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Cornelia Guest’s Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Jun 13, 2012
Category: Food and Wine

If you want to be taken seriously, you might not want to be a socialite.

Cornelia Cochrane Churchill Guest’s father was Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, an international polo star and a second cousin of Winston Churchill. Her mother, C.Z. Guest, was an avid horsewoman and gardener. They married in Cuba, at the home of Ernest Hemingway, with Hemingway as best man.
 
Cornelia was raised at Templeton, her family’s 15.5-acre estate on Long Island, now on sale for $9.76 million. Think: dogs, gardens, horses, parties, Andy Warhol as dinner guest and pal. And the kiss of death: In 1982, Life Magazine named her ”the debutante of the year.”
 
You may think that beautiful blonde heiresses have it made. I was married to one once, and let me assure you, they don’t. Over the years, Cornelia Guest has been a fixture on the party circuit, an actress, a crusader for animal rights — but not, in any identity, widely regarded by the great unwashed as a serious person.
 
A few years ago, she launched a catering service that specializes in vegan dishes.
 
And now she’s published a vegetarian — no, wait: vegan — cookbook: “Cornelia Guest’s Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining.”
 
It is a massive surprise.
 
I mean, it’s good. Seriously good. Excellent recipes. Short “Notes from my Friends,” who are, it turns out, experts in their fields; they offer smart, pointed advice. And, not least, what Hollywood would call “production value.” [To buy the book from Amazon, click here.] 
 
It’s not the main thing, but in an era where any number of people might like to bring back the guillotine, Cornelia Guest doesn’t pretend to be a commoner. She may offer sensible recipes, but the book is rich in glamour — turn to a photo spread and you might see her food displayed with her father’s trophies. Freeze tomato sauce, she advises. But also: Got silver? Good china? Break it out.
 
For this reader, the Templeton-based photography adds to the book’s appeal. There are, Lord knows, plenty of good-for-you cookbooks that make greens, grains and beans a joyless chore — consider all the recipes for quinoa you’ve avoided over the last year. This one makes you think: Which of these recipes can I serve at… a party?
 
A biographer of Proust had it right: “Even the greatest hostess is forgotten when the last of her guests dies.” But Cornelia Guest has a shot at a long, long run — because, more and more, we are coming to see that her kind of diet is, quite literally, food for life.
 
Some recipes…
 
Asparagus Slaw
 
Serves 6
Total time:55 minutes

3 carrots, grated
1 1⁄2 pounds asparagus, grated
1⁄3 cup chopped fresh mint
1⁄3 cup sliced red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
 
Combine all ingredients and serve.
 
I have a single complaint. In this next recipe, she calls for Earth Balance “butter.” Cornelia Guest does not eat animal products. Fine for her. But that forces her in this ingredient to choose Fake Food over Real Food. If you’d like reasons to avoid this food product, click here and here.   
 
Rigatoni with Asparagus, Artichokes, Lima Beans, and Peas
 
Serves 8
Total Time: 1 hour
 
1 lemon
8 baby artichokes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small sprig fresh rosemary
Sea salt and black pepper
3⁄4 cup lima beans, fresh or frozen
8 medium asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths
1 pound large rigatoni pasta
1 1⁄2 cups shelled fresh English peas or frozen peas, thawed
1⁄2 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
6 tablespoons Earth Balance “butter”
2 cups packed fresh spinach
 
Preheat oven to 375°F.
 
Finely grate 1 teaspoon lemon peel; set aside.
Cut lemon in half. Squeeze 1 lemon half into a bowl of cold water big enough to hold all the artichokes.
Trim the tough outer leaves on each artichoke until only pale green leaves remain. Cut 3⁄4 inch from the tops; trim stems.
Rub all cut surfaces with remaining lemon half to prevent discoloration. Drop artichokes into lemon water and let soak for 3 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
Place artichokes, lemon peel, oil, and rosemary sprig in a 9- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and toss to coat. Cover baking pan tightly with foil and bake until hearts are easily pierced with a small knife, about 15 minutes. Steam will escape when you remove foil from pan, so be careful.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add lima beans and asparagus. Cook until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; drain and transfer vegetables to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain and pat dry. Let stand at room temperature.
Cook rigatoni according to package directions.
Thoroughly combine artichoke mixture and vegetable mixture with peas, tarragon leaves, Earth Balance “butter,” fresh spinach, and rigatoni, and serve right away.
 
 
Chocolate Coconut Squares

Makes 16 2-inch squares
Total time: 25-30 minutes

2 1⁄2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond meal
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1⁄3 cup cacao powder
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin coconut oil
1 cup agave
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 275°F.

Combine oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, and cacao powder in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine coconut oil and agave in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until mixture is hot, not boiling.
Pour syrup over oat mixture and stir until well mixed and cooled slightly. Stir in dairy-free chocolate chips quickly but thoroughly.
Press the mixture into an ungreased 8-by 8-inch pan and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely. Cut into 2-inch squares.