When Dean Sheremet looks back on his failed marriage to country superstar LeAnn Rimes, he will be the first to say he was guilty of trying to wear too many hats.
“I would try to be her manager, director, creative consultant, friend, lover and husband all at once,” he tells The Post. “I was always trying to advance her career and I could never turn it off. It ended up consuming us.”
They divorced in 2010 and Sheremet has described their relationship as “cordial” until last week, when Rimes’ lawyers reached out and demanded to know what information he had included about the singer in his new book, “Eat Your Heart Out” — a collection of recipes he created in the aftermath of their breakup. “She already killed my happiness the first time around,” he told InTouch magazine in a more recent interview. “[It’s like], ‘Move on already, LeAnn. I’ve moved on!’”
Sheremet met Rimes at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2001, where he was performing as a backup dancer. They married the following year, when Rimes was just 19 years old and Sheremet was 21. “Looking back, it seems crazy we married that young,” says Sheremet, now 35. “You don’t know who you are at that point.”
Rimes ended up cheating on him in 2008 with Eddie Cibrian (Rimes’ co-star in the Lifetime movie “Northern Lights,” whom she eventually married in 2011), and Sheremet took this as a sign to focus on wearing just one hat — a toque.
He moved to New York, enrolled in culinary school and vowed to take better care of himself. That began with cooking healthy, wholesome dishes that suited his own tastes, many of which are included in “Eat Your Heart Out.”
“It’s not a revenge cookbook,” says Sheremet. “It’s more about eating real, nutrient-rich food rather than dieting.”
After years of eating poorly on the road with Rimes, his first days in New York were far from virtuous.
“I was partying, eating and drinking too much,” he recalls.
‘It’s not a revenge cookbook. It’s more about eating real, nutrient-rich food rather than dieting.’
- Dean Sheremet
But cooking his own food and developing these recipes — including cauliflower steak with romesco sauce (see below) — helped him recover from the mental trauma of divorce.
“I had no idea that the knowledge that my grandmother gave me as a kid would save my life,” he says.
It was an art he had long dabbled in, from baking cakes at age 6 to whipping up meals for A-list stars when he was married to Rimes.
“Once, I was cooking breakfast for Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, who were our neighbors at the time,” he remembers. “I made them this beautiful fruit salad, and as I laid it down in front of Nicole, I could see the terror in her face. She said, ‘I’m allergic to strawberries.’ I was completely gutted. Thankfully, she didn’t have to go to the hospital. It was just my pride that was damaged.”
Sheremet’s recipes are designed to be easy to make, but also carry the culinary flair he picked up during his time studying at the French Culinary Institute, as well as working in the vaunted kitchens at NYC’s Nobu and Jean-Georges.
He’s also rebuilt his personal life, marrying photographer Sarah Silver in 2011 (the couple now live in Midtown and have no children), and Sheremet is now a food consultant and makes regular TV appearances on “The Talk” and “Access Hollywood.”
The last time he saw Rimes in person was a complete accident. “I ran into her one time in Laguna Beach, [Calif.,]” he says. “I saw my wife was talking to someone, but I couldn’t see who it was and, sure enough, it turned out to be LeAnn. My wife just introduced herself and they started talking. She’s ballsy, but it was one of the weirdest moments of my life!”
Romesco cauliflower
Let cool (but leave oven on at 400). Peel garlic and place in blender with tomatoes, ½ cup Marcona almonds, 2 jarred roasted red bell peppers, 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar, 1 tsp. smoked paprika and a pinch of salt. Puree until almost smooth. Set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add one 1-inch-thick slice of cauliflower. Place another pan on top to press it down. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until slightly charred at the edges. Place pan in oven and cook for 8 minutes or until tender, flipping the steak halfway through. Set aside.
Toss 3 trimmed scallions in olive oil to coat. Char in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes per side.
To serve, place a good amount of romesco sauce on a plate. Top with scallions and cauliflower. Serves 2 to 4.
— “Eat Your Heart Out,” by Dean Sheremet, The Countryman Press, 2016