Chef on a Shoestring: More Than 120 Inexpensive Recipes for Great Meals from America's Best-Known Chefs

by Andrew Friedman, Rita Maas (Photographer)

Overview

You Don't Have to Break the Bank to Cook Restaurant-Quality Meals

Cooking great meals doesn't require spending a fortune on ingredients. Each week on the CBS Saturday Early Show, a prominent chef is given thirty dollars to create a three-course meal for four. Chef on a Shoestring collects some of the best of those culinary delights to benefit Share Our Strength, one of the nation's leading antihunger, antipoverty organizations. These recipes, created by some of the most celebrated chefs in the country, are produced on a budget but are rich in every other way.

The recipes are organized into convenient categories to allow you to mix and match various courses from different chefs. You can begin a meal with Sara Moulton's Miniature Pumpkin Soup, serve Bobby Flay's Saffron Risotto with Sautéed Shrimp as your main course, and finish with Don Pintabona's Polenta Lemon Cake with Fresh Berries. Or try the Asparagus and Bean Sprout Salad with Dill Pesto from Aquavit's Marcus Samuelsson, Crispy Fried Snapper with Chili Ponzu from Tom Douglas, and Coconut Rice Pudding with Fresh Mango from John Villa, chef of Dominic Restaurant & Social Club in New York City. These and other delectable recipes from Mario Batali, Terrance Brennan, and Waldy Malouf are sure to liven up your weekday or weekend dinners.

Filled with advice on stocking your pantry, buying in season, shopping on a budget, and avoiding the temptation to be too frugal, Chef on a Shoestring is a unique culinary adventure for taste- and budget-conscious home cooks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780743211437
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	05/07/2004
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Andrew Friedman has made a career of getting to know the heads and hearts of professional cooks and athletes. For more than ten years, Friedman has collaborated with many of the nation’s best and most revered chefs on cookbooks and other writing projects. His writing career began in 1997, when Alfred Portale asked him to collaborate on the Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook. The book received wide acclaim, and since then, Friedman has worked as a cookbook collaborator on more than twenty projects, helping a number of the nation’s best chefs (Alfred Portale, David Waltuck, Tom Valenti, and many others) share their unique culinary viewpoints with readers. As coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Breaking Back, the memoir of American tennis star James Blake, Friedman took readers inside an athlete’s mind during training and competition, and he does the same as a frequent contributor to Tennis magazine. In Knives at Dawn: The American Team and the Bocuse d’Or 2009, Friedman combines these two personal passions to tell the story of the premier cooking competition in the world. Friedman has contributed articles to Oprah Daily and other publications and websites. He has been profiled in The New York Daily News and New York Magazine, and interviewed for, or featured in articles in, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as on NPR’s Taste of the Nation and WOR Radio’s Food Talk. He holds a BA in English from Columbia University and is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute’s “La Technique” cooking program. He lives in New York City with his family.

Read an Excerpt

Foreword

In the hours before sunrise on Saturday mornings, midtown Manhattan is a dark and desolate place. If you walked the streets at 5 A.M., you might wonder whether New York really deserved the nickname "the city that never sleeps." But there are signs of life even in these wee hours — a few errant cab drivers, deli-counter people, regally attired doormen, and the crew of the CBS News program that I've been producing since 1997.

All television shows evolve over the years and ours is no exception; we've even changed the title from the original CBS News Saturday Morning to The Saturday Early Show. But there's one component of the program that's been a constant since the first morning we took to the airwaves — the weekly segment called "Chef on a Shoestring" on which we invite a well-known restaurant chef or food personality to prepare a three-course meal for four on a budget of just $20.

The concept for Chef on a Shoestring grew organically from our formative days of a show on a shoestring; when the broadcast was first conceived, we were short on money, personnel, and time. It seems amazing in hindsight, but we had just two and one-half months to pull the whole thing together.

Cooking segments are an unofficial prerequisite for weekend morning shows, and when it came time to devise ours, I found myself taking a self-pitying view of my own understaffed and time-starved circumstances. But then a delicious idea hit me — put a chef in similar straits and see what happens. "Chef on a Shoestring," I whispered to myself, and the segment was on its way.

Of course, I didn't want just any chefs. I wanted the best chefs the city — and the country — had to offer. And their response was gratifying. Most of the chefs have appeared on other shows and in numerous print articles and, of course, they create food in the country's best restaurants. But this was a new challenge for them — one as it turned out they were eager to meet.

At our next staff meeting, I ran the "Chef on a Shoestring" concept by the staff hoping that a producer would want to take it on. A young associate named Kelly Buzby modestly offered to "give it a shot." Well, her first shot ended up setting the tone for what today, three years later, remains the model every Saturday segment. For our fast-approaching first week, Kelly lined up Michael Lomonaco, who ran the kitchen at the '21' Club and now has a show (Epicurious) on the Discovery Channel and is at Windows on the World. This was the first real test. We gave Michael just $20 and sent him to the Union Square Greenmarket to purchase the ingredients as our camera watched. This shopping trip became the signature opening of "Chef on a Shoestring." (I have to point out that the segment is currently produced by the equally talented Jee Park.)

For our debut on September 13, 1997, Michael demonstrated how to make Tomato and Basil Salad and Chicken Fricassee; he served apples and cheese for dessert. At the end of the show, our cohost Russ Mitchell invited viewers to write in for the recipe. The following week, we got our first inkling of how popular this segment would be as bag after bag of mail came pouring in. Our staff and interns gradually worked their way through the piles, sending printed recipes to viewers around the country. It was a phenomenon that grew every week, and continues to grow today. Eventually we began posting the recipes on our Web site, but — even though we get 20,000 hits per week — the letters continue to pour in. And we love it.

The "Chef on a Shoestring" TV segment reflects the times in which we live and, by extension, the times in which we cook. Though the economy (at least at the time of this writing) is booming, I still think that people generally feel on the losing end of things. We all seem to have less and less free time, and sometimes we feel we're getting less for our money, whether it's in diminished service or the quantity and quality of the goods we buy. When the chef of an upscale restaurant shows up on our program, shopping in a regular supermarket or grocery store and then preparing uncommonly accessible recipes, it offers a very comforting and affordable view of the world and delivers something that is too often lacking in our lives today: value.

Thanks to this segment, we've been privileged to meet and work with some of the most respected chefs in the country. They have graciously donated their time, creativity, and personality to our show. The budget may be on a shoestring, but our chefs have done everything to ensure that the recipes in this book are rich in every other way.

Hal Gessner
Executive Producer
The Saturday Early Show

April 2000, New York City

Copyright © 2001 by CBS Worldwide

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword

A Message from Share Our Strength

Introduction

How to Use This Book

FINGER FOODS AND SMALL PLATES

Mario Batali's Mushroom and White Bean Bruschetta ~ Walter Staib's Salmon Corn Cake ~ Eric Ripert's Stuffed Tomatoes ~ Amanda Hesser's Creamy Leeks and Tarragon on Toast ~ John Schenk's Buffalo Chicken Wings ~ John Schenk's Clementine Cheese Fondue with Toasted Baguette ~ Don Pintabona's Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs with Smoked Mozzarella ~ Don Pintabona's Caramelized Onion, Gorgonzola, and Rosemary Pizza ~ Erica Miller's Tuna Carpaccio ~ Richard Sandoval's Mahi Mahi Ceviche ~ Richard Krause's Grilled Mozzarella and Tomato ~ Mario Batali's Marinated Roasted Peppers with Goat Cheese, Olives, and Fett'unta ~ Jeanette Maier's Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms ~ Peter Kelly's Roasted Onion with Bacon and Apple Stuffing ~ Thomas Salamunovich's Smoked Salmon with Crisp Onion Rings, Grilled Asparagus, and Pea Shoots ~ Alfred Portale's Creamy Polenta with Cremini Mushrooms ~ Sara Moulton's Quiche Lorriane

SALADS

Erik Blauberg's Baby Arugula Greens with Watermelon Croutons and Caesar Dressing ~ John Schenk's Classic Ceasar Salad ~ Aaron Bashy's Braised Leek Salad ~ Walter Staib's Cucumber and Cream Salad ~ Bill Wavrin's Spinach and Red Onion Salad ~ Ira Freehof's Hearts of Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing ~ John Villa's Boston Lettuce Salad with Green Beans and Lemongrass Dressing ~ Nick Stellino's Mushroom Salad ~ Marcus Samuelsson's Asparagus and Bean Sprout Salad with Dill Pesto ~ Michael Romano's Warm Shrimp and Bean Salad with Arugula ~ Kerry Hefffernan's Roasted Root Vegetable Salad ~ Walter Staib's Curried French Lentil Salad and Sage Sausage ~ Terrance Brennan's Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula and Aged Goat Cheese ~ Terrance Brennan's Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

SOUPS AND STEWS

Jim Coleman's Chicken Pot Pie ~ John Doherty's Fresh Pea Soup with Brook Trout Goujonettes and Parsley Salad ~ Rick Moonene's Gazpacho ~ Roe Di Bona and Sue Torres' Chilld Avocado and Grapefruit Soup with Chipotle Chili Purée ~ Pilan Sanchez's Potato and Garlic Soup ~ Mike Smith's Corn and Potato Chowder ~ Richard Vellante's Caldo Verde ~ Eric Ripert's Onion Soup ~ Jane and Michael Stern's Cincinnati Five-Way Chili ~ Sara Moulton's Miniature Pumpkin Soup with Ginger and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds ~ David Amorelli's White Bean and Sausage Stew ~ Waldy Malouf's Turkey Noodle Soup

PASTA AND RISOTTO

Michael Lomonaco's Basic Pasta Dough ~ Mario Batali's Basic Pasta Sauce ~ Michael Lomonaco's Fresh Homemade Pasta with Wild Mushrooms ~ Mario Batali's Zitia al Tellfono ~ Eric Ripert's Steamed Mussels with Linguine ~ Alfonso Contrisciani's Sweet Potato Gnocchi ~ Bobby Flay's Saffron with Sautéed Shrimp ~ Nick Stellino's Pasta all'Arrabbiata ~ Nick Stellino's Pasta with White Mushrooms ~ Rick Moonen's Orecchiette with Cockles and Sweet Grape Tomatoes ~ Mike Smith's Lobster and Squash Risotto

VEGETARIAN MAIN COURSES

Michael Romano's Eggplant Parmigiana ~ Bill Wavrin's Mushroom Potato Burgers ~ Jeanette Maier's Hearty Root Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Three Herbs ~ Brian Whitmer's Baked Polenta with Rosemary Roasted Portobello Mushrooms and Winter Tomato Sauce ~ David Walzog's Black Bean Casserole ~ David Walzog's Asparagus and Cremini Mushroom Barley "Risotto"

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Amanda Hesser's Mussels with Garlic and Fresh Herbs ~ Erik Blauberg's Spanish Mackerel with Sautéed Potatoes, Cremini Mushrooms, and Spicy Tomatoes ~ Eric Ripert's Shrimp Tabbouleh ~ Alfred Portale's Cod with Brussels Spourts, Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Onions ~ Rick Moonen's Salmon Burgers with Green Tartar Sauce ~ Paul Opitz's Bay Scallops and Crab Meat à la Chesapeake ~ Michael Lomonaco's Pan-Roasted Halibut with Spring Vegetables ~ David Reardon's Pan-Seared Scallops and Oyster Mushroom Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro Ginger Vinaigrette ~ Henry Meer's Brook Trout Steamed with Vegetables ~ Tom Douglas's Crispy Fried Snapper with Chili Ponzu ~ Marcus Samuelsson's Horseradish-Baked Salmon with Carrot-Ginger Broth and Mussels ~ Richard Vellante's Polenta-Crusted Salmon with Fall Vegetables and Chestnuts ~ Kerry Heffernan's Skate with Sautéed Beet Greens and Boiled Potatoes ~ Joseph Tucker's Tuna Sambuca ~ Jamie Shannon's Crawfish Boil

POULTRY

Jim Botsasco's Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken ~ Joseph T. Bonanno, Jr.'s Grilled Stuffed Chicken ~ Michael Lomonaco's Chicken Fricassee ~ Lou Puiggi's Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Couscous ~ Scott Campbell's Stuffed Chicken Legs with Mushroom Stuffing ~ Terrance Brennan's Chicken Piccata with Cauliflower, Capers, Sage, and Orange ~ Charlie Palmer's Seared Chicken Breast with Red Onion Vinaigrette ~ The American Heart Association's Spicy Grilled Chicken ~ Waldy Malouf's Cold Herbed Roast Chicken with Marinated Japanese Pear Tomatoes ~ Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breast with Mushroom Sauce ~ John Doherty's Roast Breast and Braised Leg of Chicken with Olive and Lemon Potatoes and String Beans ~ Alfonso Contrisciani's Pepper-Crusted Turkey "London Broil" with Mushroom Confit ~ Ray Arpke's Turkey Breast Scaloppine with Mushrooms and Mustard Butter Sauce

MEATS

Ertik Blauberg's "Blau-burger" ~ Michael Lomonaco's Chile-Rubbed Beef Pot Roast ~ Thomas Salamunovich's Lamb with Slow-Roasted Vegetables ~ Jim Villa's Thai Pork "Dumplings" ~ Matthew Lake's Grilled Pork Chop with Black Bean Salsa, Grilled Sweet Potatoes, and Roasted Corn ~ Matt Reichel's Berghoff's Pepper Steak ~ Ira Freehof's Meatloaf ~ Michael Lomonaco's Marinated and Grilled Pork Medallions ~ John Schenk's Chili Rubbed London Broil with Barbecued Onions ~ Mario Batali's Pork Scaloppine ~ Aaron Bashy's Pork Spareribs with Polenta ~ Peter Kelly's Roasted Rack of Pork, Butternut Squash Purée, and Julienned Apples ~ Linda West Eckhardt's Beef and Tomato Stif-Fry with Whiskey and Black Bean Sauce

SIDES

Michael Lomonaco's Quince Fruit Mustard ~ Jane and Michael Stern's Coleslaw ~ Jeanette Maier's Sautéed Red Russian Kale ~ Michael Lomonaco's Mustard and Mint Beet Salad ~ Erik Blauberg's Picked Vegetables ~ Ira Freehof's Shredded Zucchini ~ Ira Freehof's Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes ~ Richard Sandoval's Roasted Poblanos ~ John Schenk's Barbecued Onions ~ John Schenk's Yukon Gold Potato and Horseradish Salad

DESSERTS

Mario Batali's Peaches with Balsamic Vinegar and Black Pepper ~ Ray Arpke's Poached Pears with Raspeberry Sauce and Soft-Peaked Cream ~ Matt Reichel's Apple Strudel ~ Mathew Tivy's Warm Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumb Topping ~ John Doherty's Irish Tiramisù ~ Don Pintabona's Polenta Lemon Cake with Fresh Berries ~ Michael Romano's Panna Cotta ~ Alex Garcia's Dulce de Leche ~ Ira Freehof's Strawberry Shortcake ~ John Villa's Coconut Rice Pudding with Fresh Mango ~ Matthew Lake's Pineapple Brown Betty ~ Erica Miller's Chocolate Banana Terrine ~ John Doherty's Warm Chocolate Cherry Crumble ~ Michael Lomonaco's Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Brownie Torte ~ Robert Bruce's Un Deux Trois Quatre Cake ~ Waldy Malouf's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Foreword

Foreword

In the hours before sunrise on Saturday mornings, midtown Manhattan is a dark and desolate place. If you walked the streets at 5 A.M., you might wonder whether New York really deserved the nickname "the city that never sleeps." But there are signs of life even in these wee hours -- a few errant cab drivers, deli-counter people, regally attired doormen, and the crew of the CBS News program that I've been producing since 1997.

All television shows evolve over the years and ours is no exception; we've even changed the title from the original CBS News Saturday Morning to The Saturday Early Show. But there's one component of the program that's been a constant since the first morning we took to the airwaves -- the weekly segment called "Chef on a Shoestring" on which we invite a well-known restaurant chef or food personality to prepare a three-course meal for four on a budget of just $20.

The concept for Chef on a Shoestring grew organically from our formative days of a show on a shoestring; when the broadcast was first conceived, we were short on money, personnel, and time. It seems amazing in hindsight, but we had just two and one-half months to pull the whole thing together.

Cooking segments are an unofficial prerequisite for weekend morning shows, and when it came time to devise ours, I found myself taking a self-pitying view of my own understaffed and time-starved circumstances. But then a delicious idea hit me -- put a chef in similar straits and see what happens. "Chef on a Shoestring," I whispered to myself, and the segment was on its way.

Of course, I didn't want just any chefs. I wanted the best chefs the city -- and the country -- had to offer. And their response was gratifying. Most of the chefs have appeared on other shows and in numerous print articles and, of course, they create food in the country's best restaurants. But this was a new challenge for them -- one as it turned out they were eager to meet.

At our next staff meeting, I ran the "Chef on a Shoestring" concept by the staff hoping that a producer would want to take it on. A young associate named Kelly Buzby modestly offered to "give it a shot." Well, her first shot ended up setting the tone for what today, three years later, remains the model every Saturday segment. For our fast-approaching first week, Kelly lined up Michael Lomonaco, who ran the kitchen at the '21' Club and now has a show (Epicurious) on the Discovery Channel and is at Windows on the World. This was the first real test. We gave Michael just $20 and sent him to the Union Square Greenmarket to purchase the ingredients as our camera watched. This shopping trip became the signature opening of "Chef on a Shoestring." (I have to point out that the segment is currently produced by the equally talented Jee Park.)

For our debut on September 13, 1997, Michael demonstrated how to make Tomato and Basil Salad and Chicken Fricassee; he served apples and cheese for dessert. At the end of the show, our cohost Russ Mitchell invited viewers to write in for the recipe. The following week, we got our first inkling of how popular this segment would be as bag after bag of mail came pouring in. Our staff and interns gradually worked their way through the piles, sending printed recipes to viewers around the country. It was a phenomenon that grew every week, and continues to grow today. Eventually we began posting the recipes on our Web site, but -- even though we get 20,000 hits per week -- the letters continue to pour in. And we love it.

The "Chef on a Shoestring" TV segment reflects the times in which we live and, by extension, the times in which we cook. Though the economy (at least at the time of this writing) is booming, I still think that people generally feel on the losing end of things. We all seem to have less and less free time, and sometimes we feel we're getting less for our money, whether it's in diminished service or the quantity and quality of the goods we buy. When the chef of an upscale restaurant shows up on our program, shopping in a regular supermarket or grocery store and then preparing uncommonly accessible recipes, it offers a very comforting and affordable view of the world and delivers something that is too often lacking in our lives today: value.

Thanks to this segment, we've been privileged to meet and work with some of the most respected chefs in the country. They have graciously donated their time, creativity, and personality to our show. The budget may be on a shoestring, but our chefs have done everything to ensure that the recipes in this book are rich in every other way.

Hal Gessner
Executive Producer
The Saturday Early Show

April 2000, New York City

Editorial Reviews

This book provides good recipes from Mario Batali, Eric Ripert, Alfred Portale and many others, along with canny advice on how to feed three courses to four people for under $30. Another reason to feel good: royalties go to the anti-hunger charity Share Our Strength.
— The New York Times

Dwight Garner

"Chef on a Shoestring" is one of the most popular segments on CBS's Saturday Early Show. It features a well-known chef (generally but not exclusively from New York City), who is given $20 to buy all the necessary ingredients and then prepares a three-course meal for a family of four. Here, favorite recipes from the show are organized by courses of the meal, which makes the book easy to use, but it would be interesting to see how the dishes balanced each other in the specific menu (i.e., a few seem like "splurges" and must have been balanced by other courses that cost very little). Expect demand. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal