Meet Chef Rick

My love for cooking began at age eight when my wise mother told me that if I was a good boy and did well in school, I could make my own breakfast! The thrill of cooking my first scrambled eggs was enough to send me on a life time of enjoyment in the world of food preparation.

My first wife disliked cooking but didn’t mind cleaning up. Since I didn’t care for the latter task, it was a perfect arrangement. Sadly, other parts of our marriage weren’t so perfect and much later I found myself living alone in New Orleans. There I was introduced into a world of food, cooking and fabulous restaurants.  A change in chefs at a major restaurant in New Orleans was front page news!

I shopped daily at the open-air French Market trying exotic fruits and vegetables from all over the world. The fish markets had fresh shrimps (with heads) and cooking dinners became a treat to which I looked forward. Most of all, New Orleans gave me a different appreciation of food; Cajun and Creole cooking became part of my expanding recipe file, and some of my favorite meals reflect this style.

With a job change, I moved back to New York. Still single and hoping to meet someone, I decided the best way for me to find a date was not in the singles bars (so popular at the time) or through personal ads. Instead, I joined an upscale cooking class taught by the food editor of Harpers Bazaar. I was the only male in a class of 15 and we all had something in common—our interest in cooking. Once again, cooking helped shape my life. It is curious to note how many relationships begin over a meal, which is exactly how I met Leslie, my wife of nearly 27 years, but that’s a story for another time.

We bought our house in Kent 26 years ago and spent the next 12 years as “weekenders.” I found eating out was something I did often during the week (business dinners), and besides, dinner with friends at a restaurant didn’t give me a chance to cook and/or spend an hour or so after dinner in good conversations. So Saturday nights in Kent became “eat at home” most weekends.

During the years I lived and worked as a TV executive in Manhattan, I also found that the best way for me to unwind from the high pressured days at the office was to come home and cook. And when I travel abroad, I love to frequent the local markets, as well as the supermarkets. You can learn a great deal about other cultures by the varieties of food offered in their shops. I find that shopping is an enjoyable part of the whole food experience.

In Kent, my friends seemed to enjoy their meals at our home and I’ve yet to have anyone say “no” to an invitation to dine at Chez Levy. Eventually I began offering my services as a chef at small dinner parties—this as an auction item at various charity events and found it to be a quite successful fund raising item. Recently I began teaching small groups of children how to cook and this has proven to be very popular here in Kent.

And now I have been asked to write a food column for the Litchfield County Times online.  Some of you may have read my previous food columns for www.kenttribune.com and for the Kent Good Times Dispatch. I will share some of my favorite recipes, cooking hints and love of this activity that has been part of my life for so long. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

My column will appear bi-monthly. For starters, here’s one of my favorite holiday side dishes.

It comes as no surprise that sweet potatoes are so often served at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. The prime time for harvesting them is fall and winter. Thanks to good storage, sweet potatoes are available year round, but the best and freshest are in your market right now.

Yams and sweet potatoes are varieties of the same root vegetable. Yams tend to have a moist, orange flesh, while sweet potatoes often have a yellow/white flesh. Either one works well in any recipe.

Most families have their favorite sweet potato recipe handed down from “Grandma” and changed slightly with each generation. My memories of Thanksgiving include a baked, mashed sweet potato dish topped with mini-marshmallows. My Grandma is gone now and my guests prefer a less sweet side dish. This variation will make any meal special and may become your family favorite to pass along to future generations.

Rick’s Famous Brandied Sweet Potatoes

(serves 4)

Ingredients

·        4 medium size sweet potatoes

·        2/3 cup brown sugar

·        ¼ cup water

·        2 Tablespoons sweet butter

·        ¼ cup seedless raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

·        ¼ cup cognac

1.     Wash sweet potatoes but do not peel.

2.     Boil in water to cover, 15-20 minutes.

3.     Drain, cool and then peel.

4.     Slice thinly into a greased casserole.

5.     Put brown sugar, water, butter and raisins/dried cranberries in sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Turn off flame and add cognac.

6.     Pour mixture over potatoes.

7.     In pre-heated oven (350°), bake uncovered for 30 minutes, basting several times with syrup in casserole.

Note: Dish may be prepared through step 6, covered, refrigerated and cooked the next day. Be sure to remove dish from refrigerator one hour before baking.