GREAT HOME COOKS : Freshness Is All

Stephanie Tynan learned to cook perched on a stool in the kitchen of her family’s San Gabriel home, watching her mother whip up meal after meal from scratch.

Nothing ever came out of a can or rarely even a box--that was the tradition in the Tynan home. It’s a message that stayed with Tynan, who now waltzes around the small, soon-to-be-remodeled kitchen in her Manhattan Beach home with the ease of a Loretta Young.

“I didn’t know about prepared foods,” she says. “In fact, I didn’t have processed cheese until I got to college. My dad traveled a lot, and he always wanted a fresh, home-cooked meal when he came home. And he hated leftovers, so we never had leftovers at home. Everything was always fresh.”

But Tynan is far from an old-fashioned housewife . . . or an old-fashioned cook. She is a legal assistant for a shopping center development company in Manhattan Beach and is an accomplished, mostly self-taught cook. She has attended cooking classes from time to time but prefers experimentation in the kitchen to following formal recipes.

Tynan’s first experiments with cooking, of course, were the sorts of things almost every beginning cook tries, such as brownies and chocolate chip cookies. But it wasn’t long before she was cooking foods that few kids would attempt.

“I tried a whole-wheat bread,” she says. “I liked the way the dough would rise, but the first loaf I made turned out like a hockey puck.” That didn’t discourage her, however, and baking became a fascination.

“My passion is cooking,” she says. “But with just two of us around here (she and her fiance), there is always a lot of food.” In suggesting Tynan as a potential Times Great Home Cook, co-worker Tracy Hodge wrote: “She is forever bringing in samples of her delectable cooking (to the office)--to our delight.”

Though she doesn’t use many formal, written-down recipes from books (except for baked goods), she gets her ideas from reading cookbooks. “I love to sit down and just read recipes,” she says. “That, for me, is leisure reading.”

Even so, in her own dishes she almost always diverges from what the authors suggest.

“I don’t cook by measurement, so when I’m asked to write down the recipe for something I’ve made, I have to do it backward,” she says. “When I chop a handful of parsley, I look at the cutting board and I think, ‘That’s about right.’ But then I have to measure how much it is.”

Her pasta sauce is a prime example of her instinctive cooking.

“The market had a chicken-basil sausage that I really liked and wanted to cook with,” she says. She tried various pasta sauce combinations with the sausage and realized that oregano, which is a common ingredient in Italian sauces, didn’t work as well as thyme.

And she liked the addition of bacon to the sauce; it added a smoky quality that enhanced the other ingredients. The addition of a touch of cream to the sauce thickens it ever so slightly and brings all the flavors together.

Baked chicken breasts are fairly straightforward, so to make the dish special, Tynan created a flavored topping made from butter, olive oil, garlic and rosemary. The butter is softened to room temperature and is combined with the olive oil and herbs in a food processor. When chilled, the mix may be spooned out onto the hot chicken breasts to melt and release added flavors to the main dish.

Tynan grows her own herbs in a small patio shielded from the marine air by the split-level house. The home has an ocean view from the dinette, a formal dining room at the other end of the house . . . and a kitchen that is simply wrong for the type of cooking she does. Though it’s attractive and has ample cabinet space for ordinary cooking, a cook as intense as Tynan needs more room to maneuver.

So within the next few months she will begin a massive remodeling job. The kitchen will move to the larger dining room area, putting the current dining room closer to the ocean view.

“When the kitchen is finished,” Tynan says, “then I’ll feel more at home in it.”

RISOTTO CAKES 3 medium leeks, trimmed and rinsed 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice 3/4 cup white wine 4 to 4 1/2 cups chicken broth, at simmer Salt, pepper 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg, beaten Flour Vegetable oil for frying

Thinly slice leeks, using all of white part and about 1/2 inch of green.

Add butter and oil to large skillet. When butter is melted and pan is hot, add leeks and garlic. Saute over medium heat until leeks are tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Do not brown.

Add rice to leeks mixture. Stir about 2 minutes. Add wine to rice mixture, stirring constantly until almost absorbed. Add 1 cup simmering broth and stir until almost absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep adding broth 1/2 cup at time until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. Risotto should be on dry side. If risotto is too creamy, patties will not hold shape.

Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese. Mix until cheese is melted. Add beaten egg and mix until fully incorporated. Spoon into lightly buttered 13x9-inch pan, smoothing top. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Cut chilled risotto into 16 servings. Form each serving into patty, then coat lightly with flour. Return to baking sheet in single layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Heat about 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add single layers of patties, being careful not to crowd. Cook patties about 3 minutes, until golden brown. Carefully turn patties and continue cooking about 3 minutes more until golden brown on second side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Clean skillet with paper towels, add more oil and repeat until all patties are fried.

Serve immediately, or let cool in refrigerator placed in single layer on baking sheet and covered with paper towels. To serve, remove from refrigerator about 1/2 hour before serving time. Remove paper towels and bake at 450 degrees about 10 minutes or until patties are hot. Serve immediately. Makes 16 risotto cakes.

Each serving contains about: 190 calories; 350 mg sodium; 22 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.41 gram fiber.

ROSEMARY CHICKEN BREASTS 1/2 cup softened butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary 1 clove garlic, finely chopped Salt, pepper Juice 1/2 lemon 4 half chicken breasts, skin removed Flour 2 tablespoons oil 6 tablespoons plain bread crumbs

To make rosemary butter, place butter, olive oil, rosemary and garlic in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over chicken breasts, shaking off excess. Lightly pat chicken breasts with flour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet. Add chicken breasts and brown both sides over medium heat, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. When both sides have browned, top each piece with about 1 1/2 tablespoons bread crumbs, then place pan in 375-degree oven about 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Place cooked chicken breasts on warmed plates. Place tablespoons of rosemary butter on top to taste. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about: 462 calories; 453 mg sodium; 130 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams protein; 0.12 gram fiber.

MRS. TYNAN’S BROWNIES 3 ounces semisweet chocolate 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 cup butter 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups flour 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Melt chocolates and butter together either in double boiler or in microwave. Stir together until smooth.

Add eggs and whisk together until smooth. Mixture will separate slightly as you start to mix but keep beating until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add vanilla, sugar and salt and blend. Add flour 1 cup at time and blend. Add nuts and mix well. Pour into 13x9-inch greased and floured baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees 25 to 35 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Makes 16 brownies.

Each serving contains about: 420 calories; 282 mg sodium; 84 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.23 gram fiber.

CHICKEN-BASIL SAUSAGE AND PASTA 3 thick slices bacon 4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 tablespoons flour 1/2 pound chicken-basil sausage, casing removed 3/4 pound ground turkey 2 cups frozen beef stock, thawed but undiluted, or 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme 3/4 cup Madeira Salt, pepper 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 pound spiral or rigatoni noodles Parmesan cheese

In skillet cook bacon slices over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Coarsely chop bacon and place in medium stock pot. Drain fat from skillet. Do not wipe skillet clean.

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and butter to skillet. When heated, add onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat until onion is tender, scraping up bits on bottom of skillet. Add flour, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add onion mixture to stock pot with bacon.

Wipe skillet with paper towels. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. When heated, add chicken-basil sausage, breaking up sausage as it browns. When cooked through, add to stock pot.

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. When heated add turkey and brown. Add to stock pot.

Add beef stock, tomato paste, thyme and Madeira and blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to soft boil, then simmer over low heat about 1 hour. Add cream and blend. Cook noodles according to package directions. Serve over spiral noodles. Top with Parmesan cheese to taste.

May be refrigerated overnight. If refrigerating, do not add cream. Reheat over low heat. After sauce has been reheated add cream. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about: 952 calories; 1,057 mg sodium; 107 mg cholesterol; 40 grams fat; 94 grams carbohydrates; 44 grams protein; 0.6 gram fiber.