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Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Weeknight Pasta Redux
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 1:07 PM
Many weeknights, I don't get home until well after 7 p.m., and when I do, I'm exhausted and famished. But life in the sticks means living with just one dinner delivery option (and we call in orders more than I'm keen to admit), and even fewer takeout choices within five miles. Most nights, if I want to eat, I need to cook.
At restaurants, chefs employ prep cooks to ready ingredients in advance. When an order comes up, the line cooks assemble the dish — usually in 10 minutes or fewer. How — and to what degree — ingredients are prepped depends on the restaurant, but at Chez Hannah, I keep things pretty simple, preparing several portions' worth of base ingredients (rice, beans, pasta, sautéed greens) for later use.
This weekend, I made two pounds of pasta and, last night, my quickie go-to pasta. It's basically kids' buttered noodles with grown-up additions, AKA whatever you have in your fridge. I used herbs from my garden, wild pear-shaped puffball mushrooms, garlic and some local hard cheese for which I long ago lost the label.
At restaurants, chefs employ prep cooks to ready ingredients in advance. When an order comes up, the line cooks assemble the dish — usually in 10 minutes or fewer. How — and to what degree — ingredients are prepped depends on the restaurant, but at Chez Hannah, I keep things pretty simple, preparing several portions' worth of base ingredients (rice, beans, pasta, sautéed greens) for later use.
This weekend, I made two pounds of pasta and, last night, my quickie go-to pasta. It's basically kids' buttered noodles with grown-up additions, AKA whatever you have in your fridge. I used herbs from my garden, wild pear-shaped puffball mushrooms, garlic and some local hard cheese for which I long ago lost the label.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Rowan's
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 12:56 PM
It was only five years ago that I first described entering "the gleaming embrace" of Milton's newly built Apollo Diner. But the Greek joint closed in January. Now, a similarly old-fashioned concept fills the still-glistening silver building. Rowan's debuted at the end of May, pushing burgers and hand-turned shakes.
And the food is resolutely old-school. But I don't mean the from-scratch creations your grandmother labored over after church. I'm thinking more along the lines of the handiwork of Mr. Stouffer. More on that later. First, the shakes.
And the food is resolutely old-school. But I don't mean the from-scratch creations your grandmother labored over after church. I'm thinking more along the lines of the handiwork of Mr. Stouffer. More on that later. First, the shakes.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Brined Peppers
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 1:35 PM
Of all the cookbooks I own, Jenny McGruther's The Nourished Kitchen is my go-to when it comes to seasonal produce. In it, McGruther offers recipes for every meal of the day, using every imaginable fruit and vegetable. And there is an entire section on pickling and preserving, with a focus on fermented rather than vinegar-based pickles.
McGruther's fermenting brine is simple: Four cups water plus two tablespoons unrefined sea salt. (The unrefined part is important, as many table salts contain iodine and other minerals that can mess with the delicate chemical balance ideal for fermentation.)
To make a pickle: simple, too. Heat the brine to about 100 degrees — "so it feels neither hot nor cold when you touch it," she writes — and pour it over whatever you like until all the vegetables are, and stay, submerged. Seal in an airtight container and wait a month or so. When you open the jar, your brined vegetables will have transformed into sour, salty, probiotic pickles — provided you follow a few easy rules.
1. The vegetables must remain submerged in the brine.
2. If you are using jars with rings and lids (like those pictured above), you must "burp" the jar to release the gas produced during fermentation — or your jars may well explode. This means opening the jar briefly and watching the bubbles escape, which is also a great time to make sure your vegetables are still fully submerged. Depending on how active your ferment is, you'll need to do this once or twice daily, so check as often as you think of it. A good way to tell is to push on the top of the sealed jar. If it's firm, it needs to be burped. If it clicks down easily, it can probably wait.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Saj Mahal
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 1:21 PM
The Taj Mahal is a giant mausoleum in Agra, India. A guy died there while snapping a selfie last week. Saj Mahal is a Lebanese flatbread joint in Montréal, Canada. I survived stuffing myself while snapping photos of the food last weekend. And lucky for me, I still have leftovers to show for it.
That's because the food is so darn cheap, I couldn't help but try more than my fair share.
The little basement restaurant is named for the convex metal pan, or saj, on which the thin bread known as markouk is griddled. Lovers of Armenian and Turkish food might be familiar with the skinny flatbread called lahmajoun. Markouk is similar, though even thinner. At Saj Mahal, the markouk are served either open, like a pizza; rolled like a burrito or folded in half. I wasn't asked which I preferred and got both of mine folded.
That's because the food is so darn cheap, I couldn't help but try more than my fair share.
The little basement restaurant is named for the convex metal pan, or saj, on which the thin bread known as markouk is griddled. Lovers of Armenian and Turkish food might be familiar with the skinny flatbread called lahmajoun. Markouk is similar, though even thinner. At Saj Mahal, the markouk are served either open, like a pizza; rolled like a burrito or folded in half. I wasn't asked which I preferred and got both of mine folded.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Restaurant News The Spice Traders' Kitchen Replaces Dharshan Namaste
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 1:28 PM
Even Winooski locals might not have noticed yet that the Dharshan Namaste Asian Deli at 212 Main Street closed last Thursday. Owners Thanh Pham and Bishnu Gurung still run the North Avenue Burlington locations of both the restaurant and their market, but, according to Alyssa Vigneault, maintaining businesses in two cities was too much to manage.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Basin Harbor Club
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Sep 15, 2015 at 12:31 PM
The impending December 23 closure of Bove's Restaurant has created more than a few sad faces among Vermont diners. It's not every day we get to eat at a restaurant with 74 years of history. Or is it?
On Monday night, making a rare exception to Alice Eats frugality, I feasted on the fruits of another, even more storied dining spot, the Basin Harbor Club, without even thinking about it. (Incidentally, I hit the other end of the old-fashioned spectrum eating giant sandwiches at septuagenarian Chick's Market in Winooski two days earlier.)
I was privileged on Monday night to attend the Basin Harbor Club's first fall wine dinner ($95 per person). The series, a collaboration of executive chef Christian Kruse and Québecois wine director Jocelyn Vandal, filled up with resort guests when it premiered this summer, but in autumn there is plenty of room for locals to score seats. When they do, they're taking part in a 133-year-old tradition of dining at the property.
The dinner began with a glass of iced Lillet, fruity with a cube of pineapple resting at the bottom. Vandal then led the small group of diners and kitchen staff through six courses (not including the honey-ginger sorbet intermezzo) of food whose flavors melded, Gobstopper-like, with tastes of the selected wine.
On Monday night, making a rare exception to Alice Eats frugality, I feasted on the fruits of another, even more storied dining spot, the Basin Harbor Club, without even thinking about it. (Incidentally, I hit the other end of the old-fashioned spectrum eating giant sandwiches at septuagenarian Chick's Market in Winooski two days earlier.)
I was privileged on Monday night to attend the Basin Harbor Club's first fall wine dinner ($95 per person). The series, a collaboration of executive chef Christian Kruse and Québecois wine director Jocelyn Vandal, filled up with resort guests when it premiered this summer, but in autumn there is plenty of room for locals to score seats. When they do, they're taking part in a 133-year-old tradition of dining at the property.
The dinner began with a glass of iced Lillet, fruity with a cube of pineapple resting at the bottom. Vandal then led the small group of diners and kitchen staff through six courses (not including the honey-ginger sorbet intermezzo) of food whose flavors melded, Gobstopper-like, with tastes of the selected wine.
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Harvest Pesto Bake
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Sep 15, 2015 at 11:25 AM
September has to be one of my favorite months. Despite the melancholy of knowing that winter's nearly here, I love the cool, dewy mornings, the skies, churning from layered silver-gray to crystalline blue. As the leaves barely begin to crisp and color, the summer garden finally matures, singing a lavish swan song. Its lyrics: "Get thee to the kitchen, cook / Before this, too, fades away..."
Now is the time to ferment and pickle, freeze and bake, preserving the harvest for cooler days. Make pesto from those basil bushes and freeze it! You most certainly won't regret it, come January, when basil comes cased in plastic from California.
A single casserole like the one I made this morning — not quite ratatouille, nor Parmesan (as in chicken or eggplant) — can feed a small family for days and makes quick work of garden excess. Use whatever fleshy veggies you've got — I made mine with eggplant, pepper and squash (though I pined for a fat, ripe tomato). Roast them first to bring out their sweetness, then layer them into a casserole dish with pesto. Serve alone as a side, or over pasta, crusty bread or eggs or roasted potatoes.
Now is the time to ferment and pickle, freeze and bake, preserving the harvest for cooler days. Make pesto from those basil bushes and freeze it! You most certainly won't regret it, come January, when basil comes cased in plastic from California.
A single casserole like the one I made this morning — not quite ratatouille, nor Parmesan (as in chicken or eggplant) — can feed a small family for days and makes quick work of garden excess. Use whatever fleshy veggies you've got — I made mine with eggplant, pepper and squash (though I pined for a fat, ripe tomato). Roast them first to bring out their sweetness, then layer them into a casserole dish with pesto. Serve alone as a side, or over pasta, crusty bread or eggs or roasted potatoes.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Shelburne Tap House
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 1:58 PM
Hey, remember Town Tavern? How about Flatbread Factory & Taproom? They've both occupied the strip-mall space in Shelburne Bay Plaza next door to Bruegger's Bagels. But unless you live in the neighborhood, you may have missed the short-lived restaurants that preceded Shelburne Tap House.
New owners Ed Lambert and Sandy Maynard seek to attract diners with something more than a tap list of 11 local sips. With a Queen City Brewery Yorkshire Stout on the table, I tried to figure out the best way to taste some of the diversity of the large pub menu. Where Town Tavern kept things safe with what I then called pre-gastropub fare, Lambert embraces a more modern approach with lots of beer-based sauces and braises.
New owners Ed Lambert and Sandy Maynard seek to attract diners with something more than a tap list of 11 local sips. With a Queen City Brewery Yorkshire Stout on the table, I tried to figure out the best way to taste some of the diversity of the large pub menu. Where Town Tavern kept things safe with what I then called pre-gastropub fare, Lambert embraces a more modern approach with lots of beer-based sauces and braises.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Restaurant News Bove's Restaurant Closing After Seven Decades in Burlington
Posted
By Mark Davis
on Fri, Sep 4, 2015 at 4:54 PM
Bove's restaurant, one of downtown Burlington's most cherished eateries, is closing its doors after nearly 74 years of dishing out classic Italian fare.
The Bove family said in an announcement Friday that they plan to focus on their wholesale and catering operations, and will move the business to a warehouse and distribution center in Milton. The family will close the Pearl Street restaurant on December 23 and turn the space into a catering headquarters.
"Today, Bove's fans here and around the country are far more interested in bringing our pasta sauces, lasagna and meatballs into their own homes to prepare, versus visiting the restaurant," the family said in a prepared statement. "So we know the time is right for us to take our next big step. Bringing more Bove's to more people around the country best positions us to serve a wider audience of fans for the next 75 years."
The restaurant was founded by Luis and Victoria Bove in 1941 and once hosted President John F. Kennedy. Bernie Sanders has been a regular for decades.
But the Boves' business has evolved to focus on retail sales — jars of Bove's sauce can be found in stores across the country.
Dick Bove, Louis and Victoria's son, has officially retired, the family announced. Dick's sons, Mark and Rick, are the third generation of the family to run the business.
Correction, December 7, 2015: A previous version of this story contained an error regarding the age of the restaurant.
The Bove family said in an announcement Friday that they plan to focus on their wholesale and catering operations, and will move the business to a warehouse and distribution center in Milton. The family will close the Pearl Street restaurant on December 23 and turn the space into a catering headquarters.
"Today, Bove's fans here and around the country are far more interested in bringing our pasta sauces, lasagna and meatballs into their own homes to prepare, versus visiting the restaurant," the family said in a prepared statement. "So we know the time is right for us to take our next big step. Bringing more Bove's to more people around the country best positions us to serve a wider audience of fans for the next 75 years."
The restaurant was founded by Luis and Victoria Bove in 1941 and once hosted President John F. Kennedy. Bernie Sanders has been a regular for decades.
But the Boves' business has evolved to focus on retail sales — jars of Bove's sauce can be found in stores across the country.
Dick Bove, Louis and Victoria's son, has officially retired, the family announced. Dick's sons, Mark and Rick, are the third generation of the family to run the business.
Correction, December 7, 2015: A previous version of this story contained an error regarding the age of the restaurant.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Restaurant News Another Closure for Bluebird Restaurant Group
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Thu, Sep 3, 2015 at 4:35 PM
This week I wrote in "Table for None" that, despite the closure of Bluebird Tavern, the rest of the Bluebird family was doing just fine. Turns out that was an overstatement.
When we spoke to Bluebird PR rep Nicole Ravlin of People Making Good on Thursday, she didn't mention that the Bluebird Coffee Stop at the Innovation Center would serve its final meals the very next day. Here's the sign we found when a reader tipped us off to the closure today.
Contacted today, Ravlin said via email that another location of Scout & Co. will soon replace the newly closed Coffee Stop. The third location of the fast-growing coffee and ice cream spot should open later this month, she said.
When we spoke to Bluebird PR rep Nicole Ravlin of People Making Good on Thursday, she didn't mention that the Bluebird Coffee Stop at the Innovation Center would serve its final meals the very next day. Here's the sign we found when a reader tipped us off to the closure today.
Contacted today, Ravlin said via email that another location of Scout & Co. will soon replace the newly closed Coffee Stop. The third location of the fast-growing coffee and ice cream spot should open later this month, she said.
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