Things Cooks Love

Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.

by Sur La Table, Marie Simmons

Price: $35.00
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-6976-4
ISBN-10: 0-7407-6976-6
Format: Hardcover
Size: 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in.
Page Count: 352 pages

“The first time I stepped into a Sur La Table store many years ago, it instantly became my favoirte kitchenware store, and it still is. Its variety never fails to surprise me. I have always found what I needed or even what I didn’t know I needed until I saw it there.” –Marcella Hazan, godmother of Italian cooking in America and author of six cookbooks including Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

“A book chock-full of mouthwatering recipes and really important equipment information froma cooking store that I really love. If you thought that the store wasn’t perfect enough, check out the book.” –Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef

THINGS COOKS LOVE opens with “Essential Cookware and Tools,” which includes The Basic Kitchen, detailed descriptions of everything from baking dishes and braisers to tongs and toasters, and The Well-Stocked Global Kitchen, the ultimate wish list to take your kitchen to a new level of sophistication. It is both an easy reference for setting up a new kitchen and a convenient checklist for when it’s time to add new items. THINGS COOKS LOVE gives all the information you need to confidently select the best and most durable implements.

Once you’ve explored the basics, it’s time to put them to use in “Cooking with Kitchen Essentials,” which offers tips for use and care, and recipes for everything from whisks to stove-top smokers. The recipes put your new or refreshed knowledge to work with dishes such as Sea Bass Poached in Orange, Basil and Wine with Citrus and Herb Sauce; Corn on the Cob with Flavored Butters; or Smoked Shrimp Wrapped with Prosciutto. And because this is a book for both the beginning cook and the gourmet, it also offers alternatives for kitchens that are not stocked with the exact cookware or tools.

For further inspiration, the final section of THINGS COOKS LOVE, “Globe-Trotting Kitchen Essentials,” explores the cookware, ingredients, and recipes of Asia, Mexico, France, India, Italy, Iberia, and Morocco. It spans the globe, visiting the world’s favorite pantries and kitchens to experience the luscious tastes and simple techniques for using tools from the versatile Mexican stove-top pepper roaster and the elegant, clam-shaped Portuguese cataplana to the practical and handsome French cocotte and the iconic Spanish paella pan. A quick read on Morocco will embolden the home cook to try a Lamb Tagine with Artichoke Hearts, Dried Apricots, and Preserved Lemon or Classic Chicken Bisteeya.

Recognizing that a beloved cooking collection is the foundation for good food, THINGS COOKS LOVE is more than a reference tool or collection of recipes, more than a cookbook; it is a cook’s book. It is for everyone who has not only a passion and enthusiasm for all things culinary, but also a sense of adventure. And just as your kitchen equipment can last a lifetime, this book will serve cooks well time and again as they continue to expand their recipe repertoire and cookware collection.

Seattle-based Sur La Table has kept its finger on the pulse of America’s cooks since opening its doors in 1972 at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. Since then, chefs and home cooks with a taste for adventure have flocked to the culinary mecca. A destination for iconic chefs like Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martha Stewart, and Mario Batali, Sur La Table entices aficionados and curious beginners alike with its amazing selection of cookware and tools. With a successful catalog, Web site, cooking class program, and stores from coast to coast, Sur La Table continues to share its passion for the traditions and tastes of the world with people who love to cook and entertain. For more about Sur La Table, see surlatable.com.

About Marie Simmons

Marie Simmons is an award-winning cookbook author, popular cooking teacher, and food writer. Her recipes and food articles have appeared in hundreds of magazines. For more than 15 years she wrote a monthly column for Bon Appétit magazine and a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She currently writes a bi-monthly column, “Simmons Sez,” for the Contra Costa Times and the Bay Area News Group.

Marie has written 18 cookbooks, including Fig Heaven; Fresh & Fast; The Amazing World of Rice; The Good Egg, winner of a James Beard Award; and Lighter, Quicker, Better, written with Richard Sax and winner of Julia Child and James Beard awards. She also wrote Bar Cookies A to Z, Puddings A to Z, Muffins A to Z, and Pancakes A to Z. One of her first cookbooks, 365 Ways to Cook Pasta, has more than 500,000 copies in print. Marie, a native New Yorker, lives in Richmond, CA.

Prep 30 min | cook time 18 min | serves 4–6

The Italian word pesto translates roughly as “pounded” and typically refers to any food mashed in a mortar. But the best-known pesto is a sauce made with fresh basil leaves, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and grated cheese. It is traditionally the sauce for a pasta dish that also includes green beans and potatoes, but here the pasta has been left out and the pesto is instead served over a salad of warm cubed potatoes and green beans. In another departure from tradition, dry-roasted almonds are used in place of the pine nuts. Make this recipe in the summer when the markets are well stocked with beautiful fresh basil.

Implements:
Large Mortar and Pestle, 6-Quart Dutch Oven, Colander, Rubber Spatula, Chef’s Knife

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon coarse salt
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped unsalted dry-roasted almonds
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, stemmed
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound Yukon Gold or other boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
12 ounces thin green beans, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 large, ripe tomato, cut into thin wedges, for garnish

1. Place the garlic, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and 2 tablespoons of the almonds in a large mortar. Pound with the pestle to a smooth paste. Gradually add the basil leaves while pounding, adding more only after each batch has been reduced to a paste. This will only take 2 to 3 minutes.
2. When all of the basil leaves are pounded to a smooth paste, gradually add both cheeses, stirring with the pestle to blend them with the basil paste. Then drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while stirring and pounding with the pestle in the other hand until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
3. Fill a 6-quart Dutch oven or other large, wide pan two-thirds full of water and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the potatoes. Boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the green beans and boil for 6 to 8 minutes, until both the beans and potatoes are tender. Drain in a colander.
4. Place the beans and potatoes in a large serving bowl, spoon the pesto on top, and fold together gently with a rubber spatula until blended. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons almonds. Garnish the bowl with the tomato wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Prep 30 min | cook time 50 min | serves 4

A number of traditional Portuguese dishes are based on the unlikely, but flavorful, combination of pork and shellfish. This variation on amêijoas na cataplana, the classic clam and pork stew, calls for three types of pork: fresh pork cubes, spicy sausage, and bacon. The addition of Italian green beans, also known as romano beans, with the clams makes this recipe a one-pot meal. Serve with plenty of bread to sop up the flavorful sauce.

Implements:

Food Mill, Rubber Spatula, Large, Heavy Skillet, Cataplana, Oven Mitts

Ingredients:
1 can (28-ounce) Italian plum tomatoes with juices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 ounces chouriço or chorizo, casings removed and cut into ¼-inch dice
4 ounces pork tenderloin, loin, or shoulder, cut into ¼-inch dice (optional)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 pounds littleneck or Manila clams, cleaned (see Tip, page 222)
8 ounces romano or other green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

1. Fit a food mill with the medium disk, and set the mill on the rim of a medium bowl. Put the tomatoes with their juices in the food mill and puree. Reverse the crank to extract every bit of flavor from the tomato pulp, and occasionally stop to clean the underside of the mill with a rubber spatula, so the puree falls freely. Discard the pulp left in the strainer. Set the puree aside.
2. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a piece of bacon. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the onion and red and green peppers and sauté, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted and beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the chouriço and pork and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with the paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Add the wine, tomatoes, and parsley and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until liquid is slightly reduced.
4. Spoon half of the sauce into the cataplana; spoon the clams on top and scatter the green beans over the clams. Spoon the remaining sauce on top. Secure the cover in place.
5. Place the cataplana over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the clams have opened. Bring the cataplana to the table and, using oven mitts, carefully remove the cover. Discard any clams that failed to open. Spoon the clams and rich sauce into warmed shallow bowls and serve at once.

tip
Preparation in Alternative Cookware
Cook the sauce in a Dutch oven or braiser instead of the skillet. Add the clams, cover, and cook as directed for the cataplana.