Use These 4 Recipes to Cook Like a Chef at Home

Caitlin Cassidy, a chef at the inventive, elegant Sorrel in San Francisco, uses these four recipes to cook soulful, healthy, and delicious meals when she is at home. Each one relies on simple treatments of ingredients that anyone can learn. It doesn't matter if you're a kitchen novice or pro, each recipe has something to offer.  

Caitlin makes each recipe for the final salad, but don't feel like you have to. The first three recipes are versatile elements, each delicious in their own right, which can be utlilized in other ways. You can use Caitlin's dressing to enliven some greens or marinate chicken, serve her potatoes as a lovely side dish, or make her croutons as a base of a Panzanella.

Caitlin's Mustard Dressing

• Prep Time:5 mins
• Cook Time:10 mins
• Total Time:15 mins
• Servings:2
• Easy

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• Lemon zest
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• Step 1

  Finely chop garlic and shallot. Combine on cutting board and sprinkle garlic-shallot mixture with a heavy pinch of kosher salt. Crush mixture back and forth using the flat part of knife blade until a paste starts to form. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to make the paste. Place paste into a small mixing bowl.

  

• Step 2

  Add honey, mustard, and vinegar to garlic-shallot paste. Whisk together. Taste and adjust levels of mustard, vinegar, and honey to your liking. The mixture should taste sharp.

  

• Step 3

  While constantly whisking, slowly pour in olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Taste as you go. Add more olive oil if vinaigrette is too sharp.

  

• Step 4

  Add yogurt to vinaigrette and whisk to combine. If you want a thicker dressing, add more yogurt. Whisk in lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Caitlin's Potatoes

• Prep Time:10 mins
• Cook Time:20 mins
• Total Time:30 mins
• Servings:2
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 pound white potatoes rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns whole
• Kosher salt

• Step 1

  Combine potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and peppercorns in a pot. Fill pot with water up to an inch from rim.

• Step 2

  Season water with salt (it should taste salty). Then place pot over high heat and bring to a boil.

• Step 3

  While cooking, check potatoes for doneness two to three times by piercing potatoes with a fork. Keep cooking potatoes until they feel soft all the way through. Drain the pot. Slice cooked potatoes in half.

  

• Step 4

  Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When oil is hot, place potatoes into pan cut side down. Cook undisturbed, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Dump potatoes onto a paper towel lined plate. Salt to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caitlin's Croutons

• Prep Time:5 mins
• Cook Time:10 mins
• Total Time:15 mins
• Servings:4
• Easy

Ingredients

• 0.5 loaf crusty bread torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 garlic clove smashed
• 2 sprigs oregano
• 0.5 cups olive oil plus more if needed
• 1 lemon wedge
• Kosher salt

• Step 1

  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to create a thin layer in pan (should be around ¼ inch, enough to fry).

• Step 2

  Dip one corner of a bread piece into heated oil. If it starts sizzling, add bread pieces to pan. Fry bread, turning often, until pieces are crispy all around the outside, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a plate lined with paper towels.

  

• Step 3

  Toss garlic and oregano into pan. Stir around for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat. Dump bread onto paper towel-lined plate to soak up any residual oil. Salt to taste.

  

• Step 4

  Squeeze lemon wedge over fried bread and serve.

Caitlin's Salad

• Prep Time:20 mins
• Cook Time:1 hr
• Total Time:1 hr 20 mins
• Servings:2
• Medium

Ingredients

• 3 heads radicchio cored and chopped into large leaves
• 1 head Romanesco cauliflower chopped into small florets
• 1 delicata squash cored and sliced into 0.5 inch rounds
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms chopped into 1 inch pieces stems removed
• 6 ounces flat-iron steak at room temperature
• 1 bunch scallions chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 0.5 cup large parsley leaves
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 soft boiled eggs
• 1 serving Caitlin's Croutons
• 1 serving Caitlin's Potatoes
• 1 serving Caitlin's Mustard Dressing
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• Step 1

  Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, add romanesco florets and season with salt. Turn romanesco florets occasionally, until well-seared and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Dump florets onto a paper towel-lined plate.

  

• Step 2

  Wipe pan clean. Heat pan over medium heat and add two tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, add squash to skillet. Turn squash occasionally until golden brown and caramelized on both sides, about 10 minutes.

  

• Step 3

  Turn heat to low. Add brown sugar and butter to pan. Swirl and toss until sugar and butter are melted, coating the squash, about 2 minutes. Place squash onto a paper towel-lined plate. Season with salt to taste.

• Step 4

  Wipe out pan again. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, add mushrooms gill side up. Cook until well-seared, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes. Add vinegar to deglaze pan. Place cooked mushrooms onto a paper towel-lined plate. Salt to taste.

  

• Step 5

  Season steak on both sides with salt. Wipe out pan. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, place steak into pan. Cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, or to your preferred level of doneness. Let steak rest 10 minutes. Slice steak at 45-degree angle, across the grain. Let steak rest another 1 minute. Salt to taste.

  

• Step 6

  Divide radicchio across two large plates. Place romanesco, squash, mushrooms, potatoes, croutons, eggs, tomato, scallions, parsley, and steak on both plates (you may have leftovers of each component). Sprinkle with ground black pepper, drizzle dressing over top and serve.

  

The beauty of these recipes is in their adaptability. Whether you make one or all of them, you'll understand how Caitlin makes amazing food using straightforward methods that will inspire you to approach cooking differently—that is, when you cook, use building blocks to create dishes that cater to you. It will allow you to cook in a more relaxed, in-the-moment style to enhance your well-being.