Have Tongs, Will Travel

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From the kitchen of an Italian Renaissance–style penthouse, Sam the Cooking Guy shows us a thing or two about easy, approachable appetizers

By Rowena Kelley

Sam Zien is on top of the world. With eight Emmy Awards under his belt, a new cookbook out in March and a new show on Discovery Health, San Diego’s own Cooking Guy is taking the televised food world by storm—and changing the way people cook. So what more could this former biotech employee want?

“It’s a big country,” says the guy who’s first to admit he’s not a chef. “Someone’s gotta cook for it.”

And why not Sam? After all, he has filmed on a glacier in New Zealand and aboard the U.S.S. Ashe­ville, a fast-attack nuclear submarine. Last September, he was invited to be one of two international judges for Best of the Best, a restaurant competition in Hong Kong.

This month, Sam’s cooking with a postcard-perfect view of one of the best cities on the planet. From the 22nd floor of the Renaissance in downtown, the king of easy cooking has a palace to call his own—with walls of Venetian plaster, intricately carved marble floors, a ceiling of hand-applied silver and a French-top La Cornue range. It’s the first of three designer kitchens Sam and San Diego At Home will visit together.

“I’ve never been in a two-story high-rise condo before—let alone a big, fat one with an amazing view,” says Sam, who also shares his favorite culinary tools, cuisine and healthy eating philosophy. “I’m like a little kid—I was totally curious.”

And we were totally hungry watching him prepare his blue cheese–and– olive bread. Lucky for us, he shared the recipe for this and another delicious appetizer, in time for holiday entertaining.

Dishing with Sam

San Diego At Home: What tools are a must in your kitchen?
Sam Zien: I couldn’t live without a couple of good knives, my tongs and my wooden cutting board. With just those three things, I could literally prepare and cook anything—and I mean anything.

SDAH: When did your love of cooking begin?
SZ: Crazy enough, it didn’t actually begin until I decided to start a cooking show. I’d planned on a travel show, and when that didn’t pan out, I needed to find something quick—and that became cooking.

SDAH: Do you have any favorite cuisines? How about the one dish you have to have at least once a week?
SZ: Asian—and almost anything Asian. Japanese, Chinese, whatever. I stir-fry something and put it on rice at least a couple of times a week. It’s so simple, so good and usually pretty healthy for you.

SDAH: Since becoming the Cooking Guy, how has your life changed?
SZ: I guess being recognized is a big change—but it’s something I like. It tells me that people relate to the show, and that’s very cool.

SDAH: Can you share some of your memorable moments during the film­ing of your show?
SZ: The first time I cut myself badly during shooting was kind of a drag—though we left it in the show, as we always do. The second time was in a helicopter with a maniac pilot in New Zealand flying up to shoot at a glacier. The guy was pretty much a whack job and a showoff rolled into one. Trust me, that combo does not make for a fun flight.

SDAH: Now that you have a show on the Discovery Health channel, you know people are going to ask you for advice on healthy cooking. So, how about a few tips for us?
SZ: I totally believe that if you cooked more, you’d eat out less, and you’d eat better. Kind of a simple thought, but it’s true. That, and a little moderation wouldn’t kill, you know? I mean, if too much water is a bad thing, what could too many fries do to you?

SDAH: What mega-famous kitchen would you like to cook in, and who’s the celebrity you’d like to cook with?
SZ: It would have to be the Iron Chef kitchen from the original Ja­pan­ese version of the show. It was such a huge joint and had anything you could think of. And I’d like to cook with Chen Kenichi—he was the Chinese chef and was amazing.

SDAH: What’s next for the Cooking Guy?
SZ: My first cookbook—it’s called Just a Bunch of Recipes—comes out in March. And I now have a cool Sam the Cooking Guy flip grill in Target nationwide. Aside from that, more TV; I love shooting shows.

Cooking with Sam

Blue Cheese and Olive Bread

Blue cheese, red onion and black olives—can anything be bad with this?

1 loaf French bread
1⁄3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
10 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 red onion, thinly sliced
12 ounces kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice ends off loaf; then slice loaf in half lengthwise.

Mix olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Spread the garlic mixture on the cut sides of the loaf halves. Divide the blue cheese between each loaf half. Top with the onions and then the olives.

Bake in oven 10-15 minutes. Remove and cut into serving slices. Makes about 16 pieces.

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