Terrance Brennan: Artisanal Cooking

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Are you a sucker for a good rabbit dish? Take "Rabbit au Riesling with Rutabaga 'Sauerkraut' " on pages 249-251 of Terrance Brennan's Artisanal Cooking: A Chef Shares His passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home (Wiley 2005), co-authored with perennial cookbook writer Andrew Friedman. Now, this is a spirited dish! The rabbit is marinated in the Riesling and cooked in rich broth that becomes the sauce. Terrance calls the accompanying sauerkraut "beguiling" with a richness coming from duck fat (watch out, Emeril!) and wine. Together the rabbit and the rutabaga make a sumptuous winter dish. It's almost a Fine Dining children's story: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail, and Peter go rooting in the rutabagas of Mr. McGregor's high-tech, sustainable vegetable patch in East Hampton, NY. Artisanal Cooking, however, is a serious book about how to cook with a commitment to integrity and a passion for ingredients. This cookbook targets a home cook audience, but keep in mind that it is most definitely the product of a restaurant chef. Which is to say, many recipes, adapted from his New York restaurants, are more suited to special occasion than everyday family fare. In his introduction, Terrance recalls the great meals eaten at a Loire Valley farmhouse, the wonderful ingredients from the garden and larder as well as the time taken to enjoy the food. This is a book of French recipes, many very traditional and familiar and others inventive and new. The steps are clear and there are plenty of color photos by Christopher Hirsheimer, that illustrate how a dish will be served and occasionally made: My way of cooking is less about finding hard-to-procure ingredients than maintaining a devotion to a certain integrity and quality in every aspect of the cooking process, even just knowing what to look for when buying meats and produce. Armed with the information in this book, you'll be able to successfully accomplish your own brand of artisanal cooking, even if you do most of your shopping in a supermarket. (p.4) "The Artisanal Pantry" (pp. 10-17) is a good guide to purchasing ingredients from anchovies to oils and vinegars. Terrance's staple recipes are not confined to the typical stocks: he includes flavored salts like Fennel Seed Salt (p. 20), compound butters like Black Truffle Butter (p. 25), flavored oils like Provencal Oil (p. 28 ) and Sauces, Compotes, Chutney and Marmalades. Check out the recipe for Orange Marmalade (p. 42), which makes a wonderful gift. There is an excellent bonus chapter on cheese (p. 50) -- not too surprising since Terrance Brennan is an authority on cheese and owns Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro. It is a good introductory course to cheese, not overwhelming for the novice buyer, and includes five sample cheese courses like the All-American Plate (p. 60). The Hors D'Oeuvres chapter (p. 64) starts with Terrance's superb Picholine's Marinated Olives (p. 65) in which olives (preferably Picholine) are marinated in toasted spices, rosemary, bay leaves and olive oil. He is right that this doesn't take a lot of work and makes ordinary olives spectacular. The headnote describes how important olives are to Meditteranean cuisine, and thus the name of Terrance's New York restaurant, Picholine. There are three recipes for Spoon Hors D'Oeuves (p. 69-71) perfect for those who have an unending supply of teaspoons but very few plates. They are meant to be divided into three teaspoons for each of four guests. If you make all three recipes, that is 36 spoons if you don't double or triple dip. The recipes range from Cauliflower Mousseline with Caviar (p. 69) to Scallop Ceviche with Avocado (p. 71). There are less cutlery-intensive recipes for croustades (pp. 78-80), minatue grilled cheese sandwiches (pp. 85-86) like the Smoked Salmon "Croque Monsieur" that shows off more of Terrance's playful side, taking a turn at the traditional croque monsieur by replacing the ham with salmon and cutting the sandwiches in to kiddie-size bites. It might sound silly, but the photo on page 84 makes you want to make them for your next meal. There are many luscious recipes for winter fare, including venison, pheasant and beef, such as the hearty Daube of Beef Short Ribs with Olives and Orange-Cumin Carrots (p. 237-9). It will transport you to that Loire Valley farmhouse as long as you take your time and care in finding the best ingredients. Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, cookbooks, food blogging --> back to superchefblog