Locals know that Dean Carlson, a former Wall Street trader, left the rat-race to restore the formerly foreclosed Wyebrook Farm, which under his guidance has become a mecca for locavores in search of the very finest seasonal dishes. Wyebrook continues to dazzle diners with superb—and sustainably raised—beef, pork, lamb, goat and chicken, and now Carlson is sharing some of his secrets in the new cookbook Field & Feast: Sublime Food from a Brave New Farm (Burgess Lea Press), which includes 100 recipes.
The cookbook, co-authored with Ian Knauer and Andrew Wood and accentuated by stunning photography, includes chapters like “Pork: The Other Read Meat,” “Beef: Pasture Perfect Flavor,” “Lamb & Goat: The New Old Tastes” and “Chicken: Healthier, Tastier Birds.” Recipes run the gamut from simple roast lamb sandwiches with tahini and pickled onions to blueberry-dulce de leche gratins. The book also offers chapters dedicated to seasonal menus, including a “Farm Feast Menu for Spring” with recipes for pork loin with ramp butter, sugar snaps and pea shoots.
Throughout, Carlson shares his butcher’s wisdom and provides insight into why and how he created Wyebrook as an alternative to the industrial food supply. “It’s an old idea that’s new again because it makes sense for our health and the health of our planet,” writes Carlson. “My goal was not just to build a sustainable farm, but to create a welcoming space where the community could gather, eat and buy their food locally.”
To celebrate the recent release of the cookbook, Wyebrook is hosting a special dinner and book signing with Chef Knauer on Friday, April 22, starting at 7 p.m. The five-course menu will include:
First Course: Beef Heart and Radish Tartar
Second Course: Braised Beef Tongue Maltachen
Third Course: Foraged Watercress, Local Hickory Nuts, Cheese Salad
Fourth Course: Roasted Pork Loin with Ramps and Turnip, Carrot Puree
Fifth Course: Vanilla Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Syrup
The dinner, $100 per person plus tax and gratuity, will take place at the Wyebrook Farmhouse. To save your space, call (610) 942-7481 ext. 4 or email Lisa at [email protected].
As with all Burgess Lea Press books, 100% of the after-tax profits of Field & Feast will be donated to a food-related cause. Carlson has earmarked his proceeds to benefit Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, whose mission is to create a healthy and sustainable food system.
- Photography: by Guy Ambrosino reprinted with the permission of Burgess Lea Press
