Robinson - 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes

On this food adventure
of mine, Ive had a guide who has steered me every step of the way. Elijah, you lived your life by your own set of rules, never letting a moment pass you by without acknowledging it. Forever chasing life, you were authentic in everything you did, every friendship you held, and every belief you practiced. You showed me the essence of a truly lived life can be found in something as exhilarating as jumping out of a plane, and in something as simple as cooking dinner.

Without your incredible spirit, food wouldnt taste half as good and this journey wouldnt be nearly as sweet. You inspired me to leap from great heights and cook up my own life. This book is for you.

AS A GIRL, I USED TO SIT GLUED TO THE TELEVISION watching my early teachers Julia, James, and Jacques create magic on-screen. I always chose cooking shows over cartoons, much preferring the magical sounds of the kitchen to Scooby Doo.

Perhaps this is why I paid such close attention to the cooking and entertaining that went on in my own home. I can still see my grandmother running around the house before a party, making last-minute touches just before the guests arrived: the magnolia and forsythia peppering the dining and living room just so; the table settings as elaborate as anything Id ever seen (my favorites: the gigantic ceramic horse heads that came out of hibernation for her annual Kentucky Derby party, or the enormous collection of coral and sea glass that covered the table when seafood was on the menu); what seemed like a hundred mirrors and oil-filled glass tapered candlesticks of different heights running down the length of the table. It was enchanting.

My Mama Neida was such an incredible, beautiful woman in every way, and anyone who walked through that front door was made to feel like the most important person in the world (and, of course, she made the entire night seem effortless). My grandfather was the president of the University of Memphis, so there were lots of parties, and it was always entertaining at its best. Back then, throwing a dinner party meant a lot of work, but Mama Neida loved to fudge the details. She was not a cooka businesswoman and a social butterfly, yes, but definitely not a cook. Most of her events were carefully themed and catered or stocked with prepared food purchases. But she did have a small arsenal of recipes that rotated through her many dinner party menus, like Smothered Quail with Rice and English Peas (so simple but one of my favorites), Bacon-Wrapped Oysters Baked on Rock Salt, and, to cap it off, the best little individual Pecan Tarts. Her advice to me was always, learn how to make a handful of dishes well. She pulled off the delicate balance between presentation, ease, and home cooking with grace, and no one ever suspected shed fudged a thing.

My mother, on the other hand, has a travelers heart and entertaining was never her forte. With her hippie spirit she didnt allow candy or junk food in the house, somehow convincing two children to believe carob-coated protein bars were candy. (Theyre not bad, I swear!) She even made her own baby food for my brother and me, pureeing boiled, fresh, seasonal ingredients. Mom would let me sit on the countertop and I would assist while she made pita bread, clairs, or even egg rollsall from scratch. We had dinner at the table as a family every night, even when I was in high school and wanted to be out with friends.

My mother has lived everywhere, even for a short while in a cave in Greece (did I mention she was a hippie?), and her rotating repertoire of recipes reflects her globe-trotting days. When we were growing up, dinner might have been roasted chicken with mashed potatoes one night, lamb shish kebobs with tahini sauce and couscous the next night, followed by homemade pizzasdough and allthe next. (My brother and I always like to top a pizza with extra foo foo dust, which was just ground fennel seedIm pretty sure you wont find that at your local pizza parlor.) Mother would spend hours in the kitchen making all kinds of different breads or an out-of-this-world cheesecake with laundry lists of ingredients and steps. Im sure the grocery shopping alone took half the day.

And then theres my stylethe result of learning from a classic entertainer and a do-it-from-scratch, all-natural bohemian. I take the best parts of these women, throw in my French culinary education, pay attention to seasonal ingredients, keep it fresh, and add my wholesome and delicious southern taste. This is my world of food: one inspired by an effortless elegance, and my five-ingredient approach keeps it simple (and possible!) for everyone. My life has been a never-ending exploration of the world of food as culture and entertainment, and I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to share this adventure with you.

xo,
Claire

WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I SAID SCALLOPS changed my life? When I was a student at the French Culinary Institute one of my teachers presented our class with a beautiful display of fresh scallops and gave us a challenge: come up with the best way to cook them. Simple enough, right? I remember all of us digging through the pantry, grabbing spices, vegetables, herbs, sweating to come up with innovative and daring combinations that would wow our professor, someone whod truly seen it all in his many years of teaching.

We each presented him with our creations, and after hed dutifully tasted each one, he let us in on a little secretor rather, a big secret. Turns out his simple challenge was met with a very simple answer: the best way to cook fresh, in-season scallops is to throw them in a dry pan with some salt and pepper. No oil, no fancy herbs, no elaborate saucenothing. As the scallops sear, they release their own beautiful flavorsthat sweet, rich taste that you either love or you dont, but that really is the core of the scallop. It was a straight-forward lesson, but a total game changer for me. From that day on I understood that the more ingredients you use, the greater risk you run of losing the essential flavor of your food.

This was my first and most important lesson in simplification, one that Ive made the cornerstone of my cooking philosophy. When your ingredients are good, theres no need to mask and muddle the flavor with unnecessary add-ons. I always want to know what my food really tastes like. My focus ever since that day was learning how to choose the best main ingredientmy starand figuring out how to enhance and maintain its natural flavor by adding a small supporting cast of ingredients to dance with it and make it shine. After years of cooking, playing, experimenting, and learning, Ive found that my magic number of ingredients is five or fewer.