As I await the proof reading of my adventures, I thought I’d let you know something about me. Two things that I love to do are eating good food and cooking & preparing good food. At one time I must have had 250 cookbooks. Today, Sarah has narrowed me down to about 40. Of the 40 I only look through about 20. How many do I use on a consistent basis? Five.
I love Italian and French cooking. Three of my favorite Italian cookbooks are Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen and Into the Sauce from the Buca di Beppo restaurants. It was a cookbook that they used to offer for sale at their restaurants but has since been discontinued. Too bad, because it is very, very good. I also use a cookbook from a Time-Life Books series called Foods of the World; The Cooking of Italy. This was a series that came out in 1968. I bought into the series in 1974 which consisted of a hard cover book which described the part of the worlds where the recipes came from and a 6" X 9” coil bound book that held the recipes themselves. You can tell that this book is well used from the stains and marks on my favorite selections such as Salsa Pizzaiola, Salsa di Pomodori, Pesto alla Genovese, Scaloppine al Marsala, Polpette alla Caslinga, Osso Buca and more. The page with the Zabaione is especially ‘autographed’.
I was making the Zabaione for my then second wife, WW2 and her kids Dean & Kelly. I was at the ‘beat the mixture with a rotary beater until it is a pale yellow and fluffy’ stage. As I pulled the mixer from the bowl, I flicked the speed control with my thumb to what I thought was the off position. But, instead of turning the mixer off, I actually changed the speed to high. That move resulted in the mixture on the beaters flying in all directions as I came out of the bowl. It was now all over me, the stove and every wall within range, including my cookbook. That’s when my stepdaughter Kelly stepped into the kitchen saying, What’s up Bobby?” She then froze in her tracks. I looked up from my mess and our eyes locked. Kelly spun around, ran down the hallway and called out to her mother, “Mom, I think we have to go out shopping, RIGHT NOW!”
What I like about these cook books is that they have original recipes as they were created in the ‘Old Country’ by the grandmothers & grandfathers, before they came to America.
For French Cooking I have is a must for every aspiring French Chef. Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, volumes one and two. I also enjoy using Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. The later again is basic and simple cooking that is flavorful and very tasty.
Chef Jean-Pierre Cooking School, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
The unique quality of this “Cookbook Program” is that it contains 5 DVDs where Chef Jean Pierre goes through the fundamentals of being in the kitchen from Kitchen Utensils, Tools & Techniques to Stocks and Sauces and covers the 5 Mother Sauces. The book and videos are a great combination to use and for me, as I learn better by seeing how things blend and come together rather than just reading about it. The biggest thing that I learned is to layer the ingredients as you go along so that all the flavors come together.
I took Chef Jean Pierre’s Cooking 201 classes and thoroughly enjoyed myself. There are cooking lessons Monday to Fridays with certain Saturdays dedicated to Couples Only, covering French, Italian dinners and more. I check his schedule on line to see what’s new & coming up that interests me. It is dinner with a show, as Chef Jean Pierre is quite the artist behind the stove and has an incredible stage presence, so you are entertained all the time you are watching him. When the meal is completed, you get to taste the results, hoping that you can replicate the same at home. Once a month on Friday nights, there is a wine tasting evening with Eric Hemer a MASTER SOMMELIER. There are only 100 Master Sommeliers worldwide. Chef Jean Pierre sets his menu according to the wines that Eric will be demonstrating that night. It is a great event which I take Sarah to, as she thoroughly enjoys herself. He also has local celebrity chefs teaching their specialties or nights that are dedicated to well known people.
I am desperately trying to get into his TRIBUTE TO JULIA CHILD, but the next opening isn’t until Jan. 15/2010!!
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