Sunday, May 22 – 6:00pm

For our next adventure we decided on Tom Colicchio’s Think Like a Chef. You might know Colicchio as the head judge on TV show Top Chef. It turns out, this is one of Sheana’s favorite cookbooks. “It’s basically the cookbook that turned me on to cooking. It taught me how to braise, roast, emulsify and more.” It reads a bit more like a story than just a collection of recipes. Colicchio imparts how chefs think about seasonality of ingredients and flavor combinations. One of the unique things about his cookbook is the section called Trilogies, where he chooses 3 ingredients and then includes recipes for several different dishes that can be made with those same 3 ingredients.

But cooks beware! He is also a chef that loves to build on recipes throughout the book. So the dish you end up picking may really include three equally complicated recipes, each requiring an hour or two! Sheana has made this mistake in the past (nothing like frantically cooking a roasted tomato tart hours before your own birthday party!), but forgot to warn the others.

RSVPs were thin again. This was another modest group of 4 people, which might have seemed like an indication that our little club was dead in the water. However while it was a small group, it did consist entirely of repeat members, so we chose to interpret that to mean we might have the start of a group of regulars who would form the core of our club. And with fewer people – there are more leftovers to go around! Another learning – have people bring containers to take food home at the end of the event. Since we didn’t plan that ahead, Sheana was nice enough to supply some Ziploc bags. Here’s what was in those bags…

The Menu

Eggplant Caviar – Alana

Alana: I made Eggplant Caviar. Don’t be fooled – there’s no caviar in this dish. It’s eggplant, red peppers, and shiitake mushrooms. There was no picture in the book, so I didn’t have any way to tell if I did it right, but it tasted good. I can’t take credit for the bread – it was sourdough from the Homeboy Industries Bakery.

Sheana: I’m not a huge fan of eggplant, but this was good! I could easily pile this on a baguette for breakfast or a mid-day snack.

Roasted Tomato Risotto – Alyssa

Alana: Alyssa made Roasted Tomato Risotto. She added extra roasted tomatoes to make the beautiful presentation you see pictured. The flavor wasn’t as robust as I was expecting. Adding grated cheese enhanced the flavors, and I think it could have used even more tomatoes.

Sheana: Agreed! I felt like the recipe could have doubled the tomatoes and included a saltier cheese.

Polenta Gratin with Mushroom Bolognese – Sheana

Alana: Sheana made Polenta Gratin with Mushroom Bolognese. Tasty, but not as hearty of a mushroom flavor as we were hoping for.

Sheana: I had some shopping issues! I wasn’t able to find cornmeal. So I had to use pre-made polenta which messed with the consistency. For the bolognese I used blue and yellow oyster mushrooms and shiitakes from the farmers market. Not nearly the hearty flavor I had hoped for! I would try adding some portabellas to the mix in the future. I also used store bought stock instead of homemade, which I think hurt this dish.

Braised Fresh Bacon – Robert

Alana: Robert made Braised Fresh Bacon. It’s pork belly that is seared, then braised. Of course it was good, especially the fatty pieces which stayed the moistest – fat is flavor!

Sheana: Duh, braised pork belly always wins! My husband had recently gone vegetarian, so I found this dish especially delightful.

The Verdict

Think Like a Chef is filled with good food, but be careful when planning to make a dish from this cookbook – you have to pay attention because what might at first glance appear to be a fairly simple recipe often calls for the use of other recipes. So they can be more time-consuming than they may at first appear to be. My takeaway – while I may not be quite ready to think like a chef every day, I’ll definitely be keeping this one on the shelf for those occasions when I’m feeling more ambitious or need to impress. Sheana is keeping it on her list of greatest hits, with warnings noted.

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