Fresh Cooking: A Year of Recipes from the Garrison Institute Kitchen

Fresh Cooking is exactly what the home cook desires—a cookbook with range and flexibility that addresses seasonality, budget, and diverse diets and tastes. Built around meals Shelley Boris created for the Garrison Institute, a retreat center in New York's Hudson Valley, it contains thirty-six menus, with four to five delicious recipes in each, organized by month. Caroline Kasterine's beautiful photographs compliment the recipes.

From the beginning of her career in the heydey of New York City's culinary scene with Dean & Deluca, Shelley Boris has maintained a love of fine, fresh ingredients and an intuitive grasp of their possibilities. This book draws on her passion and experience to create delectable meals on a budget without compromising flavor or diversity.

Sample seasonal menus include:

JANUARY
Onion Soup with Sprout Creek Cheese and Sour Rye Toast
Winter Root Vegetable Salad with Sherry-Hazelnut Dressing
Baked White Beans
Greens Tossed with Lemon, Balsamic, and Grapeseed Oil Vinaigrette
Quince in Phyllo

MAY
Whole Roasted Chicken with Green Garlic and Sassafras
Roasted Mushrooms and Jerusalem Artichokes
Polenta with Spinach, Spring Onions, and Cheese
Greens Tossed with Yogurt and Herb Dressing
Buckwheat Banana-Pecan Cake

AUGUST
Haiga Rice and Barley with Purple Shiso and Hiijki
Roasted Eggplant and Miso
Duck with Garlic
Greens Tossed with Ginger Vinaigrette
Peaches and Cream

NOVEMBER
Spicy Cabbage with Brown Mustard Seeds
Curried Lentils
Wild Rice
Greens Tossed with Lime and Toasted Sesame Seed Vinaigrette
Walnut Bar

Shelley Boris began her career in food at New York’s renowned gourmet food market, Dean & Deluca. She went on to become the chef at Exile, then at Peter Dent Catering, both in Tribeca. She opened the first Dean & DeLuca Espresso Bar at the Paramount Hotel in Midtown, then began working as a private caterer. She has published recipes in various journals and books, including the the New York Times and Food & Wine, Recipes From America’s Small Farms, and co-wrote The International Mail Order Gourmet food guide. Shelley is the executive chef at the Garrison Institute in New York’s Hudson River Valley. Since forming Fresh Company catering, where she is partner, creative director and executive chef, Shelley has cooked for such personalities as the Dalai Lama and Mikhail Gorbachev. She is a founding member of the Cold Spring Farmer’s Market and works in the Hudson Valley region to promote local foodmakers and farmers. A board member emerita of Cold Spring’s Farmers’ Market, Shelley has long worked to support sustainable agriculture in the Hudson Valley. She lives in Garrison, New York with her husband and two sons.