ABOUT THE BOOK

In Your Own Kitchen
Reality Cooking at Home
By Karel Anne Tieszen (a.k.a. Chef KAT)

“I have watched Karel Anne develop over the years from a curious and interested cook into a dedicated, skilled culinarian and teacher. She has taken serious risks and made tremendous sacrifices to follow her dream. She gave up a lucrative executive position with a respected corporation to open her cooking school. When she wanted to learn more about French Cuisine, she picked up her young family and moved to Paris, where she spent several years developing and honing her technique and submerging herself in its very culture.”
—Stephan Pyles (page 5)

With upscale cooking supply shops, entire cable networks dedicated to
cuisine, and major brands that feed the passion of cooking, millions of cooks are looking for ways to serve up dishes that provoke an unbelieving “Wow!” when brought out to the table, yet have a minimal risk of the endeavor turning into a culinary flop that friends and family will talk about for years. A new cookbook for adventurous home cooks, In Your Own Kitchen: Reality Cooking at Home, by Karel Anne Tieszen, tosses in more than a sprinkle of humor while catering to this need.

Illustrated with sumptuous full-color photography, In Your Own Kitchen features recipes that utilize familiar ingredients in occasionally downright playful presentations that seem beyond the average cook (but aren’t). For instance, Chicken Grandly on the Throne showcases a gleaming roasted chicken standing upright atop a bed of noodles. Other humorously conceived dishes include Speckled Blue Marlin on the Thai High Seas and Chocolate "Quiet as a Mousse" Cake.

Sidebars offer helpful tips for preparation or serving, and unlike many recently published cookbooks, all recipes include nutritional information. Clear step-by-step instructions take ambitious but inexperienced home cooks through recipes for dishes like Baked Alaska that many people consider “too hard.” Amazingly, almost all of the recipes have just seven steps or less.

The one-notch-up techniques in the book come from Chef KAT’s broad culinary background. “For 20 years I took classes with some of the best chefs in the U.S. and then followed my passion to Paris,” she says. “I love to work with people from all walks of life who enjoy the art of cooking but still have real lives to live.”

This colorful treasury is a paint-by-numbers book for cooks who want to venture into new waters. Each of the 10 chapters is color-coded for ease in creating a palette-pleasing feast. “What if” sidebars help cooks who run into culinary crisis. The cookbook also offers a ‘getting started’ guide with kitchen basics and culinary must-haves. It truly is everything you need to do reality cooking at home!

“I wrote this book to help people shift from ‘I can do that?’ to ‘Yes, I can!’ because cooking is a great way to realize you can succeed if you have the desire and a guide to teach you.”
—Chef Karel Anne Tieszen

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Beginning with Breakfast
Tender Oatmeal Raisin Scones • Topple Over Peach French Toast • Overnight Cinnamon Rolls • Blue Berry Brights • Awaken to Apricot Blintzes • Glass Biscuits • Cocoa-Cuckoo Cinnamon Rolls • Chocoholic Bread • Sweet Barley Currant Scones • Norwegian Pancakes • Light and Fluffy Waffles • Overnight Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes • Cranberry Scones • Flame-Glazed Pineapple

Chapter 2 Don’t Leaf Me Alone Chèvre Rôti avec Rocket • German Coleslaw • Accordion Tomato • Orange- Onion Salad • Pear Rawlins • Mango Jicama Slaw • Radical Radicchio • Pepper- Rye Crackers • Salade Pamplemousse rose, Avocat et Crevettes • Warm Broccoli Slaw

Chapter 3 Dressin’ Up Your Saucy Ways Presto Pesto • Mango Chile Puree • Lemon Herb Butter • Fennel-Yogurt Sauce • Barbeque Rub • Ruby Pepper Sauce • Warm Poppyseed-Rosemary Dressing • Gondola Salad • Spinach Salad • Red Chile Yogurt Sauce

Chapter 4 Meat of the Matter DON’T CHICKEN OUT Caliente Crusted Chicken • Chicken with Tomatoes and Yellow Squash • Hawaiian Chicken • Chicken Grandly on the Throne • Pignoli Nut Chicken Wraps • Turkey in the Bundt® • Country Captain Chicken FISHING FOR COMPLIMENTS Caribbean Crab Soufflé • Paella Lavé en Or • Grilled Sicilian Swordfish • Crab Quiche • Tuna Orzo • Salmon with Texas Red and Peppercorn Pink • Mediterranean in a Snap • Poisson á ? Orange • Lemongrass Fish • Shreveport Gumbo • Speckled Blue Marlin on the Thai High Seas PICK A PASTA, ANY PASTA Luscious Linguini with Arugula and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes • Pasta Pescasseroli • Whole Wheat Pasta with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes • Spicy Italian Red Sauce • Spicy Sesame Pasta • Ginger-Garlic Pasta • Italian Sausage and Penne MEAT ME AT THE MEAT MARKET • Pork Chop Towers • Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb • Polynesian Pork Steaks • Lamb Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Rosemary • Mexican Pot Roast • Pork Chops with Raisin-Pignolia Sauce • Boeuf Bourguignon • Tenderloin de Porc Rôti ADDITIONALLY Summer Spinach Fritatta • Grilled Chayote Relleno • Pizza Pleasin’ Dough

Chapter 5 Rounding Out the Plate Confetti Risotto • Tex-Mex Coleslaw • Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus with Lemon Butter-Dill Sauce • Orange Wild-Rice Pilaf • Cucumber Relish • Black Bean Cakes • Simple Whole Wheat Bread • Sweet Almond Spinach • Swiss Chard Sandwich • Grandmother Berry’s Baked Beans • Hoppin’ John Black- Eyed Peas • Tomate et Courgette Escalier • Calabacitas • Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread • Saffron Swirl of Couscous • Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomato and Rosemary Melange • Smoked Gouda Polenta with Dancing Skirt Tomatoes • Broccoli-Pepperoncini Sauté • Wild Rice and Fennel Stuffing • Wilted Asian Kale • Broccoli and Garlic Penne • Pepperoni-Cheese Bread • Courge à la Mangue • Fettuccini Rouge

Chapter 6 Simmering Sumptuousness Twin Cities Wild Rice Soup • Main Dish Minestrone • Golden Lamb Stew • Curried Broccoli Soup • Baked Potato Bowl • Boisterous Black Bean Bisque • S-S-S Soup • Vegetarian RagoÛt • Potée Française • Fiery Fiesta Soup • Roasted Pumpkin-Apricot Soup • Chicken Mushroom Barley Soup • Scents of Bangkok Soup • Cantaloupe-Ricotta Soup • Cider-Simmered Squash with Cheddar • Souper Bowl Chili • Rancher’s Caldillo with Tamale Puffs • Mother’s Golden Chicken Soup • Potato-Bacon Chowder

Chapter 7 Feeding the Party Animals Company Cucumbers • Les Tomates Étreintes • Tieszen Tree Trimmin’ Cider • Breakfast Sausage and Egg Bake • Herb-Pesto Tray • Cranberry Top Hats • Pico De Gallo • Jack Cheese and Green Chili Quiche Squares • Texas Gulf Crab Nachos • Square Zooks • Chile Pecans and Almonds • Marvelous Muffaletta

Chapter 9 Kid’s Collection Quick Apple Pancakes • Soccer Practice Supper • T-Rex Tall • Fisherman’s Pockets • Breakfast Pudding To Go • Teddy Bear Sandwiches • Mt. Vesuvius Volcano Cake • Apple Pizza • Blueberry Brights for Kids • Yogurt Yummies

Chapter 10 Sweet On You Chocolate Génoise • Top-Notch Toffee • Strawberry Kissed Croissant Bread Pudding • Deux à Duet • Chocolate “Quiet as a Mousse” Cake • Ganache • Pluot Sorbet (Plum-Apricot) • Gingersnaps, Initially Yours • Sweet Georgia Browns • Italian Crescent Crostata • Baked Ile Flottante • Classic Crème Anglaise • Masterpiece Meringue Shell • Margarita Delight • Gelato Ravioli with Strawberry Purée • Apricot Double Chocolate Truffles • Gâteau Carotte D’Oliveira • Windowpane Cookies • Miel Madeleines • Individual Orange Baked Alaska • Hawaiian Alohas