In My Kitchen

A cookbook for people who love to cook
 
As host of Food Network’s hit show Chopped, Ted Allen presides in pinstripes and sneakers while chefs scramble to cook with mystery ingredients. But at home, Ted is the one chopping the vegetables and working the stove, trying unusual ingredients and new techniques, from roasting earthy sunchokes in a piping-hot oven to develop their sweetness or transforming leftover pinot noir into complexly flavored homemade vinegar. In fact, it’s discoveries like these that propel him into the kitchen nightly—that, of course, and eating the delicious results with friends! Now Ted invites likeminded cooks to roll up their sleeves, crank up the stereo, and join him in the kitchen for some fun.

While there are mountains of cookbooks featuring five-minute, three-ingredient, weeknight recipes for harried households, here is a book for food lovers who want to lose themselves in the delight of perfectly slow-roasting a leg of lamb—Mexican style—or whipping up a showstopping triple-layer cake. Ted is just such a cook and in his latest cookbook he shakes up expectations by topping bruschetta with tomatoes and strawberries; turning plums, sugar, and a bay leaf into an irresistible quick jam; putting everything you can think of on the grill—from ribs and pork shoulder to chiles and green beans; and modernizing the traditional holiday trio of turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce with fresh ingredients and a little booze. And where there’s a will to make something from scratch, Ted provides a way, with recipes for homemade pickles, pizza, pasta, pork buns, preserved lemons, breads, quick jam, marshmallows, and more.

With more than 100 amazing recipes and gorgeous color photographs throughout, In My Kitchen is perfect for passionate home cooks looking for inspiring new recipes and techniques to add to their playbooks.

TED ALLEN is the host of the top Food Network show Chopped, now in its seventh season (and which to date has taped a network record 174 episodes in just three years), and frequently appears on The Best Thing I Ever Ate. The food and wine specialist on Bravo’s Emmy award-winning Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, he was also a judge on the first four seasons of Bravo’s Top Chef and of Food Network’s Iron Chef America. A contributing editor to Esquire magazine, Ted lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his longtime partner, interior designer (and serious baker) Barry Rice. This is his second cookbook. Visit Ted at www.tedallen.net or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tedallenofficial.