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giveaway: easy, cozy recipes from beekman 1802

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IAM SIMMERING A POT OF ONION SOUP as I type, thanks to a reminder from “The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook” about how simple, delicious and suited to the season it is. Broccoli-Cheddar Soup may be next (not sure I can resist!) and then there’s a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Apple Soup, too. Oh, dear; I haven’t even gotten beyond the fall chapter and I’m already over the limit of what the freezer will hold the leftovers of. Want the onion soup recipe—and a chance to win one of three copies of this new cookbook that I’ve bought to share?

I paid a visit this summer to historic Beekman 1802, the rural residence of my ex-Martha Stewart colleague Brent Ridge and his partner Josh Kilmer-Purcell, also known as “The Fabulous Beekman Boys” from the Planet Green reality show and from the popular memoir “The Bucolic Plague” that Josh published last year about their city-to-country transition.

For the Beekman Boys’ latest project (do they ever stop?), the cookbook team included another old friend, Sandy Gluck, former food editor of Martha’s “Everyday Food” magazine and one of the smartest cooks I know. The result: a happy combination of fresh-from-the-garden ingredients, including many heirlooms, that Brent and Josh grow at their Sharon Springs, New York, farm or purchase nearby, combined into well-written, practical recipes that invite me to try them. No crazy-long lists of ingredients; no daunting step-by-steps, thank you.

“The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook” has me busy harvesting not just recipes but also flavor ideas. I wouldn’t have thought to fold tangy leaves of sorrel into my mashed potatoes, or to weave mushrooms and kale into my ramekins of crumb-topped mac and cheese. Fried green tomatoes get extra-crunchy with panko bread crumbs instead of cornmeal; pears poached in red wine and sugar gain an extra kick from cinnamon, peppercorns, allspice, and vanilla bean.

It’s also a cookbook that invites personalization, with space left on each recipe page for writing in notes (“Practice your handwriting,” suggests Brent) and bound-in envelope-like folders to tuck your own recipes into.

All I can say is good thing it’s not June, or I’d be face-down in the Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble instead of sharing this recipe with you.

Cheese Toast-Topped Onion Soup

From ‘The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook’

beekman 1802 onion soup

Serves 8

It always seems that the first thing to come out of the root cellar each autumn (even though they’ve been hanging for only a few weeks) is a bundle of onions for a slowly cooked pot of onion soup–the perfect herald to the season. This richly flavored soup—with sweet, golden onions, red wine, and just a touch of sherry—is made even more irresistible with a topping of country bread and melted cheese.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ½ pounds large yellow onions, halved, peeled, and thinly sliced (8 cups)
4 sprigs fresh thyme or 6 teaspoon dried
¾ cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry
6 cups homemade chicken stock or reduced-sodium canned broth*
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 slices crusty country bread
¼ pound Gruyère-style cheese, thinly sliced

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and thyme, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until golden bro wn, about 25 minutes.

Stir in the red wine and sherry, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes to concentrate the flavors.

Preheat the broiler.

Divide the soup among 8 soup bowls. Cut each slice of bread in half and place on a baking sheet or broiler pan. Top with the cheese. Broil the cheese toasts 4 to 6 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Place 2 slices in each bowl of soup.

(*I’m using homemade vegetable stock in place of the chicken.)

More, More, More

  • Visit the Beekman1802 website
  • Shop for “The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook” or “The Bucolic Plague”

How to Win 1 of 3 Cookbooks

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO QUALIFY TO WIN one of three copies of “The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook” I bought to share is comment below, offering up an example of a recipe you’d call one of your own “heirlooms.” (You don’t have to post the whole recipe, but just describe it a bit–up to you.) Is there a recipe you’re known for, that friends and family want when they visit you?

Don’t worry if you’re feeling shy. I’ll count your comment even if you just say , “I want to win” or some such. I’m pretty easy.

Winners will be chosen at random, using the number-generating tool on random [dot] org, after entries close at midnight Thursday. October 20. Good luck to all.

Credits: Recipes and images reprinted with permission from “The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook” © 2011 by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by © Paulette Tavormina. Also: A portion of anything you might buy from an Amazon link here results in a small commission, which I use to buy more books for future giveaways.

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437 comments
October 14, 2011

comments

  1. Nancy Bartko says

    October 23, 2011 at 7:52 am

    Apple Pie or Tom and Jerry ( a nice home made egg nog, MMm)

    Reply
  2. Gee Gee Swing says

    October 24, 2011 at 10:33 pm

    Please, please I need to get back to the mind-set of 1802…..!

    Reply
  3. Ramona says

    October 26, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Creamed peas – Use honey and carnation milk, butter to taste and thicken with flour and use one half can liquid from peas – Easy dish to make and everyone will
    want seconds!

    Reply
  4. Karina says

    October 26, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    I make my mother’s quince jam. Today I bought some quinces at the Union Sq. in NYC market the recipe.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  5. Nanette Breer says

    October 26, 2011 at 12:43 pm

    I would love to win, and my secret ingredient in chocolate icing is 1/3 cup cold coffee, yummy in the tummy!

    Reply
  6. Daisy Marshall says

    October 30, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    Dear Margaret, I know this is over, I got some great recipes and always always enjoy the comments. I am hoping you have done well during the recent surprise weather and haven’t beem affected by a power outage. Some halloween treat! Will look to get news in the blog. Hope all is well! My best. Daisy Marshall.

    Reply
  7. Debby Carrico says

    November 1, 2011 at 11:31 pm

    My Grandmother Behymer made a pumpkin pie using a secret liquor which makes it a touch more bitey and most of my family will not eat any other pumpkin pie. I have been making it since I was nearly married and my sons ask for it every year. It also calls for Durkee pumpkin pie spice which we haven’t been able to find.It is extra good with that particular blend. If you could see how many cookbooks we have in the family, but a heirloom cookbook would be extra special. My Mother just died and I could use some extra incentive to cook. Thanks for your wonderful blogs. I always look forward to each one though you are North of me in Cincinnati Oh. Debby Carrico

    Reply
  8. Joanne Drown says

    November 6, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    I love French Onion soup but I am only one – I usually order it out. I would love to win the cook book.

    Reply
  9. Holly M. Rider-Milkovich says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:02 am

    One of my “heirloom” recipes is simply chard, garlic, onion and chickpeas sauteed and tossed with pasta, olive oil, black pepper and crumbles of goat cheese. So good every time! it is even good with who;le grain pasta that normally I turn my nose up at. Delicious nearly instant dinner. Goes well over couscous or polenta too!

    Reply
  10. Cathy says

    February 14, 2013 at 1:58 am

    I’d love to have theis cookbook, but wondering about the dates, and if this offer is still, or again, being offered..????

    Reply
  11. Sally Knudsen says

    August 6, 2013 at 10:25 am

    Count me in

    Reply
  12. Donna Sidmore says

    September 16, 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Count Me In.

    Reply
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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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