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Featured Chef Christina Pirello
Bio
We welcome back Christina Pirello, cookbook author and Emmy Award winning host of the national public television series Christina Cooks as Kuhn Rikon's Guest Chef.
She is a professor of culinary arts at Drexel University in Pennsylvania and is featured consistently in newspapers and national magazines, as well as on TV and radio.
Christina, who won an Emmy Award for 'Best Host,' is in the seventh season of her television series. She has just released her fourth cookbook, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Whole Foods, But Were Afraid to Ask. Her other best-selling cookbooks include Cooking the Whole Foods Way, Cook Your Way to the Life You Want,and Glow: Your Prescription for Radiant Health and Beauty.
Interview
How did you first get interested in pressure cooking?
Growing up in an Italian family, we cooked a lot of beans and my mother was convinced that pressure cooking was the best way - she was right (at least about that.) I learned the value of pressure cooking from her at a young age.
How does the pressure cooker lend itself to whole foods cooking?
The pressure cooker is invaluable in whole foods cooking of any kind, since it cooks high fiber foods like beans and grains so thoroughly, without loss of nutrition, making them easier to digest and even more vitalizing.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to buy a pressure cooker?
Make sure that you buy a pressure cooker that is the right size for your needs. A pressure cooker likes to be full. Secondly, be sure that the pressure cooker is stainless steel and not aluminum and last, check out the safety fetures for your comfort level.
Besides a pressure cooker, what other tools are important in the kitchen?
I suggest that people start out with some very basic, but essential tools. A good cutting board and a great knife. It's important to develop good knife skills so that things can move quickly. A whisk and a garlic press are also important tools that are a big help in many dishes. A whisk is great for dressings, sauces and marinades, in addition to eggs. A garlic press is not only for garlic, but for ginger as well.
Tell us about your new cookbook.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Whole Foods, but Were Afraid to Ask has a Mediterranean flavor to it. With everyone so busy these days, it shows people that whole foods cooking isn't a laborious task. Our neighborhood supermarkets have come a long way. We now have organic fruits and vegetables in our produce aisles, as well as organic meats. For those who need to save even more time, there are even accessible prepared whole foods like canned organic beans, frozen wheat pie crusts and even packaged baked tofu that you can just saute or simply use on a sandwich.
What do you have upcoming on your TV show?
Christina Cooks is starting its seventh season in September. We are now seen in 135 cities around the country. The new book is a companion to the show. The focus is on how easy it is to cook healthier foods for yourself and how easy it is with access to whole foods. We also added a fun new musical element: we're having singer/songwriter Jon Michaels perform while I cook.
Tell us about your "whole foods" vacations.
In 1989 my husband and I were on vacation on the island of St. John and I kept worrying that there was nothing for us to eat. We realized that many people might have the same problem, so we started Christina Trips. We organize trips where we prepare and organize whole food meals for our guests. Right now we go to the Caribbean in the winter and to Italy in the fall. We prepare breakfasts and dinners daily. On our Caribbean trips we pack a lunch for our guests and in Italy we recommend restaurants that we have come to know will prepare a healthy and delicious lunch.
