Letter from Steve

I live and work by the philosophy that simple is better. My approach to photography is to keep my images clean, natural and uncomplicated. My philosophy for eating and cooking isn’t any different.

Take, for example, this issue’s cover shot. To me, the best burger is thick, cooked on a charcoal grill and adorned by simple additions: cheese, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and a swipe of mayonnaise. The purity of ingredients is why late summer is my favorite season.

Much of this simple abundance begins at one place–the farm. I’m excited to present a personal story from Ian Knauer, a former editor of Gourmet magazine and the author of a new cookbook, The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food. His witty and charming tale about rehabbing his family’s post-Civil War farmhouse kitchen pulls you right to your knees as he removes tar from the floor and then back up again as he describes his celebratory farm meal.

Fussy entertaining has no place in the summer kitchen. In “Simple Summer Sides,” I challenged our good friends and renowned chefs to share a side dish that they would serve at their family barbecue. Who would know better than Paula Deen, Elizabeth Karmel, Art Smith, and Emeril Lagasse how to use all the impeccable produce available at this time of year?

To preserve some of the bounty of the season, you’ll want to read “In Season.” Chefs and food preservation experts Hugh Acheson and Paul Virant pen their thoughts and recipes for canning some of that goodness for the winter months ahead.

Simply said, this is the perfect time of year to answer “Who’s Hungry?™”

STEPHEN HAMILTON