A master chef who advocates the use of ketchup instead of tomato paste, beer instead of demi-glace and the microwave instead of the oven? Can it be true?

        It is. And not only is Munich native Fritz Sonnenschmidt classically trained, he has been teaching at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., for 31 years and now serves as culinary dean of the prestigious school.

        The author and editor of several cookbooks, including American Harvest (Lebhar-Friedman; $30), Mr. Sonnenschmidt came to Cincinnati last month to teach cooking classes at Culinary Sol in Rookwood Commons in Norwood. Before class, he took time to answer a few questions.

        Question: What do you think of American home cooks?

Answer: Many are excellent. But we have lost the simplicity of cooking. We make cooking into a monster, and I don't want to do that. We have to go back and see how much we can take out of a recipe to make it fun again. Here's what we do at my house: Every day after we eat, we take one hour to get everything ready for the next day. We put it into the fridge or freezer, and the next day, in 20 minutes, we have a fast, nutritious meal, using a microwave or whatever. We need to show people how easy this is.

        Q: Do you use a microwave often?

        A: Yes. The microwave is such a beautiful appliance. But people don't understand it. Heat is heat. . . . I believe the important thing is to know how to cook. To learn aroma, presentation and taste. How I get there? Who cares?

        Q: Explain your theory on substituting ketchup for tomato paste, and beer for demi-glace.

A: You will find tomato ketchup in every home. Tomato paste you won't. What is wrong with ketchup? . . . It takes hours to make demi-glace (a classic rich brown sauce). Everyone has beer. Beer has flavor. . . . When cooking at home, you should look at what you have available. And you should cook with common sense, passion and an understanding of the basics.

        Q: How can people get that confidence to substitute ingredients and change recipes to make them more simple?

A: Schools like this (Culinary Sol) help because the mother and grandmother who used to teach children to cook are now often gone or don't have time.

        Q: What advice do you offer to parents and potential students who want to go to culinary school?

A: Do a lot of research. How open is the school? Do they allow students to talk to you? Look at the overall costs. Look at the faculty. How about their alumni? Where are they working? And you need to go there to visit. You need to feel the fire of the students.

        Q: What foods do you miss from Munich?

A: I love lung stews. You take pork lung or calf's lung, cook it in vinegar and water and cut it into small dice. Then make a brown sauce like sweet and sour. But I can't get it here because lungs are outlawed.

        Q: Who cooks at your house?

        A: When we got married, we said whoever comes homes first would cook. That was 12 years ago, and my wife has never come home first.

>Chicken Steaks “Twelve Horse Ale”

  • 4 6-ounce chicken cutlets or skinless, boneless breasts
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 4 shallots, finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 6 ounces Genesee Twelve Horse Ale or other ale
  • Salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream, whipped
  • 1 teaspoon chopped chervil or parsley
        Place plastic wrap or wax paper over chicken and pound thinly with bottom of heavy pan or mallet. Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in large skillet over medium heat and saute chicken until light brown, 3 to 5 minutes, on both sides. Remove chicken from pan to keep warm.

        Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to pan and saute diced shallots until soft. Add ketchup and dust shallots with cornstarch. Stir and saute until shallots turn brown. Add beer and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

        Add browned chicken to pan, simmer 3 minutes, remove and arrange on serving dish. Add chopped chervil or parsley to whipped cream and fold into pan sauce. Pour sauce over chicken and serve. Makes 4 servings.

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