Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy

by Irvine, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780061237898
• ISBN10: 0061237892
• Format: Hardcover
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

The star of Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, Chef Robert Irvine shares the adventurous story of his life, his thoughts on cooking, and his favorite recipes There are few chefs on the planet who do what Irvine does, flying around the world at a moment's notice to cook for heads of state, royalty, and celebrities. Irvine reveals his fascinating past and unorthodox culinary training. His career as a world-renowned chef began at the age of fifteen when he was discovered by Prince Charles while cooking in the mess halls of the British Royal Navy. In Mission: Cook! Irvine tells the wild stories of his career, from studying under the best European chefs to cooking for three thousand refugees on a beach while civil war raged in South Yemen to preparing an Oscars feast while coordinating the biggest chefs in the business. Sprinkled throughout are Irvine's most incredible recipes from his travels around the world, including Roasted Duck with White Bean Ragout, Truffle Oil, and Shaved Parmesan Cheese; Tea-Smoked Chicken; Lobster Risotto with Clams; and his ethereal Windsor Angel Food Cake. Easy to prepare and deliciously satisfying, these are dishes that everyone will savor. Irvine's candid stories and behind-the-scenes look at the creation of his Food Network TV show Dinner: Impossible prove that the life of a celebrity chef is anything but ordinary. As is Mission: Cook!-a unique and fascinating look into the mind and life of one of the world's hottest chefs.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. vii
Amuse-Gueule, Times Two	p. 1
Sunday Roasts and the White Rabbit	p. 49
A Course in Pleasure	p. 77
The Altar of Flavor	p. 109
Point and Counterpoint	p. 161
The French Godfathers	p. 187
I'm Passionate About Passion	p. 219
Style and Substance	p. 247
Coda: Is This Dinner...Impossible?	p. 277
Afterword	p. 289
Acknowledgments	p. 291
Index	p. 293
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Mission: Cook!
My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy

Maryland Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa

Makes 4 crab cakes

Attention crab cake aficionados! You can make your own, and they will be as good or better than those you’ve eaten in your search for the perfect crab cake. The finish on this mango salsa is a treat for your taste buds.

Ingredients:

For the Mango Salsa

1 mango, diced small
2 teaspoons diced red onion
2 teaspoons diced red bell pepper
2 teaspoons diced green bell pepper
1 teaspoon chopped chives (save 8 strands or so for plating)
Juice of 1 lemon
1½ teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Crab Cakes

2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
2 egg yolks
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (no crust)
Canola oil, for browning
4 lemon wedges

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine all the salsa ingredients and let the salsa sit in the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together all the crab cake ingredients except the crabmeat and bread crumbs, then add the crabmeat and the crumbs. Try not to break down the lump crabmeat; leave it in chunks. Form the crab mixture into 3½- to 4-ounce cakes. Place a sauté pan on the stove to get hot and pour 2 to 3 ounces canola oil in the pan. Place the crab cakes into the pan; brown on both sides, turning carefully. Transfer the crab cakes to a cookie sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Presentation

Place a crab cake in the center of each plate. Top with a lemon wedge. The mango salsa should be spooned to one side of the plate, with two strands of whole chives on the other side.

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Pan-Roasted Wild Striped Bass with Roasted Tomato and Broccoli Rabe Medley

Serves 8

Bitter, salty, sour, and sweet tastes are all well represented here by the harmonic blending of broccoli rabe, fish, tomatoes roasted again in the oven, and honey.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed separately)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons honey
¼ stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
8 Roma plum tomatoes
4 bunches broccoli rabe
2 carrots, cut into julienne strips
2 yellow squash, cut into julienne strips
Eight 5- to 6-ounce striped bass fillets, skin on

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the olive oil, the juice of one of the lemons, the salt, white pepper, honey, and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a bowl, and add the tomatoes, broccoli rabe, carrots, and yellow squash, coating them well with the oil mixture.

Roast the vegetables on a baking sheet until tender.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan and sear the fish, beginning with skin side down, leaving undisturbed for 2 or 3 minutes, until crispy brown. Turn over and sear the other side of the fish the same way. Cook completely, but do not overcook. (The fish is done when the flesh springs back.) Remove the fish, and let it rest.

Place the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the juice of the other lemon into the pan, and swirl together to create a butter sauce.

Presentation

Place the vegetable medley on a platter. Arrange the fish on top. Spoon the butter sauce on the fish and medley and serve.

Mission: Cook!
My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy. Copyright © by Robert Irvine. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy by Robert Irvine
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.