Rocco DiSpirito: Real Life Recipes

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Super Chef continues to look for improvement in the career of Rocco DiSpirito. He is a great chef who has pushed the boundaries of what chefs can do in their careers. He may be a publicity hound with dramatic ups and down -- but he is an entrepreneur and always has another idea. What's the idea this time around? In the introduction to his latest cookbook, Rocco's Real Life Recipes: Fast Flavors Everyday (Meredith 2007), Rocco seems to answer all the criticism level at his last book, Rocco's Five Minute Flavor, while still tackling the same area: quick home cooking. He promises a lot. Meals prepared in 20-30 minutes including prep time, everyday ingredients in short lists of fresh or high-quality shortcut ingredients, entrees rather than appetizers or desserts, with the focus on flavor. He ends the introduction with these words: There isn't a person in the world you can't win over by cooking something and sitting down and eating with them. Why not do it more often and as much as you possibly can? (p. 5) Is he thinking of his reader's teenagers, colleagues or boss? Is he thinking of himself and Jeffrey Chodorow? Or is he thinking of President Bush and, say, Vladimir Putin? Good food has always been a major part of diplomacy, but isn't this stretching it a bit? The recipes are divided up by main protein – beef, poultry, pork, lamb, salmon etc. That's convenient, since it’s the way most people think of dinner, rather than with the pretty peas they got at the farmer's market. Most recipes contain a fruit or vegetable and Rocco recommends that all could be served with soup or a salad. The beef chapter still suffers from too many packaged foods, but most recipes do without, though he does name his olive oil (Bertolli) for which he does publicity. The chapter opens with a black and white photo of Rocco leaning over a dish, arranging ingredients with his hands, while his sunglasses are perched on top of his head - opposite a big red "R" draped with a "Beef" banner. He looks intent but glamorous – pure Rocco. The next page has a giant quote: "The easiest way to get someone to fall in love with you is to feed them." (really?) There is a quote and more snaps of Rocco and others, plus a few pictures of food in color and black and white in the middle of the book – but no photographer's name. The first recipe, Filet Mignon with Cheese and Potatoes (p. 19), calls for frozen mashed potatoes, frozen peas, some Boursin cheese and cream. The direction say the recipes takes 15 minutes, so why not take the full 30 and actually make mashed potatoes or just boiled potatoes? Another recipe, Medallions of Beef with Gingered Greens (p. 26), gets flavor from ginger, coconut milk, garlic and broccoli rabe. But for Beef with Potatoes Gratin (p. 42) Rocco actually uses Campbell' s Select Gold Label creamy Portobello mushroom soup along with Diner's Choice Garlic Mashed Potatoes. This sounds like a 1950s dish out of the I Hate to Cook Book, or has Rocco signed up for even more product promotions? At the end of the book is a more sensible chapter called Rocco's Reserve – recipes for the weekend or for an important occasion. If you want to buy this cookbook, buy it for these recipes. There are good standards for Meatloaf with Fried Onions and Tomato Gravy (p. 210) to a more elaborate Fennel Stuffed Loin of Pork (p. 212). These are recipes Rocco seems more passionate about. There are no short-cut products, and no shortage of ingredients. Here he writes clearly and with obvious pride in having created and served the dishes. Take a step back to 2005's Rocco's Five Minute Flavor (Scribner 2005) or further back to Flavor (Hyperion 2003) and Rocco's Italian-American (Hyperion2004). Whereas the earliest book won awards for its inspired recipes and concept, Five Minute Flavor was based on a gimmick: 5 ingredients/5 minutes prep time/$5 per portion. It strayed far from Rocco's original passion for fresh food prepared expertly into territory belonging to Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee - not to a great chef. It may have appealed to his radio show fans, but not his former Union Pacific ones. Super Chef hopes that Rocco returns to his Union Pacific days in his next book. Previous articles: Would You Buy a Car from Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco Does Broadway via Chicago Rossant on Rocco: New York Daily News Rocco DiSpirito: Super Duper Bowl "F" is for... "Rocco"? Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand? Rocco DiSpirito Wins TV Turkey Dinner Rocco DiSpirito: Pretty in Pink? Rocco DiSpirito: Ridiculed in the Rainbow Room More Reality TV Chefs (or Less)? Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me! Claude Troisgros: Riding de Rocco DiSpirito Star Rocco Barred from Reality TV Restaurant Rocco: Trapped in Reality TV's Twilight Zone? [Cook Books - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, Rocco DiSpirito --> back to Super Chef