"everyday food magazine" news and stories

Farmers Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Photo: Michael Hnatov.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, gorgeous photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season. Here's how they got their start!

One evening last winter we sat down to dinner in a little pied-a-terre on the Upper East Side of Manhattan: Beef roast braised with rosemary and onions; pureed celery root and parsnips; crackling-fresh sautéed green beans. For dessert it was goat milk cheesecake with elderberry coulis. We washed the whole thing down with bottles of hard apple cider.

Had we ordered in -- stereotypical Manhattanites -- from the overpriced local gourmet grocery? Nope. Everything we consumed we had raised, herded, grown, plucked, cultivated, canned and cooked all by ourselves.

Could any other of the millions of inhabitants of New York City make that same claim that night? How about anyone else in the United States? OK, probably a couple, but for us, this was a meal just about 40 years in the making.

A photo of the farm and the rest of the introduction, after the jump.

Amazon.com

'Everyday Food: Great Food Fast'
From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living
Clarkson Potter -- 2007
Buy it on Amazon

Launched in 2003, "Everyday Food" was designed for home cooks who didn't have a lot of time on their hands to make elaborate weeknight dinners but did have a desire to make high-quality, satisfying meals.

The diminutive magazine, which was put out by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, gained a devoted following thanks to its practical recipes, approachable ingredient lists and low-fuss food that yielded great flavor.

"Everyday Food," the cookbook, offers these same qualities, with 250 recipes that put both the seasons of the year and multiple variations on favorite foods front and center.

See what we tested and whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

I love the Everyday Food magazine (a Martha Stewart Living publication) for its easy recipe ideas. I represent busy parents who still want to cook healthful, tasty meals here on Slashfood, and I am always open to fast, easy cooking ideas.

Recently I made a recipe using country-style pork ribs and collard greens roasted together, and it came out great. I was skeptical. Roasting collards at 475º for almost an hour? Would they be toast? I know collards stand up to lengthy stewing on the stove, but in the oven?

They turned out beautifully. The ribs were tender and flavorful, and the greens were perfectly cooked in the pork juices. The extra shot of vinegar at the end of cooking gave the greens a tangy kick.

The thing I loved best about recipe? It cooks all in the same pan. Not only was this recipe a hit with me, but with my children as well, and really, that's what it's all about when you have a family to feed.