Charlie Palmer's Casual Cooking: The Chef of New York's Aureole Restaurant Cooks for Family and Friends [Hardcover]

Charlie Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

What does Aureole's award-winning chef whip up for his family and friends when he has to do all the shopping and cooking just like the rest of us? Food that's easy, delicious, and casual.

Charlie Palmer shows how to make comfort foods that are comfortable, but with a new level of taste and sophistication.Sunday supper suddenly becomes sensational. And those quick mid-week meals are still quick to prepare; they just don't taste that way. Corn chowder is heartier, more intense. Traditional tuna melts become untraditional with fresh tuna, tapenade, and Fontina. That childhood favorite, Waldorf salad becomes a modern classic with apple cider, walnut oil, and a pinch of curry powder.

Baked Lemon Chicken with a pile of garlic bread, a bowl of cheesy orzo or rice and a big salad of romaine will become a Saturday night favorite, just as it is in Charlie's house. Turn Sunday's leftover Perfect Roast Chicken into Monday's Chicken Noodle Soup or Aioli Chicken Salad.

When company comes calling and you're looking for something a bit more sophisticated, try Charlie's Whole Roasted Salmon with New Potatoes and Leeks and Baked Wild Mushroom Salad or Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes, Lentils and Olives. Or, if you want to treat company just like family, feed them Charlie's Mom's Barbecued Chicken, Perfect Pot Roast or a heaping platter of Linguini with Eggplant Ragu.

And what about desserts? Charlie has something to bring out the kid in everyone. Try his Brownie-Ice Cream Sandwiches or Apple Pizza with Cider Sorbet. His Pumpkin Custard is so easy and versatile, it can be baked family-style in one large dish or in individual souffle cups when company is expected. Serve the custard with a plate of Ginger Cookies.

So what does one of New York's most celebrated chefs cook for his family and friends? Exactly what you can cook for yours with Charlie Palmer's Casual Cooking.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Charlie Palmer may be most famous for the sumptuous meals he plans and prepares at Manhattan's Aureole and his other restaurants, and for the James Beard awards that he has won, but what does he make at home for his wife and four young boys? As anyone with children knows, kitchen time needs to be relaxed and flexible, ingredients must be easy to find, and one must always be aware of finicky eaters. By updating his most memorable childhood meals, and borrowing from those comfortable dishes to make almost any dish "comfort food," Palmer offers solution after solution without having to go to any extra trouble to make "special" meals for pintsize picky eaters.

Palmer is "crazy about deep, rich flavors," and he offers such satisfying dishes as Baked Lemon Chicken, which he recommends serving with lots of warm garlic bread with which to sop up the cooking juices, and Chicken Fricasee with Dumplings, a real old-fashioned, stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish that appeals to the child in everyone. He likes the "clean, clearly defined taste of a simple grill or roast," and shares recipes including Flank Steak with Grilled Vegetables and Perfect Roast Chicken.

For those who want to be inspired by Palmer's European style, there are wonderful savory dishes to learn from, such as Pappardelle with Rabbit Sauce, Grilled Asparagus and Spring Onions with Mustard Vinaigrette, and a wonderfully soothing and comfortable Winter-Vegetable Shepherd's Pie. Palmer's Super Macaroni and Cheese is well flavored with white wine and three cheeses; you'll fight your kids for the last luscious serving.

Because he is, after all, Charlie Palmer, even his casual cooking is perfect for entertaining. Roasted Wild Mushroom Salad, Saffron-Mussel Soup with Fennel, The Best Butternut Squash Soup, and Whole Roasted Salmon with New Potatoes and Leeks become manageable with Palmer's clear, easy-to-follow instructions. His lists of ingredients are remarkably concise, and the vast majority can be found on any supermarket shelf. And with desserts as old fashioned as Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, and Fresh Fruit Cobbler, and as newfangled as Brioche Bread Pudding and Oven-Roasted Fruit with Caramel Sauce, this book has everything you need to make your family and friends happy, without getting too elaborate nor taking time away from those you love the most. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly

Chef at several chic New York restaurants, including the highly-rated Aureole, Palmer (Great American Food) adds a most relaxed cookbook to the new niche of easy recipes by top professionals. As Palmer points out, when he cooks at home, he doesn't have a prep staff either, so for inspiration he recalls many of the meals his mother used to make and adds an updated twist with his passion for fresh seasonal ingredients. Decidedly unpretentious, the fare features such perennial favorites as Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup and Great Burgers on the GrillDwhich one can make more dazzling with minced red onion and fresh herbs. In Tuna MeltsDMy Way, Palmer calls for seared tuna steaks on sourdough toast slathered with tapenade and topped with Fontina cheese, and Perfect Roast Chicken (thoroughly rubbed with lemon juice) sounds irresistibly savory. Readers will be thrilled to find that Breast of Duck with Citrus Sauce and Mixed Fruit Chutney is deemed more demanding simply because extra prep time is required. For an informal brunch, Palmer offers Mile-High Shrimp Sandwiches glistening with Blue Cheese Dressing. Desserts are as comforting as Fresh Fruit Cobbler and as clever as Apple "Pizza" with Cider Sorbet. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688178731
• ISBN-13: 978-0688178734
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,317,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun and easy, July 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Charlie Palmer's Casual Cooking: The Chef of New York's Aureole Restaurant Cooks for Family and Friends (Hardcover)

I love this cookbook! A friend gave me this book last winter nad I have found great recipes for every season. Everything has turned out beautifully. My favorites are the salad with oven dried pears and the soft shelled crabs--it gives great advice too--like dredging with Wondra flour instead of regular flour--what a difference something so minor can make in a dish!