Stephanie Izard - Gather and graze : 120 favorite recipes for tasty good times

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BIGGEST THANKS TO:
Nicki for testing recipes and handling more than I even know. You will always have more patience than I do!

Huge for shooting one of his first books with us. I think we both learned and grew from the process.

Rachel for taking my words and making them sound better.

Katie for keeping life organized, and for running out every time we needed a better-looking piece of fruit or a beer.

Shannon for just always being awesome!

Johanna for having such a beautiful collection of serving dishes and cookware and a great eye.

Gary, Ernie, and Burt for being my family. I love you!

STEPHANIE IZARD is the executive chef and co-owner of the award-winning restaurants Girl & the Goat, Little Goat Diner, and Duck Duck Goat, all in Chicago. She was the first female winner on Bravos Top Chef, received the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, and was one of Food & Wines Best New Chefs of 2010. She most recently won the Iron Chef title on Food Networks Iron Chef Gauntlet. She lives with her family in Chicago. Visit her at stephanieizard.com.

BRUNCHING

STEAK AND EGGS
with Moroccan Chermoula

CORNCAKES AND EGGS
with Heirlooms and Herbs

CRUMPETS
with Chorizo Maple Syrup

BISCUITS
with Sausage and Mushroom Gravy

CREPES
with Spring Onion Cream Cheese

POACHED EGGS
with Tomato-Melon-Apricot Sofrito

Sunday Funday

I couldnt do a book without a chapter on brunchI own a diner! And since I opened Little Goat, brunch has become a very big part of my world. I knew wed need to offer classic brunch dishes, but I wanted to put our spin on them and challenge people to pick something they might not usually order. So, youll find steak and eggs, but theyre topped with a fresh, herby Moroccan chermoula. There are pancakes, but instead of the usual Bisquickfake syrup combo, theyre made with a sourdough starter, slathered with buttermilk butter, and topped with oatmeal crumble.

But brunch is meant to be comfort food, so we dont get too crazy. A lot of times when theres a chef-driven brunch menu, its got all kinds of fussy, composed plates, and thats not really what its about. Whether its to spend time with friends and family or nurse a hangover, brunch should be a special, relaxing weekend thing that you look forward to.

SZECHUAN-STYLE BREAKFAST BISCUITS

This is a riff on the classic sausage biscuit, China style. Or as I call it in the restaurant, This Little Piggy Went to China. I slather a cheddar-scallion biscuit with hoisin mayo (because it makes everything better), top it with a nice, big Szechuan sausage patty, add a fried egg, and drown the whole thing in Szechuan Chile Sauce thats been sweetened with a little maple syrup (you know, for breakfast). Then I finish it off with some blackberries to bring that bright acidity. Dont be shy about picking this guy up to eat it, but a knife and fork can be useful. Makes 4 sandwiches

Cheddar-Scallion Biscuits, homemade () or store-bought

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, homemade () or store-bought

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup Szechuan Chile Sauce ()

cup maple syrup

4 (3-ounce) Chinese sausage patties

Canola oil, if needed

4 large eggs

pint blackberries, halved

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Lightly warm the biscuits in the oven.

In a small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and mayonnaise. In another small bowl, whisk together the chile sauce and maple syrup.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and brown the patties until cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes on both sides. If the patties are still a bit soft in the middle, you can transfer the pan to the oven for a few minutes to finish.

Slice each biscuit in half and spread the bottom with the hoisin mayo. Top with a cooked sausage patty.

Reheat the pan over medium-low heat. If there is not enough rendered fat still in the bottom, coat with a little oil. Crack the eggs into the pan and slowly and gently allow the whites to cook all the way through while the yolks remain runny. You dont need to flip the eggs or move them in any way. Use a spatula to carefully transfer the eggs to the top of each sausage patty.

Drizzle the egg-topped patties with the sauce and add a sprinkle of blackberries. Put the other half of the biscuit on top and serve immediately.

TASTY EGGY KIMCHI BACON THING

This less than traditional brunch item is inspired by a Thai street food dish called hoi tod . I once made it for a cooking competition and said that Id eaten it in Thailand, but I lied. Id been there, but I had only seen people cooking it at their little stands. But when I got home I immediately watched a video to learn how to make it. A pillowy, crispy-edged crepe (kinda like a cross between funnel cake and a pancake), hoi tod is made from a fish sauceflavored batter. It traditionally has mussels cooked into it, but I didnt know if the Chicago public was ready for that. So I subbed in the chopped-up bacon, added some eggs to make it more breakfasty, included some kimchi for spice, and served it with nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce thats usually mostly fish sauce, but I added some malt vinegar to mellow it out. When it came time to name it, I couldnt really think of anything clever or interesting, but I figured Id eat a dish with all these things in it, so there it was. Serves 4

BATTER

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup rice flour

1 cup cornstarch

cup baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons fish sauce

DIPPING SAUCE

cup fresh lemon juice

cup fish sauce

5 tablespoons malt vinegar

cup dark brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

CREPES

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup Kimchi ()

8 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)

4 large eggs

2 cups mung bean sprouts

cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

cup roughly chopped fresh sorrel or basil

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rice flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sugar. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, fish sauce, and 3 cups cold water. Add to the flour mixture, whisking until incorporated and smooth.

Make the dipping sauce:

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.

Make the crepes:

Heat a medium nonstick saut pan over high heat. Add the oil and then pour 1 cups of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle in half the kimchi and bacon, then crack 2 eggs directly into the cooking batter. Cook until edges begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes, before flipping. Cook until center is firm, another 3 to 4 minutes, and then transfer the crepe to a cutting board and cut into pizza-like slices. Repeat.

Toss together the sprouts, cilantro, and sorrel and serve with the crepes and dipping sauce.

GOOD STUFF: MALT VINEGAR

Theres almost every kind of vinegar on the shelves at the restaurants (red, white, champagne, rice wine, etc.), and I go through phases during which I like one the best. But I always come back to malt vinegar. One reason I love it so much is that it goes so well with fish sauce. Its also super-tasty on its ownsweet and tangy. Its no wonder all those crazy Brits are dipping their fish and chips in it! You can think of malt vinegar almost like balsamic vinegar: you get the same caramelized notes but it doesnt overpower the other ingredients in your dish. No need to go fancy when buying this one; Heinz makes a classic version.