Books for cooks
"A Return to Cooking,"
by Eric Ripert
(Artisan, 2002, $50, hardcover)
A renowned chef
gets back to cookingHow ironic that the more successful the professional chef, alas, the less time spent cooking. Chefs' days can be so consumed with staffing issues, charity appearances and consulting work that little time is left to enjoy the kitchen.
Enough! Eric Ripert, partner and chef of the renowned New York City restaurant Le Bernardin, took time off from his restaurateur duties to renew the joy of spontaneous, creative cooking. The result is "A Return to Cooking," an oversize, coffee-table book weighing more than 5 pounds and containing nearly 150 recipes, with stunning photographs and original artwork.
It is a combination cookbook, travelogue and essay collection that reveals how one chef shops, cooks, cleans and lives. Call it reality cuisine. The recipes are inspired by Ripert's visits to Sag Harbor, Puerto Rico, Napa and Vermont -- four different locales during four different seasons.
While the cookbook is deemed "eminently practical" by Ripert's publishers, preparing any of its dishes would definitely be a "get-out-the-fine-china" affair in most lay households. Halibut with Grapes and Red Wine-Port Sauce, Crab Salad with Chilled Gazpacho Sauce and Caramelized Pineapple Crepes with Crème Fraiche are examples of Ripert's more "ordinary" creations.
You'll also find recipes such as Guinea Hen with Artichokes, Foie Gras and Sautéed Broccoli Rabe that contains more than 20 ingredients, including Lemon Confit that needs to be made a month prior.
If it only takes Ripert 35 minutes of prep and an hour of cooking time to turn out this meal, how long could it possibly take the home cook to prepare it?
The following shrimp recipe is meant to be eaten as a pupu. The shells flavor the sauce, while a lot of freshly ground pepper gives it some bite.
Black Pepper and Cognac Shrimp
2 tablespoons canola oil1 onion, thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
2 pounds large shrimp in shells
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup cognac
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 lemon, cut in half and seeded
Place oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, seasoning with salt to taste. Add shrimp, pepper and thyme. Cook until shrimp turn bright orange, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.
Add cognac and carefully ignite it with a match. When flames subside, add butter and stir with a wooden spoon until butter is incorporated. The sauce should be creamy. Add tarragon and squeeze lemon juice over shrimp. Serve immediately with crusty bread. Provide a bowl for the shells. Serves six.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (without salt to taste): 290 calories, 20 g total fat, 11 g saturated fat, 220 mg cholesterol, 20 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate and 210 mg sodium.
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
