The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food - Hardcover

Knauer, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0547516916 ISBN 13: 9780547516912

Publisher: Harvest, 2012

Synopsis

When Ian Knauer was a cook in the Gourmet test kitchen, he quickly became known for recipes so stupendously good that they turned the heads of the country’s top food editors—effortless combinations that made the best of seasonal produce or treats from the Pennsylvania farm that has been in his family since the eighteenth century.

In The Farm, Knauer brings his creations to your kitchen. From Cold-Spring-Night Asparagus Soup to Brick Chicken with Corn and Basil Salad, the 150 recipes in this book will help you make the most of your market, garden, or CSA. They are fresh, modern spins on American classics, with ingredients anyone can obtain. Each one is simple, distinctive, and satisfying, getting the best food to the table in the least amount of time. They are both homey and sophisticated.

You’ll find recipes that incorporate all parts of the vegetable, like Pasta with Radishes and Blue Cheese, which incorporates the radish leaves as well as the root, and spritely Swiss Chard Salad. You’ll learn how to make great food from simple ingredients you have on hand, like Potato Nachos. You’ll discover recipes for less-familiar produce from your market or your backyard, such as Chicken with Garlic Scape Pesto and Dandelion Green Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing.

Many of these recipes have been in Knauer’s family for generations, like Pennsylvania Dutch-Style Green Beans or Cloud Biscuits. You won’t want to miss his expertly tweaked renditions of his mother and grandmother’s desserts: Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, Blueberry Belle Crunch, and Mary’s Lemon Sponge Pie.

Whether you want to learn how to roast a pig, make your own hot sauce, or brew hard cider, The Farm brings artisanal cooking home, even as Knauer’s vivid stories trace a year in the seasons of the farm.

About this title

Review

Sample Recipe from The Farm: Spicy Cilantro Chicken Wings

Serves 4 to 6

Everyone loves chicken wings, that fiery and buttery all-American snack that pairs perfectly with lots and lots of beer. I love adding unexpected flavors to familiar foods, and these wings are a perfect example of why it’s fun to think outside the bottle of Frank’s hot sauce. The chile, lime, garlic, cilantro, and Worcestershire provide a savory-acidic base for the sauce and add many new and wonderful layers of flavor, while the butter coats the wings with a luscious richness.

1/3 cup chopped cilantro stems
1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 hot green chile, such as habanero, serrano, or Thai, chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1-3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
3 pounds chicken wings
About 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
Cilantro leaves

Puree the cilantro stems, lime zest, juice, Worcestershire, chile, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper in a blender until smooth. With the motor running, add the butter, blending until it is incorporated. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl.

Pat the wings dry, then halve them at the joint and season them with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a pot or deep heavy skillet to 400°F. Fry the wings in 2 or 3 batches, turning occasionally, until they are golden and cooked through, about 8 minutes per batch (return the oil to 400°F between batches). As they are cooked, transfer the wings to the bowl with the sauce, tossing them to coat, or serve the sauce on the side for dipping. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the wings to a serving plate and sprinkle with the cilantro leaves. Serve the wings with the remaining sauce on the side.

From the Back Cover

“When Ian was one of Gourmet's cooks, he was unique. He’d show up with the honey from his own hives, an animal he’d hunted, some exotic herb he’d foraged in the field and then weave it all into a dish that was both wonderful and completely personal. He was wedded to the land in a way that seemed both deep and nurturing, and I used to sneak into the kitchen to listen to his tales from the farm. A whole book of Ian recipes—and stories to boot? Pure heaven.” —Ruth Reichl

“The Farm perfectly illustrates how cooking from the garden inspires the menu and excites our appetite. Not only will you want to cook these recipes, you’ll want to buy a farm, or at least start a garden!” — Deborah Madison, author of Local Flavors and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

“This guy can really write and he can really cook; he does both well enough to make you want to share it all with him. You need to own this book.” — John Willoughby, America’s Test Kitchen

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvest
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0547516916
• ISBN 13: 9780547516912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256