Rocco's 5 Minute Flavor by Rocco DiSpirito

Rocco DiSpirito was one of those young chefs that everyone talked about being the next major talent of the foodie universe. I first heard of him when he was the sort of star of The Restaurant. This was a reality show which showed Rocco being a jerk with little sense of responsibility and no common sense at all. It was a great show-and I think it might have worked if they had found anyone besides Rocco to star in it.

Well, he's not exactly Gordon Ramsey, the Mad Cook of the moment, but he is at least an American. Hell's Kitchen was Gordon Ramsey's show from the start and I do like watching a man screaming at the help for a hour every week. Hard to image Rocco in that role, though he did act a bit nuts on The Restaurant.

Reality TV shows aside, Rocco does seem to be a big foodie deal. A quick Google for Rocco finds Mr DiSpirito's website sitting at the number 2 spot. RoccoDiSpirito.com is a nice looking site, though it seems that a lot of his activities are a bit out of date. Rocco is a busy fellow after all, and I know how hard it is keep things current.

Anyway, Rocco's 5 Minute Flavor-Five Ingredients, in Five Minutes, for Under Five Dollars a serving. I found this at a Half Price Bookstore for a dollar the other day. It's a surprisingly good book. At least, it's been fun looking at it and crunching some numbers in my head. Even though it is a few years out of date, the general idea of spending five dollars per serving still looks like it will hold up. I am also a big fan of the five minutes idea, being a sort of foodie means I only sort of cook.

These five minute recipes are not for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or Mac and Cheese either, but real foodie type stuff. Capellini with Littleneck Clams, Sauteed Pork with Snow Peas, Walnuts, and Beets, Warm Chicken, Feta, and Melon Seed Pasta Salad. They all look good in the photos, and look like they took a lot longer than five minutes to make. This might be a cookbook I actually use once in a while. Which might make me think a bit better of Rocco DiSpirito.