Single and Good-Cooking: Bachelors at Home in Kitchen

A story published today in the Salt Lake Tribune reviews a cookbook by author Dana Holyfield who features 56 "real men who cook" in her latest publishing endeavor: Bachelors With Recipes (CEDesigns, $14.95).  Three of her unmarried finds are from Utah.

"Most women I've cooked for are pretty impressed," says Bachelor No. 35, Steve Andruzzi of Salt Lake City. The 40-year-old New York native says his culinary specialty is a breaded chicken cutlet, which he learned to make from his father, Big Lou. (See recipe, page D2.)

    "My dad was the cook in the family," says Andruzzi, a retail buyer for the Grand American Hotel. "It's something he has made for years."

    Cooking comes naturally in Andruzzi's big, albeit slightly eccentric, Italian-American family, that includes characters such as Aunt Sweetie, Uncle Porky and Cousin Impy.

    "These people are pretty funny, but they know how to cook," he says.

    Holidays, especially, are "nonstop food" feasts in his family, with pasta, pasta, pasta. "Actually, we call it macaroni. We never say pasta," says Andruzzi, who is divorced and spends most of his free time with his 10-year-old son.

    Bachelor No. 13 is Rand Fisher of Stansbury Park. The 49-year-old water and environmental quality specialist makes a mean chicken stir-fry with black bean sauce.

    And Bachelor No. 34 is Tom Spanarkel, an engineering technician from Ogden, who reads food magazines and loves new kitchen equipment and gadgets. The 53-year-old, who also grew up in New York, even won his office spaghetti sauce cook-off a few years back.

    Years ago, Spanarkel says, it may have been unusual for men to be comfortable in the kitchen, but today there are plenty of role models, including the "boys" on the Food Network: Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali.

    "I like going out to eat, too," says Spanarkel, "but I probably cook 75 percent of the time."

    The three Utah bachelors and their cooking ways are still the exception. The majority of shopping and cooking in this country is still done by women, according to a 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    Busting the male stereotype was not what Holyfield had in mind when she published Bachelors With Recipes, which is available along with several of her other cookbooks at http://www.amazon.com.

    The book includes black-and-white photographs of each bachelor, their vital statistics and personal history as well as their most romantic recipes. While serious cooks will probably find a few great dinner recipes, Holyfield says the publication is geared more toward women who want to look at hunky guys. The author hopes to play off the popularity of "The Bachelor" television show. She even includes e-mail address in hopes that women will want to cook something up with her bachelors.

    The cookbook is the follow-up to Holyfield's popular Cajun Sexy Cooking, which included country recipes and pictures of voluptuous women trekking through the Louisiana swamps in low-cut shirts and short shorts.

    "Women began asking when I was going to create a cookbook that featured good looking men," she says during a recent telephone interview from her home in Slidell, La.

    About a year ago she followed through, e-mailing her cookbook idea to dozens of men at several online dating services.

    "A lot of guys thought it was a good pick-up line," says Holyfield, who is single and wouldn't mind dating a few men in her book. "Of course, they live in California."

    But Holyfield says she would be happy to go out with any honest, hard-working guy willing to make a nice meal.

    "As long as I trust them," she says, "and they don't want me to do the dishes."

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   Big Lou's Chicken Cutlet Parmesan
    2 fresh, boneless chicken breasts
    2 eggs, beaten
    Flour
    1 cup or more Italian or seasoned bread crumbs
    Extra-virgin olive oil
    3 cloves garlic
    Fresh mozzarella
    Homemade or good quality marinara sauce
    Baci rolls or other Italian bread, if desired.
    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash chicken and trim fat. With a good filet knife, slice chicken breasts lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick filets. (Or place chicken pieces on a sheet of wax paper and cover with another sheet. Pound filets with a heavy frying pan until they are about 1/4-inch thick.)
    Place beaten eggs in a bowl. Place flour and bread crumbs in separate dishes. Dip chicken filets in egg, cover completely with a coat of flour, then bread crumbs, coating completely and patting down crumbs with your hand. Let stand for 10 minutes.
    Place a quarter-inch of olive oil in a nonstick frying pan. Heat to medium. Add whole garlic cloves. Place chicken in oil and sauté (not deep fry) for 8 to 10 minutes or until each side is golden brown. h your hand. Let stand for 10 minutes.
    Remove filets from pan and drain slightly. Place chicken pieces in an oven-safe glass pan. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Spoon a generous portion of marinara sauce over cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is hot. Serve as is or on rolls or bread as a sandwich.
    -- Steve Andruzzi, Salt Lake City, "Bachelors With Recipes"
   
Tom's Chicken, Shrimp and Mushroom Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce
    Pasta:
    1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
    2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    Garlic, parsley, basil, salt and pepper, to taste
    1 cup small to medium cooked shrimp
    1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
    1/4 cup sherry or white wine
    1 package fettuccine noodles, cooked al dente
    Alfredo sauce:
    1 pint heavy cream
    1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
    1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
    Freshly cracked black pepper
    Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
    In a bowl, mix chicken pieces with olive oil and desired amount of garlic, parsley, basil and salt and pepper. In a pan, sauté chicken until cooked through. ara sauce over cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is hot. Serve as is or on rolls or bread as a sandwich.
    When chicken is done, remove from pan. Sauté shrimp and mushrooms in sherry or white wine. nd pepper. In a pan, sauté chicken until cooked through. ara sauce over cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is hot. Serve as is or on rolls or bread as a sandwich.
    Meanwhile, make the Alfredo sauce. In a deep sauté pan, heat the cream over low heat. Add butter. Whisk gently to melt. Sprinkle in cheese and stir. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is hot. Serve as is or on rolls or bread as a sandwich.
    Place noodles in a serving dish. Top with chicken, shrimp and mushrooms. Pour Alfredo sauce over top. Garnish with parsley and serve.
    -- Tom Spanarkel, Ogden, "Bachelors With Recipes"
   
   Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    1 small onion, sliced to 1-inch squares
    1 carrot, thinly sliced
    1 cup cabbage, cut into 1-inch squares
    4 tablespoons black bean sauce
    Steamed rice
    Spray a wok or frying pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat to medium-high heat. Add garlic, sauté for 30 seconds. Add chicken, stir-fry until it is cooked through. Add onion, stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add carrot, stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add cabbage, cook until wilted. Stir in black bean sauce, mixing well. Serve hot over steamed rice. ularity of "The Bachelor" television show. She even includes e-mail address in hopes that women will want to cook something up with her bachelors.
    -- Rand Fisher, Stansbury Park, "Bachelors With Recipes"
   
   
 

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