Amateurs: Into the Kitchen!

Park Slope resident Adam Roberts, the culinary novice behind the blog amateurgourmet.com, has joined that rarified circle of bloggers turned authors with his first book, The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop and Table Hop Like a Pro (Bantam), which came out this August. By Shani R. Friedman

Roberts started the blog in January 2004 while in his third year of law school at Emory University as a way to stay sane since he hated studying law. His blog and the new direction in his life took off after Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl when he decided to make a breast cake to commemorate the event, and attracted the attention of CNN. Since then he has learned what you need to have a well-stocked pantry, why your kitchen knives are all wrong and, through the guidance of Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet, how to do dine well with confidence and have fun. Roberts firmly believes that no matter your budget or skill level (he comes from a family that never cooked and the kitchen was used for storage), if you have the interest, you too can have a lasting love affair with food.

What are your favourite places to shop for food and tools in Park Slope?

Surprisingly, I really do enjoy the Key Food right near my apartment. It’s an Old World grocery store—most of the produce comes packed in styrofoam—and yet I love the abundance of food you can find there. Their international section is great; they have a nice array of olive oil and vinegar and in the meat section they carry D’Artagnan products (including truffle butter and chorizo) and Bell & Evans chicken. Otherwise, when I want fish that doesn’t look like it might kill me, I go to Union Market which, although expensive, has a great seafood selection as well as meat (I just bought a 3 pound pork loin there that was excellent). The Brooklyn farmer’s market appears on Saturday in Grand Army Plaza, and it’s totally worth visiting.

Where do you like to dine out when you’re in Park Slope? Are there chefs that you like working in any area restaurants?

Anna Klinger at Al Di La is a Park Slope treasure: her food is unpretentious and wonderful and there were too many times, this year, when I would cajole my boyfriend into going despite our dwindling assets. A dinner there, especially in winter when you want something hardy, rejuvenates the spirit and makes life feel ok. Also, we went to Palo Santo on Valentine’s Day and that was a lovely experience too.

What does your kitchen look like? What’s the best gadget that you’ve invested in?

My kitchen looks like an absolute mess. I have a rickety bookcase with recipe books. My obituary will read that I died under the collapse of the bookcase. Right now that pork loin that I mentioned is still sitting on the counter: I’ve yet to clean up from the dinner we had two nights ago! When it’s clean, though, it’s not very big. It’s just a countertop with a sink, a four burner stove and an oven. We put the kitchen table right near everything so I use the table to chop and roll out pastry dough, etc. If I didn’t have the table there, I’d be hurting for space. My best kitchen gadget is my Kitchen-Aid mixer: I make stellar desserts with very little effort. I can’t imagine life without it.

Have you had any injuries or freak accidents while cooking?

Are you kidding? I am The Amateur Gourmet, after all. The most recent and most terrifying was the night I was making onion rings and I mindlessly kept adding more and more onions to the pot of bubbling oil. I heard a sizzle and then the pot boiled over and I rapidly grabbed it and moved it away from the heat just as it did and prevented what might have been a really awful grease fire. Do you have a favourite meal? I always like to cook pasta. It’s so rewarding and easy. My last meal would be pasta, strawberry shortcake and salad to be healthy even though I was about to die.

What’s the most expensive item of food you’ve ever bought?

Nothing outrageous, but Mirepoix USA once sent me an entire lobe of foie gras to write about on my site. I made a foie gras torchon which was an elevating and slightly unnerving experience (try pulling veins out of an engorged duck liver sometime, you’ll see what I mean). The resulting torchon, though, was worth the effort.

How was dining out with Ruth Reichl?

She’s a tough cookie. She made me feel very grown up. She challenged me. I felt like I was in the lion’s den. That experience made me feel like I’d come such a long way from law school.

What does your family think about your immersion into the world of food?

They think I’m a space alien beamed down to their house. But they’re coming around. My mother called me after a meal out and started telling me about what she thought of the place and the first course. She’s trying to communicate with me on that level. My dad gets offended if I don’t take pictures of his meal.

Do you have a goal for your book, besides the obvious?

I would love for someone who hates cooking to pick up my book and go for a nice meal.