The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food (2024)

The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food (1)

Ian Knauer

4.22162ratings15reviews

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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 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.

    GenresCookbooksCookingFoodNonfictionGardening

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2012

About the author

Ian Knauer

5books2followers

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Community Reviews

4.22

162ratings15reviews

5 stars

72 (44%)

4 stars

58 (35%)

3 stars

28 (17%)

2 stars

4 (2%)

1 star

0 (0%)

Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

Carol Johnson

43 reviews1 follower

January 25, 2013

This is a beautiful book with great photographs. I borrowed it from the Library and read it while riding the subway. The woman sitting next to me couldn't keep her eyes off the book and finally asked me for the title. We ended up discussing possible meals on the ride home.

The recipes are arranged by season. The book did make me want to plan a vegetable garden.

I rated it with 4 stars because there were many recipes I would not make--groundhog cacciatore anyone?
I tried the meatloaf (very good) favored with prunes! I also tried the spinach walnut lasagna, also quite good.
The chipotle twice-baked potatoes were also a hit.

If you are looking for a new cookbook with some adventurous recipes, give it a try.

    cook-books

Heidi

471 reviews6 followers

March 31, 2014

More than just a cookbook, The Farm is an homage to Knauer's grandfather and the property that has been in their family for generations. Knauer was a food editor at Gourmet, and he wrote a very memorable article on ordering a goat from a halal butcher. It *almost* made me want to try goat. I was pleased to read more from him.

I want to cook every recipe in this book, with a few exceptions: I don't think I'll ever buy and roast a whole pig, and I'll probably skip the beer-braised chicken. Even those recipes, though, are straightforward and simple. Not necessarily quick and easy, but if you take the time to source good ingredients, even if they're not fresh from your garden, you'll very likely end up with something delicious.

Now if I can just get the Man to like smoked paprika...

    food-cooking

Rhonda

118 reviews

June 16, 2020

Ian writes about farming, family, and food like a poet. The handful of recipes I've tried so far have been great.

I really recommend this cookbook.

Naomi

4,720 reviews143 followers

May 26, 2012

There were a large number of recipes in this book which I could see myself making. However, there were a huge chunk of recipes which I felt the ingredients would be difficult to find. I also would have liked to have seen more pictures of finished dishes in the book. The photography of the landscape was beautiful and I loved the stories even more, but felt the pictures of the finished dishes would have been more practical, esp for a novice cook.

Kristina

402 reviews

March 1, 2014

I read this cookbook cover to cover. I enjoyed his stories of visiting the family farm as a child to the present where his cousins are now keeping the farm alive with a huge garden. A lot of his recipes have traditional PA Dutch roots with a little twist, and using lots of fresh produce from the garden.

    cookbooks-art-books

Jennifer

7 reviews

October 6, 2014

The book, filled with lovely stories, pictures and anecdotes, sometimes feels more like a journal or letter than it does a cookbook. I enjoyed the way the book transitioned from one season to the next. Seemingly simple and beautiful recipes ready for the tasting.

    finished

Kim

824 reviews62 followers

December 28, 2012

Great recipes and essays, well worth reading. Reminds me of my grandparents' Victory Garden, which was a miraculous place!

    cookery

Susan O'brien

83 reviews1 follower

August 3, 2012

Wonderful recipes (and quite a few that this Pennsylvania Dutch girl grew up with) and lovely photos. I plan on making a couple of recipes. I may even try to make Hard Cider.

Renée

78 reviews74 followers

October 15, 2012

Good enough I should own it... already tried the refrigerator radish pickles with several more recipes I'd like to flag...

    cookbooks

Brian

42 reviews4 followers

November 19, 2012

Fascinating stories woven in of Ian's family farm with recipes that are modern, yet use much of the goodness of the farm.

    food to_buy

Elizabeth

51 reviews15 followers

February 10, 2013

Beautiful story and delicious sounding recipes. It made me want to grow a large garden.

    cookbooks

Beka

2,705 reviews

March 22, 2018

Nothing inspired me, though the pictures are nice.

    cookbooks

Ginnie Grant

580 reviews7 followers

July 29, 2014

Beautiful photos, good healthy recipes with fresh seasonal ingredients and easy to understand recipes

Maureen Flatley

680 reviews37 followers

October 16, 2014

A shiny little gem of a cook book!

lisa

1,583 reviews

January 23, 2013

Yummy recipe for chicken marinated with honey

    cookbooks-to-keep-in-mind

Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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