ABOUT THE BOOK Learning to cook well is not only an important, basic life skill, but something that can enhance your whole life. Cooking at home will save you money, improve your diet and health, and is great stress relief. Unfortunately, its a skill that isnt as common as it once was since many of us eat out or eat pre-made and processed foods frequently. Its become a common misconception that cooking is difficult and even dangerous, that you need complicated equipment and a large kitchen, and that you will end up with a huge pile of dishes and a stove that needs to be scraped clean. This doesnt have to the be the case at all. Cooking at its best is a simple and natural part of our lives. Director Robert Rodriguez of Desperado and Sin City sums it up: Youve got to eat for the rest of your life, so you might as well eat well. MEET THE AUTHOR Nicole Bemboom is a San Francisco based writer. In addition to writing for the exciting new publisher Hyperink, she covers the best of modern craft and design for the online magazine Handful of Salt. She received her BA in Modern Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Homemade pizza is really easy to pull off, but dont tell your friends. Theyll think youre a genius who spent hours on preparing an elaborate meal that they could never make. We might as well leave them to their beliefs, no? This is one of my favorite things to make at home, and its so easy that now I dont even use a recipe. Neither will you, once you end up addicted, making pizza every week. (Do you have a gluten allergy or low-carb diet? Check out this tasty cauliflower pizza crust.) All you need for pizza dough is flour, yeast, salt, a bowl and a kitchen towel. In the Good Eats episode Flat is Beautiful, Alton Brown walks you through the pizza process in a very detailed way. Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen compiled a helpful FAQ to pizza making, as well as this great recipe... Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Basic Culinary Techniques Every Cook Should Know + Introduction + First Things First: How to Make an Omelet + Knife Skills + French Onion Soup + ...and much more