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International Cookbook Revue
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The Buffet Book
by Carole Peck
Over the years I have developed a style of cooking called "American Fusion" and my book, the buffet book, first published by Viking Press, is a collection of 175 easy, cook-ahead dishes for stylish entertaining.
Buffets are the way many hosts choose to entertain their guests today. There is a lovely informality and each guest can serve themselves from a sumptuous array of dishes. The buffet not only allows you to have something for everyone; it allows the hosts to enjoy the party as well.
I want to allow people to be guests at their own parties, but the book can just as easily be used by a caterer or professional chef who wishes to utilize any ideas and recipes for their own party or event.
America Fusion is taking the best of what is available - regardless of the ethnic or geographic origins - and creating delicious, seasonal and attractive dishes.
When I talk about fusion cooking, I am not referring to mixing unlikely ingredients; fusion does not destroy the authenticity of different foods. Each recipe in the book stands on its own, but each reflects the different influences of regional cooking. The book has international appeal for that reason. As an American I am more likely to create this kind of book because of the multitude of different cultures in the United States. I have been influenced by many different ethnic foods in my career.
The book is arranged seasonally because my cooking is based on what is fresh, available and in season at the time. Although this is different in various parts of the world, the basic concept remains the same: be aware of the seasons and the foods that are fresh and available locally. Decorations for the tables can also be natural bouquets, or fruits and vegetables in the dishes, which become part of the decor.
The menus reflect not only what is available during a particular season, but the changes in our preferences as the year unfolds. The refreshment and stimulus we seek in spring and summer differs from the warmth and comfort of a successful fall or winter party.
It is important to remember that portions for buffets tend to be smaller than a sit-down', dinner party because each guest has the opportunity to sample a variety of dishes. Also, the host or hostess wants to be sure to include enough dishes to satisfy the tastes of all the guests.
People who entertain today tend to invite more guests. With a buffet party you can invite everyone on your list, cut down the number of times you have parties, and do away with the more formal dinner party atmosphere. It's also easier, then, to create dishes that appeal to every palate and fit each person's dietary needs. My recipes can be expanded, from smaller portions to dishes that serve even greater numbers. The flavors, tastes and ingredients are not repeated from one recipe to the next, so, depending on the time of year, you can create a buffet unlike anything you've ever done before, and use natural ingredients, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Learning about food has been a lifelong affair for me. The classic story was that I used to bring blood and tongue sandwiches and liverwurst sandwiches to kindergarten while others brought peanut butter and jelly. I stopped doing that because I realized that other kids simply weren't willing to trade, but I still adored liverwurst on rye; it was my favorite sandwich.
My childhood memories of food include a strong Ukrainian heritage, the experience of eating out, and the opportunity to develop a sophisticated palate at a young age. I had a rounded education in terms of food, in spite of a rather traditional American upbringing. And later, when my interest in the arts had been sparked, I began to turn those design skills to use in the kitchen. I had been doing a lot of pottery and sculpture, cooking was an accumulation of those skills. I could be artistic, use my hands, be fast, think on my feet, and cooking gave me the means to leave home and travel.
Eventually, I attended the American Culinary Institute at Hyde Park, New York. Everything came together -the artistic background, the love for food - and I realized that this was the career for me.
From there I had a lot of varied experiences in the industry. I moved from Florida to Cape Cod, and from the southern coast to Texas. I had been trained in classical French cooking at the Culinary Institute and at the time there were no variations on themes in our cooking. We used Ie Repertoire, which was basically a dictionary. Everyone in the profession used this and never took the liberty to vary anything. Certainly that was good because I learned all the basics, but every time I went to a different place to work I began to experience regional or. ethnic cooking. By the time I was 24 I was Head Chef at Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head, North Carolina, supervising a large kitchen staff. Later, working at various country clubs, I began to experiment with theme parties.
I planned special events, such as a huge buffet where I was up nights on end making pates and flower paintings with vegetable gelatins on turkey and hams. I even entered a competition where I used calves tongue to make a bridge over a mirror, with turnips as water lilies. One amazing buffet table formed a giant square with palm trees and live parrots in the center.
I designed tropical themes and New England themes. These jobs gave me a lot of poetic license, I did research and experimented with different kinds of cooking. I was thinking regionally, even globally, even though I didn't know how it would impact my cooking in the future. I was never a chef who was afraid of parties or who always made the same dishes. I always experimented and tried out new things like decorations and lay- out. This was always important to me.
As Executive Chef at the Fisher Island Club, off shore Miami Beach, I had the chance to create some wonderful par-ties. For the opening celebration there I worked with an unlimited budget and created various buffets throughout the island. The beach club was all sushi, fish stations were decorated with ginger blossoms, and in the main club house one whole room was pates and another, appetizers. The dessert area was decorated with Japanese floral arrangements.
The innovation was there; they let me do what I wanted. I could even go out and find dishes and decorations -whatever made the party work. Eventually I left Miami and became the Head Chef at Cafe Greco in New York, which became famous for inaugurating the beginning of the Mediterranean trend in cooking. I loved New York, but didn't love living there and so I started looking for place in Connecticut on weekends.
I had already done a lot of different kinds of cooking. After opening a restaurant in Connecticut the creative juices were really flowing. I knew I wanted to do a book on global cuisine. I had been all over the planet, in terms of combining foods. I really thought a book like this would work.
Food Arts magazine named me one of the nation's top young chefs in 1992, in 1994 Eating Well magazine put me on their honor roll of eight chefs from around the country, and I was one of four chefs chosen from a group of 900 to cook for the Julia Child Cookbook Awards. I have probably done close to 2,000 parties in my 28 years as a professional chef, and I still relish the art of combining flavors in new ways that ring true to the palate, making the food on the plate look as beautiful as a painting, and using the flowers, linens, dishes and decorations to create the ultimate dining experience. Writing the buffet book seemed like a natural extension of my career.
About a year after we opened the Good News Cafe in Woodbury, where we cater for many celebrities who have residence in Connecticut, I started the buffet book. It made so much sense to me; I knew how to run a party, what you need to look out for, and what questions to ask yourself, or a caterer. The hard part was figuring out which recipes to choose to include in the book; I couldn't use them all.
The book needed to be user-friendly for home cooks. Anyone should be able to pick up this book and see that it can really work for them; a lot of the recipes aren't difficult.
The book includes guidelines about how to envision your party without being totally intimidated. There are a lot of little details that are routine for me, but other people may not know where to begin. You have to think about where the event is to be held, what it is going to be, and where the guests will park. There are a lot of things that some people might forget; this is a concise guideline, yet creative enough that you can plan the party to suit your own
Home.
A lot of professionals who wish to improve their expertise at creating buffets might look at this book and find good ideas. I didn't include a lot of chicken dishes, for instance, because everyone has their favorite main course, but there are a lot of other recipes that might help you to enhance your menu.
You don't need a lot of utensils to make these recipes. You need good ingredients that are in season, and prepared properly. Other than that, all you need are the proper tools, a good heat source, and water.
Fusion cuisine takes the best food from all parts of the world. My book is very broad-ranged, giving recipes and foods that use a variety of ingredients. Americans have expanded their horizons recently, but so many other cultures have always eaten interesting food. This book helps to incorporate all those kinds of foods and make buffets that offer a variety of tastes. European chefs will find this book just as helpful as will any American cook.
This is not typical American food - not just the cobbler or chowder, okra and fried chicken - it's a book that tells you how to entertain. The key is variety, and if you are French, German or Australian, it encourages you to try other things.
I also wanted people to have the freedom to make a party the way they envision it, to add what they like, and eliminate the ingredients that they don't like. On really busy days I still make myself a list, and it helps me to get through. That's what this book can do for people; I also suggest unusual table decorations, putting something a little quirky on the table, like jellybeans or a child's toy. There are lots of things that are possible and don't cost a lot of money, but have style.
My book is global, with variety, and is intended for anyone who likes to cook. You can put on a decent party that is economical, interesting and reasonable to do, but still entertain 25 to 30 people. When you want to accommodate everyone's tastes, plan a buffet.
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