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Modern Country Cooking: Kitchen Skills and Seasonal Recipes from Salt Water Farm
Go back to the basics in the kitchen and rediscover the joy of cooking with simple tools and fresh local and seasonal ingredients. A complete guide to the essentials of home cooking from the popular cooking school at Maine's Salt Water Farm.
Good cooking has nothing to do with fancy equipment, complicated recipes, or trendy, hard-to-find ingredients. The fundamentals are really quite it's about instinct, technique, and freshness. Annemarie Ahearn, dubbed by Food & Wine Magazine as someone "changing the way America eats," believes that developing these essential skills can lead to a greater sense of confidence and fulfillment in the kitchen. Her 1) Grow at least some of your own food to establish a deeper connection with the earth that provides your nutrition, 2) Be familiar with a range of cooking techniques so you can develop flexibility and intuition in the kitchen, and 3) Master the age-old cooking skills that will serve you your whole lifetime--cooking in cast iron, sharpening knives, and using a mortar and pestle. With these classic skills under your belt, and with 75 tried-and-true seasonal recipes, you'll be on your way to putting consistently delicious, satisfying meals on the table every day while you learn to fall in love with the process.
Good cooking has nothing to do with fancy equipment, complicated recipes, or trendy, hard-to-find ingredients. The fundamentals are really quite it's about instinct, technique, and freshness. Annemarie Ahearn, dubbed by Food & Wine Magazine as someone "changing the way America eats," believes that developing these essential skills can lead to a greater sense of confidence and fulfillment in the kitchen. Her 1) Grow at least some of your own food to establish a deeper connection with the earth that provides your nutrition, 2) Be familiar with a range of cooking techniques so you can develop flexibility and intuition in the kitchen, and 3) Master the age-old cooking skills that will serve you your whole lifetime--cooking in cast iron, sharpening knives, and using a mortar and pestle. With these classic skills under your belt, and with 75 tried-and-true seasonal recipes, you'll be on your way to putting consistently delicious, satisfying meals on the table every day while you learn to fall in love with the process.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published April 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 7, 2019
!! NOW AVAILABLE !!
The author, Annemarie Ahern, has become fairly well known over the last several years in New England. Her first cookbook was Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm: Recipes From Land and Sea” and if you were local, you’d likely recognize the name of her Cooking School, Salt Water Farm. The focus is on making and eating food that is fresh, local, and seasonal, and (of course) delicious.
This is almost a back-to-basics kind of focus on cooking, rather than on the latest gadgets, a large portion of her cooking is done in a cast iron skillet using basic ingredients, and her recipes are uncomplicated and use basic, fresh, local, seasonal foods. Hopefully some homegrown vegetables or herbs, seasonings, allowing you to feel a deeper connection to the food you prepare, the earth it came from, or the sea that provides for us, as well.
Organized by month, each month having a collection of recipes based on what is seasonably available, along with a philosophy that there really isn’t any one “right way” inside the kitchen. Sometimes, perhaps, an easier way, or a different way, just not one and only one “right way,” along with a belief that ”we all have an inherent ability to cook.”
”Think of the first section of this book as the introduction to a Salt Water Farm cooking class – a briefing on our mission in the kitchen and helpful tips to successfully execute the recipes here.”
This begins with a section called The Fundamentals including a Country-Cooking Manifesto beginning with a paragraph titled, simply, “Keep it Simple,” followed by “Be Resourceful,” “Employ Economy in the Kitchen,” “Trust Your Senses,” “Country-Cooking Tools” which includes holding, using knives, and sharpening them, “Cooking in Cast Iron,” “Mortar and Pestle,” “Mandoline,” ”Tongs,” “Chinois and Cambro”… and more. Essentially, everything you need to know, or learn if you don’t already know. The next section is ”Sourcing and Storing Food” and is a mixture of common cooking sense advice organized into sections similar to the first, and followed by ”On Fowl, Meat, and Seafood” with its own sections, then ”Cooking vegetables, Beans, and Eggs” Working With Flour and “Welcome Them In” which is about setting the mood for the meal you’ve put your heart and soul into creating for family, friends, or perhaps just you.
The photographs in this cookbook are really stunning and make a pretty spectacular incentive to make some of these delicious sounding recipes. Some recipes are for things I’ve never heard of, but that look and sound delicious. I already have chosen many that I want to try now that the holidays are drawing near. I’m looking forward to buying a physical copy once this is available.
Pub Date: 21 Apr 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Roost Books via NetGalley
The author, Annemarie Ahern, has become fairly well known over the last several years in New England. Her first cookbook was Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm: Recipes From Land and Sea” and if you were local, you’d likely recognize the name of her Cooking School, Salt Water Farm. The focus is on making and eating food that is fresh, local, and seasonal, and (of course) delicious.
This is almost a back-to-basics kind of focus on cooking, rather than on the latest gadgets, a large portion of her cooking is done in a cast iron skillet using basic ingredients, and her recipes are uncomplicated and use basic, fresh, local, seasonal foods. Hopefully some homegrown vegetables or herbs, seasonings, allowing you to feel a deeper connection to the food you prepare, the earth it came from, or the sea that provides for us, as well.
Organized by month, each month having a collection of recipes based on what is seasonably available, along with a philosophy that there really isn’t any one “right way” inside the kitchen. Sometimes, perhaps, an easier way, or a different way, just not one and only one “right way,” along with a belief that ”we all have an inherent ability to cook.”
”Think of the first section of this book as the introduction to a Salt Water Farm cooking class – a briefing on our mission in the kitchen and helpful tips to successfully execute the recipes here.”
This begins with a section called The Fundamentals including a Country-Cooking Manifesto beginning with a paragraph titled, simply, “Keep it Simple,” followed by “Be Resourceful,” “Employ Economy in the Kitchen,” “Trust Your Senses,” “Country-Cooking Tools” which includes holding, using knives, and sharpening them, “Cooking in Cast Iron,” “Mortar and Pestle,” “Mandoline,” ”Tongs,” “Chinois and Cambro”… and more. Essentially, everything you need to know, or learn if you don’t already know. The next section is ”Sourcing and Storing Food” and is a mixture of common cooking sense advice organized into sections similar to the first, and followed by ”On Fowl, Meat, and Seafood” with its own sections, then ”Cooking vegetables, Beans, and Eggs” Working With Flour and “Welcome Them In” which is about setting the mood for the meal you’ve put your heart and soul into creating for family, friends, or perhaps just you.
The photographs in this cookbook are really stunning and make a pretty spectacular incentive to make some of these delicious sounding recipes. Some recipes are for things I’ve never heard of, but that look and sound delicious. I already have chosen many that I want to try now that the holidays are drawing near. I’m looking forward to buying a physical copy once this is available.
Pub Date: 21 Apr 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Roost Books via NetGalley
February 13, 2020
I love the layout of Modern Country Cooking.
Ahearn gives us a great intro, explaining her take on the subject of country cooking and her manifesto: keep it simple, be resourceful, employ economy, and trust your senses.
She offers up fundamentals like how to sharpen knives, cook in cast iron, and gives readers a list of essential ingredients.
She provides tips on sourcing/storing a variety of foods.
Readers are given instructions on purchasing/preparing fowl, meat, and seafood.
There are several explanations/methods listed for cooking vegetables, beans, and eggs.
I loved the in-depth detail for working with flour -everything from making pasta and baking bread- to the strategies and alternatives.
Then we're given a chapter for each month of the year that includes about 7 recipes each and contains seasonal ingredients.
There are many familiar recipes (french onion soup, pasta carbonara) and several that are inspired by Ahearn's coastal Maine home.
Most ingredients are relatively easy to find and some are pantry staples, the biggest problem will be for cooks who don't live in a location that can offer fresh seafood.
Overall, this is beautifully written with excellent photographs and a pleasing layout though I didn't find many memorable recipes. I'd definitely use this book more for the information and instruction Ahearn provides on food prep.
Thanks to Roost Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Modern Country Cooking: Kitchen Skills and Seasonal Recipes from Salt Water Farm is scheduled for release on April 21, 2020.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Ahearn gives us a great intro, explaining her take on the subject of country cooking and her manifesto: keep it simple, be resourceful, employ economy, and trust your senses.
She offers up fundamentals like how to sharpen knives, cook in cast iron, and gives readers a list of essential ingredients.
She provides tips on sourcing/storing a variety of foods.
Readers are given instructions on purchasing/preparing fowl, meat, and seafood.
There are several explanations/methods listed for cooking vegetables, beans, and eggs.
I loved the in-depth detail for working with flour -everything from making pasta and baking bread- to the strategies and alternatives.
Then we're given a chapter for each month of the year that includes about 7 recipes each and contains seasonal ingredients.
There are many familiar recipes (french onion soup, pasta carbonara) and several that are inspired by Ahearn's coastal Maine home.
Most ingredients are relatively easy to find and some are pantry staples, the biggest problem will be for cooks who don't live in a location that can offer fresh seafood.
Overall, this is beautifully written with excellent photographs and a pleasing layout though I didn't find many memorable recipes. I'd definitely use this book more for the information and instruction Ahearn provides on food prep.
Thanks to Roost Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Modern Country Cooking: Kitchen Skills and Seasonal Recipes from Salt Water Farm is scheduled for release on April 21, 2020.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
October 31, 2019
Many people are going to love this cookbook, which more than anything sells a fantasy of what it's like to live on the coast of Maine on a perfect coastal country property with a perfect husband, perfect friends and family, perfect baby daughter who waits patiently to nurse because at three months old she understands there are important things you must do first (really, this was written about what it's like in November at her farm first thing in the morning), perfect garden, and so on. The author, who trained in great culinary schools and kitchens, vacations for months every year in Mexico and says "I spent my early 20's in Paris" (well of course she did), teaches you how to be a great chef by using copious amounts of heavy cream, butter, bacon, white flour, fresh seafood and fresh-from-your-organic garden vegetables.
This was an oddly emotional cookbook for me to read, because Maine was one of many states I lived in as a child and I have very painful memories of my time there. Ahearn's incredibly over-the-top writing about how idyllic it is contrasted sharply to my memories, though I'm sure it's far more idyllic in the place of privilege she writes from.
Every month starts with two pages of descriptions of what life is like for Ahearn during that month. She focuses on the Maine weather, household and farm tasks, and what her family is doing, plus what types of foods she cooks. Here is an excerpt from September about what she says new motherhood was like for her:
"In my hazy memory of the first few weeks of her life, it was warm and sunny every day and we lay on a blanket under the apple tree in our back yard cooing at our sweet new child, who mostly slept and nursed. Friends came by to visit with baskets of ripe peaches, bowls of heirloom tomatoes and fairytale eggplants, fresh cheeses from the farmers' market, beautiful breads made with local grains, and hearty greens tied up like bouquets. One neighbor delivered a gorgeous salad Nicoise with imported canned tuna, and another neighbor brought a chicken stew made with a host of late-season vegetables from their farm. A dear friend (in fact, the woman who married my husband and me) came over to cook an entire Peruvian feast for the two (well, three) of us, making us feel like new-parent royalty. The house was filled with vases of sunflowers and dahlias, and a warm breeze moved through the rooms from morning until evening. Dinnertime was a sacred time, when I cooked up all the beautiful ingredients that were delivered to our doorstep, with the baby bound to my chest, the two of us listening to summertime jazz or soulful blues."
Apparently in Ahearn's world, nobody ever has food allergies or health issues and almost nobody is vegetarian (forget about vegan), though she does say she has one vegetarian friend and resists the urge to put chicken stock in the dish she makes for her. If you start to get too fat you cut down on all the heavy cream you add, but not too much. You cook with white flour, as long as it's really expensive white flour from some local mill. You spend a small fortune on groceries (except in late summer when your garden is so full that you never need to go to the grocery store) and occasionally cook with chicken thighs when you've blown your budget. Bluebirds fly around your head as you cook.
These are good recipes. They're fancy but pretty easy to do. Expect to spend a lot of money if you want to eat like this, and also expect to gain a lot of weight and perhaps develop some health conditions. It will be easier to cook these dishes if you have access to things like freshly foraged mushrooms, razorback clams you've just dug up on the beach and live lobster (no, you won't be killing it humanely, in case you wondered).
Photos are provided for about 1/3 or 1/4 of the recipes, though sometimes they are artistic photos of ingredients rather than the finished recipe. Nutritional information is not provided. In total, there are about 6-8 recipes per month. Examples of the dishes are beet gratin, cassoulet, smoked haddock, congee with poached chicken and ginger, bangers and mash, lemony ice cream and sour cherry clafoutis. Ahearn also provides an extensive primer of basic cooking skills at the start of the book.
Ultimately, it's pretty obvious that I didn't really enjoy this book but as a cookbook it is a fairly good one, thus the 3 star rating. I suspect that some folks will absolutely adore this book as it does an excellent job of transporting you to a fantasy that some are likely to enjoy. It also will teach you how to cook conventional upscale food well.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
This was an oddly emotional cookbook for me to read, because Maine was one of many states I lived in as a child and I have very painful memories of my time there. Ahearn's incredibly over-the-top writing about how idyllic it is contrasted sharply to my memories, though I'm sure it's far more idyllic in the place of privilege she writes from.
Every month starts with two pages of descriptions of what life is like for Ahearn during that month. She focuses on the Maine weather, household and farm tasks, and what her family is doing, plus what types of foods she cooks. Here is an excerpt from September about what she says new motherhood was like for her:
"In my hazy memory of the first few weeks of her life, it was warm and sunny every day and we lay on a blanket under the apple tree in our back yard cooing at our sweet new child, who mostly slept and nursed. Friends came by to visit with baskets of ripe peaches, bowls of heirloom tomatoes and fairytale eggplants, fresh cheeses from the farmers' market, beautiful breads made with local grains, and hearty greens tied up like bouquets. One neighbor delivered a gorgeous salad Nicoise with imported canned tuna, and another neighbor brought a chicken stew made with a host of late-season vegetables from their farm. A dear friend (in fact, the woman who married my husband and me) came over to cook an entire Peruvian feast for the two (well, three) of us, making us feel like new-parent royalty. The house was filled with vases of sunflowers and dahlias, and a warm breeze moved through the rooms from morning until evening. Dinnertime was a sacred time, when I cooked up all the beautiful ingredients that were delivered to our doorstep, with the baby bound to my chest, the two of us listening to summertime jazz or soulful blues."
Apparently in Ahearn's world, nobody ever has food allergies or health issues and almost nobody is vegetarian (forget about vegan), though she does say she has one vegetarian friend and resists the urge to put chicken stock in the dish she makes for her. If you start to get too fat you cut down on all the heavy cream you add, but not too much. You cook with white flour, as long as it's really expensive white flour from some local mill. You spend a small fortune on groceries (except in late summer when your garden is so full that you never need to go to the grocery store) and occasionally cook with chicken thighs when you've blown your budget. Bluebirds fly around your head as you cook.
These are good recipes. They're fancy but pretty easy to do. Expect to spend a lot of money if you want to eat like this, and also expect to gain a lot of weight and perhaps develop some health conditions. It will be easier to cook these dishes if you have access to things like freshly foraged mushrooms, razorback clams you've just dug up on the beach and live lobster (no, you won't be killing it humanely, in case you wondered).
Photos are provided for about 1/3 or 1/4 of the recipes, though sometimes they are artistic photos of ingredients rather than the finished recipe. Nutritional information is not provided. In total, there are about 6-8 recipes per month. Examples of the dishes are beet gratin, cassoulet, smoked haddock, congee with poached chicken and ginger, bangers and mash, lemony ice cream and sour cherry clafoutis. Ahearn also provides an extensive primer of basic cooking skills at the start of the book.
Ultimately, it's pretty obvious that I didn't really enjoy this book but as a cookbook it is a fairly good one, thus the 3 star rating. I suspect that some folks will absolutely adore this book as it does an excellent job of transporting you to a fantasy that some are likely to enjoy. It also will teach you how to cook conventional upscale food well.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
December 5, 2019
If this book doesn't have you trying to book a trip to Maine immediately, color me surprised. With lush photos of recipes, a great introduction to the farm, and tips and tricks - this book is sure to satisfy your Farm-to-Table itch. Broken up into recipes by month, the recipes aren't overcomplicated or ostentatious. They're simple, beautiful, and elevated.
One thing I love about the book, and the ethos of Salt Water Farm in general, is their leaning towards less of a dependency on strict recipes, and more of what you can do with the day's harvest. Resourcefulness, tweaking things to make them work for you, and working with what you've got are definitely on this menu. Can't wait to talk my mother into taking a trip for a cooking class at SWF!
One thing I love about the book, and the ethos of Salt Water Farm in general, is their leaning towards less of a dependency on strict recipes, and more of what you can do with the day's harvest. Resourcefulness, tweaking things to make them work for you, and working with what you've got are definitely on this menu. Can't wait to talk my mother into taking a trip for a cooking class at SWF!
October 21, 2019
This is a great resource for sure. I really enjoy Ms. Ahearn's philosophies and styles in her cooking approach; keeping it simple and being resourceful. I have to admit that there's a lot of information/text for me to process (that's just me), yet I know it keeps me referring back to the text. The photos and beautiful simplicity of the book made me realize it was more than just a collection of recipes. I'd love to take her cooking classes, but until that happens, this book will do :)
May 5, 2020
I love the layout of Modern Country Cooking by Annemarie Ahearn.
Ahearn gives us a great intro, explaining her take on the subject of country cooking (which is not what you think). Her credo is to keep it simple, be resourceful, employ economy, make do and trust your senses. I love the fact that when making a dish you should do so with the intention of leftovers.
In the first portion of the book the author offers up fundamentals: like how to shop at a farmer’s market, storing fresh ingredients, how to dry herbs, working with flour, sharp knives and cooking in cast iron.
This book is broken up into twelve months so that you can cook with seasonal ingredients. Every month starts with two pages of descriptions of what life is like for Ahearn during that month. She focuses on the Maine weather, household and farm tasks, and what her family is doing, plus what types of foods she cooks. There are about 7 recipes each and contains seasonal ingredients. There are only a few recipes that familiar. Most of the recipes are unusual and are inspired by pantry staples, having a good sized garden and shopping fresh ingredients all of which take place at her coastal Maine home.
Overall, this is beautifully written with gorgeous photographs and a logical layout. I am sorry to say that I didn't find any memorable recipes. However, I would use this book more for the information and instruction Ahearn provides on food prep (she runs a cooking school).
Thanks to Roost Books, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Ahearn gives us a great intro, explaining her take on the subject of country cooking (which is not what you think). Her credo is to keep it simple, be resourceful, employ economy, make do and trust your senses. I love the fact that when making a dish you should do so with the intention of leftovers.
In the first portion of the book the author offers up fundamentals: like how to shop at a farmer’s market, storing fresh ingredients, how to dry herbs, working with flour, sharp knives and cooking in cast iron.
This book is broken up into twelve months so that you can cook with seasonal ingredients. Every month starts with two pages of descriptions of what life is like for Ahearn during that month. She focuses on the Maine weather, household and farm tasks, and what her family is doing, plus what types of foods she cooks. There are about 7 recipes each and contains seasonal ingredients. There are only a few recipes that familiar. Most of the recipes are unusual and are inspired by pantry staples, having a good sized garden and shopping fresh ingredients all of which take place at her coastal Maine home.
Overall, this is beautifully written with gorgeous photographs and a logical layout. I am sorry to say that I didn't find any memorable recipes. However, I would use this book more for the information and instruction Ahearn provides on food prep (she runs a cooking school).
Thanks to Roost Books, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
April 8, 2020
I received a copy through NetGalley for Review.
The best thing about Modern Country Cooking, is her intro's into nearly everything you could come across from cooking. While at first looks daunting, her way of explaining, all the ways and knowledge she's gathered over the years on everything to browning meat, to proper biscuits, handling different types of eggs, cake hacks, greens- you name it. Was really the best part of the entire book. She makes it so simple to understand everything about cooking that seems terrifying.
The recipes themselves, I found kind of not as accessible. Quite a few of the ingredients are not things a normal cook has access too. Many of them are not designed for weekly cooking, or quick night time cooking. They would require steps to be made days or hours before.
Much of it was too complicated for me to make.
I had higher hopes for this one. It just didn't quite work for me.
The best thing about Modern Country Cooking, is her intro's into nearly everything you could come across from cooking. While at first looks daunting, her way of explaining, all the ways and knowledge she's gathered over the years on everything to browning meat, to proper biscuits, handling different types of eggs, cake hacks, greens- you name it. Was really the best part of the entire book. She makes it so simple to understand everything about cooking that seems terrifying.
The recipes themselves, I found kind of not as accessible. Quite a few of the ingredients are not things a normal cook has access too. Many of them are not designed for weekly cooking, or quick night time cooking. They would require steps to be made days or hours before.
Much of it was too complicated for me to make.
I had higher hopes for this one. It just didn't quite work for me.
April 20, 2021
In this pandemic, I read cookbooks as voraciously as I consume fiction and nonfiction. I happen to appreciate this cookbook for its organization of seasonality, specifically each month of the year featuring vegetables that would be available and proteins, spices and herbs a cook could find in the supermarket if not online to make the recipes more global rather than Northern European. What I especially like about the book's organization is the mini handbook of fundamentals preceding the recipes: country-cooking tools, essential pantry ingredients, basic culinary techniques, sourcing and storing food, a chapter on fowl, meat and seafood, a chapter on cooking vegetables, beans, and eggs, working with flour, and hosting guests for dinner parties. And mostly I love the author's ethos of economical cooking and improvising so that no food goes to waste. The recipes are accessible and interspersed with charming photographs of Saltwater Farm in Lincolnville, Maine.
November 26, 2019
This book was received as an ARC from Roost Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
I am a huge fan of simplistic cooking and I love the approach Annemarie Ahearn takes with Modern Country Cooking in giving a back story on why these dishes mean so much to her. I also love the pictures she displayed for most of the dishes and I can not wait to try the Meatballs in tomato sauce with Spinach and The Scallop Aguachile. Both pictures look so delicious and read easy to make and I know this will impress a lot of people. We will definitely consider this book as a candidate for a future cooking demo.
We will consider adding this title to our Cooking collection at our library. This is why we give this book 5 stars.
I am a huge fan of simplistic cooking and I love the approach Annemarie Ahearn takes with Modern Country Cooking in giving a back story on why these dishes mean so much to her. I also love the pictures she displayed for most of the dishes and I can not wait to try the Meatballs in tomato sauce with Spinach and The Scallop Aguachile. Both pictures look so delicious and read easy to make and I know this will impress a lot of people. We will definitely consider this book as a candidate for a future cooking demo.
We will consider adding this title to our Cooking collection at our library. This is why we give this book 5 stars.
December 6, 2019
Modern Country Cooking is a beautiful project made with love and attention to the details. Beautiful photography captures the eye but the writing really pulls you in and takes you through the year at the farm.
Excellent tip for pantry and entertaining blend with seasonal menu options to provide a nature's bounty for special meals. Recipes take advantage of ingredients that are at their peak of flavor. The farm takes these from their garden. Some of the coastal ingredients maybe hard to find for land locked Mid-westerners but would be worth the effort.
Collector's of cookbooks will find this a must buy. I can think of no better way to spend an evening with a hot cup of tea, an afghan and this book, de-stressing after a long day at work.
Excellent tip for pantry and entertaining blend with seasonal menu options to provide a nature's bounty for special meals. Recipes take advantage of ingredients that are at their peak of flavor. The farm takes these from their garden. Some of the coastal ingredients maybe hard to find for land locked Mid-westerners but would be worth the effort.
Collector's of cookbooks will find this a must buy. I can think of no better way to spend an evening with a hot cup of tea, an afghan and this book, de-stressing after a long day at work.
December 29, 2019
This book was received as an ARC from Roost Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
I really enjoyed reading Modern Country Cooking. I love cooking, but at times feel like many recipes are overwhelming. Annemarie Aheam has done an amazing job with simplifying recipes and providing excellent instructions and pictures to go along with recipe. I also like her stories as to why she chose certain recipes and the connection that she has to it.
I really enjoyed reading Modern Country Cooking. I love cooking, but at times feel like many recipes are overwhelming. Annemarie Aheam has done an amazing job with simplifying recipes and providing excellent instructions and pictures to go along with recipe. I also like her stories as to why she chose certain recipes and the connection that she has to it.
March 25, 2020
Modern Country Cooking by Annemarie Ahearn starts off with some great cooking tips along with how to pick and shore certain ingredients. Ahearn says that simple is best an the rest of the book is divided up by month with a few recipes to go along with ingredients that would be in season during that time. The book has some mouth watering recipes for me but I wouldn’t be able to make most of them for my boring palette family but I will make some and eat leftovers for myself (no sharing).
I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
March 19, 2020
A lovely (if more aspirational than practical for many) cookbook. The first quarter or so goes through various ingredients and techniques, which was very helpful. The rest is broken up month by month into seasonal recipes and aesthetically pleasing pictures. Very nice but not something I plan on incorporating into my kitchen/library.
Thanks to NetGalley for free eARC in exchange for honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley for free eARC in exchange for honest review.
April 18, 2020
This was such a wonderful book! I absolutely loved it! I will be using it over and over again to cook delicious food. Every single recipe that I tried was a hit with my family but more than that it's given me a new outlook and confidence in the kitchen. The photos are stunning, heartwarming and I wish there were many more. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to cook!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
October 10, 2019
I read this cookbook straight through and even though some of the recipes seem a little fancy for my family, I learned a lot reading the instructions and the authors explanation of different ways of doing things, and ingredients. This is a cookbook I would recommend just for that if nothing else. Well written and the photos were amazing
February 5, 2026
I found this book at goodwill and, though I have never read a cookbook cover to cover, the quality of the paper that it was printed on, the gorgeous photos, and the seasonal descriptions of life at her farm caught my eye. I doubt I’ll ever cook anything out of this cookbook, but I enjoyed reading it, nonetheless.
April 1, 2020
Such a great way to go back to fine tuning the basics of cooking! Loved the down home feel of the meals! Certainly will incorporate quite a few of these delicious looking meals into my meal planning and recipe box! Thanks NetGalley for my ARC of this great cookbook!
November 28, 2020
Some of these recipes are a bit fancy for me but now I want to go to Maine!
The best thing I learned was that bulk beans in the store are not as good as beans from Rancho Gordo! Can't wait to order some beans and taste the difference.
The best thing I learned was that bulk beans in the store are not as good as beans from Rancho Gordo! Can't wait to order some beans and taste the difference.
November 1, 2019
I was a little disappointed this read more along the lines of a memoir than a cookbook. It was still rather interesting.
January 30, 2020
It's a beautiful cookbook but not of use for me, since we do not have a lot of the ingredients available to us since we do not live near the ocean.
February 20, 2020
Really lovely book. Maine is my favorite place. Beautiful setup, pictures (though more would have been better). The pasta section was my favorite. Can't wait to try some of these recipes.
February 25, 2020
A great simple country recipes cook book, that still uses basic home cooking skills. I can't wait to try out some of theses recipes soon. Thanks for the ideas and inspiration.
September 30, 2020
A mix of attainable and too-far-teaching-for-the-average-home-cook. Evocative of Maine, which is lovely.
February 22, 2020
This is a back to basics kind of cookbook which is great for anyone starting out with cooking or looking to return to simpler, scaled back recipes.
It includes many classic recipes although I feel more photographs of the dishes would have been nice.
I would happily recommend this book.
I recieved an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
It includes many classic recipes although I feel more photographs of the dishes would have been nice.
I would happily recommend this book.
I recieved an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
October 21, 2019
Love the photos and Annemarie's story, but unfortunately I thought I was getting a cookbook not a memoir/biography or insight into her process. It was very informative though. Would still recommend. Just not what I was looking for. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review your book.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews