Freitag Amanda - The chef next door : a pro chefs recipes for fun, fearless home cooking

CONTENTS

When I stand in my kitchen at the Empire Diner, Im surrounded by frenzied line cooks and servers at the pass frantically looking for orders. Im enveloped by the unforgiving heat of an arsenal of burners, grills, and convection ovens, all fired up at once. My ears are besieged by the distinct kitchen noisethe dishwashers constant whir, empty glasses clanking, silverware and plates rattling onto trays and into sinks, shouts of line cooks coordinating the timing of dishes, and the low din of seated diners. Standing there, I feel the aches and pains of joints that continue to stand by me, despite the years of unmerciful wear and tear Ive put them through. They tell the story of a life filled with twelve- to fifteen-hour days that bleed into nights and sometimes straight into mornings.

Theres no doubt about it, life as a restaurant chef is an utter assault on the senses. But when theres a rare break in servicea stolen moment to wipe the sweat from my brow, check the time, and breatheI always look to the diners for whom its all for. I see a table of four eagerly await their meals while laughing over a shared bottle of wine. A seated guest looks up to his waiter in a moment of counsel. My eyes pass over the empty plates left behind by satisfied eaters. I see regulars telling neighborhood stories at the bar. And sometimes, just sometimes, Im lucky enough to tune in at just the moment that a smile erupts in approval of a first bite. And in these moments the pandemonium fades to the background and I am at peace, completely in my element, blissfully in the zone as I pump out orders. Recharged with the reminder of why I cook. The freedom of creativity, the gratification of having produced something delicious, and the infectious joy that can spread.

Like so many of my fellow chefs, I thrive under the pressure of the kitchen. My affection for the unrelenting mayhem is how I know that I do what I love, and I feel grateful for that. And so it might follow that if Im unfazed by a night of three hundred covers or a round in Kitchen Stadium on Iron Chef, then a small dinner party at home would be childs play. But once plucked out of my comfortable stainless-steel surroundings and landed on the other side, in the place of home cook, I become anxious, and my anxiety leads to dread. The all-consuming energy and excitement that are with me throughout service, cooking demos, and even on-air cooking competitions somehow escape me in my home kitchen.

The ability to put dinner on the table seven nights a week at home should not be underestimatedits one of the hardest things to do, and its why I have so much respect and admiration for all you home cooks out there! So, Ill just come right out and say itmy name is Amanda Freitag, executive chef, and Im scared of cooking at home!

How can my passion at work be such a stumbling block at home? How can I easily knock out fabulous four-star meals in my restaurant kitchen, yet so often find myself staring blankly into my open home fridge or thumbing through a stack of take-out menus? Ill tell you how. Its because after years and years of restaurant cooking, I became so accustomed to the familiar rhythms of cooking as part of a team that I lost sight of what it meant to cook for myself and by myself in what suddenly seemed to be an extremely tiny and ill-equipped kitchen. At work I always have expansive work surfaces, never-ending shelves and racks of equipment, and a team of chefs who help make it all happen, and suddenly it was just me, myself, and I.

Since I started my cooking journey as part of a kitchen brigade, this was a first for me. I rarely cooked at home before culinary school. When I was a kid, I watched my parents cookbut it wasnt a romantic, gauze-filtered experience. They both worked and were often tight on time when it came to meals. Growing up in New Jersey, my brothers and I were latchkey kids who took care of our own snacks and, sometimes, dinners. Weeknight meals were whatever was quickest and easiest. Sunday dinners and holidays were more elaborate; my parents had a bit more time to cook, so wed all sit down to eat a meal that felt more special.

The culinary world may have been foreign to my parents, but they were wonderfully supportive of my career choice, as was my high school home ec teacher, and so I had the great fortune of attending the Culinary Institute of America. After high school I headed straight into professional kitchens and training and never looked back. Like my peers, I climbed my way up the ladder working endless hours to hone my craft in the restaurant world and devoted my time to learning as much as I could about the industry. With all the hours spent learning and working to be a successful executive chef, I didnt really have the time for cooking at home. The ovens in the string of tiny New York City apartments Ive lived in throughout my career were rarely, if ever, turned on.

This all changed a couple of years ago, when I found myself with time off between restaurants and realized that I could take a breath or two. With my newfound free time, I attempted to cook at homebut I felt like a stranger in a strange kitchen. Where were the pots and pans? Yikes! It dawned on me that I had kind of skipped the whole home-cooking thing. I had no clue about how to really cook for myself or a crowd at homelet alone how to enjoy myself while doing it!

In the quiet solitude of my small home kitchen, I lost my confidence and my motivation. I used my lack of space, equipment, and ingredients as an excuse. I felt overwhelmed. I never had friends over for dinner parties. I was always a happy volunteer in other peoples kitchens but never the holiday host for family get-togethers. My take-out menus were worn thin. I had to snap myself out of it. I wanted to be able to put the same smiling faces I see on my restaurant diners on the faces of my friends and family and cook delicious food in the comfort of my home kitchen!

So I did what Ive always done in the face of fear, ever since my first scary days of culinary school and restaurant workI hit it face-on. I went back to the drawing board. I dug deep and reminded myself that I cook because I love to experiment and create delicious food, and I can do that anywhere. Its not the kitchen that makes the foodits the cook. And now that Im on the other side, Ive realized that an array of hurdles can make home cooking seem like youre trying to get through an obstacle coursebut it doesnt have to be that way. With a few professional, confidence-instilling tricks up your sleeve, what was once daunting can become easier. And maybe even fun!

In this book Ive collected the most helpful and reliable tips and tricks Ive learned throughout my many years of working in professional restaurant kitchens. I realized that if items like caramelized onions and shallot confit and creamy risotto can help get me out of a pinch or add a burst of flavor in a restaurant kitchen, then why not start relying on them at home, too? Thats why Ive included them, among others in the Back to Basics chapter, to arm you with the foundational building blocks that have helped me in my kitchen. In the chapter Whats for Dinner?, Ive compiled my favorite meals for weeknights or time-crunched weekendstheyre steadfast without being boring. My Pork on Pork Chops and Lusty Lemon Chicken are a couple of my proudest creations, so of course they show up here. Many of the recipes come from my fellow cooks and chefsthose Ive worked for, been taught by, eaten with, judged on TV, and even competed against. The recipes, tips, and stories here make it a sort of scrapbook, each recipe triggering a memory of a friend, fellow chef, relative (my dads beef stew), meal, ingredient (my obsession with quinoa), or moment that has made a lasting impact. Theyve helped me find the love for cooking in my home kitchen and my hope is that youll be able to make them your own, so theyll do the same for you.