Is Summerland the best name ever for a cookbook? Maybe. In this country, we go ape for anything related to summer. Now, in the summer, when you think of cookbooks you might just think of Atlanta’s Anne Stiles Quatrano and her beautiful collection of recipes that are “refined yet relaxed’, a celebration of the inimitable style and hospitality of the South.
Despite it’s name, and the gorgeous cover shot of multicoloured heirloom cherry tomatoes, this cookbook celebrates all four seasons.
Summerland is the name of the farm in the foothills of northern Georgia that has been in Quatrano’s family for five generations, and in fact supplies much of the produce for her restaurants. Now a successful restaurateur operating four of Atlanta’s top restaurants, Chef Quatrano has somehow found the time to honour her ancestral homestead by offering us one hundred of her favourite year round recipes.
lobster rolls
The book is cleverly divided into twelve months, starting with September. Each month, or chapter concerns itself with a particular ingredient and or occasion. The first chapter, for example is entitled, “September-From Pasture to Plate-A Celebration of the Pig” In this chapter she includes eight recipes that do in fact celebrate this noble beast, among them a recipe for Head Cheese, Hunter’s Loop Sausage, and Pork Sugo with Pasta.
watermelon radish tea sandwiches
December is “The Holiday Retreat- Our Traditional Menu”, which in the Quatrano family means Broccoli Soup with Sabayon and Shaved Perigord Truffle, Bay Scallops with Bacon Vinaigrette, Standing Rib Roast of Beef, and recipes for slow roasted sweet onions, glazed turnips and greens, Yorshire pudding…you get the idea!
a masked tea party for June
But it’s summer, so this is what we want to look at today. “June- Here comes the Bride- A Masked Tea Party.” Well, we at Fiesta Farms love us a good tea party, and this one tops the list. Here you will find all the ingredients for the Tea Party of the summer. Starting with a sweet tea cocktail to go along with Date Relish and Parmesan on Baguette. Or maybe you prefer Lobster Brioche Rolls, Country Ham and Preserves on Buttermilk biscuits? How about Cucumber and Herbed Goat Cheese Tea Sandwiches and Salt and Pepper-Cured Beef Tenderloin Crostini? I hope you saved room some Peach Semifreddo! Okay, she used Georgia peaches, not bad. But we have our own bragging rights here with succulent Niagara peaches in full glory in just a few weeks.
peach semifreddo
As well as running her four restaurants, a cook’s market, and consulting for other restaurants as well, Chef Quatrano, who has been featured in The New York Times, Southern Living and Bon Appetit and has been named Best New Chef by The James Beard Foundation and Best New Chef by Food and Wine. This book shows why.
And it could be yours!
All you have to do is share your favourite summer dish here in the comments or on twitter and facebook, making sure to use the hashtag #Summerland. We’ll announce the winner on our favourite day of the Canadian summer – Canada Day!