Chef teaches cooking as craft

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 10, 2001

The book is in the bookstores, but Tom Colicchio, chef and co-owner of Gramercy Tavern in New York City, is still ready to talk about how he pinpointed what he wanted to say.

The book's title, Think Like a Chef (Clarkson Potter, $37.50), could sound encouraging or intimidating. That Colicchio conceived it generously, in a spirit of sharing, is made clear as he explains it in an interview in his office.

"I prefer to think of it as a reference book, not as a recipe book to take shopping with you," he says. "This book tells a story: How I think about food."

The idea that he developed was to teach people the principles of how to cook the "best meal ever" by thinking a little the way chef Colicchio does.

"Cooking is a craft, and you can learn a craft," he says. "Some people, of course, can push it further, and they become artists, but anyone can learn if you have a love for it."

People do have a love for it. "It's become a favorite hobby for a lot of people," he says. "They go in for it in depth." They collect cookbooks, they collect recipes and, he has noticed, they "collect" chefs -- as guides and mentors.

Colicchio has credentials to be a guide and a mentor. He is a winner of the James Beard Foundation's award for best chef in New York City, and his restaurant is one of the city's favorites. This is his first book.

The book's basic plan is to help you learn what he calls chef shorthand, the building blocks to great recipes, that you can then apply to the ingredients you like best.

"If you can learn cooking theories, the basics, you can cook anything," he says. "If you just follow a recipe, you're stuck with that recipe. If you can braise a lamb shank, you can braise a duck. Braising is braising."

The book deals first with basic techniques and general ingredients. Next, a chapter called "Studies" highlights individual ingredients used in simple or complex variations.

The "Trilogies" chapter teams ingredients in compatible trios, "Component Cooking" explains mixing and matching elements in a dish, and "Favorites" is a short section on just that (his include foie gras and oysters).

By giving people understanding you show them there's no great mystery to cooking, he said.

So relax, go ahead, go your own way and substitute mashed potatoes for something else if they make a combination you love. "You'll be thinking like a chef," he says.

Roasted Duck, Root Vegetables and Apples

2 parsnips, peeled

2 leeks, white part only, trimmed

2 medium carrots, peeled

2 tablespoons duck fat (see note)

2 fennel bulbs, quartered lengthwise

4 turnips, peeled and quartered

12 pearl onions, peeled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Granny Smith apples, cored

4 8-ounce boneless duck breasts

Coarse sea salt, optional

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the parsnips, leeks and carrots into lengths, 1/2-inch by 3 inches. Heat the duck fat in a large skillet over medium heat until it slides easily across the pan. Add the parsnips, leeks, carrots, fennel, turnips and pearl onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning frequently, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer.

Roast in the oven, turning occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 30 minutes. Quarter the apples and add them to the vegetables.

Meanwhile, place the duck breasts, skin-side up, on a cutting board. Make shallow crosshatch incisions just through the layer of fat (don't cut into the meat) with a sharp knife. Wipe out the skillet and heat over medium heat. Salt and pepper the duck breasts and add them to the skillet, skin-side down. Cook the breasts until the sides are crisp and the fat largely rendered, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 1 minute more.

Place the duck breasts on top of the roasting vegetables, skin-side up. Continue to roast until the duck breasts are medium rare and the vegetables very tender, about 5 minutes more.

Transfer the duck breasts to a cutting board and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes. Keep the vegetables warm in a low oven. Slice the duck breasts lengthwise into long pieces about 1/4-inch thick. Serve the slices over the vegetables, sprinkled with coarse salt if desired. Makes 4 servings.

You can get duck fat as a byproduct from ducks you have cooked yourself or from a butcher.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright