Doing the deed...again

Well, now that my head is clear and I haven't posted anything for a few days, my mind is exploding with things to write about.  Funny how that works. 

Last Sunday, Beth and I took a break from work and ventured out to Easthampton to do some work at Mockingbird Farm.  What kind of work you ask?  We worked the "chicken line."  This means we helped slaughter, eviscerate and bag the chickens for sale.  I have done this work before but never to sell, only for personal use.  I have to say that the process was pretty efficient, start to finish.  All the work is done on a mobile poultry processing unit that is available for rent.  Pretty cool.

First, the chicken is killed with an electric knife which shocks the bird so the bird doesn't feel the cut.  This is to prevent stressing of the chicken and is actually a very humane method of slaughter.  Then the bird is sent through a hot bath to loosen the feathers at the skin.  The next step is to defeather. Normally this is very time consuming, crappy job, but this fine unit had a tumbler that did all the defeathering in minutes...seconds even.  Then we put in work removing the viscera and organs, reserving everything that Pete could sell.  After the guts are removed, the bird is quickly iced down and eventually tagged and bagged.  All the parts that can get sold are packaged, weighed and labeled.  All the other parts are composted on the farm. 

This was a very cool process to be a part of, especially because of the attitude of all involved. Pete was very laid back, joking around and rocking out to a little White Snake blasting on the radio.  I think he set the general tone for everyone to work by.  Sure this was a very essential and slightly discerning act we were taking part in, but it's farming.  This is his farm and he makes it fun and interesting.  I respect that and it is why I love going out to Mockingbird.  That and I always leave with a cooler or two of delicious meats to cook, be it at the restaurant or at home.  It was very inspiring as well.  After being a part of the process the only way a felt comfortable preparing the chicken was a simple roast bird...

A little change

After reviewing the past few months of posts, I have decided to end the everyday posting.  While this has been a form of therapy, a source for inspiration and a platform for my politics and antics, it has at times felt too much like work.  There have been too many evenings that I have just written something for the sake of writing something (and it shows), usually after the fourteen-hour work days when I just want to go to sleep.  This does not mean I am ending the blog.  I will still post 2-3 times per week.  My hope is that this will give me time to put together more interesting posts and do away with the "tired rambling chef" posts.  A little change can be a good thing...

Partridge

Every now and then I put something on the menu with reservation but do it because I think it will be an interesting addition. Every now and then that item turns out to be the most poplar item on the menu. Usually it's an offal dish, this time it's the partridge. We are flip-flopping between wild scottish and farmed New York and Vermont birds. I was hesitant to serve them for two reasons. First, they aren't cheap and second, it is a gamey bird. Usually people stay away from the gamier flavors. Sometimes you just don't know until you put it on the menu. I never cease to be surprised...

Reputation

My newest hire in the kitchen is leaving us and while I am always disappointed when a hire doesn't work out, the response that I received from leaking the news was a bit overwhelming. I have a small stack of resumes on my desk from people who want to intern at BLG as well as a big folder on my email. Once word spread that a position was available, though I am not quite sure how it did, I have received numerous phone calls. This is a good feeling. It means we are doing interesting things, pertinent things. The best part of all this is that I reached out to a former employee to fill the spot and he was very excited to (re)accept. He is an exceptional cook, a great personality and an intelligent and hard working employee. This kid could very easily be a chef somewhere yet he was excited to be invited back to the Bistro. This is the reputation I always wanted to own, respecting and having the respect of our employees is just as important as to us as serving our customers...

Size matters

Tonight we went out for a drink to someplace in Hadley. We both ordered a cocktail and out came two drinks the size of big gulps. Old school cocktails seem to be making a comeback, but in a much larger size. I don't quite understand the new concept of the oversized martini/cocktail. I think I would rather have a few ounces less, enjoy a well made and manageable drink, and order a second if I need to than have one of these ridiculously large cocktails. At home we stil have (apparently) old school martini and highball glasses and we don't need any more booze than that. Now you can get a pint of beer or a pint of martini. When I ran bars, I would rather make a few less dollars per drink and maybe serve you a few more than one obscenely large "martini" and watch you sip it for an hour or two. My wife is reading this over my shoulder and she keeps murmuring something about me being 30 going on 60, maybe she is right...

Decisions

We finally got our hands on the lease we have been waiting so long for and have all the numbers we need to make some decisions. Decisions. Now we have to decide whether or not moving forward is an appropriate risk for us. This means lots of number crunching and forecasting. This means creating a lot of "what if" scenarios and "how could we" problem solving. This is the part of business that kind of sucks. Basically, how much do you trust yourself to make happen what you need to be successful? That is a lot to ask yourself...

Cochon 2011

Here is a photo tour of Sunday's 3rd Annual Cochon Dinner...after the champagne and pork fat gougeres we had:

Saucisse l'Ail (garlic sausage made from the neck)

#2 of the extra courses, liver toasts

Fromage de Tete Ravioli with sage beurre noisette

extra #3, ribs glazed in wild flower honey and dijon mustard

blood "crepe" with a soft-cooked egg and baby greens

Deep fried yes, but still soft-cooked

then we served crepinette of kidney and liver with maitake mushrooms and broth

extra #4, grilled and marinated hearts on pommes gaufrette

a classic of confit tongue with puy lentils and marinated vegetables

extra #5, BLT's (belly with tomato confit and romaine on brioche)

the final savory course was stuffed trotter with chestnuts, golden raisins and foie gras

unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of dessert, but you can see it in the background...just passed our kitchen refreshments.  flourless chocolate cake with bacon praline, vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce

All in all this was a ton of fun, start to finish.  I can't wait for next year...

Thinking of tomorrow

It doesn't matter how much I've prepared for tomorrow, tomorrow will still be busy and hectic. Tonight I just relax a little and try not to stay awake thinking of what need be done...

Fish Stew

I forgot to hit the publish button last night...

This time of year fish stew screams my name.  Whether it's one of the numerous styles of bouillabaisse, the real San Francisco treat Cioppino, or  Caldeirada de Peixe (Portuguese Fish Stew), I want it.  What happens when I want it?  I put it on the menu.  This year I did a little twist by making it Basques style, we add a sofrito of celery, onion, spicy peppers, tomatoes and smoked paprika.  This creates a rich, aromatic broth with a nice kick at the end.  We are using octopus and squid to give it a Mediterranean feel along with what ever fish is looking beautiful right now.  This is a dish to come in for.  I will post a picture with this post soon...

A step closer?

The landlord of the space we are interested in is supposed to have a lease draft in my hand by the time I meet with him on Saturday. I am pretty anxious about it but first I need to get through a busy weekend and all my wine dinner prep. It's actually a good thing we have so much going on this weekend, it helps to keep my mind off the second place for once...

PVG Fall Forum

I have been invited to speak at Pioneer Valley Grow's Fall Forum on the 27th.  Apparently they chose me because of my devotion as a business owner to building a healthy Pioneer Valley food system.  They thought of me because they feel I am not afraid to tell things like they are.  Bold move PVGrows, bold move...

Thanksgiving...already?

A friend of ours from Canada just celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend and it turned our attention to the upcoming holiday.  When I was first living on my own, as a way to prove that I was really on my own I suppose, I used to celebrate the major holidays by myself.  That lasted a whole one time before I realized that holidays are lonely by yourself.  The next year I was determined to find something to do rather than just simply be by myself.  I brainstormed the best I could but in suburban Minnesota there is absolutely nothing to do, everything is closed that day.  So, I went to lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Minneapolis (one of maybe three places open that day) and read the local rag with the hopes that I might find something to do, someplace that's open.   I came across a story of an inner-city soup kitchen that was serving a Thanksgiving dinner.  I had nothing better to do so I swung by and inquired if they needed an extra hand.  I ended up helping to feed dozens of people that day, a day far from wasted away in solitude.  I remember seeing people truly thankful that day, not because they had the opportunity to sit around a table and tell everyone so, because they were happy to be giving such a loving meal in a place that they didn't have to be alone.  That's when I realized the holidays aren't about celebrating anything, they are about being together.  What brings us together better than a good meal?  That is what the holidays mean to me and for once I am in a position to do more than just lend a hand.  This year we are trying to put together a meal at the restaurant for those who may not have anywhere to go or anyone to share it with.  I am sharing this as a means to help us reach people in need of some company this Thanksgiving. If you happen know anyone that needs just that, please have them contact us.  Thank you.

Bitter

Last night we went to dinner at one of our farms, The Kitchen Garden. They threw a sort of "pop-up restaurant" style dinner in their new winter greenhouse. They had two dishes with treviso raddicchio, one was a grilled and marinated with balsamic vinegar antipasti and the other was a post-meal salad of fresh radicchio in vinaigrette. Beth loved the former, but thought the latter was to bitter. My feelings were exactly opposite. As we tried arguing on who was correct, I remembered an interview with Ferran and Albert Adria where the discusses how we all taste things very differently. The specifically brought up bitterness and validated the issue with a test. They had five or so people taste this powder that apparently is extremely bitter but can only be detected by a small population. One of the tasters almost gagged by the bitterness and immediately ran for some water, no one else could taste it. I think that is incredibly interesting and really gives me a perspective to keep in mind...

Pickles

I finally broke into a batch of this years pickles. Outstanding. Everything we pickle seems to come out delicious. The pickling process is beyond interesting to me. Mall curing and preserving is. Taking one thing, adding a few natural ingredients, and Out comes this unbelievably delicious product that (in reasonable terms) doesn't go bad. If I could live on pickles...I would be bloated and tired and green, but I would be smiling...

Popcorn and comics

I think of this one every time I make popcorn...

Braise class

Tonight I taught my braise class at Different Drummer's Kitchen. This was a fun class and couldn't have come at a better time. It is freezing outside, literally, yet perfect weather for slow cooked foods. Now it's time to turn my focus towards our pig butchering demo and getting through the weekend...

A dinner out

Tonight I was fortunate to leave the restaurant before close and meet my wife (who had a much deserved night off) for dinner at Coco, Easthampton's new eatery.  We had a really nice evening.  It was nice to eat a place that serves honest food.  I think this is something the Pioneer Valley lacks.  There is a air of pride around the Valley that it hosts some the best restaurants outside of New York City.  I have heard almost these exact words from more than a few people.  While I believe at one time it was home to quite a restaurant scene, I think those days have past and we are on the verge of another run.  There is some good blood coming back into the area.  A good group of people who are willing to work hard and take pride in their food.  A group who still get excited about food and being in the business.  From what I saw today, this defines the owners of Coco.  They seemed to deeply care about the image of their place.  They seemed to understand that it is important to be present and actually working at their establishment.  And finally, they seemed to be truly excited and proud of the food they were serving and the the work they were doing.  We chatted with them for a minute and it was a delight to hear how excited they became after tasting one of their new dessert creations, olive oil ice cream...which was delicious by the way.  People seem to think that as a chef, when I go out to a place I either like it or I don't.  I rarely go to a place with the intention of judging it.  That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen though, I can be very judgmental.  

How do I define an honest restaurant?  Well, it starts with the owners, or chefs, or managers, or employees, or all of the above having pride with what they are doing.  Then it refers to the food itself.  Be it a fine dining restaurant, a street food cart or a casual lunch spot, it needs to be something people want to eat, made from good whole food, and made fresh from scratch.  Honesty is what I felt from Coco.  Sure there are things I loved and things I would do differently, but that doesn't make them right or wrong, good or bad.  That's what makes Bistro Les Gras, Bistro Les Gras and Coco, Coco.  Take the olive oil ice cream for instance.  I have thought about doing it before, but never as a dessert.  The types of olive oils I use at the restaurant are bold, spicy and/or grassy ones, rarely ever fruity.  Therefore the olive oil ice cream I would make lends itself to savory preparations.  They use a fruity, melony oil, which as it turns out, is perfect for a dessert ice cream.  This is why I love to eat at other restaurants, it's inspiring, interesting and fun.  It's somebody elses take on the same thing I do.

I am not saying that there aren't good restaurants in the Valley.  I am saying that there aren't as many as people in the Valley like to think.  While there are some really great places, there are too many that are are getting a free ride.  It is up to you as customers to push us and them to be better,  maybe then the Pioneer Valley will get back to it's legendary status as one New England's restaurant destination towns.  Coco is a very welcomed addition and I hope that they keep it up.

Now I have had a few glasses of wine and will probably wish I hadn't posted this in the morning, but I am glad I finally said it.  I want to be proud of the restaurants in the area, unfortunately, well, I'll stop there...

Butchering a pig

This coming Sunday we are set to do a pig butchering demonstration at the restaurant.  I am a little nervous because breaking down a large animal with a bone saw can be, well, not graceful.  I tend to struggle a little moving the heavy animal around and sometimes find myself in awkward positions trying to cut through certain bones.  Not enough so that I am nervous about doing the demonstration, but just enough to be a little self conscious. I suppose it doesn't help that I know there are numerous industry people interested in attending.  Oh well, all the better to keep focused on doing a professional job...

Getting ready

'Tis the season that Mondays become important days. Mondays are now the days we need to regroup from the weekend and to prepare for the week. Mondays in the summer were days in which we could lounge around in the mornings and enjoy a "normal" morning life. That's not to say we don't enjoy Mondays now though. Now Mondays become about work again, but we love what we do. In an odd way Mondays actually become more relaxing now, at least they now make the rest of the week more relaxing. Being prepared and getting that one day to get focused for the week makes a huge difference. Besides, if you have never enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee on a Monday in your own restaurant, well, I just can't explain it too you...

Sunday recap

This week I learned that my Minnesota Vikings are pretty bad this year. While I am not a huge football fan, I am a huge Vikings fan. I have turned my wife into a Vikings fan and now we religiously record the games and do our darndest to not hear any scores until we get a chNce to watch it. Then we have a good time watching our boys in purple find new ways to lose. What I should learn is to love a different team...

This is kind of cool. It's one of my cooks, we have a few pieces of his art hanging in the restaurant...

http://blog.shopfoe.com/news/2011/09/dan-tower’s-fav-animal-“hog-pssh-please-”/

Sardines

Fresh sardines are one of those delicacies that I think people should just order out. While they are best simply prepared, the simple part is a bit of an illusion. First, if you are buying them without the innards intact, they probably aren't fresh enough. Then you still have to ever so gently scale them (in a large bowl of cold water is the easiest method). Now you have to brine or marinate them. Finally you have to cook them, I prefer them grilled because the char tannins offset the oiliness of the flesh and you get a delicious crispy skin. There are certain foods people should cook at home and there are foods you should just let us handle, if you love fresh grilled sardines you should come in tomorrow...I'm not sure how much more impecable sardines I can get...

Wording is everything

When I was in school for restaurant management, one of the longest courses we studied was menu development. The design of a menu can be as complex as to make or break the restaurant or as simple as to make or break the dish. A few weeks ago we started serving a nice fish dish that is inspired by bouillabaisse, sauteed fish with mussels and shrimp in a rich tomato sauce with a rouille toast. Much to our surprise, the dish wasn't selling. A few days ago we changed the wording in the menu ever so slightly and now we can't keep up. It's hard to believe that such small changes can be so important sometimes...

Another one from Dan Barber

This guy is a great speaker, and a speaker about great things...http://blog.ted.com/2010/03/10/how_i_fell_in_l/

Comfort food

The term "comfort food" has definitely become a general term for a type of food so much so that I think we forget the reason we called it comfort food in the first place.  Your comfort food may not be one found in Gourmet Magazine's list of 100 comfort foods and it doesn't have to be.  While I used to believe that I had all sorts of comfort foods, it wasn't until recently that I discovered that only one really satisfies true comfort.  It's no big surprise that for me it lies in the dish I used to eat at my grandmother's house, the dish that really meant I was at my grandmother's house.  When I was young we often drove down to New Mexico from Minnesota only to arrive too late for an actual dinner but famished enough to warrant a good, solid meal.  My grandmother's go to meal for such an arrival was frijoles (pinto beans) with red chile, calabacitas (squash with onions and corn), fresh flour tortillas (always fluffy and warm) and a huge side of chopped green chile with too much garlic added to it.  Today this is the meal I need when life is busy, sad, stressful, cold, or just plain perfect and in need of something just as perfect to finish it off.  That's what we had for dinner tonight and I couldn't tell you what else I did today, just that I ate well....

Still trying...

We are still plugging away at a second location.  While this is taking much longer than I would like at the moment, everything is seemingly good.  The landlord seems to be clear that he wants to rent it to us and that we are the only people he is considering renting to.  At least that is the implication.  We still have a few issues with the lease we need to work out but the landlord is a busy person and renting this particular space is not as pressing an issue as some of his other current business.  We continue to be optimistic but are keeping are emotions patiently in check.  We would love to open another place in this town.  We feel our energy and our sense of both economic and environmental sustainability are a great thing for Northampton, our food isn't too bad either.  Hopefully we can make it happen...

Too much?

Tonight we were fortunate enough to be very busy.  We had a private party booked upstairs while the restaurant remained full downstairs.  The rhythm that the customers came in tonight caused problems.  It started all at once and then kept coming in waves rather than a steady pace.  The problem lies in the fact that our kitchen is too small to be able to confidently serve that many people at the same time.  There are some owners who would be happier pumping people in and out like that, and then there are owners like me.  I would rather make a little less money and know that we put out the best food we can put out than lack quality to make a buck.  I am proud of the food we put out and I want every table, actually every person, to get our best work.  I know that everyone (at least everyone we talked to) was really happy tonight but I had to fight a minor anxiety attack at the end of the night because I knew that it wasn't our best food.  My kitchen staff did an exceptional job serving as many as they did tonight, there is definitely no blame to be felt by anyone.  Most places would have crumbled under the pressure and the night would have been a disaster.  I suppose I need to make some lemonade and use this to be better prepared for the next time.  Perfectionism, what a headache sometimes...

Rock-tober

One of my servers loves to call October "Rock-tober" because it is always an insanely busy time for restaurants.  I was in denial for the first couple years but I have come to accept that it is truly Rock-tober. On top of it being the busiest month of the year, we have a consistent string of private parties, I teach another class at Different Drummer's Kitchen, we have our 3rd Annual Cochon Wine Dinner, our favorite farmer's market needs our presence, I possibly have another wedding to go to, the season goes through a major change so the menu must follow suit and I have just been informed that I am to be asked to speak at a PV Grows Fall Forum...oh, and we are still hoping to move forward with a second venture. 

I am making a valiant attempt to start "fall-izing" the menu a little early.  Hopefully I am not getting ahead of myself and the rain, the monsoon-like rain we have been and looks like we will continue to endure, does not mess up the fall crops more than it already has.  Tomorrow we are changing the appetizers a bit by bringing back our pissaladiere, doing another rendition of garbure, adding a classic version of crepinettes and introducing a new scallop dish.  I think I might bring a modernized version of duck a l'orange in as well, I know that The Kitchen Garden has some delicious escarole and Old Friends has some phenomenal young ginger.  Now I just need to conceptualize all that on the plate...

'tis the season for mushrooms

If you are mushroom lover, this is the season for you. Right now at the restaurant we have oysters, black trumpets, boletes, chicken of the woods and matsutakes. All of them are locally foraged from western MA and southern VT. The only issue I have is how to use them all. Not a bad problem to have, especially when I can eat the leftovers...

Home sweet home

We have been traveling since eleven o'clock this morning and we just got home. It's nice to be home though...

Tomorrow it's back to work

We had a good time, though I can hardly say it was relaxing.  I did get to do some mountain stream fishing today,  probably the thing that I miss the most about northern New Mexico.  Trekking alongside a mountain stream while breathing in the crisp mountain air, occasionally stopping to pick some wild oregano and mountain mint, drinking some spring water and almost catching some trout brought me back to my childhood and gave me a glimpse at what I want my retirement to be.  Tomorrow boasts a long day of driving and flying but home and my pets doesn't sound too bad right about now...

This morning started like this...

...in the crisp september mountain air on a small ranch in Valdez, New Mexico.  Many people know Valdez because of Julia Roberts New Mexico ranch, but Valdez is a beautiful valley just below Taos Mountain and is full of small farmers and ranchers.  One of the ranchers just happens to be a friend of my grandfathers and also happens to be the man we were here to meet.  I took my last sip of coffee, stepped out of the truck and to work I went.  We were there for one lamb, but left with two after some gently, rather lazy persuading from our friend the rancher.  My grandfather has always been a sucker for deal, especially when the deal ends up in his stomach.

There sheep are raised on a very large ranch in Questa (about 30 minutes north of Taos) where the graze out in the open mesa of northern New Mexico.  When the lambs are ready to be born, he brings them down to his home in Valdez to keep a better eye on them.  He also brings them down when he is looking to sell them.  His home ranch makes some of the ranches in Western Mass seem like small pens.  These lamb get big fast, get good fast and get tough fast...if you're not careful.  Good thing we're careful, marks for unloading more lamb sure, but careful.  We watched them run around looking for good structure and weight.  Not too big but not too small.  Healthy healthy and clear eyes.  Then we picked our two girls out.  We tied them and loaded them into the truck.

Once we got back to my grandparents house, we went out to my old basketball court and got set up.  We readied the hangers, both inside the garage and one strewn over the basketball hoop.  We sharpened the knives and the saws.  We brought out buckets of soapy water and a pot to catch the blood.  We took a deep breath and started preparing our food.  My wife documented the morning of work I am about to post.  She wanted to portray the events and steps necessary to preparing a lamb from  start to finish.  She wanted to do it so next time she could take part herself, more so than she did today even.  We both stress a fair amount of importance on the understanding of what food is and what it takes to bring that food to our table.  If we emotionally can't take part in any step of the way from the literal voyage from farm to table, then we shouldn't be eating it.  It is a respect that we have for the animal.  It is the same respect that causes us to use every part of every animal we possibly can at the restaruant.  Same ideals here.  The same ideals that my grandparents taught me.  I am here to teach my grandfather how to properly butcher a lamb and he is here to teach us how to care for slaughter and evisceration.  We are at his home so we are going to do it the way he does it, the way he was taught by who ever taught him.  There is no FDA watching over us, just my grandma.  So please know that we paid dear respect to these beautiful animals but the pictures are slightly graphic and may not be for everyone.    I did my best to select pictures that I felt best told the story of the morning.  I can assure you, we plan to use everything we possibly can from this animal...from the blood to the bones.

Green Chile

Finally, a day full of New Mexico green chile.  We enjoyed plenty for brunch in our rellenos and huevos, we added a little to our midday snack of fresh sopapillas with honey and butter, and we finished the day with a bowl of Annabelle's green chile from the my old workplace, the Taos Inn.

 Jealous, you should be.  Tomorrow we are picking up a lamb to slaughter and breakdown for my grandparents to freeze.  I will be sure to include some pictures...

If you're ever in Albuquerque

We are in Albuquerque for a dear friends wedding which was held at a great little B&B. If you're ever looking for someplace to stay in ABQ, I highly recommend the Historic B&B of Albuquerque(aka the Spy House). It is a pretty little oasis in the middle of the city with good restaurants around and owners who go out of their way to be accommodating.

No, unfortunately, my belly is not full of green chile yet but it will be tomorrow...

Vacation

We just finished packing and we leave early in the morning to New Mexico to visit my grandparents and attend a close friends wedding. It is stressful getting the restaurant ready for us to leave for more than a few days, but we know it is in good hands. By this time tomorrow I will have a belly full of green chile...

Piperade

I know I am sideways and the sound pretty much sucks and there is a typo or two, but it was my first attempt to make one of these videos and time fell a bit short today.  Take what you can out of it and I promise that the next one will be spot on...

Peppers

One vegetable that seemed to be unaffected, possibly even helped by the extreme conditions this year has brought forth, is the pepper.  I haven't asked the farmers why this may be yet but peppers, be them bell, hot, sweet or cubanelle have been flourishing.  Tomorrow I plan to show you a simple and delicious recipe that can help you use up some those extra peppers you picked up at the market or the substantially large portion you received in your CSA recently...

Wine and Food

It never fails.  After every wine dinner, after the stress of preparing and serving all of the food, there is the worry of how harmonious the wine pairings played out.  Pairing wine and food is tricky.  Sometimes the wine shows off the food and sometimes the food show off the wine...and every once in a great while there is a perfect pairing, a match made that makes both the food and the wine shine.  The more a plate has on it, the harder it is to pair the wine.  Wine dinners can be even more complex because first we set the menu, then we pair the wines, then we have to adjust the menu accordingly depending on how the wine is actually showing.  The locavore dinner is by far the most trying because the menu constantly changes right up to the first course being served.  The wines are ordered after the first draft of the menu with the hope that not too much will change or that we are able to adapt the dish enough to fit the wine.  There is so much going on leading up to the dinner that we don't get a good chance to make sure the wine pairs well with the food.  That is the point where we have to trust ourselves and hope for the best.  I am sure we did well, but it doesn't stop me from being concerned...

A few from the Locavore

River Rock Beef Brisket with Town Farm Carrots and Kitchen Garden Red Romaine

Leyden Glen lamb neck with Kitchen Garden sweet peppers and smoked eggplant, Old Friends baby greens

Four Star Farms wheat ravioli with Hillman Farm chevre and Mockingbird Farm braised pork belly ragout

Mockingbird Farm "Egg in a Nest", six-minute egg on chicken confit with Old Friends leeks, Kitchen Garden frisee and Enterprise Farm sungold tomatoes

Locavore

Tonight we held our 3rd Annual Locavore Wine Dinner and it was a lot of fun.  I am a little tired tonight so I will save the rambling about the dinner for another night.  I think we got some good pictures so those as well will are on their way...

Need I say more...

Obviously my favorite burger...ever...

Fun cookbooks

Cookbooks to some people need to be exacting, to others they need be entertaining. I am the latter. I enjoy looking through cookbooks that have a colorful pictures and interesting information, not just recipes. The recipe itself is only a part of what I enjoy about cookbooks. So long as they are accurate I can look past basic recipes in a visually exciting or interesting cookbook. That being said, one of my favorite aeries of cookbooks is "The Food of..." by Whitecap. Definitely worth having on your shelf for some inspiration...

Cold or Not

There are two types of people in this world, the one's who like their fruit cold and the one's that don't.  I personally love fresh picked fruit especially when it has been just warmed by the sun.  I have trouble eating fruit straight from the refrigerator, at the very least I need it be room temperature.  I never understood how someone could like ice cold fruit until my youngest cook put things into perspective.  He lived for a spell in Columbia and apparently no one refrigerates their fruit.  It is sold out on the streets in the hot, humid weather and he claims the fruit is as hot as the day.  He tells me that when all you eat is hot fruit, nothing tastes better than that day you get one straight from the fridge.  Well, when you put it that way...

Some things stay the same

I heard an interview with Daniel Boulud not too long ago and one of the questions asked went something like, what effect is the spike in food costs taking on your menu prices?  Now, please don't take this word for word as I don't quite remember the exact interview, but his response was something to the effect that restaurant prices no longer rise due to the economy.  He referenced the price of a calf liver dish served during lunch at the Four Seasons in the late 80's.  The cost of the dish at lunch was something like $38.  The price of food (even wholesale) has risen roughly 20% since then and the prices on restaurant menus have gone down roughly 10%.  I know that the Four Seasons is hardly an average dining establishment, but it is an interesting metaphor to the economics of the industry over the past several years.  While food prices have skyrocketed, menu prices have consistently been on the decline.  Interesting.  No wonder everyone thinks running a restaurant is easy.  Wow, the 80's sure messed everything up...

Allergies

I have neve had allergies so bad. I literally take a cocktail of sudafed, afrin and claritan just to sleep lately. Imagine trying to cook with no sense of smell, ugh...

Pho

I love Vietnamese food, especially pho.  I was a little bummed when we first moved out here because of the lack of Vietnamese restaurants.  This was something I grew up on, some of my first good memories of learning to love ethnic food was with Vietnamese.  Actually, when my parents were in graduate school together, they had a very diverse group of friends and I distinctly remember eating all sorts of amazing food.  I always remember them throwing dinner parties and get-togethers with foods from Korea, all regions of Africa and India.  I think I was too young to remember liking or disliking it, but I do remember being quite enamored with certain dishes...in particular a Korean blood stew, I can still see and smell it.  It wasn't until I was a bit older when we moved from the Philadelphia/Delaware area to Minnesota that I first remember eating Vietnamese food.  Minneapolis has a huge Hmong and Vietnamese population and there are delicious restaurants all over the city.  I can't think of a cuisine that can be so flavorful yet imaculately delicate.  With Vietnamese food you get beautifully fresh colors and flavors, a wide spectrum of textures and temperatures,  and an assertive balance of every taste your tongue can identify.  Now pho encompasses all of that in the form of a hot soup.  If you have never had pho, get your butt down to Vinh Chau in Springfield and enjoy some.  Everyone seems to recommend the place across the street, Pho Saigon, but everyone is wrong.  A good Vietnamese restaurant is full of Vietnamese people dinning...ergo, Vinh Chau is the place to eat.  Plus, you now have a chef's recommendation...

Sunday Recap

(Sorry, I forget to hit enter last night)

This week I learned...

I have a kitchen crew that I am finally comfortable enough with to leave them on their own.

I have control issues therefore will probably never leave them on their own.

That labor day weekend may be labor-less for some, thankfully not for us.

That fall is here and I am good with that.

That my wife is never allowed to leave the restaurant again unless I am with her.

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A gift

Here is a cool little gift that one of our cooks made for the restaurant.  He used the bones from last year's Whole Lamb Wine Dinner...

The Waiting Game

We are in the very beginning stages of negotiating a lease, this is about the time the wheels came off our last attempt. I have been keeping busy working out layouts and drawing out diagrams. I have a multiple page list of things we need to get done before we can start our real list. I have been working with reservation. The ball is in the landlord's hands right now and until we have a signed lease, no excitement can be shown, no "jinx worthy" words can be uttered and no progressing on the list is allowed. I hate waiting games...

Something's missing

Tonight we were very, very busy.  We had a private party which ended up growing to close to 70 people.  We had two larger reservations in the main dining area around the same time and were on a wait by 6:15.  We were also short one server, for some reason or another, she didn't show up.  We were also short my wife.  I should say I was short my wife.

Everything with the restaurant went well tonight.  Even though we fought the good fight short handed, our staff (especially the front of house) sucked it up, worked together and did an exceptional job.  It still felt off.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized why.  My wife wasn't with us.  More importantly, she wasn't even close to us.  She left this morning for a dear friend's wedding in D.C. and will not be back until Monday.

We are together almost 24 hours of everyday.  We work together, have the same days off (by days I mean hours), we wake up together, eat every meal together and go to sleep together.  I am not saying we are that dependent on each other, we just are together that much.  That's what happens you go into business with your wife.  When we are not together it just doesn't feel right.  I guess that's what marriage is...

Good news/Bad news

God news:  We are moving forward on the second location...I will keep you up to date on the progress.

Bad news:  My wife is going out of town for a wedding this weekend and we have a few large parties booked, including one where we may end up serving upwards of 80 people.  I miss her already...

Deux part deux

We finally went to look at the other possible location today. The location is good but the price is much higher than the last place. Now we need to make the appropriate adjustments to our financial predictions and estimates, re-crunch the numbers and see if it is a venture we want to make. We feel we do the numbers well and knowing we are making a well calculated and professional decision when it comes to such a risky proposition is, to say the least, very important to us...

Underwater

The outlook isn't too good for our fall crops this year. All the post storm news from the farms has been tainted with words like "flooded" and "lost crops" and even "canoe threw the fields". Somehow, through all the dismay, the farmers seem to ok with it all. Maybe not ok but at the least understanding. They understand that they can only provide what Mother Nature allows them and in the end it is up to her. I thought it took a special person to farm before, now I think special is hardly enough...

Sunday recap

This week I learned that hurricanes...

are like mini stimulus packages for a lot of businesses, but definitely not for restaurants.

don't affect western mass, even when they are supposed to.

are a good excuse to get some canning done, at least for my staff to get some canning done.

along with earthquakes and tornadoes are not good signs...

"Come on Irene"

The song "Come on Eileene" has been ringing in my head all day, except the lyrics have changed to "Come on Irene."  This storm has caused us night of decent business (the city announced that West St. will be closed as of this morning resulting in all of our customers being surprised we were open and leaving us to assume many didn't come because of the "closure") as well as a hard to come by appointment to see a new space.  I really can't complain if these are my only complaints, this storm has caused real damage to others already.  We wish the best to all who have lost loved ones and to those whose homes and property have been left with damage.  Good luck tomorrow New England...

Another Try

We have an appointment to go look at another space tomorrow.  I am already familiar with the space so as long as the landlord doesn't price us out of contention, we may have a second chance on our second concept.  Our fingers are crossed but this time we are keeping our excitement and hopes in check...

An old joke

This is an old French vs. Italian joke...

The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again.

Locavore Dinner

With our 3rd annual Locavore Wine Dinner is on the horizon it's time to start planning a menu.  This is probably the most challenging wine dinner we put on, at least as far as the kitchen goes.  Each dish takes days of planning.

Can I get all the ingredients I need?  I need to be sure, with all the restrictions in being a locavore menu one change can snowball into many.

Can I get balance in the dish?  Balance is probably the hardest thing to deal with with this menu.  I love using acid in cooking and with the only pure acidity available being cider vinegar, I really have to carefully put together each dish.  I really have to look for natural acidity in ingredients and make sure I don't prepare them in such a manner that changes, alters or loses that acidity.

What are the steps needed to prepare each dish?  When you lose the use of cooking oils, especially the neutral ones, you need to be careful in how you decide to prepare each dish.  If am to cook chicken for example, I need to decide if our churned butter will be to overpowering for the desired outcome.  Maybe I need to render some chicken fat instead, maybe some lard.  Maybe all of the fats I have available are too strong and I need to change the method use to prepare the chicken.  What dish is next?  What dish came before?  More importantly, what fats am I to use in the dishes before and after?  If I use all lard to cook with, the menu items will all start tasting a touch similar.

Now I need to think about putting them together in a harmonious and pleasant order as to not overpower any of the dishes.  I need to make sure there are palate cleansing dishes and that no heavy dish precedes a subtle one.

Then we have to pair wines with them, which carries its own list of concerns.

Sometimes planning these menus comes together effortlessly, sometimes they are rewritten a dozen times.  Let's hope for the former...

CISA Local Hero Restaurant Days

Tonight is the first of  two nights that we are celebrating  CISA's Local Hero Restaurant Days.  It's an event designed to show the important tie between  restaurants and the farmers.  The goal is that everyone taking part will design a dish based on some local ingredients.  We call ours, well, our menu.  It is a great idea for the restaurants who aren't accustomed to using local ingredients, but when your cuisine is as dedicated to local as ours is, it can somehow seem less special.  Last year we offered a three-course prix fixe menu as well as our regular menu.  Only two customers ordered off the "special menu", and neither of them came because of the event.  The rest were dining as if a normal night.  This year CISA did a more effective job of promoting on a their tight budget and it showed.  Of course, the fact that we were on the radio with the director of CISA and told the Valley that we were going to offer our entire menu as a $25 prix fixe didn't hurt.  Kind of like a restaurant week but with a cause.  I am happy to say it was an excellent turn out tonight, maybe next year we will do it for a week and forget about restaurant week...

A Good Time

Well, we had our staff trip to the city and it was a ton of fun. We did what restaurant people do best, we ate. It was nice to spend time with the staff outside of work in a place we could kick back and get some inspiration. Now it's back to the daily grind with a fresh mind...

Tomato Provencal

This is one of those dishes that is very classic French, very delicious, and very easy...but for some reason here in the states we choose to make French dishes that are rich, time consuming and technical like Coq au Vin and Cassoulet (yes, also so very delicious) instead.  Here is one of my favorite "tomato season" meals...

Tomate á la Provencal au Beurre Noisette

“Heirloom Tomato Provencal with Brown Butter and Fresh Herbs”

Serves 4

2 ripe heirloom tomatoes

4 T butter, cubed and chilled

2 T extra virgin olive oil, Provencal if you have it

¼ C toasted breadcrumbs

¼ Fresh picked herbs, whatever you like

1.    -Remove top of tomatoes (part with stem) and slice tomatoes into ½ inch rounds.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.    -Heat nonstick pan (or stainless, if you are good) over medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Once oil is hot (test by adding small pinch of butter, if butter foams the pan is ready) add tomatoes and sear until caramelized but not soft, about 3 minutes.  Turn tomatoes over and cook for another 2 minutes until warm in the center.  Cook in batches if necessary.

3.    -While tomatoes are cooking, roll herbs together and “chiffonade” or thinly slice, being careful not to crush and bruise the herbs.

4.   -Transfer tomatoes to plates and top with herbs then breadcrumbs and a pinch of fleur de sel (optional).

5.   -While pan is still hot add cold butter and cook until it is frothy and turns a light nut brown.  It is important to remove from heat at this stage because the butter continues to cook of the heat and will burn if taken to dark.  Spoon the foamy butter onto the tomatoes and enjoy as an accompaniment to a meat course or with a nice salad for a light summer meal.

That's Two

It's time

Tonight was an average summer night, a slow start with a late, busy finish.  Tonight though we saw the wear on our staff's faces.  When you have a small business it means that you have a small staff.  It also means that your small staff works a lot when it's needed.  Early this summer we had some turnover, and turnover for us means our core staff works a touch too often and a little too hard.  That is why we appreciate them as much as we do.  Sometimes the hardest shifts are when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  You know, like when you have a vacation coming up and the few days before your sweet, delicious break are the longest, most exhausting days you have ever worked before.  We are taking our staff to NYC to thank them for the long summer thus far, but we are at that point right now.  We can all see the light, just a few more days...

A Simple Thank You

The past few day's events have allowed me to reflect a little on the growing season thus far.  A few days ago I spoke with one of my meat producers and he is struggling to stay afloat.  Yesterday at the farmer's market there was an air of discontent as many of the farmers murmured that this year is deeming more difficult than the last.  Today I was doing a radio spot with Phil Korman of CISA and Monte at WRSI when we found ourselves in a disheartening conversation of the economy and the effect it may or may not be having on small farms and small businesses this year.  Then tonight, a farm we have carried close and long (as long as we have been open at least) relationship with, brought their staff in for a staff party of sorts and hinted at the fact that life was a bit stressful right now.  All of these people and businesses are lifelines to my business and to me, it is difficult to see them in such a state.  I know that times are hard for us all but no matter how hard it is we can all afford to say thank you to our farmers.  Next time you're at the market share a thanks, it might be just what they need...