Date: Fri 09-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

cookbooks-Emeril-Food-Network

Full Text:

Cooking With Celebrity Chefs W/ Is As Easy As A Visit To The Book Store

(with recipes & book covers )

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Ever since the advent of The Food Network on cable television, there has been

a plethora of cookbooks by celebrity chefs. Each year brings a new outpouring

from the publishers, books snapped up by viewers of the popular television

shows.

Take the Two Fat Ladies, for example. Since their show was picked up by

American television, these two English cooks have gained almost a cult

following. With the publication of The Two Fat Ladies Full Throttle (Clarkson

Potter, 1999, hardcover, $27.50) , Jennifer Patterson and Clarissa Dickson

Wright are fast becoming an international institution.

The ladies' obvious delight in good, robust and unpretentious food

(established in Cooking With The Two Fat Ladies and The Two Fat Ladies Ride

Again ) is again made joyfully apparent as they take to the road in their

trademark motorcycle and sidecar to sample the best the British Isles has to

offer.

The Two Fat Ladies visit such typically British events as the Cotswold Hunt

Pony Club and cook for the Cambridge First Boat crew, barristers at Lincoln's

Inn, and the pilots of vintage aircraft, hunting out the finest in local

produce and local color as they go. The Two Fat Ladies Full Throttle follows

their progress through the country, and includes all of the recipes featured

in their television series as well as many others which they have collected on

their travels.

Their love of traditional, hearty food is reflected throughout the book, as

the ladies offer their versions of pot roast of beef, chicken simla,

artichoke-stuffed lamb with honey tomato sauce, roasted salmon with scallops

and mustard butter, and couscous salad. And, for dessert, raspberry shortcake.

No diet stuff here.

Roasted Salmon

With Scallops And Mustard Butter

2 lb middle-cut piece of salmon, boned, or fillets

1« sticks butter

3 generous tsp whole-grain mustard

4 level tsp dried dillweed

or 2 tsp each dried and fresh dill

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 sea scallops

10 oz fresh spinach or arugula

Place the salmon piece or fillets skin-side up in a shallow baking dish. Roast

in a preheated 450 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, gently melt the

butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard and

dill. Season to taste.

Remove salmon from the oven, place scallops around it, and baste with the

mustard sauce. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

Slice the salmon quite thickly, serve on top of the spinach or arugula and

spoon over the mustard butter. This can be served as an appetizer or, with a

few new potatoes, as a main course.

Mario Batali, the host of The Food Network's Molto Mario and Mediterranean

Mario and the chef/owner of Po and Babbo, popular New York City restaurants in

the West Village, has been asked the same question for years: When are you

going to write a cookbook? For all of his fans and everyone who loves

innovative Italian food, this celebrated, larger-than-life chef has written a

highly anticipated and appealing cookbook.

In Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes From My Two Villages (Clarkson

Potter, 1999, hardcover, $30) Mr Batali has combined the spirit of old-world

cooking with new world flair, showcasing rustic Italian food at its most

irresistible.

In nearly 250 recipes, home cooks will learn how to duplicate his assertive

approach to combining flavors, capturing all of the exuberance of the best

Italian and American cooking. Because his dishes are based more on superior

ingredients than on fancy techniques, he proves that they are easily adaptable

for any home kitchen and the result is great tasting food.

The book offers the signature dishes that epitomize his cooking philosophy, a

blend of rustic classics and innovative dishes originated for his restaurants.

These range from rolled steak with green olives and oregano; spaghettini with

rock shrimp, anaheim chiles and arugula; and white bean ravioli with balsamic

brown vinegar; to tagliatell with fresh tuna ragu; sauteed Japanese eggplant

with scallions and thyme; and marinated calamari and artichokes in a spicy

olive vinaigrette.

Sauteed Pumpkin With

Chiles, Mint and Honey

1 lb sugar pumpkin or acorn squash, peeled and seeded

4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tsp hot pepper flakes

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

3 Tbs honey

3 Tbs chopped fresh mint leaves

Cut the pumpkin or squash into 1-inch cubes.

In a 12- to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until smoking. Add the

pumpkin and garlic and cook, tossing frequently, until light golden brown, 4

to 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, vinegar and honey and bring to a

boil.

Cook until the liquid is reduced to a syrup around the pumpkin, about 1

minute. Remove from the heat, toss with the mint, and serve.

Serves 4.

Culinary impresario Jacques Pepin and his spirited daughter Claudine have

returned to the kitchen to share their philosophy on food and its power to

bring friends and family together in Jacques Pepin's Kitchen: Encore With

Claudine (KQEB Books and Tapees publication; Bay Books, 1998, hardcover,

$27.95) .

The companion book to the second season of their public television series

contains more than 110 original recipes, which Jacques uses to teach Claudine

lessons in economy and resourcefulness, creativity and versatility.

First and foremost, Jacques re-emphasizes his fundamental belief that cooking

is fun.

To demonstrate these lessons, he developed several menus for the book, like

the one for "Everyday Cooking." This menu provides a quick and delicious meal

for four and encourages the creative use of ingredients most people keep in

their pantry or refrigerator. A recipe called Stuffed Tomatoes Emilia, for

example, uses leftover bread, while pita pizzas substitute pitas for dough,

the most challenging part of pizza making.

Peaches In Red Wine

4 ripe yellow peaches

3 Tbs sugar

3 Tbs cassis (black currant liqueur)

« cup fruity, acidic red wine like Beaujolais or Zinfandel

4 springs fresh mint

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the peaches, and cut each of them into 6

wedges, discarding the pits and skin. You should have about 3 cups peach

wedges.

Place the peaches in a bowl with the sugar, cassis and wine. Mix well and

refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

To serve, divide the peaches and surrounding juice among four wine goblets.

Top each dessert with a sprig of mint.

This recipe can also be made with white wine and a little honey, or with

champagne and a dash of framboise (raspberry brandy). Frozen unsweetened

peaches also can be used.

Emeril Lagasse is the chef/owner of the critically acclaimed New Orleans

restaurants Emeril's, NOLA, Delmonico Restaurant and Bar, and Emeril's New

Orleans Fish House in Las Vegas. He is the host of Emeril Live and Essence of

Emeril as seen on The Food Network, and food correspondent for ABC's Good

Morning America.

Emeril's TV Dinners (William Morrow and Company, 1998, hardcover, $25) is his

fourth book, a collection of his favorite recipes from both of his television

shows.

It's all here -- from cooking up Fall River memories like St John's kale soup,

roasted scrod with parsley potatoes, and Boston cream pie with his mom, Hilda,

to Louisiana specialties like creole spiced blue crabs with green onion

dipping sauce; fried eggplant with shrimp stew-fat, and blueberry beignets.

The book not only includes more than 150 recipes, it is jam-packed with candid

black-and-white photographs of Emeril behind the scenes, in front of the

cameras, on tour, and in his New Orleans restaurants.

Emeril's Panzanella

2 cups olive oil

4 cups cubed Italian or French bread

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil

3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

4 ripe plum tomatoes, cut into ¬" cubes

Heat the oil to hot but not smoking in a large saute pan over medium heat. Fry

the bread in batches and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often to

keep the cubes from sticking. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper

towels. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Toss the remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and

pepper. Add the bread cubes and toss again.

Arrange the salad on a serving platter and pass to serve.

The salad can be made ahead of time and chilled. If this is done, add the

bread just before serving.

Makes 4 servings.