RECIPES TO PLEASE ALL YOUR VALENTINES

I have a theory about cooking for a loved one(s) on Valentine's Day. If you're making a special dinner, keep it simple and sensual and if you do select something complicated be organized. There's nothing worse than a romantic dinner spoiled by last minute disorganization. If you are baking, it can be wonderfully simple or challenging, but give yourself time to do it right. By all means, make it romantic. Here are a number of fine recipes from new cookbooks that will help make the day memorable.

A MEAL FOR HER

Risotto is one of those dishes that everybody makes a mystery of, but it is really simple to do. This is a recipe for a guy to dazzle his girlfriend with because you can cook right in front him. Women love to watch a confident guy working his stove. risotto, corn, red pepper, zucchini is a recipe both simple and sensual. I found it in PASTA SFOGLIA (Wiley; 2009; 978-0-470-37133-6). Written by the husband-and-wife team of Ron Suhanosky and Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky, here is a very personal collection of pasta, polenta, gnocchi and risotto dishes could keep you hip-deep in romantic dinners throughout the year. In this recipe, lobster is the special event element, and unless you're allergic to shellfish, who doesn't love lobster? Accompany it with a lovely salad of endive, blue cheese and toasted pecans and a simple vinaigrette, and she'll follow you anywhere. Just don't forget the roses! Girls hate it when you forget the roses.

risotto, corn, lobster, red pepper, zucchini

While I was on Nantucket, I began to think about what other ingredients I could add to corn and lobster in order to make a chowder. Nantucket is fortunate to have two very good truck farms that provide islanders and food businesses with as much fresh produce as we need. There are especially tasty vegetables available throughout the summer and into the fall—when lobster is at its best. I chose zucchini and red pepper for my chowder, then decided that what I really wanted was a corn and lobster risotto.

SERVES 4–6

2 tablespoons grape seed oil

1 cup finely chopped onions

2 cups carnaroli rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 1 ear)

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 by 1/2-inch pieces

1 pound lobster cut into 1/2 by 1/2-inch pieces

6 large basil leaves, thinly sliced

1. Add the grape seed oil and onions to a 3-quart saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. (It’s important that the onions don’t take on color.)

2. Add the rice to the pan and stir into the onions. Let the rice “toast,” or dry out— you will see the kernels become opaque—about 1 to 2 minutes. Agitate the pan from time to time to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. Add the white wine and cook until evaporated. Begin to add the water, 2 cups at a time. Keep stirring in order to release the starch. Continue to agitate the pan. When a wooden spoon dragged through the rice reveals a pathway, add the next 2 cups water. Add ½ teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.

3. During the addition of the remaining 2 cups of water, add 3 tablespoons of the butter and the Parmesan cheese. Begin to make the topping: Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, the corn, zucchini, and red peppers to a medium skillet over high heat. When the butter begins to melt, add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Lower the heat to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the lobster and cook for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and add the basil. The risotto is cooked when a creamy consistency is achieved and the rice kernels are tender but firm.

4. Add the risotto to a warm shallow bowl. Place the topping in the center and let it sink into the risotto. Alternatively, make individual plates for each person to be served.

5. Serve immediately.

A MEAL FOR HIM

Ladies--we all know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and the best way to appeal to his stomach is with steak. He'll eat pasta, or meatloaf or roast chicken, but if you ask a man what his idea of a romantic dinner for two--trust me--it's steak. Martha Stewart has mastered the quickly prepared dinner and for more than twenty five years, I've been cooking out of her Martha Stewart's Quick Cook book. Last fall the doyenne of domesticity published MARTHA STEWART'S DINNER AT HOME: 52 Quick Meals to Cook for Family and Friends (Clarkson Potter; ISBN: 978-0-307-39645-7), and in it I found the perfect Valentine's meal to cook for your guy: Hangar Steak with Caramelized Shallots. There are lots of reasons you should consider hangar steak. First of all it's one of the most flavorful, tender of steaks. Secondly, it's a surprisingly economical cut. Finally, it cooks quickly. The caramelized shallots are an easy accompaniment and he'll eat right up. If you finish your meal with warm Molten Chocolate-Espresso Cakes, another fine Martha recipe from this book, you are entitled to ask for a heckuva lot more than a dozen roses!

HANGAR STEAK WITH CARAMELIZED SHALLOTS

Hanger steak is very flavorful and tender, so be sure not to overcook (medium at most), and slice against the grain for the best texture.

Serves 4

½ cup extra--virgin olive oil

¼ cup sherry vinegar

2 garlic cloves, crushed with the side of a large knife

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1½ pounds hanger steak (about 10 inches long and 1¼ inches thick)

5 shallots, peeled and halved or quartered

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup water

Whisk together ¼ cup oil, the vinegar, garlic, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a large glass dish. Place steak in dish, and turn to coat with marinade. Let marinate at room temperature 20 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium--high. Cook shallots, stirring often, until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium--low. Season shallots with salt and continue cooking, adding the water 2 tablespoons at a time as needed to keep shallots from sticking, until tender and caramelized, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer shallots to a plate.

Wipe skillet with paper towels. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium--high. Remove steak from marinade, letting excess drip back into dish (discard marinade). Pat dry steaks with paper towels, then season both sides with salt and pepper. Cook steak, turning once, until an instant--read thermometer registers 135°F for medium--rare, 8 to 9 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. Let rest 10 minutes, tenting with parchment paper, then foil, to keep warm. Season with pepper.

Wipe skillet again; return shallots to pan and quickly toss over medium heat. Thinly slice steak across the grain. Serve with shallots and mustard.

Reprinted from the book Martha Stewart’s Dinner at Home by Martha Stewart. Copyright © 2009 by Martha Stewart. Photograph copyright © 2009 by Beatriz Da Costa. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE-ESPRESSO CAKES

Makes 6

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tin

1∕3 cup sugar, plus more for tin

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1∕3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush 6 cups of a standard muffin tin with butter, and dust with sugar; tap out excess. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Let chocolate cool.

Whisk together flour, espresso powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until completely incorporated after each. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla and chocolate.

Spoon batter into prepared cups, dividing evenly. Bake until cakes no longer jiggle when tin is shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool at least 10 minutes before turning out cakes

Reprinted from the book Martha Stewart’s Dinner at Home by Martha Stewart. Copyright © 2009 by Martha Stewart. Photograph copyright © 2009 by Sang An. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

Apologies to MARTHA STEWART'S DINNERS AT HOME. Repeated attempts to place the Amazon.com link failed. I finally gave up!

HEART-SHAPED CAKES

There are a lot of wonderful baking books featuring gorgeous cakes. And then there's Rose Levy Beranbaum. In her new book, ROSE'S HEAVENLY CAKES, (Wiley; 2009; ISBN: 978-0-471-78173) this most exacting of bakers, offers two heart-shaped cakes that are perfect for that special someone on Valentine's day. The color and shape of Rose's Red Velvet Cake make this a ideal choice for a family Valentine event. Rose created a white chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting that must to be tasted. The stunningly beautiful Double Chocolate Valentine with its gorgeous crown of glazed red raspberries, serves 8-10, is the very essence of romance and should be shared by couples. This is why refrigerators were created so you can extend your Valentine's day memories by dipping into it during the next few days . Neither cake is difficult to make because of Rose's meticulous instructions, but there are two things to bear in mind. These cakes require planning and attention to detail. You don't throw together a Rose cake. Secondly--now is not the time to improvise or decide the recipe needs improving. It doesn't. I can't tell you how many times I read on blogs that a cook arbitrarily decides to change a recipe they are attempting the for the first time. These cakes have been tested and retested many times. They work!

ROSE RED VELVET CAKE

SERVES: 8 to 10

BAKING TIME: 25 to 35 minutes

I long resisted the charms of this cake, believing it to be merely a layer cake tinted red with a bottle of food coloring. But when several people on my blog sang its praises, I decided to investigate it more thoroughly. It turns out that there is more to this cake than its shocking color. This beloved southern cake is traditionally prepared with oil, a mere suspicion of cocoa, and a teaspoon of white vinegar, which raises the acidity of the batter and intensifies its color. The liquid component is usually buttermilk, which is thought to raise the acidity as well, although the baking soda normally used neutralizes most of the acidity and makes the crumb more coarse and the color darker.

So, when I created my version of this classic, I used only baking powder to employ the full acidity of the buttermilk, making vinegar unnecessary. I also used half oil and half butter for the flavor-enhancing qualities of butter and the moist, softening quality of the oil. The resulting cake is as flavorful and tender as you can hope for and stays soft enough to eat even straight from the fridge. A heart-shape pan is perfect for Valentine’s Day. And the contrast of the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream against the red cake is alluring.

BATTER	VOLUME	WEIGHT
3 large egg whites, at room temperature	¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces)	3.2 ounces	90 grams
red food color (1 bottle); see NOTES below	2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce)	1 ounce	30 grams
pure vanilla extract	1½ teaspoons
cake flour (or bleached all-purpose flour)	2 cups (or 1¾ cups), sifted into the cup and leveled off	7 ounces	200 grams
superfine sugar	1 cup	7 ounces	200 grams
baking powder	3 teaspoons
unsweetened cocoa powder; see NOTES below	1 teaspoon
salt	½ teaspoon
canola or safflower oil, at room temperature	¼ cup (2 fluid ounces)	2 ounces	58 grams
unsalted butter (65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C)	4 tablespoons (½ stick)	2 ounces	57 grams
low-fat buttermilk	½ cup (4 fluid ounces)	4.2 ounces	121 grams

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT One 9 by 2-inch heart-shape or round cake pan (8 to 8 2⁄3 cups), encircled with a cake strip, bottom coated with shortening, topped with parchment cut to shape, then coated with baking spray with flour

PREHEAT THE OVEN Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

MIX THE LIQUID INGREDIENTS In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites, red food color, and vanilla just until lightly combined. (Caution: Be careful with the red food color: it stains effectively, but also unmercifully.)

MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, and salt.

MAKE THE BATTER In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the oil and butter on medium speed for 1 minute. It will not be completely smooth. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture to the batter in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small off set spatula.

BAKE THE CAKE Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.

COOL AND UNMOLD THE CAKE Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the cake, pressing firmly against the pan, and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. To prevent splitting, reinvert the cake so that the top side is up. Cool completely.

Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate Frosting

MAKES: almost 1 cup/7.6 ounces/216 grams

	VOLUME	WEIGHT
white chocolate containing cocoa butter, chopped		3 ounces	85 grams
cream cheese, softened but still cool		4 ounces	113 grams
unsalted butter, softened but still cool (65°F/19°C)	2 tablespoons	1 ounce	28 grams
crème fraîche or sour cream	½ tablespoon	0.2 ounce	7 grams
almond extract	¹⁄8 teaspoon

MELT THE WHITE CHOCOLATE Heat the chocolate until almost completely melted. Use a small microwavable bowl, stirring with a silicone spatula every 15 seconds (or use the top of a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, stirring often—do not let the bottom of the container touch the water).

Remove the white chocolate from the heat and, with the silicone spatula, stir until fully melted. Allow it to cool until it is no longer warm to the touch but is still fluid.

MAKE THE FROSTING In a food processor, process the cream cheese, butter, and creme fraiche for a few seconds until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides. Add the cooled melted white chocolate and pulse it in a few times until it is smoothly incorporated. Add the almond extract and pulse it in.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR SUCCESS Use white chocolate containing cocoa butter, such as Green & Black’s with vanilla seeds or Valrhona. The frosting becomes more firm in the refrigerator.

For a whiter frosting without the subtle flavor of the white chocolate, you can replace the white chocolate with 1 cup (lightly spooned into the cup)/4 ounces/115 grams powdered sugar and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.

COMPOSE THE CAKE When the cake is completely cool, set it on a serving plate. Frost the top with swirls of buttercream.

NOTES Some people have a problem with the idea of using red food color and use beet juice in its place. In recipes using baking soda, the beet juice would turn brown, but with this highly acidic batter, the crumb will stay red, though not as pretty a red as offered by the food color. The best way to harvest beet juice is to roast the well-washed beets in their skins, leaving an inch of root and stems, in an aluminum foil package at 350º/175ºC for about 45 minutes for medium beets, up to about 1 hour and 15 minutes for large ones. Remove the beets and use the foil to pour the beet juice into a small container.

For a distinct chocolate flavor, you can use up to ¼ cup cocoa/0.7 ounce/21 grams, sifted before measuring, but decrease the flour by the same amount. The color will be a much darker red.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE VALENTINE

SERVES: 8 to 10

BAKING TIME: 30 to 40 minutes

This cake is really the final word in chocolate cake, and it is based on my purest chocolate fantasy. It features a cocoa layer cake that uses the best cocoa, all egg yolks to give it its fullest flavor, and, to finish, a sweet injection of melted chocolate and cream. Astonishingly easy to make, it is at once fudgy moist and soft within, and becomes encased in a thin glaze of chocolate that forms by itself after brushing in the ganache. For Valentine’s Day, I like to bake the cake in a heart-shape pan, then I top it with fresh red raspberries gilded with currant jelly and pipe whipped cream around the base.

Batter	VOLUME	WEIGHT
unsweetened (alkalized) cocoa powder	½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (sifted before measuring)	1.5 ounces	42 grams
boiling water	½ cup (4 fluid ounces)	4.2 ounces	118 grams
about 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature	¼ cup plus ½ tablespoon (2.2 fluid ounces)	2.6 ounces	74 grams
water	3 tablespoons (1.5 fluid ounces)	1.5 ounces	44 grams
pure vanilla extract	¾ teaspoon
cake flour (or bleached all-purpose flour)	1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon (or 1¹⁄³ cups), sifted into the cup and leveled off	5.5 ounces	156 grams
superfine sugar	1 cup	7 ounces	200 grams
baking powder	2½ teaspoons
salt	½ teaspoon
unsalted butter (65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C)	9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon)	4.5 ounces	128 grams

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT One 9 by 2-inch heart-shape or round cake pan (8 to 8 2⁄3 cups), encircled with a cake strip, bottom coated with shortening, topped with parchment cut to shape, then coated with baking spray with flour.

PREHEAT THE OVEN Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

MIX THE COCOA AND WATER In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. To speed cooling, place it in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before proceeding.

MIX THE REMAINING LIQUID INGREDIENTS In another bowl, whisk the yolks, the 3 tablespoons water, and the vanilla just until lightly combined.

MAKE THE BATTER In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small off set spatula.

BAKE THE CAKE Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze.

Ganache Glaze

MAKES: 1 cup/8 fluid ounces/8.6 ounces/244 grams

	VOLUME	WEIGHT
dark chocolate, 60% to 62% cacao, chopped		3 ounces	85 grams
heavy cream	¾ cup (6 fluid ounces)	6 ounces	174 grams

MAKE THE GANACHE GLAZE In a food processor, process the chocolate until very fine. In a 1-cup or larger microwavable cup with a spout (or in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often), scald the cream (heat it to the boiling point; small bubbles will form around the periphery).

With the motor of the food processor running, pour the cream through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process for a few seconds until smooth. Scrape the ganache into a small bowl and set it in a warm spot.

APPLY THE GLAZE AND COOL AND UNMOLD THE CAKE As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, place the pan on a wire rack, poke holes all over the top with a wooden skewer, and use a brush to dabble half of the ganache glaze onto the cake. It will take about 10 minutes. Run a small metal spatula around the sides of the pan and the cake, pressing firmly against the pan, and invert the cake onto a flat surface, such as a cardboard round or plate that has been covered with plastic wrap. Peel off and discard the parchment and poke holes all over. Dabble with the remaining glaze, brushing a little onto the sides of the cake as well. Cool completely, for 1 or more hours, or until the chocolate is firm to the touch. Invert the cake onto a 10-inch cardboard round or 10-inch perfectly flat plate covered with plastic wrap. It is now top side up with plastic wrap sticking to it. Peel off the plastic wrap, then reinvert the cake onto a serving plate so that it is bottom side up; remove the remaining plastic wrap.

Raspberry Topping

	VOLUME	WEIGHT
fresh raspberries	2 pints	1 pound	454 grams
red currant jelly	¼ cup	2.6 ounces	77 grams

MAKE THE RASPBERRY TOPPING Starting at the outside border and working in toward the center, place the raspberries closely together to cover the surface of the cake.

In a microwave, or small heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the currant jelly. Use a small clean brush to paint the currant glaze onto the raspberries.

If making the cake without the raspberry topping, for a more attractive appearance use a pastry brush to stipple the chocolate glaze after is almost set. You may also dust the top lightly with cocoa or powdered sugar by placing the powder in a strainer held over the cake and tapping the edge of the strainer with a spoon.

Whipped Cream

MAKES: 2 cups/8.6 ounces/244 grams

	VOLUME	WEIGHT
heavy cream, cold	1 cup (8 fluid ounces)	8.2 ounces	232 grams
superfine sugar	1 tablespoon	0.5 ounce	12 grams
pure vanilla extract	1 teaspoon

MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. (Chill the mixer’s whisk beater alongside the bowl.)

Whip the mixture, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

If desired, use a pastry bag fitted with a large open star pastry tube (⅜ inch) to pipe a shell border around the base of the cake. Alternatively, serve with a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

A Valentine's Breakfast Treat

Though not heart-shaped, these ruby red Grand Central Bakery Jammers make a lovely extra special treat to serve your kids for Valentine's Day. Then give each of your children an extra one to take to school to give to their very special Valentine. I discovered the excellent Grand Central Bakery when I moved to Portland last summer. THE GRAND CENTRAL BAKING BOOK (Ten Speed Press; 2009; ISBN: 978-1-58008-953-1) by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson, was published last fall--the bakery's first cookbook. The recipe is not specific about which jam you choose, only that it be of good quality.

Grand Central Bakery Jammers

Like any good pastry, jammers are irresistible warm from the oven, and remember, the higher the quality of jam, the better the jammer. I recommend preparing the ingredients the night before. When you bite into a warm biscuit first thing the next morning, you’ll consider the time well spent.

Makes 10 to 12 jammers

4 cups (1 pound, 4 ounces) all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

11/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

11/4 to 11/2 cups (10 to 12 fluid ounces) buttermilk

About 3/4 cup good quality preserves or jam

Prepare to bake.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Combine the dry ingredients.

Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a bowl with high sides or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.

Cut in the butter.

Dice the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Use your hands or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the texture of the flour changes from silky to mealy. There should still be dime- to quarter-size pieces of butter remaining. If you’re preparing the dough the night before, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight; otherwise proceed with the recipe.

Add the buttermilk.

Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in 1 cup of the buttermilk in one addition. Gently mix the dough just until it comes together; it will look rough. Scrape the dough from the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add another 1/4 cup buttermilk and mix again to incorporate any floury scraps. The majority of the dough will come together, on the paddle if you are using a stand mixer. Stop mixing while there are still visible chunks of butter and floury patches. The dough should come out of the bowl in 2 to 3 large, messy clumps, leaving only some small scraps and flour around the sides of the bowl. If the dough is visibly dry and crumbly, add up to 1/4 cup more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing no more than one rotation after each addition.

Form and cut the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use the heels and sides of your palms to gather the dough and gently pat it into an oblong shape 11/2 to 2 inches thick. It won’t look smooth or particularly cohesive; that’s okay. Use a biscuit cutter to cut the jammers into circles at least 21/2 inches in diameter. Layer the leftover scraps on top of one another and gently pat them out to a thickness of 11/2 to 2 inches and again cut into circles.

Fill the jammers.

Use your thumb to make an indentation the size of a fifty-cent piece in the middle of each biscuit. While gently supporting the outside edge of the biscuit with your fingers, use your thumb to create a bulb-shaped hole that’s a bit wider at the bottom and that goes almost to the bottom of the biscuit (think pinch pot). Try to apply as little pressure as possible to the outside of the biscuit, to avoid smashing the layers, which are the key to flaky jammers. Fill each indentation with 1 tablespoon of jam and put the jammers on the prepared baking sheet with 11/2 inches between them.

Bake.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The jammers should be a deep golden brown.

Reprinted with permission from The Grand Central Baking Book: Breakfast Pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Satisfying Savories from the Pacific Northwest ’s Celebrated Bakery by Piper Davis with Ellen Jackson, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Photo credit: John Valls © 2009

THE ALWAYS ADMIRABLE JAMIE OLIVER

I recently wrote the first editorial on StoveTopReadings.com excoriating the Food Network's deplorable new show, America's Worst Cooks. Perhaps I should have said to the contestants, "instead of being humiliated by condescending chefs in front of several million people, you should have turned to JAMIE'S FOOD REVOLUTION: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals (Hyperion; $35.00; ISBN: 978-1-4013-2359-2). Here is one of the most user-friendly cookbooks that could easily served the contestant who tearfully revealed that she just wanted to learn how to cook for her daughter. Oliver wants everyone to learn how to cook delicious food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, can be served to family and company, and is creative, fun and healthy. Best of all, once you've mastered at least one recipe here, pass it on by teaching at least one recipe to two cooks.

It's never been a secret that Jamie Oliver can cook. The cheeky lad who showed up on the Food Network as "The Naked Chef" a little more than a decade ago, was cute, had an adorable accent, and made the whole process of cooking seem like a lark. He was respectful, but took all the hot air out "cuisine". Oliver has grown up, married, and has kids. He could have coasted on the lad persona for another decade. Instead he created the Fifteen Foundation, which provides training and mentoring for disadvantaged young people and now has programs and restaurants in London, Cornwall Amsterdam and Melbourne. Through the school dinners program which he launched, Oliver was able to coax 500 pounds out of the British government to make sure school kids would be fed a nutritious meal for 190 days of each year. Now Jamie Oliver is on a mission to let as many people know that good cooking from scratch is a great skill to learn, and worth sharing with others.

JAMIE OLIVER'S FOOD REVOLUTION is organized by a number of chapters of simple, but delicious foods and with the powerful assistance of detailed instructional photography and his engaging manner, shows the cook how to make host of manageable popular dishes including pastas, stir-fries, salads, soups, stews, roast dinners, vegetable sides, breakfasts and desserts. Jamie starts with a chapter on 20-minute meals (Chicken Fajitas, Chicken and Leek Stroganoff. The pasta section has a Baked Camembert Pasta that is ridiculously easy and the gooey Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake will convert anyone who has ever made supermarket macaroni and cheese from a box. There's a Pot-Roast Meatloaf that is deeply satisfying and the sauce (which includes some marvelous surprises, such as chick peas), makes it just fancy enough for company. Family roast dinners will gather everyone back to the table where they can indulge in "perfect" Jamie versions of roast beef, pork, chicken, and lamb--all served on beds of roasted vegetables and with Consistently Good Gravy. The quick cooking section on meat and fish shoots ample holes in the whiny excuses that cooking is time-consuming. Pan-Fried Glazed Pork Chops, Spanish-Style Grilled Steak , Crunchy Garlic Chicken and Moroccan Lamb with Couscous are quick dishes that should be in every cook's repertory. To my mind, Jamie Oliver is a genius with vegetables and his "Delish veggies" chapter was my first stop. Baked Creamy Leeks, Broccoli with Asian Dressing, and Baked Carrots in a Bag give vegetables a savory lift.

Being a Brit, Jamie offers some recipes that may not be familiar including some Indian curry dishes, and other Asians choices that reflect his culture, as well as such popular Brit fare as British Beef and Onion Pie, Kedgeree and Fish Pie. There is a modest selection of yummy desserts that are impressive but are not challenging to prepare. Jamie also offers solid advice on setting up the pantry for these recipes and photos show the basic kitchen equipment he recommends for best results. The book also features profiles of people who have recently learned how to cook. Their profiles reveal the many reasons they have for acquiring this skill and their happy faces as they hold the dishes they have prepared, show the sense of elation at having mastered their chosen recipes.

My cookbook shelves grown with a lot of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks because he creates appealing food that looks and tastes delicious. I've made many of his recipes including a chocolate tart from The Naked Chef and a braised cauliflower in a tomato sauce with anchovies and black olives from Cook With Jamie. All of them worked over and over again. I still don't know why so many view cooking as a chore to be endured. Today many people would rather eat expensive and tasteless takeout to avoid cooking in their beautiful kitchens. Beef Wellington is one of those old school recipes more read about than eaten. Jamie offers his updated recipe for Ground Beef Wellington, which looked so appealing I grabbed my grocery list and headed for the market. Impressive to look at, economical, delicious...what more could a cook want? Give this book to friends who professes not to enjoy cooking. It just might turn them around. And make sure they pass it on.

From JAMIE’S FOOD REVOLUTION by Jamie Oliver. Photographs by David Loftus and Chris Terry. Copyright © Jamie Oliver 2008, 2009. Photographs copyright © David Loftus and Chris Terry 2008, 2009. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. No rights reserved.

GROUND BEEF WELLINGTON

serves 4-6

1 medium onion 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 carrot a big handful of frozen peas

1 celery stalk 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic

1 potato 1 pound good-quality ground beef

2 cloves of garlic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 portabello mushrooms all-purpose flour, for dusting

olive oil 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted if frozen

To prepare your ground beef

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel and chop the onion, carrot, celery, and potato into 1/4-inch-sized-dice. Finely grate the garlic. Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms so they're about the same size as your other veggies. Place all of the vegetables into a large frying pan on a medium low heat with 2 lugs of olive oil. Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks, finely chop them, and add to the pan. Fry and stir for around 8 minutes or until the vegetables soften and color lightly. Add the frozen peas and cook for another minute. Put the vegetable mixture into a large bowl to cool completely. Crack the egg into a cup and beat it up. Add the ground beef to the bowl with a with a good pinch of salt and pepper and half the beaten egg. With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well.

To roll and fill your pastry

Lightly dust your clean work surface and rolling pin with flour and lay the puff pastry sheets one on top of the other. Roll out the puff pastry so it is roughly a rectangle 12 x 16 inches. Dust with flour as you go. Turn your pastry so you have a long edge in front of you and place the ground beef mixture along this edge. Mold it into an even, long sausage shape. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the beaten egg. Roll the ground beef up in the pastry until it's covered completely. Squeeze the ends together--it will look like a big Christmas cracker! Dust a large cookie pan with flour and place your Wellington on top. Brush all over with the rest of the beaten egg. Bake in the preheated over for an hour until golden.

To serve your Wellington

Slice the Wellington up into portions at the table. Lovely served with some lightly boiled or steamed greens, cabbage tossed in a little butter, or mashed potatoes.

TALKING ABOUT SLOW COOKER ITALIAN: Michele Scicolone

Michele Scicolone has written many fine cookbooks on Italian cuisine, including The Antipasto Table, A Fresh Taste of Italy, 1,000 Italian Recipes and The Sopranos Cookbook. THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is her latest. StoveTopReadings has cooked from and reviewed this fine new cookbook favorably, and because we have long admired Michele’s outstanding cookbooks, we wanted to catch up and get her views on the never-ending popularity of la cucina Italiana and its application to the slow cooker.

STR: Welcome, Michele. We love the new book. Why adapt Italian recipes for the slow cooker?

MS: Thank you, Greg. Italian recipes seemed like a natural for the slow cooker. Pasta sauces, soups, polenta, legumes, stews and other Italian favorites are typically cooked slowly at low heat, so why not make them in a slow cooker?

STR: Are the results the same? Can you duplicate the same tastes using the slow cooker as you can by conventional cooking methods?

MS: Yes. You may need to reduce the liquid slightly in a slow cooker, but the flavors are identical.

STR: Did you use a number of slow cooker models, and which ones do you think produced the best results?

MS: Yes, I used 4 different slow cookers to test the recipes. Two are by All Clad. One has a cast aluminum crock and the other has a porcelain crock. These two are my favorites, especially the one with the cast aluminum crock. It is lightweight, can be used on the stovetop and is very easy to clean. Both All Clad models cook evenly without hot spots, and have lots of great features, like a Keep Warm setting (great for buffets), a timer, and digital clock. Much less expensive, my Hamilton Beach cooker has fewer features, but also does an excellent job.

STR: If someone were to begin to cook from THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER, which recipes would you suggest they start with for optimum results?

MS: I love making polenta in the slow cooker. It is so easy! And any of the soups would be ideal for this time of year.

STR: Are slow cookers used in Italy?

MS: No, I have never seen an electric slow cooker there.

STR: There are so many Italian cookbooks out on the market. What do you think is behind the enduring appeal of Italian cooking? And is there anything new on the horizon?

MS: Everybody loves Italian food, it’s easy, inexpensive, and good for you. What more can you ask?

Despite all we know about it, I think there is always something new on the horizon. Food is constantly evolving, but in Italy it evolves in a different way from the way it does here. Many young chefs are re-interpreting old classic dishes and adapting new techniques to local ingredients. I am sure that in time these ideas will influence chefs here.

STR: Who are your favorite Italian cookbook authors?

MS: In my travels in Italy, I buy a lot of cookbooks written in Italian. The authors I like include Jeanne Carola Francesconi, Ada Boni, and Pino Correnti among others.

STR: Are there any new or as-yet undiscovered Italian ingredients that we should know about?

MS: There are a lot of Italian cheeses becoming available here that are worth looking for, like Tumin, Montasio, and Monte Veronese. There are also a number of artisanal Italian chocolate producers making fine chocolates that are worth seeking out.

STR: What’s next and where can people find out about your activities?

MS: I have lots of things in the works right now including planning a pizza tour of Italy. You can find out more about them at www.MicheleScicolone.com. I also write about Italian food for the Italian American Digital Project at www.i-italy.org/bloggers/italian-kitchen.

WORST COOKS IN AMERCA--EDITORIAL

Last night I watched the premier episode of "Worst Cooks in America," a new series on the Food Network. I had the odd sensation of being both appalled and amused. Here's another example of the Food Network's determination to turn food into an adolescent spectator sport. Twenty four aspirants audition to qualify in the opinion of the shows hosts, chefs Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan. They go into a kitchen to commit mayhem on a plate and then present it to the chefs for their opinions. Are we to be surprised that these desperate contenders chasing celebrity would offer chocolate pancakes without sugar, or a clueless mac and cheese consisting of cooked macaroni, and three different uncooked cheeses (including cottage) but without a sauce to tie it all together. One woman brought to them a tuna casserole and when asked if she served this to her kids, quickly assured them her kids wouldn't eat it. Twelve finalists were selected, eliminating twelve, then separated into two teams with the chefs leading each team of six. The goal will be to teach them to cook a meal that will be passed on to experts thinking it has been prepared by the two professional chefs. At stake is monetary prize and the winner's inclusion into Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame.

At least Anne Burrell has the skills to try to teach each of them about mise en place without condescension. Most of her charges are so hopelessly inept, they are not able to connect the concept to their challenge of recreating a dish (a clam and shrimp stew) she makes for them to copy. Beau MacMillan lacks Burrell's sensitivity. He simply demos his recipe (a similar but different seafood dish). He does manage to show them the intestinal track that has to be removed from the shrimp before cooking, but again, he's not helping his team connect the dots. There's not much talk of how to actually cook shrimp or clams, or being judicious when using soy sauce, or the fact that saffron is a very costly ingredient. So it comes as no surprise when some of them overcook the shrimp, or ruin their sauce by dumping too much salty soy sauce into the dish, or one of the contestants throws away a big portion of saffron (and bursts into tears when Chef Burrell brings her to tears for her lack of respect for the ingredients). How would they know? Both seem offended with splashes of sauce on the rims of the serving dishes, disfiguring the perfect restaurant appearance of the dish. They were expected to notice this. One hapless young man was so lacking in knife skills, he couldn't replicate the matchstick cuts of seaweed that Chef MacMillan used to garnish his dish. Instead, he took the roughly cut sticks and placed them in a kind of pattern on the dishes edges instead of the center of the plate. In a fit of pique, MacMillan wiped the offending garnish off the plate, saying it made him mad. I'd hate to be in his kitchen when he's really angry. One member of each team was eliminated in this hour of snickering humiliation. How the entire show wasn't eliminated in the planning stages is still bothering me.

Better the powers that be at the Food Network had watched Jamie Oliver's incredibly moving and charming 15, a series he produced about looking for young, inexperienced disadvantaged kids to teach and then help him man the kitchen of a world-class kitchen. That experiment turned out to be an emotional and rousing success. Oliver's experiment now has 15 outposts in several cities in Great Britain and Europe and Australia. Here young and equally inept kids were trained to become chefs, thereby giving them useful and productive careers. They entered the program having never eaten an oyster (the very thought of which made some of them heave). Their youthful self-absorption and ignorance was as appalling as it was amusing. But Oliver never condescended to them and often went out of his way to help them understand the mission. He was strict, demanding that they attend the classes and be serious about what they were doing. But he also gave second, third and fourth chances to several of the kids who couldn't seem to show up or take the program seriously, and he was pained by the process. His determination and support was inspiring. The kids themselves were an entertaining bunch, blunt about things they didn't like about food, and often very funny.

I could very easily see Burrell and MacMillan creating their own food school. Burrell is a talented chef with a good TV personality, and her show about cooking like a chef is an agreeable way to spend a half hour of your TV-watching time. I'm not sure I'd ever watch Beau MacMillan again. But his gruff toughness would have worked in such a program.

But the bigger question is why should we care about a show fooling a bunch of foodie types? As the pressure mounts on these contestants, they have mini-nervous breakdowns, often resorting to tears. Where's the fun in that? The only genuine moment in the show is one of the contestant's desire to be able to cook properly for her children. All the rest of it is nonsense.

When I watch a cooking show, I want to learn something, expand my skills. I still expect to entertained the way a great teacher can transport a class. Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin, Sara Moulton, Ina Garten, and the mother of them all--Julia Child, are very entertaining, inspiring cooking teachers and television personalities. But we live in a nervous era of short attention spans and a determination to cook, if we must, in 20 minutes or less.

The Food Network has tried, without success to find their own version of "Top Chef". Let me be among those who deliver to them more bad news. Keep looking.

OMG: MORE ITALIAN COOKBOOKS!

I know, I know...it's January 3rd and I should be writing about cookbooks to help you take pounds off and here I am writing about Italian cooking. But can I help it if three outstanding books celebrating my favorite cucina showed up at my door at roughly the same time?

I've never made any secret about my preference for the pressure cooker over the slow cooker (or Crockpots as we called them in the 70s when they first appeared on the market). I cooked from one way back in the day and even adapted my own recipes (I remember one that was an Italian veal stew that came out well) for it, but in these days of energy awareness, the idea of a pot percolating for eight hours seems to me to be a waste of electricity. The pressure cooker can do the same thing only a lot quicker (but seems to mired in that hoary old belief that they still blow up--they don't). My other big problem with slow cookers is the many awful recipes made for them that make far too much use of canned soups, and other nutritionally challenged convenience foods loaded with salt and MSG and other preservatives and flavor boosters. A lot of the recipes I've read rely on dumping raw meat into the cooker. Sorry folks, but stews, braises and other slow-cooked dishes are based on the meat being properly browned before adding any liquid. Otherwise, you end up with an unattractive dish with very little flavor. But lately some excellent cooks, (notably Natalie Haughton in her book, Slow & Easy, Wiley, and Diane Phillips in her new magnum opus Slow Cooker, Chronicle Books) have elevated the genre. Now Michele Scicolone brings a serious reassessment of how excellent Italian food can be with this machine in her superb new book, THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; ISBN: 978-0-547-00303-0). I know Michele Scicolone. I have eaten wonderful meals in her home. I own six of her remarkable cookbooks. Leave it to Michele to create delicious, authentic Italian meals using the slow cooker and she does.

Most of the recipes here use a five to seven-quart slow cooker. Mine is only a four-quart model, but I had no trouble using this to make an amazing Beef in Barolo (recipe included here). Soups adapt well to the slow cooker. Risotto and polenta (even Farro) do too. Michele provides a terrific survey of Italian sauces for pasta. There are aromatic seafood recipes (I liked the Tuna Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, which uses the more economical frozen tuna with good results), first-rate recipes for poultry and eggs (frittatas), and meat. There's a fine recipe for that classic braise of Roman Oxtail Stew plus lamb shanks, meat loafs, spareribs, short ribs, and other cuts. There are chapters on vegetables (Cauliflower with Prosciutto and Olives is one of the inventive choices here), and desserts. Espresso Walnut Cake, Chocolate Truffle Cake and Pannetone Bread Pudding would make an ideal finish to any meal. You simply make them and go about your business.

Michele Scicolone is one of the under-sung brands in cookbook publishing. Don't believe me? Get a copy of The Antipasta Table, and make her Roasted Cauliflower. It's magical. THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER book will provide anyone with a wealth of cold weather dishes to sustain you all throughout the long winter months in great Italian style. I made gnocchi, as Michele Scicolone suggests to accompany the Beef in Barolo which made my guests very happy diners. Try this:

Beef in Barolo

Hearty Barolo is the wine of choice for this pot roast in Piedmont, in northern Italy, but any good dry red wine can be substituted. The sauce is enhanced with vegetables and a hint of ground cloves. Serve with potato gnocchi or Creamy Polenta with Gorgonzola and Mascarpone.

Serves 6

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 three-pound boneless beef chuck or bottom round roast

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 ounces pancetta, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup dry red wine, such as Barolo

2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh or canned tomatoes

1 cup Meat Broth or canned beef broth

2 medium carrots sliced

1 medium celery rib, sliced

1 bay leaf

pinch of ground cloves

Combine the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture on a piece of wax paper and roll the meat in the flour.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown it on all sides, about 15 minutes. Pace the meat in a large slow cooker. Add the pancetta and onion to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender. Stir in the garlic. Add the wine and bring it to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Pour the mixture over the beef. Add the tomatoes and broth. Scatter the carrots, celery, bay leaf, and ground cloves around the meat. Cover and cook on how for 6 hours, or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork.

I've never made gnocchi before. The recipes always seemed to be too complicated or time consuming. But THE ITALIAN FARMER'S TABLE arrived at my doorstep at the right time and the recipe for Potato Gnocchi just seemed made-to-order for the Beef in Barolo I prepared from THE ITALIAN SLOW COOKER. The gnocchi were incredible. The first time I made them, I put the drained cooked gnocchi in a saute pan of browned butter and sage. It perfectly complimented a roast chicken I served that evening. The rest of the uncooked gnocchi froze well. Just put them on a wax-paper covered cookie sheet in your freezer and when frozen, toss into a plastic bag and store in your freezer until ready to use. They cook within two mintues in a simmering pot of salted boiling water. Drain and sauce. Don't forget the Parmesan.

THE ITALIAN FARMER'S TABLE: Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy (Three Forks, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press; 978-0-7627-5264-5) can be placed on your cookbook shelf or, if like me, you're an armchair traveler, on the stack of books that take you to places you want to go but have never been. While I've been to Italy many times, I've never toured by car to the small farms of rural Italy. Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino, two young Italo-American culinary school graduates who are married to each other, set off for Italy where they discovered the rustic farms that are part of the agriturismi system. As the authors explain in their Introduction, this system was developed by the Italian government in 1985 "to help preserve these farms throughout the country." Farmers are allowed "to open their doors to overnight guests and provide them with meals." This helps supplement their incomes as they continue living off the land. "Strict laws mandate that a certain percentage of the food served be grown on the property, with all other ingredients sourced from nearby farms," they explain. "Sustainability and dedication to a farm-fresh cuisine created by the seasons are the two most common threads linking these farms. Today, the agriturismi movement is booming, as thousands of abandoned farms across the country have undergone an agrarian revolution. Beautiful old farmhouses, once left to crumble and decay, have been restored to splendor and now offer country retreats for tourists seeking rural solace and tranquility in the Italian countryside and a cuisine not readily found in cities and towns," they conclude.

THE ITALIAN FARMER'S TABLE is an introduction to some of the best of these rural farms in northern Italy. The authors have visited every farm profiled here and share the recipes that are served to their guests. I'd certainly like someone to drive me to La Traversina, in southern Piemonte for a slice of their Frozen Chocolate Ricotta Cream Cake. Or the Pork Braised in Red Wine from at La Quercia Rossa, also in Piemonte. Risotto with Red Cabbage and Taleggio Cheese from Casa Clelia in Lombardia, is my kind of dish. The authors demonstrate a good eye for the personalities that oversee these wonderful farms and the great food products they make such as wine, cheese, and olives. We get wonderful profiles of the cooks in the kitchens. This attractive trade paperback will be useful in the kitchen but don't forget to pack it with you on your next trip to Italy. By all means indulge yourself, if only for one night, at one of these wonderful farms.

Just when I thought I had every Italian cookbook I'd ever need, SALT TO TASTE: The Key to Confident, Delicious Cooking by Marco Canora with Catherine Young (Rodale; ISBN: 978-1-59486-780-4) has proven to be insidiously necessary to my cookbook library. Marco Canora is a very hot New York co-owner and executive chef of Hearth, Insieme, and Terroir restaurants. He also was a chef at Craft (which explains Tom Colicchio's Foreword). But the restaurant that captured my attention was Cibreo in Florence, where Canora did a "stage" in preparation for his stint at Craft. Cibreo is one of the great restaurants of the world. It specializes in game dishes and serves no pasta (the owner says you can get pasta in every restaurant in Italy). I recommend anyone visiting Florence for the first time, make sure they eat a meal at Cibreo. I'm not always a big fan of celebrity chef cookbooks and I draw the line between home-prepared and professional restaurant cooking. But within three minutes of perusing this book, I had to go into my kitchen and make Corn and Pancetta Risotto. It was a spectacularly simple and tasty dish that evening (I polished off the rest of it for lunch the next day). I made it with frozen white corn which I sauteed briefly in butter before adding it to the risotto. Canora suggests you can grill the corn, sweat it in some butter or add it raw (if fresh). Each way will give you a different taste, which is the point of this book. It is filled with a sensible collection of somewhat familiar recipes. But depending on the season, ingredients, and technique, the cook is liberated from the straight-jacket of a recipe and encouraged to improvise within the confines of a recipe. Skate, for instance, is one of my favorite fish. Canora's version is made with a pomegranate vinaigrette, an appealing alternative to the classic bistro recipe of skate in browned butter, lemon and capers. Don't have pomegranate juice on hand? No problem--"grapefruit, lime, or orange, alone or in combination," are terrific substitutes. By cooking a steak in a cast iron pan on top of the stove, you'll get a more flavorful, tender steak and it will be perfectly medium-rare for Stove-Top Rib Eye than by any other cooking technique. This chef's approach to home cooking is packed with enough wisdom to wean anyone off of recipes and cook with imagination and skill. Hats off to the Rodale team for producing such a handsome, beautifully photographed book that is as pleasurable to hold and read as it is to cook from.