As the host of Food Network’s hit show Chopped, Ted Allen presides over a pressure-filled kitchen, with chefs scrambling to cook with mystery ingredients. But at home, Ted is the one chopping the vegetables and working the stove, embracing unusual ingredients and new techniques.
Ted’s new cookbook, IN MY KITCHEN: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks (Clarkson Potter, May 2012) shares the recipes he loves for people who want to roll up their sleeves, crank up the stereo, and get their hands dirty in the kitchen.
“For me, the kitchen is the most special room in the house, and it’s a place for adventure…Every recipe in this book, from the simplest baked rice to a tongue-sizzling Thai curry, contains a tip, a trick, or an epiphany, something that has enriched my understanding of and love for the kitchen—and that will enrich yours, too.”
– Ted Allen
Unlike your average cookbook—with five-minute, three-ingredient, weeknight recipes for harried households—here is a book for food lovers who want to lose themselves in the delight of perfectly slow-roasting a leg of lamb or whipping up a showstopping triple-layer cake; who enjoy the sense of discovery in seeking out and cooking a new ingredient; who are tired of boneless skinless chicken breasts and looking for a true gustatory experience.
Ted Allen is just such a cook, and with IN MY KITCHEN, he invites like-minded folks to join him in his kitchen for some fun.
For starters:
Bruschetta with Strawberry and Tomato Salad; Fresh Goat Cheese Tartlets with Spicy Greens and Plums; Herbed Edamame Canapés; Bourbon Squash Soup with Parmesan Frico; Not Exactly Chinese Pork Buns; Thai-Frilled Beef Skewers with Pickled Cucumbers
Salads and sides:
Heirloom Gazpacho Salad with Grilled Bread and Crab; Summer Sweet Corn with Jalapeño and Herb Butter; Wiggly Rice Noodle and Herb Salad with Sweet Shrimp; Roasted Sunchokes with Mushrooms and Rosemary; Duck Fat Potatoes with Parsley and Lemon
Main courses:
Belgian Beef Stew with Beer, Onions, and Herb Spaetzle; Chicken and Merguez Tagine with Chickpeas, Fennel, and Apricots; Crisp-Tender Roast Duck with Cherry-Rosemary Sauce; Grilled Chile-Lime Shrimp with Israeli Couscous, Mango, and Zucchini; Scallops and Cheddar Grits with Chorizo; Crispy Salmon with Horseradish Aïoli; Pork and Black Bean Tinga with Chipotle; Fat Teddy’s Baby-Back Ribs; Savory Bread Pudding with Red Onion and Spinach
Desserts:
Dark Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Mascarpone Filling; Butter Pecan Brittle; White Sangria Peach Compote; Rustic Apricot Tart with Toasted Almonds; Showstopping Triple-Layer Meyer Lemon Cake; Ginger-Pumpkin Doughnut Holes with Caramel Sauce