Alex Guarnaschelli - The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart

ALEX GUARNASCHELLI trained at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy, France, before moving to Paris and working at Guy Savoy for four years before eventually returning to New York to cook at Daniel. Since 2003 she has been the executive chef of Butter Restaurant. Alex appears on numerous Food Network shows, including as a judge on Choppedand Beat Bobby Flayand as an Iron Chef on Iron Chef America. She lives in New York City with her daughter.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Everything I do will always be for my daughter, Ava: She keeps me on the straight and narrow with her painfully honest comments and unwavering love. She always tells me whether I am chopped or not

I would not be here without my parents and their love of food. My dad made broccoli with balsamic the other night and my mom cooked some simple breaded veal cutlets. Eating that meal with them made me realize where my love of simplicity done brilliantly comes from. That table. That plate of food. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Thanks to my aunt Agnes Pearson for being such an amazing force in my childhood. Everyone should be lucky enough to have an Aunt Aggie.

My most important food mentors, without a doubt, are Guy Savoy and Bobby Flay. I would not have found any confidence had they not both whispered the right words in my ear countless times and at crucial moments. They also stood silently waiting for me to get it together. That kind of belief from other people is one of my great motivators and Im lucky to have found people who give that to me. Especially when it means believing in my ability or just adding some more salt to a dish. I am so lucky to have crossed paths with them both.

To the group of incredible kitchen staff who made a little joint on Lafayette Street and a scrappy midtown restaurant so special: Alvaro Buchely, Michael Jenkins, the incredible Jamaal Edward 40hands Dunlap, Antonio Morales, Eligio Morales, Kevin OBrien, Miguel Angel Cruz, Flaviano Sosa, Deborah Caplan, Alexandria Ventrella, DJSerge1 Ramirez, and Manuel Duarte.

To amazing purveyors and friends: Pat Lafrieda, Mark Pastore, and Louis Rozzo.

Thanks to my editor, Rica Allannic, and the staff at Clarkson Potter for hatching the idea for this book and inspiring me to do it. Thanks to Stephanie Huntwork for the design of the book and to Chris Tanigawa, Heather Williamson, Kelli Tokos, Jana Bramson, and Carolyn Gill for their support for it along the way.

Thanks to Irika Slavin and Lauren Mueller at Food Network for their amazing support and patience.

Thanks to Josh Bider, Jeff Googel, Bethany Dick, Jon Rosen, Strand Conoverm, and Andy McNichol at William Morris Endeavor.

Thanks to the farmers at the Union Square Greenmarket: Alex Paffenroth, Rick Bishop, and the folks at Northshire Farms, Windfall Farms, Stokes Farms, Cherry Lane Farm, She Wolf Bakery, and Keiths Farm.

Thanks to Johnny Miller for his great passion for the photography. He is a joy to work with. Thanks to Justin Conly for the digital piece of this equation. Thanks to Rebecca Jurkevich for the amazing cooking and food styling. Thanks to Jacob Spector and Judi Mancini for their assistance with the food. Thanks to Bette Blau and Steph Becker for the pop o color prop styling. Thanks to Joshua Fennell for assistance with the photography.

Thanks to Colleen Grapes, Bruce Seidel, Annie Washburn, Emily Giske, Patti Jackson, Daniel Boulud, Missy Robbins, Michael Symon, Lee Schrager, Ted Allen, Geoffrey Zakarian, Scott Conant, Chris Santos, Marcus Samuelsson, Amanda Freitag, Marc Murphy, Maneet Chahuan, Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, Anne Burrell, Mikey Bagels, Vivian Sorenson, Dave Mechlowicz, Madi Clark, the precious Michael Castellon, and fellow chefs everywhere.

Thanks to Jeffrey Chodorow, Cobi Levy, Jackie Akiva, Lauren Basco, Tony Ramirez, and Ashley Marshal for working with me at Butter and keeping the dream alive.

Thanks to Jaret Keller and Tara Halper for being amazing publicists, therapists, and support systems all rolled in one

Thanks to my great friends, patrons of the arts Bruce and Karen Bronster, for allowing me to basically live at their house in exchange for some plates of food. And thanks to Peter Cook for the champagne and jokes.

Lastly, a shout-out to dishwashers and short-order cooks. Some of the toughest jobs to have. Respect.