Barbara Witt - The Weekend Chef: 192 Smart Recipes for Relaxed Cooking Ahead

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ALSO BY BARBARA WITT

George Foremans Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue, and Rotisserie by George Foreman and Barbara Witt

Classic American Food Without Fuss: Over 100 Favorite Recipes Made Easy by Barbara Witt and Frances Monson McCullough

Pan-Asian Express: Quick Fixes for Asian-Food Fans by Barbara Witt

Great Feasts Without Fuss: Professional Secrets for Creating Carefree Dinner Parties by Frances Monson McCullough and Barbara Witt

Great Food Without Fuss: Simple Recipes from the Best Cooks by Barbara Witt and Frances Monson McCullough

SIMON & SCHUSTER
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2003 by Barbara Witt

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

SIMON & S CHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales: 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com

Book design by Ellen R. Sasahara

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Witt, Barbara.
The weekend chef : 192 smart recipes for relaxed cooking ahead / Barbara Witt.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Make-ahead cookery. I. Title.
TX652.W625 2003
641.555dc21 2003050584
ISBN 0-7432-2991-6
eISBN 978-1-439-11624-1

INTERIOR PHOTO CREDITS
Pages iii, viii, xiii, 30, 61: John Vorhes/The Vorhes Studio
Pages xiv, 7, 53, 76, 90, 156: Sandra Lousada
Page 54: Yuki Tatsumi
Page 79: Weston Konishi
Pages 20, 93: Charlie Sleichter
Pages 114, 171: Danny OShea
Page 181: Christian Grinschgl

Although cookbook publishers allot a page near the front of the book for the authors acknowledgments, Ive never used it for the same reason that I click Mute on my remote during the Academy Awards thank-you speeches. It always seemed to me that thanking your parents for birthing you, your spouse for loving you, and your friends for being just that ought to be private, off-camera moments. On the other hand, one should probably grab any public opportunity that arises to display ones beneficence and, at the same time, totally embarrass a good friend and colleague.

So Ive decided to embarrass Fran McCullough, editor extraordinaire and author of the justly acclaimed Best American Recipes cookbook series. Together, Fran and I have written three books, one of which won a James Beard award, but it isnt that collaboration alone that wins my gratitude. It goes all the way back to my unsolicited-manuscript submission to her when she sat on her deserved pedestal as senior cookbook editor at Harper & Row. I was invited to meet her for the first time at a trendy east-side New York City restaurant to discuss the publication of The Big Cheese Cookbook, based on the food I was serving in my Washington, D.C., restaurant at the time. I was a complete novice in the awesome world of publishing and pathetically nervous to meet one of its editorial icons. I could have spared myself the angstFran wasnt scary in the least.

Although I closed the restaurant before the book was complete, from that afternoon on Fran has been consistently supportive and encouraging while I wondered what on earth I was doing writing cookbooks at all. She knew my passion better than I. She was positive when I had qualms. She generously offered experienced advice when asked, recommended me to others, tossed interesting assignments my way, and was the kind of friend and cheerfully gracious mentor everyone should be lucky enough to have in ones life.

Thank you, Fran. I hope you like this one. It wouldnt have been possible without you.

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This is my fourth attempt at writing the Introduction, which, I was told, no one reads anyway. Since, in that case, I was effectively talking to myself, I started off by railing against the wagon train of fast-food kitchens encircling our neighborhoods and threatening family unity by luring us from the hearth with their quick fixes and funky fries. I blamed the pizza delivery boy for the baby turtles housed in our stockpots and the sneakers drying in our ovens. I held the prolific carryout shops responsible for our lackluster diet of gummy pasta salads and incinerated chickens. I speculated that media-driven celebrity chefs in their signature whites, edgy restaurants serving over-the-top food, and dueling culinary magazines may have given home cooks a whale of a complex. Home cooks protest that theres no time for creative family cooking, let alone entertaining friends, but perhaps they just feel nothing they do will measure up. There was a time when the goal was to measure up to ones mom, but, even for todays younger grandmothers, that bib-aproned lady is all but a ghost.

Somewhere in one of those false starts I also wrote lyrically about cooking as a lifetime craft, as an art for the gifted few and always as a gift to the recipient. Not that dedicated cooks needed reminding of the creative and sensual rewards of their favorite hobby. From the rainbow panoply of the marketplace, through the pleasurable touch, discovery, and aroma, to the purring sounds around the tablecooking beats pulling garden weeds by a mile. I can think of no pastime more fulfilling in myriad ways than cooking. It may be a transitory pleasure for cook and diner alike, but memories of a good table can linger for a lifetime.

After a few pages of such reflective nattering came the epiphany. A cookbook introduction is supposed to introduce the book. So, to get back on track, this book is meant to speak to those who know and love good food and the pleasure of preparing it but have reluctantly succumbed to the workday pressure of putting dinner on the table right now. Surely such pressure trivializes the value of families joining at the communal dinner table. Its for those who, when they do manage to meter out a few hours in the kitchen, end up planning a special weekend dinner which, although undoubtedly appreciated, results mainly in a messy kitchen and an empty fridge. Weeknight pressure and nagging guilt remain.

What this book is not about is cooking on fast forward or creating six degrees of separation from a time-honored dish by subtracting every element of its flavor and complexity. Its a pity to sacrifice such dishes to a soccer game or the TV remote control. One solution is to deconstruct labor-intensive recipes into components that can be cooked and stored in your spare time and quickly assembled another day. A companion solution is to tackle complex dishes only when you can leisurely enjoy their preparation, choosing recipes that can be safely stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Another way to assure that a simple grilled fish or chop escapes mediocrity is to prepare complementary side dishes, condiments, sauces, and salsas ahead of time to enliven an otherwise dull meal. Any of these options will leave you with a stocked pantry.

My cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer all constitute my pantry and, in the best of months, they will be harmoniously stocked. Why defrost the pasta sauce if theres no dry pasta in the cupboard? The sauted mixed mushrooms might taste great in a risotto, but is there Carnaroli rice? How can you make ginger caramel sauce without preserved ginger or a chocolate treat without the chocolate? Its frustrating to hunger for a quick Thai curry when theres no coconut milk. Every artist works from a varied paint palette and is inspired by different colors. What you keep on your culinary palette will naturally differ from mine, but its wise to build a pantry that supports your personal creative style and spontaneity; otherwise, youre doomed to the tiresome short-order cooking we all strive to escape.