You Don't Need Ears to Cook!

By Chef Kurt Ramborger and Paul Rutowski

The recipes in this cookbook are a culmination of 23 years of experience as a person who loves to cook. This collection is inspired by my work in different restaurants, private homes, at catering event and movie sets, and my familys traditional meals. After years of traveling all across the country and being repeatedly asked for recipes, I have finally decided to create a cookbook, the very same one which is now in your hands. This cookbook is a personal blend of my earliest memories of my Irish grammas meals, dishes created from restaurants, catering gigs, and recent inventions.
Since most of these dishes were created with catering or restaurant patrons in mind, I had to reconfigure each and every one of these recipes so that the big portions would be more appropriate for home cooking. My Chef Mentor, Steve Smrstik, once shared a truth with me and I want to pass this nugget along to you: A recipe is a just basic formula with which we can create and expand upon as our understanding and play with how flavors work also grows. In other words, feel free to play around with the formulas that are presented to you in here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504975544

Chef Kurt Ramborger

Chef Kurt Ramborger is profoundly Deaf and hails from the northern valley of the City of Angels. He grew up in two kitchens: One with his Deaf Mamma, and the other, his Irish Gramma. As a boy he was immersed in their culinary influences as they whipped up home-styled meals, and these experiences traveled to the depths of his soul and still remain. He is a self-taught chef whose journey began in the early 90’s. His culinary adventures brought him not only through different restaurants or catering gigs, but also all over the country, which contributes to his unique flair with food. His style consists of influences from Seattle; Los Angeles; Oakland; Berkeley; San Francisco; Pittsburgh; Frederick, MD; Little Rock, AR; and even to isolated Mackworth Island in Maine, where the food is local and sustainable. Chef Kurt became renowned in the Deaf community after competing in America’s Hottest Chef contest, 2012. Hosted by Eater.com, Chef Kurt was voted as the Hottest Chef of Austin, TX. This led to a wildfire of attention and as a result, he was the champion and represented the nation in this social media contest. He went on to experience more fame after making an appearance on a well-known Food Network show, “Chopped.” Here he was a pioneer, being the first Deaf chef to be on this national cooking television show which got 17% increase in their normal rating average. Proudly, Chef Kurt was selected to be the American Chef to compete with six other Deaf Chefs from other countries for the world’s first ever Deaf Chef International Gastronomy and Culinary Event in Copenhagen, Denmark last November 2014. After all the traveling and noise, Chef Kurt currently lives in Northern Virginia with his Deaf teenage daughter and son as he writes his first cookbook, a culmination of his 23 year journey with food

Book preview

You don’t

need ears

to cook!

Recipes By

CHEF KURT RAMBORGER

Food photographer

PAUL RUTOWSKI

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2016 Chef Kurt Ramborger. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/13/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-7553-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-7554-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016904877

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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INTRODUCTION

The recipes in this cookbook are a culmination of 23 years of experience as a person who loves to cook. This collection is inspired by my work in different restaurants, private homes, at catering event and movie sets, and my family’s traditional meals. After years of traveling all across the country and being repeatedly asked for recipes, I have finally decided to create a cookbook, the very same one which is now in your hands. This cookbook is a personal blend of my earliest memories of my Irish gramma’s meals, dishes created from restaurants, catering gigs, and recent inventions.

Since most of these dishes were created with catering or restaurant patrons in mind, I had to reconfigure each and every one of these recipes so that the big portions would be more appropriate for home cooking. My Chef Mentor, Steve Smrstik, once shared a truth with me and I want to pass this nugget along to you: A recipe is a just basic formula with which we can create and expand upon as our understanding and play with how flavors work also grows. In other words, feel free to play around with the formulas that are presented to you in here.

Along with this collection of recipes is the fact that I am a second-generation Deaf Pappy of two Deaf teenagers. This makes it so that I stand apart from other chefs and chef authors in an industry that is Hearing-dominated. Each recipe is accompanied by a picture which is representative of Deaf Culture as we are a Visual Community. To make this book visually stunning, Paul Rutowski whom we have known each other’s for 5 years, took on the job as the photographer for the recipes.

We absolutely need four senses to be able to create a dish: your visual, aroma, feeling, and palate.

Henceforth, here’s your very own ‘You don’t need ears to cook!’ cookbook.

Chef yer,

Chef Kurt Ramborger

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CONTENTS

Sauces & Spreads

Chimichurri

Sweet-N-Sour Sauce

Herbed Buttery

Infused Herb Or Citrusy Oils

Red Ja’peno

Classic Marinara

Pecan-Basil Pesto

Guinness Mustard

Tapenade

Caper-Berry Relish

Tangerine-Cranberry Compote

Pear-Red Grape Chutney

Green Olives Salsa

Onion Marmalade

Spices Rub

Tick’s Rub Blend

Bayou Spices Rub

BDSM (Big Daddy Spices Rub)

Dressings

Tequila Bleu Cheese

Viuda Bistro’s Balsamic

Coddled Caesar

ToMIntO Vinaigrette

Grains & Nuts

Hunny-Nutty Granola Bar

Grilled Polenta

Semolina Egg Pasta

Candied Pecan

Quinoa Cake

Gramma’s Flapjack

Gramma’s Soda Bread

Honey Bread Rolls

Hazelnut Spread

Veggies, Fruits, & Gluten-Free

Tabbouleh

Fruity-Tofu Salad

Mango & Asparagus Salad

Veggies’ Delight

Hummus-Asparagus Tortilla Wrap

Grilled Stuffed Portobello

Grilled Melony Salad

Spanakopita

Tejas Cole Slaw

Cucumber With Pimento Cream

Sweetened Ja’peño

Black-Eyed Pea Relish

Lá Vaca Rica Cotijas & Grilled Corn Cob

Preserved Lemon

Starches

Pastry Baked Brie

Drunken Coco-Rice

Croutons

Texas Hill Country Potato Salad

Mac~N~Cheese

Butternut Couscous

Buttery Yukon Gold Masher

Ricotta Gnocchi

Cast-Iroń Sweet Potatoes, Eggs, And Mozzarella

Proteins

-Seafood & Crustaceans-

-Poultry-

-Swine-

-Beef-

Citrusy Shrimp

Lobster Bisque

Broiled Opah

Baked Pacific Salmon With Orange Beurre Blanc

Poached Alaskan Cod With Tartar Sauce

Coconut Battered Scampi

Char Siu Ahi Tuna

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Satay

Skewered Rosemary-Teriyaki Chicken

Pollo Cardinale

Pan-Seared Duck Breast

Drunkard’ Sausage Farfalle

Ribs-Ribs-Ribs

Bakon Jalapoppers

Superbowl Baconator

Gramma Pork Loin-Granny Smith And Glazed Brown Sugar

Almond Crusted Tri-Tip With Cucumber Yoghurt Sauce

Roasted Beef

Corned Beef

Tried~N~True Meatballs

Neapolitan Balls

Smoked Brisket

Southwestern Flank Steak

Cast Iron Ribeye With Balsamic Onion Confit

Desserts

Baked Orange Cake

Orange-Almond Rolls

Baklava

Oíche Álainn

Walnut Date Rolls

Ricotta Fritters

Gramma’s Apple & Pecan Crisp

Chocolate Mousse

Lavender & Goat Cheesecake

Buttercream Frosting

Ganache Sauce

Chocolate Extract

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Sauces & Spreads

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CHIMICHURRI

INGREDIENTS

3 cups cilantro, include stems

1 cup Italian parsley, includes stems

4 garlic cloves

¾ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 smoked chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or use 2 teaspoon dried red flakes peppers

salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Put first 3 ingredients in a food processor to purée, approximately 3 minutes. Turn food processor off and swipe down the side then add red wine vinegar, lemon, salt, peppers and chipotle and purée. When you purée, slow streaming the oil into tube to be incorporated.

NOTE: