Bringing Home Meals & Moments from the Lost Kitchen by ERIN FRENCH © Celadon Books, 2023
reviewed by Louise Kasdon.
Some cookbooks read like poetry. Some cookbooks read like training manuals. Others are exotic travelogues. Erin French’s new cookbook reads like a conversation with a talented—and humbly creative—friend. Yes, the recipes are delightful. (More on that later.) And the photos are drool-worthy. But the best thing about Big Heart Little Stove is that it feels intimate. Encouraging. Erin French is a sort of rustic Martha Stewart, blond and beautiful, but tending to whimsy, not perfection. As you work your way through Big Heart Little Stove, you hear her whispering, “Try this. Have fun with it. Make it yours. And, by the way, make it beautiful.” And suddenly you’ll find yourself in the backyard, foraging forsythia branches and edible blossoms while the Apple Walnut cake is baking, or sorting through your grandmother’s china for the perfect serving dish as the chicken is brining in pickle juice. It’s not just what you eat, Erin says, it’s how you eat.
If you don’t yet know the story of Erin French and The Lost Kitchen, let us catch you up. The Lost Kitchen is a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine. French has been a four-time semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in America award (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020); she is the star of a Magnolia TV cooking show; and author of a best-selling memoir, Finding Freedom, and of The Lost Kitchen Cookbook. (Her life story is soon to be a major motion-picture.) But with all that, her restaurant is still tiny, hard to get to—and always booked. The only way to get a reservation is to send the restaurant a simple postcard during a short spring window with your name, address, and phone number. You can’t call. You can’t wheedle. You can only hope that when The Lost Kitchen team sorts through the torrent of postcards in the lottery, yours will be one of the lucky ones. But even with a steep $265 fixed price per person, the restaurant has no shortage of hopeful would-be diners. It is a unique marketing technique that creates unparalleled exclusivity and magic. French is both simple and unassuming, and very, very savvy. Confession: I’ve done podcasts with Erin, and written a few pieces about her, and I still haven’t been able to score a table. Maybe this year?
But with all that, even though we may not have tasted food prepared by her own hands, her cookbooks assure us that her food is amazing. The recipes range from simple to rarefied, with almost equal emphasis on food and hospitality, and very much focused on the joy of eating in New England, season by season. The book is organized the way you might assemble the elements of a first class but homey dinner party with friends and family. Starting off with “Nibbles & Sips” with recipes like Good Green Olives with Almonds, Honey & Rosemary, simple Crudos and Oysters with Mignonette, and Cheddar & Thyme Nibble Coins (all easy to assemble with perfection), and finishing with beverages like Thai Basil Lemonade, Fresh Fruit Shrubs, and Lilac Sorbet. Turns out lilac blossoms are edible! Who knew?
Book Photo Book Photo Credit: © Celadon Books, 2023: couch potato hand-carved and photographed by Hart Design.
Moving on to the sit-down part of the meal, soups and stews are next. I am dying to make the Golden Tomato and Peach Soup––it gives me a whole new reason to be impatient for summer––but the Toasted Coriander & Carrot Soup did tide me over. (Note: Very fast, very easy, and very good.) The “Suppers” chapter is delicious. Simultaneously simple and high-flown. A touch of the unexpected in New England dinner staples, with recipes such as a Lavender and Juniper Crusted Rack of Lamb (made this, loved it), and a Skillet of Scallops with Cedar, Chorizo, and Lime. There is also a master recipe for Duck Confit, the basis of her show-stopping but ridiculously rustic Farmhouse Pie with Duck Confit, Grapes, and Shallots. This last one has a mashed potato crust like a shepherd’s pie and will make a regular chicken pot pie weep with envy.
Mussels are the unsung heroes of the shellfish family, and while plentiful in New England, I often forget about them. But French’s A Chowder of Mussels with Bacon, Leek and Lime was a snap to make, totally delicious, and one of those dishes that when presenting it to guests made me feel like a culinary star. The sweet recipes are refreshing and fitting ends to a wonderful meal. I’m not a great baker, so the Lemon Gingersnap Ice Box Pie had my name all over it. Just as you imagine it, a crust of whirred gingersnaps and a fresh lemon filling that sets in the freezer. It is oh-my-god perfect. But you never know, her father’s recipe for Little Nutmeg Diner Doughnuts is calling my name too. The Cherry & Almond Baked French Bread is a standout brunch/sweet lunch/indulgent light dinner too. Assemble it at night, slide it into the fridge at night to muddle, and straight into the oven in the morning. Breakfast hero award to follow.
There are salad dressings, and sauces, and even tips for a DIY silver polish and a kitchen hand scrub. And a primer on edible flowers. Each one feels like a gem shared by a friend who is very handy and grounded in all things kitchen.
Clearly, I loved this book. And I think you will too.
(From Big Heart Little Stove by Erin French. Copyright © 2023 by the author and reprinted with permission of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.)
Louisa Kasdon is amazed that she has had over 500 food articles published. She also hosts the podcast letstalkaboutfood.com. A longtime resident of Cambridge, she now lives in Cohasset with her husband and is thrilled every time her daughters and family come to visit.
A Chowder of Mussels with Bacon, Leek, and Lime
A Chowder of Mussels with Bacon, Leek & Lime
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh mussels in the shell
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
- 4 strips bacon diced
- 3 cups roughly chopped leeks
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 cup roughly chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inchcubes (about 4 cups)
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Put the mussels in a large bowl and completely submerge them in cold water. Discard any mussels that are open or broken. Drain the mussels.
- Place a medium heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add the mussels and cook undisturbed for 1 minute. Add ¼ cup water to the pot, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the mussel shells pop open,about 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened.
- Once the mussels are cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the shells and set aside in a medium bowl; discard the shells.Strain the delicious cooking juices through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, stopping just before you get to any sandy bits at the bottom of the pot(discard the sandy bits).
- In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat a good drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook just until it begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the leeks, celery, onion, garlic, a good sprinkle of salt, and a few turns of pepper. Stir to combine and add the bay leaves and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Raise the heat a smidge, add the flour, and stir well.Add the wine and stir constantly for a minute. Add the potatoes, another healthy sprinkling of salt, and a few cracks of pepper and reduce the heat to low. Add the cold butter and lime zest, stirring constantly until the butter is completely melted. Add the reserved mussel juices, plus the milk and cream, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are cooked through and tender,15 to 20 minutes. Add the mussels and taste for seasoning, adjusting it as needed.
- Divide the chowder among bowls, drizzle with thelime juice, and sprinkle with the cilantro.
