COURTESY GOURMET MAGAZINE

Simply Sara

Gourmet Magazine's executive chef brings her culinary magic to Hawaii

Sara Moulton's entire career has revolved around fresh food, but nothing about it ever grows stale. Her job as executive chef of Gourmet magazine forces her to develop innovative recipes and learn new techniques every month, with the ultimate and deceptively simple goal of "getting people cooking."

Hawaii residents will benefit from her constant quest for knowledge next week when she serves as guest chef at the Joy of Food & Wine, a sold-out benefit for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, and the following day demonstrates recipes from her latest cookbook as part of the Halekulani "Living" series.

Sara Moulton Cooking demo: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 14 Place: Halekulani Cost: $50 Call: 931-5040

"She selects the best ingredients," said Darryl Fujita, Halekulani's executive chef. "She puts a lot of thought into simplifying her cooking and making it really tasty so you don't have to slave in the kitchen for a long time to come up with a good meal."

Moulton humbly agreed. "When I'm serving at home, I don't fuss over it, but I try to make sure there are beautiful colors and textures," she said in a phone interview from her office in New York City. "I make it accessible; I demystify it."

Moulton's philosophy is that presentation should never overwhelm flavor. In the day of nouvelle cuisine, "you almost worried that your food had been handled too much before you ate it," she said. "If you have to force it to look pretty too much, then you've sort of lost the point. Not that I'm going to start opening up boxes and cans and say that's dinner!"

After graduating from the University of Michigan and the Culinary Institute of America, Moulton began working in restaurants in Boston and New York before continuing her training in Europe. She became sous chef at La Tulipe in New York in the early 1980s.

But restaurant life didn't mix well with her desire to have a family. Despite her ambitious professional goals, she realized that she "couldn't work 80 hours a week and even get pregnant," she recalled.

So in 1984 she took a job in the test kitchen at Gourmet magazine. Three years later she became the publication's executive chef, and is now approaching her 20th year in the position.

Along the way, her long friendship with food icon Julia Child proved pivotal. Streamlining the complex was Child's gift, and she passed it along to her protégé. The connection also led to a regular gig on "Good Morning America" and Moulton's own show on the Food Network.

After 1,200 episodes the show ended its run in March. Moulton said she is developing a cooking show for PBS which she hopes will air next summer.

Her first cookbook was published in 2002, followed by last year's "Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals," a cookbook "totally targeted to getting dinner on the table," she said, fully understanding what little creativity a working mother has left at the end of the day. "Chefs can let the ingredients speak to them, but you have too much else on your mind."

Planning is the best way to ease the struggle of preparing a healthy meal during a hectic week. Moulton mitigates her stress by organizing her menus and grocery shopping on weekends.

She knows the original recipes in her cookbook work for families, because she tested all of them on her husband and two children, who make a point of eating together five nights a week. "They're my guinea pigs," said Moulton.

They must be accustomed to it. Moulton's children were 9 and 5 when she began her show on the Food Network, and they became frequent guests over the next six years. "It was fun but sort of scary," she laughed, "because it was a live show."

NEWFOUND freedom from the demands of television has encouraged travel, and her upcoming visit to Hawaii will be a highlight -- particularly the uncharted territory related to food. "There's an interesting connection to Asia and the Pacific," said Moulton, who tests recipes from around the world. "To me, it's more exciting than what's going on with New American Cuisine. It's very cutting edge. I think Hawaii's an exciting place to be from a culinary point of view."

One of the recipes she plans to demonstrate at the Halekulani is a French apple tart. Participants will learn a "sneaky technique about how to slice the apples" to create a "show-stopping dessert." The other recipes employ the best island fish and produce.

Fujita said having someone of Moulton's caliber visit the Halekulani is more than a treat; it helps train and inspire the next generation of chefs. Some of the island's top culinary students will be selected to attend her demonstration.

"Someone like this is as big as a movie star to them," said Fujita. "Everybody knows her. She's a renowned chef." Furthermore, the students "take their cooking very seriously, and working an event and seeing and experiencing can be worth months of schooling."

Moulton hopes to pass along more than cooking techniques. Related concerns revolve around sustainability and overfishing -- issues she has addressed repeatedly over the years. Another is the nation's tendency toward obesity. So even if people don't share her passion for a delectable meal, her mission is to get them away from fast food and urge them, in whatever way possible, to return to "cooking real food."

Carrot 'Fettuccini' with Spicy Shrimp

Developed by Sara Moulton for Gourmet magazine

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled with tail intact, deveined, rinsed, and patted dry
2 large shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
10 large carrots, about 1-1/2 pounds, cut into ribbonlike strands with vegetable peeler, tough core discarded
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup thawed frozen peas or blanched fresh peas
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add shrimp and cook, stirring 1 minute. Add shallots, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes; cook until shrimp just turn pink, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to bowl.

Add carrots to skillet and cook over high heat, stirring, until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to shrimp bowl.

Add wine to skillet and boil until reduced by half. Add cream and stock. Return to boil, and boil until liquid is reduced by half.

Add shrimp, carrots and peas to pan, and simmer until they are just heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 730 calories, 58 g total fat, 32 g saturated fat, 265 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 19 g protein

Note: Leave out the shrimp for a vegetarian dish.

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