Randy Shore, journalist, cookbook author and gardener, was first introduced to Korean cuisine in a dingy noodle shop on the streets of Seoul where customers crowded in to slurp unidentifiable dishes. He was served a bowl of broth, noodles and a raw egg. He loved it.
In his latest cookbook, Home and Away (Arsenal Pulp Press) he tells travel tales and features recipes from around the world: Chinese braised pork belly, Indian matar paneer, Moroccan borek, European schnitzel and such North American specialties as smoked salmon and boozy pecan pie.
His previous book, Grow What You Eat, Eat What You Grow, concentrated more on home-grown dishes, many of them using vegetables whisked directly from his Roberts Creek garden into the pan. This latest 185-page cookbook with many colour photos has been co-written with Randy’s wife, Darcy Shore, a familiar face behind the counter at The Seasoned Kitchen in Gibsons, where the couple will hold their Coast book launch on Saturday, May 6.
It also features interviews with renowned chefs from Vikram Vij to Mario Batali. Their passion for the culinary arts comes shining through. But the emphasis is not upon exquisitely manicured dishes from Michelin star restaurants. As Batali says: “In Tokyo … my real favourite meal is found outside the train station, where the vendors are lined up under a plastic tarp … grilling a specific piece of chicken.”
Since I wanted to test a recipe and my tastes yearn towards Italy, I turned to page 111, Penne Pugliese. I give it my official “lazy cook” award of the day – this simple pasta dish is quick and easy, involving fresh asparagus, garlic (or scapes) and an aromatic Italian bacon called pancetta. Bellissimo!
My only quarrel with this diverse cookbook is in the page layout. The list of ingredients is in capital letters, making it visible when the book lies open on the counter, but the method of preparing the dish is in tiny print, and cooks will have to squint to read.
Meet Randy and Darcy Shore at The Seasoned Kitchen in Gibsons Park Plaza this Saturday, May 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
