Chef RICK BAYLESS
Go to: Rick's SYR Radio Episode & MP3

 

Award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality Rick Bayless has done more than any other culinary star to introduce Americans to authentic Mexican cuisine and to change the image of Mexican food in America.

Rick is fourth generation in an Oklahoma family of restaurateurs and grocers.  From 1980 to 1986, after studying Spanish and Latin American Studies as an undergraduate, and doing doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Rick lived in Mexico with his wife, Deann, writing his now-classic Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking From The Heart of Mexico (William Morrow, 1987).  The New York Times’s legendary Craig Claiborne hailed this work as the "greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable."

In 1996, Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine (Scribner) won the IACP National Julia Child “Cookbook of the Year Award”.  The New York Times praised him as a writer who makes "true Mexican food user-friendly for Americans," and Time Magazine hailed him as a "cookbook superstar."   Rick's cookbook Salsas That Cook (Simon & Schuster), written with his wife, Deann, and JeanMarie Brownson, was published in 1999. At the 2001 James Beard Awards (the culinary equivalent of the Oscars), Mexico--One Plate at a Time, (Scribner) companion to the first season of the Public Television series by the same name , was singled out as the “Best International Cookbook”.

In 1987, Rick  having moved to Chicago, opened the hugely successful Frontera Grill, which specializes in contemporary regional Mexican cooking.  Still today it remains one of Chicago's hottest dining spots.  In 1988, Food & Wine Magazine selected Rick as "Best New Chef of The Year," and in 1991, he won a James Beard Award for "Best American Chef: Midwest."  In 1995, he won another James Beard Award for "National Chef of the Year" as well as an award for "Chef of the Year" from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).   In 1998, the Beard Foundation honored Rick as "Humanitarian of the Year."  In 2002, Bon Appetit honored him with the “Cooking Teacher of the Year Award”. 

On the heels of Frontera Grill's success, Rick opened the elegant Topolobampo in 1989.  Adjacent to Frontera Grill, Tobolobampo is one of America's only fine-dining Mexican restaurants.  Frontera Grill and Topolobampo have received glowing distinctions from such publications as Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Atlantic Monthly, Condé Nast Traveler, Holiday Travel, Zagat's, The Wine Spectator, USA Today, Chicago Magazine and The Chicago Tribune.  Topolobampo has been nominated twice by the James Beard Foundation as one of the most outstanding restaurants in our country. 

Rick resides in Chicago with his wife and daughter.  With his wife he runs Frontera Grill and Topolobampo.  He is on the board of Chef's Collaborative, a national group of chefs in support of environmentally sound agricultural practices, and has been active in Share Our Strength, the nation's largest hunger advocacy organization.  On the home front, Rick and his staff began the Frontera Farmer Foundation in 2003 to attract support for small Midwestern farms.  Each year, grants are given to our local farmers for capital improvements to their family farms.

Mexico—One Plate at a Time is currently in its fourth season and in production with Season 5 to be released in September, 2006.   Rick released a cookbook with his 14 year old daughter, Lanie, which is entitled, Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures in 2004, and has just released his sixth cookbook, Mexican Every Day, (published by WW Norton) .

 

Chef Rick Bayless’ Mushroom-Potato Crema with Roasted Poblanos

Crema de Hongos y Papas con Chile Poblano

Excerpted with permission from Mexican Every Day,by Rick Bayless (published by WW Norton)

This soup shows off the natural affinity between earthy mushrooms and earthy potatoes.  Too much of a good thing can, sometimes, lead to lost luster, which is why I like the deep-green spice of roasted poblanos in this soup.  And the aromatic flecks of cilantro.  And, of course, the sweet bits of corn.  If I want to gild this beautiful lily, I’ll cook a small handful of chopped bacon until crisp and add it to the soup just before serving. 

Makes a generous 6 cups, serving 4

4 medium (about 1 pound total) red skin potatoes, cut into roughly 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 large fresh poblano chile
8 ounces mushrooms (I like shiitake or oyster mushrooms), sliced ¼-inch thick (you’ll have about 3 cups of slices)
1 scant cup corn kernels (they can be frozen or ones you’ve cut off of a large ear)
1 large sprig epazote (you can substitute a big sprig of fresh thyme or leave it out all together)
¼ cup plain yogurt, heavy cream or sour cream
Salt
About ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

1.       Scoop the potatoes and garlic into a medium (3- to 4-quart) saucepan, pour in half of the broth and set over high heat.  When the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer briskly until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

2.       While the potatoes are cooking, roast the poblano over an open flame or 4 inches below a broiler, turning regularly until blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes for a broiler.  Cover with a kitchen towel.  Let cool until handleable. Rub the blackened skin off the chiles and pull out the stem and seed pod.  Rinse the chile flesh to remove bits of skin and seeds.  Cut into ¼-inch pieces.

3.       Using an immersion blender (or blending in several batches in a food processor or loosely covered blender draped with a kitchen towel), puree the soup base.  Add the remaining half of the broth, the mushrooms, poblano, corn and epazote.  Simmer 10 minutes over medium heat.

4.       Just before serving, scoop out about ½ cup of the hot soup.  Mix in the yogurt, cream or sour cream. Stir the mixture back into the pot, then taste and season with salt, usually about 1 ½ teaspoons.  Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.  Soup’s on. 

Riffs on the Potato-Mushroom Soup Theme:  Though my version of this soup is vegetarian (when made with vegetable broth), it doesn’t have to be. Ham, ham hocks, bacon and chorizo are all wonderful in this soup—start with about 4 ounces.  As is crab.   The corn can be easily replaced by other vegetables that offer a contrast in taste and texture:  small fresh fava beans (my favorite), peas, 1-inch lengths of green beans. Use about the same volume measure.  And I love this soup made with half potatoes and half parsnips or young turnips, or rutabaga. 

For the Adventurer: Use bacon drippings to sauté a heaping cup of cubed cleaned nopal cactus pieces until all their liquid has evaporated; add them with the bacon.