Wine Me A River

This book is Anne Burrell’s first cookbook and one that I think was well worth the wait. She has created a cookbook filled with recipes that appeal to the type of food I like to cook, rustic with an elegant spin. The book reflects the same bubbly personality that Anne has always shown on her television shows, as well as the same helpful cooking advice. A great example of her cooking advice that I think all cooks should be familiar with is the concept of “mise en place”, which literally translated to “put in place”. A cook that learns this concept will never get halfway through a recipe only to be out of milk (and then substitute non-dairy chocolate coffee creamer in their pancake batter). This book could be handed to a novice cook and they would be able to cook from it and learn with it; at the same time a more experienced cook can pick up some tips and tricks without feeling that the recipes are too simplistic. I love the information that Anne gives before each recipe and the “Anne Alert’s” as well; it made each recipe a bit more informative and fun. At the end of it all is the goal of great food and as Anne says, “FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD!”

I was pleasantly surprised to see the recipe for the Rockin’ Porchetta with Fall Veggies, as this is similar to a recipe that I made for a party last year after having something similar at a friend’s house (Check out that blog post here: It’s all in the preparation | Wine Me A River). Anne’s version is now on my list of recipes to try out of this cookbook, as it seems to be a bit easier than my version (she clearly used her “crap detector” when writing her version)… plus who doesn’t love crispy pork skin? I selected the following recipes for my maiden voyage through Cook Like a Rockstar.

• Bone-In Rib Eye (Just Good Stuff)
  
• Swiss Chard with Pancetta and Baby Turnips
  

I picked up the rib eye from The Meat House in North Beverly and I got the swiss chard from a farmer’s market. The rib eye gets a dry rub that should be done in advance, as it needs a little time to absorb the dry rub love. However, this is the most complicated part of the rib eye recipe.

The “mise en place” for the rib eye is:

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, ground
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, ground
• 2 22 to 24-ounce bone in rib-eye steaks
• “Big fat finishing oil” aka. a really good olive oil

Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl and rub all over the steaks, getting in all of the nooks and crannies. Wrap each steak in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Mine only sat in the rub for about 10 hours since I was too tired to rub the night before and did it the morning of; it was still tasty as all get out.

Preheat the grill and remove the steaks from the fridge. You want meat to get close to room temperature before grilling. It took my gas grill about 20 minutes to get fully hot and I let my steaks warm up for the same amount of time.

Remove the plastic wrap and place the steaks on the grill over medium-high heat. These need to char well; let them go for about 3-4 minutes per side. Move the steaks to a cooler part of the grill and cook for another 3-4 minutes per side for a medium rare steak.

Take off the grill and let them rest for about 8-10 minutes. I recommend under some tented foil to keep them warm.

Cut the meat off the bone and slice on the bias across the grain. Serve the slices with a drizzle of the “big fat finishing oil”.

My husband literally drooled when he saw this steak from The Meat House.

While the steak was coming up to room temperature and the grill was warming, I got the chosen side going, Swiss Chard with Pancetta and Baby Turnips going.

Here is the “mise en place” for the swiss chard with pancetta and turnips:

• Kosher salt
  
• 1 bunch of baby turnips, tops removed (I couldn’t find any baby turnips, so substituted purple top turnips)
  
• Extra virgin olive oil
  
• ½ cup pancetta, cut into and ¼-inch dice
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
  
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
  
• 1 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed and cut into ½-inch lengths, leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons (roll leaves and slice the roll lengthwise for easy ribbons)
  
• ½ cup chicken or veggie stock
  

   
  

Boil a medium pot of super-salt water; Anne recommends tasting the water to check the saltiness. Toss in the turnips and let the water come back up to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size of your turnips. My turnips took closer to 12 minutes, and I chose the smallest purple top turnips I could find. Drain the turnips and let them cool.

When the turnips are cool enough to touch, use a clean kitchen towel to rub off the skin. I found it helpful to cut the skin with a knife to get it started. Cut the turnips into quarters and reserve.

Coat a large sauté pan lightly with olive oil, add the pancetta, the smashed garlic cloves and the red pepper flake, and bring to medium-high heat. Remove the garlic when it’s turned a golden brown color, about 2-3 minutes.

When the pancetta gets brown and crispy (aka. awesome), add the turnips, the stems from the chard, and the stock and cook until the stock has mostly evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the chard leaves and sauté until just wilted. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.

I also have an obsession with carbonara, so later in the week I tried Anne’s carbonara recipe. It was my most successful carbonara rendition to date, but it was a little saucier than I like my carbonara. However, it was absolutely delicious. I will definitely make it again however I will use 6 or 7 eggs instead of the recommended 8.

All in all, I found this to be an engaging cookbook with smart recipes and easy to follow directions. The finished dishes were impressive and tasty while still being meals I would make on a weeknight, and in the case of the carbonara, I did. The rib-eye was a standout that we could cut with our fork and will definitely be making again and again. I would absolutely recommend that you go purchase this cookbook!