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Hardcover The Anatomy of a Dish Book

ISBN: 1579651895

ISBN13: 9781579651893

The Anatomy of a Dish

The renowned chef of New York's Verbena restaurant shows how to build a dish--and a menu--from vegetables on up in this innovative cookbook that looks at flavors through a botanical prism. What do Poached Eggs in Asparagus Nests, Leek and Apple Hash, and Sauteed Scallops with Onion Pan Gravy have in common? Aspargus, leeks, and onions (along withe shallots, garlic, and chives) are all part of the botanical family Liliaceae. Diane Forley's fascination with the properties and groupings of fruits and vegetables--in the garden, in the kitchen, and on the plate--suffuses "The Anatomy of a Dish." But this is not a vegetable or vegetarian cookbook. It is a collection of the richly flavorful recipes Forley serves at her restaurant, illuminated by the culinary and botanical explorations that have led to her celebrated cooking style. Forley, one of America's rising chefs, has arranged her book to reflect her conviction that vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes define sensibility in cooking. Part I, which serves as the book's foundation, looks at vegetables one at a time, and details some of Forley's favoirte ways to prepare them. Cooking techniques are explained and applied to an array of vegetables to form side dishes and starting points fo rmore comlete meals. For example, artichokes are braised, shaped into griddle cakes, baked as gratins, and fried as snack chips; mushrooms are sauteed, pureed, and transformed into Forley's own Worcestershire sauce. A plentitude of notes alongside each recipe offer serving suggestions and menu-building links. From single vegetables, the book moves on to vegetable combinations in salads, soups and stews, pastas, tarts, souffles, and breads. And then, fish, poultry, and meat are added to create dishes that "The New York Times" praised for being delicious yet "disarmingly simple." Seasonal availability of ingredients inspires the recipes in the dessert chapter. These are alluring treates on their own, at any time, but they thoughtfully complement the savory dishes that precede them. Cooking from this immensely engaging book, you'll come to expect the unexpected and be thrilled by each encounter. For example, you'll learn how plants are classified and marvel at the notion that the potato, eggplant, tomato, petunia, and the tobacco plant have much in common, starting with a five-petaled star-shaped flower. (The hugely toxic belladonna also has the same shaped flower. Is it any wonder that the Old World was reluctant to try these New World fruits and vegetables?) Cooks who care to broaden their culinary horizons will find this side excursion into the world of botanical family trees as delicious as they'll find Forley's recipes, with their straightforward charm and exceptional soaring flavors.

Recommended

Format: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

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Customer Reviews

4 ratings

A brilliant effort!

As a chef I turn to this book when I need information fast. It is complete, well-structured, and tells me what I need to know with just a glance. It has replaced Culinary Artistry in my kitchen.

A mouth-watering compendium of delicious dishes

Compiled by Diane Forely (Chef and Proprietor of the Verbena Restaurant, New York City), The Anatomy Of A Dish is a mouth-watering compendium of delicious dishes that cover every aspect and stage of sumptuous dining. After the interesting and informative preambles "Why Botanical Studies"; "My Garden and My Kitchen"; and "About This Books", each recipe is organized into one of the three major sections: "Building a Dish"; "Developing a Menu"; and "Concluding with a Sweet". Enhanced with superbly presented, full-color photography by Victor Schrager, as well as a list of definitions, a bibliography, acknowledgments, and an index, The Anatomy Of A Dish offers palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, gourmet recommended fare that ranges from Mixed Grain Pilaf; Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Avocado Cream; Toasted Angel Hair Pasta in Shiitake Broth; and Braised Octopus; to Tamarind-Marinated Flank Steak; Quinoa-Crusted Chicken; Pan-Roasted Duck Breast with Pineapple Chutney; and Frozen Mocha Roulade.

Gorgeous to look at ... Hard to see

With great enthusiasm, I opened this much-raved-about cookbook which is a Christmas present for my husband, the foodie and avid cookbook collector. It looks to be a fascinating story and a completely new take on cooking. Here's the problem for me. Beautiful as it is, with this book, the art director was WAY too much in charge. Art directors tend not to be as concerned as writers (and READERS) about actually being able to read a book easily. Looks and originality in layout are far more important. The result: much of the text is in what appears to be 8-point font size and less. It's layed out in a column format, sometimes 2 columns, usually 3. Compounding the problem, the small text is often printed in colors, so, for example, we have what appears to be gray text on a cream colored page. Additionally, most pages have at least 3 font styles ... so you have serif, sans serif, and italics all on the same page. My advice: carefully study one of the sample pages online, if possible ... or go physically examine this book before buying. It's gorgeous, but this is a case of good looks winning out over good (layout) sense. Cooks need to be able to glance down at a recipe while standing and easily see what their ingredients and directions are. Not the case here.

Sophisticated Food Organized around Plant Groups

Neat background that the author provides of her interest in having a garden as vital part of her restaurant has turned into this passion to plan and create dishes and menus around plant groupings.She builds on this by providing the normal dining classifications of appetizers, soups, salads, etc., but by forming and explaining how she utilizes this plant class system. There are exceptional creative stuff here, e.g. Artichoke Bruschetta, Lemon Porridge with Asparagus and Basil, Ruby (Beet) Risotto with Winter Greens, Sauteed Scallops with Onion Pan Gravy, Sauteed Flounder with Braised Rhubarb, Short Rib Terrine, Quinoa-Crusted Chicken.Working with veggies, fruits and grains, this concept will start you thinking and dreaming up your own variations of this plant classification scheme.Fascinating stuff to read, try and explore.
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