In My Kitchen

Starred review from November 21, 2016
Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), a doyen of vegetarian cooking, shares her favorite recipes, some of which are revised and revamped to reflect how she cooks today. She begins with advice on choosing vegetables, learning to use a knife, and composing a vegetarian menu. She lists dishes alphabetically, from artichoke and scallion sauté over garlic-rubbed toast to zucchini cake. Appealing dishes feature black-eyed peas, kale, and rhubarb. Broccoli with roasted peppers, feta, olives, and herbs combines earthy with briny for a wonderfully bright dish, and yeasted buckwheat waffles are a pleasant wake-up dish or breakfast-for-dinner option. Her savoy cabbage, leek, and mushroom braise on toast with horseradish cream is hearty and comforting; the roasted cauliflower with romesco sauce and a shower of parsley is almost too beautiful to eat. Madison’s salad of citrus and avocado with lime-cumin vinaigrette and shredded greens is a vibrant blend of acidity, bitterness, and tang. She provides flavors for every palate and every course, including appealing desserts such as olive oil, almond, and blood orange cake; rhubarb-raspberry compote; and walnut nugget cookies. Eye-catching full-color photos further enhance this stellar collection. One glance will quickly show why the dishes here are Madison’s go-to meals, and they will soon become readers’ favorites as well.

January 1, 2017

Vegetarian cooking expert Madison (Vegetable Literacy) pairs updated classics from her decadeslong career with new favorites from her home kitchen. Simple recipes, many of them vegan or gluten-free, are ordered alphabetically by ingredient or dish (e.g., beans, broccoli, cheese souffle, pasta) and include such delights as a roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup with sunflower sprouts and seeds, potato and green chile stew, and sweet potato (or pumpkin) pudding with silky persimmon puree. There are wonderful sauces, spreads, and compound butters to spice up crudites and starters, and elegant fruit desserts that won't leave diners feeling overfull. Madison's clear instructions almost always include presentation tips--home cooks will be able to produce dishes that look as stunning on the table as they do on the page. VERDICT This highly recommended, beautifully understated cookbook makes it easy to show off the bounty of a garden or farmers market.

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