Girl In The Kitchen

I have watched Top Chef since the beginning and only once has the chef I wanted to win actually won the competition. Stephanie Izard was that winner. I have been looking forward to her cookbook and Girl in the Kitchen doesn't disappoint. The book captures Izard's sunny and bright personality. She is a girl in the kitchen, so one is never in danger of hearing shouting and cursing in the background. Nothing gets slammed or bammed or yelled at. That is not to say that the recipes are not "chefy." The Pan-roasted New York Steak with Sautéed Cucumbers and Salted Goat Milk Caramel will require 3 days, quited a bit of organizing and sourcing of ingredients. (And convincing anyone there should be caramel on a strip steak...)

Most recipes, however, have a "tip" for getting things done and many have drink ideas in case you don't know what to drink with Fried Cheese with Spring Veggies and Strawberry reduction. (That one stumps me every time. Bourbon? No, rosé.) If you watched Top Chef with Izard as a contestant (or should I say cheftestant? No! No one should ever say "cheftestant."), you will be familiar with her style of slightly Asian inspired Mediterranean cooking. Even the steak's goat's milk caramel has a bit of fish sauce thrown in.

Our one big problem with book is the four column list of ingredients. Surely there was a lot of "design" thought put into this format, but it is distracting.

We don"t mean to obsess on the weird, so here is a rather straight forward and yummy clam dish for you to try.

Clams Steamed with Corn, Bacon, and Fingerlings

12 ounces fingerling potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
24 fresh littleneck clams, scrubbed
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoon crème fraiche
1 tablespoon butter
Several sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped for garnishing

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

2. Toss the potatoes with a few teaspoons olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish and season with salt and pepper. Roast potatoes until they are slightly tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool, then slice into 1/2-inch rounds.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook it until the fat is rendered and the bacon is just browned, about 7 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and sweat by cooking them until they are tender but not browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sliced potatoes, corn, and clams and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the wine and cover the pot and steam the clams for about 10 minutes. When the clams are completely open, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the vegetables and bacon to serving bowls or plates, leaving the liquid in the pot. (Discard any clams that do not open.)

4. Stir in the crème fraiche and butter into the pot and simmer over medium-low heat until just thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and spoon the sauce over the clams and veggies. Garnish with mint and serve.

On this cold day, I can think of nothing better.

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Morgan Freeman & Friends Caribbean Cooking For A Cause

Well, this may not exactly be a “celebrity” cookbook in the sense that Freeman is not actually the cook. Freeman is more of an “eater” than a cook and he is an avid sailor. He spends a great deal of time sailing the Caribbean and visiting many wonderful restaurants. When Grenada was devastated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Freeman gathered his friends to help with the Grenada Relief Fund.

As more and more areas were hit by hurricanes, including our own devastating Katrina, the Grenada Relief Fund expanded and changed its name to, Plan!t Now. Plan!t Now provides people in high-risk areas the knowledge and information as well as advocating for the power of preparedness.


SO Freeman gathered his Hollywood friends, like Kevin Bacon and Michael Douglas who cajoled the chefs at their favorite resort locations to offer up recipes for this fundraising endeavor, Morgan Freeman & Friends Caribbean Cooking For A Cause. The book is filled with lovely publicity picture of celebrities frolicking on the beach, or staring dramatically into the camera


or sidled up to an occasional chef.



There are so many ways this could be really bad, and yet it is quite nice. The chefs provided really lovely island dishes. The book is arranged by island, so you will find dessert and drinks surrounded by stews and okra, so if you are looking for a menu, you are on your own.

Here is a pair of recipes from Mustique. They come from Alfre Woodard’s chef. The drink and fritters will make a nifty appetizer course. The sorrel drink features hibiscus which is found in the Caribbean during December, which makes it a hard ingredient to find, however, Red Zinger tea features hibiscus so it provides a fine substitution.

Sorrel

10 cups cold water
1 tablespoon rice
5 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves 12 whole allspice berries
2 pounds fresh sorrel, washed
2 cups sugar
2 ounces Jamaican white rum or red wine

In a large pot, combine the water, rice, ginger, cloves and allspice. Bring to a boil and add the sorrel. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 24 hours. Strain off the liquid and add the sugar and rum, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into bottles and refrigerate.

If you use the Red Zinger, you can leave out the rice and steep for less than 24 hours. I would leave the tea bags in for about 20 minutes and then let the rest ride overnight.

Festival Bread

Canola oil, for frying
1 cup ground yellow corn meal
3/4 cup All-Purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 – 1 cup cold water

In a large deep pot, heat 1” of oil to 350 F.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add 3/4 cup water and mix to form a dough, adding more water if necessary. Divide the dough into pieces, 1/2 teaspoon each, and roll into ovals. Slip into the oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden.

Festival Bread is a kind of sweet hush-puppies, eaten in much the same way as savory one, with fish.

So maybe Morgan Freeman didn’t actually cook anything, but he is working for a good cause.

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