The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (2024)

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (1)

For many people, cooking is like meditation. Professional chefs and home cooks alike view cooking as a way to relax and unwind. Spending time in the kitchen, working with your hands and focusing all your energy on a methodical recipe can be therapeutic. Maybe you crack open a bottle of wine and dive in for some solo time, or maybe you're cooking amongst friends or family. Whatever your style, cooking can be the perfect way to unwind.

We take relaxation seriously at the The Huffington Post. Unplugging and recharging isn't only something we value -- it's something we think is imperative for success and happiness. Predictably, we at HuffPost Taste are big fans of the cooking-as-relaxation school, and practice as often as we can. We have our own comfort recipes -- bucatini all'Amatriciana, roast chicken, buttermilk ranch dressing and mac & cheese -- but we're curious about other people's favorites. We're really curious about what the pros make at home to relax.

Advertisem*nt

Restaurant chefs may cook elaborate meals all day and all night long at work, but at home they're often cooking the same, simple meals that the rest of us are making. (Although most likely they're a lot better!) Some chefs, like Marcus Samuelsson, have been kind enough to publish books on the food they make at home -- sharing with us an intimate look into their home lives and the comfort they take in their own family recipes. (Samuelsson's "Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook At Home" comes out in October, 2014.)

If you're as curious as we are about what professional chefs are cooking at home to relax, here are eight go-to comfort meals from some of the country's best chefs:

1

Salade Meridionale

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (2)

amrufm/Flickr

Daniel Boulud, the famed French chef with restaurants from New York to London to Singapore, makes Salade Meridionale at home when he wants to relax. It's a vegetable salad with eggplant, piquillo peppers, zucchini and cucumbers to name a few, with shrimp, fresh pesto and a lemony vinaigrette. Get the Salad Meridionale recipe from New York Magazine

2

Roasted Tomatoes

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (3)

Alex "Skud" Bayley/Flickr

Didier Elena of Chef's Club by FOOD & WINE makes Riviera Roasted tomatoes.

"Tomatoes can be used as a fruit, vegetable or juice. I'm from Monaco and grew up on them as a simple, flavorful dish to eat at any temperature. I suggest them fresh and from a garden."

Elena slices his tomatoes and places them cut side up on a baking sheet and drizzles them with olive oil. He sprinkles garlic, sugar, salt, pepper parsley and bread crumbs on the slices and roasts them at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. He then seasons the tomatoes with arugula, black olives, shaved parmesan, lemon zest, salt, pepper and some juice from the tomatoes. Simple and perfect.

3

Pasta

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (4)

Food52

Jonah Miller, chef and owner of Basque-inspired, New York restaurant Huertas makes pasta.

"PASTA! Comforting to eat and to cook. If I have some co*ckles or manila clams at the restaurant, I'll steal a few to make Vongole. I've always got some respectable anchovies and pecorino at home, so an anchovy sauce or cacio e pepe is always a distinct possibility." Get a Linguine Con Vongole recipe from The Wimpy Vegetarian via Food52 and a Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe recipe from John Kernick

Advertisem*nt

4

Green Asparagus With Parmesan Shavings

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (5)

Steamy Kitchen

Alain Ducasse, another fameous French chef, makes green asparagus with Parmesan shavings at home on his perfect weekend off. Get the Green Asparagus With Parmesan Shavings recipe from New York Magazine

5

Steel cut oatmeal

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (6)

Brandon Dimcheff via Getty Images

Chef Mads Refslund of farm-to-table restaurant ACME starts his day by rehydrating dried fruit in hot water, and uses this to make steel cut oatmeal, adds fresh seasonal fruit, butter and cold milk. Get some oatmeal recipes worth waking up for from HuffPost Taste.

6

Preserved lemon co*cktail

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (7)

Kam & Co. via Getty Images

Marcus Samuelsson of The Red Rooster makes a no-cook, preserved lemon co*cktail on his days off.

"Preserved Lemons. A staple in Moroccan flavor profiles, lemons get packed in salt, and develop a rich, interesting (and versatile) flavor. You’ll find them in tagines, but you can also add a bit of the lemon rind to pesto for a deeper flavor, or chop it up in a pasta dish or grain salad...But to keep on relaxing, try adding a bit of the brine to a co*cktail for a surprising addition of salt." Get the Preserved lemon co*cktail recipe from marcussamuelsson.com.

Advertisem*nt

7

Chicken Curry

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (8)

Food52

Chef Frank McMahon of the Brasserie Gigi in Charleston, SC likes making Indian-style chicken curry with Madras curry powder, served over basmati rice.

"It's one of those slow, relaxing dishes with the ingredients added bit by bit. I pair it with a nice Gewurtztraminer from Alsace and of course, sip some while cooking."Get a Cheap Creamy Chicken Curry recipe from Food52

8

Shakshuka

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (9)

cyclonebill/Flickr

Brad Farmerie, executive chef of New York restaurants like Public and Saxon + Parole and Napa restaurant The Thomas makes simple meals while he's trying to feed his family (he's a father of two.)

"I...am most relaxed doing simple rustic dishes and large presentations, or oven-to-table dishes, where everyone just gets to dive in and help themselves." These often include meals like shakshuka and whole split chicken grilled with salsa verde and vegetables. Get a shakshuka recipe from The New York Times.

9

Bucatini

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (10)

Food52

Chef Michael Franey from Nitehawk Cinema likes to cook bucatini with cherry tomatoes, red onions, roasted garlic, basil, fresh mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil.

"The best way for me to relax while cooking on my days off is to do it with my girlfriend. I will pick her up from work and we will stop by the greenmarket in Union Square or just the grocery store near home, see what we like and go from there. Usually its some sort of very simple pasta with vegetables or protein, like bucatini with cherry tomatoes. The most important thing is that we are cooking everything together. We will open a bottle of wine, talk about our days, what's coming up, anything that we may have missed over the course of the week, making it less about the food and more about connecting through cooking." Get a Bucatini with pesto and cherry tomatoes recipe from Food52.

Advertisem*nt

Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Related

comfort food recipesComfort Foodthird metricRecipesTaste

|

Submit a tip

The Recipes Chefs Cook At Home To Unwind (2024)

FAQs

How do you rekindle love of cooking? ›

If any of those feelings are familiar, here are some strategies for rekindling your love with the kitchen.
  1. Change your approach. “For me, baking is a relationship, and I almost had a breakup,” Hazan says. ...
  2. Find new sources of inspiration. ...
  3. Make connections. ...
  4. Reach out to others. ...
  5. Give it some time.
Aug 10, 2022

What is the hardest chef dish to make? ›

1. Consommé Devilish dish: A clear soup made from meat, tomato, egg whites and stock, slowly simmered to bring impurities to the surface for skimming. Techn-eeek: Even some of the most experienced chefs cannot master the complex clarification process required to make consommé.

What is the chef's signature dish? ›

A signature dish in the F&B context represents a chef's unique creation that embodies their culinary expertise and creativity. It's more than just a popular offering; it is a representation of the restaurant's style and expertise.

What is the number 1 dish in the world? ›

Pizza is the dominant meal, surpassing barbecue in second place and brunch in third. Chinese restaurants are the most common, representing an average of over 9.5% of all restaurants in the top visited cities, followed by Italian restaurants at more than 8.5% and Indian restaurants at 8%.

What is the number 1 dish in America? ›

As of Q3 2022, hamburgers, mashed potatoes, and cheeseburgers were the most popular American dishes in the United States. About 84 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of each of the three dishes.

What is the most eaten dish around the world? ›

Rice, for instance, claims the throne as one of the most consumed staple foods worldwide due to its versatility, affordability, and high caloric yield, making it a reliable source of sustenance for billions.

What personality do you need to be a cook? ›

Culinary chefs score highly on extraversion, meaning that they rely on external stimuli to be happy, such as people or exciting surroundings. They also tend to be high on the measure of social responsibility, indicating that they desire fair outcomes and have a general concern for others.

How do I start enjoying cooking again? ›

A Simple Guide to Enjoy Cooking
  1. Clear your kitchen counters. A clean, uncluttered kitchen counter is refreshing. ...
  2. Cook healthy foods. ...
  3. Use fresh ingredients. ...
  4. Own a sharp knife. ...
  5. Start with foods/recipes you enjoy. ...
  6. Be confident. ...
  7. Value presentation. ...
  8. Appreciate the eating.

How do I reset my relationship with food? ›

5 Tips:
  1. Avoid thinking of food in terms of “bad” and “good”. ...
  2. Ditch diet culture and food rules. ...
  3. Focus on having an abundance mindset as opposed to a scarcity mindset. ...
  4. Don't compare your plate to others. ...
  5. Allow yourself permission to enjoy your food.

What knowledge should a chef have? ›

There are many skills to learn, including knife use and balancing ingredients, but it's also vital to learn how to manage a professional kitchen, handle a team of cooks, and oversee kitchen operations.

What does a chef always need? ›

Whether you're just starting culinary school or have been working as a chef for years, make sure you always have access to these ten tools.
  • Chef's Knife. It's true there are all sorts of specialized knives out there. ...
  • Honing Steel. ...
  • Bench Scraper. ...
  • Wire Whisk. ...
  • Kitchen Scale. ...
  • Fish Spatula. ...
  • Meat Thermometer. ...
  • Tongs.
Mar 22, 2017

What do all chefs have in common? ›

Great chefs have three things in common: first, they accept and respect mother nature as a true artist; second, everything they do is an extension of them as a true person; and third, they give you insight into the world they were born into.

How many recipes should a chef know? ›

So we're looking at something like 25-30 recipes mastered (which means you've done it pretty well two or three times) in order to be able to call yourself, in good faith, a Competent Home Chef.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Barbera Armstrong

Last Updated:

Views: 6098

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Barbera Armstrong

Birthday: 1992-09-12

Address: Suite 993 99852 Daugherty Causeway, Ritchiehaven, VT 49630

Phone: +5026838435397

Job: National Engineer

Hobby: Listening to music, Board games, Photography, Ice skating, LARPing, Kite flying, Rugby

Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.