If you’re at all familiar with my books, you may be aware that besides two novels, a bunch of nonfiction, and quite a few books for kids, I also have had a large handful of cookbooks published—all but two of them published by Roundtable. (Of those two, one was pubbed as an e-book by a company that went under, and the book is now out of print, and the other, my first cookbook to be published, is still in print—literal print, not an e-book—with another publisher.)
I want to talk this week about cooking and writing, and how they overlap. If I don’t get too wordy and run long, maybe I can throw in a recipe, too.
Cooking and writing are both creative. I find that I really throw myself into cooking more when I’m not in a long-term writing project—basically, a book, as opposed to writing articles or ads or whatnot for a client, and also as opposed to editing. (Editing is creative work too, to an extent, but not nearly to the same degree as writing.)
When I’m pouring my creative energies into writing a book, I’m just less inclined to spend lots of time being creative in the kitchen. (Then again, I’m always reluctant to spend too much time away from the computer—in the kitchen or anywhere else. My computer and I are joined at the hip.)
To me, the most fun in the kitchen is creating. That could mean devising a whole new recipe or simply tinkering with an existing recipe. But either of those is much more satisfying than just following a recipe verbatim.
I guess we creative folks were just born to create, whether it’s at the computer, at an easel, at a piano…or at the stove.
In fact, one of my books on cooking (as opposed to a recipe book) is called DEVELOP YOUR OWN RECIPES. It’s a slim but helpful volume for those who want to start developing recipes of their own but don’t quite know how.
At the other end of the spectrum, for novice cooks who barely know how to boil water, I wrote LOST IN THE KITCHEN? Actually it’s a handy book for ANY cook of ANY level of proficiency, as it has a lot of info in it that is useful to those beyond the newbie stage. And yes, this one does have recipes, too.
Let me share with you a few recipes I developed totally from scratch:
CHICKEN SIROCCO
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, julienned
8 figs, chopped
1 cup chicken stock/broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the ginger, garlic, and chicken, cooking till the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, turning as needed. Add the bell pepper and figs, cooking just till the bell pepper is slightly softened. Add remaining ingredients, cover skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 20 minutes or till chicken tests done when you cut into the center of the largest piece. Turn chicken once during cooking process. Serves 4. Goes well with rice.
PORK BELLA NOTTE
1 tablespoon Canola or olive oil
1 pork tenderloin, average size
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cupped chopped green olives, pitted, stuffed or not, cook’s choice
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup raisins
3 cloves garlic, put through press
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium or large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil and quickly brown the tenderloin all around. Transfer tenderloin to a baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and orange juice, blend well, add remaining ingredients, mix well, and pour over tenderloin in baking dish. Place in oven and cook for 50 minutes. Serves 3-4, depending on size of tenderloin.
TWILIGHT PORK
1 lb. pork cut in strips, as if for stir fry
2 tablespoons peanut oil or other oil
1 onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock/broth
1/2 cup peanut butter*
2 cans (15 oz. each) ready-to-eat Cuban-style black beans (e.g. Goya black bean “soup”)
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped small
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
*preferably organic, with no additives
In a large skillet over moderate heat, heat the oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and garlic, cooking till the onion is a golden color. Add the paprika, then the pork, cooking till the pork begins to brown.
Add the remaining ingredients, stirring well. When pork is cooked through and ingredients are well blended, it’s done.
Makes 4 servings.
NORTHSIDE CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced (measured before slicing)
1 cup chicken stock or broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 containers (1 oz. each) dried imported mushrooms
1 can (15 oz.) ready-to-eat Cuban-style black beans (e.g. Goya black bean “soup”)
1 teaspoon rosemary
Hot paprika and salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
Reconstitute the mushrooms by soaking them for an hour in enough water to cover.
Heat the oil over moderate heat in large skillet, and add the garlic, cooking till it’s soft but not brown. Remove and reserve the garlic, and add the chicken to the skillet, cooking till it’s light brown on both sides.
Add the stock, wine, lime juice, and mustard. Mix well. Add the beans, ginger, and olives. Return the garlic to the skillet. Squeeze the water from the mushrooms and add them. Add the rosemary, and the salt and hot paprika to taste.
Cook for 30 minutes more.
Serves 4.
Is your mouth watering yet? I hope you’ll try my recipes, but I hope you’ll get creative in the kitchen and develop your own recipes, too. It’s fun!
Happy cooking!