Marcus Off Duty

September 15, 2014
Many New Yorkers like to think of themselves as citizens of the world, but Samuelsson has the credentials to prove it. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, he cooked his way across Switzerland, Austria, and France before settling as a celebrity chef at his renowned restaurant in Harlem, Red Rooster. In this, his fifth book, he draws from all the quarters of his lifetime, as well as from many other parts of the globe, and offers over 130 “recipes I cook at home.” The Swiss influence is apparent in dishes such as his Grandmother Helga’s meatballs in a crazy gravy made with chicken broth, cream, lingonberry preserves and pickled cucumber juice. East African cuisine is reflected in his doro wat, a chicken stew served over tortillas and topped with a chicken liver spread. There are French crepes, Americanized with rhubarb-strawberry compote and American baked potatoes made French with blue cheese. The collection is organized into nine somewhat random chapters. Early on, there is a section with ten “special days” recipes for holidays as disparate as Passover, Mardi Gras, and Kwanzaa. Then the final third of the book is organized by type with chapters on soups, sides, and desserts. In between is a helpful Cooking with Kids chapter, and the author’s playlists of “music to cook by,” which suggest that his love for seasonings extends to Salt-N-Pepa, run throughout.

October 1, 2014
Samuelsson has mastered a world of cuisines, moving with gusto from Sweden to Ethiopia to all of Africa. Now he offers a glimpse of what he loves to cook for himself when he's cozily at home with family and not at the stove of one of his restaurants. From his Swedish upbringing he retrieves a simple hash of brisket, ham, and potatoes topped with an egg. He has always had a passion for street foods, the sorts of unique local dishes sold from carts in cities around the world. His version of the iconic Philly steak sandwich forgoes the usual processed cheese in favor of grilled corn in mayonnaise. For a less pedestrian sandwich, Africa meets Mexico in tostados stuffed with Ethiopian chicken stew. Samuelsson also shares some family holiday menus: a Moroccan spiced turkey for Thanksgiving, Austrian knackwurst and kraut for Fathers' Day, jollof rice for Kwanzaa, and yogurt-marinated lamb for Easter.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2014

In his first cookbook since his International Association of Culinary Professionals and James Beard Award-winning and New York Times best seller Yes, Chef, the former executive chef and co-owner of New York's Restaurant Aquavit offers multicultural dishes aimed squarely at the home cook. Samuelsson, who now holds forth at Harlem's Red Rooster, blends Ethiopian, Swedish, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, and Southern soul influences in these 125-plus recipes. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014

Writing with cookbook editor and food stylist Finamore, celebrity chef and New York City restaurateur Samuelsson (Yes, Chef) pairs memories from his life and career with recipes for multiethnic comfort foods. Like Jean-Georges Vongerichten in Home Cooking with Jean-Georges and Elizabeth Falkner in Cooking Off the Clock, he declares these recipes to be the ones he makes outside of work, often in the company of friends and house guests. In doable dishes that favor bold spices, such as the garam masala and serrano chiles in habesha lamb chops with apple-mango chutney, and crunchy and creamy components, such as the fried pickles served with fish & chips and the shrimp salad atop corn dogs, Samuelsson deliciously showcases his knowledge of global flavors and talent for combining them in unexpected ways. VERDICT Highly recommended for adventurous and well-traveled home cooks, as well as fans of Susan Feniger's Street Food.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.