Rick Tramonto
Cookbook Author
For eleven years, Rick Tramonto was executive chef and founding partner at Chicago’s world-renowned four-star fine-dining restaurant Tru, in partnership with Rich Melman, of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Tramonto was also culinary director of Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood, and RT Sushi Bar, in the Westin Hotel in Wheeling, Illinois. In 2010, Tramonto announced his partnership with Louisiana native Chef John Folse and the formation of a new restaurant company, Home on the Range. Tramonto and Folse opened Restaurant R’evolution, in New Orleans’ renowned French Quarter in the Royal Sonesta Hotel, in 2012.
An accomplished author, Tramonto has published eight books, including Osteria, Fantastico!, Butter Sugar Flour Eggs (nominated for the 2000 James Beard Award for the Best Cookbook in the Baking and Desserts category), and American Brasserie (finalist for the Julia Child Cookbook Awards).
His recognitions include James Beard Awards for Best Chef Midwest and Best Service (Tru), Wine Spectator Grand Award (Tru), and Top 10 Best Chef in Food & Wine Magazine (Trio). tramontocuisine.com
Pistachio Cake
This moist and flavorful pistachio cake is incredibly fragrant thanks to the addition of orange zest.
Yukon Gold Potato Chips with White Anchovy
These potato chips will intrigue your guests. As the chips bake, the anchovy melts into the potato for an intense one-bite amuse. While no one would want to eat a bowl of these chips, a single one packs a flavor punch. I was inspired to make these by David Bouley, the brilliant chef-owner of Bouley Bakery and Danube in New York, who was a guest chef at Tru soon after it opened in 1999. He wove an anchovy between potato slices and fried them. I was hooked and had to develop my own method, which is to thread a white anchovy through slits in a potato slice and then bake the chips in a hot oven until lightly browned. If you can't find white anchovies, use the familiar dark anchovies instead.
Warm Onion Tart with Thyme
These little warm onion tarts are lovely amuse and get any winter meal off to a good start. Vary them with different kinds of onions. Julia Child has commented that cooking would be in a sorry state indeed if it weren't for onions. I agree!
Pecorino Toscano Stagionato with Fig Paste
I pair the pecorino with a homemade fig paste that takes a little while to make—only because you have to let the figs dry in a warm oven—but is an absolutely spectacular condiment. There's no point in making just a little, so the recipe makes about three times as much as you need here, but that's okay; if well wrapped, it keeps in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks and goes well with other cheeses, meats, and poultry.
Veal Osso Buco
I open the braising chapter with one of Italy's most renowned braises: osso buco. It's a classic Milanese dish usually made with veal shanks cooked in a rich broth that includes tomato and wine. I salt the meat before cooking it, a technique that tenderizes the veal. The dish is finished with lemon zest and parsley, which stand in for the more common gremolata that often accompanies it, along with saffron risotto. The term ossobuco roughly translates to "hole in the bone" or "pierced bone." I suggest you tie the shanks before cooking them so that they hold together—and don't forget to dig into the bones for the luscious bone marrow.
Ricotta Gnocchi with Simple Tomato Sauce
Yes, you read the title of the recipe correctly. I make gnocchi with ricotta cheese, not potatoes as you might expect. My grandmother taught me how to make them this way, and though they are less forgiving than potato gnocchi, I love their soft, delicate texture and flavor. They practically melt in your mouth. It's crucial to find high-quality ricotta cheese from a good Italian market, cheese shop, or gourmet store and then drain it, and to handle the gnocchi gently. Because this is more about the gnocchi than the sauce, the sauce is exceedingly easy to make, but nevertheless very tasty.
Tuscan Panzanella
A good bread salad soaks up the juices from the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, and all the other seductive flavors that go into a really top-flight panzanella, and I love it! The tomatoes should be at their juicy, high-summer peak and the bread bakery-fresh, with a pleasingly soft crumb and chewy crust. My recipe not only calls for the best tomatoes and bread, but also relies on green, fruity, extra virgin olive oil, zesty red wine vinegar, salty capers, and freshly grated lemon zest. (I use a microplane when I zest citrus fruit and I highly recommend you do the same.) I also add other vegetables such as red onion, bell peppers, and fennel, garden-fresh basil, and some inky black olives for a salad bursting with summer.
Salumi with Peaches and Watercress
Salumi refers to all dry-cured Italian-style meats and sausages. Great chefs such as Tom Colicchio, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, and Paul Bertolli are introducing them to a new generation of Americans, who may not realize what an incredible variety is available. Thanks to these chefs for bringing this artisan tradition back to the culinary fore. What an inspiration! One summer when I traveled in Italy, I was served salumi with peaches just about everywhere I went and although it was a combination I had never before tried, it made perfect and delicious sense and stayed with me after I returned to Chicago.
Asiago Cheese with Glazed Cipolline Onions
This cheese course is one I frequently serve to guests at home, and every time it's enthusiastically received. Asiago is a little softer than aged Parm, with a nutty, sweet flavor that is gorgeous with glazed onions. I also find it's a fantastico red wine cheese, and goes quite nicely with a dessert Sauternes.
Crostini with Lump Crab Salad and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico!
Don't look any further for a succulent crab salad open-face sandwich. The little garlic toasts piled high with rich, moist crab can be polished off in one or two bites. I can't think of a better way to start a meal! Don't skimp on the crabmeat. You need only a pound, so buy the best you can find. Bon appétit!
Bruschetta with Borlotti Beans and Prosciutto di Parma
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico!
Creamy Soft Polenta with Meat Ragù
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico!
I serve this traditional side dish as an antipasto. Guess what? I like it more as a small plate to kick off a meal than as a side. On the other hand, you could serve this in larger amounts as a side dish or even instead of a pasta course. And because the ragu is even better the second day, I make a lot, so you will have leftovers. Soft polenta, blended with plenty of cheese and butter, is lusciously creamy and becomes the delicious base for the meaty mushroom and sausage ragu. This is a terrific start to a fall meal of fish and a salad. Polenta may be yellow or white; I prefer yellow because of its color and slightly earthy, intense flavor.