Cookin' with the Old Coach (Making Weight)

According to the Old Coach, -Under the Tuscan Sun is a memoir with a few recipes; Cookin' with the Old Coach is a selection of recipes with a few memories.- The author has blended recipes developed over fifty-five years in the kitchen with some amusing pictorial and verbal glimpses of his experiences as a coach, attorney, father, cook and fellow member of the human race. Initially undertaken in order to archive some of his recipes for those who have enjoyed them over the years, the final product does not only that, but also memorializes a life well enjoyed. Although fully engaged at different stages of his life as a coach, attorney and business executive, the author's culinary interests found their root in early childhood and commanded increasingly more of his time as the pressures of his professional life abated. When the Old Coach began his culinary journey, male domestic chefs were few and far between although the professional ranks were dominated by the male cohort. The Old Coach urges other members of his gender to consider following his example, especially as age erodes the pleasures derived from a well trimmed lawn or hedge, a meticulously tended garden and a sturdily repaired workshop table. He points out the benefits to be garnered from development of culinary skills, including: the less strenuous nature of this hobby, the panoply of equipment waiting to be purchased and, most importantly, the adulation of the fairer sex which inevitably attends the development of culinary skills. The book takes the reader through the day, beginning with breakfast and continuing through lunch and several courses of dinner. In addition, since the author hopes that it will be useful to those just beginning their culinary journey, it is a -how-to-book.- The author does not assume that the reader is an experienced chef. He introduces the neophyte to terms and techniques with which he may not be familiar, explaining the nuances of producing a successful kitchen creation. He is cognizant of the difficulty the novice may encounter when faced with an instruction such as, -Make a roux.- (A situation in which the Old Coach found himself early in his cooking career.) Not only do individual recipes contain explanations of terms and techniques, a separate chapter is dedicated to hints and definitions designed to help his brethren take their first tottering steps along the road to gustatory glory.