Vermont’s Edenesque Cuisine by Ruth Paget
Vermont is justly famous for its artisanal cheese, but the state’s contribution to American cuisine also comes from using French cooking techniques with organic produce.
These French cooking techniques are part of Vermont’s culture as it shares a border with Canada’s French province of Quebec in the north. Gratins, puréeing vegetable soups to thicken them without other thickeners like flour, quiches, and ground nut cakes can all be found in Vermont’s cuisine as in French cuisine.
Using French techniques to make dishes is not as difficult as you would think when you read through the cookbook Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State by Tracey Medeiros.
The following recipes give a sample of dishes that really shine when you use organic produce:
-grated celeriac and green apple salad
-cream of garlic soup
-butternut squash bisque
-creamy Vermont winter pumpkin soup
-roasted summer vegetables
-cheddar mashed potatoes
-squash casserole
-apple-butternut squash soup
-strawberry soup
-cheese scones
-cheddar cheese quiche
-root vegetable chowder
-winter squash gratin
-Normandy chicken with apples and cream
-cranberry
-almond squares
-maple-walnut cake
As a former sub-zero weather resident of Detroit (Michigan), I know that many of these recipes can be made during the fall harvest when prices are low and frozen to be eaten during the winter months to save money. (The French do this, too.) For that reason alone, I would recommend purchasing Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State by Tracey Medeiros.
By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
