In My Kitchen: A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes by Deborah Madison shares 100 innovative recipes from her vast career which not only brought vegetarian food to the center stage but also elevated it. The recipes shared are pared down to the key ingredients needed to achieve delicious, nuanced flavor, with simplified preparations. 

This vegetable-forward cookbook, which I think is her most beautiful yet, is organized alphabetically and features recipes like Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Sunflower Sprouts; Fennel Shaved with Tarragon and Walnuts; and Carrot Soup with Zesty Relish or Smoky-Spice Butter which are sure to be the main attraction. So often vegetarian recipes are regulated to side dishes or as an option for the vegetarians in our lives but the dishes herein will be the stars of the table.
 
Anise Seed Shortbread with Star Anise Impressions is stunning and I'm going to attempt to bake this recipe soon. Be sure to try the Warmed Feta with Toasted Sesame Seeds - so simple and yet so elegant. The Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Togarashi Tofu Crisps is on my list for next week (I even think I can get my husband to try this - I will just tell him the tofu is cheese.)
 

The book is gorgeous and the recipes are tempting but Deborah really struck a chord with this passage: "Don't apologize because you feel your food is lacking. If you do that, you just take away the pleasure of others. In my experience, this can be a hard lesson to learn, yet I feel it's the most important one, and one I'm still learning." I know I do this - I demand so much of myself especially when we have guests over. While cooking brings me happiness and I know I'm pretty good at it, I feel the need to apologize if I think something is a little off. As cooks we love to nurture and take care of people, there is no need to downgrade our efforts and their enjoyment with self-sabatoging remarks.

Thanks to Deborah and Ten Speed for sharing this show stopper flan with our readers. Be sure to head to our contest page to enter our giveaway for three copies of In My Kitchen.
 

CHARD  AND  SAFFRON  FLAN
 
1 pound chard (enough leaves to make 8 cups, minus the stems)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 hefty spring onion, quartered lengthwise and diced into small pieces (enough to make about a cup), or 1 medium onion, finely diced
1 plump garlic clove, pounded in a mortar or finely minced Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs
A big pinch of saffron threads soaked in 1 tablespoon near-boiling water
1 1⁄2 cups cream or 3⁄4 cup half-and-half
mixed with 3⁄4 cup ricotta
 Grated zest of 1 lemon
1⁄4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Butter
About 1⁄2 cup almonds, ground or finely chopped  almonds
3 tablespoons pine nuts or slivered almonds
The Spring Greens
Several handfuls of greens and herbs (see page 88)
Sea salt Olive oil
Lemon juice or vinegar 
 
Heat the oven to 375°F. Tear or chop the chard into pieces, then wash and drain the pieces, but do not dry them. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide skillet and add the onion. Move it around the pan to cook for about a minute, then add the chard with the water clinging to its leaves. Sprinkle over 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and cook, turning the leaves occasionally, until they're soft, about 8 to 10 minutes for later-season chard, which can be tough, less for more tender leaves. Turn off the heat. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
 
Beat the eggs in a bowl, then stir in the saffron water (plus threads), cream, lemon zest, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir in the chard and season with pepper.
To finish, butter a 4-cup gratin dish, then dust the bottom and sides of the dish with the finely chopped almonds. Pour in the filling and scatter the pine nuts or almonds over the surface. Bake until the flan is golden and set, about 30 minutes.

TO MAKE THE SALAD Tear the herbs into large pieces and keep the more salady greens larger. Toss them with salt, just enough olive oil to coat lightly, and a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to sharpen the flavors.
 
Put the dressed spring greens on individual plates and spoon the flan carefully over or next to them. The heat of the flan will wilt them a bit and bring out their aromas.

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