Rhubarb is a strange plant and one that knows no limits, either in its applications or its aggressive growth. If you've got one plant in the backyard you'll quickly find that you've actually got an entire field of the sour stalks and their poisonous leaves. The only reasonable way to control this garden oddball is cooking, and Rhubarb Renaissance by Ann Saling is here for exactly this purpose. There are great standard recipes in this book—spiced rhubarb chutney, sweet rhubarb squares, gingery rhubarb punch—but, like the plants themselves, things quickly get weird and exciting. Bourbon sweet potato puffs flavored with rhubarb, halibut in red wine and rhubarb sauce, garbanzo bean cutlets with rhubarb, something called "Bazaar Noodles" that's like a rhubarby noodle kugel. The way Saling incorporates rhubarb into so many dishes is by starting with a homemade rhubarb sauce, puree, or juice—but there are plenty of dishes that feature fresh whole rhubarb in all its bizarro glory.
