FARMfood: Green Living with Chef Daniel Orr

My wife and I have eaten at Daniel Orr's FARM restaurant a couple of times (it take us over two hours to drive there, so it is always an intentional visit). We have always enjoyed the food and the unique combinations used in the dishes. Having this book has allowed us to duplicate several of our favorites and to make them for our friends. A cousin who lives in Athens, Greece, took a copy of this home with her several months ago and has raved about the recipes she has prepared as well. Fortunately, since we are part of a local CSA and have a good Farmer's Market nearby, we have been able to really get into some of Daniel's more locally-oriented dishes and they have all been a pleasure to make and eat. The spice blends Chef Orr gives recipes for are a lot of fun to use and there are plenty of vegetarian items, too. Once in a while an undefined term has sent me scurrying to figure it out (I had never heard of Frenched chicken breasts, for example, and could not find out what they were until I did several web searches [each breast half gets cut in half and the wing is still attached]). Some of our favorites include the 'World's Best BLT', Hoosier Spoonbread, and Casserole of Chicken with Potatoes, Peppers, and Fresh Oregano.

I attended a cooking demo presented by Daniel Orr at Michigan State University. It was one of the best demos I've seen. His presentation was great and the food was outstanding, so I bought both his cookbooks. This cookbook is beautifully put together (I believe Daniel himself did the photography), and the recipes are unusual and delicious. Daniel's broad culinary experience shows through. He uses several spice blends that add unique character to his dishes. The emphasis is on fresh, local ingredients. The recipe for Golden Soup is really, really good - try it. Bon Appetit!