The McLean Connection
A GIFT OF LOVE FROM THE KITCHEN
'When people think of a romantic evening, food is often involved.
Whether it's an intimate candlelit dinner or a pleasant leisurely brunch for two, recipes and menu suggestions can be found in Chef Jacques Haeringer's book, "Two For Tonight."
In this cookbook, Haeringer talks about presenting your loved one with a wonderful meal that is healthy as well as pleasurable. The book also includes general information about some of the ingredients food science and nutrition, lore, facts, history, hints and variations on some of the recipes.
The concept for this book, and for a cooking show of the same name, grew out of classes that Haeringer has been giving at the well-known restaurant L'Auberge Chez Francois, where he is the chef de cuisine. As the restaurant has been voted the Washington area's "most romantic" for many years, and since he said he likes to cook for the ladies, Haeringer says the theme of romance "just came naturally."
What also came naturally was working in his family' restaurant.
Haeringer feels that "love begins in the kitchen," and the book reflects that attitude.
The book is divided into thematic sections with recipes for breakfast in bed, for afternoon brunch, light dinners or lunches, even midnight snacks. There is also a section in the back with basic recipes for stocks, sauces and pastry items that can be used in creating the recipes in the rest of the book.
Each section begins with a list of menu suggestions. The recipes include short notes about the recipe itself or ingredients in it. The directions are step-by-step, telling you how to prepare each part of a recipe, and then how to assemble it. At the end of the recipe, there may be hints, variations, or suggestions on how to serve the food.
In the introduction, Haeringer talks about how food and passion are closely linked and how preparing food for someone you love is a way of showing them how much you love them. He discusses health in terms of presenting food that is wholesome and nutritious and recommends organic foods and game.
He gives his guidelines for preparing these meals, and advises that you bring your loved one into the kitchen with you and finish the dishes off in front of him or her to make the experience more like being in a fine restaurant.
While be talks about health, however, he also does not see any thing wrong with using ingredients such as whole butter or cream. During the Valentine's Day episode of his cooking show, he said "If you have to worry about every bite and every sip, the stress is going to kill you long before the cholesterol." He feels that eating good food should he an enjoyable experience, not a stressful one, From easy-to-prepare to more complex dishes, the recipes in this book range from those that can be made ahead of time, to those that are best done just before sitting down to eat. If you're looking to heat up a relationship with unique, creative meals, this cookbook is one way to go about it.
Cooking classes are offered once or twice a month on a first come, first-served basis. Reservations are taken at http://www.chefjacques.com. Class reservations will not be taken by phone.'
By Rachel Trigg
Haeringer stated out working in his father's restaurant, the original Chez Francois, which was, at one time, located two blocks from the White House. He then went to France to study French cuisine because he felt he had been bred to it (his family has Alsatian roots) and had decided to go into the family business. To him, "the chef is like the captain of a ship."