Matters of Taste

Say "American Cheeses" by Clark Wolf...and Smile

I had breakfast last week with Clark Wolf, the most quoted restaurant consultant in the U.S. Whip-smart and wise-cracking to boot, he’s every food writer’s go-to authority on restaurant decor and menu design, farmers markets and food trends, cuisine, culture and Camembert.

 It’s the Camembert we were talking about over breakfast at Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Camembert, that is, as one of the many glorious cheeses being made in America today.

 Wolf’s new book “American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses --  Who Makes Them And Where to Find Them” is a comprehensive look at a food niche that was dominated by Cheez Whiz and Velveeta for decades. Few people have Wolf’s passion or encyclopediac knowledge of  what’s been called “milk’s leap toward immortality.”  (He basically created  the cheese department at the legendary Oakville Grocery back in 1980.)  And he shares both passion anad knowledge with us in these pages.

The basics are there: How cheese “happens.” The various families of cheese, including fresh, soft,  semi-soft, blue, goat, sheep, rind vs. no rind, etc. How to buy cheese, store it, and eat it.

But my favorite part of the book is the road-trip across the U.S, with stops at dairies, cheese plants and small farmstead kitchens, and introductions to some of the personalities responsible for the growing sophistication of American cheese.

 Well, actually, that’s my second most favorite part of the book. My absolute favorite, and reason enough to purchase this tome, is the Macaroni and Three-Peppercorn Goat Cheese recipe from Zingerman’s Roadhouse, a deli-market in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  A bubbly masterpiece of fresh goat cheese, roasted red bell peppers, Dijon mustard, and ground white, black and green peppercorns, it’s topped with a crusty, bread-crumb-cloaked round of aged goat.

That's just one of the dozens of tantalizing recipes -- Lemon-Goat Cheese Tart or Berkshire Blue Cheese Bread Pudding, anyone? -- included in "American Cheeses." Available at Amazon.com.

 

Creamed Corn Goes Upscale

I’ve always been a purist about summer corn. Get it from the field to the pot of boiling water as fast as you can, schmear it with soft butter, sprinkle on a little coarse salt and gnaw away.

Why fiddle around with one of summer’s most precious gifts, I always figured.

Last night I discovered a recipe that makes a strong case for fiddling.

Fettuccine with Summer Corn, Bacon, and Shiitake Mushrooms is a easy, elegant, supremely satisfying creation that screams “summer” while offering the high-level comfort-quotient of winter foods.

New York City chef Andrew Carmellini is the genius behind this dish that involves just a handful of ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to make. Carmellini boasts that he’s a “Midwestern boy at heart” and loves to play with corn, in pastas, fillings, sauces, custards and even gelati.

For this dish, he uses corn kernels pureed with a bit of milk and cream to create a luxurious yet light “cream” sauce. The bacon is regular bacon, diced.  Readily available white mushrooms are just as good as shiitake. I adapted the recipe by slowly sautéing one sweet onion and adding that to the mix.

The recipe comes from Carmellini’s book, “Urban Italian.” It’s available at Amazon.com.

FETTUCCINE WITH SUMMER CORN, BACON, AND SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS
Serves 4

1 ½ cups diced bacon
6 cups fresh summer corn kernels (cut from 9 to 10 ears)
2 pounds shiitake mushrooms (or oyster or wild), each one cut in half
1/2 cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 pound fettuccine, fresh or dried
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of salt

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Sweat the bacon in a medium pot at medium-high heat, without any oil, until the fat is rendered and the bacon begins to crisp, about 3 minutes.
Add 3 cups of corn and the mushrooms to the bacon pot and cook together until the flavors blend and the mushrooms caramelize slightly, about 4 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, blend the remaining 3 cups of corn, the milk and the cream together on high speed until the mixture is all liquid, about 1 minute.
Strain the corn-cream mixture through a chinois or fine strainer into the bacon-mushroom pot, pushing the mixture down with a heavy spoon so all the liquid ends up in the pot. Simmer all the ingredients together until the corn mixture heats through and starts to thicken about 2 minutes. (I skipped the straining step and liked the texture of the sauce.)
Add the black pepper and cayenne pepper, If the pasta isn’t finished yet, remove the sauce from the heat and reserve.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. (Carmellini uses homemade fettuccine and cooks it for about 2 minutes.)
Remove the pasta with a pair of tongs and add it to the bacon-mushroom-corn mixture in the pot. Mix well to thoroughly coat the pasta. Turn off the heat and mix in the parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt and more pepper.
Plate the pasta, covering each serving with the sauce that remains in the pot. Make sure that you get all the good bits of bacon, corn and mushrooms at the bottom.

(Adapted from “Urban Italian” by Andrew Carmellini.)

"Urban Italian" -- Great Food Wherever You Cook It

Andrew Carmellini had me at “Hello!”

The acclaimed New York City chef wowed me last summer on my first trip to A Voce with his simple but stylish and stunningly flavorful food.  (In fact, I had liked his food at Café Boulud before that, but somehow he makes more of a statement when he’s cooking Italian.)

And when his first cookbook came out some months ago, I was hooked on the first recipe I turned to. 

“Urban Italian – Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food” is an inviting tome that manages to entertain with honest stories and funny anecdotes, all the while providing a detailed roadmap to memorable meals.

Carmellini (and his wife Gwen Hyman, who is co-author) claims he decided to write the book while waiting around for construction delays on A Voce (he is no longer chef there). Though he grew up in a food-loving Italian family, and has cooked over the years in such gourmet temples as Lespinasse (now closed) and Café Boulud, the Ohio-born Carmellini knows all too well the challenges of cooking in a tiny apartment kitchen in a big American city.  Hence, the title, “Urban Italian” and the contents….a compendium of recipes that can be pulled off with success in that environment, without benefit of wood-burning pizza oven, root cellars, curing rooms, etc.

The book starts with the “True Stories” and a hilarious, laugh-out-loud bunch they are. It then moves on to the recipes, but not before a couple pages in which he lays out the ground rules for successful cooking, including “don’t stress out,” don’t be afraid to make a mess,”  “don’t leave out the salt or the fat,” and “plan ahead.” Photos, by Quentin Bacon, add a lot to the experience, especially the tantalizing shots of the cooked foods.

  Carmellini’s a fan of bold flavors, satisfying textures and food with a high comfort-quotient. He delivers all of the above in such dishes as Marinated Chicken Alla Griglia (with roasted garlic puree and Sicilian oregano), Lamb Leg with Garlic, Yogurt and Fennel, Spicy Corn with Hot Banana Pepper and Pine Nuts, and a divine Rigatoni Pugliese with chickpeas, Italian sausage and broccoli rabe. Some recipes contain just a few ingredients that can be tossed together on a weeknight. Others, like the My Grandmother’s Ravioli pictured here, are multi-page affairs with how-to directions and photos.

Instructions are clear and concise, with the lilt of Carmellini’s effervescent and sometimes iconoclastic personality peeking through. This may not be the best book for a novice cook – nothing is dumbed down. But for novices with guts, Urban Italian will  make the move beyond the novice stage a delicious and fun experience.

Here’s the recipe for Rigatoni Pugliese, which has already made its way into my family’s regular repertoire.

RIGATONI PUGLIESE

Serves 4 to 6

Sauce:

1 15-ounce can chickpeas
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
3 cups Basic Tomato Sauce (see note below)
½ teaspoon ground fennel seed

Broccoli rabe and rigatoni:

1 bunch broccoli rabe, cleaned of outer leaves and bottom stems trimmed
1 pound rigatoni
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

To finish the dish:

2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino cheese

Sauce:
Drain the chickpeas well, reserving the liquid. Blend half the chickpeas (about 1 cup) and all their liquid on high until the mixture forms a smooth paste, about 1 minute.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and add the meat to the pan. Brown it, stirring regularly and breaking the meat up into small pieces with a spoon.
Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine.
Add the chickpea puree and the fennel seed and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until the mixture forms a loose sauce and the flavors are combined, about 15 minutes.

Broccoli rabe and rigatoni:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Blanch the broccoli rabe until the stems are just softened and the color has deepened, about 90 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to immediately stop the cooking process.
Return the water to a boil, add the rigatoni and cook until it’s al dente. Drain but do not rinse the pasta.
Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium sauté pan. Add the broccoli rabe, garlic, red pepper flakes and the remaining half of the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper and saute until the greens are well coated, about 1 minute.

Return the rigatoni to the pot. Add the sauce and cook on medium-high heat, mixing well, until the pasta is well coated, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, olive oil and half the pecorino cheese. Transfer the pasta and sauce to a large serving dish and pour the broccoli rabe and chickpea mixture over the top. Top with the rest of the pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

Note: "Urban Italian" contains a recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce that is worthwhile but time-consuming. I sometimes substitute a good, simple packaged sauce, such as San  Marzano, Lucini or Muiri.

Cooking Tips from a Pro

“Timing is everything.”

That’s one of the valuable lessons I learned yesterday in a cooking class at the Rancho La Puerta resort and spa in Tecate, Mexico.

 
1. When sautéing garlic in olive oil, always add something else to the pan first. For example, throw in the chopped onions or shallots or whatever else the recipe calls for, and THEN the garlic. “Let the onion be shocked by the hot oil, not the garlic,” says  Deborah Schneider, Resident Chef of La Cocina Que Canta, the spa’s state-of-the-art cooking school.

2. To add salt to sautéing vegetables, toss the salt into the hot oil in the pan and stir BEFORE you add the vegetable. Schneider heated olive oil, threw in a few pinches of salt, then piled in a huge heap of freshly chopped Swiss chard. “The oil transfers the salt to the vegetables more efficiently and you’ll need a lot less salt,” Schneider says.

3. When toasting pumpkin seeds, place them in a heavy pan over high heat (no oil necessary) and toast until each seed starts to turn dark and puff up “like Rice Krispies.” According to Schneider, properly toasted seeds have a richer, less acidic flavor. They also can be ground into finer pieces than under-toasted seeds.

Yesterday, about 16 guests from the Ranch gathered at the cooking school for Schneider’s hands-on class. The featured recipes were from the school’s just-released cookbook "Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta."

There was Roasted Onion Soup with Chiles (made with vegetable broth instead of the traditional beef broth); Grilled Shrimp on Rosemary Branches; Eggplant Parmigiana (baked not  sautéed in oil) with Roasted  Tomato Sauce; an ingenious Vanilla Bean Flan (made without cream or egg yolks) with Agave Syrup  and Caramelized Walnuts, and several  other delicious dishes made without meat and with a minimum of fat, salt and sugar.

Founded in the early 1940s by Edmond and Deborah Szekely, the Ranch (as it is casually known) was the first spa on the North American continent. (Deborah, who went on to open the posh Golden Door Spa in Escondido, California in 1958 is widely considered to be the godmother of the American spa movement.)

 The property, located 40 miles from San Diego,  is renowned for its vast, unspoiled landscape and a low-key, guilt-free environment that is said to nurture both physical and spiritual health. Guests take a wide variety of “classes” that range from Pilates and Yoga to Sand Volleyball and “All That Dance” aerobics classes featuring salsa, hip hop and Mexican folk dance. The creative and delicious meals are primarily vegetarian (with fish served twice a week); no alcohol is served.
For more information on the spa, visit RanchoLaPuerta.com.

Here’s a recipe from yesterday’s impressive buffet. More recipes can be found in the new cookbook, “Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta” by Deborah Szekely and Deborah Schneider. It's available at Amazon.com.

CRANBERRY QUINOA SALAD
Serves 6

1 1/3 cups water or vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/3 cup sun-dried cranberries
1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the quinoa and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a chopstick or fork.
Let quinoa cool to room temperature, uncovered. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Add the cooked quinoa. Toss with the salt, olive oil, orange juice and lemon juice. Let stand for 1 hour before serving. Taste and correct flavors with citrus juice.

Desserts I Can Only Dream Of

The new book “Frozen Desserts” by Francisco J. Migoya could just as easily have been called “Fantasy Desserts.”

 I mean, really, who among us has even dreamed of whipping up Chocolate Lemon Ice Cream with  Lemon Pound Cake Croutons;  Lemon Semifreddo with Coconut Bubbles and Black Sesame Seed Glass; or Pumpkin Gelato with Gingerbread Sablee Breton, Candied Pepitas, and Caramel Paper?

Caramel Paper!

As apparently anyone who’s ever been Executive Pastry Chef at French Laundry, Bouchon Bakery and Bouchon Bistro already knows, “paper” is a mixture of sugar, water and lemon juice that’s heated, poured onto a rubber mat, cooled, ground to powder in a robot coupe, spread on a rubber mat in a thin layer, baked, cooled, and broken into evenly sized pieces.

It didn’t take me long to realize that this remarkable book is geared primarily to professional chefs. Migoya is, in fact, now an assistant professor of bakery and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of America. And he’s very comfortable throwing around words like “pacotized” (a new one on me, referring to a Swiss contraption that “shaves” ice cream), Brix scale (a measurement of the density and concentration of sugar in solution) and Bombe (a round ice cream treat to most of us, but a frozen parfait with 50 percent more heavy cream to those in the know.)

You pretty much know you’re in over your head when the chapter headlined Production Techniques for  Sorbets includes:

 “Classic Method: Using a Refractometer;” “Modern Method #1: Using a Sorbet Mix;” and “Modern Method #2: Using a Mathematical Formula.”

Nonetheless, this is a book for anyone who appreciates fine photography…the stunning photos could be hanging on the wall of a museum. It’s also for anyone who wants to truly understand the basics – Migoya’s explanations are patient, clear and concise. And it’s definitely for anyone wanting to stretch his/her dessert repertoire.

White Chocolate Ice Cream Cones with Osetra Caviar might be a bit over the top. But the  elegant French Macaron Cassis Sorbet isn’t all that hard to make. Burnt Milk Gelato with Mexican Hot Chocolate is a divine idea. And Popcorn Sherbet with Caramel Popcorn and Caramel Sauce will have your guests talking about your genius well into 2009.

Me? I’m thinking about tackling Peppermint Sorbet Cubes with Whipped Crème Chantilly, Devil’s Food Cake and Candy Cane Dust .

The book costs $60; $37.80 at Amazon.com.

Treasured Tomes

Nobody knows the tortellini and tapenades I've seen...and cooked...and written about.

Here's the list of the thirteen cookbooks I could never live without. I've thumbed through thousands of books over the years, interviewed the authors, tested the recipes, tasted the dishes. These cookbooks stood out in a very crowded field.

Some capture the trends of today; some were favorites during the days of Veal Oscar and now sit quietly on the shelf. All are tattered but treasured for their memorable meals.

The list is part of an article in The San Diego Union-Tribune that ran when I left the paper in January, 2008. The article also shares my favorite gadgets, pantry staples, learning adventures and culinary personalities.

 

THIRTEEN TREASURED TOMES

“Cucina Simpatica: Robust Trattoria Cooking From Al Forno” by Johanne Killeen & George Germon

“Michel Richard's Home Cooking With a French Accent” by Michel Richard   

“In the Hands of a Chef” by Jody Adams

“Bistro Cooking at Home” by Gordon Hamersley

“Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck.

“The Babbo Cookbook” by Mario Batali

“Mediterranean Cooking” by Paula Wolfert

“The Union Square Cookbook” (from the New York City restaurant of that name), by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano.

“Back to Square One: Old World Food in a New World Kitchen” by Joyce Goldstein

“The Four Seasons Cookbook” by Charlotte Adams. This 1971 treasure (from New York's Four Seasons restaurant) was my introduction to the world of haute cuisine. It's still available at used book Web sites.

“Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts” by Maida Heatter

“Cooking With the New American Chefs” by Ellen Brown. Released in 1985, it inspired then and still does today.

“The Thrill of the Grill” by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby

 

Heirloom Tomatoes on the Runway

Looking to give something other than the standard bottle of wine as a hostess gift this summer?  Look no further than Amy Goldman’s new book “The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table.” You can almost taste the juicy photographs of the tomatoes grown on Goldman’s farm near Rhinebeck, NY.

The book, published by Bloomsbury and retailing at $35 (but selling for $23.10 on Amazon.com), also includes musings on the history and cultivation of this beloved “fruit,” as well as some appealing recipes.

Going to friends for dinner? Bring the book. Going to a friend’s beach house for the weekend? Bring the book and a bottle of really good extra virgin olive oil (I’m partial to Pianogrillo from Sicily which costs $35 at Gustiamo.com.

New Fish to Fry

Writers toss around a lot of words when they describe a new cookbook: Trendy, down-to-earth, user-friendly, high-brow, authoritative, photographically-driven. But to me “inspirational” is the key word, the quality that gets a cookbook a spot on the shelves in my kitchen.

Rick Moonen inspires.

In “Fish Without a Doubt,” this accomplished chef/owner of RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas, takes an ingredient that most home cooks avoid like the plague and turns it into a do-able, delicious meal.

Moonen is an easy-going, approachable guy who values honest flavors over flash and fanfare. That comes through loud and clear in “Fish Without a Doubt,” which features simple but spectacularly flavorful creations that will win over all the home cooks who insist that “cooking fish makes the house smell bad.”

I loved his Jerk Tuna with Mango Sauce, an intriguing interplay of sweet and spicy flavors that took all of 15 minutes to make. I was impressed by the fragrance and flavor of Swordfish Brochettes with Orange-Chipotle Marinade which I also made in less time than it takes to place and pick up a take-out order. And I flipped over Moonen’s take on salmon burgers – he lightens the chopped salmon-bell-pepper-scallion patties with beaten egg white and tops the finished product with a spunky Green Tartar Sauce. (The tuna burgers swaddled in fiery harissa mayonnaise are terrific, too.)

In the almost-500-page book, you’ll find homey and haute; all-American and international exotica; super-simple preparations and sophisticated adventures that Moonen guides you with with the equivalent of a gentle hand on the back.

Clear, concise instructions include suggestions of appropriate side dishes for each entrée. Valuable “tips” accompany many recipes. And glossy color photos help answer the question “What shall we have for dinner tonight?”

In addition to its creativity quotient –- hushpuppies with a bay scallop inside each golden nugget, anyone? -- “Fish Without a Doubt” is a valuable reference tool.  Recipes are divided into chapters based on techniques (poaching, steaming, broiling, grilling, etc.) and include both basic instructions and imaginative ideas for refining a dish. There are also chapters on “Essential Sides,” such as Asian slaw and lentil salad; sauces, salsas and vinaigrettes; and a dictionary of the fish you’re likely to encounter in the marketplace. Moonen also deals with the issue of sustainable seafood.

Oh, yeah. That pesky excuse you’ve had for not cooking fish at home. Moonen says forgetaboutit…the kitchen doesn’t have to smell fishy. Just follow his advice which includes:
•    Buy only very fresh fish
•    Empty the garbage right away
•    Place a cup of bleach near your work area; it pulls odors from the air
•    Put lemon and lime rinds through the sink disposal; it freshens the sink and releases the fragrant essential oils of the rinds

JERK TUNA WITH MANGO SAUCE
Serves 4

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 (1-inch) knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/3 cup orange juice
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
4 (6-ounce) pieces tuna (or swordfish), about 1/2-inch thick
Coarse salt
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons jerk seasoning (available is most specialty markets)

Combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Give the sauce a taste. It should be tangy, so add more lemon juice if you need it. This makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Season the tuna with salt and rub each piece with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Rub 1/2 teaspoon of the jerk seasoning into each side of each piece.

Heat a Foreman grill and grill the tuna for 2 minutes for medium-rare. Or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and grill the tuna for 1 1/2 minutes on each side.

To serve, spoon the mango sauce onto dinner plates. Slice the tuna and fan the slices over the sauce.

Fish retails for $35; it's $23.10 at Amazon.com.

Bistro Cooking at Home

C’mon. I ask you.

How can you go wrong with a cookbook that features these scrumptious renditions of irresistible American treats?

The answer is: You can’t. Go wrong, that is.

Laurent Tourondel’s latest book, “New American Bistro Cooking,” is a lip-smacking blend of elegant “junk food” (the matchstick fries are sprinkled with butter imbued with fresh rosemary and garlic, then dusted with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano), and the refined French dishes that show up in a classy bistro.

Which is, by the way, what Tourondel’s restaurants are, all eleven of them, including BLT Steak (seven locations from San Juan to Scottsdale), BLT Fish, BLT Prime, BLT Market, and BLT Burger.

The book, written with veteran cookbook author Michele Scicolone, is beautiful, with appetizing food shots and evocative scenes from the various bistros. (Many of the recipes come from the restaurants.)

It’s also user-friendly, with concise, easy-to-follow instructions and ingredients that are, for the most part, readily available. There’s a good mix of simple recipes that fit on one page (multiple pages is often a deal-breaker for me), and some slightly more complicated numbers.

And the results are terrific. Tourondel perfected his skills at such temples of gastronomy as Troisgros in France, and the stratospherically priced (and now-defunct) Cello in New York City. But clearly there’s the heart of a country boy beating inside that starched white chef’s coat.

Beef short ribs simmer in a couple bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and Port; roasted cod wears an herb-bacon crust; “chili” consists of corn, beans and sausage.

Seared swordfish is slowly braised with bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, capers and lots of white wine. It’s wildly aromatic and flavorful….and ready in just an hour.

A grilled tuna sandwich is an over-the-top salade Nicoise on toasted Italian bread. Roasted chicken gets buttered bread crumbs and preserved lemon tucked under the skin.

Salads sound simple, yet each one teaches a little trick for turning that simple into sublime. (I love the crispy fried shallots on the Fennel-Arugula Salad with Aged Pecorino.)

Tourondel seems to have a thing for Thai food, too, with ingredients like lemon grass and coconut milk showing up in every chapter.

I’m in love with his Curry-Kaffir Lime Chicken Pot Pie that looks like an elegant French masterpiece with its puff pastry toque, yet packs the distinctive wallop of red and green curry pastes.

It’s easy to dismiss the books of accomplished restaurant chefs as “special occasion” material. But, like a good bistro in either France or the U.S., the food in this book is accessible, down-to-earth, and supremely satisfying.

BRAISED SWORDFISH – TOMATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS
Slightly adapted from “New American Bistro Cooking”
Serves 6

½ cup flour
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 swordfish filets, about 6 ounces each
¼ cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 cans (28 ounces each) Italian tomatoes, diced or crushed or one of each
¾ cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons drained capers
Pinch sugar
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

On a piece of waxed paper, mix together the flour and salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in the flour, shaking the pieces to remove the excess.

In a large skillet, hear the oil over high heat. When it is very hot, add the fish. Brown it well, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the fish to a plate and keep warm.

Turn the heat to medium. Stir the peppers, onions and garlic into the oil in the skillet. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the wine and cook uncovered, 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan,.

Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, sugar and red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Return the fish to the skillet. Baste the fish with the sauce so that the pieces are completely covered. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes on low hear, or until the sauce is slightly thickened and the swordfish is very tender,

Stir in the chopped basil and serve the fish with the sauce.

Hot Off The Presses

Mario Batali, he of the orange clogs and awesome restaurant empire, just invited himself to your next backyard cookout.

With his hot-off-the-presses “Mario Batali Italian Grill” cookbook, the relentlessly exuberant chef will nudge you, ever so gently, beyond bratwurst and BBQed ribs and into some pretty delicious dishes you might never have thought of on your on.

“No way is mine going to look like that,” I said, looking at a glossy photo in the book and unfurling a massive boneless turkey breast on the cutting board. But, much to my amazement and glee, my version of Mario’s Spit-Roasted Turkey Breast Porchetta-Style did, indeed, look just as good and tasted great, too.

(The recipe calls for a stuffing of sautéed sausage, onion, shallots and garlic, mixed with bread cubes and fresh herbs. The stuffed breast is rolled horizontally, rotisseried, and cut into glamorous “swirled” slices.)

I also felt pretty smug with the Charred Tuna Spiedini with Spicy Peppers I made by rolling one-inch cubes of sushi-grade ahi tuna in a blend of fennel pollen, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. The bumpy little cubes were then threaded on wooden skewers and grilled until pink inside and voluptuously browned and crispy on the outside. (The multi-colored bell pepper mixture gets its spice from four sliced jalapenos, probably more heat than most palates can handle.)

The book is attractive, colorful and user-friendly. The layout is neat and airy; the typeface is one baby-boomers can live with. And many recipes fit completely on one page, giving them a “Sure, I can do that” appeal.

Batali’s instructions are clear, complete and conversational.  There’s lots of “toss this”, “smear that” and ”Things may seem a little smoky and hectic – do not worry.” OK, Mario, if you say so.

Oh, yes. Almost forgot the Marinated Zucchini. That recipe also made me look like a genius. (Hey, when did you ever think of dumping fresh ricotta cheese, mint and Serrano chilies on marinated, grilled zucchini?)

The book sells for $29.95; available at Amazon.com.