot/want to make the
ultimate barbeque (Steven Raichlen's "Barbecue Bible" is a great
reference)?

I'd suggest a trip either to the library or to your local big
bookstore for some serious browsing. Hope this helps -- good luck!
-j