"Anyone can cook", that was the motto of the 2007 film "Ratatouille". "Anyone can cook" was also the sub-title of a cookbook from Jamie Oliver which came out in 2008. With or without a recipe ? Looking at the large number of books published by Mr. Oliver, he has answered this question quite clearly. The charming rat from the movie apparently also had an enormous collection of recipes which he realized by channelling them brilliantly through the cook. So it is a mystery to me that the question of "with or without a recipe" is still discussed by my guests and the acolytes of the "no recipe" fraction still insist that they never use a recipe, but always cook according to feel.
Of course, all those who use their feel as the basis for their cooking, will cook with recipes as well. The ‘grandmother’ who is often quoted in cookbooks does not haphazardly throw ingredients according to her moods in arbitrary and spontaneously invented amounts into a cooking pot. The dishes from our grandmothers only tasted so good (and astonishingly, always so good !) because they were always prepared in the same way after a lot of practice and experience. The proverbial grandmother of a cooking book would probably have been the last person, who would have marginally changed her recipes.
WHY
The dishes that we all love from our grandmothers do not rely on spontaneity, but had everything to do with acquired knowledge and experience. Whether written down or remembered, it is always about recipes: more or less accurate instructions on how to cook or experiences with the ingredients of a dish or their preparation, how much of the ingredients to use, the temperatures and time for cooking.
Naturally cooking with recipes also requires feeling. Whoever has read Lea Linsters’ cookbooks will immediately remember the onions which always have to be “lovingly” sliced. And for those who want to devote more attention to the themes of cooking and feelings, I would heartily recommend that they study the books from Anthony Bourdain and Elfie Casty, much beloved by me. There are dishes where measures or cooking times have less meaning, whereas exact methods (eg. baking) are indispensable. A Crème Pâtissière is not made in one way today and another way tomorrow. Of course, there are infinite possibilities to ‘play’ (for a description of this concept please see Elfie Casty) with ingredients and the methods to prepare dishes. However, to play with either will only be fun if you already know the rules. The rules of the cooking game are based on cooking recipes, which luckily allow much room for creative nuances. So, the game will not become boring.
I have set out the recipes from the most diverse cooks and authors in a format which is uniform and reduced them to the bare minimum and this removes the recipes and dishes from the "authors" to a certain extent. The dishes, reduced to their ingredients and the methods of preparation and cooking, suddenly stand out on their own. Complexities become visible, differences to recipes of the same or similar dishes become clear, as well as their similarities and basics.
As a self-taught cook and an amateur cook, I am not entitled to describe my book as a textbook. However, since almost all of the recipes come from professionals who have learned their craft and have given many people enjoyment and joy with their work, I think that the recipes give a pretty good overview of the essentials of cooking. You will encounter different types of soups, play with variations of hearty quiches and tarts, be guided through simple but interesting ways of preparing rice, pasta and potatoes (You might think: “Who needs that?”, but just go ahead and read and allow yourself to be inspired). Then I will take you on a little tour of a vegetable garden. Instead of main courses, you will find my favourite but simple dishes for every day. A little fish, a lot of minced meat, some chicken and lamb, something of each, nothing 'special', but tasty.
Unless, of course, you take a risk on causing a major family breakdown. All of the dishes presented in this book can be prepared by one person, which eliminates the potential of partnership-endangering crises where joint cooking activities are concerned.
Naturally, it is a lot of fun and a source of joy to read all the wonderfully crafted and written cookbooks, to browse through them and to find suggestions. But that is not what my book is about. Some may find it too prosaic, but it is about having easy instructions in simple language and in a form which helps with cooking these recipes and making them as stress-free as possible. In the end, it should not be about a "dish from ...", but only about a "dish". Or, to quote Marco Pierre White, a chef whom I cherish, "At the end it is only food".
So how can you present recipes in such a way that you do not have to start reading from the end first before reading the beginning and if possible, to experience no surprises in the middle of the race against time before the arrival of your guests? I think and hope that I have succeeded with my graphics (flowcharts), bare minimum instructions and the simple request to "read from top left to bottom right". Since some processes cannot be described sufficiently by graphics, the book does not claim to be completely error-free.
I taught myself how to cook. In the appendix is a small extract from a collection of books and textbooks that I carefully read and studied. Inspirational photos, romantic memories of places and experiences that stimulate the salivary glands and conjure up stories and of course, suggestions and instructions for cooking are to be found in abundance in these books. But apart from the need to cook some of the dishes and learn things that I did not know, my studying triggered something completely different in me: the idea, to present the recipes, which are set out in completely different formats in each of these books, in a uniform and simplified way. The gratin from Paul Bocuse, the tarte au citron from George Blanc, the simple béchamel sauce or the jacket potato soup from Robin Pietsch (by the way, extremely tasty), all these recipes are presented in this book in a uniform format.
When reading the relevant works, I also often found that the text and the graphical presentation of recipes often caused misunderstandings, were difficult to read and also partly incorrect. There are often no directions for a chronological sequence of the steps – at least, not a complete one. That chronological sequence of steps is essential for the individual who cooks alone, since he or she cannot rely a brigade of assistants to help.
Unfortunately, the boiled beef did not make it into the book because I never managed to get it cooked in the way that I know the dish from Plachutta in Vienna. Sweet tarts and cakes, the relevant type of dough (sponge cake, cheesecake, pie pastry) and a “classic” reveal my limited repertoire of desserts. The book then concludes with a short journey through different types of sauces and essential creams.
I hope this will be helpful and enriching for you. I am still working on the book with the title “100 dishes that you should not cook yourself, but eat in a good restaurant”, ie. the book with all the dishes that you will not find in here.
Christoph Heyne
