Her route to the kitchens of world-class restaurants wasn't a traditional one, she says.
Initially, she planned to be a lawyer. She studied political science at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and, after college, worked for several years as a paralegal at a law firm. Following some prodding by her mom, she ended up transitioning into a six-month culinary program at the French Culinary Institute instead.
She landed an internship at the prestigious Montrachet, a former restaurant in New York City. Next, she got a position as a chef for a literary club, working in the kitchen at the Century Association, a well-known private club in midtown New York City. The experience, she says, was a trial by fire — literally. She was placed in the role of saucier, cooking trays of meat and fish, and without guidance, often emerged with burns on her arms.
The kitchen was all-male, and many of her coworkers were men who had worked their way up the restaurant staff ladder from being dishwashers. Getting a job she wasn't prepared for because she had a culinary degree didn't earn her favors among the kitchen staff. She was left to carry hefty equipment by herself and assigned to be the pastry chef on top of her other responsibilities because she was the in-house female.
But over time, she says, the men in the kitchen began to accept her as a member of the staff and she came to be considered one of the family.
"You have to really want it and pour your heart and soul into it," she says."Eventually people see the grit and embrace you."
After spending four years working in a kitchen under three chefs, she says, she transitioned into restaurant management. There, she logged long, odd hours, typically working from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m. After a year, she transitioned into other food-related enterprises: catering, testing recipes and moonlighting as a cooking instructor. She says she helped test recipes for the 75th anniversary edition of the cooking encyclopedia The Joy of Cooking.
In 2009, she moved to Menlo Park with her husband and young son and decided to step away from the restaurant world. She now has another son — and three dogs — and, in recent months, started up the food blog.
As a parent, she noted, she hasn't shied away from introducing her kids to a range of culinary opportunities. She's teaching them to cook, and to appreciate good food. She also does not believe in deceiving kids into eating their veggies. "If it looks good, people will eat it," she says.
During the Almanac's visit to see her cooking in action, one of her kids, Eli, 12, wolfed down gazpacho as an after-school snack.
Ms. Potischman says her blog is geared toward the "home cook" — it has a "reasonable" ingredient list, offers recipes appealing to the young and old, with dishes kids would want to cook and eat, and a cocktail section for adults.
She says she knows her recipes work, and she's honest about them. Sometimes, other chefs may alter details in recipes to keep their secrets, she says.
"I hope it makes good food more approachable for all ages," she says.
"Blog followers sometimes stop me in the store or send me email and tell me that their whole family is now eating one of my dishes. That is what it's about."
She someday hopes to publish a cookbook of her recipes.
Cooking advice
The most common question she's asked is: How do I tell when my chicken is done?
Her answer: Test it with your hand to see if it is firm and springs back. Most people overcook it, she noted.
She offers other cooking suggestions:
• Be organized. "You can make anything if you prep in advance," she says.
• When hosting, don't use a new recipe for the first time. New, untested recipes have a high failure rate, and there are a lot of bad recipes out there, she says.
• Just try it. Cooking is pretty forgiving, and everybody has to eat. Food unites people, and it doesn't have to be a hard or elaborate dish to pull off to impress people, she says.
Go to simmerandsauce.com for more cooking tips and recipes.
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Fava bean dip on crostini
Ingredients
• 1 pound fresh fava beans, removed from the outer pod, boiled and peeled
• 2 small garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bread
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sourdough baguette, sliced into 24 pieces
• 24 thin shavings of Parmesan for garnish
Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Using a food processor, such as a Cuisinart, fitted with a metal blade, add the cooked, peeled fava beans, garlic, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese and pulse to blend.
3. Slowly add the olive oil and pulse to incorporate.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush one side of the sliced bread. Place on the prepared backing sheet and lightly toast for about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. To serve, spoon a generous amount of the fava bean puree on the toasted bread and top with a shaving of Parmesan cheese, use a vegetable peeler to make thin shavings.
Dre's Coconut Cake
Ingredients
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Pinch of salt
• 4 cups shredded sweetened coconut
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl to blend.
3. Using an electric mixer, such as a KitchenAid, fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter, sugar and sweetened cream of coconut until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
4. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients and then buttermilk just until blended.
5. Place this batter in a separate large mixing bowl. Clean your mixer bowl and whisk attachment.
6. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, but not dry.
7. Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.
8. Divide the cake batter between the two prepared pans. Bake the cakes on the middle oven shelf until a tester inserted comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.
9. Cool the cakes in their pans on racks for 10 minutes.
10. Run a small knife around the pan sides to loosen cakes before turning them out onto the racks to cool completely.
11. Trim the cake layers before frosting and coating in coconut. Cake should be stored in the refrigerator.
Frosting ingredients
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1. Place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy.
2. Add the butter and beat to blend, about 1 minute.
3. Add the powdered sugar, sweetened cream of coconut and vanilla extract and beat on medium until well blended and smooth.
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