Eric Ripert

Use a metal cake tester or thin paring knife to check the potatoes; they should still hold their shape but offer no resistance when pierced.

Lillet, a fruity, easy-drinking fortified wine, is a staple in Chef Ripert's summer pantry.

Rinsing the cooked couscous stops the cooking and prevents it from sticking together as it cools.

To get the most out of your fire, cook these recipes in the order in which they appear. As for the vegetables, use them in any combination you like.

"My first day on the job, they asked me to make the hollandaise. I was 17 and had gone to culinary school, so it seemed easy enough. But I took one look at the giant cast-iron stove they were using—it was literally glowing red—and told the chef that it was too hot. And 32 egg yolks? That was too many! He sent me off to pick chervil instead. (One problem: I didn't know what chervil was.) It took me a month of burned forearms and scrambled eggs, but I got it. I learned to make a figure eight with the whisk so it touches all sides of the pan; to keep my hand on the base of the pan to make sure it's just warm, never hot; to whisk the eggs until they are foamy and airy before slowly pouring in warm clarified butter; and then, that squeeze of lemon. Today, when I cook hollandaise at home, I make it in a blender."

These large yellow blossoms are the flowers that form on the fruit of the zucchini plant. They have a beautiful color, a delicate texture and a slight peppery taste. Filled with a creamy mixture of sweet crabmeat, they are steamed and then dressed with a creamy mustard butter sauce.

A good roast chicken is one of my favorite things to cook and eat. Every cook should know how to roast a chicken properly. The stuffing in this recipe contains a fantastic Middle Eastern spice blend called za'atar, which is a combination of sesame seeds and dried herbs such as basil, thyme and oregano.

Learning to cook octopus properly is important because it can become a bit rubbery if not prepared correctly. This recipe teaches a great technique. The richness of the aged balsamic vinegar, the brightness of the peach, and the peppery bite of arugula come together in a harmonious way that celebrates all of the flavors, especially the octopus.

Editor's note:This recipe is excerpted from Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman's book the A Return To Cooking.To read more about Ripert,click here.This is the cook at work, switching a few ingredients from the pastry chef'smiseto his own. Except for the sugar, chocolate, and pastry cream, this is just like cooking dinner. The sauce is simply an all-purpose ganache that can be used for all manner of desserts.

Editor's note:This recipe is excerpted from Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman's book the A Return To Cooking.To read more about Ripert,click here.Here salmon is poached simply in salt water and served very rare with mushrooms and a mushroom broth, along with creamy polenta. The polenta adds a starch that the salmon needs, but it is also delicate and won't overwhelm the flavors of the fish. Mushrooms and polenta are a great classical pair, and a sturdy, satisfying match for the meaty salmon.

This is a basic court-bouillon that can be used to poach any kind of shellfish and most firm meaty fish.

Editor's note:This recipe is excerpted from Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman's book the A Return To Cooking . To read more about Ripert,click here.这是一个非常豪华的菜,甜flesh of the scallops enhanced by a sauce flavored and thickened with caviar. The dish is rich and creamy, sweet and salty. And it's very easy to make. The sauce base is clam juice, cream, and butter. The scallops are poached for just a minute or two, and caviar is added to the sauce just before serving. That is the only tricky and critical part of this dish: You must be careful to heat the sauce gently once the caviar has been added, bringing it just up to heat without letting it boil. It is, after all, an egg-thickened sauce, and you must be careful of overcooking eggs in this sauce or the caviar will turn hard and white. Treat it as the delicate product it is. Or, as Eric would put it, "Don't whisk it like an idiot. You must be extremely gentle."

Editor's note:This recipe is excerpted from Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert's book the Le Bernardin Cookbook . To read more about Ripert,click here.Eric: We used to have a captain who would sell this cake to our female clientele by saying it was like the heart of a man: hard on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside.

Editor's note:This recipe is excerpted from Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert's book the Le Bernardin Cookbook . To read more about Ripert,click here.Eric: My friend Albert Core gave me the idea to combine port and sherry vinegar, and after some experimenting, I found a way to do it. The result was this snapper, my first signature dish at Le Bernardin. Everyone loved it immediately, except for Maguy, who didn't even want to put it on the menu. Now, of course, she loves it, too. Maguy: I didn't want this dish going on the menu, and Gilbert said he didn't care, he loved it. It was the first time we disagreed. So I invited some friends for dinner and asked them what they thought. They all said it was great. I was furious! Now I love it, so much so that the kitchen knows to send extra sauce on the side.