“The Conscious Cook”

By Pat Tanner

Tal Ronnen is a chef who started out, as he writes in his cookbook “The Conscious Cook” (William Morrow 2009), loving “steak, hollandaise sauce, and rich wine reductions.” In his teens he turned to vegetarianism and eventually to veganism, all the while refusing to give up beautiful, flavorful, rich, and filling foods. He has become renowned for his sophisticated, fine-dining vegan cuisine.

I put the cookbook’s recipes to the test first with his Caesar salad. It’s hard to imagine a good one without eggs, anchovies, and Parmesan, isn’t it? Ronnen manages to capture the flavors and textures masterfully. His recipe introduced me to Veganaise, a surprisingly good vegan mayo. I also prepared a main dish of cornmeal-crusted tempeh with smoked tomato sauce, green chile relish, black bean puree, and braised kale. Also delicious.

Although the recipes deliver excellent results, the book itself is flawed. The index is practically useless, and instructions can at times be sloppy. The tempeh recipe, for example, instructs the cook to reserve the broth (which is superb) that the tempeh braises in. Yet it never says what to do with it. Another recipe is for Asian Tacos with Kinpira. Kinpira is never defined. (According to Wikipedia, it’s sauteed root vegetables).

These shortcomings are frustrating because this could have been the first vegan cookbook to make an impact in the vegan-hostile world - as you’ll discover if you give the following recipe a twirl. Note: the brackets are mine.

[Vegan] Caesar Salad with Focaccia Croutons

1/4 loaf plain focaccia, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (such as Veganaise)
1 tablespoon white [or yellow] miso paste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 tablespoon light agave nectar
1 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 small heads romaine lettuce, shredded
Caperberries [optional]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the focaccia cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.

2. In a food processor, mince the garlic and capers. Add the mayonnaise, miso paste, nutritional yeast, agave nectar, and 1/2 cup water and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the oil in a thin stream. Continue to blend until emulsified, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place the lettuce and croutons in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss well to coat. Garnish with caperberries and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings [with plenty of dressing left over].

America’s First Black Top Chef

By Pat Tanner

Today we take for granted that America’s most acclaimed restaurant chefs come in all colors. Yet it wasn’t that many decades ago that chefs of color, no matter how talented, worked in obscurity. The first one to break through, at least in recent memory, was Patrick Clark, who won a James Beard Award in 1995, just three years before his untimely death at the age of 42.

A few years ago I came across another aspect of the African-American culinary experience: the legions of dining car chefs and attendants, mostly black, employed by the Pullman Company to service its luxury trains from the late 19th century to well into the 20th. Among them was Rufus Estes, who was born a slave in Tennessee 1857. He worked his way up from Pullman porter to spend much of his working life as a chef handling special parties in private cars. At a time when most fine restaurants would not hire a black chef, Estes cooked for Presidents Cleveland and Harrison, the Polish pianist Paderewski, and the African explorer Stanley, as well as European royalty.

We know this and a bit more because Estes went on to write the first cookbook by an African-American chef. The book’s elegant recipes provide a fascinating glimpse into the life of dining car chefs, who in the Estes’ days used wood and coal stoves for heat and blocks of ice for refrigeration. Many recipes are startlingly contemporary, such as an omelet made with squash blossoms and turkey stuffed with black truffles.

The recipe below, reprinted almost exactly as it appears in “Good Things to Eat,” is for a refined but easy to make citrus salad with blue cheese dressing. Although Estes’ recipes don’t include modern amenities such as a separate list of ingredients or the number of servings, home cooks will have no trouble replicating this one. Of course, few people these days bother to peel grapes. (Just cut seedless green grapes in half and call it a day.)

TRIANON SALAD
“Rufus Estes’ Good Things to Eat” (Dover Publications 2004; first issued by Rufus Estes in 1911)

Cut one grapefruit and two oranges in sections and free from seeds and membrane. Skin and seed one cup white grapes and cut one-third cup pecan nutmeats in small pieces. Mix ingredients, arrange on a bed of romaine and pour over the following dressing: [In advance] mix four tablespoons olive oil, one tablespoon grape juice, one tablespoon grape vinegar, one-fourth teaspoon paprika, one-eighth teaspoon pepper and one tablespoon finely chopped Roquefort cheese. This dressing should stand in the icebox four or five hours to become seasoned.

*Image courtesy of amazon.com

The Year’s Best Baking Book…

By Pat Tanner

…for holiday gift giving and receiving, at least in my opinion, is Karen DeMasco’s “The Craft of Baking.” Although she is an award-winning restaurant pastry chef who honed her craft at Tom Colicchio’s Craft, Craftbar, and ‘wichcraft, the recipes in this book are eminently reproducible. They are true to DeMasco’s style, which combines home-baked appeal with modern restaurant sophistication.

Exhibit one: Apple Fritters with Caramel Ice Cream and Apple Caramel Sauce
Exhibit two: Pine Nut Tart with Rosemary Cream
Exhibit three: Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Filling

I could go on – the beautifully photographed book contains hundreds of equally tempting muffins, scones, quick breads, doughnuts, cookies, brownies, candies, tarts, pies, cobblers, crisps, cakes, cupcakes, custards, puddings, ice creams, sorbets, fruit compotes, and sauces. And it’s hard to go wrong, since every technique and instruction is painstakingly elaborated.

Each season’s bounty is given its due, from spring’s Fresh Strawberry Tart with Lemon Cream to summer’s Sour Cherry Turnovers to fall’s Concord Grape & Pear Crisp with Marcona Almond Strudel. Wintertime and holiday favorites include chocolate babka, homemade truffles, marshmallows in lemon, mocha, and coconut varieties, and steamed toffee pudding (steamed in the oven).

Below is a recipe to get you started on your holiday baking. Please heed the instruction to use a large saucepan, since the hot, molten sugar mixture will rise and bubble.

GRANDMA RANKIN’S CASHEW BRITTLE
From “The Craft of Baking” by Karen DeMasco & Mindy Fox (Clarkson Potter, 2009)

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) salted roasted cashews

Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Stir together so that all of the sugar is wet. Cook the mixture over high heat without stirring until it turns a dark amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Carefully whisk in the baking soda, followed by the salt; the caramel will rise and bubble. Using a wooden or metal spoon, fold in the cashews. Pour the brittle onto the prepared baking sheet, and using the back of the spoon, spread it out into a layer about 1/2 inch thick. Let it cool completely. Break the brittle into bite-size pieces, using a mallet or the back of a heavy knife.

The brittle can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 1-3/4 pounds.

Cooking With the Seasons Along the Canal

By Pat Tanner

In the introduction to Canal House Cooking, the first in a series of seasonal cookbooks by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hersheimer, these two women describe themselves as “home cooks.” Indeed they are. As Ms. Hersheimer told me, “Like everyone, we face putting meals on the table for our families every day while working long hours. We leave here at 7 p.m. - if we’re lucky - asking ourselves, ‘what’s in my fridge and on my shelves?’ We also know what is available at the supermarket. Ours is a very practical and accessible book. It is truly how we cook.”

Yes, but each woman has also enjoyed a successful career at the top of the food-publishing world. Hersheimer was one of the founders and an executive editor of Saveur magazine, where Hamilton ran the test kitchen and served as food editor. Together the pair has more than 30 years experience working with magazines such as Metropolitan Home, Food and Wine, Cook’s Illustrated, and Martha Stewart Living and on cookbooks by Julia Child, Alice Waters, Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and other notables.

In 2007 they established their own studio alongside the D&R canal in tiny Lambertville, where they specialize in food photography and styling and cookbook design and writing. Including, now, their own.

Volume one of Canal House Cooking focuses on their favorite summer recipes, with names like Tomatoes All Dressed Up for Summer and Raspberry Sandwiches. Three books a year are planned. Next up is Fall/Holiday (due out in mid-October), followed by Winter/Spring. For a glimpse at the stylish, easy, and eye-popping recipes, visit thecanalhouse.com. Check out the recipe for Melon Water, a summer cooler made with or without rum. At this time of year, who can resist a recipe that begins, “Crack open a ripe melon…”?

Spend a Weekend with Celebrity Cookbook Authors in Beautiful Spring Lake

By Pat Tanner

Actually, you can choose to spend the weekend or just make it a day trip when the Historic Inns of Spring Lake host their third annual Authors & Inns tour on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17. On Sunday, each of 11 inns and bed & breakfasts in this pretty Jersey shore community will throw open their doors and play host to one chef, restaurateur, or culinary TV personality.

Among the celebrity authors are Suvir Saran of New York’s Devi Restaurant; Barbara Kafka, recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s lifetime achievement award; Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito of BakedNYC and whose cookbook was recently featured in O Magazine; and Jeff Nathan of the PBS series Jeff Nathan’s Family Suppers.

New Jersey will be represented by Patricia Mack, whom many remember fondly as food editor of The Record (she will share secrets from her 1999 book Tomatoes), and by Barbara Seelig Brown, the author of Stress Free Cooking and host of a cable TV show of the same name.

From 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, ticket holders can take a self-guided tour of the 11 inns and visit with the celebrities, who will sign copies of their books. The $15 ticket price includes a keepsake tote bag and tour map.

For those who wish to make a weekend of it, guests staying at any of the inns over Friday and Saturday nights will receive complimentary Sunday tour tickets - and admission to a private event on Saturday. For that, only guests of the inns are invited to spend an hour with each of five authors while they present a recipe from their book. Participating authors are Suvir Saran, Patricia Mack, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Belina Hulin (Pizza for a Party), and Hope Fox (Impress for Less).

For a complete list of authors, schedule of events, and participating inns visit HistoricInnsofSpringLake.com

In the Loveless Kitchen

By Judith Garfield

Cookbooks…highbrow, lowbrow, it doesn’t matter. I won’t remember much anyway. All those recipes. So little interest. Where’s the fun?

In The Loveless Cookbook I plan to include a joke with every recipe. Like this:

Surprisingly, Julius Caesar preferred ranch.

For those of us who hate to cook, it helps to laugh while cooking or cook while laughing. Either way, the slicing and dicing become a little less tedious the more cheerful we are. What also helps is proper cooking equipment, like a great set of knives.

What doesn’t help are questionable kitchen tools. Like that thankless garlic press. Chef Anthony Bourdain calls it an abomination. Alton Brown, of Iron Chef, calls it a uni-tasker. Not worth the space it occupies in the utensil drawer. I call it, well, have you ever tried to clean one? Enough said.

Using the knife skills you will learn in chapter two of my book, (The Loveless Cook Cuts Up) you will be ready to mince your garlic. Then, you can try this recipe for the best Caesar dressing you will ever taste, courtesy of my friend M.

Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tube of anchovy paste
1/2 lemon
splash of white vinegar
raw egg
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in bowl. Whisk in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Although foreign to your nature, a garnish of grated parmesan cheese and pimentos look impressive.

Pour over cold crisp romaine. Be thankful some loveless cook invented salad in a bag and use it. Serve with pan-seared pork tenderloin and roasted sweet potatoes. Look for these recipes in my book. Along with this.

Wife: The two things I cook best are meat loaf and apple pie.
Husband: Which is this?


Are you a loveless cook? Enter your favorite loveless recipe in our Recipe Contest for a chance to win dinner for two at a New Jersey restaurant!

Cook Up a Cookbook: No Culinary School or Publisher Required

By Pat Tanner

When Lorraine Bodger’s kit for creating your own cookbook arrived on my doorstep, I was prepared to scoff. In these days of simplified desktop publishing, I reasoned, who couldn’t put together a binder or spiral bound book of favorite family recipes? But once I delved into the box, I began to appreciate that it takes a bit more thought, organization, time, and commitment than most of us realize - and that some well-thought-out professional advice goes a long way towards producing the best version of whatever cookbook may be in floating around in our heads.

Ms. Bodger both inspires (“Find Your Own Food Personality”) and dispenses practical advice. No one, after all, is equally adept at all the tasks involved: collecting, test-driving, and rewriting recipes (including family stories); choosing a format (notebook, scrapbook, bound book); and designing attractive pages. She even includes cogent directions for taking great photos of food.

Practical advice for organizing, personalizing, preserving, and sharing recipes is shared in a 64-page booklet. There are chapters on how best to collect the recipes (by email, over the phone, in person, or by snail mail), testing (and re-testing) the recipes so they are failsafe, rewriting them “like a pro,” and producing a personalized final product.

The kit also comes with Chef’s Tips cards listing kitchen shortcuts, ingredient substitutions, yields, food storage guidelines, and other useful info. There are sheets of colorful stickers for “garnishing” your pages, but even these are well thought out, with labels like “Perfect for Parties”, “Kid Tested”, and “Grandpa’s Favorite.”

There is just one component of the kit that I do still scoff at: a paper chef’s toque that declares the wearer a “Culinary Genius.”

“Cook Up a Cookbook: Create Your Own Recipe Book From Scratch” (Potter Style, 2008, $21.95)

Food Finds: Pierogi Plus

By Pat Tanner

Once a month the good people of St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Hillsborough cook up a dinner of authentic dishes from their Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Slovakian heritages. From when the doors swing open to the public at the unfashionably early hour of 4 p.m. and until they close at 7, about 400 diners feast on tasty, made-from-scratch stuffed cabbage rolls, kielbasa, potato pierogi topped with sour cream, buttery bowtie pasta with cabbage - even mashed potatoes and gravy. A downright steal at $11 ($5 for children) this bargain meal is rounded out with salad, rye bread, sheet cake, and hot and cold drinks.

The driving force behind the dinners is Ted Petrock, the church’s resident executive chef, who is also a parishioner and who runs the church’s catering arm, Heavenly Catering. He learned to cook in the military – at the Pentagon cooking for the likes of Colin Powell and Caspar Weinberger – then attended culinary school in New York, and was at one time executive chef at Rutgers University.

St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church is at 1900 Brooks Boulevard, Hillsborough. The next Slavic dinner takes place on Wednesday, February 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. Just show up hungry – very hungry - on the appointed day and time and eat hearty. For more information call 908. 725.0615.

Want to try your own hand at making pierogi? Or any of 100 varieties of filled dumplings, pockets, and little pies from around the globe? Then Edison-based author-photographer Brian Yarvin’s newest cookbook A World of Dumplings (Countryman Press 2007) is for you. His color photographs are invaluable for demonstrating dough making, shaping, steaming, and frying.