Chef Michael Smith, The Best of Chef at Home, and an Applesauce Recipe

You may remember Chef Michael Smith from such shows as Chef at Home, Chef at Large, The Inn Chef and his latest, Chef Abroad, on Food Network Canada. The tousle-haired, denim-and-cableknit-clad east coaster (a proud resident of PEI) has just published his fourth cookbook, The Best of Chef at Home, which lays out straightforward, useful recipes for everyday cooking in a big, beautiful paperback volume with an appetizing full-page photo for almost every dish.

The nicest and most authentic part of the book is the "Freestyle Variation" offered for every recipe: suggestions for fiddling with the basics, and tips for how to cover off the ingredients you may not have lying around the house. There's also an awesome chapter at the back called "Jars", with recipes for pesto, pickled onions and sauces (butterscotch! dark chocolate!) I caught up with Smith while he was here in Toronto this morning to ask him about himself.

• Food Style? Most styles – it's simple; it's easy; it's fun. It's as simple as can be, it's as local as can be, it's as sustainable as can be, it's as flavourful as can be.
• Oddest Moment Shooting the Shows? A blooper-esque answer: sometime when the cameras are rolling you get to an odd place where you do something you wouldn't normally do. Like pouring a hot soup in the blender and turning it on, and it explodes milk all over the place, and you have to shut down the set for two-and-a-half hours and clean everything up.
• Scariest Moment in the Kitchen? How about the time I roasted an eight-winged bat? I do this at Hallowe'en: I take a whole chicken and a whole package of chicken wings and stick them all in and I brush it with molasses and bake it... and it looks like a big spider!
• Greatest Achievement? You know, quite simply I would say, for me, it's becoming a voice of simple Canadian cooking. It's becoming a resource for Canadian families. It's becoming a guide to help people get comfortable in their own kitchen and discover how fun and stress-free cooking can be. That's professionally. Personally, of course, it's my family and my son, and that relationship.
• Advice for Other Chefs? I think as chefs we have the obligation to engage with the issues of sustainability and health and wellness and be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem.
• What's Cooking? Applesauce. That's what I'm going to do tomorrow; I'm heading home, and I have probably five different varieties of apples we picked on the weekend. I'm going to do varietal applesauce this year, for our oatmeal all winter: Gravenstein, Jonagold, Macoun, Honeycrisp, and the last one is a new one, and I think it's called Golden Crisp. We have about 200 pounds of apples, and I'm not going to mix them. With one of them I'll do a variation: I like to isolate the sugar from the recipe and do a caramelization first, so I think I'll do a Caramel-Honeycrisp applesauce. And I think I'll make one of these applesauces with rosemary; those flavours are awesome together.

Cinnamon Applesauce
Reprinted with permission from The Best of Chef at Home, Whitecap Books, 2009

In the fall, when apples are in peak seaon, I always make a giant batch or two of applesauce and freeze it. It's one of my favourite things to do in the kitchen with my son, Gabe. MAKES 4 CUPS (1 L)

• a dozen or so of your favourite apples
• 1 cup (250 mL) of brown sugar
• 1 heaping teaspoon (15 mL) of ground cinnamon
• a dash of pure vanilla extract
• a dash of salt
• a splash of water

Remove the cores from the apples but leave the skins on. Cut them into large chunks.
Toss into a pot and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Add a splash of water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot, and place over a medium-high heat.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid. In a few minutes the water will begin to steam, and the heat will encourage the apples to release their own moisture.

There are many types of apples; each behaves differently when cooked. Some will soften and break down quickly, others will take longer. Any apple makes great applesauce, but my favourites are McIntosh and Golden Delicious.

Keep an eye on the pot and stir frequently so they don't stick to the bottom. Cook until all the apples are softened and the mixture simmers, about 20 minutes in total.
For a rustic chunky consistency, pass the sauce through a food mill or force it through a colander with the back of a spoon. For a smoother version, purée in a food processor and then pass through a strainer. In either case the skins will be left behind and should be discarded.

Freestyle Variation

Many spices have an affinity for apples. Try nutmeg, allspice, cloves or cardamom. Some herbs are very tasty too. I enjoy rosemary, thyme and even bay leaf.

Also check out:

Craig Paulger, J. Dee's Market Grill (London)
John Sinopoli, Table 17 (Toronto)

Chris Mills, Joey Restaurant Group (Vancouver, Toronto and elsewhere)
Raymond Taylor, Ponte Vecchio (Niagara Falls)
Paul Vanderpool Jr., Elements (Thunder Bay)
Stephen Vardy, Black Cat Bistro (Ottawa)