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Delighting in DeLucie

He had me from the Author’s Note: “I apologize to those whose stories were left on the cutting-room floor.
I also apologize to those who wish their stories were left on the cutting-room floor.”

Th author is John DeLucie and I hope he’s already at work on a second book because I consumed this one in a few delicious big gulps of reading pleasure.

This is one terrific romp through kitchens good and bad. Along the way, there are tales of celebrities, crises (both culinary and personal) and casually-tossed-off recipes that sound sensational.

I saw DeLucie demo a ricotta frittata on the Today show, thought him charming and had his book on my Kindle within minutes. (Have I mentioned how much I love my Kindle?)

Here’s just one passage to whet your appetite for more;

I learned how to lard fish, which requires wielding razor-sharp knives without the benefit of health insurance. First you tackle the basil with your paring knife, creating bullets of the thinly rolled basil. Next you open up surgical-like slits…and delicately insert the basil.. When the fish gets roasted, the basil is dissolved under the high heat, leaving a fragrant, green herbaceous flavor enhanced wih a hefty pinch of sea salt and a dollop of extra-virgin. The dish was sensational, but what a pain in the ass.

I’d love to hang out in a kitchen or around a table with DeLucie. That seems unlikely, but reading his book has been a delightful next-best-thing.

Monday, May 18th, 2009 at 3:54 pmand is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.