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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
A Kitchen Adventure: Ordinary Cooks Do Gourmet
By Kimberly Crum Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Can ordinary home cooks reproduce the flavors of chef-inspired recipes? That is our
question as we gather for the Today’s Woman inaugural test kitchen. Our gourmet test
recipes come from two Louisville executive chefs, Anoosh Shariat, formerly of Park
Place, and Michael Paley of Proof on Main.
Our test kitchen is similar to a chef's kitchen. We have ample counter space, gas
burners and most of our own tools. We organize fresh herbs and exotic ingredients for
easy access. And we want our results to please both the palate and the eye. Unlike
professional kitchens, we taste each dish with sips of wine. Our kitchen is cluttered and
noisy with laughter created by a chorus of questions: “What is a scallion? Is this basil?
Aren’t chives the ends of onions? What exactly is a reduction?”
Perhaps the most important ingredient in our test kitchen is the permission to fail.
Five “ordinary” home cooks comprise the participants. Cheryl usually cooks “old stand-
by favorites that don’t require much time or thought.” Leslie and Kim, until recently, have
only cooked what their families will eat. Another cook, Sara, likes to “putter” in the
kitchen, but doesn’t use recipes with exotic ingredients. Tom is our man — the newlywed
cook/husband to our photographer, Ewa. Ewa’s job is to make our food photogenic.
The first challenge of gourmet recipes is unfamiliar ingredients. Where does one find
pasta sheets? Green peppercorns soaked in brine? White truffle oil? I journeyed to
some of the finest “boutique” grocers in Louisville, where a rookie gourmand can ask
“What is a fingerling potato?” It took three stores and three hours to locate the
ingredients. The total bill to prepare five recipes was $124. The expense is partly due to
fresh herbs, two pounds of pancetta, and exotic ingredients like saffron strands and
truffle oil.
It took four cooks three hours to complete and sample all five dishes. You might expect a
gourmet tasting to begin with “Bon appetit.” Our first tasting began with “Dig in
everybody!” Dishes are listed in order of appearance.
Shrimp Julep (recipe below)
Mint and bourbon give this appetizer its name. Shrimp Julep is a crowd pleaser. It’s what
all gourmet dishes should be — pretty, complex in flavor, and easy to prepare. The
jumbo sautéed shrimp are seared then simmered in a sweet bourbon reduction. The
varied ingredients give the dish a savory herbal sweetness. Minted Peas with Pancetta
(recipe on page 75)
No dish elicited as many comments as the peas: “Wow! These are GREEN. Psychedelic!
They taste like candy! You can use them in a dip. Or to add color to the plate.” The
sweetness of the mint-pea puree contrasts beautifully with the salty pancetta crumbled
on top. We were surprised that anything so green could taste so good. Tiny Baked
Potatoes with Truffle Crema and Pancetta
The sampling of our third course, the potato appetizer sounded like this: “MMM! Oh Man!
That truffle oil gives the sour cream a great flavor!” Preparation is painless. Baked
fingerling potatoes are split open and topped with a dollop of “crema” — sour cream
flavored with white truffle oil, a pricey ingredient derived from an “exceptional
fungus…with an earthy garlicky flavor” (Epicurious.com, food definitions). Lamb Ravioli
with Hazelnut & Mascarpone, with Apple Cider & Ginger Reduction
The long title is no accident. The lamb ravioli is the most labor-intensive of our recipes,
requiring cooks to grill, mix, reduce, slice, stuff, crimp and boil. The result is a savory-
tangy-sweet filling, topped by a drizzled apple cider/ginger reduction that looks like gravy
but tastes like syrup. This is not Chef Boyardee —where the marinara has the major
role. Here, the stuffing is the star.
Spring Lamb with Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu (recipe below)
Massaged with a rub, marinated overnight, seared on a grill, and roasted for 10-15
minutes, the Spring Lamb is easy to prepare. We pronounce the lamb chops “tender and
delicious.” Lamb is great by itself but is fabulous with tomato/olive ragu. Preparation of
the ragu is time consuming, but worth the while. The result is exotic, impressive and
versatile. In fact, we think the ragu would also be tasty with meaty fish or lean pork. Our
test kitchen answered its initial question. Ordinary cooks are able to imitate, if not
reproduce, the flavors of chef-inspired recipes. Presentation is a bigger challenge. The
good gourmand knows that food is not simply about flavor. “Plating” is a key factor in
presentation. With each dish, we picked the best platter or bowl or garnish. Lemon
slices, herbs, and a (non-edible) flower from a hanging basket, improved the look of
each. What we needed were solid color plates that would have created a complimentary
background for each of our dishes.
All of us completed the test kitchen with increased knowledge and confidence. Here’s
what some of us said:
“A dish that looks weird can actually be good. Making the meal look pretty isn’t all that
hard or time consuming. It just requires some imagination,” says Cheryl.
“Gourmet recipes tend to have one or two secret ingredients that give them that special
zing, but are not necessarily more difficult to make than conventional recipes,” says
Leslie.
And Sara says, “What was different in the test kitchen were the ingredients, like truffle oil
and lamb. I learned about reductions, which I’d never tried.” We all agreed that cooking
with a group is infinitely more fun than cooking alone. Dig in everybody!
Shrimp Julep by Anoosh Shariat
Serves 4
12 individual jumbo shrimp
1/4 cup Evan Williams (bourbon)
2 teaspoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon chopped shallots
4 ounces unsalted sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons cane syrup
Heat olive oil. Add shrimp to pan and sear. Flip shrimp and add shallots, sweat for one
minute, remove from heat and add Evan Williams and cane syrup. Return to heat, add
mint. Reduce by half. Swirl in butter. (Our advice: If you use pre-cooked shrimp, as we
did, remove the shrimp while you reduce the liquid, so it won’t overcook)
Minted Peas with Pancetta
by Michael Paley
Serves 6
3 pounds fresh or frozen green peas (if frozen make sure to thaw first)
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons whole mint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
1 pound bacon or pancetta finely chopped
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a
boil. Blanch peas for 45 seconds, remove from the water and shock in an ice water bath
to stop the cooking and preserve the bright green color. (Frozen peas do not need to be
cooked)
Place peas in a food processor with the oil and the lemon juice, salt and pepper, mint
and parsley. Puree to a smooth paste.
For the Pancetta: place the cut pancetta on a baking sheet and bake in oven until brown
and crispy. Place on a paper towel to drain.
Serve pea puree on top of crisp pancetta. Serve warm or room temperature.
(Our advice: Frozen peas retain their color without “shocking” in a cold water bath. Do
remember to thaw peas before using. Otherwise your result is chilled.)
Spring Lamb with Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu by Anoosh Shariat
Makes 6 servings.
Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
3 whole racks of lamb; ask butcher to prepare French style: trimmed of all fat, bones
cleaned
½ cup E.V.O.O.
¼ cup green peppercorn; best to use peppercorns that come in their own brine, if this is
not available, use dry product
¼ cup fresh rosemary; fine chopped
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
Massage mixture into lamb. Allow lamb to marinate in mixture overnight or for a minimum
of 4-6 hours.
Once lamb has been allowed to marinate, remove each rack from marinade.
Grill or pan-sear each rack on both sides for 3-4 minutes.
Finish racks in a 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes for a medium rare-medium
doneness or until desired doneness.
Begin preparing roasted tomato & olive ragu.
Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu
Ingredients
8 Roma tomatoes; fire roasted or grilled, skin removed, halved and quartered
¼ cup shallots; chopped
12 whole roasted garlic cloves
½ cup whole Kalamata olives; pitted, halved
½ tsp. fine ground saffron
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. fresh mint; fine chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil; fine chopped
½ cup E.V.O.O.
1 cup veal stock; can substitute chicken stock or chicken broth if veal stock not available
Salt & pepper to taste
Writer Kimberly Crum can be reached at (kimcrum@iamtodayswoman.com).
By Kimberly Crum Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Can ordinary home cooks reproduce the flavors of chef-inspired recipes? That is our
question as we gather for the Today’s Woman inaugural test kitchen. Our gourmet test
recipes come from two Louisville executive chefs, Anoosh Shariat, formerly of Park
Place, and Michael Paley of Proof on Main.
Our test kitchen is similar to a chef's kitchen. We have ample counter space, gas
burners and most of our own tools. We organize fresh herbs and exotic ingredients for
easy access. And we want our results to please both the palate and the eye. Unlike
professional kitchens, we taste each dish with sips of wine. Our kitchen is cluttered and
noisy with laughter created by a chorus of questions: “What is a scallion? Is this basil?
Aren’t chives the ends of onions? What exactly is a reduction?”
Perhaps the most important ingredient in our test kitchen is the permission to fail.
Five “ordinary” home cooks comprise the participants. Cheryl usually cooks “old stand-
by favorites that don’t require much time or thought.” Leslie and Kim, until recently, have
only cooked what their families will eat. Another cook, Sara, likes to “putter” in the
kitchen, but doesn’t use recipes with exotic ingredients. Tom is our man — the newlywed
cook/husband to our photographer, Ewa. Ewa’s job is to make our food photogenic.
The first challenge of gourmet recipes is unfamiliar ingredients. Where does one find
pasta sheets? Green peppercorns soaked in brine? White truffle oil? I journeyed to
some of the finest “boutique” grocers in Louisville, where a rookie gourmand can ask
“What is a fingerling potato?” It took three stores and three hours to locate the
ingredients. The total bill to prepare five recipes was $124. The expense is partly due to
fresh herbs, two pounds of pancetta, and exotic ingredients like saffron strands and
truffle oil.
It took four cooks three hours to complete and sample all five dishes. You might expect a
gourmet tasting to begin with “Bon appetit.” Our first tasting began with “Dig in
everybody!” Dishes are listed in order of appearance.
Shrimp Julep (recipe below)
Mint and bourbon give this appetizer its name. Shrimp Julep is a crowd pleaser. It’s what
all gourmet dishes should be — pretty, complex in flavor, and easy to prepare. The
jumbo sautéed shrimp are seared then simmered in a sweet bourbon reduction. The
varied ingredients give the dish a savory herbal sweetness. Minted Peas with Pancetta
(recipe on page 75)
No dish elicited as many comments as the peas: “Wow! These are GREEN. Psychedelic!
They taste like candy! You can use them in a dip. Or to add color to the plate.” The
sweetness of the mint-pea puree contrasts beautifully with the salty pancetta crumbled
on top. We were surprised that anything so green could taste so good. Tiny Baked
Potatoes with Truffle Crema and Pancetta
The sampling of our third course, the potato appetizer sounded like this: “MMM! Oh Man!
That truffle oil gives the sour cream a great flavor!” Preparation is painless. Baked
fingerling potatoes are split open and topped with a dollop of “crema” — sour cream
flavored with white truffle oil, a pricey ingredient derived from an “exceptional
fungus…with an earthy garlicky flavor” (Epicurious.com, food definitions). Lamb Ravioli
with Hazelnut & Mascarpone, with Apple Cider & Ginger Reduction
The long title is no accident. The lamb ravioli is the most labor-intensive of our recipes,
requiring cooks to grill, mix, reduce, slice, stuff, crimp and boil. The result is a savory-
tangy-sweet filling, topped by a drizzled apple cider/ginger reduction that looks like gravy
but tastes like syrup. This is not Chef Boyardee —where the marinara has the major
role. Here, the stuffing is the star.
Spring Lamb with Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu (recipe below)
Massaged with a rub, marinated overnight, seared on a grill, and roasted for 10-15
minutes, the Spring Lamb is easy to prepare. We pronounce the lamb chops “tender and
delicious.” Lamb is great by itself but is fabulous with tomato/olive ragu. Preparation of
the ragu is time consuming, but worth the while. The result is exotic, impressive and
versatile. In fact, we think the ragu would also be tasty with meaty fish or lean pork. Our
test kitchen answered its initial question. Ordinary cooks are able to imitate, if not
reproduce, the flavors of chef-inspired recipes. Presentation is a bigger challenge. The
good gourmand knows that food is not simply about flavor. “Plating” is a key factor in
presentation. With each dish, we picked the best platter or bowl or garnish. Lemon
slices, herbs, and a (non-edible) flower from a hanging basket, improved the look of
each. What we needed were solid color plates that would have created a complimentary
background for each of our dishes.
All of us completed the test kitchen with increased knowledge and confidence. Here’s
what some of us said:
“A dish that looks weird can actually be good. Making the meal look pretty isn’t all that
hard or time consuming. It just requires some imagination,” says Cheryl.
“Gourmet recipes tend to have one or two secret ingredients that give them that special
zing, but are not necessarily more difficult to make than conventional recipes,” says
Leslie.
And Sara says, “What was different in the test kitchen were the ingredients, like truffle oil
and lamb. I learned about reductions, which I’d never tried.” We all agreed that cooking
with a group is infinitely more fun than cooking alone. Dig in everybody!
Shrimp Julep by Anoosh Shariat
Serves 4
12 individual jumbo shrimp
1/4 cup Evan Williams (bourbon)
2 teaspoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon chopped shallots
4 ounces unsalted sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons cane syrup
Heat olive oil. Add shrimp to pan and sear. Flip shrimp and add shallots, sweat for one
minute, remove from heat and add Evan Williams and cane syrup. Return to heat, add
mint. Reduce by half. Swirl in butter. (Our advice: If you use pre-cooked shrimp, as we
did, remove the shrimp while you reduce the liquid, so it won’t overcook)
Minted Peas with Pancetta
by Michael Paley
Serves 6
3 pounds fresh or frozen green peas (if frozen make sure to thaw first)
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons whole mint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
1 pound bacon or pancetta finely chopped
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a
boil. Blanch peas for 45 seconds, remove from the water and shock in an ice water bath
to stop the cooking and preserve the bright green color. (Frozen peas do not need to be
cooked)
Place peas in a food processor with the oil and the lemon juice, salt and pepper, mint
and parsley. Puree to a smooth paste.
For the Pancetta: place the cut pancetta on a baking sheet and bake in oven until brown
and crispy. Place on a paper towel to drain.
Serve pea puree on top of crisp pancetta. Serve warm or room temperature.
(Our advice: Frozen peas retain their color without “shocking” in a cold water bath. Do
remember to thaw peas before using. Otherwise your result is chilled.)
Spring Lamb with Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu by Anoosh Shariat
Makes 6 servings.
Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
3 whole racks of lamb; ask butcher to prepare French style: trimmed of all fat, bones
cleaned
½ cup E.V.O.O.
¼ cup green peppercorn; best to use peppercorns that come in their own brine, if this is
not available, use dry product
¼ cup fresh rosemary; fine chopped
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
Massage mixture into lamb. Allow lamb to marinate in mixture overnight or for a minimum
of 4-6 hours.
Once lamb has been allowed to marinate, remove each rack from marinade.
Grill or pan-sear each rack on both sides for 3-4 minutes.
Finish racks in a 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes for a medium rare-medium
doneness or until desired doneness.
Begin preparing roasted tomato & olive ragu.
Roasted Tomato & Olive Ragu
Ingredients
8 Roma tomatoes; fire roasted or grilled, skin removed, halved and quartered
¼ cup shallots; chopped
12 whole roasted garlic cloves
½ cup whole Kalamata olives; pitted, halved
½ tsp. fine ground saffron
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. fresh mint; fine chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil; fine chopped
½ cup E.V.O.O.
1 cup veal stock; can substitute chicken stock or chicken broth if veal stock not available
Salt & pepper to taste
Writer Kimberly Crum can be reached at (kimcrum@iamtodayswoman.com).
