ESU alumna cooks with style
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Connie Fairbanks has had several careers in her lifetime.
In 1998, she left a successful business management career in international medical marketing and sales to pursue her dream as an actor.
And now, as cookbook author and home chef, she’s in another role that she loves. Connie has drawn on her life-long experiences to create an excellent companion for the home chef, “Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings.”
“I wrote this first cookbook to give home chefs access to three to four course, seasonal, homemade menus that can be made every day and with confidence. Most of us have not had formal culinary training. We learn on the job in our kitchens every day.” To take the guesswork out of preparation, every menu in the cookbook is accompanied by “Connie’s Notes” with tips and techniques, “It’s sort of like having your mother or aunt in the kitchen with you.”
Growing up in small-town Kansas and learning to cook from her mom, aunts, and 4-H, she was an honors graduate of Emporia State University with a major in business administration and minors in piano, art and home economics. When not traveling the United States and Europe, she and her husband, Kirk, live in downtown Chicago, where they spend a lot of time on their award-winning rooftop deck (complete with herb garden). In her spare time, Connie plays classical music on the piano and is also a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
“Growing up on a farm in Kansas,” recalls Connie, “I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have home-churned butter, fresh cream and milk, and vegetables from our garden to turn those fresh seasonal ingredients into homemade ice cream, wonderful fruit cobblers and buttery lettuce salads. While homemade snicker doodle cookies were baking, I would be practicing Hanon or learning the piano score for the school play, ‘Oklahoma.’ Every summer, my three sisters and I would prepare for the 4-H county fair by making our buttermilk biscuits and golden glow cake to win that coveted purple ribbon.”
Connie Fairbanks has combined eclectic talents all her life. Her cookbook for the home chef reflects her travel experience in the United States and Europe with her husband, Kirk, yet has strong overtones of her native Kansas upbringing. Practicality, common sense and a passion for seasonal ingredients makes for an engaging cookbook of homemade menus for everyday suppers or those special occasions when company is coming.
The cookbook begins with kitchen equipment and is divided into “Must-Have” and “Nice-To-Have”. Also included is a chapter on basics with quick measurements and equivalency charts. Basic recipes are repeated throughout the cookbook to save the chef from flipping back and forth, losing time and patience. Another non-menu chapter is “On Wine and Beer,” which offers a cheat sheet for phonetic spellings of wine, wine pairings and toasts around the world.
Connie’s personal philosophy is a belief that if one is blessed in life, one has to give back. She is a volunteer tutor with the Partners In Education Program in Chicago and has been an active supporter of Chicago’s Newberry Library. Connie continues to study and play classical music and regularly attends many musical concerts. “I think one needs to maintain a balance in life,” she says, “it makes for a more interesting person and a happier life.” Her advice to the home chef reflects it all: Have fun! Plan ahead! Experiment! Be curious and keep learning! Bon appetit!
“Connie’s Notes” accompany each recipe with tips on shopping for seasonal ingredients, explanations of cooking terms, suggestions for table decor and even appropriate wine and beer pairings. Dozens of recipes are accompanied by mouthwatering photographs.
“Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings” uses popular, familiar ingredients to the home chef, but with a twist. A brunch of parmesan, arugula and quince skewers with Prosecco is inspired by her travels in European cities.
PARMESAN AND
QUINCE SKEWERS
1/4 lb. chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 (2 oz.) baby arugula leaves
6 oz. quince paste
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, chopped finely
Cut the cheese into 1-inch cubes; do the same with the quince paste (as Connie notes, this is a thick, sweet paste that tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear). Use toothpicks or short bamboo skewers and thread on the quince followed by several arugula leaves and a chunk of cheese. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with the finely chopped hazelnuts. Perfect for a buffet or appetizer.
Connie’s recipe for barbeque harkens back to family gatherings in Kansas where she grew up but she livens it up with a spicy red pepper dip from Spain followed by chilled cantaloupe soup served ice cold in four-inch shot glasses tucked into a tiny bucket of crushed ice. A colorful and light summer menu brings together a spicy gazpacho, followed by grilled swordfish, and a rustic fruit pie.
The book is divided into six chapters, with two chapters of 18 menus devoted to each season of the year. Each recipe is included in a menu with instructions on what to do the day before, how to shop and suggestions for imaginative presentation that are helpful. Cooking terms and ethnic ingredients have definitions and phonetic spellings highlighted on the same page.
All Connie’s menus are balanced with seasonal ingredients, tastes, ease of preparation and variety. Wines and beers are suggested for each menu to take the guesswork out of what to serve and tips on pairing food and wine.
At this time, the book is available locally at the Town Crier, regionally at Rainy Day Books and through Connie Fairbank’s web site, www.conniefairbanks.com. Connie will be in town this week for a private book-signing, and will return at a later date for a public signing. She has already autographed the copies for the Town Crier, so hurry and get your’s today!
Next week, my favorite food column of the year: Halloween Treats! How gruesome! How tasty! How creative! I can’t wait to see what we get into this year.
That means it’s challenge time: I challenge each and every one of you to send in a great recipe for Thanksgiving. It could be a fruit salad, a vegetable casserole, a marinade for the turkey — what’s would you like to share with everyone in time for our national day of thanks?
The address is Murphy’s Menu, The Emporia Gazette, P.O. Drawer C, Emporia or e-mail tomurphysmenu@yahoo.com. The deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Let’s get cooking!