Published on November 25, 2009

Seasonal Appetite:  A Chef’s Celebration of Vermont’s Seasons; by Marcie Kaufman; illustrated by Jeff Gold; published in 2009 by iUniverse; printed on demand; softcover; 276 pages; $29.95.

Reviewed by Jennifer Hersey Cleveland

As cold weather settles upon the Northeast Kingdom, thoughts of creamy soups, hearty breads, and luxurious desserts flood the brain.  With the firewood put up and the canning done, we’ve all got a little more time to spend in the kitchen to make a large, inviting meal.  And what better way to get friends to venture out on a cold winter night than a gourmet meal served at home?

Jay chef Marcie Kaufman has created a perfect complement to Vermont’s changing seasons.  The New England Culinary Institute graduate, who trained under executive chef Mathias Raditz at The Breakers in Palm Beach, recently published Seasonal Appetite, illustrated with beautiful blockprints by Danville artist Jeff Gold.

The book offers several menu choices that coincide with each season.  For a spring dessert, Ms. Kaufman suggests a white chocolate and maple mousse in almond tuile, perfect timing during sugaring season.

The chef’s descriptions of her dishes make the mouth water, much like this description of the mousse:  “This marriage of rich and creamy Belgium

Coq au vin ingredients await their turn in the rondeau: crisped salt pork, chicken stock, parsley, chicken thighs, sachet d’epices, garlic and thyme, Wondra flour, cremini mushrooms, onions, and Burgundy wine. Photos by Jennifer Hersey Cleveland

white chocolate with sweet, pure Vermont maple syrup is entwined in a light, airy mousse, and nestled in a crisp confection.  Heavenly.”

Some recipes are more dignified versions of foods home cooks make on a regular basis, such as one of Ms. Kaufman’s summer offerings, teriyaki marinated tri-tip sirloin with Parmesan and Gruyère whipped potatoes.

“Moist and juicy thin slices of grilled beef sirloin drizzled with pungent teriyaki jus are draped over sharp and nutty flavored creamy Parmesan and Gruyère whipped potatoes.”

When residents of the Kingdom have to start shoveling snow away from their windows, big bowls of chowder warm us through and through.  Ms. Kaufman’s potato-leek cream with crispy leeks sounds delightfully simple to make and requires only a few ingredients.

But to truly gauge the merits of a cookbook, one must actually cook something.  A novice cook with only a few good dishes under my belt, I was a little intimidated to try to make dishes created by the former executive chef of Sangrita in Westcliffe, Colorado.

Since it is still autumn, I chose to make coq au vin, one of four entrees suggested for fall.  A quick look at the list of ingredients and directions  convinced me that I had plenty of time on a Monday evening to make it and that I could, in fact, manage to do it without spoiling a bunch of food.

Boiled, rinsed, dried, and chopped salt pork is cooked in the rondeau until the fat is rendered and the pork is crisp.

First item needed — a pot in which to cook my fowl.  Ms. Kaufman suggests a rondeau, “a shallow, wide, straight-sided pot with handles.”  A quick survey of the office staff turned up no such item, but my esteemed colleague Bethany Dunbar, who is also a wonderful cook, agreed to loan me an antique cast-iron Dutch oven.

This was fortuitous, as the oven is seasoned to perfection, so there was very little I could do to ruin the flavor of my coq au vin.

Pot in hand, and I’m off to the grocery store.  I found most ingredients with relative ease, but had to settle for a lesser Burgundy wine than Ms. Kaufman suggests.  After an extensive search, I determined my store does not carry sunflower oil, so I decided to replace that with olive oil.

Back at home, I decide to start chopping my cremini mushrooms (labeled baby portobellos in many stores), Spanish onions, garlic, and thyme leaves.  Had I heeded Ms. Kaufman’s directions, I would have started with my salt pork preparation and saved myself a considerable amount of time.

The salt pork is first boiled, simmered, rinsed, dried, and diced before being thrown into the rondeau, which is warmed at a medium-low heat.  Crisping up the pork takes more time than I bargained for, but the effect at the conclusion of the meal is well worth it.

Once you’ve moved the pork into a bowl, you turn up the heat and sear the chicken — four legs and four thighs — in batches, and set it aside on a

The plated coq au vin — two pieces of chicken smothered in the divine sauce.

platter.  I was most likely doing something wrong, but the heated oil was a little active for my taste, singeing me just a bit.

After browning the mushrooms — cut into meaty chunks — and the pearl onions, they are set aside with the pork.  Over a low flame the onion, garlic, and thyme sweat, just before they get doused with the Wondra flour.

This is where the real action starts to happen, when the wine is added.  This mixture will get very thick as the liquids cook off, and stirring constantly is highly recommended.  After the chicken stock, sachet d’epices (parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns tied in cheesecloth), and chicken are placed in the rondeau, you can take a break for 35 minutes.

After simmering, skim the surface of the dish and move the chicken into the bowl with your other cooked ingredients.  It will be difficult to not start digging in right then, but the wait is worthwhile.

The sauce, which was the point of all that cooking in the first place, now takes center stage.  Once you’ve got the sauce where you want it — you’ll recognize this by sight, consistency, and flavor — take out the sachet and add all other ingredients, except the parsley garnish.

After four long hours, the coq au vin is finally ready for consumption.

I allowed it to simmer for a while, until I could wait no longer.  The chicken burst open in a juicy explosion of yummy goodness.  The mushrooms almost tasted like they had been simmered in beef broth, which brought another layer of flavor to the dish.  The chunk of pork stayed crisp and lent a nice crunch to the otherwise soft vegetables.  And the meal was nicely complemented with the remainder of the Burgundy wine.

The recipe says it serves four, but don’t count on it.  I even tipped the bowl at the end to sup on the divine sauce.  What took almost four hours to create was devoured in a matter of minutes.

To quote Ms. Kaufman once again, “Heavenly.”

Seasonal Appetite is available at independent bookstores, food cooperatives, and kitchenware shops or by calling (800) AUTHORS or visiting www.iUniverse.com.

Coq au vin

4 ounces salt pork

4 chicken thighs

4 chicken legs

Salt and freshly ground black

pepper, as needed

12 ounces cremini mushrooms,

cleaned and halved

Refined sunflower oil, as needed

6 ounces pearl onions, cooked

1-1/2 large Spanish onions, small

dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons Wondra flour

8 ounces Cote du Nuits Burgundy

wine

24 ounces chicken stock

Sachet d’epices tied in cheesecloth

(3 parsley stems, 1/2 teaspoon

dried thyme, 1 clove garlic, peeled, 1 bay leaf, and 3 black peppercorns)

Parsley, finely chopped, to garnish