RELAXED COOKING
BY CURTIS STONE
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
Relaxed Cooking
(Clarkson Potter) ISBN 978-0307408747 0307408744
Home cooks will find easy-to-make recipes for entertaining in this 272-page cookbook. Relaxed Cooking shows you how cooking for guests, friends and parties can be stress-free.
Using seasonal ingredients, Chef Curtis Stone creates flavorful recipes for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, everyday dinners, company desserts, meals for a crowd and snacks for casual get-togethers.
Blue cheese fondu
Curtis Stone introduces each chapter and recipe with comments about his dishes and the ingredients used to make them. He adds suggestions for cooking, serving and garnishing. For example, Chef Stone explains that he adds blue cheese to cheese fondu to give it a sharp, tangy flavor. To enhance a chocolate soufflé, he recommends breaking open the top and pouring in heavy cream.
Mouthwatering color photographs by Quentin Bacon depict the finished dishes in Relaxed Cooking.
Snacks for Super Bowl parties
Curtis Stone provides a delicious selection of vegetable side dishes and starches to serve with his main dish recipes. His recipe for creamy mascarpone and parsley polenta goes well with stews and saucy meats.
Relaxed Cooking includes easy snack recipes, perfect for drop-in guests, TV and movie-watching. BBQ chicken quesadillas, homemade salted caramel corn and sticky chicken drumsticks would make great Super Bowl party snacks.
Sample easy recipes for entertaining
Caramelized nectarines with yogurt and honey. Portobello mushrooms with ricotta, tomatoes and basil. Arugula salad with pomegranate, persimmon and toasted hazelnuts. Roasted eggplant dip with crispy pita chips. Grilled tuna with fennel, onions, parsley and lemon. Amaretto hot chocolate floats with vanilla Swiss almond ice cream. Chocolate mint martini.
Contents
Introduction- Chapter One: First thing in the morning
- Berry good start to the day
- Poached dried fruit with rose water and orange
- Homemade granola
- Tropical smoothie
- Peach and mint iced tea
- Caramelized nectarines with yogurt and honey
- Watermelon with fresh mint and lime
- Chapter Two: Brunch that will blow their minds
- Cinnamon French toast with caramelized peaches
- Crepes with orange caramel and mascarpone
- Crispy vegetable fritters
- Spanish frittata
- Raspberry muffins
- Greek doughnuts
- Hotcakes with delicious blueberry compote
- Lazy asparagus omelet
- Portobello mushrooms with ricotta, tomatoes and basil
- Toasted bagels with crispy prosciutto, poached eggs and spinach
- Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and chives
- Spicy sausage breakfast burritos
- Crispy tortilla with ham, chile, spinach and fried eggs
- Homemade waffles with apples and ice cream
- Exotic fruit salad with passion fruit granita
- Chapter Three: Weekend lunches
- Chilled gazpacho
- Roasted fennel and potato soup
- Classic French onion soup
- Seafood wonton soup
- Scallop ceviche with chile pepper, lime and soy
- Lobster cocktail
- Onion tarts with Taleggio cheese
- Wild mushroom, spinach and goat cheese tarts
- Cheesy crepes with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes and olives
- Simple salad with Parmesan wafers and organic poached egg
- Heirloom tomato and burrata salad with pepper-crusted New York steak
- Arugula salad with pomegranate, persimmon and toasted hazelnuts
- Baby spinach salad with crispy bacon and cheese croutons
- Sashimi salad with soy and orange
- Pan-fried calamari with roasted asparagus salad
- Crab and mozzarella salad with mint and lemon dressing
- Greek salad with char-grilled salmon
- Shrimp salad with fennel and blood orange
- Sesame chicken salad with mango and cherry tomatoes
- Grilled scallops with fava beans and roasted tomatoes
- Chapter Four: Something to eat on the sofa
- Lozza's corn and bacon muffins
- Baby baked potatoes with sour cream and chives
- Roasted eggplant dip with crispy pita chips
- Toasted walnut sourdough with melted gorgonzola and cranberry-fig preserve
- Sticky chicken drumsticks
- Smoked trout melt with cucumber on pumpernickel
- Roasted beef fillet crostini with arugula pesto
- Honey-glazed ham panini
- Barbecue chicken quesadillas
- Fresh crab and avocado dip with crispy tortilla chips
- Homemade salted caramel popcorn
- Chapter Five: Daily dinners
- Asparagus and parmesan risotto
- Fresh linguine with garlic shrimp and homemade pesto
- Rigatoni with spicy Italian salami, baby tomatoes, olives and capers
- Mussels and snapper steamed in coconut milk
- Steamed mussels with chorizo and white wine
- Oven-roasted monkfish with garlic mashed potatoes and Pino Noir reduction
- Grilled tuna with fennel, onions, parsley and lemon
- Crispy skin salmon salad with roasted cherry tomatoes
- Pan-fried halibut with black beans and cilantro chile salsa
- Braised daurade with roasted tomatoes, bell peppers, olives and capers
- Red curry with lobster and pineapple
- Crumbed chicken breasts filled with Swiss cheese
- Brazilian-style chicken with okra
- Skirt steaks marinated in red wine and juniper berries with roasted beets
- T-bone steaks with chipotle cilantro butter
- Veal cutlet coated in an aged Jack cheese crust
- Pan fried pork wrapped in prosciutto with sage and capers
- Roasted rack of lamb with parsley, Dijon and chives
- Chapter Six: Crowd-pleasers
- Cheese fondue
- Prosciutto and portobello mushroom pizza
- Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
- Chicken and leek pie
- Seafood cooked in white wine, lemon and parsley
- Paella with shrimp, mussels, clams and scallops
- Chili crab
- Tandoori platter
- Indian lamb curry
- Brisket stew with fall vegetables
- All-American barbecued baby back ribs
- Roast loin of pork with apple compote
- Slowly cooked brisket with a BBQ bourbon sauce
- Lamb shanks slowly braised in red wine, rosemary and thyme
- Caipirinha cocktail
- Sangria
- Pomegranate martini
- Lychee-lovers' bellini
- Chapter Seven: Sides to share
- Asparagus with raspberry shallot vinaigrette
- Stir fried sugar snaps with garlic
- Provencal ratatouille
- Curried cauliflower with cardamom and mustard
- Grilled corn on the cob with parsley and garlic brown butter
- Sautéed wild mushrooms with baby spinach
- Honey glazed heirloom carrots with leek and thyme
- Acorn squash roasted with thyme
- Crispy roasted potatoes
- Parsley potatoes
- Coconut rice
- Corn bread
- Saffron couscous
- Creamy mascarpone and parsley polenta
- Chapter Eight: Sweet Dreams
- Chocolate mint martini
- Pots of gold
- Espresso crème brûlée
- Chocolate pots de crème
- Chocolate soufflés
- Tiramisu
- Brownie cupcakes
- Peanut butter cookies with chocolate chunks
- Amaretto hot chocolate floats with vanilla Swiss almond ice cream
- Blueberry clafoutis
- Lemon curd tarts with fresh raspberries
- Nectarine and raspberry sundae
- Plum and cinnamon crumble
- Grilled pineapple skewers with coconut and caramel sauce
- Caramelized baby bananas with almond brittle
- Apple and pear upside-down caramel tarts
- Banoffee pie
- Individual strawberry cheesecakes with aged balsamic vinegar
- Green tea ice cream
- Rhubarb ripple ice cream
- Peach and honey cake with orange syrup
Author
Curtis Stone is host of the TV show, Take Home Chef.