Seasons

The cycle of life, has many components with two parts being the pretty major contributors, birth and death.  Life comes  alive when the conditions allow them to and Spring is conditionally a good time for life.  Currently living in the South, there is an abundance of life right now.  Everything seems to be coming into bloom, and walking down the streets of uptown New Orleans on a sunny day smells like a refreshing bar of soap.  Up North, life has just begun to sprout. 

The ground and soil are beginning to unfreeze, allowing the resilient vegetables which made it through the Yankee winter have now started to peek from beneath the rich comforting blanket of composted soil.  On the hill, several things have begun to sprout back, namely green onions (scallions of the North), chives, thyme, and parsley.  These ruffian winter resistant plants were met by a new friend, lettuce, which just got planted this week.  Together they will enjoy nutrients from the soil, sun from, well the sun, and eventually get to meet my knife, but until then grow well veg-e-tables.

American Terroir

Terroir was a word not in my lexicon until a few years back, when the formidable wine bug had taken bite.  I use it to illustrate the intangible "it" factor of amazing food and wine.  Terroir has no, one-word translation from the French  phrase, gout de terroir.  Defining the term is difficult, but a rough meaning of the phrase is "taste of place." 

Identical seeds planted in different places, will taste differently. Similarly, people brought up in different areas will have noted cultural differences.  Terroir is the sum of all factors which have represented themselves at that certain moment.  Whether it be, a farmer choosing when to harvest, a vigneron cold fermenting, soil composition, micro macro or meso climate variances, all are telling a unique story on the palate and to the soul.

A book by Rowan Jacobsen explores the American continent for a sense and explanation of terroir.  It is a good book, holding the reader's hand through the science, industry, and philosophy which make up our food system.  The book's story is a good one, and quick.  It is literature to keep on your shelf, for at least the next five years, as a reference to some great products available in North America.
 

Around This Time Last Year.

Vintage Post Four...Hyde Park, New York.

It has been a while since I have written something, but feel the need to share some great meals with, I guess, whoever chooses to read this thing. The last two Saturdays have involved the same set of variables: Adam’s Market, Ginger Lodge, Grape Juice and, above all else, good times with good people.  The states and countries represented at these two gatherings where Louisiana, Georgia, New Mexico, Israel, Illinois, Indonesia, and Indiana.

Adams, near The Food School.

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Adams Fairacre Farms began in the early 1900s as a simple roadside farmstand in Poughkeepsie, New York, run by Ralph A. Adams and his family. To this day Adams Fairacre Farms is a family-owned and operated business.     Of course, now we offer much more than produce. With 3 locations in the Hudson Valley (and 700 employees), Adams now has a full-service Meat Department, Seafood Department, Deli, Prepared Foods Department, Cheese Department, Bakery, Sweet Shop, Gourmet Grocery, Gift Shop, Flower Shop, Garden Center and Nursery (not to mention Adams Power Equipment, Adams Fences, and Adams Landscaping). Yes, we’ve come a long way over the years, all the while maintaining our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.     What makes Adams, well, Adams is modern selection and convenience paired with old-fashioned fussiness that is so hard to find in supermarkets these days. The positively staggering variety you’ll find in the aisles of Adams is a direct result of both listening to customer feedback and our passion for providing the very best products available.     And, though we’re not farming in the same way we used to, Adams is still growing—growing plants and nursery stock for the Garden Center and growing as a Super Farm Market.         Copyright © 2011, Adams Fairacre Farms. All rights reserved.

Saturday One

The Hare & The Hog

The trip to the market provided a first for my culinary experience, we purchased a whole rabbit. Letting the blade of the knife glide along the bones, we were left with two front legs, two back legs and a loin with the ribs attached. From this small animal we were able to produce a variety of products: carcass and front legs were made into stock, hind quarters were braised in the stock, the innards created a nice pate, and the loin was frenched to look like a mini lamb loin. All in all, the rabbit was a fun learning experience.

Along side our friend the rabbit was a little pork to make the meal complete. Smoked pork necks and hocks were cheap and plentiful at the market, and the resulting stock was absolutely amazing. The market also provided some nice looking pork loins. The pork loins are an interesting story, in that, I learned something brand new. The pork loins where brined in a seasoned solution for two to three hours. After the brine was rinsed off, the loins were placed into a 200F oven on a rack of celery. Slowly bringing the entire protein to tempature and then searing to add caramelized goodness was an approach that reversed conventional cooking theory, and the result was phenomenal.

The dessert course came as inspiration moved to an impromptu baking expedition. Chocolate was extenuated with a hint of Vanilla that enraptured the sugar. It was the right amount of sweet to end a good meal.

Frenched Rabbit Loin
Braised Rabbit Quarters
Hock Stock and Smoking Risotto
Ghetto Sous Vide Pork Loin
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tale to be continued…………..

YobreauxGastreaux

Basketball On The Menu

Monday is now basketball night.  Our name...NOLA-ALL-STARS, was chosen by starting power forward B. Fenasci.  The rest of the team, comprised of myself, M.Fenasci, D.Delaughter, S.Fitzwilliam, Ivan.The Man Child.  It is a team of people, before it is a basketball team.  And we enjoyed a very champion sport celebratory loss at the Mid City Yacht Club.  Whilst one week later, we enjoyed a very Charlie Ma-Sheen-like, last minute "Winning!" celebratory toast (or eight) at Madigan's in the Riverbend, New Orleans.

We are a team from many different fields of American society, and all (but one) are from the greater metropolitan area of New Orleans, and with one goal  in mind we, as a team, tread forward with Viking like enthusiasm to meet the next team.  Win or Lose, a Viking always wins. (Inside joke amongst the team, and quite funny if you are privy to it.)