Awesome Farmhouse Album and Music Offers

In 1976, Clark Wolf ran a little cheese shop at the base of Nob Hill in San Francisco; in 1980 he became the manager of the San Francisco branch of the legendary Oakville Grocery While the rest of America was on the verge of a decade of a morbid fear of butterfat, Wolf was looking for a source of local fresh mozzarella and newly devoted to the joys of rice flour-rubbed teleme and four-year-old Wisconsin cheddar. Today, we are all knee-deep in bocconcini and fresh goat cheese, and Wolf is a restaurant and food consultant. But glorious cheese, particularly American cheese, is still his passion.

In American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them, Wolf gives us an in-depth look at the art and craft of cheese across the United States, and documents in words and beautiful black-and-white photographs the story of the talented and committed women and men who create this dairy ambrosia. He shares his expertise (with a touch of attitude) on how cheese is made, how to store it, and how to serve and enjoy it. Dividing the country into sections -- The Northeast and New England, The South, The Middle West, The Wild West -- he explores the cheese-making communities, discussing the kind of cheeses that are specific to each of the four sections of the country and profiling dozens of the most accomplished cheesemakers, from well-known national brands to the creators of small-batch, hand-crafted rarities. Each profile lists the kinds of cheeses available and contact information for producers and farms. At the end of each regional section is a selection of delectable recipes that showcase the best cheese of that area, from A Perfect Pimento Cheese of the American South to Blue Cheese Pralines from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan..
Price: $7.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you dream of Italy -- and who does not? -- be prepared to fall in love with this extraordinary cookbook. Written by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, author of The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food (winner of both the James Beard and Julia Child/IACP Cookbook-of-the-Year Awards), it is every bit the equal of its celebrated predecessor.

Read its exuberant pages, eat its lusty dishes, and you enter a landscape vibrant with rural life. You are one with the terrain. In some sense, you are home. That, of course, is the miracle of Italy -- no matter where we come from, we want to be a part of it. And the miracle of The Italian Country Table is its ability to take us there.

And what a journey! You will never be as impatient to get into your kitchen as when you are planning a meal from this book. Two hundred recipes, personally collected from home cooks throughout the length and breadth of Italy, will keep calling you back.

Who could resist the "Gatto" di Patate, a mashed-potato "lasagne" from the Neapolitan countryside? Or a Tuscan Mountain Supper of warm beans tossed with an herbed tomato sauce and eaten with tart greens? Or Pasta of the Grape Harvest, a Sicilian dish of grapes, red wine, orange zest, spices, pistachios and linguine? Or Chocolate Polenta Pudding Cake?

Kasper, host of Public Radio's The Splendid Table, is a master teacher who thinks about cooking in a way that is radically distinctive. Her chapter on tomatoes and tomato sauces, a treasure by itself, will change the way you think about them -- and cook them -- forever. Her guide to buying and saucing pasta contains more useful facts than many books that devote themselves to pasta exclusively.

Kasper, the grandchild of Italian immigrants, describes herself as someone with a love of lingering "in places where life changes slowly." This personal book abounds with stories of artisans, farmers and family. It is a portrait of Italian country life.

Where you read The Italian Country Table, cook from it or use it to plan a trip (there is an appendix that lists guest farms, country hotels, restaurants and museums), you have only to turn its pages to be transported to a rustic Italy that few of us know, but all of us long for.

* 16 pages of finished dishes in full color
* 50 black-and-white photographs of country life.
Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is a book of creative rural American recipes from a time when the food was wholesome and life was full of fresh air and sunlight The recipes, stories, jokes, advice, farm lore, and illustrations were collected from a wide variety of American agricultural sources from the 1880s to the 1950s..
Price: $2.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Farmhouse Ales defines the results of years of evolution, refinement, of simple rustic ales in modern and historical terms, while guiding today's brewers toward credible--and enjoyable--reproductions of these old world classics .
Price: $10.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $13.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From the New England saltbox to the Pennsylvania Dutch, from the southern colonial to the western ranch, the American farmhouse is an icon of our history and our traditions of hearth and home, an architectural entity in and of itself, as well as a highly coveted retreat for country dwellers. Conveyed throughout Farmhouse: Country Retreats in both images and words are the many qualities that make farmhouses special and the importance and pleasures of preserving and restoring these homes.Evocative images and lively descriptive commentary combine to create a fascinating inside look at what it is like to live in farmhouses across America-for those who are ready to inhabit these one-of-a-kind treasures with their singular histories or for those who are dreaming about it. Interspersed are detailed black and white drawings that reveal how these unique architectural styles originated and developed. In addition, a practical guide to choosing and living in a farmhouse is provided. Featured is a wealth of information about evaluating building elements, including roofs, windows, chimneys, and cellars; upgrading fireplaces and stoves for heat and utilizing porches and verandas for cooling; decorating with complementary and appropriate furnishings and wall coverings; and keeping the integrity and history of the buildings intact. More than two hundred photographs and drawings capture the essence of the American farmhouse in all of its charming, rustic glory..
Price: $21.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In 1959 journalist John Roderick joined the Tokyo bureau of the Associated Press. There, he befriended a Japanese family, the Takishitas After musing offhandedly that he would like to one day have his own house in Japan, the family—unbeknownst to John—set out to grant his wish. They found Roderick a 250-year-old “minka,” or hand-built farmhouse, with a thatched roof and held together entirely by wooden pegs and joinery. It was about to be washed away by flooding and was being offered for only fourteen dollars. Roderick graciously bought the house, but was privately dismayed at the prospect of living in this enormous old relic lacking heating, bathing, plumbing, and proper kitchen facilities. So the minka was dismantled and stored, where Roderick secretly hoped it would stay, as it did for three years. Roderick and a team of experienced carpenters renovated the farmhouse adding features such as floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and a modern kitchen, bath, and toilet.

John Roderick’s architectural memoir Minka tells the compelling and often poignant story of how one man fell in love with the people, culture, and ancient building traditions of Japan, and reminds us all about the importance of craftsmanship and the meaning of place and home in the process.

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Price: $9.80 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From the author of "The Cook's Bible" and the founder, editor, and publisher of "Cook's Illustrated" magazine comes a cookbook filled with thrifty, hearty recipes, as well as drawings that evoke the charm of country life. 100+ line drawings..
Price: $23.36 [Notify me when price goes down.]