Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen [Hardcover]

Deborah Madison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

I love supper. It’s friendly and relaxed. It’s easy to invite people over for supper, for there’s a quality of comfort that isn’t always there with dinner, a meal that suggests more serious culinary expectations—truly a joy to meet, but not all the time. Supper, on the other hand, is for when friends happen to run into each other at the farmers’ market or drop in from out of town. Supper is for Sunday night or a Thursday. Supper can be impromptu, it can be potluck, and it can break the formality of a classic menu. With supper, there’s a willingness to make do with what’s available and to cook and eat simply. It can also be special and beautifully crafted if that’s what you want.
—from the Introduction

In her first collection of suppertime solutions, the author of the bestselling cookbook classic, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, solves the perennial question of what to cook for dinner, with more than 100 inspiring recipes to enjoy every night of the week.

What’s for supper? For vegetarians and health-conscious nonvegetarians, the quest for recipes that don’t call for meat often can seem daunting. Focusing on recipes for a relaxing evening, Deborah Madison has created an innovative array of main dishes for casual dining. Unfussy but creative, the recipes in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen will bring joy to your table in the form of simple, wholesome, and delicious main dish meals.

These are recipes to savor throughout the week—quick weekday meals as well as more leisurely weekend or company fare—and throughout the year. The emphasis is on freshness and seasonality in recipes for savory pies and gratins, vegetable stews and braises, pasta and vegetable dishes, crepes and fritters, delicious new ways to use tofu and tempeh, egg dishes that make a supper, hearty cool-weather as well as light warm-weather meals, and a delightful assortment of sandwich suppers.

Recipes include such imaginative and irresistible dishes as Masa Crêpes with Chard, Chiles, and Cilantro; Spicy Tofu with Thai Basil and Coconut Rice Cakes; Lemony Risotto Croquettes with Slivered Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Leeks; and Gnocchi with Winter Squash and Seared Radicchio.

Vegan variations are given throughout, so whether you are a committed vegetarian or a “vegophile” like Deborah Madison herself, you’ll find recipes in this wonderful new collection you will want to cook again and again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrated vegetarian chef Madison's latest warmly written gem offers everything from quickie suppers to subtle, sophisticated dinner-party dishes while encouraging local, seasonal eating and unfussy kitchen artisanship. Her earthy, vigorous Pasta and Chickpeas with Plenty of Parsley and Garlic comes together in a flash, and is enlivened by the addition of Beluga lentils, a suggestion she makes in her "Variations" column. (It will also convince anyone that whole wheat pasta can be delicious.) The Onion and Rosemary Tart with Fromage Blanc is rich, creamy and gorgeously smooth, with a crisp and flavorful shell. And the Brussels Sprout and Mushroom Ragout with Herb Dumplings employs fresh tarragon to brilliant effect (it flavors both the ragout and the dumplings) to make a kind of sophisticated comfort food that's only slightly too heavy on the sprouts. And if Winter Squash Lasagna with Sage, Walnuts and Black Kale seems too ambitious for a Tuesday night, there's always Wine-Braised Lentils Over Toast or even a Fried-Egg Sandwich. Madison's recipes do call for good kitchen gear (Dutch ovens, double-boilers, numerous gratin pans and casseroles) and some hard-to-find ingredients (fromage blanc, blanched nettles, Thai basil), but they're flexible enough to allow for substitutions. Though not as broad as Madison's James Beard–winning Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone nor as detailed as her classic The Greens Cookbook, this volume is a wonderful addition to any vegetarian or "vegophile" kitchen.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen

“Deborah Madison, a wizard with fresh produce, offers one appealing recipe after another in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen.”
— New York Times

“Celebrated vegetarian chef Madison’s latest warmly-written gem offers everything from quickie suppers to subtle, sophisticated dinner party dishes while encouraging local, seasonal eating and unfussy kitchen artisanship . . . a wonderful addition to any vegetarian or ‘vegophile’ kitchen.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Madison’s latest book is loaded with accessible, inspired, casual recipes for vegetarian supppers.”
— EatingWell

“Deborah Madison has done for vegetarian meals what the television show Extreme Makeover has done for the dowdy: transform them into something sexy and appealing. She’s done it with a combination of relaxed charm, a warmly reassuring writing style, and reliable recipes.”
— Washington Post



From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767916271
• ISBN-13: 978-0767916271
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Madison is the author of nine cookbooks and countless articles on food, cooking, and farming. Currently she blogs for Gourmet and Culinate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

162 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite cookbook!, November 25, 2005

By 

Shelly Sutherland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen (Hardcover)

I love this book! It is great for exactly what I wanted to do...learn how to cook some fun, vegetarian dishes that even I wouldn't goof up!

Every dish that I've tried has been a success...that's saying a lot since my mother's only cooking lesson was 'how to heat a can of corn.'

One thing to mention is that this book is meant to build on Madison's other cookbooks. It is not meant to be a complete guide for basic family meal planning, just simple yet elegant main dish ideas suitable for casual entertaining.

With our only child in junior high now, and my husband doing volunteer work, we are up to having about 1/3 the time that a serious cook does for making dinner, and these meals fit right in.

Most of the recipes I've used take about 25-40 minutes to prepare, mostly because I'm really slow at cutting vegetables, finding where I set the teaspoon, etc.

I guess you can't see the contents or preface above, so here's the layout of the chapters:

1. Savory Pies and Gratins
2. Vegetable Stews and Braises
3. Pasta with Vegetables
4. Crepes and Fritters
5. Mostly Tofu and some Tempeh
6. Eggs for Supper
7. Hearty Cool Weather Suppers
8. Light Meals for Warm Weather
9. Supper Sandwiches
10. Basics (eg, guacamole, peanut sauce, tapenade, warm goat cheese sauce)

What I really like about this book is she explains things simply enough for a beginner, and uses mostly ingredients that I've heard of, but always takes things a step beyond what I'm familiar with, so I'm learning something.

So if you are a food snob, this book is probably not pretentious enough for you. If you have a large family and don't feel like getting creative with dinner at the end of the day, and just want something you can throw together fast that will feed several and probably be edible, this book is not for you. But for a family of 3-4, or a couple who likes to have something special a few nights a week, this is just perfect.

My favorite recipe is one for a couple of eggs cooked over mushrooms sauted in wine and bread crumbs...it's something I can throw together for myself in just a few minutes when I get home late, and I don't have to measure anything because you just put in as much of each ingredient as you like...and it tastes so good!

About the wine recommendations--Not only is it good for your heart, but new research shows drinking red wine on a regular basis may help prevent or delay the onset of alzheimer's. Since both health problems run in my husband's family, the suggested wines have been a fun way to incorperate a very healthy habit.

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her best yet, April 19, 2006

By 

Eve (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen (Hardcover)

I adore Deborah Madison; she is my favorite cookbook author. She just makes the kind of food I love to eat. She is the master of rustic, tasty, healthy whole-food recipes, and is better at herbing and zesting the ingredients than any other cookbook author I have come across. Making her food is very satisfying. Somehow she makes everything taste sublime. I will undoubtedly buy any book she writes. That said, this is my favorite of her books so far. The food is just so delicious, and none of the recipes are difficult. If you live anywhere in the vicinity of a great farmers' market, this is just the book to help you make use of the wonderful produce you can find there. Favorite recipes I've tried include Spinach Quesadillas, Yellow Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Black Bean Tostadas, Artichoke Fritatta, Masa Crepes with Chard, Winter Squash Lasagne, Whole Wheat Penne with broccoli and green olives, Gnocchi with winter Squash and Radicchio. If I pared down my whole cookbook collection, this book would be one of the 5 books I'd keep. In my opinion, this is also her best looking book so far, since the photos and graphics are much better than in the past. With each recipe, she includes go-withs that are to be found in two of her previous cookbooks. If you are a Madison fan already, you'll have these books, but since most of these recipes are full meals in themselves, you can also go without. This book is a must-have.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hit or Miss - but mostly miss..., May 25, 2008

By 

M. Franz (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen (Paperback)

I own several of D. Madison's books and have gotten to know her cooking as reliably good, tasty, and easy to make. In fact, I have liked many recipes so much, that I did not hesitate to expand my collection of vegetarian cookbooks by acquiring this volume.

I am sad to say that the recipes in this book do not live up to Madison's reputation.

Since I am an avid cook who tries up to four new recipes every day (usually lunch, dinner, a side dish, and a dessert or breakfast), I have made it a habit to grade recipes so that I can easily access whether making them again is worth it or not. Grades, of course, go from A to F with recipes in this book averaging a rather sorry C-

All recipes thus far have been easy to make while drawing on ingredients that are either staples in most households or easily found at a local food market, but the vast majority of dishes I have tried from this book have failed to come together into a delicious composition. Instead, I (and my family) find ourselves eating them simply because effort went into their creation and because we don't believe in wasting food. More often than not, we have failed to even slightly enjoy dishes from this book. Unfortunately, I have made at least one dish that went straight into the compost pile - it was simply inedible. The mere memory makes me wince.

To make matters worse, the binding of this book seems to be reflective of it's recipes - it is of rather poor quality. After my first use, the glue along the spine holding the pages in place simply failed. I now own a collection of loose pages. Admittedly, I live in a fairly humid climate but still, other books survive just fine.

Overall, this book is on the low end of the scale for Deborah Madison's efforts in vegetarian cooking. I'd advise you to skip it and either purchase one of her other books or go straight to Carol Gelles' 1000 Vegetarian Recipes - which is infinitely better.