Home Cooked: Essential Recipes for a New Way to Cook

Sustainable slow-food notable Fernald, CEO of the Belcampo meat empire, shows how she carries out her global mission in her own kitchen. Over 100 recipes with “a distinctly old world sensibility and cadence” show cooks how to incorporate “hyperlocal base ingredients” into the family table. Fernald offers earthy, rustic fare typical of farmers in Italy, where cucina povera (tradition incorporating humble ingredients as the basis of something special) dominates. Living and cooking with small farmers, who are artisan food producers in their own right, inspires dishes such as sage and caramelized onion-filled chickpea torte, “Bird and Bunny Ragu” with a vinegar-spiked tomato sauce, and beef involtini with ham and provolone. Balancing out recipes for foundation sauces and broths are snacks, starters, cocktails, and desserts. Essays feature techniques for bringing out the best in ingredients, cooking in cast iron, tips for entertaining, and selecting and preparing the perfect steak. Fernald’s approach advances the importance of celebration, traditional ways of food and farm, and viable food production techniques. (Apr.)