Oh those midlifes. In my first 40 years on earth I’ve been a musician, a dot com guy, a writer and a chef.  I wonder what 50 holds for me?

I could sit here all day trying to wax poetic about the transformation Buford made from literati to culinarian, but I don’t have to. I’ll just steal Buford’s words, “In the beginning, there was a writer, the ghost was the chef. In the end, there was the chef, the ghost was the writer.” Heat reads like two different books. The first is one of those culinary adventures that are so en vogue and the other a biography of Mario Batali.

The idea for Heat began when Buford threw a dinner party back in 2002. Batali was a guest at that party but by the time it ended, the then-editor at the New Yorker had decided that someone needed to do a profile of the Iron Chef. Unfortunately Buford got no takers so he resolved to do the story himself. A fateful decision to say the least.

Buford elected to take six months to work in the kitchens of Babbo, Batali’s three star Italian restaurant located in New York’s Greenwich Village. When the story was done, Buford wasn’t. He resigned his post at the magazine to continue work his way up the ladder at Babbo. Before long he was on a plane to Italy to learn the old ways. His journey would find him hanging with Marco Pierre White in London, hand rolling pasta in Tuscany and butchering a pig in his New York apartment.

Heat is very well written, as one would imagine from a writer of Buford’s experience, and does a wonderful job of showing his journey from white collar to chef whites. Those thinking of making the career change to the culinary arts would be well served to read this book before turning in that letter of resignation.

Next: The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffery Steingarten.

Photo courtesy of gawker.com.

RR:  You’ve got a well-stocked fridge.  What are some of your staples?
I have bacon from Oscar’s Smoke House.  I also keep a stash of Greek yogurt on hand - I mix it with hot sauce to make a quick topping for an easy dish like roasted asparagus or smoked bacon frittata.  I keep organic eggs around too, because I’m a fan of big, savory brunches.

RR:  [I noticed] you make rows in your fridge - that’s a good tip.  So what’s a surefire, Iron Chef-caliber dish that you like to make for Stephanie [his wife]?
She’s from Texas, so she loves Sunday-night chicken dinners.  When I go all out, I make her fried chicken and waffles with a spicy maple-horseradish syrup to go on top.  That’s a serious Sunday dinner for her!

RR:  If you could have a dream dinner party, who would you invite?
I’d ask Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Springsteen and Bono.  That would be a fun conversation because we’d cover so many topics.  Of course, I’d want you to come, too.  You could bring the eggs!

Photo courtesy of Food Network.

Giada DeLaurentiis:  “I like it grilled; sometimes I broil them.  And I like it plain, none of the stuff on top.”

Mario Lopez:  “I love spicy food, so for hot dogs, it’s jalapenos and salsa.”

Rachael Ray:  “I love a Chicago dog - the cucumbers, the pickles, the hot peppers, everything!”

Rob Thomas:  “Mustard and ketchup.  I like the New York City dogs on every corner.”

Photo courtesy of StarPulse.com.

• When he was a kid, he frequented St. Louis Cardinals games and when chowing down on a dog, he’d “put one inch each of ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, barbecue sauce and pickles all on the same 6-inch dog.”
• He sometimes drizzles maple syrup or salad dressing on a hot dog because “you have cold and hot, crunchy and soft, sweet and salt.”
• Meyer favors Hebrew National hot dogs and their 97 percent Fat Free Kosher Beef Franks, with only 45 calories each.
• He suggests rummaging around in your refrigerator for “that stuff you haven’t used in months” (like capers and salsa) to add a bit of zip.  [The] “hot dog is a delicious vehicle for any other flavor,” he added.

Photo courtesy of 7×7.com.

Within these pages are not only recipes, but an Introduction to Wisconsin Cheese, followed by recipes on everything from American Swiss to Zesty Wisconsin Parmesan Popcorn. The recipe index will help you by breaking down the recipes in the areas of Breakfast Dishes, Soups, Salads and Dressings, Sandwiches, Hors D’oeuvres and Appetizers, Entrees, Pastas, Pizzas, Side Dishes and finally Desserts, Snacks and Treats.

An interesting twist on one recipe is Bananas Foster Pizza that is made with cream cheese and finished off with creamy mascarpone cheese.  There are also several variations of goat and sheep cheese recipes, such as Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tortas with a delightfully creamy texture with a crispy brown toasting.

The grand finale is the Sample Wheel of Wisconsin Cheese Companies which gives you website info along with some brief information of each cheese company listed. I just wish I had the time and money to visit each company to sample their delicious cheeses.

The California Club Pizza offers the savings of around $2 per serving and is loaded with flavor.  It’s very easy to make with a few simple ingredients.  Another great recipe, and my personal favorite that my wife makes for me every birthday and special occasion, is Chocolate Banana Cream Trifle.

If you are looking for a fresh spin on a traditional summer favorite, then look no further than Fresh Pineapple Salsa.  The color is bright and loaded with snap thanks to the addition of fresh cilantro and pineapple.  Be sure to make it with gold pineapple; they are the sweetest around and loaded with flavor.

To top it off, this small collection of tasty recipes is only $1.00.  Contact your local Pampered Chef representative for your very own copy.

Semi-retired chef Anthony Bourdain shocked the world with his tome on the inside workings of the restaurant industry, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.  As the story goes, Kitchen Confidential shocked the world upon its release in 2000 by revealing the drunken, drug-laden debauchery that exists in American professional kitchens.  I question how many people were genuinely surprised by the revelations in Bourdain’s work; after all, the restaurant industry employs more people than any other in the nation, save the Federal government, over 12 million jobs nationwide.

I believe that most of the hullabaloo was feigned.  After all, those not currently employed in the Life (as Bourdain calls it) most in the media at least used to be employed in it.  To a lifer like myself the book was comfortable.  It was like sitting down with an old friend over a bottle of Johnny Walker getting three sheets while reliving memories and swapping tales.

Bourdain paints a perfect picture of life in the kitchen, testosterone driven trash talking, seducing servers and drinking way too much.  But what surprised me was the author’s love of food.  Images sketched in words of his first raw oyster freshly plucked from brine while only a lad to his experiences with the amazing creations of Scott Bryan, Eric Ripert and Ferran Adrià.  Throughout the text I was constantly reminded of both Bourdain’s love affair with food and his sheer talent for the smithing of words.

The boy’s got chops.  At the time of its publishing I don’t think Bourdain knew just how good a writer he was.  The book was so explosive, so popular that it actually was made into a television series, all though it was a short lived one.  Fast forward nearly a decade and Tony is no longer commanding the kitchen at Les Halles, no longer going on three-day coke benders (I hope) and no longer chasing tail.  He has become what he loathed and found it’s a pretty nice gig, this celebrity chef thing.

I made sure to put Kitchen Confidential on my summer reading list because I know how important a book it is.  What I did not expect was how much I would learn from it.  In fact, I have gotten a whole new reading list from it.  Bourdain emphasizes how important it is for any chef to read the classics, if you will, of our profession. 

In sports, the greats of the game are known by just one name: Hank, Bo, and Michael.  Sports fans know of whom I speak.  The culinary world is no different and it is these chefs of which Bourdain speaks.  Works of literature produced from chefs so revered that they are known by just one name, Escoffier and Bocuse.  So thank you, Tony.  Not only have you penned a great book, but you have also made my summer reading project a little longer.

Next: Heat by Bill Buford.

Photo courtesy of Powells

In The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister, she takes you into the back-story of each member of a cooking class at a local restaurant.  In each chapter, you learn about one character and what brought them to the class.  As the story unfolds, you see how these people take what they learn from the class and how it adds more to their lives.

The author describes the cooking process and flavors so perfectly that you can imagine being in the class and tasting the various dinners with them.  With Lillian, the cooking teacher and restaurant chef, we see how she became the chef she is in the story.  With one simple dish, she was able to touch her distant mother and from that moment on she saw the power of creating food that can fill the soul.  She uses this knowledge when teaching the class and as we meet each of the students and find out more about them.  Through Lillian we begin further understand how a confused young woman can see that she’s made some poor choices and can finally find her way after taking these classes.  There is also the young man who has fought against his mother’s creativity so strongly that he didn’t realize that he had it within him as well.  Then there is the elderly couple who is so affectionate, but has had their share of ups-and-downs in their relationship. 

I found this novel hard to put down as I was drawn into each character and wanted to know what brought them to the class and see what relationships and friendships would develop.  The power of ingredients is greater than many realize and through this story we can see what certain flavors, scents and textures can do to bring back old memories and create new ones.

This book would be a wonderful addition to your summer reading list!

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

- Interviews with Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw in his Cornwall seafood grill and with former Bibendum chef Bob Parkiinson bringing a “slice of Chelsea chic to the Cotswolds” with his “stunning new restaurant and deli.”

- A seasonal look at the humble, overlooked gooseberry.

- A chat with the founder of the Cotswold Ice Cream Company.

- A review of the Queens Arms in Newbury, Berkshire, slightly outside the South West, as well as a brief look at the Real Food movement in New York.

- Forager tips from Andy Sartin, who walks along the coastline “in search of sea beet, pursslane and rock samphire”

- An article detailing the best picnic sites in Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

- Recipes: Grilled Salmon, Fennel and Cucumber Salad, Summer Vegetable Salad with Little Wallop Goat’s Cheese, Rhubarb and Duck Egg Custard Tart (a variation on which I’ve tried out and detailed on SpittoonExtra), Pistachio and Dried Apricot Tart

- A look at the Cornish Fishmonger, the Lahloo Tea company and  Betty Blythe Fine Food Pantry (the latter being London based)

- A full listing of regional Farmer’s Markets, which covers Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Bath and Bristol and, oddly, London.

If you live in the South West, I would go so far as to say this is a must-read, and highly recommended to everyone else in addition.
You can buy single issues or subscribe to Fork magazine via their website. Cost is £1.50 per issue plus £1.50 postage.

PS You can find me on twitter at wine_scribbler

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