The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook

June 1, 2020
The Bildners present a welcoming paean to the Berkshires, where the husband and wife authors have kept a country home for 35 years. Each recipe is associated with a specific farm, though most were not created by the farmers themselves, who “are often too busy to cook, let alone develop and write recipes.” Dishes range from classics, such as gazpacho, to the more inventive, like a Greek salad pizza topped with Parmesan, feta, olives, and diced cucumber. Interspersed throughout are stories of farms large and small: the 235-acre Berry Patch is pesticide-free, and Cricket Creek grass-fed dairy farm produces seven types of artisanal cheese. The stories make clear that farming is demanding, often not-very-remunerative work: the husband-and-wife team at Hawk Dance Farm made only a few thousand dollars in 2014 (their produce inspired an entry of roasted baby turnips with swiss chard and Dijon). Meat operations are represented with the likes of grilled marinated steak and braised pork shoulder (from the Climbing Tree Farm). Desserts include a cranberry cobbler and a gluten-free kabocha squash cake drizzled with maple syrup butter spiced with black pepper. While there’s little new here, the recipes are solid, and the stories charming.

July 1, 2020

In this debut, chef Elisa Spungen Bildner and entrepreneur Robert Bildner collaborate with Brian Alberg (Main Street Hospitality Group) to present a guide to farms and restaurants in the Berkshires, MA, though the meals can easily be adapted to wherever readers are. Chapters are organized into types of dishes, including breakfast, salads, savory pies, and meats, with recipes drawn from interviews with local chefs and conversations with farmers. Each recipe (e.g., carrot soup with sage and mint, confetti vegetable goat cheese lasagna) includes instructions and a list of ingredients attributed to the original farm or eatery. Interspersed throughout are farm and restaurant profiles and stories the authors uncovered during their research for this book. VERDICT With a conversational tone, this guide will appeal to many home cooks looking for fresh yet comforting ideas for meals. The combination of food history and community stories will have readers feeling as if they, too, have visited the Berkshires.--Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen, Oregon Inst. of Technology, Portland

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.