THE SCARLET PUMPERNICKEL

Good Books For Cooks

by Fred Thomas

Cooking To Beat The Clock

Guest Column by Sam Gugino

This Month's Recipe: 15-Minute Bouillabaisse

ALMOST FROM THE TIME I WAS BORN in 1948, I was interested in food, cooking, and eating. I'd accompany my mother on trips to the supermarket, where I learned how to be a smart shopper. And, of course, I'd watch her cook. Even after 23 years as a food professional, my wife Mary says she can see my eyes light up when I discover a new food or dish.

Loving to cook and eat great food came into conflict with my daily routine when I was a food editor at the San Jose Mercury News. After leaving work, I'd fight traffic for an hour or more before arriving home at 7 or 7:30 in the evening (sometimes later), tired and hungry. Not satisfied with a can of soup or a bowl of cornflakes, I was determined to create good-tasting meals in as little time as possible.

I began with quick pasta dishes. I called them "throw- togethers" because I'd use whatever was available in the fridge or the pantry and throw them together with cooked pasta. The repertoire expanded and resulted in a story in the Mercury News called "10-Minute Meals." Several years later, the concept broadened again and became the basis for the New York Times article "Beat the Clock: Inspired Meals in 10 Minutes," which was nominated for a James Beard Journalism Award. When Bill LeBlond, my editor at Chronicle Books, saw the story, he asked if I'd do a book on the subject, but with recipes designed for four people instead of two, which was the case in the Times article. This necessitated increasing the cooking time to 15 minutes. Thus, Cooking to Beat the Clock: Delicious, Inspired Meals in 15 Minutes was born.

As ideas for delicious meals in minutes evolved into a full-blown concept, I determined that one needed to follow four basic principles to make the concept work: flavor, organization, focus, and creativity. "Flavor" means a pantry well stocked with ingredients that have great intensity of taste and texture. By having the pantry well stocked, you don't have to run out as often for last-minute items like pasta, chicken stock, or olive oil. By having each ingredient carry as much flavor and texture as possible, fewer ingredients are required for each dish. And fewer ingredients mean cooking (as well as cleanup) goes faster.

"Cooking to Beat the Clock" doesn't mean just opening cans, however. Almost every recipe in the book uses some fresh ingredient (often several), such as broccoli, onions, garlic, green beans, salad greens, or mangoes. Canned ingredients are used judiciously. For example, canned beans are often very good, though quality varies from brand to brand. And don't forget that the freezer and refrigerator are part of today's pantry. I always keep peas in the freezer and Parmesan cheese, bacon, and eggs (among many other items) in the refrigerator.

"Organization" means having the right equipment to simplify and speed up meal preparation, and having it in the right place. You don't need anything fancy to make 15-minute meals, but you do need things like a large, heavy skillet for sauteing chicken breasts, a deep skillet or saute pan for stews and soups, and a food processor to make quick work of chopping as well as creating sauces, dressings, and salsas. And that equipment has to be within easy reach. If the food processor is stuck in the recesses of your cupboard, it may take five minutes just to get it out.

"Focus" means being single-minded about getting the meal out in a hurry and using laborsaving techniques to make it happen. Don't turn on the television, look at your mail, or even pour yourself a glass of wine. Just get in there and get it done without distraction. Ask and answer the question "How was your day, dear?" while eating dinner, not while cooking. (Incidentally, the meals in the book are designed for one person to cook. If there are two of you, the other one can take care of the kids, check the answering machine, and set the table.)

"Creativity" involves strategies for preparing meals in minutes, thinking beyond recipes so you don't always have to follow a specific formula. My book has 60 very good recipes, but by using them as a springboard or blueprint, you can create many more by making any number of substitutions or additions. For example, you can use the same format for making bouillabaisse to create zarzuela, the Spanish shellfish stew; cioppino, the Californian fish stew; or cacciucco, the Italian seafood stew.

Books reviewed in The Scarlet Pumpernickel may be purchased at a discount on the Books For Cooks aisle at The Bookstall.

Fred Thomas has been a writer and editor for more than two decades, as a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, as tabloid editor at The Tampa Tribune, as group editor for a chain of Florida magazines, and as founding editor of Southern Homes. Now at home on the beach in South Florida, he specializes in writing about food and architecture. He knows the secret of perfect French fries.