Stone Soup Cottage: A Vignette of Seasonal Recipes is the first cookbook written by Carl and Nancy McConnell of Stone Soup Cottage. Like many cookbooks these days, it’s divided into seasons, but the McConnell’s take their book a step further by splitting each season into three six-course tasting menus.
For example, one menu looks like this:
First Course:
Roasted butternut squash soup with maple and brie cheese croquette
Second Course:
Seared foie gras with cranberry compote, black sesame tuile and autumn greens
Third Course:
Sauteed skate wing with lemon and capers
Fourth Course:
Fried sage and sweet potato tartlet
Fifth Course:
Smoked beef short ribs with anise au jus Sixth Course:
Petite apple tarte tatin
Sounds good to me.
Then there’s the photography: artful and delicious. Admittedly the photos are shot by Sauce contributing photographer Carmen Troesser … so I guess it’s safe to say we like her work.
While this dish didn’t have a photo to accompany it, I chose to make the Fresh Fennel and Clementine Salad which turned out citrusy and super-clean. The dressing called for orange juice concentrate which I’ve never used in a dressing before, but I will in the future. 
On its own, the concentrate is obviously over the top with orange flavor and sugar, but with the addition of shallots, vinegar and water, it completely mellows and has great flavor. This ingredient is definitely one to keep in my back pocket for future use.
I think the recipe was a success, but it lacked a few small details. For example, the recipe says to slice the fennel paper thin but doesn’t offer a suggestion as to how. Mandoline? Food processor? By hand? It also calls for segmented clementines, but I wasn’t sure if the McConnell’s meant to supreme them instead.
Fresh Fennel and Clementine Salad
Serves 4
For the salad:
1 small fennel bulb, peeled and sliced paper thin
2 clementine oranges, segmented
1 handful arugula leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Honey for drizzling
For the vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. shallots, minced
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. water
3 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• First, make the vinaigrette. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
• Dress the fennel and oranges with the vinaigrette.
• Drizzle the arugula greens with honey. Sprinkle the arugula with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the fennel and oranges.
Had a chance to visit Stone Soup Cottage? If you have, what’s the most memorable dish you tried? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Stone Soup Cottage: A Vignette of Seasonal Recipes. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Cherie whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of European Tarts: Pastries Like a Pro; Divinely Doable Desserts with Little or No Baking. Cherie, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in February 2013.
