Man With a Pan
Man with a Pan
Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families
edited by John Donohue
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Published by
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Post Office Box 2225
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225
a division of
Workman Publishing
225 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
© 2011 by John Donohue. All rights reserved.
Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Man with a pan : culinary adventures of fathers
who cook for their families / edited by John Donohue.—1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN 9781616200640
1. Cooking—United States. 2. Male cooks—Family relationships—
United States. 3. Cookbooks. I. Donohue, John, [date]
TX652.9.M36 2011
641.5973—dc22 2011007190
To Sarah,
who makes my cup runneth over:
you are my wellspring of love, support, and inspiration.
What woman wants, God wants.
—Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Contents
Introduction by John Donohue
Weeknight Chicken Parmigiana
Not-So-Basic Black Beans
JACK HITT
Putting Food on the Family
Really Good Chicken
In the Trenches: Glen Payne
Miso Cod
New Mexico Chili and Beans
MANNY HOWARD
Stunt Foodways
Jos’s Curry, or The Old Man’s Shiva Curry (Untouchable-Style)
Dum Aha (Fried-Potato Curry)
In the Trenches: Jack Schatz
Applesauce Meat Loaf
Chicken Paprika
Surefire Broccoli
STEPHEN KING
On Cooking
Pretty Good Cake
In the Trenches: Josh Lomask
Milk-Braised Pork
Double-Crispy Roast Chicken
PAUL GREENBERG
Heads Up!
Southeast Asian Catfish
Pan-national Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Fish Cakes
SHANKAR VEDANTAM
The Hidden Brain: Gender and Cooking
Yashoda’s Potatoes
In the Trenches: Adam Bonin
Duck Breasts with Five-Spice Glaze
MARK BITTMAN
Finding Myself in the Kitchen
Pasta alla Gricia
In the Trenches: Christopher Little
Low Country Boil
JIM HARRISON
Chef English Major
Grouse Surprise
Elk Carbonade
In the Trenches: Brett Thacher
Tofu Bolognese
MATT GREENBERG
The Ribbing: A Screenplay
Grilled Burgers with Herb Butter
Beer-Can Chicken
Three-Day Ribs
MANUEL GONZALES
The Pie Guy
Pie Crust
Mexican Chocolate Pie
In the Trenches: Daniel Moulthrop
Pickles
Tomato Sauce
THOMAS BELLER
On Abundance
Grilled Redfish
KEITH DIXON
Alternate-Side Cooking
Roasted Celery Root, Potato, and Cauliflower Soup with Tarragon
JESSE GREEN
Who the Man?
Spinach and Rice Torta
Andy’s Mac and Cheese
In the Trenches: David Olivier
Chicken, Sausage, and Oyster Gumbo
SEAN WILSEY
Kitchen ABCs: Always Be Cleaning
Fish Tacos
Fagioli all’Uccelletto
Pistachio Pesto
MARIO BATALI
If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Cardoons
Linguine with Cacio e Pepe
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
PETER KAMINSKY
Learning to Cook for Two Daughters
Whole Roast Cow
Chimichurri
In the Trenches: Henry Schenck
Spinach-Basil Pesto
Bruschetta
Broccoli Rabe
MICHAEL RUHLMAN
How Many Parents Does It Take to Roast a Chicken?
Roast Chicken for Two
Roast Chicken for Two (Continued), with Arugula Salad
Herbed New Potatoes
JESSE SHEIDLOWER
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad
Bacon-Wrapped Duck Breast Stuffed with Apples and Chestnuts
Mushroom Soup with Pear Puree and Cumin Oil
In the Trenches: Omar Valenzuela
Seviche
TONY EPRILE
A Taste for Politics
Vegetarian Bobotie
In the Trenches: Nir Hacohen
Chocolate Mousse
MOHAMMED NASEEHU ALI
The Way to a Man’s Heart
Kelewele-Spinach Salad
Peanut Butter Soup
In the Trenches: Pat Alger
Lone Star State of Mind Chili
WESLEY STACE
Patience Rewarded versus Instant Korma
Spicy Potatoes
Cauliflower with Shredded Ginger
Cucumber Raita
In the Trenches: Nicola Cetorelli
Simple Tomato Sauce
Carbonara di Zucchine
Quick Fish Fillets in Tomato Sauce
MARK KURLANSKY
Confessions of a Foodiephobiac
Cou-Cou
Baked Sea Bream
Thanks and Acknowledgments
Cartoon Credits
JOHN DONOHUE
Introduction
My wife, Sarah, and I have an open relationship. She opens the refrigerator to take things out, and I open it to put food in. I do almost all the cooking for her and our two daughters, Aurora, age five, and Isis, age three.
I was cooking long before I became a parent, mostly because I’ve always loved to eat. Maybe
love
isn’t the right word. It doesn’t quite capture the passion, the devotion, the fear, and the panic that I associate with food. Tall and thin, with a type A metabolism, I am constantly hungry. People marvel at how much I can pack away without gaining any weight. I marvel that people can skip breakfast without collapsing.
My mother was born in Ireland, and I am descended from Potato Famine survivors. It’s hard to imagine how anyone with my skin-and-bones frame and insatiable appetite could have lived long enough during those terrible years to pass on his genes. My direct ancestors must have been ruthless or brilliant to have avoided starving. I’m neither tough nor all that smart, so I have no idea how the genetic code that required me to eat two deli sandwiches a night as a teenager (and that compels me to eat a meal before going to a dinner party at a friend’s house) managed to endure. I sometimes think, on those rare occasions when I’m full, about how rich I would be if I wasn’t spending so much money on food. I don’t like to ponder how much I might have accomplished in life if I wasn’t always eating or thinking about what to eat next. I’d get depressed if I considered those things for long, but I don’t have the time—my hunger returns like clockwork.