Small cookbook packs plenty

"Every time I watch a chef chop an onion, I learn something aboutthat person," Linda Carucci says.

She's an award-winning cooking teacher; the Julia Child Curatorof Food Arts at Copia, the food museum in Napa, Calif., and, mostrecently, the author of a cookbook that's receiving raves online.

Carucci's chief delight, it seems, is learning and teaching. Forher, it's a natural continuum. Inhale, exhale. Take in newinformation, give it to other people.

Her subject, of course, is cooking, and her first book ("Probablymy only book -- I don't know if I have any words left") is CookingSchool Secrets for Real World Cooks (Chronicle, $22.95). I wassurprised to find that although it's packed with tips,illustrations, recipes, advice, anecdotes and explanations, it's aconvenient-size paperback. This mountain of information is organizedfor accessibility and offered in reader-friendly prose. In ourrecent interview, Carucci praised the editors, designers, recipetesters, chef colleagues and her husband, Allen Rehmke, for theirpart in the project.

Cooking School Secrets makes a great gift for the recent collegegraduate setting up a new apartment and facing a kitchen alone forthe first time. It's also a great refresher course for experiencedcooks. Each recipe is explained so thoroughly that it's almost aclass in itself. Not surprising, since the book is based on theauthor's eight years running her own school, Linda Carucci'sKitchen, in Oakland, Calif.

It's a book that begs to be used, and the reward isn't justrecipes so tasty you forget they're instructional (do try theaccompanying recipes for grilled marinated flank steak au jus andthe savory corn pudding). You also have the pleasure of "meeting"Carucci herself in her writing. Her sense of enjoyment is aninvigorating, illuminating force.

"In my proposal I said I don't want a big, heavy coffee tablebook with a big price tag," she says. "I don't want something that'sgoing to make a dent in your belly when you read it in bed." Butproducing this usable, affordable cookbook was easier said thandone. "On the surface, you wouldn't know there were 116 recipetesters -- that there were home cooks in Burlington, Vt.; Elgin,Ill., and Glendora, Calif., who told me they could find pomegranatemolasses for the muhammara [a Middle Eastern condiment that alsoincludes roasted red peppers and walnuts] or rice noodles for theVietnamese grilled pork salad. Or that on the East Coast they toldme their halibut fillets always come with the skin on." (West Coasthalibut fillets come skinless.)

She realized the originally agreed-upon 150 recipes was just toomuch, and her editor agreed, then slashed the total by a breath-snatching 50. After Carucci had whittled down her "little darlings,"the editor went over the revised recipe list and noted, "You don'thave a chocolate cake in this book. You have to have chocolatecake."

And she had to have it in a week. She started with an idea fromLark Creek Inn in Larkspur, Calif., that sounds a bit quirky: Thischocolate cake calls for beets. (It's true, but your kids won't knowthey're eating a root vegetable unless you tell them.) Then sheexperimented with two kinds of icing: chocolate ganache, using NickMalgieri's technique, and her own adaptation of Hershey's cocoafudge frosting.

Fifty of her testers could turn a recipe around in 48 hours, soshe sent half of them the cake and ganache; the other half, the cakeand fudge frosting. She expected this to determine which icingworked better, but it was a tie. Even her editor couldn't decide, soboth frostings are in the book.

What kept her from writing it sooner? Carucci says it was theprospect of sitting alone at a computer terminal through 100,000words and scads of recipes. She was associate dean of students atOccidental College in Los Angeles when, in 1983, she moved to SanFrancisco to attend the California Culinary Academy. She was one ofits earliest "older students" (she was in her 20s at the time) andlater became its dean. She has been a caterer and, since 1997, hasoperated her own cooking school -- all people-related occupations.

Furthermore, she says, she tested "off the chart" as an extroverton the Myers-Briggs personality profile. That doesn't mean she hasto be the life of every party, but that "I draw my energy from otherpeople." Sit at a computer every day for a year? "What a dull,boring, horrible thing that would be for me." The recipe testersbecame her "lifeline," she says. "Every single morning I woke up andI ran to the computer" to see who'd checked in with triumphs,questions, comments, new problems, possible solutions. "It was likeI was teaching online."

And learning, of course. She gleans information from everyexperience, even breast cancer, which was diagnosed about 15 yearsago. She doesn't refer to herself as a survivor; the experience wasa career-altering fact of her life. She left the academy -- "Theguys couldn't handle it" -- and after free-lancing for a while, shestarted her school in 1997. She was back with her first love,teaching, working directly with people.

"If you're by yourself, how much fun can you have?" she asks. Andenjoyment -- fun -- is one of the priorities lined up in her life."That's one thing breast cancer does for you. I got to live. A lotof my friends in my support group didn't. So I just figure, it's gotto be fun."

For more information about Linda Carucci's Kitchen in Oakland,Calif., visit www.LCKitchen. com. For more on Copia, the AmericanCenter for Wine, Food and the Arts, in Napa, Calif., visitwww.copia.org.

GRILLED MARINATED FLANK STEAK AU JUS

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 pounds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, preferably imported

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

or 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled between your fingers

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more forsprinkling

1/2 cup boldly flavored extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Trim off any fat and silver skin from the flank steak, and pierceboth sides all over with a meat fork to tenderize the meat and openits pores. Rub both sides of the steak with the crushed garlic.Place the steak and garlic in a 1-gallon zip-top plastic bag.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, soy sauce,Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, thyme and the 1/2 teaspoonpepper. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture as you whisksteadily to form an emulsion. Pour the marinade into the bag withthe steak and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible.With your fingers, massage the marinade into the steak. Lay the bagflat in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 to 24 hours, turning thebag and massaging the meat periodically.

About 1 hour before serving, remove the bag from the refrigeratorand allow the steak and marinade to come to room temperature.Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas or stove-top grill to high. Remove the steak from the marinade and blot offexcess marinade with paper towels, removing any pieces of rawgarlic. Season the top side lightly with salt and pepper. Discardthe marinade.

When the grill is very hot (you can hold your hand over it foronly 2 seconds), place the steak on it, seasoned side down. Don'ttry to adjust the position of the steak at this point, as the meatwon't release from the grill until it's sufficiently seared. Cookthe steak on the first side for 3 minutes for rare, or for 4 minutesfor medium-rare. If you want to create cross-hatching, rotate thesteak a quarter turn after 2 minutes, then cook for 1 or 2 moreminutes.

Lightly sprinkle the top of the steak with salt and pepper, andturn to sear the second side. If desired, rotate the steak a quarterturn after 2 minutes to achieve cross-hatching. After 3 minutestotal cooking on the second side, test the internal temperature ofthe steak. Because flank steak is very lean, it's advisable not tocook it beyond rare (125 degrees) or medium-rare (130 degrees).Insert the thermometer on a slant into the center of the steak totest. If the steak is not done, continue grilling and test againafter 1 minute. (If your thermometer has a plastic -- not glass --housing covering the dial, don't leave it in the meat while it's onthe grill, or the plastic will melt.)

When the steak is done, transfer it to a cutting board,preferably one with a trough or well to capture the juices whencarving. Tent it with aluminum foil, or cover completely with aninverted bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the juices toretract into the meat. Using a carving knife, and holding it at a 45-degree angle, cut the steak across the grain into thin slices. Ifthe steak is more rare than you prefer, place individual slices backon the grill. The residual heat will continue to cook them untilthey reach your desired doneness. Arrange the slices, shingle-style(overlapped close together, see page 179) to retain heat, on awarmed platter. Use a spoon or metal bench scraper to scoop upjuices and drizzle them over the sliced steak.

From Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks

by Linda Carucci

Nutrition facts per serving: 371 calories, 29 g fat, 7 gsaturated fat, 48 mg cholesterol, 4 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein,583 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

SAVORY CORN PUDDING

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

7 ears sweet corn

1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided (see Note)

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, for baking dish

5 large eggs

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely

shredded on the large holes of a box grater to yield 1 cup

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (see Note)

Cut off the kernels from the ears of corn and reserve 1 cup.Place the remaining corn and 1 cup of the milk in a blender. Holdthe blender lid in place as you gradually increase and decrease thespeed. Process at the highest speed for a full 3 minutes. Ifnecessary, interrupt blending to scrape down the sides. You shouldhave a thick, smooth puree.

In the meantime, position a rack in the center of the oven andpreheat to 325 degrees. Prepare a bain-marie (hot-water bath):Choose a roasting pan large enough to hold a 9-inch round or squarebaking dish with 2-inch sides. Line the bottom of the roasting panwith a paper towel (to prevent the pudding from sliding around) andset aside. Butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish and setaside. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs lightly. Add the blended corn mixtureand whisk to combine. Sprinkle with the flour and whisk to blendthoroughly. Add the remaining 1/2 cup milk, the cheese, all butabout 1 teaspoon of the chives, the salt, the Tabasco, and thereserved corn kernels and stir to combine. Pour into the preparedbaking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon chives. (Thepudding can be prepared to this point up to 24 hours in advance,covered, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.)

Pull out the oven rack halfway. Place the baking dish on thepaper towel in the bain-marie and place in the center of the ovenrack. Carefully pour the hot water from the kettle into the bain-marie to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Gently slidethe oven rack into place. Bake the pudding until the blade of aparing knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean, 45 to 60minutes, depending on the depth of the baking dish. The top of thepudding should be firm and pale and the edges should begin to pullaway from the sides of the baking dish.

Remove the bain-marie from the oven. With oven mitts and/or along, wide offset spatula, carefully transfer the baking dish fromthe bain-marie to a cooling rack. Let cool for 5 minutes for puddingto set up a bit before serving.

Note: To make an even richer pudding, substitute half-and-half orheavy (whipping) cream for the milk. Likewise, to cut back on someof the fat, substitute a 12-ounce can evaporated low-fat milk forthe whole milk. Evaporated milk gives baked custards a very creamytexture.

The Tabasco sauce here is just enough to add a bit of complexity,without overpowering the sweet corn flavor. If you prefer,substitute 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

From Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks

Nutrition facts per serving: 268 calories, 15 g fat, 7 gsaturated fat, 238 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein,522 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Meaty issues: From Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks

Here are Linda Carucci's answers and comments on frequently askedquestions concerning meat.

Q. What's that iridescent membrane I sometimes see on the surfaceof pork tenderloin, turkey breast and some cuts of beef?

A. Occasionally (when the butcher hasn't removed it first),you'll find a layer of silver skin, a shiny whitish membrane thatseparates muscle groups, running along the surface of certainmuscles of meat. Silver skin is tough to chew and it shrinks andcurls up when it cooks, so it's critical that you remove it beforemarinating or cooking. Use a boning knife to trim off the silverskin by slicing along the grain, parallel to the meat.

Q. Why does my roast sometimes come out with a solid red core andgray edges?

A. The roast with the red core was too cold when it went into theoven. For even cooking, be sure meats are at room temperature beforecooking. This helps to achieve restaurant-quality roasts with acaramelized exterior and an interior that's evenly pink -- or medium-rare -- throughout.

Q. How do restaurants manage to serve hot, yet rare, prime rib?

A. This is a wonderful trick I learned when I worked in arestaurant that served prime rib. The whole roast would come out ofthe oven just before dinner. Then, as dinner service progressed, thechef would carve off pieces to order.

To reheat, he'd put a slab of meat on an aluminum pie plate,cover it with a large outer leaf of romaine lettuce, and pop itunder the broiler. In this example, the pan gets hot and transfersheat to the meat, and the lettuce keeps the meat both red and moistunder the direct heat of the broiler. By the time the lettuce startsto shrivel, the meat is hot.

Carucci's comments about flank steak and marinating:

I wouldn't even consider cooking a flank steak that hasn't beenmarinated to break down some of its fibers and boost its flavor.While it's not typical to include an acid, such as lemon juice, inan overnight marinade, the tough protein fibers of flank steakbenefit from the acid's tenderizing effect without the steakbecoming mushy.

You also could use this marinade for chicken legs and thighs,pork tenderloin or lamb chops. For the best results with flank teak,marinate overnight, cook rare and cut across the grain on thediagonal into one-quarter-inch-thick slices.

You'll notice that beyond the sodium in the soy andWorcestershire sauces, no additional salt is added to this marinade.By all means, do season with salt -- and pepper -- before grillingto create an integrated, flavorful crust. Seasoning after grillingwould result in less flavorful meat, with discernible flecks of saltand pepper that are not as pleasing to the palate.