Ned Baldwin - How to Dress an Egg

Jay Moskowitz , who taught me that if I dont like something, I probably havent had it cooked properly.

Scott Carsberg , who showed me that I can make art that people put in their bodies.

Todd Ginsberg , who opened the door to the professional kitchen.

Gabrielle Hamilton , for turning an insecure artist into a confident egg cook.

Chris Pavone , for his invaluable advice on the art and practice of cookbook making.

The wonderful people of Orient, New York, who encouraged me to do what I thought I couldnt.

I know this to be true: If you can learn to cook one thing well and make a recipe truly your own, you will have opened the door to creating a lifetimes worth of recipes. Once you can conjure up the springy, juicy explosion of a crispy roasted chicken, the silky delicacy of a poached cod fillet, or something as deceptively undemanding yet completely satisfying as a boiled egg, you will have the building blocks for home cooking that satisfies and delights. Simply stated, the idea behind this book is to showcase the variety, nuance, and pleasure that can be had by mastering a simple technique and then going down the delicious paths where imagination leads you.

In the chapters that follow, Ive shined the spotlight on twenty main ingredientsfrom steak to salad, lamb to leeks, eggplant to eggsand given you a simple and foolproof (well, reasonably foolproof) basic recipe. Each basic recipe is accompanied by a handful of variations, and thats where a lot of the nuance and style in my cooking (or anybodys) come to life. It has taken me years behind the stove of a busy restaurant, when its firing on all cylinders, to hone these basic recipes to their uncomplicated essence. Often they require little more than some salt and a bit of oil or water. No special equipment neededjust some knives, pots and pans, your stove, and a healthy appetite.

Having a restaurant and customers willing to try new things has given me a dream laboratory for trying out new recipeswhether they come from the mysterious grace of inspiration, from tantalizing ideas I pick up from the many cookbooks that are always stacked on my night table, or from the bubbling cauldron of ideas that flow from living, working, and traveling in a food-crazed era.

I often tell people I am a home cook who became a restaurant chef who remains a home cook at heart. I even named my restaurant Houseman in honor of home cooking. In the years spent perfecting my style, I have learned a few lessons that any home chef can use in their cooking. First, whenever possible, make things in the shortest amount of time that is practical. For example, Ive found that I can roast an average-sized chicken in less than half an hour (), I bring water to a boil, turn the heat down (or off), add the seafood, set a timer, and busy myself with preparing the rest of the meal. For slow-cooking recipes that require minimal mental bandwidth (see the chapters on beets, pork shoulder, leeks, and carrots), I put the main ingredient in a pot with a splash of oil and salt (not even that for beets), seal the pot with aluminum foil, place the lid on top, and cook in a low-temperature oven for a long time.

Youll notice that practically all the recipes are served family style. Serving food this way, in addition to being easier and less fussy, delivers a message of generosity. A big platter of food allows everyone at the table to dig in and share. It is, in a fundamental sense, a form of communion.

Still, it all gets back to the basics. As you go through this book, I urge you to make the basic recipes a few times and nail them down before moving on to the variations. This bookor any bookcan tell you what to do, but only repetition and practice in the kitchen will tell you how a recipe feels: its smells, its touch, even its sounds. Hands-on experience will help you make the adjustments that your stove, your pans, and your palate require. Almost all of the dishes here can be served as isoften with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon, a splash of oil, or a dash of salt. Once you have the fundamentals under your belt, the variations become adornments on an already beautiful creation. And in a short while, you will be able to take your tastes and inclinations into your own recipes. They are waiting to be born. I promise.