cooking french style

April in Paris...it's a song, it's a special feeling, and with a few days left to April, it's time to make some French food. Part of International Publishing's International Recipe Series, the little booklet Cooking French Style was published in 1979 but is still available on Amazon.  As the preface notes: "The important thing to remember is that the French take advantage of whatever is available and make the most of it. Each meal is treated as a celebration, and even the simplest food should be served with flourish." The booklet of course has recipes for the traditionally well-known French Onion Soup and Cheese Soufflé, Coq au Vin, Cassoulet, Crêpes Suzette and the mother sauces, but these Mushrooms à la Provençale are absolutely delicious, especially when paired with French bread rounds sprinkled with grated Fontina cheese, then toasted until brown.

1 pound fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons water
1 large clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dry white wine

Wash the mushrooms.  If they are large, cut in pieces.  If small, leave whole.  Heat the oil in a frying pan.  Add mushrooms, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic and fry gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with flour and stir in gently.  Add water and wine and stir until well-blended.  Simmer 10 minutes and serve very hot.

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Serving the rest of the dry (icy chilled) white wine with the mushrooms and French bread rounds is also an excellent option.

the heart of the plate

Mollie Katzen is definitely a recognized name in the realm of vegetarian cuisine, with her Moosewood Cookbook (first published in the 70s, followed by anniversary re-editions) high up on the list of vegetarian cookbook classics.  So many Moosewood recipes have been loved for decades by both vegetarians and meat-eaters, but then we come to Katzen's 2013's The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation.  I'm a Moosewood Cookbook fan for sure, but The Heart of the Plate intrigues me because it seems to take some of the key Moosewood ideas to a different level. Plate's recipes come across as a bit more sophisticated, or as Katzen writes, reflective of her years of experience as a vegetarian chef, with a lightening of ingredients and/or intriguing variations on classic themes.  There's "a stronger sense of aesthetic economy" and less dependence on eggs and cheese, which, as Katzen also notes, allows quite a few of The Heart of the Plate's recipes to be vegan-adapted.

Among Katzen's creative offerings are Mushroom Popover Pie, Hazelnut-Wilted Frisée Salad with Sliced Pear, Ruby Gazpacho (blending watermelon, strawberries, tomatoes, pickled onions and ginger), Scattered Sushi-Style Rice Salad, Chocolate Cream Pie with Vegan Whipped Cream and Cranapple Walnut Cake.  Lemony Caramelized Onion Mac and Gorgonzola sounds just about exciting (yes, exciting is the word) as the Spinach-Mushroom Mac and Cheese, with the latter's heady notes of white cheddar, spinach, mushrooms, beer, Dijon mustard and walnuts.  There are also lasagna recipes for all seasons -- literally (Indian Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring).  And nicely colorful, elegant photos and illustrations, which it should be pointed out are by the author herself.  The recipes are not all standardly easy to prepare or in the category of quick and easy vegetarian food, but if you enjoy the process of cooking while exploring new vegetarian/fruit combinations and concepts, The Heart of the Plate will offer plenty of fun challenges and fine meals.