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Robin Mather
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Copyright 2011 by Robin Mather
Illustrations copyright 2011 by Barry Fitzgerald
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of
the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are
registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Mather, Robin.
The feast nearby : how I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my
way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating
locally (all on $40 a week) / Robin Mather.
p. cm.
Includes index.
Summary: A charming ode (with recipes) to eating well and locally, on
$40 per week, from a recently unemployed food-journalism
veteran Provided by publisher.
1. Low budget cooking. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title.
TX652.M2958 2011
641.5'52dc22
2010045085
ISBN 978-1-58008-558-8
Printed in the United States of America
Design by Nancy Austin
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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When my brother and I were very young, my mother would sit us down
on the couch the night before Thanksgiving with a big roasting pan and
a couple of loaves of bread. Earn your keep, shed say, pouring herself
another martini. Our job was to tear the slices of bread into chunky pieces
so it could stale on the counter overnight for her dressing the next day. We
were so proud at dinner, when everyone raved about our dressing. Even the
littlest ones can pitch in to help with preparation. Why deprive them of that
by buying stuffing mix? I prefer to bake the dressing in a separate pan for the
last hour of the turkeys roasting time, rather than putting it in the bird.
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2 loaves rustic white bread,
sliced
1/4
1/ 2
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Add the stale bread, apples, cherries, walnuts, and sage to the bowl; stir to
combine. Moisten the bread mixture with enough chicken broth to get it to
hold together but not be soggy. Transfer the dressing to the prepared casserole and refrigerate if you are not baking immediately.
Bake the dressing, covered, at 350F for 1 hour and then serve.
Pity the poor Brussels sprout. A lot of people who think they dislike sprouts
have only had them overcooked, mushy, and watery. This method has converted a number of my guests, because the high heat of the broiler caramelizes
some of the sprouts sugars, making them toothsome and crisp.
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3 pounds Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt, such as kosher salt
Clean the Brussels sprouts by removing any damaged outer leaves and
trimming away the stem end. Cut them in half from the top to the base.
Put the sprouts in a large bowl. Pour the oil over them, sprinkle with
1 teaspoon salt, and toss to make sure every sprout is dressed in oil. Tumble
the sprouts onto a rimmed baking sheet.
Move an oven rack to its closest position to the broiler and heat the
broiler.
Broil the Brussels sprouts, shaking the pan every couple of minutes, until
they begin to char slightly, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with additional salt to
taste and serve immediately.
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Fall
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