Edible Brooklyn: The Cookbook

by Rachel Wharton (Compiler)

Overview

Brooklyn, New York, is a down-to-earth, unsnobby feast for foodies--and Edible Brooklyn Cookbook captures that same fun vibe. It features unpretentious recipes from local artisans, chefs, and ordinary folk who celebrate Brooklyn's finest ingredients. And, like the borough's eclectic population--which includes Italian, Asian, Polish, Mexican, Russian, you name it--you never know what you'll find when you turn the page. After all, when was the last time you saw a cookbook with chapters for small plates and snacks and sandwiches, vegetables, pickles, and sides?

Part travel guide, part recipe collection, part great read, this volume is the first in a series of four Edible cookbooks--and it offers a deliciously up close and personal view of one of American's most exciting food fests.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402785542
Publisher:	Sterling Epicure
Publication date:	10/04/2011
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	1,154,938
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Edible Communities, Inc. is a publishing and information services company that creates editorially rich, community-based, local-foods publications in distinct culinary regions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Through their publications, supporting websites, and events, they connect consumers with family farmers, growers, chefs, and food artisans of all kinds.

Rachel Wharton has lived in Brooklyn for 11 years and is the deputy editor of both Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan. She holds a master's degree in Food Studies from New York University, and she won a 2010 James Beard Foundation journalism award for her columns on iconic restaurants in Edible Brooklyn, while her profile of Russ & Daughters in Edible Manhattan was included in the book 2010 Best Food Writing.

Editorial Reviews

By focusing on local foods, Edible Communities has stealthily grown into a national media venture. With an array of print and online magazines, blogs and podcasts, it covers the regional eats scene from Boston to Seattle. This cookbook is the first in a series due from Sterling that aims to "celebrate those areas where Edible magazines exist." It does so here by employing crowd-sourcing, pulling in recipes not only from neighborhood chefs and restaurant owners but from the foodie neighbors who do the eating. Thus NPR radio personality John Schaefer's offering of chili con carne is nestled between a recipe for Trinidadian buljol, a ceviche-like dish from beekeeper Gemma Garcia, and a cheddar, pepperoni, and egg quesadilla sandwich, provided by John Stiers, cofounder of the Brooklyn Winery. This is surely not your grandfather's Brooklyn. In this new frontier of culinary hipsters surrounded by food co-ops and green markets galore, there is not a meatball to be found, and when the talk turns to pizza, the shining example is not Grimaldi's but Franny's, a small farm-sourced restaurant in the Prospect Heights sections of the borough. Wharton does go old school briefly, in presenting six variations of the Brooklyn cocktail that span the years 1883 to 1945—though trend setters might prefer the white Manhattan, which calls for moonshine produced at one of three micro-distilleries currently operating in Williamsburg. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Through a wide variety of unique and delicious recipes, editor Wharton draws a blueprint of Brooklyn's storied locavore food culture.

Anyone who regularly picks up Edible magazine knows what they're going to find: profiles of culinary trailblazers, articles about innovative food ideas and techniques and recipes that stress local, organic ingredients and a bold DIY philosophy. This title, the first in a series that will feature different cities, admirably furthers this noble endeavor. Nearly 100 people from all aspects of Brooklyn's food culture were asked to contribute a favorite recipe, among them legendary restaurateurs, founders of CSAs and the farmers who supply them, rooftop gardeners and home picklers. The book is organized into five sections—small plates, finger food, mains, light suppers and soups and drinks and desserts—and each recipe is accompanied by a brief profile of the contributor and the inspiration behind the dish. There are also tips on cooking techniques and where to find the best ingredients and equipment. Peppered throughout the recipes are intriguing full-page profiles on subjects that deserve extra attention: Ian Cheney, who has a farm in the bed of his pickup truck; Brooklyn Brewery, which single-handedly revived the rich brewing culture of Brooklyn; and The Brooklyn Kitchen, a paradise for foodies in Brooklyn and beyond.

Clearly most valuable to those lucky enough to benefit from its local food knowledge firsthand, but will also inspire out-of-town foodies to book the next flight to JFK.

Kirkus Reviews