N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 5 9 photos by meaghaN maurice; food by claire z. cramer LOST AND FOUND Chef Erin French’s restaurant in Freedom is the stuff of legend since it’s all but impos- sible to get a reservation. No matter now, thanks to the book. Her motto is to “learn to trust your instincts…and if all else fails, remember that there are few ailments that butter and salt can’t cure.” French’s ability to find magic in the sim- plest ingredients shines in these recipes. Take Waldorf Salad. You think of the retro- cafeteria sugary mess of apples and mayo. Forget that. French starts you off making your own candied, oven-toasted walnuts, which you sprinkle with flaky Maldon sea salt as they come hot out of the oven. While they cool, you toss cubed ap- ples–pick something crisp and local–with sliced fresh fennel, sliced celery stalks, lem- on juice, and zest. Stir in a modest dab of mayo, parsley leaves, and the cooled nuts. Garnish with fennel fronds, celery leaves, perhaps a few torn pink radicchio leaves, et voilà, a sophisticated autumn salad. I also try my hand at “Roasted Buttercup Squash Cups,” which are made decadent with a spoonful of butter in each quartered squash cup during roasting. Her garnish of Maine autumn slaw is created by cutting crisp apples into matchsticks and dress- ing them in a rice-wine vinegar and shallot vinaigrette that’s laced with thyme leaves and maple syrup. Sounds simple, tastes ex- otic. Put little heaps of this slaw on a few arugula leaves in each warm squash quar- ter and arrange on a platter. I found myself imagining these cre- ations as alternative side dishes at a Thanksgiving dinner. THE DYNASTY Camden native Nancy Harmon Jenkins is a food and cookbook writer with few peers. Her cookbooks include The Essen- tial Mediterranean, The Flavors of Tuscany, and The Flavors of Puglia. She splits each year between homes in Camden and Tusca- ny. Nancy’s daughter, Sara Jenkins, has al- so lived, written, and cooked in Italy. She is the chef/owner of the Porsena and Porchet- ta restaurants in New York City; in Rock- port, her baby is Nina June. “Bastions of all that is good: simplicity, freshness, and har- mony,” is how Chef Mario Batali describes the Jenkinses. lthough The Four Seasons of Pas- ta is overwhelmingly Italian in tone, dedicated to Mita Anto- lini, Sara’s “adopted grandmother” in Ita- ly, you’ll nevertheless find pasta recipes that call for sturdy Maine autumn produce, in- cluding brussels sprouts, chard, cauliflower, and winter squash. “I think Maine and Tus- cany share an austere and frugal approach to cooking,” Sara says. I opt for “Pasta with Crumbled Sau- sage, Sage, and Winter Squash.” This is su- preme comfort food. Using freshly made Italian sausage from Portland’s Otherside Deli; sage from the garden; and local on- ions, garlic, and coarsely chopped pieces of peeled squash–any “hard winter squash” will do–I saute as directed until the squash is tender and pieces start to fall apart. Just as the pasta finishes boiling, I add a scoop of pasta cooking water to the sauce before draining the pasta and putting it in a serv- ing bowl, topping it with the sauce, and showering it with a blizzard of grated par- migiana-reggiano. Talk about Sunday night supper–this is what you want when the nights draw in. n “I think Maine and Tuscany share an austere and frugal approach to cooking.” –Sara Jenkins From left to right: Roasted Buttercup Squash Cups fromThe Lost Kitchen; Queen of Smyrna Squash Soup from Full Moon Suppers; Lost Kitchen’s Waldorf Salad; and fixings for pasta with crumbled sausage,sage,and winter squash from Four Season’s of Pasta.