Previous Features

How did you get interested in cooking?

As a child, I often followed my mother, father, and grandmothers around the kitchen, asking questions about how they were preparing food. Fortunately they took the time to show me and let me help. By the time I was a teenager, I was doing much of the family baking. Those early experiences instilled a lifelong desire in learning how to cook anything that interests me.

Has your cooking style changed over the years, and if so, how?

I started with the southern and Louisiana cooking that our family prepared, and many of those dishes are still favorites of mine. When I moved to New York, and later to California, and began to travel the world, I added new ingredients and techniques to my kitchen. My style is now global, always with emphasis on using the finest and freshest ingredients available and not masking their unique flavors.

What cooking trends do you see today?

While continuing to enjoy meat, many of us are eating more meatless meals each week to balance our diets. The world of beans and grains has opened up infinite possibilities for delicious and nutritious dishes. Farmers' markets in almost every community offer high-quality produce that makes us want to cook healthier fare. All types of noodle dishes from Asian cultures are rivaling the more familiar Italian-style pasta. Spicy foods are definitely in and just about every ingredient is being roasted and grilled. As our busy schedules and changing eating habits no longer allow for fancy multi-course meals, there is less formality in home entertaining.

Please tell us about your cookbooks.

Thus far, I've chosen to concentrate on a single ingredient, cooking method, or culture. This allows me to intensely research a limited subject and develop recipes that reflect a wide range of styles within that subject. I pioneered the concept of a full-page photograph of the finished dish alongside each recipe, a style that has now been widely imitated, because I want my readers to see what to expect from my recipes. I've always done the food styling for each of my books, and ten titles ago began photographing my work as well.

What tips do you have for people who want to eat healthy and eat well?

Don't be afraid of any food or view it as medicine. We've been blessed with a bounty of wonderful things to taste from all over the world and a balanced diet that includes everything in moderation is the most sensible and satisfying way for healthy people to eat. Sharing the pleasures of dining with family and friends is among life's greatest joys and can do more for our well being than any restricted diet.

When did you first use a pressure cooker?

As a youngster, I was afraid of those noisy vibrating monsters that my mother and grandmothers used and avoided using such a threatening device for decades to come. When I began cooking in the high altitude of Lake Tahoe about 20 years ago, I found that it took forever to cook my favorite bean dishes, so I purchased a pressure cooker as a way to save time in the kitchen.

What do you like about pressure cookers?

The ease and speed with which modern pressure cookers accomplish many tasks that normally require hours of conventional cooking is a great time-saver. And more nutrients are often retained in the finished dish. The Kuhn-Rikon cookers are completely safe to use and look terrific on my kitchen shelves.

What are your favorite dishes to make in pressure cookers?

I use my pressure cooker to make well-seasoned beans, perfect artichokes in minutes, stocks to keep on hand for many tasty dishes such as soups and stews, and fork-tender shanks and other tough yet tasty cuts of meat.

What tips do you have for someone who is just starting to use a pressure cooker?

Don't be afraid of today's pressure cookers; they're not going to explode and blast your dinner onto your ceiling. Using the manual that comes with the cooker as a guide, experiment in adapting your favorite time-consuming recipes to cooking under pressure. Until you learn the proper timing for your dishes, it is best to err on the side of undercooking, as you can always complete the cooking conventionally if the dish is not quite done.

What is your next culinary project?

James McNair's Cakes, another volume in my single-subject cookbook series, will be published in June, 1999, followed by The Best of James McNair, a large hardcover collection of my favorite recipes, that autumn.