Celery Root

This dish was inspired by pommes Anna, the regal, crisp-crusted potato cake rumored to have been named for Anna Deslions, a famous courtesan in nineteenth-century Paris.

"Because I love to cook, I'll use any excuse to make dinner for my family or friends. Most of the recipes I concoct are partly based on how the ingredients look—presentation is very important to me," Dave Purdy of Hopewell, New Jersey. "Here, I combined celery root with Swiss chard because the colors and textures contrast so nicely." This tangy side dish would be good with roasted poultry or meat.

This simple but satisfying dish — full of slightly sweet parsnip and celery root chunks — can be made ahead and just reheated before serving.

What the New Sammy's menu describes as a broth is really a purée. The dish is somewhat monochromatic, but its fascinating flavor spectrum will make your mouth extremely happy.

If you plan on preparing this side dish the day before serving, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the puree when reheating it.

Celery root gives the potatoes an intriguing new taste; mascarpone cheese provides the ultimate in creaminess.

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

This dish can be baked along with Pork Loin with Morel Stuffing, but it should go into the oven about 30 minutes before the loin does. Transfer the celery root to the lower third of the oven after 30 minutes so that the loin can be put in the upper third.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A traditional French assiette crudités (raw vegetable salad) just like those served all over Paris.

Strong beef broth and garlic, not sugar, make a true Ukrainian borscht delicious. Fresh root vegetables and roasted beets provide plenty of sweetness which is balanced by an acid edge of lemon.

This one is delicious made with shrimp and/or scallops, too. If using lobster, garnish the plates with the empty shells.