THE LILIES OF THE KITCHEN: Recipes Celebrating Onions, Garlic, Leeks, Shallots, Scallions, and Chives

by Barbara Batcheller ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 1986

Onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, scallions, and chives are all of the Iffy family; thus the title. All are also extremely aromatic and flavorful--and well represented in over 300 recipes from many different cuisines. Batcheller, a witty writer, adds her own personal quirks, likes and dislikes throughout. In preface to a recipe for breast of chicken with garlic stuffing, she instructs the reader: ""Now, get a bottle of wine and a friend and go on a picnic--it's good for your soul."" About a Vidalia onion tart, she claims, ""It's not a dish to be trifled with."" This is not to imply that she takes her subject lightly; the recipes are not gimmicky in the least. They cover a range from simplest bored pearl onions or Pasta with Off and Garlic to such involved recipes as stuffed onions, Cuban style, and Moroccan spiced lamb stew with onions. The first two sections are devoted to garlic and onions, and the third encompasses the rest in a chapter called ""The Gilded Lilies."" Traditional garlic recipes such as soup a L'Ail and Pesto accompany lesser known offerings like orange-garlic beef and Thai garlic shrimp. Onions are used in such dishes as black bean soup and calves tongue braised with onions and red wine. And while the other lilies get less attention, the recipes are equally enticing: gilded Iffy tart, chicken in a pot with green shallot sauce, chive dumplings in brown butter. In sum: appealing in both style and content.

Pub Date: April 21, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION