Synopses & Reviews
For more than ten years, Mark Peel has designated Monday nights at Campanile, his James Beard Award–winning Los Angeles restaurant, to be Family Dinner Night: everyone feasts on the same themed, three-course dinner, served family style. Week after week, year after year, diners come back for the warm welcome, the relaxed atmosphere, and, most of all, for Mark Peel's food. Family Dinner Night promises Peel's special takes on popular comfort food dishes; in his hands an old favorite like Veal Parmesan becomes Breaded Veal Scaloppini with Smoked Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Tomato Sauce, and wild mushrooms turn Macaroni and Cheese into something truly memorable. Inventive, enticing, and perfectly satisfying, this is home-style cooking few of us ever thought we could achieve at home. But thanks to
New Classic Family Dinners, now you can.
In this luscious, inspiring cookbook, Peel shows you how to re-create the most popular dishes from his weekly specials, with more than 200 recipes that will delight your family on a weeknight and wow the crowd on a special occasion. Every single recipe was tested in Peel's own home kitchen—where he has only one strainer, just like the rest of us, and no kitchen staff to clean up after him. Peel stripped away extraneous steps and flourishes, leaving behind only the techniques and ingredients that guarantee spectacular meals. Step-by-step photographs make his instructions perfectly clear. Homemade ravioli? No problem! What began as restaurant recipes are now accessible to any home cook.
And oh, what recipes. Simple weeknight dishes like Butter Lettuce Salad with Stilton and Walnuts; Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Basil; or Cornmeal-crusted Pan-fried Trout appear alongside more complicated—but worth every second—recipes like Lobster Pot Pie or Lasagne with Bolognese Sauce, Creamed Spinach, and Poached Egg. Desserts are inspired by in-season fruits and Peel's memories of childhood, treats like Peach Melba, Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart, or Devil's Food Layer Cake with White Mountain Frosting. A section at the end shows Peel's Family Dinner Night menus from Campanile, but of course you're free to put meals together any way you like—the possibilities are endless.
Once you discover these extraordinary versions of ordinary dishes and learn how easy it is to adapt them for a table for two or a crowd of ten, you'll be inspired to make every night a special family-and-friends dinner night.
Review
[Starred review] In this sophisticated yet homecentric cookbook, Peel, the longtime chef/owner of Los Angeles’s Campanile restaurant has assembled favorite dishes from his famed Monday night Family Dinners. In signature style, Peel, writing with Shulman (Mediterranean Harvest), elevates the common vernacular of comfort food —veal scaloppine, grasshopper pie—to refinement with select ingredients like smoked mozzarella and homemade vanilla ice cream, respectively, plus a bit of extra-mile technique (running a pureed potato leek soup through a sieve or toasting and grinding spices for a shrimp boil). If a reader needs an excuse to revive clams casino in the home kitchen, he’s given ample justification with a simple, no-fail recipe, but if there is a hankering, say, for a more seasonal, green market dish like fresh shell-bean ragout, Peel’s got it covered, too. Peel offers tips on menu planning, choosing produce and environmentally friendly seafood choices. The skill level required varies—making Peel’s labor-intensive lobster potpie will demand more experience than his tuna confit. In most cases the ingenuity of process trumps conceptual creativity, and readers will find comfort in the familiarity of the dishes, which will make any home table proud. (Oct.) (Publishers Weekly, May 26, 2009)
Synopsis
At the award-winning Campanille restaurant in Los Angeles, chef Mark Peel devotes his Monday-night menu to classic comfort food dishes, including anything from fried chicken and eggplant parmesan to clams casino and beef goulash. But these are far from ordinary dishes -- they're the best-ever versions, honed to perfection by one of the country's best-loved chefs. New Classic Family Dinners is the product of ten years of Peel's Monday-night menus at Campanille, all of which will be adored by friends and family and are easily adapted for a table for two or a crowd of ten. Recipe chapters include Salads and Warm Starters, Soups, Pasta and Risotto, Meat and Meat Stews, Poultry and Rabbit, Fish and Shellfish, Side Dishes, Desserts, with gorgeous, rustic photography throughout. In addition, there are menu suggestions, hand-holding directions, and even step-by-step photos to walk you through techniques for preparing homemade ravioli or making pesto from scratch. With Peel's excellent guidance, all levels of home cooks will in no time be impressing dinner guests with dishes like Macaroni and Cheese with Wild Mushrooms, Steak with Anchovy Butter, and Monkfish Ossobucco.
Synopsis
A sumptuous collection of the best "Family Dinner Night" recipes from Mark Peel's award-winning Los Angeles restaurant, CampanileFor more than ten years, acclaimed chef Mark Peel has used Campanile's Monday night dinner menus to present his own special takes on popular comfort food dishes like eggplant parmesan and beef goulash. In New Classic Family Dinners, he shares recipes for more than 200 of his best-ever versions of family favorites such as Macaroni and Cheese with Wild Mushrooms, Steak with Anchovy Butter, and Monkfish Osso Bucco.
Peel's explanations and excellent guidance make it easy to follow the recipes, both for those relatively new in the kitchen as well as for more experienced cooks. Culled from more than ten years of Campanile's Monday night menus, the book features
- Upscale twists on popular, traditional dishes-honed to perfection by one of the nation's best-loved chefs
- More than 200 recipes, with clear instructions and step-by-step photos
- Options for every part of the menu, from starters to entrees and desserts
- Easy-to-make dishes (such as Cornmeal Dusted Pan-fried Trout) and more complicated recipes (such as Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce or Lobster Pie)
Once you discover these extraordinary versions of ordinary dishes and learn how easy it is to adapt them for a table for two or a crowd of ten, you'll be inspired to make every night a special family-and friends-dinner night.
Synopsis
A sumptuous collection of the best "Family Dinner Night" recipes from Mark Peel's award-winning Los Angeles restaurant, Campanile"Like our regular Campanile menus, Monday night family dinner menus are seasonal. Sometimes they revolve around a holiday, sometimes around an ingredient that's in season for a short time, sometimes around a type of food, such as shellfish. My inspiration for the menu is usually an idea for the main dish, and this sets the tone for the meal. Some menus are thematic. Often I'll have a craving for a comforting American or European family dish, like pot au feu, coq au vin, roast beef, seven-hour leg of lamb, or a more low-brow comfort food classic like tuna noodle casserole (but we make it with homemade tuna confit, creamy béchamel sauce, and the highest-quality Gruyère cheese)."
—Mark Peel
"This book of simple, delicious recipes brings us to our senses and back to the table with our kids!"
—Alice Waters, Chez Panisse
"Here is a collection of recipes that will make you want to cook at home every night. Mark Peel has revitalized our favorite classic dishes, bringing them up to date with the best ingredients possible in the style of a great cook."
—Wolfgang Puck
"When you pull back the curtain on any great chef,what you find is a person with a true passion and love for food. Mark's enthusiasm for his craft comes across on every page of New Classic Family Dinners. I hopethis collection of recipes finds its way into yourfamily dinner repertoire."
—Tom Colicchio
About the Author
Mark Peel is the owner and executive chef of Campanile, a Los Angeles favorite since 1989. Campanile won the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award in 2001 and has been nominated for three other Beard Awards. The restaurant has also won the
Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Award, the DiRoNA Distinguished Restaurant of North America Award, and the International Star Diamond Award for Outstanding Hospitality. Peel lives in Los Angeles with his family.
Martha Rose Shulman is the award-winning author of more than 25 cookbooks, including Entertaining Light and Mediterranean Harvest. A regular contributor to Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Cooking Light, and the New York Times, she lives in Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
9 INTRODUCTION
14 SALADS AND WARM STARTERS
64 SOUPS
86 PASTA AND RISOTTO
116 MEAT AND MEAT STEWS
148 POULTRY AND RABBIT
170 FISH AND SHELLFISH
200 SIDE DISHES
238 DESSERTS
270 CAMPANILE FAMILY
DINNER MENUS
276 INDEX