Simple Pleasures

by Chris Fennimore, Daniel Agüera

Overview

For co-authors Chris Fennimore and Chef Daniel Agüera, their food memories started as children in their grandmothers’ kitchens. Chris’s Italian grandmother could make magic out of the simplest ingredients; Daniel’s Spanish abuela taught him to cook from the heart. In this book, they showcase their families’ best-loved comfort food traditions, along with American classics that should always have a place at the table. The 80 recipes in Simple Pleasures are true “comfort food,” the kind that delivers deep-down satisfaction wrapped in nostalgia. Simple Pleasures aims to bring people back around the table at mealtime and create food memories that will become family traditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943366392
Publisher:	St. Lynn's Press
Publication date:	12/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Chris Fennimore is a popular figure on Pittsburgh’s WQED public television. Since 1993 he has produced and hosted the series “QED Cooks,” winning an Emmy and a James Beard Award along the way. He has produced, contributed to and edited more than 100 community cookbooks in WQED’s “America’s Homecooking Series,” used in membership drives.

Daniel Agüera is a world-traveled chef – born in northern Spain to a restaurant family and now lives in Pittsburgh. He has a formal culinary education and long experience in restaurants (including his own), hotels, stadiums and large commercial food centers. His philosophy is “simple ingredients done well.”

Read an Excerpt

THE EGG AND US [chapter introduction]

Chris – When I was young we ate eggs all the time. We even had an eggman (Roy) who delivered eggs just like the milkman. Every pantry was stocked with egg cups that held one soft boiled egg on top and one kept warm below. We dipped our toast in the runny yolks and enjoyed every delicious bite of that simple pleasure. Then came the cholesterol scare and eggs became a rare treat. Now that the cholesterol facts have been straightened out and we learn that eggs are an economical and healthy source of protein, it seems we are free to enjoy this simple pleasure again for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Daniel – Have you ever heard somebody who lacks confidence or experience in the kitchen say they "can't even boil water?" The Spanish version of that expression is "can't even fry an egg!" Eggs are very special to us kitchen folk: a humble ingredient, typically one of the first things you learn to cook yourself at home, and one that remains a staple ingredient in even the fanciest preparations throughout your kitchen career. Some will tell you that the number of pleats in a chef's toque shows how many ways the chef can prepare an egg, but that's nonsense – no hat could hold that many pleats.

What People are Saying About This

Daniel Mancini

"I knew I would love the recipes in this cookbook! Simple Pleasures is all about a style of cooking that is simple, uncomplicated and respects the use of good ingredients."

host of PBS’s “Ciao Italia” and Mary Ann Esposito

"Simple Pleasures is more than just a cookbook; it is an endearing collection and connection to food as it should be – memorable home cooked dishes made with everyday quality ingredients that are simply cooked to bring out real honest-to-goodness flavor with minimal effort."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette feature / food writer Gretchen McKay

"Simple Pleasures focuses on real ingredients, with meals that are simple to prepare and satisfying flavors – exactly what today's cook looks for and needs in his or her kitchen. Chris Fennimore and Daniel Aguera make preparing meals fun again, with engaging stories and recipes for comfort food even the pickiest eaters will enjoy."

Lidia Bastianich

"Chris and I have cooked many recipes together, but we really bonded behind the stove when we shared our family food stories and our grandmothers’ recipes. Congratulations, Chris! You have put all of those wonderful and deliciously simple recipes in a must-have cookbook, along with the added flavors of Chef Daniel Aguera. Simple Pleasures a collection of simple, delicious recipes and memories."

From the Publisher

This is a cookbook for you and me – accessible food, with recipes that you don’t have to go to chef school to be able to prepare in your own home. The promise of pleasure comes from big flavors of dishes passed down from the authors’ Italian and Spanish grandmothers.
~ Janet Mendel, author of Traditional Spanish Cooking and other books on the cuisine of Spain

Editorial Reviews

"Simple Pleasures is the perfect last-minute gift for the cook on your gift list, especially if he or she loves easy-to-prepare comfort food. … Illustrated with mouth-watering photographs, the cookbook will appeal to beginners as well as more accomplished home cooks.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette