FOOD&DRINK

Rescues accomplished

Chef Danny Boome of new cooking show brings his mission to several Austin home kitchens

By Meredith Hight
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Thanks to the Food Network's "Rescue Chef," Austinite Shannon McGarvey can now sear a scallop, prepare a panna cotta and roast a rack of lamb. And if Danny Boome, chef-star of the new TV cooking program, has his way, you should be able to do the same after watching his show.

"We want to come into your home ... and provide a guidebook to the kitchen," Boome says. "I'm here to come to your rescue. Lots of people are very afraid of cooking. We're out to instill confidence in food, and hope they go out and broaden their horizons from that."

McGarvey, an editorial assistant at the Austin-American Statesman, was one of 14 first-season rescuees, out of 2,000 applicants, chosen for the show. McGarvey sought Boome's help in making a special dinner for her boyfriend Matthew Hoopengardner's 30th birthday.

"I know how to cook. I'm good at comfort foods, baking and casseroles,"

she says. "But when it comes to making something more formal, I have very little technique."

That seems to be the case for many Food Network viewers who applied through the show's Web site, asking for Boome to come to their rescue in creating meals from authentic pad Thai to their grandma's enchiladas. Recent episodes have featured a soldier recently back from Iraq who wanted to treat his wife to a romantic dinner, including baked oysters, and a busy mom who needed a fresh dinner idea for two kids who do their best to avoid vegetables. Boome taught her how to make a shepherd's pie, loaded with carrots, celery and peas.

Boome, a Brit who has a quite proper way of pronouncing words (enchilada as enchiLAAHHTAH, for example), arrives at the Food Network after several stints hosting cooking shows on British and Canadian television. Boome, who also runs a cooking school, has been the chef for high-profile figures and the sultan of Oman's estate in Paris.

"Rescue Chef" taped six episodes in home kitchens in the Austin area this spring, drawn to the warm weather and the production company's ties to the area, and plans to shoot additional episodes across the country, from Florida to Washington state. The "Rockin' Birthday Dinner" episode with McGarvey will be shown this at 11 a.m. Saturday on the Food Network.

Other segments shot in Austin include menus ranging from pasta to gumbo, as well as how to make Chinese food at home. "Throw away your take-out menu. You can do Chinese faster than you can order it," Boome says.

Boome says he enjoyed the time spent in Austin. "It's a totally different feel. People are relaxed, very cool," he says. That relaxed approach falls right in line with Boome's kitchen philosophy. "The majority of time, you are cooking with your heart. Cook with enthusiasm. Don't go by the recipe," Boome says. "A recipe is a guideline, to add to or take away from. So, embrace it as a guideline and cook from your heart."

On the show, Boome teaches techniques and skills that can be applied to any number of dishes. For example, in the premiere episode, Boome placed a colander of green beans over a pot of boiling potatoes, steaming the beans and skipping the extra step of preparing them in a different pot. Boome has also demonstrated how to heat a wok to the right temperature, how to properly fry chicken and how to "shock" just-cooked asparagus in ice water to keep it firm and preserve its color for serving as an appetizer, wrapped in slices of prosciutto.

However, Boome doesn't forget the basics. In the course of taping, McGarvey nearly chopped off a finger, which led to a quick knife skills tutorial. In the course of another episode, on creating pear and plum chutney to spice up the standard fruit-and-cheese plate, Boome demonstrated how to cut fruit like plums, which have a large seed at the core.

For many novices in the kitchen, some training is all that is needed to transform them into good cooks. Boome notes that the most common issue among those who are beginners in the kitchen is not lack of skill or technique, but confidence.

"They don't trust themselves. People just want validation. I say, 'It's all OK! You can do it!' " he says. "The hints and tips we teach go a long way. It doesn't matter what level of cook you are. At the end of the day, it's about how to fix problems. That's what I hope the show gets across. And, it's fun."

Boome's charming and peppy presence in the kitchen adds to the fun, as does his tendency to mix unexpected ingredients, like adding chocolate to a traditional bourguignon sauce, Dijon mustard to mashed potatoes and chipotle peppers and cornmeal to a fried chicken coating.

"I like to use the unusual. My job is to give people ideas and inspire," says Boome, whose travels across Europe have helped inform his culinary palate. "An outsider coming in can provide perspective. That's what I hope. I have traveled a lot, and living in Europe, everywhere you go is different. I have seen, tasted and heard some wonderful things. We take something that sounds complicated, and make it simple," Boome says.

That is certainly true of the meal McGarvey made for boyfriend Hoopengardner, a musician (Golden Boys) and the foodie of the two. Hoopengardner has cooked up everything from soufflé to chicken piccata to lobster bisque for McGarvey, so she wanted to be sure to pull off a meal he would not soon forget. "He has made some amazing meals for me. But I didn't want to cook, because what I make pales in comparison."

Not so, now that Boome has come to the rescue. Hoopengardner was more than pleased with the meal McGarvey made based on Boome's menu and cooking tips, which included seared scallops with pancetta over an avocado and wasabi mash, crusted rack of lamb with jus and baby carrots and asparagus, and lemon panna cotta with raspberry coulis.

"The best birthday present I have ever had," Hoopengardner says. "And no doubt, the best home-cooked meal I have ever eaten."

Seared Scallops with Pancetta over Avocado and Wasabi

3 avocados

3 tsp. wasabi powder

1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 slices pancetta

1 Tbsp. butter

1 garlic clove, smashed

6 large sea scallops

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced for garnish

Halve the avocados and remove the pits. Spoon out flesh into a food processor and add wasabi, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Process until it's a smooth consistency. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Cook pancetta until crispy and fat has rendered. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving the fat, and add butter and garlic. Once the butter has melted, add the scallops to the pan and gently sear until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side. Spoon some avocado purée on each plate; arrange pancetta on top followed by the seared scallops. Dice your red pepper finely and garnish. Makes 6 servings.

— Danny Boome

Crusted Rack of Lamb with Jus and Baby Carrot and Asparagus

2 racks of lamb, trimmed and frenched (about 11/2 lbs. each)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil, for searing

1/2 cup crushed pine nuts

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 Tbsp. freshly chopped chives

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

1/2 cup whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup beef stock

1/2 cup port

1/2 orange, juiced

2 sprigs fresh sage

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 lb. baby carrots

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season rack of lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Once heated, add the lamb and sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, place crushed pine nuts, bread crumbs, chives, garlic and Parmesan; mix all the ingredients together.

Place the seared lamb into a roasting pan. Spoon the whole-grain mustard on top to cover the entire meat side of the rack. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture to cover the mustard. Once the lamb has been covered by an even layer of the mixture, place the roasting pan into the oven and cook until medium rare, about 10 to 15 minutes. Once out of the oven, remove lamb from pan and set aside on a plate to rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on the stove top and deglaze with the beef stock, port and orange juice. Add sprigs of sage and thyme and bring to a simmer to quickly reduce. When reduced, spoon jus over the lamb and serve.

For the vegetables:

In a saucepan of boiling salted water, add the baby carrots and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. At the halfway point, add trimmed asparagus and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Strain all vegetables when done. Serve with roasted rack of lamb. Makes 6 servings.

— Danny Boome

Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

4 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin powder

2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest

1/2 lemon, juiced

For the raspberry coulis:

1 pint fresh raspberries; reserve 6 for garnish

In a saucepan, gently heat the cream. Add the sugar and gelatin. Once dissolved, add the grated lemon and lemon juice. Bring the cream to a simmer, infusing the flavors, for about 10 minutes. Once it thickens, pour mixture into 6 ramekins. Place ramekins onto a tray and then put in the refrigerator to chill and set about 6 hours or overnight.

For the raspberry coulis: In a food processor, purée raspberries. Over a bowl, strain purée into a sieve using a rubber spatula; discard seeds.

Serve chilled filled ramekins with raspberry coulis and top with a fresh raspberry.

— Danny Boome

'Rescue Chef' is on the Food Network at 11 a.m. Saturdays. Here are the dates for upcoming shows shot in Austin:

May 17

'Rockin' Birthday Dinner'

Guest: Shannon McGarvey

May 24

'Rescue Me from Takeout!'

Guest: Zion Francis

May 31

'The Sizzle with the Steak'

Guest: Jo Lowry-Doyle

June 7

'The Sunday Supper'

Guest: Frieda Abeita