Introduction

Most of us like to dine on "fancy vittles," but few have time to prepare them. By taking wise advantage of processed foods now available, and by using a little ingenuity in preparing non-processed foods, such "vittles" are within reach of almost anyone's time budget. With few exceptions, each main dish in this book can be prepared and cooked within an hour, most of them in less. A few suggestions requiring a longer time are included to help use up leftovers or for use on Sundays and holidays when time does not press.

My primary purpose is to present a number of edifying recipes, the majority suitable for entertaining, which can be quickly assembled from the contents of a thoughtfully stocked pantry with or without a short stop at the corner grocery. In extension of that thesis, the book has, too, a secondary purpose: to rescue the cook when an unexpected visitor shows up for a meal, or when a guest brings along an unheralded friend. When either happens, I hope the contents of this volume will assist. Many of the recipes were mothered by similar events.

To help meet such emergencies and to assist generally in the timesaving purposes of the book, there is included an appendix listing the items; which should be maintained in the larder. Another appendix suggests the utensils which will be most useful in the kitchen. Neither list is hard and fast, but possession of the foods, seasonings, pots, pans, and gadgets will greatly facilitate your culinary labors.

All the recipes are written as simply as possible, but the book presumes acquaintance by the reader with certain elementary culinary facts such as how to broil bacon, fry eggs, or boil rice so that it is fit to eat and not to hang wallpaper. There are sections on soups and salads. Most of the main dishes, if preceded by the one and followed by the other and coffee, will provide an acceptable meal. I have suggested with each main dish certain vegetables and an appropriate wine, if one is appropriate. By following these suggestions, you can prepare in about an hour a meal which you and your guests will eat with relish and remember with pleasure.

The recipes are intended for brunch, luncheon, dinner, or supper; some can be used at several of those meals. In each instance I have indicated where I think it belongs. On the other hand, I have omitted recipes on how to cook standard items such as filet mignon, chops, and other food best given a minimum of preparation. A choice piece of steak, or a fine lamb chop, is a noble thing and complete in itself. With a little salt and pepper to bring out its flavor, such meat should only be grilled over charcoal. To do anything else with it may be pretty, but it is not culinary art.

Frequently in itemizing the ingredients of a recipe, I have mentioned the names of nationally or regionally advertised brands. This does not mean that I consider one name brand better than another —except where specifically stated for a special purpose. I used what was on my pantry shelf; if it did the job, I noted the fact in the recipe. If you like another brand, try it.

Food appeals to four of our five senses. Unless it be the staccato whisper of a sirloin steak on a sizzling platter I can think of no way in which eating appeals to our sense of hearing. We all know that food should be served hot on hot plates. We know that taste is important, that odor is just as important, and that consistency is as vital: a lumpy sauce or overcooked, mushy vegetables are anathema. Too often, however, we forget the sense of sight. It is because eye appeal is as important as the others that you will find dishes garnished wherever fine food is served. Garnishing, be it the sprig of parsley or the slice of lemon, may seem a small matter, but it is the mark of the professional or, at least as a chess player would say, of an amateur with a strong game.

Portions should be adequate but not heaping. Regardless of how hungry people are, their appetites will be diminished by the sight of huge slabs of meat and mountains of vegetables. Give your guests an opportunity to emulate Oliver Twist. And finally—in this matter of appearance—comes color. The delicacy of portions, the ingenuity of garnishing will avail little if the food itself is all of the same color. Consider a plate containing chicken breast supreme, boiled potatoes, and cauliflower. The next time you are in a first-class restaurant, run your eye over the menu and note how carefully this aspect of service has been considered in planning the table d'hôte, or whatever it is called in that particular establishment.

A good bit has been said about saving time, nothing about saving money. It is safe to use short cuts in cooking by taking advantage of basically good food which has been prepared or partly prepared for you, but when you start to cut corners to save money you are compromising with quality and your product will suffer accordingly. In the long run it is false economy. A few pennies saved by the purchase of an inferior ingredient may well ruin the dish for which it was intended. You are then out the cost of the inferior ingredient, the cost of the other ingredients, and you have wasted your time. An example: I have listed for the larder tinned Canadian lobster. It sells for about a dollar a tin. For some thirty cents less you can buy African rock lobster. The former makes a delectable lobster stew; the latter makes a kind of slum. This does not mean that the cost of serving the dishes described here will be high. It is another way of saying that if you want a good product, its components must be good too.

A few of these recipes, subtly altered, have come from other cookbooks. Others, naturally the best, I have invented, either through necessity as mentioned above or through experimentation. The remainder have come from friends.

Some of these friends comprised a small and very informal luncheon club. Its only rule, and that unwritten, was that luncheons had to be cooked and eaten in a maximum of an hour and a half. For something over a year the club acted as a kind of combined guinea pig and jury for these recipes. There were occasions when this task was hard on the group—these mistakes do not appear here; there were other occasions when the group was more fortunate.

In addition to the members of the club, who prefer to be anonymous, or would if given the choice, I have to thank a number of other people for help in this endeavor. Some are mentioned in individual recipes. Most of the others must remain, like the club members, unnamed, not from choice but for lack of space. Three, however, require specific mention.

Francis Di Lello, proprietor of Nino's Ten East 52nd Restaurant in New York City, gave me his recipe for Marinara sauce when he was owner of the Baccara Restaurant. His generosity automatically gave me, and indirectly you, several diverse recipes which can be quickly prepared and which will appeal deeply to all who like Italian food. Brenda Lansdown not only helped to cook and taste but also made attractive aprons—a necessity for the chef-host. She contributed, too, family recipes, as well as both culinary and literary criticism which were invaluable. Finally I am happy to thank my wife, whose contributions were too multitudinous to particularize but included the production of peerless popovers and uncomplaining duty as scullery maid. In addition she tested in her own person and with good grace most of the experimental food and all of the experimental drink. What was harder, she suffered with equal good grace through the actual writing of the book, no small thing.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...