TASTE
No small task
By Joyce Saenz Harris
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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It takes ingenuity to make very good meals in a very small kitchen.
Jennifer Schaertl used her creativity to master that art, but she didn't stop there. Her success led her to culinary school and then to jobs in the kitchens of several Dallas restaurants including the Grape and Suze.
What's more, she stumbled upon a new career when her husband Jay paid her a compliment.
"You make the best gourmet meals in a crappy little kitchen," he said admiringly. Thus, Schaertl was inspired to start the cookbook that her agent is shopping to publishers: "Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens."
Schaertl has created a CLK cooking-show concept that she is shopping, too, and a Web site called Crappylittlekitchens.com. The CLK home page contains a link to her cooking videos on YouTube, which show her in the kitchen making sweet-potato gnocchi with spicy pomodoro sauce.
Her CLK cookbook's dishes include "soups, salads, entrees, accompaniments, desserts, baking, entertaining, you name it," she says. "The sky's the limit."
She also knows plenty of tricks for getting the most out of the fewest kitchen gadgets and the smallest spaces. One trick she uses is the mise en place method, for example: setting up ingredients and culinary tools in advance, ready to use, as seen on cooking shows. She fills the sink with soapy water and cleans as she goes.
"I buy only multipurpose appliances," she notes. "No one-trick ponies."
Schaertl earned a degree in managing information systems from the University of Texas-Dallas and a general culinary degree from El Centro College.
She's a full-time chef for catering and corporate team-building at Milestone Culinary Arts Center and Viking Cooking School (Milestoneculinary .com).
The scallops recipe here is from her book. "Considering this recipe 'cooks' itself in a disposable bag," Schaertl says, "well, I just don't think it gets any more crappy-little-kitchen-friendly than that!"
The U-10 scallops in this recipe, by the way, are simply the largest sea scallops, graded at 10 scallops per pound. Thus, 15 scallops should total about a pound and a half.
SCALLOP CEVICHE
Remove white muscle or "foot" from side of each scallop.
Add lime zest, lime juice, garlic and red pepper flakes to freezer bag, then season to taste with salt. Add sea scallops, making sure all are immersed in lime juice.
Close tightly and refrigerate about 4 hours, but no longer than 8.
Just before serving, place cleaned scallop shells on serving platter, and set 1 scallop inside each shell. Dip sliced shallot in ceviche marinade to dress it, and place a pinch on top of each scallop.
Garnish with chopped cilantro; serve immediately.
As an appetizer, the recipe makes 5 servings of 3 scallops each.
Note: Recipe may be doubled or tripled to serve a larger group.
