 |
Echo Cooking
July 2006
Can the old become new again? Can the ordinary become extraordinary?
What happens when we take everyday, commonplace food and prepare it
in uncommon ways? It gets transformed. Somewhere in the process,
everyday dishes---burgers, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, omelets, pasta
and salads begin to reflect current tastes and trends---much like
anything else--decor, fashion, movies, music…ourselves…and then they
are anything but boring. A new trend is born--far more exciting and
enticing then before. They reflect an evolving part of our lives.
Let’s take pasta and chicken salad, for example. The old way to make
chicken salad would be to dice up some cooked chicken breast, add a
ton of mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Pasta salad was
actually called macaroni salad, which consisted of elbow macaroni
mixed with more mayonnaise. Today, variations on these classic
dishes are virtually endless. In my version, I start by tearing the
cooked chicken into shreds. This gives the chicken lots of places
for the dressing to stick to. The dressing in this case is a fresh
pesto sauce made with parsley, basil and pine nuts (as well as oil,
garlic and parmesan). I then mix the pesto with a bit of mayonnaise
and sour cream and I pair it with cheese tortellini and some diced
grape tomatoes. It’s flavorful, different and absolutely delicious.
Or how about coleslaw---a summer staple? It can go from boring to
brilliant with the simple addition of crumbled Gorgonzola. And
something as unexciting as meatloaf can enter the ranks of gourmet
by adding grilled eggplant instead of bread to give it moisture and
flavor. I could go on and on with variations on every day dishes.
I’m sure you can, too, because examples are everywhere. In fact this
trend toward a new variation of comfort food has inspired me to
write a new book. The ideas for recipes are flowing. My biggest
problem in this type of cooking is defining it. I call it Echo
Cooking because it’s how I cooked for my finicky children who wanted
restaurant quality, sophisticated versions of their favorite
food--including many ethnic dishes--but what exactly is it? Here’s
what I came up with after a long struggle and help from a very
creative friend. Let me know what you think.
Echo
Cooking/eko kooking/n. 1. the art by which food is
cooked as a close but more creative imitation of something
already done. 2. a cooking style that reflects the influence of
the echo boomer generation on popular cuisine
Chef Silvia
To get this
month’s echo cooking summer recipes click on
recipes.
Also, if any of you are interested in organizing you own style of cooking
class/dinner party, check out my
cooking classes page for more information.
Click Here to Sign up for Chef Silvia's Newsletter
|
|
