'tis the season...

The ramps are done. The asparagus is on it's way out. Memorial Day is behind us, and all of this can only mean one thing. Strawberries!

So, Rob and I went on location, to the Community Supported Garden at Genesis Farm, we picked some fruit and took some photos and, OK, we ate a little too. This trip really reminded me about why we started this blog. To get together and do what we do. I don't have a fancy story about strawberries for you, just a few recipes and Rob's beautiful images. I only hope that you enjoy it half as much as we did.

Creme Anglaise



8 egg yolks



1 cup sugar



1 quart heavy cream



vanilla or spiced rum







combine the yolks and sugar and whisk till pale, bring the cream to a boil with the vanilla or rum and whisk into the egg mixture. pour back into the sauce pan and return to the stove. over medium heat stir constantly for three to five minutes until thick. Don't cook it to long or it will curdle. Pour into a chilled bowl and use as desired. Or just pour yourself a glass and enjoy!

I made the creme anglaise and poured it straight over the berries, warm from the fieldand topped it with some crushed fresh tarragon. Simplicity at it's best.

If you were to make the above recipe and then take one cup of creme anglaise, combine it with one cup of lightly sweetened strawberry puree, one cup of lofat yogurt and one quarter of a cup sugar, you would have the base mix for our Strawberry Yo Scream. From there you put the mix into an ice cream freezer and let 'er rip! Frozen strawberry goodness with one third the fat.







One more simple elegant tecnique.



Save the egg whites when you prepare the anglaise.



Combine 8 egg whites with 1 cup of sugar. warm to room temp and then whip to stiff peaks.



Meanwhile whip 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the two together with 2 cups of quartered strawberries. Spoon the mixture onto plates dressed with the anglaise. Then sprinkle with sugar and brulee with a propane torch. New Style Chiboust. Viola!

Friends of Michael Arnone

O.K., not how I planned on starting this but, Tracey and I just did some math. We have been together for 18 years.

Since the beginning we have been prone to go on adventures. Some near, some far. A road trip to Montreal, in search of their version of the perfect bagel (hate to admit it, but the Canadian bagel is superior) Rock climbing in PA ( I loved it, Tracey is still afraid of heights). Sometimes it was a quest. Sometimes we would just head out and see where the road took us.


Well one day about 17 years ago, we found ourselves eating crawfish and alligator sausage, drinkin' Budweiser and listening to zydeco music, in a now long gone, little hole in the wall, called Sun Tan Lake. I remember they had big Bud trucks with a tap right on the side. I remember dancin' and listening to Buckweat himself. I remember kissin' my girl and thinkin' I was on top of the world. Somehow, and it wasn't that day, I had the good fortune to meet Mr.Michael Arnone the organizer and promoter of Craw Fish Fest or CFF. In various restaurants over the years I have cooked for Michael. And he has bragged on me probably more than I deserve. His Craw Fish Fest has grown into a three day festival with more music than you could manage, multiple stages, camping and plenty of food. It's now held at the Sussex County Fair Grounds. Right in my back yard. Over the last few months I have been in touch with him to try to make my own place at Crawfish Fest. To bring a little of the Andre's magic to Michaels over the top event. Sadly it's not gonna work out this year. And I think Michael knew it before me. He said "why don't I bring a gang around the restaurant and you just do what you do"


So, what follows is the menu and photos, of me doing what I do. I would like to say that Michael truly inspires me. Along the way one of his guests said "It's good to be a FOM" (friend of Michael)With his passion for food, friends, music and contagious smile I have to say that, I am happy to be a Friend of Michael! Tracey and I will be going to Craw Fish Fest on Sunday the 6th of june, and we would love to see you there!

Laizes les bon temps roule'

We started with Oysters, barely warmed, with flavors of spinach and fennel. Inspired by Oysters Rockefeller.

Next was Crab Cake with Pickled Watermelon Rind, Yukon Gold Potato and Spicy Mustard.

Followed by, Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras and Duck Confit.

Then, Lamb Loin on the Grill with Local Asparagus, Red Wine and Grains of Paradise.

Dessert was Strawberries with Creme Anglaise

and a last little bite of Deep Fried Cafe Brulot Truffles.

Pizza, Pizza...

I am sure that you all have your own memory of "The Perfect Slice". You were in Italy and the sun was just so, and the red wine made it perfect. Or, maybe, it was that first slice at John's after 2 weeks in France and all you wanted was a taste of home. For that matter, it could be the memory of a road trip to NYC for a slice at any one of the many infamous joints. If you were at the Taste of Talent, http://piesonwheels/ was cranking out a pretty awesome pie.


I am equally sure that you have your opinion of what makes a really great slice. For a food so simple, with not to many variables, the possibilities seem endless. Personally, a thin, crispy crust with just the right amount of sauce and not to much mozzarella, hold the dried oregano please! is what I call a great slice. I wanted to share my dough recipe with you, as well as, a red and a white topping. The red is a traditional tomato pie. The white is a take on the Alsatian Flammekuche with crispy bacon and caramelized onions. During the shoot Rob and I traded some pizza tales.








A few years ago before a trip to Holland with my family, I suggested we meet at my brother's house for lunch before the ride to the airport. I would bring some food (all cold) that we could eat off paper plates, allowing us to ditch the plates and start our vacation on a full stomach. In case you haven't gathered, I don't like to operate hungry and I like airplane food even less. The day before the vacation my aunt presented me with an "Onion Pie" similar to the recipe I have for you here. So I thought that would be a nice addition to the buffet. Great! Get to my brother's, turn on the oven and enjoy our meal. Plates in the garbage and off we go. By the way, the pie was perfect. Crispy crust, sweet and savory topping, I think I should call her and ask her to make me another. Anyway, we had a fantastic trip back to my fathers homeland (no pizza) we all ate our weight in Dover sole, and searched in vein for the new herring (a true delicacy, the season starts this year on June 8th). When we returned home and walked into my brother's house, happy to be home, but, sorry it was coming to an end, we realized something was not right. It was considerably hotter in the house than it should have been. Holy $#!t we left the oven on for 10 days!!! We all looked at each other shocked for a good 5 minutes before realizing that everything was OK. Our shock turned to relieved laughter. And we played a little "what if?"








So, here are a few recipes for you. I hope you are inspired to create a perfect pie of your own. Just, please turn off the oven when you are done.









The dough









2 1/2 cups water







1 Tablespoon sugar







2 teaspoons dried yeast







1/4 cup oil







6 cups flour







1 Tablespoon salt









mix the first 4 ingredients, add 1/2 the flour, stir to incorporate. Let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Add the salt, remaining flour and knead until very springy. You may need a bit more flour, but try to keep the dough a bit wet. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temp. Punch down and divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight.







let the dough come halfway to room temp and then roll or throw the dough to desired thickness.









We cook our pizza in a two step process at the restaurant. First it's grilled to give it a bit of smokey goodness then we add toppings and finish it on a pizza stone in a 500 oven.









Red Sauce







I puree a can of Muir Glenn Organic fire roasted Tomatoes with a pinch of sugar and 2 pinches of salt and a little fresh thyme










White sauce









3/4 cup sour cream







1/4 cup milk







1 egg







1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour









combine and use as your sauce









1 onion caramelized







1 pound of bacon crispy









sprinkle on as topping and bake

A Taste of Talent...

So, apparently I have fallen behind in my self imposed weekly blog post. What can I say? Life got in the way! You can take comfort in the fact that I had a fantastic break! A bit of spring skiing and mountain biking in the great state of Vermont.The end of the vacation found us smack in the middle of charity food events. With "Wine and Roses" behind us, The "Grand Tastings" and "The Katie's House "Sock Hop" http://http//www.katieshouse.org/ still to come, the first day back was "A Taste of Talent" to benefit Project Self Sufficiency. I really enjoy doing most of these events. It's a chance to meet new customers and connect with colleagues, enjoy some good food and drink and of course support the cause. I say "most" because occasionally we are not treated as well as you would expect by the event organizers. But I'll save that rant for another day. The Taste of Talent is one of my favorite events mostly because of the people, both restauranteurs and attendees. The tricky part this year was to pull off a tasting for about 450 guests on the first day back, with empty refrigerators and no staff. The no staff thing was a decision to let everyone have as long a break as possible. I would do all the prep myself. Nothing a little planning couldn't take care of. Before we left for vacation I decided to do a cured salmon dish, or Lox. A quick call to http://www.peronafarms.com/ to make sure they weren't serving their world renowned smoked salmon, and Kirk gave me the go ahead. I asked my Sous Chef to meet the fish guy and cure the salmon while we were off. Not more than an hour or two out of one of his days off and he can know that he, helped the cause, if you will. So with that taken care of I felt pretty confident that I would be able to pull off a nice dish. Cured Salmon, maybe a potato pancake and some sour cream, a little fresh dill for garnish. Well as you can imagine these things tend to evolve, and with a week away from the restaurant the evolution can be pretty dramatic. Whenever I put a dish together I like to make sure that in addition to the main item there is some type of starch and vegetable included. The guys at the restaurant always tease me when we do an event like this because I tend to add what they consider to be a few to many components. So I tried to keep the vision pure and simple. The potato pancake turned into a blini (still a pancake of sorts) but, then I was enjoying some strained Greek yogurt one day and thought that it would compliment the fish nicely in place of the sour cream. To incorporate the vegetable I thought cucumber would be a nice fresh addition, but why not dice it and stir it into the yogurt to streamline the plating. Well, with some mint, cilantro and seasoning the cucumber yogurt would become "Raita" a middle eastern condiment. Sounds great, but now my potato blini seemed culturally out of place. The recipe for blini that I like to use comes directly from Thomas Keller's http://www.frenchlaundry.com/ Cookbook. What if I substituted pureed chickpeas for the potato? I could cook them at the event and they would round out the dish Perfectly. So there you have it, Cured Salmon with Chickpea Blini and Cucumber Raita. I paired it with a "Garden Martini" ( the martini costs $5 which we donated back to the cause) It consisted of Kettle One Vodka, Kettle One Citron, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueurhttp://www.stgermain.fr/, Cucumber, Mint, and Cilantro, shaken with a little egg white and fresh lime. MMMMM...

Welcome Back!!!

Cured Salmon

1 pound fresh King Salmon Fillet

make a mix of 1 part sugar to 2 parts kosher salt

cover the fish liberally with this mixture, about 1/4 c per pound

add some seasoning. Fresh herbs or shallots are nice. The salt will

carry the flavors into the fish. Cover with plastic and top with some weight,

a gallon of milk works nicely. Put this in the coldest part of your fridge

and let marinate for 3-4 days. Give the fish a rinse and slice as

thinly as possible. Left unsliced the fish should last for at least a week in the fridge

Cucumber Raita

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 cup strained Greek yogurt

fresh mint, fresh cilantro

cumin and coriander toasted and ground

salt, pepper, Tabasco

season the cucumber with salt and let drain in a colander for 6 hours

then stir together with the yogurt and seasonings. I like this to be a cooling

element on the palate however it's also good with some jalapeno pepper.

Chickpea Blini

1 pound chickpeas pureed

2 tablespoons flour

2-3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

salt, pepper, cumin

again, this recipe is borrowed from Chef Keller with only minor changes.

combine the ingredients and cook like pancakes. about 3 dz.

Garden Martini

equal parts

Kettle One Vodka

Kettle One Citron

St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

egg white

shaken with muddled cucumber, mint, cilantro, and fresh lime

..utilization...

Generally speaking you can't eat the whole animal in one sitting. I do however enjoy cooking all the parts. Sometimes when I'm writing a menu it's difficult to choose which parts to cook up and serve, and which parts to save for another day. I do, and have always gotten great satisfaction out of using the whole animal. Butchering the whole duck for example, the breast is pan roasted, and served as a main course with some seasonal fruit (can't wait for the first cherries). The legs, seasoned and slow cooked in rendered duck fat for confit, with menu possibilities to numerous to mention. The extra fat is great for cooking potatoes or poaching fish. Extra skin is fried up for cracklin's to garnish a salad. The livers are whipped into a pate', the bones are roasted and simmered for a stock to eventually turn into soup or a sauce. I enjoy roasting the hearts and either pickling them or just snacking on them myself, but lately I've taken to turning them into a snack for our dogs. Man's best friend deserves an extra tasty treat now and then. The point of the story is really that it's difficult to pick which parts to serve.

Well I never thought of it in this context but Rob has the same situation going on, trying to choose which images to serve up to you on a weekly basis. So in the spirit of utilization here are some images that didn't make it into previous posts but were to tasty to rot in the hard drive.


Bon Appetite!!!

chicken, chicken, chicken...

Eight years ago Tracey kicked me out of the kitchen and into the dining room. She was pregnant with our first child and I wanted to close the Restaurant on Sundays. I wanted time with our family and at that point in the evolution of the restaurant I didn't have anyone to run the place on a day off. So, she said " if you want to close on Sundays you will have to start teaching those cooking classes you have been talking about." Well, it's true I had been talking about teaching classes but, if you know me, you know I'm a little shy, standing up in front of a bunch of strangers cutting vegetables and sauteing chicken was not my idea of a good time. I figured I'd write a couple of classes, nobody would come and that would be the end of that. Maybe I could get a part time job or something. Of course the opposite has occurred and our cooking classes have become very popular. I truly believe that I have learned as much if not more than I have taught. If you don't believe me you can conduct a little survey of the teachers in your life. Most of them will tell you that after the BS there is great gratification (not to mention decent health benefits) For me there is no, or at least very little BS. All of the folks who attend the classes truly want to learn or at the very least be entertained. It all comes back to the passion that I have for what I do. The cooking classes are my chance to have the face to face contact with people and inspire them to get in the kitchen and cook real food. What follows are Robs fantastic images from my most recent class. I will do my best to post the accompanying recipes shortly. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy and are inspired to cook, shoot photos, paint, or express yourself because I truly believe that creative expression is just one small part of true happiness.