Maine Lobster & Wild Mushrooms with Cider Brown Butter and Celery Root

Chosen by Eric Warnstedt of Hen of The Wood in Waterbury, Vermont

Serves 4

2 lobsters weighing 600g, cooked and cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces

225g of mushrooms, torn into small pieces

5 tbsp of brown butter

2 cups of cider

1 tbsp spoon cider vinegar

450g of celery root

2 tbsp spoon of butter

1 lemon

1 tbsp of julienne parsley

Method: In a small saucepan, reduce cider and vinegar until syrupy and add to the brown butter. Cook celery root in salted water till tender. Drain and puree with the butter in a food processor and keep warm near the oven. In a large saute pan on high heat, add a pat of butter and some blended oil along with mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and sear on one side before tossing. Cook until all mushrooms look "dry" and finish with the diced shallot and parsley. Turn off the heat. Add cider-brown butter and the lobster to the mushrooms and finish with the lemon. Combine all. In warm bowls divide the puree and top with mushrooms and lobster and butter sauce.

Broccoli Rabe Philly Style

Chosen by Richard Landau and Kate Jacoby of Vedge Restaurant. Recipe from Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking, published by The Experiment

Serves 2 to 4

3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for oiling pan

4 red bell peppers

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 bunches broccoli rabe, bottom 3in of stems removed, leaves and remaining stems chopped into 1in pieces

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp porcini powder

½ cup vegan mayo

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Sliced bread, toasted or grilled (optional)

Method: Preheat the oven to 200C, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Put the peppers on the pan and roast in olive oil for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and peel off the skins remove the seeds and stems, then slice the peppers into thin strips and toss in a small bowl with 1 tbsp of oil, the balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp of the salt, and ½ tsp of the pepper. Set aside.

Blanch the broccoli rabe in the salted boiling water for 4mins. Reserve 2 tbsp of the cooking water. Drain the broccoli rabe, shock in the ice bath for 5mins before draining. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a large saute pan over high heat. When it begins to ripple, add garlic and allow to brown for about 1 minute.

Add the broccoli rabe, ½ tsp of the salt, and ½ tsp of the pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the broccoli rabe wilts and turns a slightly darker shade of green, five to seven minutes, then remove pan from heat. Whisk the porcini powder with the reserved 2 tbsp cooking water in a small bowl. Add the vegan mayo, mustard, and remaining ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper and whisk until creamy. Spread the cream on the bread and top with the broccoli rabe and peppers.

Corn and Mussel Chowder

Chosen by Jody Adams, the James Beard award-winning chef owner of Rialto, Cambridge, MA

Serves 4 as a main course

3 ears of corn, husked

2 large leeks, white and light green parts

1 stalk celery

2 bay leaves

2 chipotle peppers, dried or canned, if using canned, rinse

½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

225g waxy potatoes, cut into ½in pieces

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp chopped garlic (6 medium cloves)

900g cleaned mussels

1½ cups white wine

1 tbsp loosely packed fresh thyme leaves stripped from stem, unchopped–save the stems

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes, about 225g

¼ cup chopped parsley–save the stems

Method: Strip the corn kernels from the cobs. Run the back side of your knife down the cobs. You will have a corn puree. Add that to the kernels then cut each cob into four pieces. Dice the whites of the leeks and slice the green part of the leeks crosswise. Trim off the top and bottom of the celery stalk and set aside.

Peel the remaining stalk, chop into ½in dice. Put the cobs into a pot, along with the leek coins, the end trimmings of celery, the bay leaves, chipotle peppers, crushed fennel seed and the stems of the thyme and parsley if you saved them. Season with salt and pepper, add four cups of water, bring to a boil, then let simmer for 35mins. Strain into a clean pot, remove the chipotles, put into a bowl, and mash with the back of a fork.

Add the potatoes to the strained broth, bring back to a boil and simmer for seven minutes until just tender. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the potatoes to cool in the liquid. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced leeks, the diced celery and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for three minutes to soften the vegetables. Remove the cover and continue cooking until they just start to colour. Add the corn kernels, mussels, wine, thyme leaves and the mashed chipotles. Cover and cook until the mussels just open, 3-5mins. Discard any that don't open.

Transfer the mussels to a rimmed sheet pan. Remove mussels from shells and discard the shells. Remove any remaining beards, but leave any of the corn mixture clinging to the mussels alone. Set the mussels aside. Add the broth with the potatoes to the pan used to cook the mussels. Add the cream and tomatoes and simmer everything for four minutes. Add the mussels and parsley and heat through.