The Cartoon Kitchen: Turnips Anna
This week's Cartoon Kitchen features Serious Eats' cartoonist in residence Larry Gonick's spin on turnips. —Ed Levine

This week's Cartoon Kitchen features Serious Eats' cartoonist in residence Larry Gonick's spin on turnips. —Ed Levine

It wasn’t until recently that I realized the term "risotto" could be applied to all sorts of dishes that didn’t have an ounce of rice involved. It’s a liberating idea in theory, but one I haven’t really followed through with in practice. Although I never thought turnips would be the gateway, we actually picked this recipe because of the turnips, not the risotto tag. The fiancée and I just came to the conclusion that we probably hadn’t ever bought turnips before. It was about time.
Halfway through preparing this recipe, I predicted disaster. It didn’t smell that wonderful, and all that oil looked excessive. The resulting dish was a tad heavy, but I suppose that all rice-based risottos are, too. Luscious, warming, and filling probably give a better description. It's yet another Mario Batali recipe that seems a little too simple until it hits the plate.
This week's Cook the Book entry, How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons, is all about where the foods in the produce aisle come from, when they're at their best, and how to pick a prime example of whatever it is you're in the market for. Today's recipe (or should I say, "this evening's recipe," as it's a little later than usual) again gives you something to look forward to, since, like yesterday's winter greens entry, it stars an ingredient that usually rolls around in winter—turnips. This Turnip and Potato Gratin makes good use of the root vegetables, so be sure to bookmark it for later. The recipe follows after the jump, but first a couple of tips from Parsons.