Freddie Prinze Jr. - Back to the Kitchen: 75 Delicious, Real Recipes (& True Stories) from a Food-Obsessed Actor

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Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2016 by Freddie Prinze Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Book design by Rae Ann Spitzenberger

Photographs by Ellen Silverman

Photo on page 7 is by Shutterstock/Svetoslav Radkov (page number refers to print edition)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN-13: 9781623366926 hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781623366933 e-book

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Pretty much from the first day I met Freddie, long before he became my husband, I was impressed by his skills in the kitchen. It is so much more than just talent. And even more than creativity. Its love. He is so incredibly passionate about both food and the chemistry involved in creating flavors. I truly believe what makes his food so special is the little bit of him he puts in every meal. He feels genuine reward from the look of enjoyment when people taste his cooking. Before Freddie, I thought cooking was simply making food to eat. Now I understand its about the experience. The kitchen is where life slows down for a bit, and the simple pleasures take over. Its where true connections are made.

I know Ive been entirely spoiled having Freddie in my kitchen for the last 15 years, and not just because my friends constantly remind me. And to be honest, it almost makes me feel a bit guilty. Maybe thats why for the last few years Ive been hounding him about writing a cookbook. His skills are way too unique not to share. (Honestly, there are times I pass on going out to dinner, because I know the meal at my house will be better.) I started to feel like the nagging wife: I dont think a meal went by where I didnt say at least once, This is better than anything Ive ever seen in a cookbook.

And then it happened. I started to see Freddie writing things down as he cooked (something he had never done before), and I knew he had begun the journey. I have been all too eager to be a tester for him as he altered his meals. I can honestly tell you I have, more than once, sampled every meal in this book, and now I cannot be happier that he is finally ready to share these delicacies with all of you. Freddie has taught me that cooking is a practice, not a perfect. Keep that in mind as you read this book. And in case he forgets to tell you, remember his real secret ingredient is love.

SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR

INTRODUCTION

I didnt learn how to throw a football until I was out of high school, so no chance of playing in the Super Bowl for me. Instead, I learned to make veal a dozen different ways. My mom said the kitchen was a better place for my brainy-brain, and plus, she wasnt into sports. What she was into, and very, very good at, was cooking. She could make any dish, from any restaurant, just by tasting it. She was a Jedi in the kitchen, even without attending any kind of culinary institute. She cooked because she loved it, and more important, she made sure that I did, too. I came to understand theres an incredible power in making people a mealin having them take a bite and it being so good they praise whichever god they believe in.

So instead of throwing spirals and scoring touchdowns, I learned to make Italian sauces and use the New Mexican chiles grown near Albuquerque, where we lived. My mother made everything with fresh ingredients and always prepared meals we could make together as a family. That was just the two of us, and since she worked all day, it meant we were often cooking dinner at 9 or 10 at nightbut I loved it: We lived in the desert, so we could sit on the back porch every single night of the year and just chill, together.

My mother encouraged me to explore: If I wanted to try miso soup, wed make miso soup, or cook any kind of fish I wanted to try. She also showed me how to build flavor with fresh herbs from our garden and find great combinations both by trial and error and by being open to exploration and new ideas. Though her obsession with great food did border on insane at times: I wasnt allowed to date vegetarians, and if I did, I was too smart to bring them home. She would rationalize this rule through science by saying, Our teeth dictate our diet, and our teeth are meant to eat everything! (Humans are omnivores, after all.)

Ive loved cooking ever since. During my summer trips to Boquern, Puerto Rico, to visit my paternal grandmother on her little farm, I learned still more. plus, you dont have to slaughter your own bird.)

When I graduated from high school and was getting ready to move to California to follow in my fathers footsteps and take over the family business (acting!), my mom had encouraged (insisted!) that I attend cooking school as a backup plan. You never go hungry, she said. She was right. But I was all set to go to the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena when I got my first real acting gig, and the rest is history. (Our argument over whether I should go actually created that fried chicken, by the way.)

I never stopped loving good food or cooking. After a long day of filming, back when I was still a night owl and a nomad going from gig to gig, Id go hang out at restaurants in London or in Sydney after work, talking to chefs. I liked what they ate, I liked what they cooked, I liked what they drank, and I made them teach me more about it all. Back home in Los Angeles, Id do the same thing.

Now with two kids of my own, I cook almost every meal for them, recipes I learned from Mom, recipes I learned along the way at my favorite restaurants around the globe, some recipes I made up on my own. My 5-year-old daughter contributes often to the process, cutting herbs from the garden or standing on a stool, just like I used to when my mother cooked with me. My mother did it, now I do it, and so on down the line with my kids, with luck. She helps me with my mothers (its creamless, and the