Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home

Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home

Authors: Michael Romano and Karen Stabiner

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2013)

Few diners ever see beyond the swinging doors of their favourite restaurants into the back of the house. Doing so means entering a whole new world – a hot, frantic yet perfectly orchestrated society of cooks, waitstaff, dishwashers and hosts, all who do their jobs almost invisibly, without seeking fame or attention from the clients they serve. It’s unusual to think about those hardworking men and women as diners as well – and with the pace of the job it’s often only in a few stolen moments that a meal can be wolfed down. Many establishments, especially the nicer table service ones, go out of their way to take care of their “family” of employees with the offer of a group meal before or after service. Staff often take turns cooking for their comrades to spread the workload and everyone sits together – without any reservations or “class” divisions of cook and waiter. Danny Meyer’s restaurants (Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and others) are some such establishments, and can no doubt attribute part of their success to the fact that the employees are well fed physically and mentally as a result. As an homage to the meals around the “family table”, Michael Romano, chef and partner of Meyer’s, penned Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home.

Family Table is a compilation of recipes, stories and informative vignettes from the world behind the kitchen door. Each recipe has a short foreword describing a key ingredient or method, and peppered throughout the full-colour photograph pages are personal recollections of or from staff members, adding a true “homey” touch to this hardcover work. The dishes themselves run from soup and salad to pasta, meat and fish, with sides, breads and even a few quick and easy sweet staff favourites. Many of the recipes that sound complex and too haute cuisine for home cooks (let alone rushed staff pre-dinner), but thankfully upon reading they mellow to a doable, if fancier than usual, weeknight meal. Not every recipe is quick to prepare, but those that take time can be made on a weekend and leftovers served mid-week or frozen for later.

Given that this is a book written by restaurateurs, however, the reader should expect a certain level of “coffee table” ambience in Family Table. The dishes are definitely adult-oriented, and usually serve 4-6, which while useful for dinner parties and the occasional birthday will likely fall by the wayside in a conventional household. If cost control is an issue, some recipes will be unapproachable as well (due to ingredients like Parmigiano-Reggiano and specialty ethnic items), though things like homemade Fresh Pasta Dough (p. 108) and Brisket with Red-Eye Gravy (p. 190) cost more time than pennies. Relatively inexpensive and quick recipes can be found in the mix, though, with most of the egg chapter and a Patty Melt (p. 172) looking like a safe bet in that regard.

Generally, Family Table is an international mix of meals, from Japanese Soba Salad with Miso Dressing (p. 84) to Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce (p. 204), French Basic Brioche (p. 262) and Italian Mama Romano’s Lasagna (p. 105). More “American” items stud the pages as well, ensuring that there is something for everyone. Desserts smack of the homemade treats your mother may have made when you were a child, albeit a more refined version, and the stories from and about the pastry and bakery chefs ring of that “homey” passion and family bonds that tie the restaurants together.

I don’t think that Family Table will become an everyday cookbook for most people, being a little too fussy for the weeknight schedules we all have. That said, it is a great read for those looking for the personalities behind the brightly lit signs of the local restaurant, and for Sunday night dinners and the occasional family get together at the holidays, the recipes are a solid twist on home cooking. Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home enlightened and tempted me, and with luck one day I’ll have cause to serve up one of Romano’s colleagues’ meals in my own kitchen.

Available on Amazon

The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook

The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook

Authors: Liz Gutman and Jen King

Publisher: Workman Publishing (2012)

Do you have a sweet tooth? While I was never a die-hard candy fanatic, I’m definitely guilty of polishing off a box of truffles or a giant slab of chocolate fudge cake – with a scoop of ice cream for good measure. Making confectionery was always something that seemed otherworldly, beyond my non-professional skills as a home cook. Then, I started seeing other self-professed home cooks taking on the task and I was sparked to try my luck at it. When I received The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook by Liz Gutman and Jen King to review, it seemed like the planets had aligned.

I spent hours combing through Liddabit, flagging treat after treat I would die to gorge myself on. With seven chapters ranging from gummies to caramels, lollipops and even my beloved chocolate, the 75 recipes each tempted and delighted me. With the December holidays approaching, Liddabit was also the perfect way to save a little money by making a few gifts rather than buying them. Now with Valentine’s Day around the corner, this book is a wonderful opportunity to best the box of chocolates and show your love how much you really care – or host an anti-Valentine’s party with a gaggle of single friends.

On the topic of romance, the authors cleverly included a “Speed Date the Candies” chart (p. xiii), which was invaluable in my selection process. This chart lets the reader spot at a glance just which candy is ideal for your tastes, time and mood – be it boozy (like the Cherry Cordials, p. 85), gluten free (Agar Fruit Jellies, p. 109), shippable (Salty Peanut Taffy, p. 152) or quick to assemble (Five Minute Marzipan, p. 175). Information and tips critical for new candy-creators are covered in a thorough, friendly introduction. Each chapter also has a respectable amount of information and technique threading through it, but in no way does Liddabit read like a pastry school textbook. The authors include a wealth of photography (courtesy of Rachel Been) that illustrates the detail and beauty of candy production without in any way being gratuitous.

"Dough" for Salted Soft Chocolates (p.67)

Chocoholic that I am, I immediately gravitated to the second chapter of Liddabit – Chocolate Loves You and Wants You to be Happy. There was no shortage of temptations – I swooned over the Hip to be Squares (p. 99) made with sinful Nutella, and the Buckeyes (p. 72) called to my salty-sweet tooth. In the end, though, the sheer simplicity of the Salted Soft Chocolates (p.67) won my heart. I’m not a huge fan of the chalky, chewy “fake chocolate” Tootsie Roll, so I was concerned that these would be the same (the authors describe the texture as similar, and they do look like the store-bought candy). I needn’t have worried. The chocolates are made with only 5 ingredients, including 17 ounces of dark chocolate, and by choosing the quality and cocoa mass percentage the cook can thus control the outcome of the finished product. I used a blend of 70% and 65% chocolates, which was perfect for the adult set I was cooking for, but may be too intense for a child’s or milk-chocolate-lover’s palate. I did end up using slightly more salt than called for, but in no way were these “salty”, just well-rounded. It is a good thing this recipe makes a lot of candy (as do most recipes in Liddabit), as it is a bit of a process and required, I found, more time, tools and strength than alluded to. While it is in itself an easy recipe, bank on a good two days from start to finish, invest in a SilPat, bench scraper and sharp knife, and be ready to break out the muscle pain ointment after all the kneading, cutting and wrapping is done. The end result is more than worth it, being a hit with almost every age set (the youngest ones declared them too bitter), and it is a recipe I will keep in my arsenal for future holidays.

Classic European Nougat (p. 145)

The other recipe I tried out in Liddabit was Classic European Nougat (p. 145). Nougat, as well as the various national varieties like turrón and torrone, is a favourite confection with my Italian stepfamily, and I wanted to give them something special for the holidays. The book declares that this candy is “Worth It”, but I have my doubts as a non-crunchy candy fan. By the time I attempted this recipe (which takes a solid afternoon to make and can be expensive due to the nuts), I had become somewhat familiar with the candymaking process. For those just beginning a journey into confectionery, I would strongly suggest making marshmallows first, as nougat is effectively solidified marshmallow. I was prepared for the hot sugar syrup (readers note you will need a candy thermometer for most Liddabit recipes) and whipping of egg whites (you will need a stand mixer), and had my mise en place set out and organized. However, I was not prepared for how stiff the whipped mixture really gets and how sticky the finished mixture can be – the book’s direction to "stir the nuts" into the base sounds like a simple matter. In practice, the process was more like "try not to break your spatula / your arms". Being so stiff, as well as so hot (almost 300°F), getting it into an even layer in the pan required the speed of an Olympian and hands of asbestos. In terms of cleanup, the patience of Job and about an hour long shower finally removed the remaining sugar residue from all corners of the kitchen and my hair. Cutting it was one of the hardest things either my mom or I had ever experienced, even though I knew it was a hard candy it was definitely a two day, hammer and knife job. It was well received though, and lasts almost indefinitely in a cool, dry place, so if you have the patience and strength it is perfect for gift giving.

While I can’t say for sure that Liz Gutman and Jen King will make candy as easy as flipping a switch with Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook, this book is definitely a stellar primer for the candy-curious. There is enough variety in the pages to allow both complete neophytes and experienced cooks to make professional looking confections with a little sugar, heat and elbow grease. I can’t wait to get the sweet kitchen back up and running – there are still 73 recipes I need to savour!

Available on Amazon

Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine

Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine

Author: Shaina Olmanson

Publisher: Harvard Common Press (2012)

Everyone loves to have their own little treat. Having your own self-contained portion of a meal or dessert makes you feel special, as if it was made just for you, and of course it means you don’t have to share! But making single servings of anything can be tricky, especially when it comes to baking and desserts. That’s where the genius of Shaina Olmanson and her latest book Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine comes into play. This quaint little hardcover contains 50 scrumptious recipes that neatly tuck away into your standard Mason, Ball or Kerr jars. From cakes and puddings to granita, cobbler and even pie, almost no type of dessert is excluded.

This book is a joy to look through. Every page of Desserts is printed in full colour, and every recipe includes a photo of the finished dish. The book also has a “lay-flat” coil binding, which makes it incredibly useful in the kitchen. The index is well organized and easy to read, and Olmanson also provides a detailed conversion chart at the back. The book’s introduction is a professional, yet personable guide to all the elements that go into the perfect jarred dessert – which jar to choose, how to fill and bake in them, tips for freezing leftovers and even how to decorate the finished product.

I was familiar with Olmanson’s creative cooking before reading Desserts, as she maintains a blog titled Food for my Family. Her practical, easy-to-read and -relate to style carries through into her book, and you can tell that many of the recipes were written with her busy family (and others like it) in mind. While most recipes serve six to ten, smaller families will still be able to enjoy the treats through the week, and longer if they fall in the Frozen Desserts chapter (p. 112) or are wrapped and frozen post-bake. This obviously doesn’t work for Olmanson’s Custards and Puddings (p. 70), but the other items do just fine in the freezer and are handy to have on hand for guests! Being baked in glass, the chilled desserts also reheat nicely in the microwave or a low oven. For those who like to plan ahead, the book also includes recipes for baking and drink mixes that can keep in the pantry for months and also make wonderful (and welcome) gifts.

I knew immediately upon receiving my copy of Desserts that I absolutely had to make Olmanson’s version of the now infamous jarred Classic Apple Pie (p. 45). As we aren’t used to pies made with a filling comprised of anything but apples and cinnamon, this recipe (calling for a stick of butter and half a cup of sugar) was a little too rich for our tastes. However, the instructions were clear and would easily adapt to anyone’s favourite recipe. I did have an issue with the all-butter Classic Pie Dough (p. 42) being a little too tender to work with when it came to wrestling it into the jars, and while the top crusts were nicely browned and crisp after baking, the bottom s were soggy, almost oily, and didn`t have the tender flake of butter crusts I’ve made before in a pie plate. When I make this recipe again, I’ll be more inclined to try a shortening based dough, brushed with egg and par-baked to keep it a bit sturdier before adding the filling.

I also tried out two of the “mix in a jar” recipes from Desserts and found great success in both their ease of assembly and overall finished product. The Monster Cookies (p. 137) were intriguing since they didn’t use any flour at all and allowed for almost infinite variations, not to mention it made a gorgeous gift! In my version, I used a chocolate-laden trail mix I found at the bulk store in place of the walnuts – nirvana for the chocoholic in me. I also made the Cinnamon Coffee Cake (p. 133), using homemade cinnamon chips, half spelt flour and California walnuts in place of the pecans. This combination was a delectable one that was heightened even more by the recipe’s inclusion of tangy sour cream and decadent butter.

Regardless of whether you have a family of five running on forty different schedules, or it’s simply you at home with a yearning for a treat, there really is something for everyone in this book. It’s a fun, inexpensive and relatively simple way to treat yourself without keeping a whole cake or pie in the house (where it will either be the source of waste or guilt!). Not to mention, Desserts in Jars are portable, versatile, and just plain cute! Shaina Olmanson does a wonderful job at “canning” this concept, and the end result is definitely worth a look.

Available on Amazon

The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips

The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips
Author: Jessica Harper (@thecrabbycook)
Publisher: Workman Publishing (2010)

It’s easy to envy the pros. No matter what they seem to do, whether it’s shooting hoops, playing the piano or making their kids dinner, if it’s their specialty they put the poor laymen of the world to a crying shame. Why don’t we ever see Tony Parker tripping on his way out to the court, or hear Elton John’s accidental striking of a B-flat on the radio? The rich folks among the stars (and lets face it – that’s most of them) don’t have to even think about the last task of cooking. Heck, if they wanted to, they could hire a chef for as long as they wanted or needed, and throw in a nutritionist and personal trainer while they’re at it too. Why bother messing with the mundane bits of life when you’d never have to deal with the snags along the way?

Of course, it isn’t every celebrity that’s like that. They are all busy people (aren’t we all?) and I’m sure those that do choose to rely on hired help have their reasons. But sometimes, wouldn’t you like to hear an account of something gone awry to one of these invincible idols, but see them use their own ingenuity and brainpower to come up with a solution and “save the day” without becoming a victim of “woe-is-me-itis”? Take the example of dinner: when do you hear of Brad Pitt cooking breakfast for the brood of however many there are now, with one child clinging to his leg, another making faces with syrup on the table and a pan that’s just a little bit too hot?

If you are searching for one of those “sometimes reality sucks” manuals for yourself, it may seem counterintuitive to pick up one written by an actress. But then Jessica Harper flies in the face of most standard celebrity tactics, and cookbook-writing logic, by penning The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips. In it, readers will find a host of recipes that Harper makes or made over the years as a home cook and mom: from pancakes to potato salad to fish sticks, if it’s a home-cooked , reliable meal that is simple to whip together you’re after, Crabby Cook fits the bill. Harper ups the ante with her hilarious recollections of these meals past... it’s safe to say I enjoyed the book as much for the anecdotes as I did for the food! Some of my favourite tales (and their delicious accompanying recipes!) had to be of her brother in law’s experience with chicken soup on page 45 (pupik, anyone?) and a hilarious examination of a Real Simple magazine’s survey results (p.126). Parents will appreciate her exasperation at dealing with picky eaters (namely her children, who went through a “white” phase) after growing up with an “eat it or starve” type of mother. As someone with a gifted home-cook mother, I could relate to the frustration of trying to make something the family will enjoy (like her and the pasta sauce recipe on p. 49) when “grandma’s is better”.

Crabby Cook also proves that us “commoners” are not the only ones to try making a celebrity’s recipe. Whether it’s the ousted Thai prime minister’s dubiously named “pig’s legs in Coca Cola” (p. 80) or a Food Network casserole that she puts through it’s paces as something achievable in half an hour (p. 71), nothing, and indeed no one (even Richard Gere!) is safe. But, as Harper details, lessons are definitely learned along the way.

I only wish there were photos of her pursuits, no matter the beauty of their conclusions. A picture says a thousand words, and if they are as relatable, touching and funny a thousand words as what she jotted in this book, I’m sure we’d all be in stitches. Then again, I’m as guilty as she is – while the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (p. 254) and pancakes (p. 7) went down a treat over the Christmas break, I’ve discovered that in real life, nobody is pausing for a photo when there is anything good on the table! I did find it rather amusing that a quirk I had attributed to just our family of breakfast lovers – chocolate chips – is a key inclusion in Harper’s mother’s recipe, and that the chaos of several hungry teens home from school made me nostalgic.

The Crabby Cook Cookbook is not under any circumstances a read for the perfectionist, the singleton or the overly serious professional chef. But it doesn’t claim to be. It is an honest, amusing and interesting story of life as a human being with a kitchen and stove, and the tricks to getting out of there (and sometimes even the dishes) alive.

Available on Amazon

Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest

Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest
Author: Kurt Beecher Dammier (with Laura Holmes Haddad)
Publisher: Clarkson Potter (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

Simply titled, Pure Flavor is exactly that when it comes to it’s contents – recipes with an insistence on the enhancement, rather than the addition to, the best local offerings of the Pacific coastline. The book’s silky, full-colour cover opens with a tantalizing array of pictures, and the photography begs readers to dive into the culinary haven of Seattle’s Pike Place Market before a single word appears on the page. Thankfully, the stories the photos tell are more pleasing to the eye than the introduction, which unfortunately is akin to reading a long-winded advertisement for one of Dammier’s establishments, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, and in fact cheese itself. Though, as an entrepreneur myself, I acknowledge the amount of work and resources involved with starting up and running a small business, it is an unnecessary and out-of-place component in this book, especially considering that this is not a cookbook that specializes in cheese dishes. Since many readers do not, in fact, read the forewords or introductions to the books they choose, this would not impact on their perception of the rest of the book’s contents.

The actual recipe and ingredient sections that follow the introduction are more pleasing to the eye – and taste buds – and will be an informative read for those less schooled in the finer points of the culinary world (i.e. you and me). The dishes are succinctly organized into nine sections: soups and sandwiches, salads, pasta and grains, fish and shellfish, poultry and meat, vegetables and sides, sweets, breakfast, and basics, sauces and spreads. Within each of these sections lie brilliant, rich photography of not only the dishes themselves, which look good enough to lick off the page, but of the areas of the market and farmlands where the ingredients come from. Each elegantly titled (and in some cases complicated-sounding) recipe is prefaced by a short paragraph that highlights the basic idea of the dish, which is a great benefit to the home chef who may otherwise shy away from them. Blessedly precise instructions bring life to otherwise restaurant-grade fare such as Grilled New York Steak with Balsamic-Mushroom Ragout (p. 136-137), and since leftovers are a reality in every kitchen, the reader is also given approximate shelf lives of the prepared goods.

The pride Dammier takes in the origins of his ingredients as well as his fellow culinary artists (such as Gwen Bassetti and Chuck Eggert) is obvious. No less than 19 articles appear on the different (and local) components of his cooking, not including the cheese guides (which are as long-winded as the introduction, unfortunately). Notable emphasis is placed on the fish and shellfish of the region, as well as seasonal fruits and the lifeblood of Seattle itself: coffee. A varied selection of recipes is shown because of the seasonal ingredient shifts, though all have decadent and equally delightful compositions. Though there are undeniably unnecessary inclusions (more Iceberg Wedges [p. 48] or Cobb Salad [p. 54] anyone?) the majority of the recipes are jewels. From a perfect Winter-time Slow-Cooked Orange-Chili Pork Shoulder (p. 130) to a light, Summery Corn, Tomato and Avocado Frittata (p. 212), there is something for every season and craving.

Pure Flavor is a cookbook in the most literal terms: a book for cooks. This is not to say that its contents are to be reserved for the upper echelons of culinary society. In contrast, this book is for the true cooks – the ones that lie dormant within each of us until the right combination of circumstances, like ingredients in a cake, combine to present their gifts to the family dinner table.

(Photos presented are of Red, White and Green Vegetable "Lasagne" [p. 163] and "World's Best" Mac and Cheese [p. 71])