Cooking is in Alex Guarnaschelli's blood. As the daughter of cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli, Alex grew up surrounded by food, sampling an array of cuisines that changed each time her mother began to work on a new book.
Alex is now approaching her fifth year as executive chef at A-list favorite Butter in New York City, where she offers an eclectic American and green market–inspired menu. She also works as a chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.
Q: We understand you recently had a baby. Often women find that their metabolism isn't quite what it used to be after pregnancy. Are you finding that?
A: I gained 70 pounds, so, yeah. That's really hard to accept. You've enjoyed this decadent nine- to ten-month period of eating, you've indulged your every whim, and now you go into a phase where it's really the complete opposite because you're running around after the baby and you're not supposed to be eating anything. You're working harder, because maybe you're juggling a job and a baby, and so food becomes all the more of a reward. Like, I deserve this piece of cake, why do I have to have cottage cheese?
Q: What things do you find yourself cooking that you can enjoy and don't feel bad about after?
A: I have a recipe for meatloaf that's really just beef and eggs and herbs. I also like to mix in a little veal or a little ground pork, and that makes it even leaner. There's no flour, there's no cornstarch, there's no tricks, and I find that a slice of that, hot out of the oven, is really satiating. Of course, I want it between two slabs of bread with mayonnaise, but that's the part where the discipline comes in.
Q: What other tips do you have for watching your waistline without feeling totally deprived?
A: Another way to lose weight is to cook as simply as possible; don't crap it up with a lot of stuff. I don't want to make any kinds of imaginative suggestions like, "Instead of butter use watercress." You're not fooling anybody. After three days of that you have your mouth wrapped around three muffins at Dunkin' Donuts. I'll poach a piece of fish, but I'll have it with a big baked sweet potato so I don't feel suicidal.
Q: How was going back to work after having Eva?
A: It was very hard to go back to work, because if I'm not around her for a few hours I start to get the shakes. I call it the biological shakes, and I have to come home and hold her and sniff the top of her head, suck on one of her toes. I get a little weepy at work and have to take a time out and come back. You can't sauté very well when you're crying.
Q: What's the most memorable meal you've eaten or prepared?
A: Julie Sahni cooked an Indian feast from her cookbook Classical Indian Cooking for [former New York Times food writers] Pierre Franey and Craig Claiborne at my house when I was 12. It was an inspiration.
Q: What was your biggest cooking disaster?
A: A couple years ago, I thought I had a special tasting event for 500 people scheduled for a week from Thursday. I received a phone call at 6 pm the Thursday before, asking where was I and where was the food.
Q: Guilty food pleasure?
A: French pastries of any kind, fried cheese doodles, and baked ziti with a slightly burned cheese top.
Q: What do you cook at home/with kids?
A: My daughter is little so I make various purees from green market vegetables. Carrots, parsnips, squash.
Q: Who inspired you to become a chef?
A: My parents, Guy Savoy, Daniel Boulud, Joachim Splichal, and Joel Robuchon.
Q: What is your best cooking tip?
A: Never shuck oysters when you're nervous.
Q: Favorite kitchen tool?
A: It's a tie between the Vita Prep blender and/or microplane grater.
Q: Tips for getting picky kids to eat?
A: My father never made me anything special for my picky likes and dislikes. He would say to my mother, "Leave her alone—when she's hungry, she'll eat."
Q: If you haven't shopped in a week and need to prepare a quick family meal, what do you make?
A: I always opt for the salad with fun things in it. Something hearty (roasted chicken), something healthy (a few hard-boiled eggs), something crunchy (sliced radishes) and a really good dressing (mustard vinaigrette) and something fruity (sliced apples or pears).
Q: How often do you cook and how often do you get take out?
A: Home 89 percent, takeout 11 percent.
Q: Do you have a favorite food-related charity or cause?
A: I do a lot for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the American Cancer Society, and City Harvest.
