The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farm

A hidden gem tucked into the rolling hills of east Tennessee, Blackberry Farm is consistently heralded as one of the best luxury hotels and resorts in the country. Every day, the outstanding cuisine created in Blackberry's kitchens weaves its spell over guests. Now, The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farmbrings the inn's artisanal food techniques and beloved recipes to every home cook-and along the way, reveals the secrets passed down through the generations in this rich and storied Southern region. Blackberry Farm's deeply authentic farm-to-table food features the bounty of homegrown ingredients and artisanal products such as cheeses, preserves, and cured meats made on the property. Foothills Cuisine arises from the farm's location, where one ridgeline separates the country mountain cooking to their south from the haute cuisine of Knoxville to their north. The resulting dishes blend the wisdom of past residents of the Smoky Mountains with the refined techniques of the new Southern cuisine today. The beauty and flavor of this food originates from the natural rhythms of the farm, reflected in the eight "times," or seasons, that allow cooks to coax the headiest dishes out of what's fresh and best. In Come Grass Time (when the first fragile green shoots appear), you'll find a menu of Skillet Corn Bread, Beans and Greens with Pepper Vinegar, and Peanut Butter Pie. Harvest Time is celebrated with Zucchini Caesar Salad with Singing Brook Cheese Crisp, Rice FlourCrusted Pike, and a simple yet sublime dessert of Vanilla-Roasted Peaches. Four artisanal craft sections will guide you in making your own preserving, canning, and curing classics, such as homemade ricotta or apple butter, fresh pork sausage or home-cured bacon, even transformative twists like Pickled Beets and Strawberries. Filled with stunning photography of the inspired dishes and of the gardens, hills, mountains, creeks, and other beauties of the ten-thousand-acre property, The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farmwill help you bring the spirit of this amazing place into your own home.

Blackberry Farm continues to be named among the top small hotels in the world in publications ranging from Condé Nast Traveler to Travel + Leisure, which named it the number one resort in North America in 2011. Blackberry Farm proprietor SAM BEALL grew up on the property. He worked at the French Laundry, the Ritz-Carlton, Cowgirl Creamery, wineries, farms, and markets before settling in the foothills of Tennessee, where he cooks, raises a family, and oversees the food, wine, and other lifestyle programs of Blackberry Farm.

Introduction
Come Grass Time
Artisanal Craft: Cheesemaking
Planting Time
Artisanal Craft: Gardening
Lay By Time
Harvest Time
Artisanal Craft: Preserving
Putting Up Time
Hog Killin’ Time
Artisanal Craft: Butchery and Charcuterie
Huntin’ Time
Resting Time
Basics
Resources
Acknowledgments