It's hard to imagine my slack-jawed, open-appetite ecstasy from the photograph, but I promise that my first visit to the Moosewood Restaurant was nothing short of spiritual. I had an artichoke and potato-with-thyme and cheese confection that had so many layers of taste it felt like three meals, and then, when I was close to death from happiness, was presented with the dessert menu. Bosc pears poached in red wine sauce with black pepper, cloves, lemon and cream? Yes, please. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if you though the cookbook could change your life, please, bite into their food. Hurrah for local produce, hurrah for vegetarians, and a hip-hip-hurrah for the concept of dessert with black pepper's subtle bite, which only made the local-dairy-whipped cream float sweeter on the palate.
