Quick fix

How many times have you watched the celebrity chefs on the Food Network make an incredible meal look like a cinch to prepare? Then when you try it yourself it becomes painfully clear that it’s not easy because:

1.) There are 17 different ingredients to measure, chop, mince and julienne.

2.) You have to sauté one part of the recipe while using an immersion blender on another part and all the while keep something else from burning under the broiler.

3.) You use almost every bowl, spoon and pan in your kitchen, and when you’re finally finished, you’re too exhausted to clean up.

The 23 culinary professionals who make those recipes happen on TV — aka the Food Network’s kitchen staff — feel your pain.

“If we’ve learned anything in more than a decade of cooking behind the scenes for Food Network, it’s how to make the shopping, prep, cooking and cleanup as quick and easy as possible. Now we get to share our tips with you,” says an introduction to a new cookbook, “Food Network Kitchens: Making it Easy.” (Meredith Corporation, 2004, $24.95)

It’s the staff’s second book, coming out just a year after their debut “Food Network Kitchens Cookbook,” which, according to Susan Stockton, vice president of culinary productions, was “like a first anything, a first child – you go hog wild.”

After getting it out of their systems, the kitchen staff took a look at mail they received from viewers and Internet site users and saw request after request for simple, easy recipes that taste great. It struck a chord with the staff.

“We all have families. We all go home after long days at production and cook,” Stockton said in a telephone interview. So they started talking about what they make for their families. Through an intensive cook, taste and tweak process they came up with 100 recipes to include in “Making it Easy.”

They didn’t stop there. They loaded the book with quick tips on how to cook efficiently and included a chapter called “The Simplified Kitchen,” in which they offer a list for a well-stocked pantry, tell how to be a smart shopper and encourage people to dust off those slow cookers and pressure cookers.

What makes this book different from all those other “easy” cookbooks is the flavor factor. Take heart that these professionals know good food and aren’t about to put their name on something that doesn’t taste great.

“We pride ourselves on looking at food differently,” Stockton said, explaining that many of the recipes are staples in most households, but they’ve been made “bigger and bolder.”

Like the 30-minute Turkey Chili, which uses a chipotle chili pepper and Mexican beer to add a depth of flavor not found in many recipes.

Because “we all have our chicken breast recipes,” Stockton said the crew chose to give this staple many flavor twists. On pages 122-123, they suggest grilling boneless chicken breast and offer 12 different sauces (found as part of other recipes in the book) as quick ways for “vamping them up.” Among the suggestions: Tunisian Pesto, Fresh Green Chutney and Chipotle-Maple Mop Sauce. (Note to dessert lovers: They give the same quick ideas treatment to ice cream on pages 192-193.)

In another approach, the food experts take an arduous recipe and capture the flavor of it in a speedy version. For example, craving spanakopita but don’t have the time to make it? Try their “Crustless Spinach Feta Pies,” which are a snap to prepare.

Stockton said the staff also felt it was important to give people new recipes for slow cookers and pressure cookers, old but cool kitchen tools. “We actually do a risotto in the pressure cooker,” she said. The book offers a handful of slow-cooker recipes, packed with flavor, including Southwestern Pulled Brisket Sandwiches and Chinese Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder.

“The trick is getting the flavor right,” Stockton said. That’s where the process of perfecting a recipe came in. They cooked it, tasted it and talked about it. Then they tried the recipe again. At times, Stockton said, they found themselves saying “that’s way too many ingredients.” So they worked with recipes, often reducing 10 different spices and herbs to just a few by experimenting with the many spice blends available at grocery stores.

When they thought they had a recipe just right, they turned it over to interns fresh out of cooking school to test the recipe and add their opinions, Stockton said.

Each recipe comes with a special tip, whether it’s information on where to find ingredients, the best type of ingredient to buy or shortcuts to making the work in the kitchen easier. “We don’t tell people to mince garlic; we say smash garlic with a knife,” Stockton said, describing some of the tips the book includes.

As a bonus, quite a few of the recipes come with color photos to tempt you to try them. “We want people to cook,” Stockton said. “We encourage people to cook.”

With this book, it’s easy and fun. Here are a few recipes from “Making it Easy.”

Crustless Spinach and Feta Pies with Greek Tomato Salad

From “Food Network Kitchens: Making It Easy”

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed

4 scallions, thinly sliced

3 large eggs

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon plain bread crumbs

2 teaspoons crumbled dried mint

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Squeeze excess water out of spinach. Add spinach and scallions to oil and cook, stirring until dry, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a colander and press with the back of a spoon to remove the last bit of moisture. Brush four 6-ounce ramekins with some olive oil and put on a baking sheet.

Put the spinach mixture, eggs, half-and-half, bread crumbs, mint, salt, black and cayenne peppers and nutmeg in a food processor and pulse until spinach is finely chopped. Remove blade and stir in feta cheese. Divide mixture evenly among ramekins. Bake until set around the edges but still slightly soft in the center, about 20 minutes. Turn oven off, leaving pies inside to set, about 5 minutes.

Run a knife around edge of each pie and invert onto plates; spoon some tomato salad around each and serve.

Greek Tomato Salad

12 ounces mixed small tomatoes

2 to 3 pepperoncini, stemmed and chopped

2 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Toss tomatoes with pepperoncini and olives in a salad bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Toss again.

Cookbook note: Deep into summer we stock up on heirloom tomatoes. Grown from the prized seeds of nearly forgotten varieties, these sweet, succulent beauties are a treat in a salad.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (pie and salad): 294 calories, 22 grams fat (7.6 grams saturated, 67 percent fat calories), 11.5 grams protein, 12.6 grams carbohydrate, 193 milligrams cholesterol, 3.8 grams dietary fiber, 962 milligrams sodium.

Chicken Fingers with Apricot Sauce

From “Food Network Kitchens: Making it Easy”

Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 cups panko (Japanese coarse bread crumbs)

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

3 large eggs

Vegetable oil for frying

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Sauce:

2/3 cup apricot preserves

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons ketchup

6 slices unpeeled fresh ginger

Freshly squeezed juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Game plan: So it has time to cool, microwave the sauce before starting the chicken.

Set a rack on a baking sheet, put it in the oven and preheat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut each chicken breast into 4 thick, even pieces. Toss the panko, lemon zest and 2 teaspoons salt in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Beat the eggs lightly in another.

Heat about 1/2 -inch oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper to taste, dip in the eggs and then press into the panko mixture to coat evenly, shaking off any excess. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the pan. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a constant sizzle. Fry the chicken, a few pieces as a time, turning once, until evenly browned, about 5 minutes total. Keep cooked fingers warm in the oven on the rack. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Serve the chicken hot with lemon wedges and the dipping sauce.

Apricot Sauce: Combine the preserves, soy sauce, ketchup and ginger in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on HIGH until the preserves melt, about 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice and cool before serving.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 562 calories, 10.25 grams fat, 2.8 grams saturated, 40 grams protein, 77 grams carbohydrate, 211 milligrams cholesterol, 2.2 grams dietary fiber, 1,675 milligrams sodium.

Saucy Orzo with Summer Squash

From “Food Network Kitchens: Making it Easy”

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

2 cups orzo

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 scallions (white and green parts kept separate), chopped

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium summer squash, diced

2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth or water

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups finely crumbled feta cheese (about 6 ounces)

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat, then salt it generously. Stir in the orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes.

While the orzo cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, zucchini and summer squash and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until all are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the orzo, broth, scallion greens, parsley, dill, 2 teaspoons salt and some pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in feta cheese and serve.

Yield: 4 (large) servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 653 calories, 20 grams fat (9.5 grams saturated, 27 percent fat calories), 25 grams protein, 91 grams carbohydrate, 50 milligrams cholesterol, 4.2 grams dietary fiber, 1,533 milligrams sodium.

Glazed Radishes

From “Food Network Kitchens: Making it Easy”

2 medium bunches radishes, stems trimmed to ½ inch from the top

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 to 1 cup water

Game plan: Add the radishes to a large bowl of water as you trim them, then rinse and cook.

Put the radishes, butter, salt and pepper to taste in a large skillet. Add enough water to come about halfway up the side of the radishes. Cut a circle of parchment paper the size of the skillet and lay it over the vegetables. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the radishes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove the parchment and boil liquid over high heat, until the liquid lightly glazes the radishes, about 5 minutes more.

Note: A parchment or waxed paper “lid” moderates evaporation by allowing some liquid to escape (so the radishes don’t boil), while preventing all of it from cooking off.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 54 calories, 5.8 grams fat (3.6 grams saturated, 96 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, less than 1 gram carbohydrate, 15 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 442 milligrams sodium.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket Sandwiches

From “Food Network Kitchen: Making it Easy”

3 pounds beef brisket

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14 1/2 -ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes, with their juices

2 whole canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons molasses

Soft sandwich buns

Pickled jalapenos

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander and cumin to the drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on Low, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 hours.

To serve, leave the meat in the slow cooker and use 2 forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pile the meat on sandwich buns and serve with jalapenos. (This is also great rolled up in tortillas.)

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.