Thoughtful Cooking Book Review – Culinary Ideas to Enhance the Dining Experience
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Tuesday, 25 June 2024 15:11
- Written by Janet Walker
Thoughtful Cooking, from Countryman Press and Author Chef William Dissen, introduces to readers, though delicious recipes and expert opinion, an opportunity to use cooking to reconnect with friends, family and self through food sourcing and preparation.
Thoughtful cooking is more than a concept. The author and Chef William Dissen offers an explanation to his readers in the Thoughtful Cooking, Recipes Rooted in the New South cookbook. We begin to understand that this idea is rooted (no pun intended) in sustainability and creating more healthy meals, and really the idea if a circle of connectivity.
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Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, is always better than processed; understanding which root vegetables do well when, and which is better store bought or freshly harvested are also part of Chef Bill's style.
The 288 page cookbook is divided into seasonal options, "Spring," "Summer," "Fall," and "Winter," and which dishes, and consequently which vegetables, herbs, fruits, and proteins are better in each season. We all like what we like, and we also understand the concept of spring planting brings fall harvests. In some states, farmers produce all year round.
Chef Bill lives in North Carolina and is the owner of several restaurants, the preeminent farm-to-table "The Market Place Restaurant," in Asheville, North Carolina, a James Beard nominated restaurant, and in Charlotte, "The Haymaker," and also two casual establishments, "Billy D's Fried Chicken" (so we know it isn't all weeds and roots) and the "Little Gem Restaurant."
Photo Credit: Johnny Autry.
This book, Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South are perfected in his backyard; from his trips to the local farmer's market, from years of working with local fishermen who depend on science and are trained and skilled in understanding which fish can be harvested so the oceans ecosystem doesn't become unbalanced.
As he explains how many of us, in this digital age, have stepped outside, put the phones down and enjoyed a moment away from Instagram and social media? His introduction explains that Thoughtful cooking is about stepping back, not dropping out, just stepping back, so that every second isn't fixated on finding that perfect "Instagrammable" moment.
Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South, takes the reader on a seasonal culinary journey. The season sections also have a patter, they move from light fare, all vegetarian dishes and sides, to seafood, beef, and other protein recipes, to desserts and also includes unique spirits to accompany the recipe. At the end of each section are "Deep Thoughts, which include "Ocean Stewardship," "Preservation," "Eating Local," and 'Being a Thoughtful Eater."
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Chef Bill is the first to tell readers, he was never a "green" kind of guy, sustainability in food selections was cultivated out of necessity. One day his fishmongers, the guys who deliver the fresh catch for the restaurant, brought him half of his expected order. He reached out to Monterrey Aquarium Seafood Watch Program and together with NOAA, they have created a seafood sustainability rating system. Which is when he began to learn more about ocean sustainability, and in turn caused him to alter his menu, and up his culinary skills, as he needed new recipes to match the catch that could be harvested.
He includes several seafood recipes throughout the book, which can be bought knowing the fish in these recipes are harvestable in large quantities without disrupting the ocean's balance.
In "Spring," he includes "Crispy Soft Shell Crabs with Green Garlic Aioli" (page 50), "Whole Stuffed Rainbow Trout with Lemon Butter and Grilled Ramps" (page 54), and for those who want a more fulfilling dish, "Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Crispy Smashed New Potatoes, Asparagus Cream, and Green Strawberry Relish" (Page 56). "Spring" is also filled with many grain and fresh root vegetable ideas.
Photo Credit: Johnny Autry.
A laidback look through the "Summer" section begins with peaches and watermelon, both recipes new and unusual. The first treat that caught my attention was "Country Ham Wrapped Peaches with Stracciatella (cheese) and Candied Hazelnuts" (page 80), that included a picture on the preceding page, the country ham is golden and crispy, and the peaches are drizzled with maple syrup. It looks delicious and unusual. For the Watermelon (page 82) he mixes toasted Benne seeds and feta cheese to create a "riff on Hispanic spice, Tajin," a mix of sweet, spicy, cool, and hot.
What would summer be without grilling? Chef Bill includes a delicious "Grilled Rib Eye with Bourbon Chanterelles and Sauce Verte" (pages114-117) and provides a step-by-step pictorial on his grilling style. He uses a propane-based backyard grill, although coal based is fine, which means that anyone can grill this rib-eye up right at home. In addition to several seafood ideas, Chef Bill includes his famous "Billy D's Fried Chicken with Nashville Hot Dip and White Barbecue Sauce," recipe (page 118-121).
Throughout the fall and winter, Chef Bill incorporates many root winter vegetable such as "Candy Roasted Squash Soup with Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds" (page 158-159), and "Roasted Acorn Squash with Hazelnut Picada, Wildflower Honey and Chile" (page 155-157). In winter, it's "One-Pan Roasted Winter Vegetables, Rosemary, EVOO" (page 227-229).
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He doesn't allow haute de cuisine to interfere with southern roots, and includes many "down home" recipes like "Crispy Pork Belly with Pink Lady Apple and Frisee Salad with Bourbon Cide Dressing" (page 243), "Cornmeal Fried Catfish with Butter Bean and Boiled Peanut Stew, Green Tomato ChowChow and Herb Aioli" (page 103), "Cast-Iron Skillet Monkey Bread with Caramel Sauce and Walnut" (page 137-139) and "Shrimp and Grits with Appalachian Tomato Gravy and Country Ham" (page 140-141).
Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South is more than a cook book, the information Chef Bill includes, if we begin to incorporate it into our thinking and actions the importance of ocean sustainability and seafood harvesting, and reconnecting with the meal preparation, and whenever possible combining farm-to-table ingredients, is really about earth health, personal health and balance. It is a must have for every home chef's kitchen.
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Title: Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South.
Author: Chef William Dissen.
Language: English.
Release Date: April 2024.
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, and Countryman Press.
Cover Design: Allison Chi.
Photography: Johnny Autry.
Images: Used with Permission.
Length: 289 pages.
ISBN: 978-1-68268-808-3.
MSRP: $35.00 (U.S.), $47.00 (CAN.).
