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One-Woman (Food Network) Show: Anne Burrell
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By Fabiana Santana, updated 10/15/2008 at 6:48:17 PM

You probably recognize her as Food Network guru Mario Batali’s right hand woman on Iron Chef America - her spiky, blond hair and control in the kitchen make her a hard one to forget.

But these days, it’s Anne Burrell who could use Mario’s help. She most recently ran the show at hard-to-get-into Centro Vinoteca and Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano in Manhattan’s trendy West Village neighborhood, and now has her own show on the Food Network called Secrets of a Restaurant Chef (10:30am ET/PT) where she shares all the tricks of her trade with home cooks. The overachiever took a break to talk to us about what it’s like having jobs that keep her so well fed.

How did you choose the recipes for your show?
I talk it over with the culinary producers and they tell me what the needs of the audience are. Like if the holidays are coming up, I will develop a bunch of recipes about that. Or if we want to focus on cooking with kids, I will come up with ideas for recipes kids can do.

What are some of your favorite tricks that you are now sharing with a home audience?
One of the important things that I can’t stress enough is to season as you go. Taste everything and season. So many times people get to the end of the recipe and add salt then and it just doesn’t work that way. Taste as you go, and even though it’s not done, it should still taste good and if it doesn’t, season.

What is the item you will miss most on the Centro Vinoteca menu?
That’s a hard one. Probably the pork chop. It’s just delicious. It’s big, meaty and juicy. Just yummy.

You also worked as Mario Batali’s sous chef in Iron Chef America. How was that? Did you learn new tricks or techniques?
There was no tie to experiment with cooking on the show, but it was always so much fun. Battle pizza dough was a good one. We baked it and then pureed it and made a bread based soup. And in another recipe we rolled and grilled it and then cooked it like pasta.

What was your favorite secret ingredient?
There have been so many but probably battle Parmigiano. That was a great one.

How do you balance your workload – the consulting, the TV show, your appearances and everything else you do?
It takes a lot of juggling. But I am lucky to have great people helping me and reminding me to do things and where I have to be. And when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.

What is your favorite energy snack for a busy day?
Well I always picked at the restaurant a lot, so I am used to always eating all day. But there were moments when I just have to have cheese. I would stop everything going on in the kitchen and say, "I have to have some cheese right now!" And I still do that.

What is your favorite childhood memory of food?
My mom was a really good cook but always made just enough. And I always wanted more and there wasn’t more! She’d say, “Don’t eat just cause it tastes good” and I’d say “but why not?”. So now I do everything in abundance.

Centro Vinoteca did a lot of small plates. Why? Do you prefer them in a restaurant setting?
Small plates are great. I love them because instead of jumping right into bread you have a chance to eat something else and try new things. I love trying and tasting new stuff.

And what kind of a kitchen do you run – very organized and disciplined or freer flowing?
It’s very serious, but I always have a lot of fun.

What is your favorite music to listen to when cooking?
REM for sure.

In your opinion, what are the home cook’s must have tools in the kitchen?
A really good knife, a wooden spoon and a rubber spatula.

The pantry and fridge items that should always be on hand?
Salt, olive oil, bacon, eggs and pasta. All the Italian staples.

If you were able to get a night off and cook yourself a meal, what would it be?
I am always cooking at the restaurant, so sometimes I don’t cook at home. But if I was going to, it would be pasta carbonara. It’s delicious, quick and easy to do. So yummy. A great recipe for one from the show is the seared sea bass. Just season a piece of fish and sear it in olive oil. It’s just so easy and healthy. The recipe I did is for four, but it can be made for one. Just use one piece of fish and make less veggies. The technique is always the same, though.

Anne Burrell's Recipe for Striped Bass
(as seen on The Food Network)

Ingredients:
Salt
1 bunch asparagus, snapped where it wants to naturally break
2 cups sugar snap peas, tips and strings removed
1 cup shelled fava beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup morel mushrooms, cleaned and cut lengthwise in 1/2
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
4 (6-ounce) wild striped bass fillets, with skin

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water and salt it well. Place the asparagus in the boiling water and cook until the water comes back to a rolling boil. Remove and place it immediately in the salted ice water. When the asparagus has cooled completely, remove it from the water and reserve. Repeat this process with the sugar snap peas and then the fava beans. You can use the same blanching water for all of the veggies, just be sure to always do the fava beans last. Fava beans have very high iron content and will turn the blanching water black. After the beans are blanched and cooled, remove the tough outer skin to reveal a lovely spring green fava bean.

For the veggies:

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Smash the three garlic cloves with the heel of your hand and add to the saute pan. Bring the pan to a medium high heat. When the garlic has become golden brown and very aromatic remove it from the pan and discard it. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the mushrooms and stock, season generously with salt, and saute for 1 minute. Add the prepared veggies, season with salt and saute until all the ingredients are coated with oil and hot and almost all the stock has evaporated. Serve immediately or later at room temperature.

For the fish:

Take the fish out of the refrigerator about 10 to 15 minutes before using. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and season the fish on both sides with salt. Heat a large saute pan coated generously with extra virgin olive oil over high heat. Coat the bottom of another slightly smaller saute pan with olive oil. Gently place the fish fillets skin side down in the saute pan and place the other saute pan directly on top of the fish. The purpose of this is to gently press the skin of the bass onto the bottom of the saute pan to create a lovely crispy fish skin. Be sure to oil the bottom of the top saute pan or the fish will stick to it. After a couple of minutes remove the top saute pan from the fish, this will allow the steam to escape and the skin to become very crispy. As fish cooks it turns from translucent to opaque. The idea is to cook the fish 2/3's of the way on the skin side and flip it over for the last 1/3 of the cooking time. The rule for fish is about 7 to 8 minutes per inch of thickness, a little less if you like your fish more on the rare side.

Watch Anne cook up a storm on TV Sundays at 9:30, or take a peek through the open kitchen at Centro Vinoteca, located at 74 Seventh Avenue South, NYC, NY 212.367.7470.

Premiering Saturday, October 11th at 10:30am ET/PT – SEASON PREMIERE!
The Secret to Steak
Learn to make steakhouse favorites at home with Anne's recipes and insider tips starting with a juicy and flavorful Dry-Rubbed Ribeye paired with Pommes Chef Anne – an impressive yet simple potato side. Her Sautéed Broccoli Rabe offers a fresh alternative to creamed spinach.

Premiering Saturday, October 18th at 10:30am ET/PT
The Secret to Braised Chicken
Anne's delicious Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Almonds offers a unique twist on the everyday chicken recipe accompanied by Sautéed Haricots Verts. Learn how to enrich chocolate sauce with a special Spanish technique, and then turn to France for dessert: chocolate-covered Profiteroles.

Premiering Saturday, October 25th at 10:30am ET/PT
The Secret to Whole Fish
For super-moist and flavorful meat, chefs know cooking it on the bone makes a difference – and fish is no exception! Anne simplifies the steps to Whole Roasted Fish with Herbs and serves it alongside Fregula with Braised Butternut Squash and Tomatoes. Lastly, her Bananas Flambé offer a sizzling sweet treat.

Premiering Saturday, November 1st at 10:30am ET/PT
The Secret to Spaghetti and Meatballs
Everyone needs a good recipe for homemade Marinara Sauce, and Anne shows off her favorite recipe to serve over pasta topped with her Excellent Meatballs. Then, she rounds out the meal with delectable Baked Clams Oreganata – bon appétit!

Other SMW Escapes Articles
In the Kitchen with Celebrity Chef Katy Sparks
Delicious Dates: The Perfect Recipe to Prepare for That Special Guy
Grocery Shopping for One

© 2008 SingleMindedWomen.com All rights reserved. Permission to reprint this article must be obtained from SingleMindedWomen.com.

SMW’s Food Editor, Fabiana Santana, is a freelance food writer, editor, and recipe tester and developer. Articles bearing her savory stamp have appeared in based in Family Circle, Profile, Vanity Fair, Portfolio, Maxim, Stuff, Men's Health, Star, TV Guide, The Daily, and renowned chef Laurent Tourondel's BLT Living, as well as such online media outlets as Shecky's, Julib.com, Time Out NY.