Vegetarian

You can make this Lebanese soup with a light chicken stock, but the leek trimmings, an onion, a few extra wax beans, and cilantro stems will make a fine vegetable stock. In either case, the stock should be delicate enough that it doesn't overwhelm the vegetables.

Scallions come in many shapes and sizes, from tiny and red to thick and green and very, very long. A stack at the St. Paul market labeled "table onions" were nearly as long as King Alfred leeks and just as sweet. Potatoes are, of course, delicious with leeks, so you can expect they'd be good with scallions, and they're a perfect vehicle for herbs, whether bracing parsley, a handful of chervil, tarragon, or whatever herb you love.

This is the best shoofly pie I’ve eaten, and believe me, I’ve tried many. Some versions are dry and soft; others are quite gooey and moist. This one falls somewhere in between, and is thick and unabashedly pleasing. Shoofly is authentic American pie that comes to us from the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonites and the Pennsylvania Dutch; we should be grateful to them forever.

We created a delicious fruit pizza, ideal for a summer dessert or midafternoon snack.

Cooking watery or fibrous root vegetables like celery roots, turnips, carrots, rutabagas, and beets with a little white rice ensures that they will be exceptionally creamy and have a very pure flavor.

Adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider (Artisan, 2001). Copyright 2001, Sally Schneider.

Shellagh Connelly, chef/owner of Mildred Pierce Cafe in St. Paul (and a woman who understands breakfast food down to her soul), created the dish for her breakfast menu. For me, my version illustrates an important point—cream cheese is one of the most underrated ingredients in the market.

Reprinted from the November 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine. Recipe by Maggie Ruggiero.