Gale Gand's Lunch! - Hardcover

Gand, Gale; Matheson, Christie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 054422650X ISBN 13: 9780544226500

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014

Synopsis

It’s time for a lunch revolution. Lunchtime doesn’t need to be about hurrying through an assortment of processed products. The midday meal is a fabulous opportunity to enjoy delicious ingredients and flavor-packed dishes and to slow down while you eat (even if just for a few moments). Acclaimed chef Gale Gand shows you how to make it happen—simply and easily, and for a fraction of the price of prepared salads and sandwiches. Gand offers 150 recipes—including plenty of kid-friendly fare (tested and approved by Gand’s own children)—along with tons of tips for packing foods to go or turning lunch into a celebration with friends and family. As Gand says, when it comes to entertaining, “lunch is the new dinner.” Chapters on soups, pastas, salads, grains, fruits, and more, as well as desserts, drinks, dips, and snacks, provide countless combinations for memorable meals at home or on the go.

About this title

Review

Recipes from Gale Gand's Lunch!

Classic Lobster Roll: Makes 2 sandwiches

It only takes one trip to Kennebunkport, Maine, to fall in love with lobster rolls. That’s what happened to me at the end of one summer. Thirteen of us descended upon the town for our annual summer family vacation. For five days straight, we ate lobster rolls anywhere and everywhere we could find them, and never tired of the taste of creamy lobster salad piled into a toasted bun. I came up with this recipe after that trip, with the help of my chef friend Dan Smith (co-founder of Hearty Boys, a Chicago catering company). He’s from Maine, so lobster rolls are practically running through his veins. If possible, eat this with the sound of the sea in your ears. Lobster rolls taste even better that way!

Ingredients

• 1-to-1 1/2-pound boiled lobster (see note), claw, knuckle, and tail meat removed and cooled; 8 ounces fresh lobster meat; or 8 ounces frozen lobster meat, thawed
• 1/4 cups mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced celery
• 3 grinds black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
• 2 hot dog rolls (the best quality you can find)
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions

In a bowl, combine the lobster meat with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, pepper, and tarragon, if using, and gently stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. When ready to eat, split the bun open, butter it lightly on the inside, and toast it in a toaster oven, then pile on the lobster salad.

Note: To cook a lobster, fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and salt it heavily (2 tablespoons salt per 1 quart water). It should taste like seawater (you can even use clean seawater if you have access to it!). Bring the water to a boil, then plunge the lobster in headfirst. Place a lid on the pot and boil for 12 to 15 minutes. The lobster’s shell will turn bright red. Remove the lobster from the pot and plunge it into ice water to chill it quickly and stop the cooking. Remove all the meat from the shell and use it immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Summer Berries in Hibiscus Syrup: Serves 4 to 6

While working in France for a month during the summer of 2011, I learned a version of this recipe from Chef Daniel Chambon and his son Stephane at the Michelin-starred restaurant (and hotel) Le Pont de l’Ouysse. The restaurant is located in the rocky hills of Dordogne in the heart of truffle and foie gras country, and we rented an old farmhouse nearby. I walked to work every day and my husband and the kids toured the area, one town at a time. We got together in the afternoons between lunch and dinner service for a swim. I felt very lucky to be a chef that summer! These berries are delicious with yogurt.

Ingredients

For the hibiscus syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup loose hibiscus tea, or 4 hibiscus tea bags

For the berries

• 1/2 pint strawberries
• 1/2 pint raspberries
• 1/2 pint blueberries

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 cups water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Turn off the heat and add the hibiscus tea. Let steep for 4 minutes. Strain the hibiscus syrup into a bowl and let cool until lukewarm. Discard the tea leaves. Cut the green tops off the strawberries and then cut them into bite-size chunks. Add the strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to the hibiscus syrup and let them macerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The berries will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

About the Author

Gale Gand is founding pastry chef and partner at the internationally acclaimed Tru restaurant in Chicago. She has won numerous James Beard Awards and published award-winning cookbooks, including Just a Bite and Short and Sweet. She was also the host of Sweet Dreams, the daily baking show on J216Food Network and the Cooking Channel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 054422650X
• ISBN 13: 9780544226500
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256