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‘ S u b j e c t t o e lig ib ility . R e s t r i c t i o n s m a y a p p l y .
D esigned w ith in p u t fro m a d u lts
w ith m o d e ra te t o j e v e r e RA an d in
p artn ersh ip w ith
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X
0
^ GOOD GRIPS
The
4
principles of
kitchen confidence
“I'd e stim a te th a t A m ericans cook
less th a n
2 0
p ercen t o f th e ir m eals
a t h o m e,” M ark B ittm an lam en ts.
“T h ere's a m y th th a t o rd erin g fast
food is ch eap er and m ore conve-
n ien t. In fact, hom e cooking can be
easier, cheaper,
a n d
faster. Plus, it's
te n tim es h e a lth ie r th a n any o th e r
altern ativ e, and it gives you u ltim ate
co n tro l over y o u r d ie t.” O n a busy
day, you d o n 't even need to follow
a recipe, says B ittm an. H ere, four
lessons th a t gave h im th e confidence
to im provise.
1
A GREAT MEAL IS
MORE THAN A MENU
“O ne tim e ab o u t
1 0
years ago, I
fo rg o t I w as h o stin g a g ro u p for
d in n e r u n til one o f th em called th a t
a fte rn o o n and asked, ‘W h at tim e
should w e com e over?' I com pletely
panicked because I had no m enu
planned and no food in th e house.
So I ran to th e su p erm ark et and
grabbed som e stu ff to m ake a salad,
a ro ast chicken, p o tato es g ratin , and
chocolate m ousse. It w as n o th in g
spectacular, b u t everyone— including
m e—w as happy w ith w hat I had
m ade. T h at night did a lot for my
confidence. I learned th a t w hen
people sit dow n at your table, th ey 're
n o t ex p ectin g you to be a five-star
chef. T h ey 're looking for love and
g reat conversation and a sim ple,
decent m eal.”
2
EXPERIMENTING IS SAFER
THAN IT SEEMS
“ I so m etim es joke th a t th e re are
only n in e recipes in th e w orld. But
th e re 's a lo t o f tru th to th a t. At
som e p o in t I realized th a t th e sam e
p a tte rn s cro p up over and over
again. If you cook a piece o f chicken
w ith ginger, garlic, and scallions,
you g et a C hinese flavor. U se lim e
and cilan tro , you have M exican.
P arm esan and oregano? Italian . You
can apply th e se flavor p a tte rn s to
alm o st a n y th in g — fish, broccoli,
to fu , w hatever. H ealthy cooking
is o ften ju s t a m a tte r o f riffing on
w ell-w orn little flavor com bos. It’s
like m ultiplication: n o t h ard at all
once you learn it.”
3
IT’S EASIER TO FIND
RECIPES FOR YOUR
INGREDIENTS THAN THE
OTHER WAY AROUND
“P robably
7 5
p ercen t o f m y
N e w
Y o r k T i m e s
recipe co lu m n s are th e
re su lt o f m e screw ing aro u n d w ith
in g red ien ts I b o u g h t on im pulse.
T h ere's a c e rta in freed o m in th is
approach. For exam ple, let's say
you decide,
T o n i g h t V m g o i n g t o
m a k e m o n k f i s h w i t h w h i t e t u r n i p s .
But th e n you go to th e sto re and
th e m onkfish looks te rrib le o r th ey
d o n ’t have w h ite tu rn ip s. At th a t
p o in t you’re in tro u b le because
y o u r shopping list is calling for
th o se in g red ien ts. O n th e o th e r
h an d , if you go to th e m ark et w ith
no prefixed n o tio n s, buy w h atev er
fresh in g red ien ts look b e st, th en
figure o u t how to cook th em , you’re
actu ally going to end up w ith less
s tre s s — and a m uch b e tte r m eal.”
4
SOME OF THE BEST
HEALTHY MEALS ARE
SCRAPED TOGETHER
“O n m y last book to u r, I got stuck
eatin g a lot o f ‘road food.’ W hen
I re tu rn e d hom e, I w as ready for
som e real food, b u t w e d id n 't have
m any in g red ien ts on h an d — m y w ife
had been to o busy at w ork to do
any shopping. So I dug aro u n d and
found som e celery, a few c a rro ts, an
onion, and a tom ato. I cut th em up,
sim m ered th em for a few m inutes
in olive oil, th en to ssed ev ery th in g
w ith pasta. So quick, and really,
really delicious. I live in N ew York
C ity—th e w orld capital o f tak eo u t—
and I’d ra th e r eat th is stu ff any day.”
BETTER HOMES AND CARDENS | MARCH
2011
|
BHG.COM
