THREE'S NO CROWD: NEW 1-2-3 COOKBOOKS HAVE SINGULAR PERSONALITIES.Byline: JeanMarie Brownson Chicago Tribune Several weeks have passed since the release of two groundbreaking cookbooks with a similar concept: recipes that use only three ingredients. ``Cooking With Three Ingredients'' by Andrew Schloss (HarperCollins; $17) hit the shelves first, followed closely by ``Recipes 1-2-3'' by Rozanne Gold (Viking; $22.95). Many cookbook reviewers and food writers so far have focused on the books' common premise. But after testing several recipes from each book and talking with the authors, it is apparent that the books are similar in ingredient count only. Each book has enough merit to qualify for addition to your cookbook shelf. You just need to decide what kind of cook you are or aspire to be. Novice cooks and cooks crunched for time likely will embrace Schloss' common-sense, time-savvy approach to getting dinner on the table. Those who cook for more than sustenance will enjoy Gold's explorations of flavor and sophisticated simplicity. (Note that neither author counts salt, pepper or water as an ingredient.) Schloss' book, a small, spiral-bound volume with more than 250 recipes, uses familiar ingredients and cooking methods. He also uses some convenience products, but in new and different ways. Roast pork in mustard crumbs, for example, uses spicy brown mustard brown mustard, n See black mustard. and crushed garlic croutons to make a crispy crust. Caesar salad dressing is used as a marinade and basting baste 1 tr.v. bast·ed, bast·ing, bastes To sew loosely with large running stitches so as to hold together temporarily. liquid for grilled chicken breasts. ``Three ingredients are basic to everyone; they are easy to understand,'' Schloss said. ``For novice cooks, it's unintimidating. ... I'm a working person, and I get home at a quarter to 7 and have to get dinner on the table. It (the three-ingredient concept) just meant everything was going to be streamlined.'' Recipes such as Mexican meatloaf, honey-garlic glazed carrots and tomato and basil sauce for pasta are all quick to prepare and made from readily available ingredients. Others, such as Peking Chicken, espresso granita gra·ni·ta n. A granular dessert ice with a sugar-syrup base, usually flavored with fruit purée, coffee, or wine. [Italian, from feminine past participle of granire, to make grainy, granulate , broccoli with toasted walnuts, biscotti Biscotti (plural of Italian biscotto, roughly meaning "twice baked") are crisp Italian cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry parfait and figs with prosciutto pro·sciut·to n. pl. pro·sciut·ti or pro·sciut·tos An aged, dry-cured, spiced Italian ham that is usually sliced thin and served without cooking. and mint are suitable for last-minute entertaining. Gold, like Schloss, believes three is a magic number. But Gold's book requires more commitment from the cook. She focuses on extracting flavor from the three ingredients and presenting the food simply yet artistically. Gold says she spent four years developing the concept. ``After 20 years of being a professional chef, I'm daring to be simple,'' she says. ``And other chefs who have looked at the book are intrigued with the idea.'' Gold is not encumbered Encumbered A property owned by one party on which a second party reserves the right to make a valid claim, e.g., a bank's holding of a home mortgage encumbers property. by the idea of cooking things quickly. Instead, she looks for ways to draw out flavor. She says in some cases the natural flavors must be coaxed out of the ingredients by slow cooking, oven roasting, braising braising: see cooking. and caramelizing. Her attractive volume contains more than 250 recipes and 32 color photographs chock-full of good ideas. Some, such as veal roast with leeks and rose wine, are impractical for dinner on a work night. Others, including cumin-scented couscous cous·cous n. 1. A pasta of North African origin made of crushed and steamed semolina. 2. A North African dish consisting of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew. and tuna burgers with hoisin and pickled ginger, offer flavorful twists on the mundane. Both books occasionally suggest other ingredients as options - grated cheese for pasta dishes, for example, and toasted nuts as a garnish in desserts. Sometimes, as in the case of the chapter on pasta sauces in Schloss' book, the pasta doesn't count as one of the three ingredients. PEKING CHICKEN 1 chicken (4 pounds), rinsed, dried and giblets gib·lets pl.n. The edible heart, liver, or gizzard of a fowl. [From Middle English gibelet, from Old French, game stew, perhaps alteration of *giberet, from gibier, removed 1/2 cup honey 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce hoi·sin sauce n. A thick, sweet, pungent sauce used in Chinese cooking. [Chinese (Cantonese) hoísin, seafood, equivalent to Chinese (Mandarin) h Carefully loosen skin of chicken by running your fingers under skin of breast and legs, separating gently from meat underneath without tearing. Rub breast and leg meat underneath skin with salt and pepper
Place chicken, breast-side down, on a rack set above a rimmed sheet pan or baking dish. Roast in preheated 450-degree oven 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix honey with hoisin sauce. After chicken has been in oven 20 minutes, brush a thin film of this mixture over bottom of chicken and roast 10 minutes longer. Turn chicken breast-side up. Brush with honey mixture. Roast 30 minutes longer, basting with more honey mixture every 5 minutes, until all has been used. Carve and serve. Makes 4 servings. NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 655 calories; 30 grams fat; 190 milligrams cholesterol; 275 milligrams sodium; 36 grams carbohydrate; 59 grams protein. Adapted from ``Cooking With Three Ingredients'' by Andrew Schloss. POACHED poach 1 tr.v. poached, poach·ing, poach·es To cook in a boiling or simmering liquid: Poach the fish in wine. SALMON WITH ZUCCHINI, TWO SAUCES 1 1/2 pounds medium zucchini 4 salmon fillets (6 ounces EACH) Salt and freshly ground white pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold Cut 1/6 of zucchini into paper-thin rounds. Place rounds in an overlapping pattern on top of fish. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Cut remaining zucchini in half lengthwise length·wise adv. & adj. Of, along, or in reference to the direction of the length; longitudinally. Adj. 1. lengthwise and then across into 1/2-inch pieces. Put in a medium pot with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook 15 minutes or until zucchini is very soft. Meanwhile, unwrap salmon and poach poach damage caused to sodden pasture by the hooves of cattle and sheep. In clay soils and when the ground is sufficiently wet the damage caused by a heavy stocking rate of sheep may be very high. Said also of the take-off in front of a jump in an equitation course or a race. in a shallow pan in 1 inch of water, 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through. (You can also steam fish in plastic wrap in a steamer.) Transfer 1/2 of cooked zucchini and 1/2 of cooking liquid to a blender and puree pu·rée or pu·ree tr.v. pu·réed or pu·reed, pu·rée·ing or pu·ree·ing, pu·rées or pu·rees To rub through a strainer or process (food) in a blender. n. until smooth. Reserve. Transfer remaining zucchini and liquid to blender and puree until smooth. Add butter and puree until thick and creamy. You will now have 2 sauces - a dark green coulis cou·lis n. A thick sauce made of puréed fruit or vegetables: raspberry coulis. [French, strained liquid, from Old French couleis, from Vulgar Latin with no butter and a light, creamy sauce with butter. To serve, place 1/4 cup of dark sauce on bottom of each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 warm poached salmon fillet and put 2 tablespoons of buttery sauce over top of each. Makes 4 servings. NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 385 calories; 19 grams fat; 115 milligrams cholesterol; 96 milligrams sodium; 5 grams carbohydrate; 49 grams protein. Adapted from ``Recipes 1-2-3'' by Rozanne Gold. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) The new cookbooks ``Cooking With Three Ingre dients'' by Andrew Schloss and ``Recipes 1-2-3'' by Rozanne Gold attempt to create good recipes using only three ingredients. James F. Quinn/Chicago Tribune |
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