"The best" American spin on some classic fare

IN THE KITCHEN:  I’ve read about the Zuni Café in San Francisco for years (although I’ve yet to eat there), intrigued by the story of chef Judy Rodgers’ serendipitous initiation into cooking as a high school exchange student with the famed Troisgros brothers, owners of Les Frères Troisgros in Roanne, France.

By: Faith Bahadurian

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Judy Rodgers’ "The Zuni Café Cookbook" (W.W. Norton, 2002). At the James Beard Awards, the Zuni Café was awarded the S. Pellegrino Outstanding Restaurant Award and "The Zuni Café Cookbook" won the KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year Award.  



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   "Serendipitous?" you may ask. Well, it just happened that Ms. Rodgers’ neighbors at home in St. Louis, Mo., were friends of la famille Troisgros, and wouldn’t it be dandy if little Judy could stay with them, and oh yes, while she’s there, her academic project could be to take notes on the techniques and recipes followed in the kitchen? Mind you, she had no prior interest in cooking.
   "Why couldn’t I have had neighbors like that?" I asked.
   Ms. Rodgers went to the local lycée each day, but after school she retired to the restaurant kitchen and documented every recipe prepared there, and then absorbed even more of the philosophy of la cuisine généreuse with the sister, Madeleine Troisgros, and the father, Jean-Baptiste Troisgros. By the time Ms. Rodgers returned home in 1974, she hadn’t actually cooked much, but had developed a deep appreciation for the best of regional French cuisine. However, having seen 13-year old apprentices in French kitchens, she thought it was too late for her.
   That is, until she walked into Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., in 1977 and was offered the opportunity to learn to cook at the side of pioneer Alice Waters. The following years, which included more travel in France and Italy and a stint with Marion Cunningham learning the "new American cuisine," led her, in 1987, to the chef’s spot in the Zuni Café, and to national fame.
   Earlier this month, at the James Beard Awards, the Zuni Café was awarded the S. Pellegrino Outstanding Restaurant Award and The Zuni Café Cookbook won the KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year Award. I’ve had the book for months now, intending to make Rodgers’ famous roast chicken served on a salad of toasted country bread and tangy greens, or else one of her restorative soups or elemental egg dishes.
   But instead I just keep reading about the food, as the book is an impassioned paean to the importance of quality ingredients treated with respect, and honest preparations that are not overwrought with extraneous fillips. Reading the recipes is pure pleasure, with lots of sensual hints about how the food should look, feel, and even sound, as you prepare it. It is, to me, simply the best contemporary "American style" interpretation of regional French and Italian regional cuisine around, and there’s not a recipe in there that doesn’t make me wish I lived in her neighborhood.
STRACCIATELLE IN BROTH WITH SORREL
adapted from The Zuni Café Cookbook,
W.W. Norton, 2002
Makes about 4¼ cups
Sorrel is easy to grow and reliably hardy year after year. Ms. Rodgers’ recipe for chicken stock is three pages long, but basically advises cooking a cut up chicken (preferably with feet and head, otherwise add additional wings) for four hours in barely simmering water to cover, with carrot, onion, and celery. Boil the chicken first, skim off the foam, then add the vegetables and plenty of salt.
About 4 cups best quality chicken broth
   Salt
   1 large cold very fresh egg
   1 tablespoon semolina
   4 teaspoons lightly packed, finely grated pecorino romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
   Scant 2 ounces tender sorrel leaves, stems trimmed
   Place the stock in a 2- to 4-quart pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste and correct for salt. Skim any fat.
   Lightly beat the egg with the semolina and cheese just until homogenous. Cut the sorrel into skinny ribbons. Add both to the simmering broth. After 5 seconds, stir vigorously with a fork, and then reduce the heat slightly. The sorrel "rags" will look like mimosa blossoms (like delicate puffs). Let cook for about one minute at a bare simmer. The beaten egg will clarify the broth as the "rags" firm up. Serve instantly in warm bowls.
FRIED EGGS IN BREAD CRUMBS
from The Zuni Café Cookbook
One serving
Ms. Rodgers likes these for dinner with a salad of bitter greens. If preparing for more than a few people, you can toast all the crumbs in a 425-degree oven in advance. Then scatter them in the skillet, add remaining oil, and proceed as directed below.
3 tablespoons packed, fresh, soft breadcrumbs made from slightly stale, crustless, chewy, white peasant-style bread
   Salt
   About 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   A few fresh thyme or marjoram leaves or coarsely chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
   2 eggs
   About 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or sherry vinegar
Sprinkle the crumbs with salt, then drizzle with enough of the oil to just oversaturate them. Place the crumbs in a 6-to 8-inch French steel omelette pan or nonstick skillet and set over medium heat. (If you like your fried eggs over easy, reserve some of the oiled raw crumbs to sprinkle on the top of the eggs just before you flip them over.) Let the crumbs warm through, then swirl the pan as they begin drying out — which will make a quiet staticky sound. Stir once or twice.
   The moment you see the crumbs begin to color, quickly add the remaining oil (and the herbs, if you’re using them), then crack the eggs directly into the crumbs. Cook the eggs as you like.
   Slice onto a warm plate, and then add the vinegar to the hot pan. Swirl the pan once, then pour the drops of sizzling vinegar over the eggs.