Charlotte Klein Sasso and her husband Bruce Sasso own Stuart's Seafood Market and Stuart's Seafood Catering in Amagansett. Charlotte grew up in New Jersey, but spent all her summers in Montauk. After studying political science at NYU, Charlotte moved out to the South Fork of Long Island in 1986. She and Bruce live in Amagansett with their son Dante and two German shepherds, Niko and Nitro. You can visit Charlotte at stuartsseafood.com.
Interview With Reformed Non-Cook
Charlotte Sasso
Picky Grouchy Non-Cook: Do you have any good stories from your non-cook days? CHARLOTTE SASSO: Here are 3 vignettes from Non Cooking Days: In 8th grade "Home Economics" I co-authored a prize winning cook book even though I always traded my turn at actual cooking for setting the table. It was the late 70s oil crisis time and I came up with an ecology/saving energy concept. Our school won some small appliances. So, I had the germ of a cook inside me before I even realized it. On the other hand, I once disasterously tried to make hot chocolate in a tea kettle with very messy results. The first meal I "cooked" for Bruce was linguine with purchased gourmet sauce and I was a total wreck about it. I asked many friends for advice about the timing. How do you know when to heat the sauce to have it ready simultaneously with the pasta? I always appreciated good food and grew up with fantastic, hearty Hungarian meals prepared by my parents. I was also greatly infuenced by my best friend Pam's Italian-American mom Loretta and Great Aunt Laura. They are home cook versions of Lidia Bastianich. What I learned from these role models perhaps even more than culinary skills, was the joy of feeding people, which they all did with such warmth and love. In college as I lived on coffee, muffins, diet soda and salad bars, I couldn't wait to come home for real meals. After college, I started cooking regularly when I shared an apartment with my other best friend from high school, Tim. We made recipes from Pierre Franey's 30 minute gourmet column in the New York Times each week. PGN-C: Is there anyone in your life who witnessed your transformation from non-cook to Reformed Non-Cook? What is that person's attitude toward your shift? CHARLOTTE SASSO: I believe my husband Bruce has lived through my transformation from Disco Baby to Earth Mother with great amusement, wonder, pride and appreciation. He comes from a great family of Italian cooks himself. But, like many men, he doesn't enjoy the day-to-day responsiblilties of putting out 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. When he makes a pasta sauce, it's a special event. If left to his own devices his main repetoire would consist of scrambling eggs, barbecuing, or eating out. He knows I keep him healthy as well as happy. PGN-C: In terms of other changes you've made in your life, do you see the non-cook/cook shift as important or pivotal? CHARLOTTE SASSO: My evolution into a confident cook was definitely a pivotal shift. I resisted cooking originally from some youthful misplaced psuedo- feminist notion that if I knew how to cook, someone could make me cook. The truth is just the opposite. Cooking is a great, noble, empowering skill as well as a deeply fulfilling art. It's something I do for myself, for those I care about, and as part of a business I love. PGN-C: You are not just any old run of the mill Reformed Non-Cook -- you are an amazing cook and it's part of your livelihood. Yet I wonder: is there any little bit of the non-cook that still lives within you? CHARLOTTE SASSO: There are certain nostalgic junk foods that are still appealing to me on a very occasional basis. In Clifton, NJ where I grew up there's a famous hot dog place called Rutt's Hut that deep fries its "Rippers". The skin of the franks literally rips open and the crunchy fried gashes add an inimitable taste and texture. I will also eat taylor ham and cheese on a roll or fries with gravy at a diner when visiting the Garden State. But, that is definitely not a sustainable way to live. I believe as a former non-cook I'm more empathetic to those who have yet to hit the kitchen. It's fantastic that we live in a very food-centric time with increased access to ingredients and information. However, I dislike the snobbish elitism that's in much of the glossy, food-porn industry. It's one thing to source the best raw materials you possible can (say, at Stuart's Seafood Market, for instance), but you don't need a sous-vide machine to be a fabulous cook. Julia Child never made her viewers feel that anything she did was beyond them; mistakes were part of the process. Entertaining doesn't have to be so perfect and precious. Your guests are really just happy to be invited (so they don't have to cook and clean up!) Your attitude, whether relaxed or uptight, sets the tone. So to all you PGN-Cs out there I say: take heart, have courage, go shopping and get cooking! |