The Red Cat Cookbook: 125 Recipes from New York City's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant [Hardcover]

Jimmy Bradley (Author), Andrew Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 14, 2006

Jimmy Bradley’s inviting and spirited take on food comes alive every night at The Red Cat, a convivial American restaurant that has anchored New York City’s Chelsea district since 1999. As the New York Times put it, “It’s the exceedingly rare place where unabashedly hearty preparations and ingredients meet seasonal produce and whimsical flourishes, where comfort and classicism welcome innovation without letting it run roughshod.” Now you can enjoy the charm and the food of The Red Cat in your own kitchen, with Bradley’s straightforward, thoroughly satisfying, and fun-to-read first cookbook.

In Bradley’s cuisine, the Italian-American classics of his childhood meet sensible New England accents and the creative energy of Manhattan in dishes like a pristine sauté of zucchini and toasted almonds topped with salty Pecorino Romano cheese; a surprising—and surprisingly delicious—peach and pancetta risotto; or a lusty prime New York shell steak with Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, aïoli, and Cabernet. The techniques are basic, not fussy; the ingredients easy-to-find, not esoteric; the flavors bold, not flighty.

The Red Cat Cookbook is more than just a collection of fabulous recipes—it’s Bradley’s unique take on feeding loved ones and making guests feel at home, and it’s for everyone who wants home to be as warm and welcoming as The Red Cat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bradley, owner of Manhattan's Red Cat restaurant, provides a new twist on familiar dishes in this delightful collection. Compiled for home cooks, the book offers an unlikely synthesis of the Italian-American classics Bradley grew up on and the down-to-earth sensibility of his native New England. He tweaks the classics enough that they are fresh but still recognizable, offering simple, big-flavored dishes that can be prepared with relative ease, such as Osso Buco with Saffron Couscous and Escarole and New England Fish Chowder. Conventionally arranged, with starters, soups, pastas and risottos, main courses, vegetables, and desserts, recipes include headnotes that provide information about the dish, its backstory and tips for successful cooking. Bradley includes details on essential ingredients that he uses liberally: olive oil, lemons, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, olives, pepperoncini and red pepper flakes. He also advocates use of high-impact cooking techniques to enhance the ingredients' natural flavor and texture, such as the char of grilling or the crunch of frying. Notable recipes include Baked Fontina with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Thyme; Chicken, the Red Cat Way, with Lemon Sauce and Summer Vegetable Salad; Chanterelles with Capers; and Risotto Fritters. Recommended for all home cooks, this collection will add new life to much-loved but tired favorites. 65 color photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Residents of Manhattan's Chelsea District love the Red Cat, which serves up an idiosyncratic version of Italian American food. But the Red Cat attracts more than simply Chelsea's arty crowd, and people travel from all over the city to eat chef Bradley's cooking. Appetizers include simple green salads; a tart holding just caramelized onions, blue cheese, and fresh fig slices; and tempura-battered green beans. Split pea soup gets a final hit of fragrant rum. Pastas extend from cavatelli with veal cheeks to two risottos: one with mushrooms, raisins, and radicchio; another with peaches and pancetta. Bradley reimagines a classic Portuguese dish by preparing clams with a large patty of pork sausage. Osso buco pairs with saffron-infused Israeli couscous. Calf's liver gets a coating of crushed peppercorns and a glaze of balsamic vinegar, bacon, and garlic. Sweets feature different approaches to rice pudding: one with a hard sugar crust; another deep-fried. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400082811
• ISBN-13: 978-1400082810
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #633,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute delight! February 6, 2007

By Robyn Johnson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're not in the neighborhood to enjoy the gourmet meals at the Red Cat resaurant, this cookbook is the next best alternative. Beautiful photographs and fresh writing make it a joy to peruse. The directions are clear and encouraging to even a novice cook like me. This is the only cookbook I own that I actually read from cover to cover. Try the green beans tempura--you'll be hooked forever. And if you're in NYC, the Red Cat is worth going out of your way for.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Great Cookbook October 31, 2010

By The Art Farm

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I cook a lot. And I buy a lot of cook books. I bought this on a whim --never heard of the restaurant. This book is a great find. The first recipe I tried was the bucatini. I have now made this recipe four times in the past 6 weeks. Fantastic flavors, and textures. Easy to find ingredients. Easy to make. Just a nice, simple creative dish. And a nice departure from everyday pasta recipes. (Also lends itself to the simple addition of other ingredients, for a different take on the same theme). The dish got me thinking that I needed to spend more time with this book, to see what else it had to offer. I tried the white button mushrooms, with anchovy, brushed with olive oil for a quick vegetable side dish with a steak. This was a simple dish to make, using common ingredients. The result was a 10. Great flavor. Again, a bit different. Anchovy flavor disappeared in the recipe. I wound up with a wonderful roasted flavor -- in minutes. (Will be trying the related recipe for the potatoes with anchovy, garlic, and capers). After going through a variety of recipes, I have grown more and more appreciative of the recipes in this book. I keep getting great results, using readily available ingredients, and usually uncomplicated preparations. The results are always exponentially greater than the sum of the parts. I find myself asking, why didn't I think of doing that before. Then I try the recipe. This book contains one wow after another. Considering the current pricing on this book it is an absolute bargain. Also, I would recommend this for serious cooks, and foodies, as well as intermediates or below. I have no problem spending two days on a recipe if it is worth the results, and am always intrigued by exotic and complicated preparations. Here you will be reminded that some of the greatest recipes come from ingenious combinations, a good understanding of food, and careful, but uncomplicated preparation. Nice to hit a culinary home run without two days of work once in a while! I have now done quite a few recipes from this book. The book earned a solid 10, several recipes ago, and it still has my attention. I am really liking this book.

29 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 125 Recipies, But None that use Cats, Red or Otherwise December 4, 2006

By John Matlock

Format:Hardcover

My first thought on seeing this book was 'where ever can I find some red cats to cook?' But of course that's not what the book is about. It turns out that The Red Cat is a restaurant in Manhattan. Yet this is not a typical restaurant menu cookbook.

This is a cookbook that takes a lot of food tastes, primarily from the Eastern seaboard (think clam chowder), and Europe (think France, Italy, Germany) and presents them is a clear and easy to understand manner. Although it is not that big a book, it is abook that covers all aspects of a meal from finger foods at the start to home made ice creams at the end.

While a lot of the recipies have a down home simple aspect about them, many of them add higher end ingredients (lobster) and some very tasty sauces.