The Great Blackberry Farm – Part Two: Cookbook Giveaway And Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

I have one copy of The Blackberry Farm Cookbook to give away, and, gosh is it fabulous!!! It's coffee table-pretty with tons of drop-dead gorgeous pictures. It would be a shame, though, if you didn’t give it a real workout in the kitchen. There are so many recipes that I’m excited to try - Blackberry Barbecue Sauce (it sounds sooo good), Roasted Peach Tart, Angel Biscuits…

Here’s a fantastic recipe - Blackberry Cobbler. I made it for Memorial Day and it was wonderful. I don’t usually love cobblers, because they’re never sweet enough for me. But this one was perfect, plus I loved the addition of the lime zest to the blackberries.

Two tips - Don’t skimp on the eight cups of blackberries, because they cook down a lot AND I added a touch more buttermilk to the dough.

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

Blackberry Cobbler serves 8

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook by Sam Beall with permission

8 cups blackberries

1¼ cups sugar

Zest and juice of ½ lime

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled

¼ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the blackberries, 1 cup of the sugar, and the lime zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and the cornstarch until smooth. Drizzle the lime juice mixture over the blackberry and toss to combine. Scrape the blackberry mixture into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is the texture of coarse meal. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk into the well and stir with a fork until the mixture comes together. Crumble the dough evenly over the top of the blackberry mixture.

4. Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes, or until the blackberry filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Let the cobbler rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

For a chance to win a copy of The Blackberry Farm Cookbook, here's all you have to do:

In honor of Blackberry Farm’s gorgeous gardens, tell me your favorite fruit or vegetable.

Enter any or all of these three ways, as many times as you wish.

1. Leave a comment to this post, telling me your favorite fruit or vegetable. If you're leaving a comment, make sure your name takes me back to a way to contact you.
2. Send me an email, titled Cookbook Giveaway, telling me your favorite fruit or vegetable - FNMusings@gmail.com
3. Tweet me, telling me your favorite fruit or vegetable - http://twitter.com/SueonFood. Using hashtag #Cookbook Giveaway is not required, but would be helpful.

Write one word or one page, I don’t mind…but make it one vegetable or fruit choice per entry. You have until 11:59 pm, Eastern Time on Saturday, June 5th. Contest open to US residents over 18. I'll select a winner randomly and contact him or her to get mailing information. Good luck!

The Great Blackberry Farm - Part One: Dinner

Blackberry Farm

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

Even though I vaguely knew where Tennessee was before we visited our friends, M and RJ, I have to admit I had no idea that we were going to be anywhere near Walland, Tennessee, the home of Blackberry Farm. I had been thrilled by what I saw of it on Gourmet Adventures With Ruth (Reichl).

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

When M suggested we go to this wonderful place about an hour away from them for dinner, I said, great. THEN she told me it was Blackberry Farm. I said you mean THE RUTH REICHL Blackberry Farm?!! She said yup and that they recently started accepting restaurant reservations from non-hotel guests. That gave us the opportunity to eat there without having to stay in their luxurious surroundings. (DARN!)

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

Blackberry Farm was opened in 1976 by the parents of the current proprietor, Sam Beall, when he was just four months old. It started as a six-room country inn and over the years has grown into a 63 room luxury hotel with an exceptional dining room. Many of the ingredients used are grown and raised on Blackberry Farm itself. And I haven’t even mentioned the EIGHT THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT, 160,000 bottle wine cellar!!!

I was sooo psyched. We arrived at the main building and dropped the car off with a valet. We were early, so they suggested we walk up the road to another building and have a drink. It had just started to rain which was a shame, because we didn’t get to wander too far outside, but it was stunning.

We had drinks in a charming room with a beautiful view of the property.

My cocktail was a Blackberry Bumpkin with Pom Liqueur, blackberry-infused vodka, lime and cranberry juices and Cointreau. Sooo good.

Shortly before our reservation time, we were picked up and driven to the beautiful Barn, where dinner is served. I guess that was because it was a bit far, plus it was pouring just then.

But, oh, the Barn! What a place! It was opened in 2007 and built from a dismantled 14,000 square foot Amish barn. It was brought from Pennsylvania to Tennessee and constructed into this charming and warm and, yet, spectacular space.

Photo/Beall + Thomas Photography

The hostess saw me taking pictures and asked if I wanted to meet the chef, Adam Cooke. I said, “Hell to the yes!” or words to that effect. He’s cute, really cute; and young, really young - under thirty and somehow he’s been at Blackberry Farm for five years already.

A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, Chef Cooke grew up on a working farm, very interested in sustainable and local foods. He says that for “ much of the year, 90 percent of all the produce (he) uses will come from the Blackberry gardens”.

Okay, so I had already said hey to the chef and I knew I was in a place where the food had been well taken care of. In fact, many steps ahead of the actual cooking, the separate elements were being coaxed and coddled into perfection - from the moment the seeds were put into the ground or animals set free to roam.

But would the same be true of the service? Happily, yes! It was professional to the nth degree, yet warm and welcoming.

What more could a guest want? A room for the night perhaps...maybe next time.

We started with a little amuse from the kitchen. It was a succulent fresh mussel with more than a bit of caviar, a cucumber garnish and a few petals of fresh flowers. Just wonderful.

I started with the Duck Foie Gras, which this picture doesn’t do justice to. Seared so beautifully, leaving the inside rare, it was smooth and delicious. The red wine poached rhubard was a perfect foil for the richness of the liver. I have to remember that rhubarb is a great accompaniment to something that rich and meaty.

Another starter was the House Made Charcuterie Plate.

Wow! It was a riot of one dried or cured meat after the other. The brioche was fantastic, the pickled okra (we WERE in the South, after all) was surprisingly good especially since I don’t really consider myself an okra gal.

The Salad of Local Greens looked amazing. I don’t know when I’ve tasted a fresher radish.

Another entrée was Country Ham Wrapped Monkfish.

RJ loved it and, look, THIS is where the country ham came from.

M and I visited the country ham place the next day. (I guess it's good these kitties were in the parking lot and not inside.)

I have to admit I couldn’t really tell the difference between it and a leather factory, but when the country ham was wrapped around monkfish, I could sure TASTE the difference.

Back to dinner, my Roasted Sea Scallops (why is MY food always blurry?) were perfectly cooked. The tiny baby cauliflower florets were a smart pairing with the fava beans.

THEN, they brought us, just to taste, another entrée – HOW NICE!!! - the Braised Beef Cheek. It was almost a soup with gorgeous ravioli and dandelion greens. (Unfortunately, my picture came out so wonky that it would make you dizzy.) The beef was amazingly tender and tasty.

Next was a little sweet treat sent from the kitchen, served before any dessert you order.

Don’t hate me, but I can’t remember what the luscious cream was on top of the mangos. I believe it was pralinized nuts on top of that. Of course, that would have been fine, but we did order A dessert.

I went against my rule of not ordering chocolate in a restaurant. (Why is that my rule? Because how could a dessert made from chocolate NOT be good? I want something more challenging.)

I ordered the Chocolate, Pecan And Hazelnut Terrine, because when I see something with a dacquoise (MACADAMIA dacquoise in this case) I go running headlong into its embrace.

This was a beauty of a thing and delicious too, but the cheese plate that RJ ordered really upstaged the Terrine.

THIS was no usual cheese plate. It was more like a cheese PLATTER, sufficient to serve TEN! AND each cheese was more remarkable than the one before, and it took MANY tries of each to decide our favorites.

The soft runny, Délice de Bourgogne (upper left) was my favorite, followed by the Smokey Blue (just underneath the Delice).

It did remind me, though, that the truest food expression I have ever heard is, “Cheese closes the stomach.” In other words, never have it before a meal or you won’t be hungry for the main event. This was a massive amount of cheese for one person and, luckily (for him), we didn’t let RJ get away with eating it all!

What could be better after a great meal, but a little…shopping?!! I’m always in the mood. The Blackberry Farm shop was wonderful.

The star attractions were the Blackberry Jam (how could one not buy THAT?) AND The Blackberry Farm Cookbook, which brings me to my good news.

I am pleased to be giving away a copy of The Blackberry Farm Cookbook. Thank you Blackberry Farm and Clarkson Potter/Publishers! Read Part Two for details.

So how lucky were we?!! We had an extraordinary meal in a memorable place with wonderful friends AND I have some jam and a beautiful cookbook as a reminder. We'll definitely find our way back to Tennessee...

Eating Local With Ruth And A Great Lesson At The End

Gourmet Adventures With Ruth with Ruth Reichl

One can’t help but watch Gourmet Adventures With Ruth without looking for clues as to the cause of Gourmet’s sad fate. It was smart to involve Frances McDormand in this episode, who certainly works against the fancy and rarified Gourmet stereotype. There is no more fabulous low-key celebrity than Frances McD. She is irrepressible and fun without a hint of status-seeking about her.

I also keep thinking of Mario’s adventures with Gwynnie. Let’s see how this compares…

For the moment, Ruth and Fran are visiting Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.

Ruth tells us that all the ingredients used in the farm’s kitchen come from within a few miles. “You get to experience the entire farm cycle”.

They are putting together a really ambitious menu:

Radish Beet Terrine with Baby Arugula

Sugar Snap Peas With Cheese Curd And Black Walnut Salad

Trout with Watercress, Roe, and Herb Broth

Ten-Hour Braised Lamb Neck with Wilted Creasy Greens
Grill-Roasted Potatoes
Strawberry Jam Tarts With Elderflower Blossoms

How are they are going to do all of that in half an hour?

They go out and visit the actual garden with Sam Beall, the proprietor. Ruth says it looks like “a glorious jungle.”

We learn, as they harvest sylvetta arugula, that Fran lived in Tennessee for awhile as a kid.

Back in the kitchen, Sam, Ruth and Fran make the terrine. They cut the radishes and beets paper-thin. They overlap only a few layers of the vegetables with salt and place it into the fridge. It looks like more of a base for something than an actual terrine.

Back in the garden they are shown lamb’s quarters - an edible weed, which is related to spinach. They’re in the kitchen now sautéing it over high heat. Sam prefers it to spinach.

Outside, Ruth says the garden looks both wild and cultivated. She talks with master gardener John Coykendall. He tells her about how a little girl, who was staying at Blackberry Farm a little bit ago, planted potatoes. I’m waiting for a punch line. Oh, this is it. The fingerling potatoes they’re picking, which are the size of pinkies, were planted by that little girl. They grill them simply. They look pretty darn good.

There’s more walking around the gardens and chatting about the growing and picking. Ruth says peas are the very best thing to grow fresh. The gardener calls them Skittles for grownups.

Frances is eating more peas than she’s picking. Fred shows her the black walnut tree. Frances thinks the walnuts seem like charcoal, because they’re so hard to crack.

We see the cheese making operation for a moment and the leftover curds. They will be used in a salad. They blanch the peas for 30 seconds and then shock and shell them. I think they’re slicing up the pods too. Yup, they definitely are. They mix the salad together.

They go trout fishing. I can’t decide if this is turning slightly dilettantish, but Frances is authentically enthusiastic. And no one can one fault Ruth for looking for something good to eat at every turn.

They inspect the trout in the kitchen. They remove the fillets (not that easily) and cook them gently over the grill. Ruth says the inside is “a lovely subtle color”. Frances feels bad because she’s left some bones in her fillets. They grill them skin side down, because the skin protects the flesh from the heat. Great tip.

The fish will be served in a broth made with the herbs that grow around the stream where the trout were found. THAT is cool. Talk about provenance...

They meet Michael Sullivan, the butcher, and they cut off the lamb neck from the carcass. Kind of eww. He cuts off huge hunks. He says the meat is “self-seasoned” by the grain that the animal eats and the hills and the air.

They rub the meat with grapeseed oil (I LOVE that) and salt and pepper. It will be cooked long and slow and Michael says it will taste like pulled pork. They brown the pieces of meat on the grill and then braise them in lamb stock in the oven for 4 hours. Then Michael begins to cut it off the bone and it's so tender he puts down the knife and just pulls it off in shreds. It tastes sweet from the spring grass that the lamb ate.

OOH, this exciting. They look at the bees and visit with bee keeper, Jeff Rabinowitz. THIS will be great. I love honey. Frances gets in a bee-keeping getup and goes to say hello. She’s fearless…at first. She takes off her glove and takes a finger full of gooey honey from the honeycomb, but is afraid to remove her hat/netting ensemble, so she sucks it off her finger right through the netting.

In the kitchen, they make dessert with Maggie Davidson, “the farm preservationist”. They add honey to the pie crust and they make strawberry jam and add elderflower blossoms to it. They fill the hugely thick jam into the pie shells.

Ruth and Fran and all the folks they’ve hung out with gather outside at a long table to eat everything that they've made. Ruth points out that it took the intermixing of all these creative people to make this amazing meal happen. They happily tuck into the nothing-could-be-more-local-or-fresher, beautiful food.

So how did this compare to Mario’s travelogue to Spain? Mario’s was certainly more travel than Ruth’s adventure, but Ruth spent a lot more time in the kitchen…even when you factor in Mario’s hour to Ruth’s half hour.

Maybe it was because I lived in Spain, but I did find Mario’s show more riveting than this first Adventure with Ruth. That is until almost the end.

The entire episode came together for me in a really compelling way. As I said, the Blackberry Farm folks and Ruth and Fran sat around this huge table, bathed in a communal Woodstock-type glow.

All the people that had raised and grown and gathered and prepared the food were eating each dish together, knowing exactly how it had all come about.

It proved the rule that what grows together deserves to be cooked together...AND will often taste sensational together. That fact alone made this show well worth watching.