Joey Altman’s San Francisco television show Bay Café has won 3 James Beard awards and hosted more than 1,000 guest chefs.  Originally a restaurant chef, Altman has a knack for showing people how to make restaurant style food at home.  In his first cookbook, Without Reservations, Altman provides a collection of wonderful restaurant style recipes that can be made as he says “at home without fear or reservations”.  Starting with advice on shopping and stocking essential ingredients Altman lays the foundations for his recipes which range from cocktails all the way through dessert.  Altman calls the recipes restaurant style; this is somewhat subjective.  I found a range of recipes with some of the dishes being more elaborate than others.  The Crab-stuffed avocado and spicy citrus-mango salad (recipe below) is one of the more elaborate ones but true to form Altman describes it in detail and makes it highly approachable for a meal at home including pictures detailing just how to get the presentation to appear picture perfect.  Other recipes, such as the stuffed shells with fun-tina and tomato sauce, are less elaborate and similar to things many of us already make at home.  This is reinforced by Altman categorizing this recipe as easy-prep.  He also has recipes labeled as make-ahead which is really helpful for an at-a-glance clue of the effort involved.  I’m always attracted to cookbooks with lots of photos and this book follows that trend; it’s gorgeous, appetizing color photos really give you a feel for what the recipes are like.  It also has a great variety of recipes such as avocado salsa with roasted corn, Caribbean grilled lamb skewers with long beans, miso-marinated black cod with sesame spinach and other interesting ‘restaurant style’ recipes.

Crab-Stuffed Avocado with Spicy Citrus-Mango Salad 

From Without Reservations by Joey Altman and Jennie Schacht, Wiley 2008 

Makes 4 servings

What to Drink: A refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Riesling is perfect with the citrus and seafood in this salad.

Great-looking food really whets the appetite. This salad is a great way to create something that looks beautiful on the plate without a lot of effort. 

Because of its starring role, use only fresh crab or an exceptionally good canned version. Choose avocados that have some give when you press them gently but are still rather firm. When you pull off the stem you should see green underneath. I like Haas avocados for their firm, flavorful flesh. In summer you can often find chive flowers at farmers markets or upscale produce stores, or perhaps in your garden.

• 4 navel oranges
• 1 mango, ripe but not squishy
• 2 red Fresno or serrano chiles, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces crab meat
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 medium avocados, ripe but firm, cut in half, pits removed
• 1 English or hothouse cucumber, peeled and sliced very thin
• Sea salt
• Chive flower petals, for garnish (optional) 

1. Remove the peel and all the pith from one orange. Cut the orange into 1/2-inch rounds, cutting away and discarding the tough center core pieces. Repeat with the remaining oranges. Stack a few orange slices at a time and cut in 1/4- to 1/2-inch strips, then crosswise into dice, until you have cut all the oranges into dice.

2. Peel the mango, then place it on one of the short ends and cut off the large “cheeks” from each side of the pit. Turn the mango and cut off the shorter sides and any remaining flesh. Cut the flesh into 1/4-inch dice. 

3. Combine the diced oranges, mango, chiles, red onions, and half of the chives in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the lime juice, and the vinegar. Toss gently but thoroughly to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to four hours to allow the flavors to mingle while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

4. Mix together the crab meat, the remaining chives, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the lemon juice with a fork in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

5. To assemble, use a large spoon to scoop each avocado half from its shell in a single piece. Lay an avocado half cut-side down at the center of on an 8-inch piece of plastic wrap set on a cutting board. Using a very sharp, thin-bladed knife, slice the avocado crosswise into even 1/8-inch thick slices, being careful not to cut through the plastic.

6. Lay a second piece of plastic wrap on top of the avocado, then gently press with even pressure to fan out the slices as evenly as possible. Remove the top piece of plastic and one-quarter of the crab mixture in the middle of the avocado fan. Gather the corners of the plastic wrap in the center above the crab; the avocado slices will begin to wrap around it. 

7. Now lift the package off the cutting board and, cupping one hand around the bottom, gather up the ends of the plastic wrap and twist them to tighten the plastic around the avocado and coax it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining three avocado halves. Refrigerate the wrapped avocado-crab packages for up to 2 hours.

8. To serve, make a ring of cucumber slices on each of four plates, leaving about a 2-inch opening in the center of each ring. Mound the Citrus-Mango Salad in the center of each plate. Carefully remove the plastic wrap from an avocado half and place it seam-side down on top of the Citrus-Mango Salad. Drizzle vinaigrette and juices from the bottom of the salad bowl over and around the avocado and cucumber slices. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and garnish with chive flower petals, if using.

About Without Reservations

Joey Altman spent the first part of his career as a professional chef, cooking at some of the nation's top restaurants. Nine years ago, he launched a second career as host of a popular, award-winning television food show. But even though he no longer cooks at a restaurant full-time, his family and friends still expect him to prepare restaurant-quality meals. Now, in this fun and inspiring cookbook, Joey shares his secrets for cooking chef-caliber food at home.

Available at Amazon.com.

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When Chef Alessandro Cartumini and his staff at Quattro Restaurant (E. Palo Alto, CA). started having their "Osteria" nights, the focus was family style dishes with an emphasis on Seasonal ingredients.  Although the concept served them very well Chef Cartumini has answered the call of his patrons who desire to know a little more about how to prepare the season's finest such as Asparagus and of course what other flavors will compliment it.  With their new Osteria nights (see schedule below) usually held on the 2nd or 3rd Friday of each month Quattro focuses on one ingredient that is currently in season and designs a four-course menu around it.  Joining in the fun is a featured guest usually from a neighboring winery/vineyard who will delight in showing diners which wines pair well with the spotlight ingredient.  Today they share with us a wonderful recipe for a flavorful salt cod with sautéed Kale served on a crispy polenta crouton from a recent Osteria night.  

Baccala’ Mantecato, Grilled White Polenta, with Tuscan Kale

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Baccala

• 2 oz salted cod
  
• 3 Qt milk
• 3 bay leaves
  
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• Black pepper to taste

Place cod under running cold water for least 4 hours and let soak in cold water in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from refrigerator and place under running cold water for one more hour.

Heat milk and Bay leaves in a sauce pan to 175F. Add cod to the milk and cook until soft, about 25 minutes, make sure the temperature stays below 175F.

When done remove from the heat and strain into a mixing bowl.  Add vegetable oil, parsley and garlic

Polenta

• 2 C water
• 8 oz White polenta (Anson’s Mill)
• 8/10 gr. Salt

Bring water to boil.  Add polenta flour in it and whisk until well combined. Season with salt to taste.  Cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring every other minute. When ready pour in an oiled sheet pan about ½ inch thick and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool for about 3 hours.   Cut into 2.5” squares and reserve.

Season with salt and pepper and brush with extra virgin olive oil. Grill on each side in order to heath the polenta through and create cross marks.

Tuscan Kale 

• 1 bunch tuscan kale
• 1 shallot julienned
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  

Heat sauce pan with olive oil, add shallots then add kale and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.

Place polenta crouton on plate as the base and spoon a nice quenelle of cod over it. Top with thinly julienned kale. Enjoy.

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When people find out that you attended culinary school there seems to be this consensus that you must like to bake.  No, I like to cook. I actually detest baking - I barely made it through the minimal pastry training that I did have.  Baking and Pastry has always been too much of a science for me, its too precise leaving very little room for error or improvisation.  I have no problem admitting that my pie crusts and puff pastry suck.  One bright spot in that training, however, was bread making.  I love making bread, but with a full time job, husband, daughter, and various outside interests there never was time until now.  Bread lover Jeff Hertzberg and Pastry Chef Zoe Francois have found a way for everyone to enjoy the benefits of fresh baked bread in their book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day".  The basic concept is that pre-mixed, pre-risen, high-moisture dough keeps well in the fridge and by pre-mixing this dough without kneading and then storing it, the only other requirements on the day you wish to make bread is shaping and baking.  It really is that simple and quite revolutionary.  One thing to note is that this dough will be a little wetter to work with than other doughs you've tried but that's one of the reasons why the dough holds up so well and allows you to be able to make loaf after loaf from the one batch. Listed below are the recipes for my favorite types of bread. Being a huge panini fan I had to learn how to make Ciabatta bread and then of course there is Challah Bread which makes the best French toast.  This book is loaded with other great recipes both savory and sweet and lots of basic tips for successful bread making.  Once you get the techniques down the possibilities really are endless.

Happy Baking!

Ciabatta 

From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, Thomas Dunne Books 2007

The word Ciabatta is Italian for slipper, and refers to the shape of the bread, which is halfway between a flatbread and a loaf-shaped bread. It’s made from very wet dough, shaped as an elongated oval or rectangle (perhaps you have slippers shaped like this?). To achieve the very moist crumb, shape the loaf with wet hands, rather than dusting with flour. The bread will be chewy and moist, with large and appealing air holes. Ciabatta is baked without cornmeal  on the bottom, so dust the pizza peel with a think coating of white flour instead. And, since white flour is a less efficient “stick-preventer” than cornmeal, you may need to nudge the loaf off the peel with a steel dough scraper or spatula. 

Makes 1 ciabatta 

1 pound (grapefruit-size portion) Boule dough (see at the end of this recipe)

White flour for the pizza peel 

1. Cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of refrigerated dough without dusting the surface with flour; wet hands will help prevent sticking. Using your wet hands, shape the dough into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. With your wet fingers, flatten the ball into an elongated oval about ¾ inch thick. Don’t make it thinner than ¾ inch or it will puff like pita bread, which isn’t desirable here. 

2. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450˚F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread. 

3. Place the loaf on a flour-covered pizza peel and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Dust the top with flour, but don’t slash the loaf. 

4. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the boiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until deeply brown. 

The Master Recipe: Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf)

From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, Thomas Dunne Books 2007

Makes four 1- pound loaves. This recipe is easily doubled or halved. 

• 3 Cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
• 6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop and sweep method

Mxing and Storing the Dough

1.  Warm the water slightly: It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees.  Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours.  You can use cold tap water and an identical final result; then the first rising will take 3 ore ven 4 hours.  That won't be too great a difference, as you will only be doing this once per stored batch.
2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5-quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket.  Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.
3. Mix in the flour-kneading is unnecessary: Add all of the flour at once measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula;don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement by compressing.  Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform.  If you're hand-mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together.  Don't knead! It isn't necessary.  You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches.  This step is done in a matter of minutes and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container. 
   
4. Allow to rise: Cover with a lid (not airtight) that fits well to the container you're using.  Do not use screw-topped bottles or Mason jars, which would could explode from the trapped gases.  Lidded plastic buckets designed for dough storage are readily available.  Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approximately 2 hours, depending on the room's temperature and the initial water temperature.  Longer rising times, up to about 5 hours, will not harm the result.  You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period.  Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work with than dough at room temperature.  So, the first time you try our method, it's best to refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours), shaping.  

Challah 

From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, Thomas Dunne Books 2007

This is the bread traditionally served in Jewish households at the start of the Sabbath on Friday nights. Some variation of an egg-enriched sweet loaf appears across bread-loving cultures. The French and Italians have Brioche (page 189). The choice of melted butter versus oil definitely changes the flavor and aroma. And butter-enriched doughs are stiffer and easier to braid when cold; oil-based challah dough is a little “looser” and more prone to spreading sideways while resting, but delicious nonetheless. For an intense and decadent challah, try making it with the Brioche dough, the blast of butter and egg creates and incredibly rich bread-eating experience.

We store the egg enriched dough in the freezer after 5 days of refrigerator storage. 

Makes four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. 

• 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water
• 1 ½ tablespoons granulated yeast (1 ½ packets)
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (or neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola), plus more for greasing the cookie sheet.
• 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water)
• Poppy or sesame seeds for the top 
  

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and melted butter (or oil) with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container. 

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour. 

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours 

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond 5 days, freeze in 1-pound portions in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. Defrost frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator before using. Then allow the usual rest and rise time. 

5. On baking day, butter or grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Divide the ball into thirds, using a dough scraper or knife. Roll the balls between you hands (or on a board) stretching, to form each into a long thin rope. If the dough resists shaping, let it rest for 5 minutes and try again. Braid the ropes, starting from the center and working to one end. Turn the loaf over, rotate it, and braid from the center out to the remaining end. This produces a loaf with a more uniform thickness when braided from end to end. 

7 Allow the bread to rest and rise on the prepared cookie sheet for 1 hour and 20 minutes (or just 40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefridgerated dough). 

8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350˚F. If you’re not using a stone in the oven, 5 minutes is adequate. Brush the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with the seeds. 

9. Bake near the center of the oven for about 25 minutes. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking time. The challah is done when golden brown, and the braids near the center of the loaf offer resistance to pressure. Due to the fat in dough, challah will not form a crackling crust. 

10. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

About Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise for the baker who took on such a time-consuming task. Now, you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how.

Available at Amazon.com 

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I don’t watch a lot of television, but one show I always catch is Top Chef.  I am constantly amazed at what these chefs are able to produce in such little time and under so much pressure.  Top Chef the Cookbook let’s you reproduce many of these dishes in your own kitchen, such as the recipe for Black Forest Ham and Egg Bundle by Betty during season two; a nice casual breakfast that she made on the beach for surfers. But the part that I enjoyed the most about the book is the information on the various contestants and insider details of the shows.  The book has details on the first three seasons with info on each contestant, how the competition went and where they are now.  It is also packed with lots of photos.  In essence it lets you relive the first three years of episodes and cook some of the dishes! If you’re a Top Chef fan you’ve got to check it out!  

Black Forest Ham and Egg Bundle with Corn and Leek Ragout on Rustic Toast

From Top Chef the Cookbook, Chronicle Books, 2008

CHEF: Betty
SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE: Prepare breakfast on the beach for surfers.

• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, or more if needed
• 1 leek, white and light green part, washed and sliced 1/8 inch thick; dark green part cut into long strips for tying up bundle
• 10 cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/3 cup fresh corn kernels
• 6 orange tomatoes, cut into 4 slices each, ends reserved for another use
• 12 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 12 thin slices Black Forest ham
• Basil oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish
• 12 slices rustic toast

2. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced leek, mushrooms, and corn. Cook for about 8 minutes, until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture from the skillet to a medium bowl. Cover to keep warm.

3. In a small saucepan of boiling water, cook the strips of leek for about 2 minutes, until soft. Drain and set aside.

4. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Add to the skillet, adding more butter if necessary to keep them from sticking. Cook over medium heat, turning once, until the tomatoes just begin to soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until smooth. Season with salt and pepper; stir well to combine.

6. In another large skillet, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the eggs and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until cooked to desired firmness. Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and stir to combine.

7. Lay the ham slices on a work surface in a single layer, with a long strip of leek underneath each. The ends of the leeks should extend beyond the edges of the ham. Divide the egg mixture among the ham slices. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the eggs. Drizzle with basil oil and sprinkle with chives. Roll each slice of ham around the filling and tie the roll with the leek strips. Place 1 slice of toast on each serving plate. Top with the tomato slices and a ham and egg bundle. Serve immediately.

About Top Chef

Pack your knives and go . . . straight to the bookstore. Top Chef presents the official companion cookbook to the No. 1 rated food show on cable television! Featuring 100 fabulous recipes from the first three seasons of the show, including dishes from the Elimination Rounds and the Quick-Fire Challenges, The Top Chef Cookbook invites fans into the hottest kitchen on prime time. In-depth discussions with contestants, judges, and crew reveal the inner workings of the show, and lavish photographs take readers behind-the-scenes into the Top Chef pantry and the competition sites. Handsomely packaged with a canvas cover inspired by the chef's jacket worn by each of the Top Chef contestants, this cookbook will have aspiring culinary contenders reliving classic show moments and relishing new recipes just in time to obsess over Padma's outfits in Season 4.

Available at Amazon.com 

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