gordon ramsay's fast food

As an addendum to yesterday's post, I picked up a cookbook, Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food, by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay from our local library. Like Ramsay himself, it is bold and basic in nature. His recipes, from dishes featured on his television series The F Word, range far over various cuisines, but all seem pretty possible to accomplish, as long as one has the right ingredients. Each recipe can be completed in less than an hour, too.

The recipes are all designed to be easy peasy (once your cupboard is stocked with the best ingredients), and span the globe, with dishes from from Morocco to Italy to Indian flavors. There are also adaptations of Thai, Mexican, Spanish, and of course British cuisine.

The photos of food are gorgeous, too.

The book opens up with his lists of some basic items to keep on hand, both in the cupboard and as tools, and his urging folks that good food will always come when one buys the freshest ingredients. Some of my favorite, "have got to try this at home" take-aways from the book include:

Pea & Mint Soup with Prosciutto 

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
4 slices of prosciutto, chopped (or use the bacon from the frittata)
Sea salt and black pepper
Large handful of mint (about 6 sprigs), leaves only
1 pound, 2 ounces peas, fresh or frozen
3/4 cup crème fraiche (or use sour cream) 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Sprinkle the prosciutto with black pepper and cook over high heat until golden brown and crisp, turning once. Drain in a colander, then on paper towels to remove all excess oil. 

Add the mint leaves to a medium pan of boiling, salted water. Bring to a boil, then add the peas and blanch for 2 to 3 minutes until they are just tender and still bright green. Drain, reserving the liquor. 

Tip the peas and mint into a blender. Add just enough of the hot liquid (about 2 cups) to cover and whiz to a smooth purée. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil and all but 4 tablespoons of the crème fraiche. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pulse for a few seconds to combine. 

Pour soup into warm bowls and dollop reserved crème fraiche on top. Scatter over the crispy prosciutto and serve.

Penne, Green Beans, & Goat Cheese 

10 oz. dried penne
seat salt and black pepper
6 tbs. butter
1 red chile, trimmed, seeded, and minced
few rosemary sprigs (leaves only), chopped
9 oz. green beans, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
5 oz. soft goat cheese (spicy six pepper if available)
1/3 c. toasted pine nuts 

Add the pasta to a large pan of boiling water and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan, add the chile and rosemary and warm over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Turn up the heat, add the beans, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender. 

Drain the pasta and toss with a little olive oil, then mix with the beans. Off the heat, crumble in the cheese and toss to mix, adding a splash of boiling water if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste, scatter over the pine nuts, and serve.

Ramsay not only offers tips on how to stock your cupboard, but includes instructions in the back of the book for creating some basic stocks and sauces to use in his and other recipes. Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food is a great cookbook to give one ideas. It's one not just to enjoy flipping through, but I am sure to actually use. And I won't forget to season my food!

gordon ramsay has invaded our kitchen

It started with MasterChef Junior. The kid found it on Hulu and got me addicted too, as we watched a bunch of pint-sized aspiring chefs, from the ages of 9-13 compete for the title. We were not only enthralled and entertained by the kids and their knowledge and passion for food, but by how impressed the three chief/judges were, and how encouraging of their efforts: Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich, and Gordon Ramsay.

Ramsay with the MasterChef Junior champion, Alexander

I was familiar with Ramsay and his reputation for being a bit of a bad boy chef, with his shows called Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, but I had never actually sat and watched any of them. After watching the kids whip up everything from Beef Wellington to amazing layer cakes, we binge-watched the latest season of MasterChef, which had recently wrapped up its fourth season.

After MasterChef we decided to try another series, where Ramsay was the focus. We have been watching The F Word ("F" is for food, right?), which is part reality show, part food magazine. Each episode has Ramsay training real home chefs in his restaurant. They must prepare a three-course meal for the restaurant's diners, who will decide based on how long they waited for their food and how it tasted whether they will pay or not. The restaurant patrons frequently include British celebrities, including folks like Joan Collins, Jonathan Ross, and Sharon Osbourne, who join Ramsay in the kitchen or taste-test, sometimes even cook, some of the food. The restaurant drama is intercut with Gordon visiting folks at their homes and encouraging them to cook a home-cooked meal for their family instead of packaged or take-out food. It also includes scenes of Ramsay at home with his wife and four children and their efforts to raise animals for food.

Ramsay and his kids set up a shelter in the back yard for the turkeys

We happened to watch the first series, which featured Ramsay raising six turkeys, which he had amusingly named after six other celebrity chefs. Timely, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. The idea was that he was teaching his children (and the audience) where their food was coming from. The kids (and my daughter and I) got attached to the turkeys. Ramsay seemed to, too. When it came time to slaughter them it was handled in quite a humane way, but it was still really hard to watch. I told the kid she didn't have to watch, ut she wanted to know. My daughter has since sworn off eating turkey, although at the moment chickens may still be OK as "there are lots of chickens in the world." We had chicken for Thanksgiving, but she seemed doubtful about that, too.

We've started watching the second series and this time out Ramsay and his family are raising and fattening two pigs. We haven't gotten to the end of the series yet, but the kid, after she saw some baby piglets in an episode where they visit a farm has sworn off eating pork now too. Ramsay himself, after meeting with a good farm practices advocate and seeing how pigs are raised in most farms, including crowded, dirty conditions, castration, and tail docking, seemed shocked.

"It's enough to make anyone turn fucking vegetarian, for God's sake. And I've always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for missing out on the most amazing flavour you can get from meat. But you can see why so many people change instantly."

I like Ramsay's direct approach to food, of many cuisines, and his sincere efforts in trying to motivate folks to cook for themselves and their friends and families. His overall message is quite positive, even though he frequently uses foul language to get his point across. I am not phased by the kid watching these episodes with me and hearing a few f-words. She knows that she isn't supposed to use that word. More importantly, I'm not sure yet what the impact will be regarding her possibly newfound vegetarianism. I have tried to cut out all meat in the past and I don't do too well without it — I feel depleted. But she is on her own journey, and I will support her with whatever she decides.

It seems that the way we eat, between my daughter's ethics and my desire to eliminate artificial additives and toxins — is undergoing quite an overhaul. Somehow Gordon Ramsay has gotten mixed up in all of this.