SALAD AS A CENTRAL PLAYER AT LUNCH AND DINNER

In 2009 Lake Isle Press published RAISING THE SALAD BAR by Catherine Walthers ($19.95; ISBN: 978-1-891105-33-3). I mention this right at the beginning because in 2010, the publisher has asked me to handle PR duties for Ms. Walthers next book and sent RAISING THE SALAD BAR to me as an introduction to Ms. Walthers' work. I don't review books I work on here at stovetopreadings, so I'm delighted to write about this very special cookbook.

Catherine Walthers is a journalist and food writer who has spent more than fifteen years as a private chef and cooking instructor in the Boston area and on Martha's Vineyard. I don't encounter books that focus on salad very often and when checking to see what is currently available at Amazon. com, I noticed several salad collections from food magazines, Williams-Sonoma, Betty Crocker and other brands. When I opened RAISING THE SALAD BAR, I knew immediately that I was holding a very special collection. First of all, this trade paperback original is gorgeous with it's lovely photographs by Alison Shaw, and is well designed with French flaps and printed on heavy stock. It lays flat on the counter as you cook. And then there are the recipes.

One of the first to catch my eye was Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad, which I made right away. This is a stellar salad, with roasted cubed sweet potato nicely spiced with coriander, cumin, chili powder and salt It's mixed with black beans, corn kernels, sliced scallions and chopped cilantro and tossed with a superbly flavorful emulsion of chipotle chile (in adobo), garlic, Thai sweet chile sauce, lime juice and canola oil. The dressing had great balance. Just when you think its subtle spiciness might bloom into real heat, that elusive rush quickly dissipated. I served it with simply grilled sweet Italian sausages for a memorable week night meal. The leftovers made a perfect and complete lunch the next. It's a gorgeous-looking salad to bring to the table.

Organized by categories, RAISING THE SALAD BAR does just that. There are salads that pair leafy greens with fruit, such as Baby Spinach and Strawberry Salad or Arugula and Avocado Salad with Shaved Parmesan. There's an extensive chapter on salads featuring chicken, my favorite being Provencal Chicken Salad with Roasted Peppers and Artichokes. There's a main course chapter with meat, including Spicy Thai Steak with Napa Cabbage Salad; a seafood grouping where the Seared Scallops with Watercress and Warm Orange Dressing was a standout. Walthers has chapters featuring potatoes, and a pasta chapter, which not my favorite salad category. However, the Japanese Noodle Salad with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette is very appealing (because like all the pasta salads here, you dress it just before you serve it). Beans figure prominently in a chapter called Big Beautiful Bean Salads. A Bountiful Italian Bean Salad is a vibrant combination of haricot verts, wax beans, chickpeas and kidney beans brought together with a lemon-lime dressing. And I can't wait to make the Lentil Salad with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette.

I think the chapter devoted to good grains is what makes RAISING THE SALAD BAR most special. Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus Dressing, Thai Quinoa Salad, Greek Salad with Farro, and Bulgar Salad with Apricot, Radicchio and Parsley, make the most of these lesser known but important grains. Walthers presents appealing salads with wild and long grain rice. I wish there were recipes featuring Italian and/or Spanish short grain rice, as they are particularly adaptable for salad treatment. The book concludes with crunchy slaws and garden vegetable salads along with a chapter on dressings.

Each chapter includes a 101 list of tips and techniques to ensure the best possible results from washing and properly drying lettuces, when to add dressing, and what temperature to serve a salad, to avoiding refrigerating tomatoes, the best way to toss a salad, and other useful information.

RAISING THE SALAD BAR also features familiar salads we all know and love: Greek Salad, Romaine and Cucumber Caesar Salad, Curried Chicken Salad, Avocados Stuffed with Shrimp Salad, and Seared Tuna Salad Nicoise. As I was reading the book, it made me think of creative ways to use leftovers such as roast chicken, a recent Easter ham, and some grilled marinated flank steak. I purchased some salmon at my local market today. Flipping through the book while writing this inspired me to use it in a Seared Salmon with Baby Greens and Mango Salsa Vinaigrette. This marvelous book now fills a empty gap in my cookbook library.

Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

"One of our frequent outdoor vacation destinations is Bethel, Maine, home of Sunday River Ski Resort and one of our favorite eating spots: Cafe DiCocco. The cafes'

ever-changing breakfast and lunch menu can include fresh peach scones, homemade bagels, vegetable frittatas, soups and a variety of salads, all made with fresh ingredients by a very creative chef/owner, Cathi Di Cocco. One cafe favorite is this combo of roasted sweet potatoes, corn and black beans with a unique chipotle-sweet chile dressing." Serves 6-8

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Kernels from 3 to 4 ears of fresh corn, or 2 cups frozen kernels

2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained (canned is fine)

3 or 4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Chipotle-Chile Dressing

1 chipotle chile (from a can of chipotles in adobo)

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons Thai sweet chile sauce (such as Maesri brand)

1/2 cup canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato chunks with the oil to lightly coat them. Sprinkle with coriander, cumin, chile powder and salt and toss again. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until they are golden and at the edges and just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile microwave the corn in a small amount of water for 3 to 5 minutes, or steam for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain excess water. In a large serving bowl, combine the corn and black beans.

2. To make the dressing, in a blender or food processor, place the chipotle chile, garlic, and sweet chile sauce. Process until mixture is smooth. Ad the lime juice and process again. With the machine running slowly add the canola oil, and process until it is emulsified.

3. When the sweet potatoes are done, let cool slightly and add them to the corn and beans. Add scallions and cilantro; gently toss. Pour enough dressing over the salad to just moisten the ingredients and toss again.

Catherine Walthers

BE CAREFUL OF PRE-CONCEIVED NOTIONS: Editorial

When I first heard about Jamie Oliver's new reality TV show which attempts to get parents, teachers and school administrators to re-think about the food served in school cafeterias in the US, my first thought was he's wrong guy for the job. How the heck are Americans going react to a Brit telling them the foods their children are being served in schools are unhealthy and making them sick? Then all sorts of other paranoid questions began to nag at me. Why is this show on ABC-TV in prime time? Then seeing that Ryan Seacrest's production company is listed as the producer. Worse, they were going to do this at a school in a West Virginia town that has the highest rate of obesity in the country. I thought, wrong guy for the message, wrong network, wrong executive producer--wrong, wrong, wrong.

And I took that attitude to the first episode. I didn't hate Jamie Oliver--in fact I respect him enormously. He was able to instigate some big changes in a similar program in British schools and that is excellent. But I disliked that town. I disliked those ladies in the school cafeteria. They may have known the kid's names, but what a tough and unyielding bunch of biddies they were. I was turned off by the superintendent in charge of administering those depressing trays of fast food gruel stuffed into the mouths of young kids. About the only thing I could feel any empathy with was Jamie and the school principal, who genuinely seemed to be the only adult in that town who cared about his charges.

But I stuck with it. The very idea that kids get pizza, french fries, and chicken McNuggets for lunch with chocolate milk is appalling to me. How the hell did we fall apart so badly that a school district would permit this junk to be served to our kids? Some people have to seriously explaining to do. Is this the lesson from school tax cuts? Our kids are poisoned at an early age. I'm not a parent. I had no idea this is what kids are eating in cafeterias all over the country. Jamie couldn't get kids in this community to eat a vegetable--they simply tossed it in the garbage. The resistance by the manager of the cafeteria was criminal. When Jamie found out they don't give children a knife and fork with their lunches and then challenged him to provide proof that British school children are given knives and forks, I was convinced that here was a classic example of bureaucracy in its worse form. And how sad it was to watch young kids utterly fail at identifying vegetables of any sort. I can understand not knowing what an eggplant or a cauliflower looks like. But how can one explain their failure to identify a simple potato, tomato or cucumber?

It was very instructive for Jamie's dramatic presentation to the parents of the kids at that school. Parents are ignorant of the problems themselves. Most of them have been taught nothing about good nutrition. Most of them don't cook real meals--everything is about convenience. Get it on the table and make it snappy. This is the terrible lesson and aftermath of microwave ovens, packaged convenience foods and take-out bars, and TV ads that extol the virtues of the Pop Tart as a legitimate substitute for a good breakfast. McDonald's has done such a great job of marketing Chicken McNuggets, that anything small, fried and containing a smidgen of chicken, chicken parts, chicken byproducts, is now referred to as a Chicken McNugget. With bones, fat, skin, gristle, all ground up together, we are now serving our kids, dog and cat food. Shame on all of us.

The good news is those mothers were shocked and seemed very upset once they had the facts in hand. Once the teacher saw her students couldn't identify a single vegetable, she sprung into action, bringing a huge range of fresh vegetables to school for her class to touch and discover for the first time.

One of the TV critics wanted to know why the show's early episodes are not dealing with the purveyors who sell this junk to school districts. Perhaps Jamie and his crew feared their legal wrath. You don't need to have it spelled out. I would urge all school administrations to seriously review the companies they are doing business with. Perhaps it would be better to have someone locally deal with food issues such as quality and ordering of foods that are consumed at schools. Take a closer look at the food pyramid, which the government has created (at great expense of our tax $--not that I have much faith in it, but it is a start) so that kids can eat a good lunch in school instead of junk food. Have food taught in schools. Involve parents more. Revive the home economics class.

I haven't been in school in many, many years. In the 50s and 60s, schools didn't have dispensing machines with candy and soda easily available. Soda was never on the menu of any school I ever attended. And while cafeteria food is at best edible, never inspiring, it is to be preferred over junk food, especially if made with some care and some nutritional goals in mind. The ladies who cook and serve that junk in this school care deeply about these kids. But they are as ignorant as the students, the parents and the school administrators.

Alice Waters should be given some credit for this. When her daughter first started going to school, Alice was very upset at the food her daughter's school served. How could she advocate for that school as the owner of one of the most respected and visible restaurants in America, when they served such bad food to her daughter. Alice swung into motion and has hounded the media for years. Some of the press has presented her misgivings--but they were preaching to the choir. Yet today, Alice inspired Michelle Obama to create the White House roof garden.

The resistance to Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters, and others courageous enough to continue this battle will continue. Money interests, political power, and mistrust, will continue to dog the mission of making sure our kids get the best possible food in schools. So let's hear it for Jamie Oliver, for having the star power, the guts, the ability to make himself look ridiculous in the service of something so important, the tenacity to see it through, and the heroism and commitment to teaching us all that good, healthy food is essential and necessary to our well being and should sustain us throughout our lives.

AN IMAGINATIVE AND PRACTICAL NEW FAMILY COOKBOOK FROM SARA MOULTON

Back in the not so distant and formative years of the Food Network, my favorite show was COOKING LIVE with Sara Moulton. Working alone or sometimes with a guest, Sara taught early viewers how to cook. She didn't just demonstrate the steps in a recipe. She talked about why things worked together, and provided plenty of smart tips and techniques that encouraged them to get into the kitchen and not just rely on a cookbook. She answered all those nagging questions that new cooks always have about roasting, braising, frying, sauteeing, preping vegetables, baking a cake or muffins, or cookies and rolling out a pie dough--Sara showed us how to do it all. This was in the pre-celebrity TV chef days. Accessible, friendly with a beaming smile and the encouraging manner of a born teacher, Sara quickly became one of the network's most admired stars. As a publicist with cookbooks to promote, I often booked my clients on her show and I can tell you Sara is exactly the person you see on TV. We don't get to see as much of her in front of the cameras these days (though she pops up on PBS often enough). The good news is that she's produced her fourth cookbook, SARA MOULTON'S EVERYDAY FAMILY DINNERS (Simon and Schuster; $35.00; ISBN: 978-1-4391-0251-0) and in every way, I think it is absolutely her best. Turn to the back cover of the book. There are plenty of admiring quotes from the likes of Marcus Samuelsson, Rick Bayless, Pam Anderson, and Isaac Mizrahi. Everyone likes Sara.

To combat cooking fatigue with the same old dinners over and over again, Sara was determined to rethink the family dinner to get the most important family meal of the day out of its rut. This "has resulted in several strategies," she writes in the Introduction of SARA MOULTON'S EVERYDAY FAMILY DINNERS. "The chapter called "Appetizers for Diner" formalizes my frequent preference for a meal's starters to its "main course. "Two for One" spells out how to make a great new meal with leftovers from the night before simply by making sure that there will be leftovers. In "Five-Ingredient Mains" the challenge was to come up with recipes that are as delicious as they are quick to make." There's a chapter on whole grains, a vegetarian chapter (with icons for easy identification), and most of the recipes contain suggested variations on "how to make it lighter, how to make it vegetarian, what to exchange for ingredients you hate or simply can't find in your hometown. But I'm hoping to do more than provide you with options," Sara states. "I'd like to spark your creativity. Real cooks don't need a recipe. They can look at their ingredients, consider their options and make a meal."

I only had to go to page 12 to find a recipe for a salad dressing that I had been seeking for years. Creamy Garlic Dressing Two Ways: Rich and Slim powerfully reminded me of a similar dressing that I enjoyed on cold, poached leeks at an Alsatian restaurant (now sadly closed) near my former home in Manhattan. Sara presents it in a full-fat version with sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, kosher slat, black pepper, a garlic clove, a small amount of heavy cream (or with yogurt, a lower-fat alternative) and olive oil. I've made it at least a half dozen times. I use the garlic version for meats and omit the garlic for vegetables. This is a versatile and delicious dressing, perfect for warm or cold artichokes, asparagus, those well-remembered poached leeks, cold roasted beets and so many other vegetables, salads, cold chicken, beef, pork and fish. Sometimes I make it with the yogurt too. It is equally delicious.

Here's the innovation of SARA MOULTON'S EVERYDAY FAMILY DINNERS that most captured my attention. Sara done away (almost entirely) with "mise en place," or the concept that all ingredients should be prepped and in front of you before you begin to cook. She still advises in the interest of time to have all the ingredients out of refrigerator and cupboard to be within easy reach when you need them. She has written the steps into each recipe, an interesting and practical departure from conventionally written recipes. You might argue that Joy of Cooking does the something similar, but the thing I've resisted about this classic cookbook all these years is its lack of an ingredients list at the top of the recipe (essential to me).

I'm a sucker for easy desserts that look like you made a lot of effort. The Butterscotch Pudding Cake really works for me. "When it's baked," Sara reveals, "it separates into a layer of cake and a layer of hot, rich butterscotch pudding sauce. It's a snap to make, and you can finish it off with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream." That's all I needed to read and ran to the kitchen. It's a winner. Spring Soup with Bread Dumplings is a great one-pot meal combining chicken stock and asparagus, mushrooms, fava beans (or frozen limas if fava beans are not available), leeks and peas, and given some light heft with the inspired addition of dumplings made with fresh bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan cheese and parsley. This elevated minestrone is sure to put anyone into a good seasonal mood.

There are so many good ideas in SARA MOULTON'S EVERYDAY FAMILY DINNERS. Try the egg chapter, with lots of egg dishes you've never heard of, as well as some interesting riffs on classics, such as Toad-in-the-Hole Italiano. I'm eating more sandwiches for dinner these days and Sara's take on the genre is right in tune with this concept. Southwestern Caesar Shrimp Sandwiches and "Fried" Catfish BLTS are two interesting and different choices. The main course salad is also showing up more frequently on my dinner table. I went a tad upscale one night with the Seared Scallops and Butter Lettuce Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette, and then found myself equally happy with the Bean and Kielbasa Salad with Creamy Chipotle Dressing.

Sara has provided dinner for company, dinner for people on the run, dinner for the family (and for surprise drop-in guests) and dinner for the family to relax and enjoy each other's company. Here's comfort, convenience and tasty food all wrapped up in one source you'll want to go back to again and again.

Spring Soup with Bread Dumplings

First things first: this is a spring soup. It's meant to be made when asparagus and fava beans are in season. Just because you can find these items in the supermarket in November, when they have been flown in from the other half of the world, doesn't mean you should give them a second thought. Eat this soup when our half of the planet is awakening from its long winter nap and you'll feel renewed, too.

That said, when I was finishing preparing it, I worried that this light little soup might not be substantial enough to satisfy The Husband. Poring over the Italian cookbooks in my library, I came across several recipes for "bread dumplings." Now, I have never met a dumpling I didn't like, from gnocchi to pierogi, but these were news to me. Most dumplings require some sort of batter and a bit of prep time. I couldn't believe you could get away with using bread as the batter. Turns out that bread dumplings are a snap to make and, even better, when I added them to the soup, they absorbed a ton of flavor from the broth and puffed up like little balloons. The Husband was happy.

Makes about 8 cups (without dumplings), 4 servings*Hands-on time: 35 minutes*Total Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Bread Dumplings (recipe follows)

1/2 pound shelled fresh fava beans or shelled fresh lima beans,

or 1 2/3 cup thawed frozen limas or favas or a combo

3 leeks (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups homemade chicken stock (or canned broth)

1/2 pound asparagus

1/2 pound small white mushrooms

2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup shelled fresh or thawed frozen green peas

1. Prepare the Bread Dumplings (see recipe below)

2. If using fava beans, bring 1 quart salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shelled fava beans and blanch for 1 minute; immediately transfer them with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and water to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, gently peel the skins from the beans.

3. Trim off and discard the green parts of the leeks, leaving about 5 inches. Cut the white parts in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch pieces (about 3 1/2 cups); rinse them well and pat them dry.

4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low; add the leeks and cook for 5 minutes, or until they have softened.

5. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan. Trim the asparagus. Peel the bottom of the stems if the steam are thicker than 1/3 inch; slice the asparagus cross-wise into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/3 cups). Clean, trim, and quarter the mushrooms (about 2 2/3 cups). Add the asparagus and mushrooms to the leeks and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until almost tender. Microplane the grated cheese (about 1 1/3 cups) or grate on the fine side of a box grater (about 2/3 cup).

6. Add the leek mixture to the chicken stock along with the favas and peas. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low; add the dumplings and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are cooked through. Stir in the cheese and serve.

Bread Dumplings

Beat 2 large eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Stir in 2 cups fresh white or whole wheat bread crumbs, 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1 1/3 cups Microplane-grated or 2/3 cups grated on the fine side of a box grater), and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves. Roll into 12 balls. Cook in the soup as directed above.

CREAMY GARLIC DRESSING TWO WAYS: RICH AND SLIM

This is my adaptation of a dressing for grilled quail that I first encountered in Gourmet magazine. Generally, I steer clear of creamy dressings, because of the extra calories they pack, but this one is so delicious that I couldn't leave it alone. Even so, I present it to you here in full-fat and lighter versions. The lower-fat alternative swaps out the cream for yogurt, which subtracts calories, adds tang, and is still pretty creamy.

Makes about 2/3 cup*Hands-on time: 10 minutes*Total preparation time: 10 minutes

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup heavy cream or plain-low-fat or full-fat Greek-style yogurt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl until the salt has dissolved. Press the garlic (about 1 teaspoon) into the mixture. Gradually whisk in the cream and then the olive oil. Store in the refrigerator for a day or two.

"THE BEST SOUPS IN THE WORLD" LIVES UP TO ITS TITLE

Despite being rather fearless in the kitchen, I lack the DNA for making soup. Maybe it is because unlike most people, soup is almost always my last choice as a meal starter. Perhaps it was because my mother, excellent cook that she is, rarely made soup from scratch (though I do remember a wonderful split pea and ham soup). She was a busy working mom who relied on Campbell's canned soups (I shudder at the memory of something called "Pepper Pot, which contained tripe!). I actually like soup. But it never speaks to me in the same way that other starters do. And to be frank, some of the most disappointing things I've attempted in the kitchen can be blamed on soup. Those who say soup is forgiving--that you can dump anything you like into a pot and it will still be delicious, have clearly never sampled my feeble efforts in the genre. Now along comes Clifford A. Wright's superb collection, THE BEST SOUPS IN THE WORLD (Wiley; ISBN: 978-0-470-18052-5) to finally set things right and help me conquer my fear of soup, instilling in me some culinary discipline and a desire for success.

Widely admired by food writers, this fine teacher and cookbook author should be better known to the public. I worked on Wright's last book, Bake Until Bubbly, the last word on the subject of casseroles (to me at least). Without resorting to any packaged soups or any other canned nonsense, he renewed and elevated this abused category without a whiff of pretension. That book received outstanding reviews and rightfully so. The casseroles I cooked from it swept me back to my childhood, reviving my love of this savory (and sweet) comfort food. He has admirably performed the same hat trick in THE BEST SOUPS IN THE WORLD. Ranging far beyond the overly familiar Cream of Tomato, or French Onion Gratin (though these and many other favorites are here), Wright has assembled an imaginative collection of 247 superb soups from every area of the planet.

Dusting off the accumulated culinary cobwebs of some of the most popular soups, THE BEST SOUPS IN THE WORLD is divided into categories, i.e., broths, clear soups, chunky meat soups, chunky vegetable soups, smooth creamed soups, minestrone-type soups, grain-based, soups, chowders and bisques, cheese and egg soups, seafood soups and chilled soups. His recipe for Gazpacho combines the versions he ate in two different restaurants in Spain, and he insists that for the best results, gazpacho can only be made and truly enjoyed at the height of the late summer tomato season. How interesting to discover that Vichyssoise was not created in France, but in the kitchens of the Ritz-Carleton hotel in New York. He offers three recipes for Borshch, two cold and one hot with meat. There is a very charming recipe for Ike's Home-Style Vegetable Soup, written by Dwight D. Eisenhower and found in his presidential library in Abilene, Kansas (and staying with politics for another moment, there's also the famous U.S. Senate Bean Soup, adapted by Wright "to assure a delicious soup"). There are fourteen minestrone-style soups, many of them from Italy.

My favorite part of the book was to discover so many International soups, and soup lovers will want to expand their repertoires with Cambodian Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup, Georgian Beef and Apricot Soup, Turkmen Boiled Soup, Kurdish Chicken and Yogurt Soup, Korean Bean Paste Soup, Spinach-Stem Soup of the Turkish Jews, Chayote Soup from Nicaragua, Fava Bean and Chickpea Soup from Andalusia, Congolese Peanut Vegetable Soup, Persian Greens and Barley Soup, Cream of Plantain Soup (Cuba), Venezuelan Creole Soup, Icelandic Curried Langoustine Soup, and so many others. Wright has thoughtfully included an appendix of soups by region. I list so many because Clifford Wright is such an entertaining writer. The headings of each recipe are full of lots of interesting anecdotes about soups discovered during his many travels, suggestions for making better soup, and other fascinating information.

I decided to make the Cream of Cauliflower Soup to illustrate this review. It was a serendipitous choice as I had just enough heavy cream on hand, and my market was offering heavy, snowy heads of cauliflower on sale. The recipe was a snap to put together and the resulting potage was an elegant and pleasing blend of cauliflower, potato, chicken broth, tarragon, a touch of curry and nutmeg, lemon juice and white pepper with chopped tarragon and chive for garnish. It pleased my guests but most of all it pleased me and is an encouraging start to what I hope will be a renewed commitment to making soup and often. Memo to Clifford A. Wright: I think you have converted me!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

In the 1950s, when I was a child, my father was stationed in France with the U.S. Air Force, and we lived for some time in Beaumont-le-Roger in Normandy. Although I don't remember the food from those halcyon days of my rural French childhood, I have made many subsequent trips to the area and am quite fond of Norman food. The region is famous for its duck, apples and Camembert cheese. Norman soups, especially cream soups, have a lusciousness I always associate with French cuisine.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

4 cups chicken broth

1 cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and broken into florets

1 small boiling potato (5 ounces), peeled and diced

Bouquet garni, tied in kitchen twine, consisting of 2 tarragon sprigs

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon curry powder

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

1. In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat, then add the cauliflower and potato with the bouquet garni, cover, and cook until very tender about 15 minutes.

2. Transfer the vegetables to a blender and blend until puréed. Return the purée to the pot, add the cream and stir. Add the curry powder, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and heat over medium heat until hot. Serve in individual bowls sprinkled with the chives and tarragon for garnish.

52 Quick, Stylish Dinners from Martha Stewart

Sometime around the early 90s, I bought Martha Stewart's Quick Cook, a collection of menus for meals to make that worked for week nights as well as for company. I've cooked my way through that book at least three times, and some recipes, such as Thyme -Sauteed Pork Chops with Apple Slices, Sea Scallops Sauteed with Scallions, Mahagony Fried Chicken, Oranges in Red Wine, and especially Old Fashioned Bottom-Crust Apple Pie, are part of my regular repertoire. In MARTHA STEWART'S DINNER AT HOME: 52 Quick Meals to Cook for Family & Friends (Clarkson Potter/Publishers; ISBN: 978-0-307-39645-7), Martha returns to the idea of great meals, easily prepared and this collection is a winner.

Martha's game plan is simple. Help solve the "what to have for dinner" question by offering 52 all new seasonally arranged menus, or one complete meal to try for every week of the year. That means interesting recipes using a broader range of easily available ingredients we're using these days such as pancetta, Greek yogurt, Vidalia onions, phyllo dough, wonton wrappers, cardamom and blood oranges. Each menu is handsomely photographed with appealing plates of great looking food, such as Braised Chicken Marsala with Sage Polenta, Summer Squash and Olive Phyllo Tart, Pasta Shards with Fresh Herbs topped with Poached Eggs with Brown Butter, Salmon with Creamy Leeks, Grilled Steak with Blue Cheese Potatoes, Grilled Spiced Lamb Chops, and Quail with Figs and Pine Nuts. Broiled Black-Pepper Tofu with a Soy-Lemon Dipping Sauce makes for an excellent introduction to this popular Asian ingredient.

The book has many interesting side dishes, including Quinoa, Pea, and Mint Salad, Haricots Verts with Tapendade, Couscous with Golden Raisins, Spinach and Grilled-Corn Salad, Fennel, Red Onion and Parsley Salad, Porcini and Parsley Farro, Orange and Endive Salad, Warm Lentils with Spinach, and Grated Potato Cake.

MARTHA STEWART'S DINNER AT HOME offers lots of fun and interesting desserts such as Vanilla-Poached Rhubarb, Coffee Ice Cream Affogato, Apricot-Almond Ice Cream Sandwiches, Bread and Butter Pudding with Strawberries, Blackberry-Red Wine Gelatin, Caramelized Persimmons, and Rice Pudding with Candied Kumquats.

Each menu features a convenient "Preparation Schedule," and the headers for each menu offer truly practical advice that help insure success. The back of the book offers some useful basics and a few stocks. And each of the starters, "mains," sides and desserts is listed by season, making quick reference for decision making. The combination of simple and sophisticated, familiar and new, and all elegantly understated is vintage Martha Stewart. I never tire of adding a good new cookbook that offers me a combination of the familiar some challenge. These are recipes you can get on the table during a busy week or linger over the weekend when our thoughts turn to relaxation and entertaining. This new book from Martha easily makes the cut.

Braised Chicken Marsala

Serves 4

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1. pounds)

4 chicken drumsticks (about 1 pound)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 red onions, peeled and quartered through the stem

2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 sprigs thyme

¼ cup Marsala (sweet Italian fortified wine)

1 ¼ cups chicken stock, homemade (see page 260) or low-sodium store-bought

Sage Polenta

Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towels, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, high-sided sauté pan over medium-high.

Working in batches, brown chicken on both sides, turning once, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter; tent loosely with parchment paper, then foil, to keep warm.

After all chicken is browned, pour off excess fat.

Add onions, tomatoes, and thyme to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Pour in Marsala; cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Return chicken to pan and pour in stock; bring to a simmer. Transfer to oven; cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, and cover to keep warm.

Skim off excess fat from liquid in pan; simmer liquid over medium-high until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. To serve, divide polenta among shallow bowls and arrange chicken on top; spoon pan sauce over each.

Sage Polenta

If the polenta is ready before the rest of the meal, keep it in the pan and press parchment or waxed paper directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming; partially covering the pan with the lid will also work. Stir well before serving. Serves 4

5 cups water, plus more as needed

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup coarse Italian polenta

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, then add 2 teaspoons salt. Whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow, steady stream and return to a boil.

Reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cover partially; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is creamy and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 40 minutes, adding sage in last 5 minutes. If polenta is too thick to stir, add more water (up to ½ cup), a little at a time, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter, and season with pepper and more salt, as desired. Serve hot.

Vanilla-Poached Rhubarb

Fromage blanc, a fresh cheese made from cow’s milk, has a mild, tangy taste and a creamy texture. It can be found at specialty food stores and cheese shops. If you cannot find it, simply double the amount of heavy cream and proceed, beating with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form, then chill.

Serves 4

For rhubarb

1 cup dry white wine

1∕3 cup water

1∕3 cup sugar

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

½ pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)

For cream

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

4 ounces fromage blanc (½ cup)

Poach rhubarb: Bring the wine, water, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue boiling 6 minutes, then add the rhubarb and reduce heat to a simmer; cook until rhubarb is just turning tender, about 2 minutes, tilting pan occasionally to coat the pieces with the poaching liquid.

Remove from heat, and let cool completely.

Whip cream: With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla-bean seeds until medium-stiff peaks form. Add fromage blanc, and beat

1 minute more, or until mixture is still fluffy but will hold its shape. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes, just until chilled.

To serve, spoon the cream mixture into small serving dishes. Using a slotted spoon, top each with some rhubarb, then drizzle with syrup.

5 cups water, plus more as needed

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup coarse Italian polenta

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, then add 2 teaspoons salt. Whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow, steady stream and return to a boil.

Reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cover partially; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is creamy and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 40 minutes, adding sage in last 5 minutes. If polenta is too thick to stir, add more water (up to ½ cup), a little at a time, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter, and season with pepper and more salt, as desired. Serve hot.

Reprinted from the book Martha Stewart’s Dinner at Home by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Copyright (c) 2009 by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Photographs copyright (c) 2009 by Kate Sears. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

DAISY MARTINEZ: Irresistible!

Daisy Martinez first showed up on PBS in her first TV series--Daisy Cooks! She was a breath of fresh air, sexy and personable and a very skilled TV cook ( she is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and worked as a private chef before turning to TV). I acquired her Daisy Cooks!, the companion cookbook to the series because I wanted to know more about Latin cuisine. At the time I often had lunch at a local Dominican Republic coffee shop near my Soho office, and wanted to know how they prepared their delicious Pernil (roast pork shoulder). I liked the series, but kept thinking that her audience was more Food Network-oriented than the more staid PBS food show viewer. Now Daisy can be seen on the Food Network and she has a new cookbook, DAISY: MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT: Bringing Your Family Together with Everyday Latin Dishes (Atria Books ; ISBN: 978-1-4391-5753-4). Like Latin music, you cannot easily categorize Latin cooking and Daisy Martinez refuses this easy categorization too. Based on her many travels, Daisy presents a delightful collection of recipes that covers much of Latin America and a little of Spain too!

One of the inspirational sources for this new collection "occurred to me when my youngest child, Angela, turned eight and Santa Claus, coincidentally, stopped visiting our house," Daisy writes in the Introduction to DAISY: MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT. "I sat my children down (all four of them!) and said that in previous years, my husband, Jerry, and I had spent a small fortune on gifts for Christmas that were all but forgotten within two weeks. From now on, Mom and Dad would be giving them memories as holiday gifts. You could have heard a pin drop in that room," she continues. "Before they could shake off their shock and begin to protest, I explained that starting the following year, we would travel as a family to a different country each year during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day in order to experience that country through its food, historic sites, and cultures. The whoops and hollers were exactly what I had hoped for."

It's a good thing the Daisy's fine home cooking had set the standard for her children's curiosity because the family travels through Spain and Latin America have ranged widely from Barcelona and Madrid, Cuzco and Lima to Oaxaca and the Yucatan, Puerto Rico and as far south as Buenos Aires (a city teeming with superb restaurants). For me that diversity began with Arepas, gluten-free corn cakes that are popular in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. I first encountered the recipe through a friend who was testing recipes for them for a magazine last year. I liked these appealing cakes which are about the size of an English muffin, and can be split and stuffed with ham and cheese, or scrambled eggs (I think they would make a great cocktail sandwich, stuffed and cut into bite-sized pieces). Daisy's Arepeas are simple to make and are flavored with cotija cheese (a popular Latin American cow's milk cheese) and minced fresh chives. The humble, yet addictively delicious Stoveotop "Wrinkled" Potatoes are a popular tapas treat in Spain and a delightful reminder of my visits there. Braised goat is very popular in the Dominican Republic, and Goat Braised in Coconut Milk from the "Buffet" section will grandly feel a crowd of twelve besides introducing you to this delicious meat. Empanadas, savory little stuffed turnovers are wildly popular and every Latin American country has its own version (including the dough). Daisy offers four different fillings, my favorite being with bacon and shrimp. As for Pernil, nothing could be simpler or more aromatic than Daisy's festive version of Puerto Rican roast pork shoulder . This is a perfect holiday entree, economical--and will serve a lot of guests. The book also has some wonderful desserts, the most eye-opening is something called Crepe and Dulce de Leche Stack. Crepes are slathered with a thick coating of dulce de leche, toasted pecans and powdered sugar until you have a stack of seven or eight layers of them--my idea of dessert heaven.

In DAISY: MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT, Daisy imparts her kitchen wisdom on every page. In addition to the many fine color photos of finished dishes, and step-by-step instructions, you'll find basics on many ingredients including sofrito, the essential Latin American staple that "is the heart of the Latin kitchen, dry and wet Adobo rubs, and other condiments, a glossary of commonly used foods and products, and menus. On nearly every page, Daisy offers notes in which she explains various techniques, or warmly imparts her secrets and wisdom for making the reader a better cook, plus her suggestions for many variations a recipe can go through.

From breakfast to a late night snack, Daisy Martinez makes you her co-conspirator in your kitchen, introducing the reader to all the flavors, aromas, and generous fun that are at the heart of the Latin kitchen. Daisy is a born teacher, and we've long needed an advocate like her to give us a thorough grounding in this wonderful cuisine.

AREPAS (corn cakes)

Arepas are gluten-free corn cakes that are popular in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. In Venezuela, they are served as a side dish with huevos pericos (scrambled eggs with tomato, bell pepper, and onion). They can also be split, some of the creamy filling scooped out (or not!), and filled with mozzarella cheese, any type of ham, or the above-mentioned scrambled eggs, among other things.

Makes about twenty 3-inch arepas. Prep time: 30 minutes (mostly unattended resting time). Cook time: 35 minutes.

1 cup precooked white cornmeal (the most common brand is Harina P.A.N.)

2 cup finely grated cotija cheese

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

1 teaspoon salt

1. Stir the cornmeal, cotija, chives, salt, and 1 1/4 cups hot water together in a large mixing bowl. Stir to make a slightly sticky dough. Set aside to rest until the dough is softer and no longer sticky, at least 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.

3. Form 3 tablespoons of the dough into a ball, then press it flat to make a 3-inch disk about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough. Line the disks up on a baking sheet as you form them.

4. Heat a large well-seasoned cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add as many of the cakes as will fit without crowding and cook, turning once, until browned in spots on both sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a separate baking sheet an repeat with the remaining dough.

5. Bake until the cakes are crisp and feel light when picked up, about 25 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

VARIATION:

Arepas filled with ham and cheese: form 4-inch arepas using about 1/4 cup of the dough for each. (This recipe will yield about twelve 4-inch arepas.) Panfry and bake as above. Slice fresh mozarella 1/4-inch thick (you'll ned 8 to 12 ounces) an cut into pieces more or less the size of the arepas. After the arepas have rested for a few minutes, split them into top and bottom halves and scoop out most of the creamy center, or leave in if you like (Careful, the centers will be quite warm.) Lay a slice of the cheese and a thin slice of deli ham, folded as necessary, over the bottom of each arepa. Top them off and serve warm.