The Best Cookbooks List

SIMPLY GREAT BREADS by Daniel Leader

 

Simply Great Breads: Sweet and Savory Yeasted Treats from America's Premier Artisan Baker by Daniel Leader

Wine in pizza crust?! I love this book! Beyond the intrigue of using wine instead of water when making my pizza dough, it was the great taste I achieved that sold me on this method. The recipe from this new book is a charmer. My rediscovered passion for making yeasty treats is well catered to by the easy to follow recipes that yield complex tasting breads, sweet breads, rolls, and variations thereof.

 
One of my favorite weekend projects is to make a Breakfast Basket of breads so I was delighted to see the very first chapter of Daniel's book dedicated to the same. I tried the Brioche Muffins: excellent. And I am now looking forward to playing with his variations on that theme, including trying Fig Brioche Muffins. 

Although Daniel specializes in organic baking with whole grain breads, he provides classic "regular dough" recipes for bagels and ciabatta as well as guidance on making not so well-known breads like Navajo Fry Bread and Mana'eesh.

My mood recently was for something very homy and comforting, so I tried making his Angel Biscuits from the book. I liked that the night before I could simply combine a few ingredients and then in the morning add a few more ingredients and pop it in the oven to yield heavenly light flaky biscuits which I slit open, slathered with sweet butter and added a dollop of fresh jam (also a recipe from his book!). I was so happy! They were perfection. 

For newbies to bread baking, Simply Great Breads: Sweet and Savory Yeasted Treats from America's Premier Artisan Baker is a wonderful quick introduction that strips away the mystery of the process. For experienced bread makers, it is a delight in that it offers the platform of basic proven recipes that can be added to and experimented with. This is a valuable addition to anyone's cookbook collection.

 

 Food architects Sam Bompas and Harry Parr of the UK have a delightful new book about jello (jelly) that is as colorful and crazy as the jello creations they love to make, Jellymongers: Glow-in-the-Dark Jelly, Titanic Jelly, Flaming Jelly.

 

 

It is unlike any cookbook I have come across and I find it utterly entertaining! Their imagination is beyond wild. Consider their glow in the dark jellos, like little green emissaries from outer space.

Or their jellos of massive proportions in the form of stately buildings.

If I looked no further I would guess they are staging crazy jello experiences to get attention.

But as I got further into the cookbook I fell under their spell and eventually totally got what they are doing. I love it. So retro and yet so modern at the same time. So fantastical and fun. And desert should be fun!!

 There was a section on historic jello molds and the veritable history of jello:

"By the start of World War II, the jelly-mold industry in England had effectively ceased....at Bompas and Parr we're changing all that. We've made molds of everything, from nuclear submarines to skyscrapers. Making our own molds allows us to explore jello's heritage and to push the boundaries of the medium."

The photography is exquisite and the step-by-step instructions so confidently given that it seems genuinely possible to make some of the most difficult looking jellos. It begins with "easy jellies" including a pink pink pink one called Rhubarb and Rose Jelly that sounds delicious. 

I think my first attempt is going to be to set fruit into jelly by making their Elderflower and Raspberry Jelly. I love the idea of using Elderflower Cordial to make it. Sophisticated and smooth.

On the right occasion, I am going to definitely try the Absinthe Jelly, wicked and green though it is. And the summer won't go by without my trying my hand at Campari & Orange Jelly. 

I just love the breath of fresh air this book is. It has my mind whirring with possibilities and shapes. Can I find an impossibly long rectangular shape to make one in an unexpected color and flavor? Can I think of a savory one that would make sense? Can I achieve their deep jewel like colors? I'm on my way to try.

I totally recommend this book. Moms will find super easy, healthy real fruit jellos to whip up in minutes for their children. Dreamers will find inspiration. All good.

Jelly Monger's Recipe for Easy Lemon Jelly

Serves 4.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

scant 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sugar syrup

2/3 cup water

5 leaves of gelatin

Method:

1. Pour the fruit juices into a bowl and add the sugar syrup and water.

2. Cut the leaves of gelatin into a few pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the juice mixture so that the gelatin is just covered. Let the gelatin soften for 10 minutes while you bring a small pan of water to a simmer.

3. Place the bowl of gelatin over the simmering water and stir from time to time until totally melted. This takes about 10 minutes. Then pour the remainder of the juice mixture over the melted gelatin and stir in to combine.

4. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup and then carefully fill your mold. Refrigerate until set.

 

 

FRENCH CLASSICS MADE EASY: by Richard Grausman

French Classics Made Easy: More Than 250 Great French Recipes Updated and Simplified for the American Kitchen by Richard Grausman.

Can I just say how totally in love I am with this cookbook??!! I think I have to admit that right now, because I am going to regale you with my delight at owning this new updated version of the original 1998 cookbook, At Home With The French Classics.

First of all, let me tell you about the author. Richard Grausman is a Cordon Bleu trained culinary instructor and cookbook author. He is founder of the non-profit Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, and has been educating young chefs and home chefs about the culinary arts for almost forty years. He is a pro. He is a wonderful communicator. And he know exactly how to explain a recipe so that you want to drop everything and try it. 

This is my kind of cooking. I love classic French cuisine. I love whipping up souffles and terrines, or a Tarte Tatin or rows of puff pastries. However, I was merely skimming the surface. 

For instance, take souffles. I learned from Richard's book that I could prepare them in advance, and bake them at the last minute. I learned a technique where they don't necessarily need the paper collars I envelope them in. And I received a pat on the back for still using my huge copper bowl to hand beat the whites.

Next chapter: fish mousse! In all its glory and variations. Then quiches, soups, main courses and desserts. Almost every recipe is a favorite of mine and offers a different spin on how to make it, causing me to write up a long list of recipes I want to try from this book: Savory Gruyere Pastry Ring Filled With Cheese Souffle, Stretching Noodles (!), Truffled Chicken, Chicken With Riesling, Cream Puffs Filled With Chocolate Souffle,Ladyfingers, and a classic Paris-Brest. And I want to try Richard's Chocolate Genoise With Grand Marnier Ganache (plus its variation, the Sachertorte).

I love the way he explains a recipe, then provides illustrations of how to visually build it, asides that describe variations on the main dish, and short interesting bits about other ways to use the same ingredients for other dishes or the special molds or dishes needed to make the dish: resulting in a delicious discussion thread that makes each chapter a pleasure to read.

He sealed the deal when I came to his chapter containing recipes for dessert omelets, one of my weaknesses! I adore making a deep chocolate omelet for weekend breakfasts. Richard's become after dinner desserts: Orange Souffleed Omelet, Apple Omelet With Calvados, and Strawberry Filled Omelet With Cointreau. Yum!!!!!! Sign me up! Oh, and the recipe for Riz A L'Imperatrice, something you definitely won't find on restaurant menus anymore, is divine and worthy of a special occasion. And a final round of applause for Richard's recipe for Floating Island (Ile Flottante), a dish that has always eluded me (although it is a simple farm house dish) and which Richard solves by baking the meringue rather than bathing it. Easy! 

So you see, this wonderful cookbook is perfect for beginners who want to learn the basics, as well as for people like me who have "cooked French" forever and still have a few new tricks to learn!! I am thrilled with this book, the closest thing I have to a Julia Child cookbook. Interesting to read, breaking down difficult French recipes so they are totally easy to make, and appreciating that in America we have to use substitutes for a lot of the classic ingredients we can't get here. A plus: Richard takes time with each recipe to relate how he has "lightened" it up from its classic rich butter and cream origins, preserving the flavor and reducing the calories. All in all, I would say this is a just about perfect French cookbook.

 

THE FRENCH COUNTRY TABLE by Laura Washburn

The author of this new cookbook, Laura Washburn, is an American who studied in France, used to work for Patricia Wells, and now lives in England, so I was interested in seeing what her take on French food was. 

The French Country Table: Simple Recipes for Bistro Classics is not a big cookbook. Rather, it offers a few simple recipes under each section to make it easy for home cooks to create simple bistro style French dishes. For instance, under appetizers, there are five recipes to try: Rustic Pate, Mackerel Pate, Garlic Prawns, Crudites, and a Goat Cheese Tart. 

Even under the soup section, all has been simplified. I love making Soupe au Pistou, but mine takes all day. I love making it and look forward to it each Spring. This version is considerably pared down in preparation time and ingredients, making it easier to cope with for busy people.

Easy peasy is the theme. Under the chapter, Simple Dishes, there are five recipes to try your hand at: Ratatouille; Macaroni Gratin; Pumpkin and Rice Gratin; Eggplant, Onion, and Tomato Tian; and Potatoes With Reblochon.

When I was a newlywed, someone gave me a cookbook called "The Daughter-In-Law's Cookbook", which was written by a mother for her new daughter-in-law who was just learning how to cook. Although by then I was an accomplished home cook, it was still a delightful reference to have on hand. I think this new cookbook falls under that category. It would be an ideal gift for someone just starting out who wants to try preparing French cuisine. It is approachable with charming photography and has enough choices that anyone could pair recipes from the book to create a lovely French meal. If you know someone who wants to learn how to cook simple French bistro food, this would be an excellent choice.

The French Country Table: Simple Recipes for Bistro Classics by Laura Washburn

I am going to share with you a recipe from the book:

Walnut Cake

Printable Recipe

Need 9 inch round cake pan, greased

Ingredients:

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with a small sharp knife

4 extra large eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup walnuts pieces, ground walnut halves to decorate

Caramel Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

a squeeze of lemon juice

2/3 cups heavy cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until fluffy. Use the tip of the knife to scrape the vanilla seeds (and add in). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour and ground walnuts. Transfer to the prepared cake pan.

3. Bake in a preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, until browned and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool slightly, then unmold while still warm.

4. To make the caramel frosting, put the sugar, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy saucepan and cook, stirring, until it turns a light caramel color. Carefully add the cream (it can spatter), stirring until blended.

5. Put the cake on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch the drips. Pour over the frosting in a thin, even layer. Decorate with walnut halves and leave for at least 2-3 hours before slicing, until the frosting has set.

 

CULINARY TEA by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern

These authors crack wide open the amazing world of tea in their new cookbook Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold & Lise Stern.

Tea is anything but the bags packed in cardboard boxes you buy in grocery stores. That pallid version misses the aroma, fragrance, color, and integrity a good tea has. In fact, if you walk into a Chinese supermarket you will see teas kept under lock and key behind glass doors, some hundreds of dollars a pound. It is this world of tea that has always fascinated me and brought me quickly to this wonderful cookbook.

One of the authors, Cynthia Gold, is a tea sommelier at The Boston Park Plaza Hotel. I had never heard of a tea sommelier! So cool. And the other author, Lise Stern, is a foodie and food writer. Together they created a masterly cook book of over 100 recipes using tea, as well as a compendium of the history of tea, bound together with luminous photography.

They even explore the many different types of teas, their flavor and aroma profiles, and how to steep tea.

"White teas are the least processed teas, and in certain ways remain the closest to the original fresh tea plant."

"Lapsang Soughong: This earthy tea is smoked with pine needles, giving it a distinctive smoky, tarry flavor that is sometimes an acquired tasted. It is very well suited to cooking and will impart its characteristic smokiness into a dish---without needing to actually smoke the food."

Fascinating! I snuggled down into a comfy chair with a freshly brewed cup of tea and kept reading.

"Creating home blends of tea is another aspect of culinary tea. You can combine a variety of teas, as well as non-tea ingredients such as spices, flowers, herbs, and dried fruits to create personal signature tea blends that you can use for both sipping and for cooking."

I decided not far into the book that I absolutely loved it. There are so many things I want to try, that I started to make a list: Tea Marbled Eggs, Jasmine Dumplings, Earl Gray Cream Tea Cake, Chai Ice Cream, Tea Toffy with Tea Smoked Salt, Salmon in Black Tea-Coconut Sauce.

I am going to share with you the first recipe from the book I am going to try. It is for Oolong Mayonnaise. I see it generously slathered on home made bread for an intriguing turkey sandwich. I can't wait!

Oolong Mayonnaise

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons loose-leaf oolong tea leaves

1 tablespoon chopped dried cranberries

1 cup steaming water (about 185 F/85 C)

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 cups canola oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine tea and cranberries in a bowl. Pour the steaming water over them and steep, covered, for 3 minutes. Strain the tea. Discard the liquid and reserve the leaves and berries and let cool, about 15 minutes. When cool, coarsely chop the tea leaves and berries.

2. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, yolk, ginger, and rice vinegar. Process to combine. With the processor running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube over the course of about 2 minutes. When all the oil has been emulsified stop the processor and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the cooled, chopped tea leaves and berries to the mixture in the food processor and continue processing for another minute. Scrape the bowl, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue processing for 30 seconds more. The chopped tea leaves will produce a mayo that looks like tartar sauce---but it will taste infinitely more interesting.

3. Use, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold & Lise Stern

 

ANCIENT GRAINS FOR MODERN MEALS by Maria Speck

I know I only review here cookbooks that I love. And I know I always use superlatives. But I simply must tell you how very excited I am about this new cookbook by Maria Speck. It has guts and a depth to it that vaults it into the upper echelons of cookbook heaven. This is a cookbook food lovers will swoon over.

More than just recipes, Maria really talks to the reader. And it is fascinating to listen. She writes colorfully about her background and upbringing, her husband's influence on her cooking, her passion for whole ancient grains and how it came to be, plus history, methods, musings, thoughts, and tons of other recipes for dishes that would go well with the whole grain ones. Her enthusiasm jumps out at you from every single page. So you see, this is a book to read and savor. I learned so much from it. Now I am crazy to get a Masala dabba like Maria's. Don't know what it is? Neither did I. And it is brilliant. 

Now let me tell you about the recipes. They totally appealed to my tastes. Wouldn't you like to try the Purple Rice Pudding with Rose Water Dates; Roast Chicken With Orange, Lavender, and Thyme; Brie Cakes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes; Orange and Lemon Couscous; or her Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling?! Yum!

I loved reading about her floating bread I can make that rises in water. When it rises to the top of the water, it is ready to bake!

This book has my over the top, total recommendation. I can't wait to try the Artisanal Fruit Bread so that I can present slices of it with a great artisanal cheese plate.

I made the Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping for breakfast, and if all the recipes are as deliriously good as this one was, then I'm going to work through each recipe in this wonderful new cookbook!

I hope Maria doesn't mind, but I am going to share with you the recipe for Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping.

Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping

Ingredients for Polentina:

Printable Recipe

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup instant or quick cooking polenta or grits

Ingredients for Mascarpone Topping:

1 large orange

1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

Method:

1. Bring the water, milk and salt to a boil. Using a whisk, gradually stir in the polenta in a thin stream. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle bubble and whisk continuously until the polenta thickens, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Finely grate the orange until you have 2 teaspoons of zest. Pell the fruit, remove the pith, cut the fruit into 1/2 inch segments. Set aside. Using a fork, beat the Mascarpone, yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest in a bowl until smooth.

3. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cut honey and the remaining 1 teaspoon zest into the polentina. Spoon into bowls, crowning each with 1/4 cup of the Mascarpone topping, and a few pieces of orange. Serve.

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals: Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries & More by Maria Speck

 

AS ALWAYS, JULIA

This is such an endearing read, in so many ways. I grew up learning cooking from watching Julia Child on television. I think I saw every episode and have the full collection of her shows in my DVD library. So you can see how emotionally bonded I feel towards her. Then to open this book and begin reading. Very touching.

My first impression was wonder. Did people really write long letters like these? The book is a compilation of the letters Julia wrote and sent to her friend Avis DeVito, and the ones Avis wrote back to Julia. This is the first time their private letters have been made public. You read them in chronological order from 1952 to 1961, following their blossoming friendship, their sharing cooking tips, their strategies for getting Julia's first cookbook published. And the letters are long! Some go on for pages. 

"I suppose one reason we can write so easily to each other is that for one, we have established the rhythm.....it is lovely to be perfectly at ease, and to be able to discuss anything at all; and may it ever remain so!" Julia to Avis, June 22, 1956

 Tucked here and there in the chapters are archive photos of Julia, wonderful photos that evoke the time and sense of place. This one is of her first kitchen in Paris.

 A funny one that she and her husband sent as a Valentine's Day card one year.

 One of Julia when she was younger.

"My this is a fun city...all this sun, and the shouting and the gaiety. The people are great fun and warm and nice. I just like the French people anyway...and thank God I can talk French." Julia in Marseille 

In a way I feel as if I am a bird on her shoulder, following her around and getting inside her thoughts. It brings me very close to her. This book is amazing. A great treasure that documents for all time the evolution of a chef and the deep warmth and intelligence that went with it. We all miss Julia. This book brings her back.

As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, edited by Joan Reardon

Cookbook Review: uchi, The Cookbook

 

Every once in a while a cookbook comes along that takes your breath away. I felt that way about Charlie Trotter's Raw. I felt that way about Mark Bitterman's Salted. And I feel that way about a new cookbook I just got, Uchi: The Cookbook by Tyson Cole and Jessica Dupuy.

Tyson Cole, the chef who wrote the book, owns Uchi Restaurant in Austin, Texas. The cookbook tells his story and that of the evolution of the restaurant as much as it offers us his recipes, which makes it a hard to put down read. His story is compelling. Starting as a dishwasher in a local Japanese restaurant, Tyson was first introduced to sushi and became fascinated by it. He worked his way up from dishwasher to sushi chef in time, and became close personal friends with his fellow sushi chefs on the line.

He moved on to work as a sushi chef at the best sushi restaurant in town. One customer became so enamored with his work that he convinced Tyson to open his own restaurant, and he would find backers. Uchi was born. And many years later, this, his new cookbook, is born, celebrating his craft and his restaurant.

Uchi, The Cookbook is illustrated with luscious photography that will have you running to book a flight to Austin so you can personally taste his beautiful food.

The pictures seem unattainable, yet when you read the recipes they are very attainable. Mine may not ultimately look as beautiful as these, but I know they will taste divine if I can find the highest quality ingredients to make them with. His instructions are clear and easy to follow.

And I think when you are exposed to a work of art like this cookbook, you are inspired to raise the bar on your own cooking and its presentation.

I know I am going to start in the desserts section. Why? Because they are so incredibly brilliant looking and they intrigue me. I want to try making all the little garnishes, like the Bacon Candy, Mango Paper, and Almond Glass. I want to try making the Pine Needle Sorbet with Candied Pine Nut; the Lemon Gelato with Beet and Sicilian Pistachio; the Mascarpone Sphere with Cured Strawberry, Pea Sorbet and Mint Chips. The words are sheer poetry to me. I'm being wooed. And I am falling in love with this book.

Lance Armstrong, an Austin native, calls Uchi "the best sushi restaurant in the world". I think he may be right, judging by this exquisite book.

Uchi: The Cookbook by Tyson Cole and Jessica Dupuy

THE SHARPER YOUR KNIFE, THE LESS YOU CRY by Kathleen Flinn

 
Hi everyone!

As many of you know, I have hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks that I have avidly collected over the years, so although I like to review new cookbooks as they come out, sometimes I review my all time favorites. 

I was drawn back to this book again the other day. I started reading one page, and just couldn't put it down. 

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn is one of the best written culinary books I have ever read. It is the story of Flinn tossing her corporate job in America for a spot at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. It is a love story. It is a story about finding your passion in life. And it has recipes! What more could you want?!

She writes so beautifully that you feel as if you are right there with her, learning how to cook from some of France's toughest cooking instructors. Her triumphs and her failures, her love affair with food as well as with Paris pulls you in and keeps you wanting to read more. I even loved reading about her apartment and what she and her friends ate when they went out into the Paris night. And her boyfriend! Yes, there is the love story to follow as well.

"Today we are studying Auvergne, the coldest region of France, says the Gray Chef, with the oldest mountains in Europe. Those mountains were once active volcanoes, and as a result this is an area of high yet especially fertile plateaus loaded with volcanic soil. The hearty people of Auvergne eat a whole lot of pork and stick to the ribs food."

If you can't take the cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, you can take them by reading this book! Flinn literally spends a part of each chapter telling you exactly what she learned in class and how her dishes turned out.

"How many tears did I cry because I didn't know what I wanted?" "The sharper your knife," as Chef Savard had said,"the less you cry." "For me, it also means to cut those things that get in the way of your passion and of living your life the way it's meant to be lived."

Exactly.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

 

MY TUSCAN KITCHEN by Aurora Baccheschi Berti

 

My Tuscan Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from the Castello di Vicarello by Aurora Baccheschi Berti already has bookmarks of the recipes I want to try. The moment I opened its pages I was transported to another place, perhaps another time, and liked the feel of it. Each recipe talked to me, hence all the bookmarks.

And now I want to go back to Tuscany to visit the Castello di Vicarello, owned by the author of this cookbook. To have cooked from her cookbook then to visit her castle hotel and dine on the food she prepares there would be an ultimate treat. It really is the way a cookbook can take you on a culinary travel adventure, and become more than just a collection of recipes.

Take page 19 for instance. Listen to her words:

"On Palm Sunday, we cut olive branches from the trees and present them at the church to be blessed. Hung up on the wall back in our kitchen, the branches will protect our home for another year." 

Or page 219, a sharing of Tuscan Christmas traditon:

"The woods, fields, and orchards provide materials for seasonal table decorations. Pyramids of bay leaves, studded with oranges or lemons (which, when the decorations are taken down on Twelfth Night, are turned into marmalade). Cypress cones and corbezzolo (strawberry tree) add a splash of rustic color."

The lush photography is as rustic as the recipes, evocative of the seasons and changes in light. 

This is a chef in tune with her terrain, grounded in local traditions, reverent of the ingredients from her garden, and confident of her cuisine. It comes through on each and every page. Simple honest recipes from the countryside of one of Italy's most beloved regions. One more reason to visit there. One more reason to buy this book.

This is one of the recipes from her book:

Spaghetti Al Dente Di Leone

(Spaghetti with Dandelion Leaves)

Serves six

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Salt

1 pound dandelion leaves

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 chili

1 bay leaf

5 black peppercorns

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig sage

1 pound spaghetti

Method:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the dandelion leaves. Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

2. Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chili, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, and sage. When the oil is very hot, remove the herbs, peppercorns and garlic and add the dandelion leaves. Season with salt and cook for 10 minutes, tossing constantly with two wooden spoons. Use kitchen scissors to cut the leaves up a little.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain it and add to the dandelion leaves, tossing over high heat for a couple of minutes.

My Tuscan Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from the Castello di Vicarello by Aurora Baccheschi Berti