The editors of Manhattan User's Guide are offering up their picks in terms of the newest crop of cookbooks and one really caught my eye:
Tom Valenti, the chef who broke the UWS curse, has written Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals with Andrew Friedman (Scribner, $30). These 125 recipes offer the same kind of robust fare that Mr. Valenti specializes in at Ouest and 'Cesca and should be perfect for cold nights (and when you want to eat his cooking but can't get in).
There is something so darn appealing about one-pot or one-pan meals. In particular, only one pot or pan to clean up! And, considering the New York Times Magazine piece yesterday about one-dish casseroles and James Villas new book "''Crazy for Casseroles," I feel a new foodie fad coming on.
This trend, unlike most others I've mentioned on this site, is one I can applaud. Besides no matter how epicurean-challenged it may sound, NYTM food writer Julia Reed's Spinach-and Artichoke Casserole, topped with Ritz cracker crumbs sounds decadent and altogether yummy. And, what gourmand wants to quibble, when there are good eats to be had?:
Spinach-and-Artichoke Casserole
1 tablespoon butter for greasing baking dish, 1/2 cup butter, melted, for casserole, plus 1 tablespoon, melted, for topping
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1/2 cup coarse Ritz cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers).
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 2-quart casserole.
2. Cook the spinach according to the package directions, drain well and place in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of melted butter, the cream cheese and lemon juice and blend well with a fork.
3. Scatter the artichoke quarters evenly over the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Cover with the spinach mixture and smooth the top.
4. Cover the top with the Ritz crumbs, drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter and bake on the middle rack until bubbly in the center and lightly browned on the top, about 25 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes and serve.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
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