The Family That Cooks Together

FOREWORD

The Family That Cooks Together came about after the first time I met Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian.

When I learned that cooking was a family affair for him and his daughters, Anna and Madeline, I just couldn’t get the idea of a Zakarian family cookbook out of my head. Over the course of publishing this book, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know the Zakarian family and discovering all the incredible ways food brings them together. It was inspiring to see parents and children cooking alongside one another, and to learn that the Zakarians’ tradition dates back generations.

Cooking was a big part of my life growing up as well. Back then, everything was very hands-on and traditional. I still remember my mother sending me to get the fruit she kept in the root cellar after stone fruit season. It’s such a funny thing to kids nowadays, the idea of a root cellar, but that’s how we did things. My sisters and I spent hours in the kitchen with our mother, making recipes that had been passed down through the generations. The house was always filled with delicious smells. I look back fondly on those memories—there’s nothing like home cooking, and there’s especially nothing like home cooking when you help make it yourself.

I know that The Family That Cooks Together will create many happy memories for countless families. From Game Day Pork Chili to Cast Iron Grilled Cheese to Breakfast Fried Rice, the absolutely delicious recipes in this book are destined to become family favorites that you return to again and again. After all, nothing brings a family together like a meal everyone loves—and who would know better than a foodie family like the Zakarians? I’m thrilled that I could help such a wonderfully talented family bring these tried and tested recipes from their table to yours.

Bon appétit!

—James Patterson

AUTHORS’ NOTE

As the daughters of a professional chef, our lives have involved food in so many special ways.

From the moment we each came home from the hospital, we’ve been hearing a symphony of kitchen sounds in the background of our every day—pots clanking, ice crunching, blender whirring, liquids boiling, shells cracking, and the constant whoosh of the refrigerator door. This playlist has been the soundtrack of our lives, building up our love for food. We’ve spent countless hours watching our parents prepare meals at home and run exciting restaurants at work, which has allowed us to sample so many different dishes. With all the listening, watching, and tasting, we unknowingly received a different kind of education.

Even in our youth, we’ve realized that food is so much more than it seems. As avid eaters, amateur cooks, and lovers of hospitality, we’ve seen firsthand the joy that gathering around a table brings. Along our way, we’ve collected special memories from delicious meals and are excited to share them with you.

This book is for home cooks of all ages, and we wrote it with an important piece of advice in mind: Cook for others, not yourself. The chance to be a great chef isn’t about you, but rather other people. You can train yourself to be skilled in the kitchen, but your cooking will taste much better with friends or family there to enjoy it. Remembering this in your culinary adventures can keep you happy and humble, and will encourage you to continue. We have learned that spending time together through food has kept our family close, and we think you will find the same.

We wish you many days of happy cooking ahead, and remember to have fun making noise in the kitchen!

—Madeline & Anna

KITCHEN TOOLS

Here’s a secret, just between us: You don’t need any fancy kitchen tools to cook delicious meals. You could make almost anything with the following: a sheet pan, a large sauté pan, a saucepan, a 9-inch chef knife, a paring knife, a wooden spoon, a whisk, a spatula, and a good-sized cutting board. You probably have all this already!

But there are a few fun bells and whistles that can make you feel like a pro in the kitchen. Here are our absolute favorites:

FINE-MESH STRAINER A pro tool for sure, a fine-mesh strainer is much more useful than a regular strainer. The closely knit metal catches all the tiny bits of food in its basket and allows only pure liquid to pass. Your finished dish will have a smooth taste without any unpleasant bits. If you don’t have one, no worries! You can use cheesecloth to strain instead.

FISH SPATULA This is one of our favorite tools, though we surprisingly rarely use it for fish. The extended and oblong shape of the spatula gives you more control when you need to lift or flip a variety of items.

FOOD PROCESSOR The time that a food processor saves is worth the investment in one. Essentially, it is a bowl fitted with a sharp blade powered by a motor. The blade chops or minces foods without pushing too much air inside the food, the way a blender would, so you cannot always substitute a blender for a food processor. We recommend buying a simple sturdy one powered by a strong motor and steering clear of the models with too many extras as it can get quickly overcomplicated.

FORCEPS The most “cheffy” thing on the list! Kitchen forceps are giant metal tweezers used to place garnishes and pieces of food in just the right spot. You can also use them to move delicate things when cooking. So fun to use!

HAND JUICER If you only need a small amount of juice, using this clamp-like tool is much easier and quicker than an electric juicer. Helpful tip: Never buy pre-packaged citrus juice. It’s healthier to freshly squeeze a lemon or lime yourself.

IMMERSION BLENDER This is a handheld stick that you put into a container or pot to blend the ingredients. It’s safer than transferring hot liquid to a blender, like in soup recipes. Some models even come with a potato masher or a whisk attachment, so you can whip or process in the same bowl you started with. Less dishes to wash are always a plus!

INTERNET We consider this essential, because when we don’t understand something in a recipe, we can easily go online to figure it out by searching images or watching recipe preparation videos. Also, if we cannot find an ingredient in the store, we simply order it online.

MANDOLINE This thin slicer gives you speed and consistency in your cuts, which are two cornerstones of traditional French cooking. However, it can be very dangerous, so make sure to get a safe-slice version to protect your fingers.

MEAT THERMOMETER Our dad says this is the most important thing to have when cooking meat. With this tool, you won’t have to guess how “done” a piece of meat is.

MICROPLANE ZESTERS/GRATERS This brand works extremely well, and their zesting/grating tools can be used to finely grate citrus skins, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks… the list goes on and on. Just be careful not to scrape your hand or finger on the sharp part.

MUDDLER Handy for crushing and mashing small foods, we use muddlers to do everything from smashing avocado to crunching up whole almonds. For making drinks, it helps to release the oil in herbs like mint.

OFFSET SPATULA (SMALL) This tool makes frosting super easy, but we also grab it when we need a small tool to spread or lift food.

OVEN THERMOMETER Making sure your oven is the right temperature is a pro move. You might be surprised at the difference between the temperature you set your oven to and what the thermometer tells you when you manually place it inside.

PASTRY BRUSH Having a food-specific brush lets you coat things in oils or melted butter with more precision than drizzling—and with less mess than using your hands.

PIPING BAG Pastry bags are a fun item to have for piping whipped cream or decorating a cake. Some bags come with fancy tips for super-decorative garnishes and toppings. If you’re in a pinch, you can use a zip-top bag instead of a piping bag: Fill the bag, cut off a bottom corner, and you’re ready to squeeze.

RAMEKINS These cute, multipurpose containers are one of our essential picks for cooking and serving. They’re great for baking individual portions or for serving snacks and dips.

SPIDER In cooking, a spider is a long, spoon-like tool, with a metal strainer on one end and a flat wooden stick for the handle. It allows you to strain and move pasta or small vegetables, like peas, out of boiling water without having to carry a large, scalding pot to the sink. It’s also useful when you need to carefully place ingredients into already boiling water. Safety first!

SPURTLE Fun to say and handy to use, this Scottish tool is a hybrid of a spoon and a spatula. The curved shape gives you the holding power of a spoon, but with the length and flatness similar to a spatula. It can reach all corners of your pot in one easy swoosh.

CHEAT SHEET

Here are some tips that will make your food more delicious, guaranteed. Trust us, we learned them from an Iron Chef!