"We go to the grocery store, we go to the green market to see what looks great, we kind of buy things here and there, then we get home and say 'what the heck am I gonna do with all of this?" said Karen Page, "The Flavor Bible."
So their latest project, "The Flavor Bible," aims to help both home cooks and professional chefs.
"What we thought was any ingredient you could ever imagine - from apples to zucchini blossoms - if you want to know the herbs, spices and other flavorings that best enhance them, you can look it up in a single volume."
We caught up with them at The Spice House in Old Town.. an excellent source for flavor enhancers. As a former chef, Dornenburg says the book serves as a reference point.
"If you look up apples, you'll find cabbage, cinnamon and maple all go together. O.k., well I'm gonna go in the kitchen, don't need a recipe to dice some apple, to slice some cabbage, I'll saute it, maybe throw in some bacon, a little maple syrup, and I reduce that down and I'd serve that with a piece of chicken breast or pork," said Andrew Dornenburg "The Flavor Bible".
He says simple, everyday ingredients like peppers, eggplant and garlic can be turned into completely different meals, depending on a few variables.
"Slice the peppers, slice the eggplant, the garlic.. throw it on a pizza with some mushrooms. No problem. Grab those same ingredients, dice them up, add some coconut milk, maybe a little cilantro, and you're in Asia."
The Flavor Bible
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
The Spice House
1512 N. Wells St.
312-274-0378
