The conceit of the Food Network show Dinner: Impossible
is that dinner is always possible, and in this quirky cookbook, host Irvine (Mission: Cook!
) brings his show-tested know-how (frogs leg’s over an open fire, anyone?) to home cooking. In his Mise-En Place chapter, for instance, he outlines an approach for getting organized, developing a personal arsenal of tools and ingredients and using the freezer as a strategic weapon, then includes a series of recipes that demonstrate the importance of setting up ahead of time, like dishes of flour, egg and breadcrumbs for a veal cutlet that needs breading or assembling different components in a logical order for duck confit with three-bean cassoulet. Irvine’s dishes range from the prosaic (chicken pot pie; scalloped potatoes) to the wild (venison potatoes brandade; sea scallops over leeks with mango curry chocolate sauce) but his can-do attitude, emphasis on technique and helpful timelines make them equally approachable. While readers may find that the order of the book is a bit unconventional, those willing to delve into it will find Irvine’s advice practical and illuminating and his recipes solid. Photos.
(Mar.)
