Chef Gaynol

Planet Barbecue

Puerto Rican Grilled Pork Chop, glazed with annatto oil

Last thursday we trekked to Seattle to hear Steven Raichlen and Tom Douglas talk about all things barbecue. Raichlen was in town to promote his newest book Planet Barbecue as part of the Visiting Chef Series put on by Kim Ricketts Book Events.

Steven Raichlen is my kind of food geek.  He graduated with a degree in French Literature from Reed College and in 1975 received a Watson Foundation Fellowship to study medieval cooking in Europe. This academic beginning sparked a passion for live fire cooking and Raichlen went on to bring barbecue to the masses. In 1998 he published The Barbecue Bible and 29 books later he is still going strong with two shows on PBS as well as his own line of barbecue gear and his wildly popular BBQ University. 

Raichlen doesn't know me from a jar of spice rub but he taught me how to barbecue.  Several years ago I was in the house making potato salad and staring with envy at my husband who was drinking a beer and lighting the grill out in the sunshine.  "Hey, I thought resentfully, why does he get to stand outside drinking alcohol near an open flame?"  After all didn't I go to culinary school?  Didn't I stand shoulder to shoulder (technically shoulder to elbow, I'm kind of short)   with all those wanna-be-chefs over blazing hot stoves. Why should he have all the fun?? So I went out and I bought How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques.  And since then, weather permitting my husband and I have been a grilling team. 

Raichlen and Douglas took the stage and introduced each other and then Douglas said to Raichlen, "Who the fuck made you the barbecue God?"  Most people in the audience laughed and the mood was set for the following hour of conversation.   

Emeril 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast

The big daddy of cooking is back!  This time with a new cookbook aimed at those of us who need to get dinner on the table in a hurry.  Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast contains about 160 recipes that will show you how to use fresh ingredients,  prepare them quickly and serve your family healthy affordable meals.

I love the subtitle of this book, "Make the Meals You Want in the Time You Have."   The book is divided into three chapters, 20 minute dishes, 40 minute dishes and 60 minute dishes.  Each chapter contains its own table of contents listing recipes.  So just pick the amount of time you have, flip to the table of contents for that chapter and start browsing which recipe you'd like to make.  For easy reference, I tabbed each table of contents with a post it note so I can easily flip to the chapter I want. 

The 20 minute chapter means just that, the dishes listed there can be on the table in 20 minutes or less.  The 40 minute chapter is for dishes that take between 20 and 40 minutes to prepare, and it looks to me like most of the recipes take right around 30 minutes (but let's face it Emeril can't come out with a 30 minute meal cookbook, I'm pretty sure Rachael Ray would have to challenge him to a spatula duel if he did). The 60 minute chapter contains the fewest recipes but there is still a nice selection of dishes for the weekend when you've got a little extra time.  The chapters contain sections for sandwiches, salads and dressings, pasta, vegetables, rice and beans, poultry, seafood, meat, and desserts.  So you'll be sure to find something yummy no matter what kind of dish you're looking for.

Incidentally, if you're panicking about what to make for holidays, this book has some great recipes. Like Roast Turkey Breast with Bacon and Sage (57 minutes) and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes (40 minutes).  Need appetizers?  What about Bruschetta (16 minutes) or Herbed Olives (8 minutes).  Side dishes?  You could make Bacon Braised Green Beans (25 minutes) or Sauteed Mushrooms with Fresh Thyme (35 minutes).

Since I'm all about getting dinner done quickly I tested three recipes from the 20 minute chapter.  First up was Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Aromatic Jasmine Rice.  I thought that once I started the rice it wouldn't need much attention from me and I could focus on getting the main dish done.  I assembled my ingredients, started the timer and went to work.  The rice came together quickly and was cooking away in under five minutes.  Since I was pairing the rice with the cashew chicken, I left off the peanuts and the cilantro garnish that the recipe called for. 

I mixed the ingredients together for the sauce and then prepped all the vegetables at once.  Next I cut up the chicken and fired up my biggest saute pan.  In went the oil and when it was hot, I threw in the chicken and watched it sizzle.  The buzzer for the rice dinged and so I moved it off the stove to finish steaming.  Now I threw the veggies into the pan and when they were cooked added the sauce, chicken broth and cornstarch.  I brought it up to a boil and had a nice thick sauce in no time. 

I pulled the pan off the stove, uncovered the rice and put a generous portion of each onto a plate.

 

Elapsed time 22 minutes! 

This was really a great meal.  The rice is cooked in a combination of coconut milk and chicken broth so it has a really delicate flavor and a creamy texture that pairs well with the red pepper flakes,  hoisin sauce and cashews in the chicken dish.  I know I'll be making this one again!

Good Home Cookbook

   This cookbook was originally self-published in 2006 and was met with much critical acclaim.  It's been reintroduced by Stewart, Tabori & Chang in a beautiful hardback edition with retro illustrations (but no photos) and over 1,000 recipes that were tested and retested in home kitchens across America.

The author believes that learning to cook from scratch is becoming a lost art.  How many of us had grandmothers, mothers and fathers that really spent time teaching us the in and outs of getting dinner on the table every night?  As more of us are returning to the kitchen in an effort to trim our budgets and our waistlines, this book is a valuable resource that will help you rediscover some classic American recipes.

The Cracker Kitchen

 

The word cracker carries with it negative overtones. When I first saw the title of this book, I was aghast.  Who would want to be called a cracker and why on earth would I want to cook like one?  Aren't crackers those ignorant, racist, rednecks hanging out in the backwoods and hollers of America? 

Then I opened the book and met Janis Owens who delves into the origin of the word cracker and goes on to explain that cracker culture represents so much more than a legacy of poverty and racism.  Floridians began using the word  "cracker" in the 1970's to claim an identity and differentiate themselves, "when Disney moved to Florida and every Yankee on earth built a condo on the coast..."  The author explains that crackers are, "...just another American fusion culture, and our tables and our stories are constantly expanding, nearly as fast as our waistlines.  We aren't ashamed of either, and we're always delighted with the prospect of company..." 

The New American Olive Oil

I'm always a little leery of single ingredient cookbooks.  I worry about finding recipes that fit my cooking style. Can I justify a whole book on olive oil taking up space in my ever expanding cookbook collection? The size of which may force my family to take up residence in the garage at any moment.