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Italy, their way
REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT
By Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers Potter, $37.50 288 pages ISBN 0307338355 Montana-style treats
By Meredith Brokaw and Ellen Wright Artisan, $35 224 pages ISBN 1579652689 Edible heirlooms
By Mimi Luebbermann Chronicle, $16.95 132 pages ISBN 0811853551
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I've never had the pleasure of dining at London's legendary River Cafe, but I have dipped into cookbooks by chef/founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers to bolster my Italian repertoire. Years ago, I even wrote out two recipes from a friend's copy of their very first cookbook (rare for someone constantly inundated with new cookbooks) and still use them for special dinners. Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe is the latest collection of their elegant, succinctly presented takes on regional Italian cooking, made lusciously real by full-color, eat-this-page photos. These are the kind of "simple" recipes that make you think about ingredients in new ways—fresh mozzarella is paired with slices of grilled eggplant and roasted tomato, prosciutto goes beyond melon to top arugula, and grilled fennel combines with asparagus and potatoes in soup and covers Marsala-drenched guinea fowl while it bakes. Meat can be cooked slow and long—pork shoulder simmers in wine, then milk (curious, but really good) for more than three hours; beef shank with loads of garlic and Chianti spends 12 hours in a low oven; and herb-stuffed, vermouth-finished chicken roasts for four. The vegetables are sensational, especially Zucchini Scapece, as is the baked fruit, the unusual lemon desserts and chocolate creations that are pure joy. Tutti a tavola!
We've all enjoyed armchair travel and what I've called armchair cooking—dreaming about recreating Thomas Keller's ultra-haute "oysters and pearls" or whipping up one of Ferrán Adrià's magical foams. In Big Sky Cooking, by Meredith Brokaw (yes, Tom's wife) and Ellen Wright, we have a wonderfully enjoyable example of armchair living, recipes included. Montana is not exactly an exotic destination, nor are these down-to-earth dishes difficult to make, but most of us don't live on a large ranch with a great trout stream in an isolated valley north of Yellowstone. Tom and Meredith Brokaw do—it's their "perfect complement" to the hurly-burly pace of Manhattan and it's been their shared passion for more than 16 years. With help from her friend, cookbook author Ellen Wright, glorious full-color photographs and Montana reflections by five of their literary friends, Meredith shares her "home on the range" with you. The meals and menus follow the rhythm of the ranch: forget cholesterol and breakfast on Bacon and Egg Pie and Lala's lavish Cheese Grits; for lunch, stuff pita pockets with easy Curried Chicken Salad or try the unusual Stetson Salad, with an intensely flavored aioli/pesto dressing. When there's an ocean of stars overhead, bring on the Dutch Oven Short Ribs and Marjoram Onions, grill Chipotle Chicken and end the evening with Rhubarb Crisp or Strawberry Fool. Good life, good eats, I think I'll move in.
You wouldn't want to bite into Aunt Dorothy's gold bracelet or Grandma's handmade quilt, but when it comes to tomatoes, eating an heirloom is a very different story. During the past decade, heirloom tomatoes, red, green, orange, pink, purple, mottled and striped, charmingly asymmetrical, have taken center stage, reminding us of how real, non-mass-market veggies can taste. Mimi Luebbermann's The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook celebrates our edible inheritance with temptingly lush photographs, advice on growing and cultivating your own tomatoes (beware, they can become a delicious addiction), tips on choosing and storing them, and pairing different varieties with different wines. Most important, 50 recipes showcase their sun-ripened, essence-of-summer goodness. Toast the bounty of the season with a Roasted Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary while munching on multicultural Indian-spiced Orange Tomato, Chili and Coconut Bruschetta. Sauce homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Heirloom Tomatoes and Basil, try some Tomato-Ginger Chutney and finish off with refreshing Heirloom Tomato Sorbet.