In the Hands of A Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant

by Jody Adams, Ken Rivard

How do great chefs make their food taste better? Is it the ingredients they use? Their cooking techniques and equipment? That's part of the answer. But the real secret is that truly great chefs follow their instincts -- the kitchens in their heads. Now, in her first cookbook, Jody Adams, the award-winning chef/co-owner of Boston's Rialto, teaches you how to follow your own instincts and make the transition from passionate eater to passionate cook. In the Hands of a Chef shares Jody's favorite dishes, those she prepares for family and friends in her home kitchen. By teaching the basics of artisanal cooking, or making good food from scratch, she gives cooks a solid foundation for cooking like a chef. She tells readers what to look for when buying ingredients, what equipment is essential, and how a dish should look and taste while being prepared. Above all, Jody encourages readers to trust their instincts and follow them to create a cooking style that feels right, using recipes as the building blocks for their own creations. From starters, seasonal soups, salads, and main courses to desserts, Jody reinvents Mediterranean foods using unconventional ingredients, many from New England. For a boost of summer flavor, grilled tomatoes add depth to gazpacho. To vary the flavor of simple salads -- from a Minted Romaine Salad with Grapes, Ricotta Salata, and Toasted Almonds to Arugula and Portobella Mushroom Salad-one or two seasonal ingredients are added to the usual recipes. Drawing inspiration from Italian tradition, Jody offers up innovative pasta and grains dishes. Ravioli, pappardelle, gnocchi, and linguine are served up with Mediterranean flavors and ingredients -- tomatoes, olives, figs, chestnuts, fresh greens, wild mushrooms, Parmesan cheese -- for home-style meals any time of the year. Yet much of Jody's cooking is pure American in flavor. Dessert classics are reinvented with new twists, such as Super-Creamy Rice Pudding with Passion Fruit Sauce and Heather's Cranberry Chocolate Pecan Tart. Here, too, are Jody's signature dishes, including Roasted Marinated Long Island Duck with Green Olive and Balsamic Vinegar Sauce and Soupe de Poisson, which Jacques Pépin calls the best version outside of France. Intended to make you wish you had more time to spend in the kitchen, In the Hands of a Chef is an inspiration as well as an essential resource for every cook. Why be just a good cook when you can be a great one? Put yourself in the hands of Jody Adams with In the Hands of a Chef.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Ebooks

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Valentin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazon.com Review

Jody Adams, the award-winning chef-owner of Boston's Rialto restaurant, believes that anyone who loves to eat can cook delicious food. Her In the Hands of a Chef bolsters the claim with recipes that help readers follow their instincts to produce great dishes. This is restaurant food that's also approachable by home cooks; the 200-plus recipes, derived from classic European regional cooking but featuring ingredients indigenous to America, should provide pleasure to those who make and enjoy them.

Beginning with chapters devoted to "starters and small bites," soups, salads, and sides, the book then gets down to basics with seafood, poultry, and meat fare, including game. Standout recipes among these include Chilled Smooth Corn Soup with Tomatoes, Avocado, and Lime; Pan-Roasted Salmon with Warm Cucumber Salad; and Braised Chicken Thighs with Ancho Peppers and Andouille Sausage. Chapters devoted to pasta and polenta feature dishes such as Linguine with Salsa Cruda and Semolina Gnocchi with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce and Roasted Marrowbones. The chapter "A Mile in a Chef's Shoes" includes her most beloved dishes, such as Roasted Marinated Long Island Duck with Green Olive and Balsamic Vinegar Sauce. There are also formulas for sweets, such as Lemon-Almond Butter Cake and Heather's Cranberry Chocolate Pecan Tart--"ease of preparation" desserts more typical of the savory cooks than of pastry chefs, Adams notes. This is a delightful collection, full of heart as well as good taste. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Adams, chef at Boston's acclaimed restaurant Rialto, identifies two popular cookbook approaches easy and elaborate and calls for a third: "artisanal home food." As lovely as this sounds, this book also falls under the heading of complicated. However, Rialto's fans will cheer at the chapter of signature recipes like Soupe de Poisson and Roasted Marinated Long Island Duck with Green Olive and Balsamic Vinegar Sauce. Smoked Salmon Rolls with Arugula, Mascarpone, Chives and Capers and sophisticated entries like Grilled Bluefish with Pomegranate Glaze and Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce are perfect for dinner parties. Terrific sides like Beet and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Grilled Fresh Figs double as light lunches. Helpful sidebars explain, for example, how not to overcook pork, but instructions on "How to Break Down a Duck" are confusing. Recipe titles read like advanced Tai Chi maneuvers: Acquacotta Porcini Broth with Soft Polenta, Taleggio, and a Poached Egg... and truffle oil, if the authors hadn't run out of space. There are some exceptions to the elaborate rule, such as Roasted Tomato and Farro Soup, Oliver's Chicken Stew and Orzo in Chicken Broth with Many Greens and Asiago. The pasta chapter includes homemade pastas, and a pizza chapter with fairly simple recipes, but the book gets its mileage out of more elaborate dishes like Fried Rabbit in Hazelnut Crumbs with Peaches and Braised Oxtails with White Beans. In the end, the recipes are clearly written and certainly delectable. Illus. not seen by PW. (Jan.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some nice cooking tips & hints however, I thought the recipes a little too complex for someone like me. I am an experienced home cook with moderate to above average skills but in today's economy, any recipes that call for more than seven different ingredients gets a bit too much for an average nights dinner. To a restaurant chef, what I would consider to be special purchase ingredients, are things always at hand.
A nice effort but perhaps not for busy moms trying to feed the family on a budget.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most interesting cookbooks I own--the recipes are unusual and seldom disappoint. I'm vaguely aware that Adams is something of a celebrity in her hometown (Boston); based on this book, that seems deserved. I seldom make desserts, but when I do, they are usually from this book.

[Jennifer Pyclik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook has a number of interesting recipes, but the level of difficulty is pretty intense!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have perused it, but have not yet had the chance to cook any of the recipes. May change my rating and review when I have!!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually read this as an ebook