Happy in the Kitchen

Michel Richard is a man giddy with invention. Enamored of crispness, this master chef, who calls himself Captain Crunch, makes a potato gratin that is all crust. He makes his grits with tomato water rather than stock (lighter and fresher). He brûlées chocolate mousse, makes risotto from potatoes, and "salami"� out of raspberries and almonds. He"™s always looking for the twist that makes good things great"”whether it"™s his lamburgers, lobster burgers, tuna burgers, turkey "steak"� au poivre, or the chocolate reverie Michel calls Le Kit Cat. Happy in the Kitchen is teeming with Richard-esque discoveries, whether it's an amazingly simple technique for dicing vegetables, a delicious [low-carb] carbonara made with onions rather than pasta, or a schnitzel made of pureed squid. He's playful"”always"”but also a perfectionist and an iconoclast. What can you say about a chef who makes risotto with potatoes, prefers frozen Brussels sprouts, and whips up spectacular chocolate pudding and béchamel in the microwave? A chef who doesn't shock blanched vegetables in ice water, but uses his freezer as though it were a fifth burner, and turns raspberries and almonds into salami? Every delicious moment is captured in glorious images of finished dishes, as well as exceptional step-by-step photographs that make easy work of slicing, dicing, shaping, and other essential hand skills. Happy in the Kitchen is a book that will make you laugh and learn, and it will delight you every step of the way.