cover image The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter

The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter

Charlie Trotter. Ten Speed Press, $35 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-89815-997-4

The popular Chicago restaurateur is back, and if the format here is somewhat smaller and the price lower than that of Charlie Trotter's Seafood and ...Vegetables, his culinary style hasn't changed. A companion to next year's 13-part public TV series, these 79 recipes reflect Trotter's signature flair for combining tastes with irrepressible zeal. While not beyond the grasp of most home cooks, the complexity of many dishes, such as Pinwheel of Scallop with Cumin-Scented Fettuccine and Heirloom Tomato Sauce or Roasted Cornish Game Hen with Potato Pave and Gingered Mustard Sauternes Sauce, can be daunting. International flavors abound, from Catfish Tempura with Lemongrass-Jalapeno-Ponzu Dipping Sauce to the French-accented Lobster en Barigoule. Trotter stresses that ingredients are interchangeable, but when he notes that Duck Breast Salad with Wilted Greens, Warm Goat Cheese and Walnut Vinaigrette works well with beef, he doesn't suggest what cut of beef to use or how to prepare it. Still, with such recipes as Mediterranean-Inspired Beef Tenderloin with Quinoa and Red Wine-Black Olive Vinaigrette (which calls for the meat to be larded with eggplant, poblano chile, red bell pepper and anchovies), Trotter continues to create intriguing meals. Photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)