Lynbrook resident Polly Talbott's new cookbook features time-tested recipes

After more than two decades of teaching Long Islanders how to cook, Lynbrook resident Polly Talbott has compiled her most trusted recipes and time-tested techniques in a cookbook.

“Recipes, Menus and Memories from a Cooking School” is both a handbook and a time capsule — a culmination of 25 years at the helm of A La Carte Cooking School, which she opened in 1999.

“I kept saying I had to write a book,” Talbott, in her 70s, said. “Once I closed my business, I realized everybody really needs this book.”

The book features about 100 pages of simple, ‘approachable’ recipes, from shrimp scampi to salmon over creamed spinach, aimed at home cooks who want to get dinner on the table without sacrificing flavor or presentation. Each recipe has been tested hundreds of times in the classroom, Talbott said.

She had the idea to open A La Carte during her career as a food stylist for commercial photo shoots in New York. Clients often peppered her with questions about her work, and she realized there was a demand for recreational cooking classes. At the time, most cooking schools in the area catered to professionals, not home cooks. A La Carte offered courses to adults and children in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Karen Nash, a Lynbrook resident who took a five-class series with Talbott in 2006, said the experience gave her and her husband lasting kitchen confidence.

“We had a great time,” Nash recalled. “We still make the black bean quesadillas we learned there. And the knife skills — I use those every day.”

Talbott said that knife skills, mise en place — the French term for prepping all ingredients before cooking — and sautéing are foundational to most of her recipes. She often teaches with dishes that build on those techniques, like chicken piccata, which introduces students to pan sauces and deglazing.

“If you can teach someone mise en place, they’ll love cooking,” she said. “It’s like a dance.”

The recipes reflect not only her cooking skills, but also decades of family traditions, classroom favorites and community connections.

“My son flipped through it and said, ‘Oh yeah, I remember all these,’” Talbott said. “If nothing else, it’s for my family.”

Her teaching career has taken on new life with her latest venture, Home Plate — a national mentorship program designed to teach culinary professionals how to lead cooking classes of their own. The book now serves as an originating text for the project.

“She’s so knowledgeable,” Erika Vega, a client of Talbott’s from Lynbrook, said. Vega said she recently visited Talbott’s home for a class after their relationship evolved from previous classes.

Talbott continues to teach private cooking classes, and is active in the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce. Mentorship and food education, she said, are central to her work.

“I’ve had such a great career,” she said. “Playing with food, sharing it, and being around people — I feel really lucky.”

“Recipes, Menus and Memories from a Cooking School” is available now on Amazon’s website.

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Baked salmon over a bed of creamed spinach, inspired by a Paris bistro dish, became a signature recipe at Polly Talbott’s cooking school

I had something like this in Paris in a Bistro. When I came home, one of my chefs helped me develop this recipe.  It has become an all-time favorite, both in the school and at home.  I love making this for company. You can make this in individual gratin dishes or in one large dish.  Either way, I’m sure you’ll love it! In a class, someone accidentally put the Provençal sauce on before baking … no problem … that worked, too. Make the spinach and sauce ahead, then just pop the salmon on and bake it when you’re ready. Don’t overcook the salmon … it should be slightly mushy inside.

Makes 6 servings

Creamed Spinach:

2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and stemmed

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour*

2 cups milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper (used in all 3 sections)

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

Salmon:

2 pounds salmon fillet, cut into 6 servings, rinsed and patted dry

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (used for sauce as well)

Provençal Sauce:

1 small clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced*

1.     Preheat oven to 400° F.  Place spinach in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook, covered, in the water clinging to the leaves, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove to a colander, rinse quickly, and press out as much water as possible.  Finely chop, set aside.

2.     In a 2-quart saucepan heat the butter and whisk in the flour* until smooth.  Whisk in the milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in ½ teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, nutmeg and cloves; stir in spinach.

3.     Brush salmon with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.     Divide creamed spinach among 6 buttered gratin dishes.  Nestle a salmon fillet in each.  Bake for 15 minutes or until salmon flakes easily on the top but is still slightly mushy inside.  

5.     Meanwhile, mash minced garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt on a cutting board to puree garlic.  Combine mashed garlic, tomato and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; stir to combine.  Garnish each serving of salmon with chopped tomato after it is baked.

*To peel and dice a tomato:

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cut an “X” in the bottom skin (not the stem end) of each tomato.  Drop into the boiling water for about fifteen seconds.  Remove them with a slotted spoon and “shock” them by plunging them into a bowl of ice water.  Remove and peel; the skins should pull off easily. Cut out the stem end and halve them “with the equator”.  Squeeze tomato and pull out the seeds with your fingers.  Flatten them slightly and dice into about ¼-inch pieces.

*To bake in one dish: To bake in a large ceramic baking dish, spread the spinach mixture on the bottom of the dish, place the salmon portions, not touching, on top of the spinach; bake as stated in the recipe. Spoon tomatoes on top to serve.