Ingredients

Appears in
top 1000Culinary Artistry
Culinary Artistry

By Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

Published 1996

  • About
  1. Oysters. I absolutely adore them. I always have, and always will. They’re one of my favorite things in the world. I never tire of them.
  2. Shellfish—lobster. It might be sentimental; I’ve just spent a whole year in an intimate relationship with this creature [White’s next book is Lobster at Home]. It’s very versatile.
  3. Spinach. [While White initially planned to take butter to cook with, when he later realized he could cook with rendered pork fat, he opted to take spinach instead.] I love spinach. I could eat it as a salad or cook it as a vegetable.
  4. Pork. I adore it. It’s so versatile—I’d be able to use it as my only meat.
  5. Starch—potatoes. Because I’m Irish! Seriously, they’re a real staple for me. Given the grains of the world, I’m definitely a potato guy.
  6. Citrus fruit—oranges. I’d need a citrus fruit, since I have all that seafood. I’d really want to have limes and oranges and grapefruits and lemons. I feel like my body needs citrus—it’s beyond the flavor, which I really enjoy.
  7. Onions. They’re the king of vegetables. Pick up any cookbook off your shelf and see what the most used vegetable is in every recipe. It’s onions.
  8. Spices—chiles or black pepper. Personally, I like pretty spicy food, so I’d need a “heat” ingredient. It would add a little zest.
  9. Herbs—mint or basil or thyme. It would make my food have some extra dimension.

  10. Corn. I love corn. I grew up eating com; it’s a very satisfying vegetable for me. It’s kind of a starch/vegetable.

    “I can make my own salt; I could boil ocean water in a pan. My mind is racing now—I’m thinking about ginger and garlic. I guess Peking duck doesn’t fit. And you can tell I’m not a dessert person,” says White.