Q-C native’s Food Network series premieres Sunday

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By Kay Luna | Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:08 AM CDT | () comments

One of Mary Nolan’s earliest memories is standing in the kitchen of her childhood home in Davenport, stirring a pot of something or other on the stove.

She wasn’t tall enough to see over the top of the stove on her own, so she stood on a stool, pushed up against the appliance.

What was in the pot? Nolan isn’t sure, but she thinks it probably was her mother’s barbecued shrimp, which the family ate rather frequently.

“I was literally in the kitchen with her since I was a baby,” she said of her mother, Pat Nolan of Davenport. “She just always let me help.”

The 26-year-old Davenport native gives much credit to her mother and her father, Bob Nolan, for offering hands-on cooking adventures — both at home and on vacations — that eventually led her to this: the chance to star in her own Food Network cooking series.

The show, “Chic & Easy,” will premiere at 8:30 a.m. Sunday on the cable TV channel.

And because she credits her Quad-City roots and family’s influence for her success, it’s only fitting that her older sister — Davenport native Kelly Grandgenett, 30, now of Ames, Iowa — will join her in New York City this week to celebrate the series’ launch.

The sisters will be together when Nolan, a 2000 graduate of Assumption High School, appears on NBC-TV’s “Today” show sometime over the weekend, Grandgenett said.

She also expects to watch the show with her sister at Nolan’s apartment Sunday morning, before they attend a couple of parties being thrown in her honor.

“We’ll watch it probably several times that morning,” Grandgenett added.

Nolan’s series “shows off her sophisticated, yet simple, meals and unique entertaining solutions,” according to a news release from the Food Network.

“Whether highlighting her practical approach to using local produce, showcasing a single splurge ingredient or impressing guests with a unique flea market find, she always offers crowd-pleasing and affordable solutions to make memorable entertaining ‘Chic & Easy,’ ” the release states.

Nolan puts it this way: “It can be simple and easy, and it can still be very sophisticated. It doesn’t take too much to really have an impressive outcome.”

Network officials say she is one of the youngest people to host a show on the channel.

Nolan credits her time spent as a kid on her grandparents’ rural Grand Mound, Iowa, farm for helping her to appreciate locally homegrown foods. That setting also influenced her mother’s cooking interests, she said.

“My mom is chic and she’s very classy, and so, with her roots growing up on the farm, she’s very into wholesome good food,” Nolan added. “She actually lived in New Orleans a little while, so that influenced her, too. She has a little bit of French/Cajun influence.”

Pat Nolan said she was a stay-at-home-mom when Mary and her two older sisters were little, so she spent each day “creating something fun for dinner that evening.” She always involved the girls in the food preparation process as well.

“Mary is an artist and this is her medium,” her mother said. “We are very proud of her.”

Nolan left the Quad-Cities after high school, moving in 2000 to attend classes at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She studied journalism, but her passion was food.

Nolan spent a semester living in the Tuscan countryside just outside Florence, Italy, where she relished the Italian culture and cuisine.

So, it made sense after college that she found a food-related journalism job as an assistant at the New York-based culinary magazine Gourmet, where she eventually became an advertising copywriter.

She landed her own cooking series after submitting an audition tape for a reality cooking show that was advertised on the Food Network. Officials there liked the audition so much that she got to skip the reality show and was chosen instead for her own series “a little bit more immediately,” Nolan said.

In addition to her Food Network work, Nolan is attending the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

Her sister, Grandgenett, said that of the three girls in the family, Nolan was the one “we always knew something amazing was going to happen to.” She had undeniable charisma and creativity, her sister added.

“We all cooked constantly,” Grandgenett said. “My mom always put a fantastic meal on the table every night, and I didn’t realize that wasn’t how the whole world lived until I went away to college.”

Echoing their mother, her sister also described some of the dishes Nolan prepares as “artwork.”

“Obviously, it tastes fantastic, too,” Grandgenett said. “She definitely has a special knack.”

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

What you’ll see

Episode 1, set to air Sunday, May 18: “Think Globally, Eat Locally.” Nolan uncovers “a world of delicious flavors” with local farmers market finds, according to a network news release. She prepares roasted lemon-herb chicken, German potato salad and strawberry shortcake.

Episode 2, set to air Sunday, May 25: “Movie and a Meal with Mary.” Nolan puts a modern twist on movie night with a feast that includes nibbles such as “bucatini marinara with sausage” and “mesclun with proscuitto grissini.” She also makes sweet and smoky popcorn and caramel apple sundaes.

Episode 3, set to air Sunday, June 1: “Posh Picnic.” Nolan puts together a sophisticated picnic lunch complete with recipes for classic deviled eggs, Cuban steak sandwiches, orzo salad and watermelon with balsamic and feta.

Episode 4, set to air Sunday, June 8: “It’s Ladies Night, Oh, What a Night.” Nolan spices up ladies night and prepares a menu that includes crispy curried coconut shrimp, spicy cocktail meatballs and stilton-stuffed dates. She tops it off with gingered pomegranate cosmos.

Episode 5, set to air Sunday, June 15: “Team-Bonding Brunch.” Nolan invites her touch-football team over for a bonding brunch, complete with Riviera Egg Pie, a minted fruit salad and chocolate cheesecake cupcakes with ganache frosting. She also adds a spicy twist by making Terry’s Bloody Marys.

Episode 6, set to air Sunday, June 22: “Here’s to the Ladies Who Lunch.” Nolan serves up a light and healthy seared salmon with confetti chickpeas and individual cobb salads, followed by some Bellini cocktails for the ladies.

NOLAN’S RECIPES

Roasted Lemon-Herb Chicken

1 (41/2-pound) whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/2 bunch fresh thyme

1 head garlic, cut in half horizontally

1 lemon, halved

Olive oil, for brushing

Special equipment: butcher’s twine; a roasting rack

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Generously salt and pepper the inside cavity of the chicken and add 4 rosemary sprigs, thyme, garlic, and half of the lemon. Slice the remaining lemon half into thin slices and slide them under the exterior skin of the chicken breasts. Take the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs and slide them down along each side of the breast bone under the skin. Tuck the wings back and under the chicken and tie the legs together for even cooking.

Place the chicken, breast side-up, on a rack in a roasting pan and brush the top and sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast chicken in the oven, basting with drippings at least once, until juices run clear and leg bone easily pulls away from the meat, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and cover with foil. Allow to rest for juices to redistribute, at least 15 minutes.

Carve the chicken and place on serving platter.

Yield: 4 servings

Sweet and Smoky Popcorn

1 (3-ounce) bag reduced fat kettle corn

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon chili powder

Salt

Pop the popcorn according to the package directions and pour it onto a sheet pan. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan and chili powder. Add salt, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings

Seared Salmon with Confetti Chickpeas

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 small red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 pound yellow zucchini, diced

1/2 pound green zucchini, diced

2 (151/2-ounce) cans chickpeas

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

11/2 teaspoons salt, plus kosher salt for seasoning

2 sprigs rosemary, plus 6 sprigs for garnish

1 bay leaf

Canola oil, for searing

6 (6-ounce) pieces center-cut salmon fillets

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook 1 more minute. Add the bell pepper, carrots, yellow zucchini and green zucchini and cook until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, broth, white wine, 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 rosemary springs and bay leaf and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaf.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Season salmon fillets with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the salmon (work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan) and sear until the exterior is crisp and golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place salmon in the oven to finish cooking to medium doneness, turning once, about 4 to 6 minutes (depending on the thickness of the salmon).

To serve, use a slotted spoon to scoop the chickpea mixture onto a serving dish. Place the seared salmon alongside the chickpeas and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Yield: 6 servings

Classic Deviled Eggs

6 eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Smoked Spanish paprika, for garnish

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with enough water so there’s 11/2 inches of water above the eggs. Heat on high until water begins to boil, then cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and leave covered for 14 minutes, then rinse under cold water continuously for 1 minute.

Crack eggshells and carefully peel under cool running water. Gently dry with paper towels. Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, removing yolks to a medium bowl, and placing the whites on a serving platter. Mash the yolks into a fine crumble using a fork. Add mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, and mix well.

Evenly disperse heaping teaspoons of the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Watermelon with Balsamic and Feta

1/4 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

8 (roughly 4- by 2-inch) pieces seedless watermelon

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons shredded mint leaves

In a small saucepan, whisk together the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half and syrupy, about 4 minutes.

Stack 2 pieces of watermelon on each plate and drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Sprinkle with feta cheese and mint, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

— Recipes courtesy of Mary Nolan, hostess of a new Food Network series