Have you ever had this thing you were going to do, but you didn’t and then you discover it is now too late?
Suzen and I have used The Arrows Cookbook since it was published in 2003. And last week, in Maine, we decided we would stop stalling and finally go to the restaurant itself.
Ah, Arrows was sold last year. No more Arrows. Well, no more restaurant Arrows, which was always lauded as one of Maine’s best. But, but, we do have The Arrows Cookbook. We use this book religiously for it has the ultimate turkey recipe for Thanksgiving. But there are other wonders here, wonders that you can still enjoy and, perhaps, fondly remember that famous farm house in Maine.
This book is broken into four chapters, one for each season. For each season, recipes are there for appetizers, salads, main courses, sauces, side dishes, and desserts. Arrows was a leader in “fresh and local” so each seasonal set of recipes is devoted to items that you can find in high season. And, besides the recipes, there are essays on topics like how to cook lobster. Hint: they steamed and loved Asian aromatics.
Let’s look at sample recipes in each of those categories. I’ve picked two here, one from the Spring and one from the Summer chapters:
- Appetizers: Asparagus Soup with Lobster, Morels, and Chervil; Fennel Salad with Prosciutto
- Salads: Warm Dandelion Greens with Bacon Vinaigrette, Sugar Snap Pea and Rock Shrimp Salad
- Main Courses: Grilled Quail with Rhubarb Compote, Maine Sweet Clams with Risotto and Arugula
- Sauces: Spring Leek Cream Sauce, Spicy Cilantro and Basil Sauce
- Sides: Gratin of Ramps and Morels, Yam and Leek Gratin
- Desserts: Pecan Pound Cake with Balsamic Sabayon and Strawberries, Cinnamon Basil Shortcakes with Peaches
Yes, nothing here is 1-2-3 simple. These are not dishes you can dash up in just a few minutes. These are dishes that thrive because Arrows was close to the sea and to the farmlands perched on that seashore. You can call these recipes “layered” or “complex” but you surely will call each one delicious. This cookbook reflect the meticulous care of the kitchen at Arrows. Thought and perception are evident on every page. This is the prototype cookbook for the “fresh and local” movement — I know homage is due to earlier efforts in California. But at Arrows, the integration of local foods into every dish in meaningful ways was a hallmark of the restaurant and in this book.
The restaurant is gone. Long live the cookbook.