BOOKS Literature on our favorite topics- food, farms, and cuisine.
Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers
by Dan Leader
Dan Leader, of Bread Alone Bakery in Boiceville, has learned much in the years since he opened his bakery in the Catskills. The operation has expanded and flourished, but Leader has stayed true to his mission to produce traditional, organic, hearth-baked breads. His first book, Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands (William Morrow, 1993, $28), was a primer on the basics of real bread making and an account of his travels in France. With his new book, Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers (Norton, 2007, $35 hardcover) Leader takes us on a tour of the dozens of artisan bakers in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic who have been his teachers in the years before and since he opened what is now one of the best-known bakeries in New York. A testament to Leader's conviction that the best breads "have a unique character found only in a particular region, town or in some cases a single bakery," the book guides the reader through recipes for breads that are singular to a region, everything from Parisian daily bread to soulful German farmhouse rye and Roman-style white pizza. All the tips, anecdotes and techniques Leader picked up in his travels that are related to each unique loaf are there, too.
How to Pick a Peach
by Russ Parsons
We're lucky in the Hudson Valley, particularly during harvest season, to be surrounded by farms and markets producing a wide array of fresh fruits and vegetables, but even here it can be hard to know just what to look for. In How to Pick a Peach (Houghton Mifflin, 2007, $27 hardcover), Russ Parsons tackles the issue of "freshness," detailing how everything from growing techniques to transportation and even marketing strategies can affect that first, expectation-filled bite of a "fresh" fruit or vegetable, and what consumers can do to get it right. Parsons guides consumers through storage and selection of dozens of fruits and vegetables, supplemented by bits of history, a good dose of wit and humor, and most importantly, plenty of simple, seasonal recipes.
Vegetables
by The Culinary Institute of America
With more than 170 recipes each, two new books celebrating vegetables in all their colorful, versatile beauty have hit the shelves just in time for summer and the start of the harvest season. In Serving up the Harvest (Storey, 2007, $16.95 paperback), Andrea Chesman guides us through the seasons, vegetable by vegetable. More than 30 types of vegetables-from peas to Jerusalem artichokes-are covered, each with kitchen notes and several recipes. A "Master Recipe" section features techniques that can be applied to vegetables throughout the year, as well as notes on pantry staples like oils, vinegars, and condiments. Vegetables (Lebhar-Friedman, 2007, $40 hardcover), the latest instructional book from a team of chef-instructors at the Culinary Institute of America, includes dozens of color photographs and illustrated step-by-step techniques.
The Farmer and the Grill
by Shannon Hayes
Shannon Hayes, of Sapbush Hollow Farm, in Schoharie County, is fast becoming the authority on how to select, prepare and serve grass-fed meats. Her first book, The Grass-fed Gourmet Cookbook, covered indoor preparations of grass-fed beef, lamb, pork and chicken, keeping it to the oven and the stovetop. Now, with The Farmer and the Grill (Left to Write Press, 2007, $17.95 paperback), she takes the same cuts of grass-fed meat outside, to the flames, embers and smoke of the grill. Hayes did her research on the farm, and by traveling to eight countries, including Argentina, France and Switzerland, to study traditional techniques for barbecuing, grilling and smoking meat. The book includes dozens of recipes for everything from a porterhouse to a whole chicken, and plenty of sauces, rubs and marinades to flavor things up.
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ARTICLES Magazine and internet literature on our favorite topics- food, farms, and cuisine.
A study released Monday called "The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources", conducted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), found that an over-reliance on some breeds of livestock imported from the United States and Europe, including the high-milk-yielding Holstein-Friesian cows, egg-laying White Leghorn chickens, and fast-growing large white pigs, is causing the loss of at least one indigenous livestock breed a month. Full article...
