One Good Dish

Starred review from August 19, 2013
Tanis (A Platter of Figs) turns his focus to an eclectic array of simple, casual meals that satisfy and are appropriate to be eaten at any time of day. Tanis’s whimsy runs from bread, snacks, and condiments to vegetables, griddled foods, desserts, and more. Waffle-iron grilled cheese, gorgonzola and walnut crostini; and ham and gruyere bread pudding are highlights among the rustic offering of bread entries. Snack options are diverse and wholly appetizing, including smaller nibbles such as quail eggs with flavored salt and cucumber spears with dill, along with more substantial dishes such as potato salad with peppers and olives, polenta “pizza” with crumbled sage, and cold chicken with spicy scallion oil. His chapter titled “Eating with a Spoon” centers on pleasures in a bowl and contains a full-bodied, save-your-life garlic soup, rice porridge with salted egg, yellow risotto with saffron and lemon, and clams in the shell with fennel and parsley. Recipes based on vegetables are robust and inventively appealing, including long-cooked kale, which incorporates Spanish chorizo and red pepper flakes; well-charred endives with anchovy butter; and braised lettuce, sweet peas, and ham. Accompanied by numerous full-color photographs, the recipes in this collection are suitable for solo dining or entertaining guests and are certain to please.

December 1, 2013

Departing from the seasonal menus that characterized his previous titles, chef and New York Times columnist Tanis (A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes) presents small dishes, snacks, condiments, and drinks meant to be consumed when desire strikes. He introduces each recipe with a brief reflection, and it's his elegant prose that makes a few almost-too-simple offerings (e.g., real garlic toast, watered-down wine) sound sublime. Stunning photographs accompany full-flavored dishes such as Vietnamese vegetable baguette, save-your-life garlic soup, and ginger spice wafers. VERDICT Minimalistic recipes in nonprescriptive categories will please grazers and foodies who generally have high-quality ingredients (e.g., crusty bread, cold-pressed olive oil) on hand.

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