Part how-to-garden primer,
The Arrows Cookbook combines more than 150 delicious recipes with time-tested techniques for growing herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers in a book that reconnects us to the land and the seasons.
Cooking food from the backyard garden or farmers' market -- or even using herbs grown in pots in a sunny window -- goes beyond a passion for freshness. On an elemental level, the process reawakens the cook to a cycle of nature that our ancestors understood intuitively but that, for most of us, has been lost in the modern world.
When chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier left northern California to open their dream restaurant in southern Maine, they had no intention of becoming culinary pioneers. But in 1988 in Ogunquit, Maine, finding enough fresh vegetables and herbs to power a sophisticated restaurant was indeed a challenge.
So, like all can-do Americans, they did something. A ragged field of witchgrass behind the restaurant was turned into a garden where they learned to coax a nine-month growing season out of the chilly earth. They built raised beds, saved seeds, researched heirlooms, consulted experts, and started seedlings.
Today, that acre of Maine yields 270 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible flowers that provide 90 percent of the produce served at Arrows. Born of great necessity, the garden is the soul of this destination restaurant.
In The Arrows Cookbook, Frasier and Gaier tell us how they do it, charting the timeless journey from seed to supper. Recipes celebrate each season -- Asparagus with Mizuna and Blood Orange Vinaigrette and English Pea Soup in spring; Grilled Antipasto Platter and Rib-Eye Steak with Herbs and Caramelized Onions on a summer evening; Napa Cabbage and Apple Cole Slaw and Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Garlic for fall; and Escarole and White Bean Soup and Winter Greens with Pink Grapefruit and Red Onion for the chilly, short days of winter. They also offer new takes on such New England classics as Boiled Dinner, Our Way to Steaming Lobster -- Southeast Asian Style, as well as a glorious Thanksgiving feast complete with Roast Turkey with Gravy.
The book is full of clear advice and instructions that will make you elegantly self-sufficient in both kitchen and garden: how to smoke a trout, preserve herbs, use raised beds to extend the growing season, make your own prosciutto, start seeds indoors, roast salmon on a plank, maximize garden space, freeze berries, select edible flowers, grow heirloom tomatoes, pickle hot peppers, find local farmers and fisherman for fresh meats and seafood, and more.
"Elegant and refreshingly subtle, Arrows does not assault the senses. It coaxes them gently, casting a spell." Town & Country
"The recipes are concise and thoughtfully written. The ingredient combinations are generally innovative (morels, gruyere) but never rare, so cooks in Ohio can use the book as easily as cooks in San Francisco or Maine." Publishers Weekly
"With delicious recipes and an entertaining and informative text, including a foreword by Jeremiah Tower, this is highly recommended." Library Journal
Contents Foreword by Jeremiah Tower
Introduction
Spring
RETURN TO MAINE
APPETIZERS
Asparagus Soup with Lobster, Morels, and Chervil
A Fresh Look at Lobster
Steaming Lobster, Southeast Asian Style
Shelling Cooked Lobsters
English Pea Soup with Condiments
Chicken and Vegetable Stocks
Asparagus with Mizuna, Blood Orange Vinaigrette, and Prosciutto
Brown Butter
Fiddlehead Ferns with Brown Butter and Bundnerfleisch
Deep-Fried Squid with Parsley and Almond Sauce
Maine Peekytoe Crab Cakes with Spicy Chive Mayonnaise
Grilled Lamb Brochettes on Basil Skewers with Spicy Basil-Cilantro Marinade
SALADS
Salute to Salads
Growing Lettuce
Greens in Your Garden
First-of-the-Season Lettuce Salad with Herb Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese Toasts
Tossing Greens
Vinaigrette Made (Even More) Simple
Rocket with Lemon-Hazelnut Vinaigrette
How to Make Nut-Flavored Oils
Warm Dandelion Greens with Bacon Vinaigrette
MAIN COURSES
Sautéed Maine Cod with Caramelized Endive
Clarified Butter
Sautéed Dover Sole with Peas, Tarragon, and Button Mushrooms
Cooking Fish Fillets
Crispy Trout with Ginger and Lemongrass
Planning a Kitchen Garden
Roasted Poussin with Lemon Thyme and Sourdough Stuffing
Grilled Quail with Rhubarb Compote
Smoked Duck Breast with Swiss Chard and Pearl Onions
Baby Vegetables
Spring Lamb Loin with Rosemary
SAUCES
Citrus and Parsley Gremolata Vinaigrette
Starting Seedlings
14 Easy Seeds
Spring Leek Cream Sauce
SIDE DISHES
Spring Leeks in Vinaigrette
Blanching Vegetables
Grilled Asparagus with Shaved Reggiano Parmesan
Baby Bok Choy with Chives and Smoked Ham
Braised Egyptian Onions in Amarone Wine
Onions
Gratin of Ramps and Morels
Digging the Dirt: Compost and Soil Structure
Asparagus and Dry Jack Cheese Custard
Asparagus and Hollandaise Gratin
Bedtime Story: Using Raised Beds to Extend the Season
Creamy Goat Cheese Toasts
Scallion Pancakes
10 Veggies That Let You Have a Life
Potato-Chive Bread
DESSERTS
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Strawberries with Cinnamon-Rhubarb Sauce
Deer Diary
Three-Cherry Clafouti with Mint
How to Build Herb Boxes
Pecan Pound Cake with Balsamic Sabayon and Strawberries
Rhubarb Gelato with Mexican Wedding Cakes
Honey-Lavender Ice Cream
Flower Power
10 Flowers to Grow in Your Garden
Summmer
HIGH SEASON
APPETIZERS
Chilled Gazpacho with Lobster and Lime Crème Fraîche
Fennel Salad with Prosciutto
Jeremiah's Crispy Okra with Tomatoes, Pesto, and Bacon
Grilled Antipasto Platter
Lobster and Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls
Roasted Pepper Custard with Corn, Garlic, and Herb Ragoût
Heirloom Gardening
Eggplant Chips
SALADS
How to Make a Real Garden Salad
Marinated Tomatoes
Tomatoes Forever
8 Great Heirloom Tomatoes
Arrows Trio of Summer Salads
Melon and Frisée Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Beating the Bugs
Sweet-and-Sour Fennel Salad
Chilled Maine Lobster Salad with Tomato-Tarragon Vinaigrette
Sugar Snap Pea and Rock Shrimp Salad
MAIN COURSES
Mushroom, Leek, and Potato Strudel
Maine Sweet Clams with Risotto and Arugula
Shucking Clams
Grilled Sea Scallops with Chile Pepper Sauce
Peppers
Sautéed Halibut with Thai Red Curry
Hot Sauces and Chile Pastes
Grilled Maine Bluefin Tuna with Tomatoes and Gremolata Aïoli
How to Tell from Tuna
Lemongrass and Lemon Roasted Chicken
Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Herbs and Caramelized Onions
SAUCES
Green Goddess Dressing
Aïoli or Mayonnaise
Clark's Mom's Salmon Vinaigrette
Spicy Cilantro and Basil Sauce
Fresh Herbs
Vietnamese Clear Dipping Sauce
Cool Cucumber Coulis
Creamy Corn Sauce
Roasted Pepper Pesto
Fast Tomato Sauce
Ways to Water
Slow-Roasted Tomato, Parmesan, and Basil Sauce
Spicy Corn Relish
Tomatillo Salsa
SIDE DISHES
Thai-Style Corn-on-the-Cob
Mom's Market-Basket Ratatouille
The Zucchini That Ate Maine
Seared Orange and Cabbage Salad
Chive Mashed PotatoesBR> 5 Ways to Stretch Your Garden
Yam and Leek Gratin
Arrows Yellow Curry with Summer Vegetables
Tomato Concassé
Onion and Rosemary Focaccia
DESSERTS
Cinnamon Basil Shortcakes with Peaches
Community-Supported Agriculture
Orange-Blackberry Tart
Steamed Raspberry Pudding
Blackberry Compote
8 Edible Flowers You Can Grow
Berry Sorbet with Orange Crisps
How to Freeze Berries
Cantaloupe Sorbet with Butter Cookies
Blueberry Ice Cream
Blueberry Heaven
Fall
LATE HARVEST
APPETIZERS
Pumpkin Soup with Curried Pumpkin Seeds
Roasted Eggplant and Lentil Soup with Sage Butter
Eggplants
Poached Garlic Soup with Thyme and Red Pepper Creams
Pumpkin Empanadas
Radicchio Gratin with Gruyère Cheese and Bacon
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Gravlax
Potato Gnocchi with Six Herbs
SALADS
Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad
Cucumbers
Red and Golden Beet Salad with Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette
Red Oakleaf Salad with Pistachio Toasts and Red Wine Vinaigrette
Chicory Salad with Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette
Napa Cabbage and Apple Cole Slaw
Warm Beet Greens and Beets
Warm Salads
Smoked Trout and Apple Salad with Horseradish Crème Fraîche
How to Smoke Trout
MAIN COURSES
Polenta Lasagna
Sautéed Turbot with Lemon-Parsley Butter
Hickory-Roasted Black Sea Bass with Mushroom Broth and Thyme Crème Fraîche
Preserving Herbs
Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Garlic
Pork Loin Confit
Rendered Fat
Braised Lamb Shanks
Herb-Braised Rabbit
SAUCES
Horseradish Crème Fraîche
Tomato Chutney
Celery Root and Sour Cream Sauce
Mustard-Rosemary Sauce
SIDE DISHES
Lucia's Nuclear Pickled Serranos
Green and Yellow Beans with Toasted Pine Nuts
Honey and Lavender Roasted Shallots
Herb-Roasted Fennel with Pancetta
Lentil, Root Vegetable, and Herb Cakes
Butternut Squash and Potato Gratin
Saving Squash
Sauternes-Braised Apples with Currants
Ginger-Roasted Parsnips
Roasted Yam Purée
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
After the Fall
Black Walnut Bread
Toasting and Grinding Nuts
DESSERTS
Herbal Teas
Orchard Apple Crisp
Zucchini Bread with Lemon Verbena Curd
Super-Moist Apple Cake
Apple Fritters with Cajeta Sauce
Peppermint Crème Brûlée
Creating Large Floral Arrangements
Rose Petal Granita
Winter
FAREWELL AGAIN
APPETIZERS
Escarole and White Bean Soup
Oysters with Spicy Jícama Salad
How to Shuck an Oyster
Colby Cheese Fritters with Chicory Salad
Maine Shrimp Dumplings with Cilantro
New Zealand Cockles with Chinese Dark Wine and Ham Sauce
Homemade Prosciutto
SALADS
Winter Greens with Pink Grapefruit and Red Onion
Sectioning Citrus
Radicchio Chiffonade Salad with Creamy Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Reine de Glace Lettuce Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette
Winter Lettuce Salad with Sherry-Walnut Vinaigrette
Warm Red Cabbage Slaw with Creamy Herbed Goat Cheese
Cole Slaw with Creamy Mustard-Ginger Vinaigrette
MAIN COURSES
Plank-Roasted Salmon with Rosemary-Mustard Vinaigrette
Saving Seeds
Sautéed Maine Cod with Burnt Tangerine and Star Anise Sauce
Roast Duck with Paprika, Garlic, and Herbs
Roast Turkey
Enriched Stock
Boiled Dinner, Our Way
SAUCES
Carrot and Ginger Sauce
Citrus and Lemongrass Vinaigrette
Growing Lemongrass
Fire-Roasted Onion and Rosemary Sauce
SIDE DISHES
Pickled Daikon
Red Beet Mousse
Beijing Cabbage
Braised Red Cabbage
Kale, Swiss Cheese, and Bacon Casserole
Celery Root Pancakes
Root Vegetable Gratin
Sage and Cheddar Bread Pudding
DESSERTS
Rosemary Poached Pears with Chocolate Crème Anglaise
Chocolate Pound Cake with Frozen Berries
Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting
Ginger-Pear Upside-Down Cake with Lemongrass Caramel Sauce
Should You Invest in a Greenhouse?
Steamed Pumpkin Puddings with Vanilla Crème Anglaise
Blood Orange Sorbet with Butter Cookies Dipped in Mint Chocolate
Resources
Acknowledgments
Index