• Breadcrumbs on March 20, 2011

  A fabulous book with tons of appealing recipes. Recently tried: Baby Beet Salad with Fresh Ricotta - p. 110 – Delicious, a perfect salad. The key to this dish is the fresh ricotta for which ES provides a recipe. This was my first attempt at making cheese and happy to report it went off without a hitch. The cheese was outstanding and I’ll be using it again and again. I roasted the beets a day in advance to hasten the prep process. This is a beautiful, delicious salad worthy of a dinner party menu. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/772599#6397087

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Soft-boiled eggs with anchovy mayonnaise

  • Rutabaga on June 01, 2014

    The anchovy mayonnaise is great, but the recipe makes a lot. While it's a luxurious way to eat soft-boiled eggs, plan on making some additional dishes where you can use the mayonnaise, especially since I'm really not sure how long it's safe to keep.

• Farro and artichoke soup

  • Rutabaga on June 01, 2014

    The list of ingredients is sparse - Stowell eschews chicken stock in favor of letting the flavor of the artichokes take center stage - and the flavors of this soup are likewise subtle. The night I made it, neither my husband nor I were especially impressed. However, on eating the leftovers the next day, I experienced a revelation. The taste was so pure, the soft essence of artichoke accompanied by toothsome faro, heightened by a splash of Tuscan olive oil. It may sound crazy, but I felt I was experiencing these ingredients in a whole new way, just by the sheer simplicity of the soup. On the other hand, my husband did not share this epiphany; to him it remained a dull soup, one he claims he would have enjoyed just fine if only it had included some chicken stock and spices.

• Heirloom tomato soup with garlic croutons

  • Rutabaga on August 01, 2015

    This soup is both soothing and revitalizing on a hot summer day. Like many of Stowell's recipes, top quality ingredients are essential, so make it only when local heirloom tomatoes are at their peak, and use you best olive oil. and vinegar (I used my new bottle of Espelt moscatell vinegar - it's amazing!). The texture is like velvet even though there is no dairy. For croutons, I used leftover rosemary bread from a loaf I had hollowed out to make a pressed sandwich.

• Egg pasta

  • Rutabaga on January 29, 2015

    This is a good, solid basic pasta recipe. Even though I deviated from the recipe in a few ways, the end product was silky and tender. Since I only had seven eggs, I used 6 yolks plus one whole egg, rather than the 8 yolks listed. And since I had no tipo 00 flour on hand, I just used Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour. I mixed and kneaded the dough in the Kitchen Aid using the dough hook, and used about one cup of water. The dough was the perfect consistency for putting through the roller. We made it into fettuccine served with a prosecco, Meyer lemon, creme fraiche, and crab sauce. Next time, I hope to try with tipo 00 flour, which I expect will make for an even more delicate texture.

• Gnocchetti with pancetta, chanterelles, and mint

  • Rutabaga on November 06, 2016

    Beautiful in its simplicity, this pasta dish is rich and satisfying, a great way to highlight chanterelles. Now that I have finally made it, it will be on my list every fall during mushroom season.

• Trofie with nettle pesto

  • Rutabaga on June 01, 2014

    This pesto is a nice change from the basil version, and I daresay it may even be easier to make. If you can get nettles in a bag at the farmer's market, all you need to do is tip them in the boiling water to blanch before whizzing them in the blender with the remaining ingredients. The result is fresh, and bright in both color and taste. I would suggest decreasing the oil by a couple of tablespoons, however, and adding more to taste if the pesto seems too dry.

• Rapini with garlic, chile, and lemon

  • Rutabaga on August 18, 2014

    This is a basic rapini recipe, but it always yeilds the best results. Perhaps because Stowell tells you to blanch the rapini before sautéing it. As he notes, this tames the bitterness without losing the rapini's signature bite.

• Roast fingerling potatoes and artichokes with garlic and thyme

  • Rutabaga on October 24, 2016

    While my potatoes weren't, strictly speaking, "new", they still worked very well in this dish. I sliced about two pounds of small, organic Yukon golds, crisped them on the stove for about ten minutes, then roasted in the oven for a further 15 minutes. I left out the artichokes and used rosemary in place of time. To my five-year-old, these were "French fries" because of their deliciously crisp exterior - they are cooked in a lot of butter and oil! And really, you can't go wrong with good potatoes cooked in any kind of fat or oil.

• Company alligator pear

  • Rutabaga on August 18, 2014

    This is a wonderful salad for those who love avocados and olives. The combination of rich, creamy avocado, peppery arugula, and briny olives is a great one. Any small, fairly firm brined black olives work well.

• Thumbelina carrots with orange and mint

  • Rutabaga on March 04, 2018

    I used regular carrots cut to size, not Thumbelina ones, but honestly, you could work with any carrots here (preferably nice sweet ones, of course). This dish is so simple, but it creates a lovely flavor that pairs well with a wide range of other foods.