Cooking in the Real World Cooking in the Real World
If you own a number of chef books, then you’re probably used to guys and gals in my line of work assuming that you make your own stocks, take the time to soak dried beans, and possess the deft hands required to imitate plating techniques that take professionals years to master.
This book is a little different. This book assumes that you live in a place that I like to call the Real World. In the Real World, you might have some homemade stock in the freezer, but it’s more likely that you’ll buy broth in a can or carton at the supermarket. In the Real World, it’s possible that you’ll think far ahead enough to soak beans overnight, but the likelihood is that you’ll buy canned, cooked beans, like I do at home. In the Real World, you might very well be able to perch a piece of fish or chicken atop a pyramid of potatoes, and then get that little culinary seesaw to the table without it toppling, but I’m guessing that even if you could, you’d rather not bother.
Here are my recommendations for cooking in the Real World:
Cookware
What do you need for one-pot cooking? Just one pot, right? Well, actually, you might want just a few more pieces than that. Before I tell you what they are, a word about quality.
The old adage “you get what you pay for” really reverberates when it comes to cookware. A lot of home cooks experience sticker shock when they decide to upgrade to first-class equipment or buy a high-quality knife for the first time. But if you want to cook well, there’s really no way around this. Just as you can’t make great food with mediocre ingredients, you can’t pull it off with inferior cookware. If you don’t have good cookware, you’ll never be able to truly control the interaction between food and heat. If that doesn’t convince you, consider this: High-quality cookware lasts longer—in fact, if you treat it right, it’ll last you a lifetime.
So get out there and treat yourself to some good pots. Materials vary; I prefer stainless steel for its look and durability and because it won’t impart any flavor to the food the way, say, aluminum will. At the top of the cookware food chain is copper, which conducts heat better than any of its kin, and looks beautiful, but is far more expensive and a real hassle to keep clean and polished. If you end up splurging for copper, I recommend looking for pots lined with stainless steel, which unlike traditional tin linings will never need to be replaced.
Whatever material you choose, make sure your pots have metal handles so that they can go from the stovetop to the oven without hesitation.
What exactly should you buy? Well, in most of the recipes in this book, I refer to the cooking vessel as a “pot,” by which I mean any large vessel. Most of the time, any of the following would work well:
• A 5-quart pot.
• A 2-gallon Dutch oven (a large pot with handles on both sides and a domed lid).
• An ovenproof casserole, any of a variety of cooking vessels that come in many shapes and sizes and are usually designed to be brought to the table. For the recipes in this book that specifically call for a casserole, such as Andrew and Caitlin’s Soppressata Lasagna, a 3-quart capacity would be ideal. You have a choice here between cast iron, porcelain, earthenware, and enameled cast iron. I prefer the enameled variety because they’re more resistant to wear and tear and because they’re more attractive on the table.
• A roasting pan. You’ll want this for those times when you simply need a lot of surface area to keep the ingredients from crowding. I usually call for this when braising several large pieces of meat like lamb shanks or short ribs.
If you want to round out your cookware collection, there are just a few more pieces I recommend:
• A stockpot. Go for one with a 21/2-gallon capacity. In addition to being useful for making stock, it’s great for cooking pasta and making large quantities of soup.
• An ovenproof glass baking dish. You can purchase these in a variety of sizes and shapes. They’re relatively inexpensive, so I keep a small fleet on standby. If you only want one, I suggest you buy a 9-inch square dish that’s 2 inches deep, which accommodates most pasta casseroles well and is a good size for serving at the table.
• A sauté pan. Make it big in all respects, with a lid that fits. I suggest a 12-inch stainless-steel pan with deep sides. You might not always need all that room, but when you do, you’ll be glad you have it. For example, if you’re making a pasta sauce, you can add the pasta directly to the pan and toss it there.
• A baking sheet. You’ll want one of these for roasting vegetables and spreading hot ingredients out to cool. Buy one with a rim. As with that big sauté pan, you might not always need one, but you’ll be glad to have it when you do. Be sure the pan you buy fits into your oven; 12 by 16 inches is usually a good bet.
Beyond cooking vessels, the equipment for cooking the recipes in this book is limited. You might want (but do not need) a good, long set of tongs for turning meats and fishing bay leaves out of soups, stews, and cooking liquids; a long wooden spoon; a whisk; and a ladle.
Finally, there’s no more important implement before you start cooking than a good, sharp, stainless-steel knife with a single, forged blade. Look for one whose handle is built around, or from, the back of the steel itself, which is the sturdiest, most unlikely to break, and will give you the best control of the blade. If you want to invest in only one, I say make it an 8-inch chef’s knife, which you can use for everything from smashing garlic to carving large cuts of meat.
Stocks
The recipes in this book are so jam-packed with flavor that you can use storebought stock or broth. I recommend you identify a brand that you like—one available at your local market—so that you’re familiar with it and how it tastes. There’s a wealth of important information on the label or carton. For flavor’s sake, the most important consideration is that it is low in sodium so you can control the salt in the dish. In extreme cases, an excess of sodium can ruin things right off the bat. If your options are limited and you can only put your hands on high-sodium broth, dilute it by one-third with water. I also encourage you to veer toward stocks that have as many appealing adjectives as possible, like “all-natural,” and “organic.” A lot of commercial stocks also contain MSG (monosodium glutamate), which is a whole other can of worms. Avoid these if possible.
All of that said, if you make your own stocks at home on a regular basis, you’re a better person than I and you should by all means use them. (To nudge you in this direction, I’ve included recipes for some basic stocks in the appendix.) In the few cases where they might make a huge difference in flavor, like Spinach, Parmesan, and Garlic Soup, I’ll let you know.
Because of the great discrepancies that occur from broth to broth and stock to stock, I’m not precise in the measurements I give for salt and pepper in the soup recipes, where the liquid itself plays such a central role. However, in many of the recipes for braises and roasts, where the stock isn’t as predominant, I give specific quantities for seasoning.
Beans and Legumes
I’ve got a pretty spontaneous appetite, so it’s rare that I plan a home meal a day in advance. Consequently, I don’t really have time to soak beans. I also don’t see the need. There are so many top-notch canned, cooked beans available that it just doesn’t seem necessary to me. As with those broths, find a good, reliable brand (I love Goya) and be sure to drain and rinse them before adding them to the pot; this will keep their starchy liquid from clouding up the dish and altering the flavor of the soup.
Variations
Here you’ll find suggestions for ways to create something a little different by altering the recipe at hand, for example turning Spinach, Parmesan, and Garlic Soup into the sauce for gnocchi; Manhattan-Style Fish Stew into Mediterranean Fish Stew with olives and capers; and Macaroni and Goat Cheese into a Two-Cheese Macaroni featuring mozzarella and Parmesan and topped with chopped basil.
Tomorrow’s Table
This is where I offer suggestions for how to use leftovers creatively, like turning the Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Risotto into fried risotto cakes or making Mushroom-Braised Short Ribs into a killer sandwich. Despite all this advice, it should be noted that in almost every case the original dish will also be even better the second day without embellishment, so simply enjoying it again is always an option.
At the end of the book, you’ll find two appendices called “Accompaniments and Additions” and “Condiments and Garnishes.” Both are full of recipes that will help you add even more appealing flavors and textures to the pot with little extra work. You’ll also find “Notes on Recurring Ingredients” which offers some insight into why I use certain ingredients such as bacon and distilled white vinegar so damn much, as well as tips for some basic kitchen procedures, including peeling tomatoes. My hope is that you’ll find this information useful in successfully following recipes, both from this book and elsewhere.
I think you’ll be surprised by how much you can accomplish in a single pot, from soups to pastas to casseroles to braises to roasts . . . to that all-so-easy cleanup at the end of the meal. So, let’s go. The sooner we get started, the sooner we eat.