Celebrating the Midwest Table : Real Food for Real Times

Two hundred recipes celebrate the best of American traditional home cooking with such dishes as caramelized onions, corn fritters, oven "fried" chicken, and lemon poppyseed noodles. Tour.

Great taste, rather than nostalgia, seems to have motivated columnist and cooking teacher Mandel (More Taste Than Time) to assemble this refreshing contribution to the ongoing celebration of heartland cuisine. Departing from the region's expected stick-to-the-ribs fare, Mandel's recipes serve the Midwest tradition with an updated flair, paying homage to the region's bounty of fresh produce and healthful grains. While some dishes are satisfying in simple ways, like Braised Veal Chops with Vegetables, more bow to sophisticated, less predictable dishes, e.g., the Cabbage Layer Cake Casserole (including prunes and ground meat among its ingredients) served with Sweet Tomato Marmalade or Cornmeal Chive Pancakes with Great Lakes Golden Caviar. Many of the desserts are built on fresh fruit (Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp), but fans of heartier sweets will be satisfied with the likes of Lazy Daisy Vanity Cake and the rich, contemporary Chocolate Cappuccino Pound Cake. Figuring large here is Mandel's talent as a teacher: her text is informed with clarity and delivers plenty of make-ahead suggestions and practical tips.
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Mandel, former editor of Bon Appetit and now syndicated food columnist, turns her attention to traditional food from America's heartland, but with an eye toward keeping nutritional value more in line with modern practice. She certainly hasn't done away with sugar, salt, or egg yolks, but she has made a few substitutions (fewer whole eggs and peanut oil, for example) to lighten the load. She has also added a few touches that seem all her own: citrus zest, for one, which adds pep to many of the recipes, from sunshine cake, featured in many old midwestern cookbooks, to marinated barbecued lamb. Expected standards are here, such as meat loaf (this one with chopped spinach and mustard greens) and corn fritters. But there are also some wonderful surprises, among them, wild rice waffles with dried cranberries. Included are recipes for first and main courses, condiments, vegetables, pastas, desserts, and breakfast dishes. Family and guests can "check pretensions at the door" and sit down to enjoy some good food. Stephanie Zvirin