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...