Ay, there's the rhubarb

Since we're in the first week of 2011 that will near 100ºF, it's time to break out the tartness. Head out to the farmers markets and pick up some rhubarb, that delightfully sharp member of the buckwheat family with thick, celery-like stalks. Choose crisp stalks that are bright in hue; the leaves should be fresh and without blemish. Rich in Vitamin A, fresh rhubarb is very perishable and should be refrigerated, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days. Wash and remove the leaves before using since they contain oxalic acid and can be toxic.


I offer here a few different tasty uses for ringing in the heat with rhubarb. Orangette recommends roasting rhubarb with sugar, vanilla, and a crisp white wine. Rhubarb often finds its way into summer-inaugurating crumbles and cobblers, sometimes with brown sugar, often with strawberries. And don't forget the vanilla ice cream. Melissa Clark recently promoted a rhubarb upside-down cake that is now on my to-cook list, and Ken Oringer (of Clio, Coppa, Toro, and Earth fame) just shared his Maine-inspired rhubarb galette. However, nothing compares to my childhood favorite strawberry-rhubarb pie from Bishop's Orchards in Guilford, CT (still an annual treat when in CT). But most intriguing is a stilton cheesecake topped with a rhubarb compote. Yes, rhubarb isn't quite the main ingredient, but how can you turn down stilton cheesecake?