THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright 2013 by Suzanne Goin
Photographs copyright 2013 by Shimon and Tammar Photography, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC, New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto, Penguin Random House Companies.
www.aaknopf.com
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademark of Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goin, Suzanne, [date]
The A.O.C. cookbook / by Suzanne Goin ; with wine notes by Caroline Styne ; photographs by Shimon and Tammar Rothstein.First edition.
pages cm
This is a Borzoi bookTitle page verso.
Includes index.
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-307-95823-5
eBook ISBN: 978-0-385-35046-4
1.Cooking, American.2.A.O.C. (Restaurant)3.Appetizers. 4.Food and wine pairing.I.Styne, Caroline.II.Title.III.Title: AOC cookbook.
TX 715. G 61115 2013
641.5973dc23 2013005068
Jacket photography by Shimon and Tammar Photography, Inc.
Jacket design by Abby Weintraub
v3.1
This book is dedicated to my husband
DAVID LENTZ
and our little Lentz-ies:
ALEXANDRA STEWART LENTZ
JACK GOIN LENTZ
and
DAVID CHARLES LENTZ IV
Thank you for your patience with me,
for letting me do what I love,
and for loving me for (or in spite of) what I do.
I love the four of you more than infinity!
And, of course, to the family mascot Mr. Pug Lentz
contents
acknowledgments
I t has taken me seven years to write my second book. In that time I have opened two more restaurants, had three children, moved homes, hired more people than I can count, and learned so very much.
How fun to get to share this amazing and sometimes torturous book experience with my restaurant partner in crime, Caroline Styne. I cannot imagine my life without you inside or outside of work.
I feel so lucky to have had the dream team of my agent Janis Donnaud, editors Christina Malach and Peter Gethers, photographers Shimon and Tammar Rothstein, and secret-weapon-sent-from-heaven Maria Zizka on my side to make creating this book even more pleasurable and rewarding than my firstborn, Sunday Suppers at Lucques .
Christina and I have spent way too many hours over a glass of ros or two obsessing over vertical versus horizontal photographs, fonts and page colors, and the pros and cons of including the word fresh when listing herbs in the ingredients list. Her poor boyfriend, Ben, knows that if she says shes going to be with me for four hours it really means ten! Christina, this is very much your book, too, and I so appreciate the support you gave me, the confidence you had in me, and the bulldogish commitment to making this the book we both envisioned. You are a dream. Thank you, Janis and Peter, for setting this up so beautifully for us.
Thank you also to Abby Weintraub, Carol Devine Carson, Kathleen Fridella, Cassandra Pappas, Lisa Montebello, Sara Eagle, and everyone else at Knopf who helped make this book a reality.
Every couple of months, I get an e-mail from an eager culinary student or aspiring chef asking to come work for me for free or looking for clues to the best route to culinary success. But one day in the mailI mean snail mail (you know, the one run by the U.S. Postal Service)I received a letter from Bra, Italy, on the most gorgeous paper, typed in some fabulous font I had never seen before. It was from a young woman getting her masters in gastronomy who had interned at Chez Panisse, had run her own catering company, and was looking to come apprentice with me in whatever capacity might be most helpful to you depending on your projects of the moment. Seriously? At that point I knew I must have done something decent in my previous life. So, of course, I stalled on writing her back. Buried the letter in my desk and promptly forgot about it. About a month later, when I really could not imagine how I was ever to finish this book, I opened my desk drawer looking for some way to procrastinate, and then I saw it, that beautiful letter, which thankfully did have an e-mail address on it. I wrote her a very hurried e-mail, all couched in Im not sure what you would be able to do to help and I cant guarantee your hours and I really dont even feel like I have time to schedule someone to help and I mean, I would have to meet you and interview you first and on and on. Im not quite sure why she kept being so lovelywell, actually now that I know her I know that its just that she is that lovely.
Anyway, we set up a meeting when she got to L.A. to sort of see if something would work out. That Tuesday came and I was a mess: my kids had just started summer camp, we had a new nanny, and I couldnt find the keys to the SUV needed to pick the kids up at 3 p.m. Maria helped me search for about an hour until we frantically drove down to the camp in her car only to find the car keys in my sons lunch box! As I was stressing and swearing and apologizing, Maria just assured me everything was fine. This is actually quite fun! What a great way to see L.A., she said. And so amazing to meet your kids! What a wonderful camp! as she immediately started teaching my lovestruck five-year-old son Italian. Whats her deal? my salty husband, David, asked later that night. I dont know, I said. I think shes just really nice! You see, we jaded restaurant folks arent really used to people like Maria.
Maria and I spent the summer working out of my houseme in my office writing away and she in my kitchen testing every single recipe. I honestly cannot imagine what I would do, Maria, if you had not sent that letter and been such a dreamnot to mention so smart and such a great cook! Thank you.
And now for the people who really make A.O.C. happen, who worked so hard to help me develop these recipes for home and to test and retest them over and over. Our chef de cuisine Lauren Herman, executive sous-chef John Schlothauer, pastry genius Christina Olufson, sous-chef Don Dalao, and prep machine Ruben Garcia not only held down the fort at the restaurant (oh, did I mention we moved the actual restaurant in the middle of all this!) but were always there for me, despite the barrage of e-mails with the subject line for the book or recipe test? Thank you for all you give to me and to A.O.C.
After ten years a restaurant has so many employees who have come and gone, but I want to thank kitchen folks Brian Wolff, Stephanie Summers Bone, Aliza Miner, Breanne Varela, and John Sadao for the lasting mark (there was that hole in the wall ) on the restaurant. Your spirits are still felt there and always will be.
In the front of the house, Julie Grimm Espinoza, Elisa Terrazas, Brett McDermott, Greg Weigel, Susanne Von-Euw, Amy Christine, Tom Hunter, Daryl Newmark, Susan Brink, and Monica Nauss could not have been more enthusiastic A.O.C. cheerleaders over all these years. I could not wish for a more dedicated soul and backbone for a restaurant than the veteran crew of Juan Carlos Larita, Alex Ascencio, David Diaz, Luis Cobain, Raul Varga, Manny Montana, and, most certainly not least, runnerdriverfix-it man extraordinaire Victor Rodriguez.