Books for cooks
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It's hard to imagine a more outrageous culinary oxymoron than "can opener gourmet."Intrigued, I decided to peek inside this spiral-bound cookbook to see if the author could live up to the title.
I discovered that Laura Karr does like to cook. In fact, she loves creating extravagant meals for holidays and special occasions. She adores big shiny cookbooks with lots of color photography and making the kind of recipes that her guests talk about for weeks afterward. Those are the spectacular recipes that she prepares when she has time to buy fresh ingredients, let things marinate and macerate, and spend an entire day as sous chef and saucier.
For the remaining days of the week, she looks for ways to make delicious meals quickly and simply. One day, while at the supermarket with a friend who was buying baby food pudding for a nephew, Karr had one of those "aha" moments. She purchased a few jars of baby food containing plums and apples for a "Sweet Hot Plum Sauce" to accompany pork loin chops. Not only did the puréed fruit save her time, the sauce was extremely tasty.
Convinced she was on to something, Karr began turning to foods in cans and jars to create short cuts in other recipes. She uses canned roast beef, canned mushroom soup, a jar of sliced mushrooms and cabernet sauvignon as the basis for beef stroganoff. Canned green beans garnished with roasted red peppers (from a jar, naturally) make a colorful side dish. She uses evaporated milk, instant vanilla pudding, vanilla extract and brown sugar for a mock version of crème brûlée.
"The Can Opener Gourmet" offers more than 200 recipes, from appetizers to desserts. There are no drawings or photographs, only straightforward, easy-to-read recipes.
Some home chefs will shy away from cooking with bottled lemon juice, baby food and canned meats. But before you pooh-pooh the idea of being a "can opener gourmet," ask yourself this question: What do you have planned for dinner tonight?
In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the tuna, olives, beans and tomatoes. Sprinkle with onion powder and celery salt, then toss.1 6-ounce can tuna, drained White Bean, Olive and Tuna Salad
1 3.8-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
1 15-ounce can small white beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup drained, chopped sun-dried tomatoes from a jar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
Enough of your favorite lettuce for 4 main courses or 8 starters
Parmesan or feta cheese (optional)
Walnuts, chopped fine (optional)>> Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegarIn a small cup, whisk together the oil and vinegar. Pour about half of the dressing over the tuna-bean mixture, and toss gently to coat. Serve on mounds of lettuce. Sprinkle with as much cheese, walnuts and more dressing as desired.
Nutritional information unavailable.
Rating Scale: Best in its class /
Barbara Burke is a Hawaii-Pacific University instructor who teaches and writes about food and nutrition. Contact her at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail her at: features@starbulletin.com
