At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook Melinda and Robert Blanchard Melinda Blanchard is a home-taught cook, not a trained chef. And that seems to make all the difference, because Blanchard's Restaurant is apparently so remarkable that Caribbean-bound foodies go to Anguilla just to eat there. I've never had the pleasure. But I've been cooking my way through 'At Blanchard's Table,' and with a dab of Coppertone instead of after-shave, I can almost convince myself I've had the Blanchard experience --- the dishes that come out of Mel's kitchen are that easy to reproduce. I'm not the only Blanchard enthusiast here. “I've turned down almost every page,” my wife exclaimed, the night she read 'At Blanchard's Table.' And that is saying something, for she was in The Business, is a Great Cook and a Harsh Critic, and reads cookbooks as if they had plots. Blanchard's recipes are simple and straightforward; she believes in quality ingredients, with very specific spicing. She's considerate; she offers a page of “In a Hurry” suggestions for the harried home cook. And she's budget-minded; she'll suggest a tube of tomato paste rather than a can that you use, store and, when it grows a beard of foam, have to discard. I'm tempted to say she's a great regional cook --- and then I come across a recipe that would work as well in her native Vermont as on Anguilla. Like baguette stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, mascarpone and basil. The preparation is idiot-proof: puree the tomatoes, blend with the other ingredients, stuff into the baguette. And just as you're thinking, “Hmmm…this would be a great spread,” she suggests that you break out the crackers and spread away. Her three-mushroom soup --- porcini, shitake, white --- takes less than half an hour to prepare, but will be remembered by your guests for months.  Her chicken salad with peas, peppers and hummus dressing is a relief from the ubiquitous Cobb salad. Roasted beet salad --- with cranberry vinaigrette and blue cheese --- is a revelation. Her lemon-pepper chicken can be prepared in ten minutes. She actually has some new twists on pasta. The melted onions in balsamic vinegar are astonishing alone or over mashed potatoes.  And how can you not love a cook who names a recipe “very intense chocolate slab with Kahlua custard sauce.” What to feature? Because it's so easy and quick to make, I'll choose… Three-Mushroom Soup serves 8 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 2 cups finely chopped onion 1 pound shitake mushroom caps, sliced 1/8 inch thick 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced 1/8 inch thick 1/2 teaspoon salt generous grinding of black pepper 1 pint heavy cream In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Add the dried mushrooms and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer gently until tender (10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, heat the butter in a stockpot over low heat. Add the onions, cover, and cook over low heat until tender (10-15 minutes). Add the sliced shitakes, white mushrooms, salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, stirring frequently so they don't stick to the pan. Using a slotted spoon, remove the porcini mushrooms from the broth and add them to the other mushrooms. Pour the broth through a fine strainer into the stockpot. Add the cream and heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and serve at once. Oh yes: And holler loudly for me to come to the table. --- by Jesse Kornbluth, for HeadButler.com To buy “At Blanchard's Table” from Amazon.com, click here. Copyright 2006 by Head Butler Inc.