A monthly review of new cookbooks on a theme
When the cameras aren't rolling, when nobody's looking, in the privacy of their very own kitchens, what do chefs really throw in the pot?
For Jacques Pepin, according to his latest book, More Fast Food My Way, it might be those fried onions that come in a can. Or boxed mashed potato flakes. It's Bloody Mary mix, canned pumpkin, packaged gnocchi, canned beans, pre-roasted red peppers, Rice Krispies, frozen raspberries and store-bought poundcake.
This from the celebrated French master who cooked with Julia Child and was personal chef to three French heads of state, including Charles de Gaulle?
Oui.
Pepin and other famed cooks not necessarily known for shortcuts are releasing shelves of books that promise an all-but-effortless kitchen experience. Pepin, the gourmand, vows everything in his book is fast and easy. Jamie Oliver, the spiky-haired U.K. chef known for laid-back cooking, says he really means it this time with Jamie at Home. Even Nick Malgieri, bound by the science of baking, swears The Modern Baker will save people so much time they'll want to bake every day.
Pepin, reached by phone in New York where he was recently promoting his book, thinks his latest volume will appeal to anyone who wants fresh, nice food "without working too much."
Homemade, he says, is overrated.
"I used to kill a chicken and eviscerate it," he says. "Now I go and buy boneless breast of chicken - skinless and boneless. I cook it in a nonstick pan. I use pre-sliced mushrooms. I use pre-washed spinach. I'm using the supermarket as a prep cook. ...
"If you can buy it better than you can make it - buy it. You only feel bad if the dish is lousy. If it's good, it's good."
The Scallops Grenobloise from his book, by the way, is good. So is the Pumpkin Gratin.
Pepin doesn't use convenience products in the scallop dish - it's pretty convenient on its own. The most labor-intensive element is peeling a lemon to remove every trace of pith. The resulting dish is so flavorful and elegant, no one would suspect it was so easy.
The Pumpkin Gratin relies on canned pumpkin puree. I always imagined someone like Pepin, for a dish like this, would be combing a farmers' market in search of the perfect gourd. But I'd rather not wrestle with a fresh pumpkin when with a Pepin-endorsed twist of a can opener, I'd have something just as good - if not better. This would be a great Thanksgiving side dish.
