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Off the Eaten Path: Inspired Recipes for Adventurous Cooks
Bob Blumer

Format: Paperback, 144pp.
ISBN: 0345421507
Publisher: Ballantine Publishing Group
Pub. Date: April 2000

When Bob Blumer does cooking, he does cooking...well, differently. Instead of cooking shrimp on the Bar-B, this guy throws it on a six-cylinder car engine. He poaches salmon in the dishwasher and gets kicks out of creating optical illusions with food, such as pound cake "fries" with raspberry "catsup". He unites adventure and cooking in unprecedented ways and--voilà--still manages to put tasty eye-pleasers on the table.

If shrimp à la car engine isn't your forte, Off the Eaten Path offers other savvy creations that will impress guinea-pig guests. Blumer's five "winner dinners" include such succulent delicacies as seared ahi tuna tacos with avocado salsa, and mango and Brie quesadillas. The dinners come complete with music selections to dine, cook and clean by; wine recommendations; and prep-time estimates so you know what you are getting yourself into.

Off the Eaten Path also offers cinematic suppers, a sophisticated variant of the TV dinner, where what you eat is directly related to the movie you are watching. Picture sipping on chocolate martinis, devouring turkey "escalopes" with mole, and catching airborne cumin popcorn in your mouth while watching the 1992 film Like Water for Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate). That should give you the idea.

This unique book makes a wonderful apartment-warming gift for a young adult heading into the last year of college or the working world. It demystifies wine with a wheel guide that can match any food to its red or white counterpart. It lists essential utensils and good substitutes. (No salad spinner? Simply whirl a plastic bag of greens around your head as you dance to the recommended music.) It reveals the secrets of throwing a great party. And it all begins with this comforting preamble for novice cooks: matching silverware is not essential, and neither is a made-by-you dessert (you can buy it or delegate it).

In short, Off the Eaten Path is savvy enough to get past the food police; funny enough that your son, niece, granddaughter--or you--will love reading it; and so time- and pocketbook-conscious that beginners will actually use it. On top of that, it has the power to make culinary connoisseurs out of currently clumsy cooks--even if they poach salmon in the dishwasher!

One of Bob Blumer's food-optical illusions

"Bed" of Polenta
Serves two as an entrée

Polenta "Bed"

1 cup polenta

Prepare polenta according to package directions (for additional flavor, replace water with chicken stock, and add salt and pepper, chopped fresh herbs, and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese).
Spread a 3/4-inch layer of cooked polenta in a greased 8 x 10-inch baking pan and let set until solid (this may take an hour or so).
Cut two 4 x 5-inch slabs of polenta.
Just before serving, finish polenta by sautéing in a pan with one or two teaspoons of olive oil for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until it is browned and crispy on the outside.

Pasta "Sheet"

2 sheets fresh uncut pasta, cut into 5-inch squares. (You can find uncut sheets of pasta at fresh pasta stores.) Alternatively, use extra-wide sheets of dried lasagna pasta and make single "beds."

Boil pasta in a large pot according to package directions.
Strain pasta into a colander that has been coated with olive oil on the inside (to avoid stickage).

Ravioli "Pillows"

4 pieces fresh ravioli

Boil ravioli according to directions.
Strain ravioli into a colander that has been coated with olive oil on the inside.

Assemble beds on warmed plates, then spoon sauce around perimeter.

Specialty Ingredient
Whole pasta sheets

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BeyondWork members can order Off the Eaten Path from Barnes & Noble at the special price of $17.10, a savings of 14% off the list price.