Suzen’s business, Cooking by the Book, represents challenges for her. Corporations come into her kitchen and a team of 20 or more people cook a complete meal in about one hour then go into our dining area to enjoy the fruits of their kitchen efforts.
So, Suzi’s challenges are multiple: how to select a menu that everyone will consider great, how to coordinate the cooking so the meal all comes out at the proper times — a salad first, then main course and sides, and finally that mandatory dessert — and most importantly how to do all that in one hour with loads of fun for the team in the kitchen.
Suzi’s solution is to find wonderful recipes that meet all those standards. Recipes in books like Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking from 2007. The secret is right there in the title: Casual Cooking. Here are recipes that you can make without needing a year or two at the CIA. These are casual recipes, comforting recipes. Now, can you ever turn down comfort food? Not these recipes. Consider some of Sara’s idea:
Green Curry Ginger Chicken Salad
Heirloom Tomato Tars with Goat Cheese and Fresh Rosemary
Pickled Spring Vegetables with Mustard Seed Vinaigrette
Warm Crab Dip
Warm Sourdough Bread Salad with Chicken and Pine Nuts
Grilled Chicken and Brie Sandwiches with Mango and Apple Chutney
Sautéed Chicken and Mushrooms with Cheesy Polenta and Caramelized Onion Wedges
Smoked Salmon Toasts with Poached Eggs and Dijon-Dill Sauce
As you can see, some of these recipes are relatively easy, like the Warm Crab Dip that is quickly made, endlessly enjoyed. But others, like the Sautéed Chicken and Mushroom with the polenta onion wedges are multi-step efforts designed to provide layers of enjoyment.
And there is beauty in these recipes, too, inviting beauty. Let’s close this review with the photo of the Heirloom Tomato Tarts with Goat Cheese and Fresh Rosemary. It’s early April and soon, quite soon you find those heirloom varieties and can tart it up!
