Table of Contents
Preface
HAVE NO FEAR AND FOLLOW NO RULES. DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT WHATS PROPER OR WHATS RIGHT OR WHATS WRONG. WHETHER YOUR FOOD IS GREAT OR NOT IS UNIMPORTANT. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS CREATING MEMORIES.
Kimberly Paley, co-owner, Paleys Place, Portland, Oregon
Have no fear could summarize the theme of this book, a project that grew from a desire to inspire newlyweds to learn to love cooking together and create a place of harmony in the kitchen.
But couples dont get along in the kitchen! you may insist. I often heard that line when sharing the idea about this book. As evidence, skeptics shared their horror stories of intimidating alpha-behavior, culinary performance anxiety, and cooking disasters that damaged confidence. But there were others, those who understood that cooking with ones spouse and sitting down to a meal together is one of the most enjoyable, intimateand yes, sometimes daringactivities a couple can share, and who do so with their partner nearly every day. These couples have no fear in the kitchen and take great pleasure in decompressing at the end of the day as they create a shared expression of love and gratitude.
Finding the time is another big argument against cooking from scratch, but I am a firm believer that the benefits of slowing down to prepare a plate of food override the convenienceand costof mindlessly consuming packaged, processed, and fast foods. Cooking, whether putting together a simple snack or a multicourse meal, is a terrific way to shake off the stress of a day and connect with the person you love. And if that doesnt convince you, I gathered what I call food-love stories from some of the busiest couples there are: those working in the food industry. Throughout the pages of The Newlywed Kitchen, these couplesfrom food writers, executive chefs, and sommeliers to ranchersshare memories of discovering food with their spouses. Their stories run the gamut from funny to romantic, but all are linked by the common thread that sharing a meal and cooking with (or for) your spouse is an integral and exciting part of the relationship.
In the eleven years Ive worked with newlyweds, more than a few times couples have (laughingly) told me that culinary-themed wedding presents are the first items they return for cash, that they only use the kitchen for storage, or that theyve never once cooked a meal together. I believe that a dependence on eating preprepared foods stems more from a fear of failure, lack of inspiration, or the absence of existing culinary traditions than a simple aversion to the idea. And so Lorna Yee, a Seattle cook and food writer who is also a newlywed, created approachable, delicious recipes that couples of all skill levels can tackle. In addition, each section contains a menu that will draw upon your culinary skills and serve as the foundation for creating meals for memorable occasions.
A new marriage is a fresh start, an opportunity to launch new traditions and share ones from your past. To wit, one of our story contributors, Kate McDermott, perhaps Americas foremost apple pie guru, offered this gem when discussing her relatively new marriage with food luminary Jon Rowley: He had a history with food; I have a history of cooking with my family; and now we have a shared history. Our relationship and marriage is punctuated and enriched by our adventures and explorations of food.
That last line could be the essence of this book. Through cooking, you too can discover your shared culinary histories, make them your own, and enrich your lives.
Ali Basye
Introduction
I wrote the recipes for The Newlywed Kitchen during my first year of marriage to my husband, Henry, a wonderful man who shares my love of good food. Much of our relationship has revolved around the enjoyment of cooking together, and for one another, which should come as no surprise, considering we met on an Internet cooking forum.
Back in 2006, Henry was a new member on eGullet.org, an international food board where avid home cooks, bakers, restaurant professionals, and diners convened to review their favorite restaurants, discuss various cooking techniques, and ask for cooking advice. At the time, Henry was chosen to blog about his city, Seattle, for one week. Each day, Henry posted a breathtaking photographic journal that included tasting menus at his favorite restaurants, an array of photos from famed Pike Place Market, and a casual Sopranos-themed potluck with his friends. Thousands of us tuned in that week to watch this young mans enthusiastic take on the Seattle food scene, and I was one in the happy chorus of fans.
Near the end of his weeklong blogging stint, I mentioned that I was hoping to try a couple of the Seattle restaurants he had profiled (in particular, one that served gorgeous little desserts). I was already planning on flying out of Seattle to have dinner at The French Laundry with some friends. (That visit to French Laundryone of the best, and priciest, restaurants in the countrywas an experience I had saved up for for many years, as I was a poor college student at the time.) Reservations are notoriously difficult to come by, and Henry politely emailed to see if he could tag along. As luck would have it, we did have an extra seat at the table. I met Henry the following week, and he took me on a whirlwind eating tour in Seattle that spanned five restaurants over the course of one day, ending in a private dessert-tasting menu at what would soon become our special restaurant.
Before he drove me home to Vancouver, BC, Henry gave me a box of desserts he had asked his pastry chef friend to makethe very desserts he photographed for his blog. They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomachwell, I guess you could say the same is true for me. I was smitten, both by Henrys thoughtfulness and by his love for good food.
In the year and a half before we got engaged at that same special restaurant Henry took me to on our first date, we celebrated many of our milestones at the stove. For our first Thanksgiving, we hosted a potluck, challenged one another to a prepared turkey competition, and had our forty friends choose a winner. Weve made burgers for a roof-top Fourth of July to feed a hundred; weve made special candlelit meals at home just for the two of us. On the night Henry asked me to be his wife, the first serious discussion we had (after a bit of tipsy celebrating) was about what we should serve at the wedding. For our honeymoon, we decided to go on a whirlwind eating tour of Chicago, and we proceeded to eat at fourteen restaurants in three days. For our first Christmas as a married couple in our new (rundown, fixer-upper) home, we roasted little Cornish game hens, opened a good bottle of wine, and held hands at a makeshift table while sitting on folding chairs. Whatever the circumstance, we have always enjoyed cooking together and feeding one another. Dinnertime is a sacred time for usa time to feed our bellies as well as our souls.
I look forward to a lifetime filled with delicious dinners alongside my dear husband, and I hope this cookbook will inspire that same love of preparing and sharing good food for all couples.
