Kudos For Bramble & Hare

Eric Skokan's Bramble & Hare, sister to his Black Cat restaurant, gets the nod from Food and Wine magazine in its list of Best Bar Food in the U.S.  And this is on top of that wonderful new cookbook he released just a few weeks ago, featuring a year of recipes from his Black Cat Farm. Guess I need to start drinking (and eating) more.

Chef Skokan's Book Launch Party

So cool that local chef Eric Skokan of the amazing Black Cat restaurant has his own new cookbook, Farm Fork Food, that he will launch during a party at his Black Cat restaurant (1964 13th Street) at 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday according to the Daily Camera.

Boulder Chef Skokan Releases New Cookbook

Boulder's own Eric Skokan of the Black Cat restaurant and farm has his own new cookbook, from which he'll be demonstrating at today's Farmers' Market. Here's what the Farmers' Market says:

Farmer/Chef Eric Skokan releases a brand new cookbook this month

Eric Skokan's brand new cookbook is on it's way to Boulder as we speak. In the coming weeks, Eric will be doing live cooking demos at the Boulder Farmers' Market (10/11 and 10/25) from his book and will be selling copies at the market.  5280 Magazine published a preview on the book last month:  Eric Skokan's book, Farm, Fork, Food: A Year of Spectacular Recipes Inspired by Black Cat Farm (Kyle Books, October), is much more than a cookbook: It's a recipe for living. "[This project] evolved into more than just a book of recipes," the chef and co-owner of Black Cat Bistro and Bramble & Hare Restaurant says. "It's a journey of a farmer, a chef, a restaurant, and a family as it captures all of our favorite flavors of each season."  Throughout the pages, Skokan deftly describes each season with insightful prose and a well honed combination of recipes, including spring pea soup with mint, lemon, and crème fraîche; stuffed summer squash with ratatouille and Taleggio; and winter roots roasted in embers. "One of the secrets to cooking seasonally...is the use of 'building block' recipes," he writes. "These recipes are the 'glue' that can hold a collection of fresh produce together and turn it into a memorable meal."

Kentucky Derby's Tomorrow

If you're looking for ways to toast and lift a fork to the Kentucky Derby tomorrow, Bon Appetit as usual has a pretty nice guide. If making mint juleps, Black Cat Farm has had mint at the Boulder Farmers Market for the past two weeks, so I bet they'll have some great stuff at their stand there tomorrow, as well.

What's Happening at the Boulder Farmers Market Today

As to be expected this early in the season, among the farm stands, spinach, braising mix, potatoes, and onions still predominate, and last week's list of what's being sold at my favorite farms is pretty much unchanged. The big news is that Black Cat, as in chef Eric Skokan's organic farm that supports the ultimate farm to table restaurant concept, has joined the market. In addition to the usual spinach and braising mix, they're offering some more exotic choices, including chervil, mache, and burdock root. In other news, Miller Farms had asparagus, and I was excited to see sorrel added to the offerings at Red Wagon Organic Farm. Will have to look up how to make a sorrel sauce for tomorrow's grilled fish. The prepared foods vendors are in full swing, and the crowds are still easy to walk through, unlike the summer crush, so it's a good time to get to the market.