Save the date!
Thursday, January 14, 2010 is Slow Food Saratoga Region’s first event of the New Year
as we return to Max London’s Restaurant in Saratoga.
We will be presenting a special Tasting of Scotch and Irish Whiskeysto go along with Max London’s wonderful food. This event is a benefit for a new project being developed by SFSR. Inspired by a Michael Pollan article, in which he decried the deteriorating tradition of true home cooking in this age of processed foods, the goal of our project is to teach basic cooking skills to people who do not have them and to use good, clean & fair foods obtained from local Farmers Markets in the process. Our aim is to provide these classes to the community at no charge. To do this we will need to raise funds and volunteers!
At the dinner, we will learn about the process of making Scotch, the differences in the regions and styles of Scotch as well as how to buy them (none will be sold – this is not a sales event). The Tasting will be led by Nigel Manley, a British-born resident of New Hampshire and expert on the peaty waters.
Members should use the discount code SFSR to obtain the member pricing.
Seating is limited to 50 people, so get your tickets early.
For those who would rather not participate in the whiskey tasting, as usual there will be a full spectrum of beverages available at an additional cost.
Since this is the first event we are using brown paper tickets to make reservations, we welcome your feedback on this system. If there are any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The October edition of our popular dinner gatherings will be held at Brown’s Brewing Co. in Troy, NY on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, at 6:30 pm http://www.brownsbrewing.com/
To make reservations please call: 518.273.BEER(2337).
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Menu for Brown’s Brewing Co. Slow Food Dinner October 14, 2009
Ale & Lager Reception 6:30-7:30 Appetizer Table
Best of the Wurst Bites on Oatmeal Beer Braised Cabbage
Mussel Station
Garlic Crostini with Sesame Ahi Tuna and Spicy Chili oil
Sit Down (Served individually)
Maple Pumpkin Soup
Salad of assorted Field Greens with slivered red and yellow peppers, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, fresh raspberries. Finished with a Cherry Raspberry Ale Vinaigrette.
Served Family Style:
Gaelic Tenderloin of Beef.
Grilled tenderloin with smoked slab bacon and an Irish Whiskey & Porter Glaze.
Chicken Napoleon: Layered egg-battered Chicken Cutlet, Eggplant, Roasted Trio Peppers with a Honey Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce.
Seared Scallops with a Lemon Beurre Blanc.
Side Dishes: Vegetable Orzo Pasta. Lemon Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes.
Dessert: Traditional Apple Pie with Sycaway ice cream. Brown’s Porter Cake with Chocolate Ganache~ garnished with fresh strawberries.
Congratulations to the Saratoga Farmers Market, the only Farmers market in eastern N.Y., to be elected amongst the top 20 medium sized Farmers Markets in the country in a contest sponsored by The American Farmland Trust! In addition, the Saratoga Farmers Market is one of only three in the Northeast to be selected for Toyota’s Farm to Table Tour that will take place on Saturday, September 26th. They will also have their next Iron Chef competition this coming Saturday, September 19th. Chef Jason Baker returns to defend his crown against former Beekman Street Bistro chef and current private chef, Dan Spitz. It should be an awesome battle. Slow Food Saratoga Region Founding Member and President, Rocco Verrigni will be one of the judges.
For photos of this dish and preparation see his blog.
Ingredients:
1 large sirloin steak or roast (about 20 oz) – can use more or less depending on your preferred meat balance
2 large sweet peppers preferably bright, vibrant colors – seeded and cubed
2 Poblano peppers – seeded and cubed
2 jalapeño peppers – seeded and cubed
1 large red onion – cubed
2 zucchini or yellow squash – cubed
2 ears of fresh corn with corn zipped off the cobs
2 cloves of garlic – sliced
1 pound fresh Lima beans – shelled (weight before shelling)
10-20 cherry tomatoes
bunch of fresh cilantro – washed, dried and chopped
1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
Sriracha hot sauce
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
salt
Procedure:
Toast the coriander and cumin in a pan stirring to prevent burning. Once you notice the toasted spice aroma, take off the heat and crush the spices with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Using whole spices allows toasting which brings out the best flavor from the spices. They are then quite easy to grind.
Trim and cube the beefalo then coat with the ground spices and salt.
In a large saute pan or wok, heat the oil and brown the meat. Reserve.
In the same pan saute the onions and garlic until translucent then add the peppers. Cook until soft, stirring often.
Add the cubed zucchini and stir until cooked.
Add the corn, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and beefalo and warm through.
Season with Sriracha to taste.
Serve hot or as a cold salad
Feeds 4-8 people. can be served over rice or a shaped pasta like orecchiette, rigatoni or shells to extend the number to feed.
This recipe worked well as written, but it can have an infinite number of variations. Feel free to experiment!
2 tablespoons butter (homemade from local cream, Whitehall)
4 eggs (Boule Farm, Whitehall, or Stewart’s)
1 cup flour (Champlain Valley Milling, Westport)
1 cup milk (I always buy Stewart’s milk)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch nutmeg
1 medium onion, well-minced (from my garden)
Fresh spinach (from my garden)
1 lb. Monterey Jack or any other mild cheese, grated (Argyle Cheese Farmer or Cabot)
Preheat oven to 350º.
In a 9” x 13” x 2” baking pan, melt the butter in the oven. Remove from oven.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then add the flour, milk, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Mix these ingredients well. Saute the onion and add to mixture. Rinse spinach, and wilt slightly in saucepan. Squeeze out liquid, chop coarsely and add to mixture. Add cheese.
Pour all ingredients into baking pan and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven, cool for 45 minutes in order to set. Cut into bite-sized squares.
To freeze: Place squares on cookie sheet, and allow to freeze, then transfer into freezer bags. Before serving, remove from bags, place on cookie sheet, heat in oven at 325º for 12 minutes.
Yield: 25 appetizers
Attendees are starting to send in their recipes from their delicious dishes that they shared at the SFSR Eat-In this past Labor Day. Our first recipe is for the very popular BBQ Beef from Karen Christensen at Mack Brook Farm.
Crockpot BBQ Beef
INGREDIENTS
1 piece (approximate 3-4 pounds) Mack Brook Farm Brisket, Top Round, Chuck or other roast
1 18-ounce bottle BBQ sauce, of your choice
DIRECTIONS
Trim fat from meat. Salt and pepper the meat and place in Crockpot. You may have to cut it into two pieces. Add BBQ sauce. Cook on low 6 hours.
Remove meat from Crockpot. Slice thinly, and then return meat to pot. Cook on low for
10 minutes.
Note: For a special treat, make your own BBQ sauce using our recipe below.
Cece’s Secret Sauce, Shhhhhhh!
It took some arm-twisting, but our good friend Cece finally agreed to share her family’s secret recipe. Is it the lime juice that makes it so special? Or could it be the rum???
Ingredients
2 teaspoons Mexican hot sauce, one with vinegar and Habanero peppers, use more if you like your sauce with an extra ‘kick’
2 cups Ketchup
2 tablespoons Hot Mustard (Jailhouse, made in Salem, NY, is our favorite)
½ cup light Puerto Rican rum
½ cup light beer
¼ cup honey (we really like organic Honey From the Adirondacks, made in Argyle, NY) ¾ cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Juice of 1 lime (about 2-3 tablespoons)
Mix all ingredients in saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes. Pour over meat in crockpot.
Held yesterday at Sheldon Farms in Salem, N.Y., approximately 50 people got together for a Slow Food USA call-to-action to return real food to school cafeterias, both locally and nationally. Our “Eat-In” was a pot-luck featuring dishes built around food that was grown and raised in a “good, clean & fair” manner. Speakers included Carolyn Wells, the chef at NYC’s St. Bernard’s School, who was at Sheldon Farms gathering food to bring back to her school to freeze and use in the winter months and Margaret Lamb, school lunch program director for the Saratoga Springs City School District, who has been successfully bringing fresh and local farm foods to her school system for a few years. Organized by Rocco Verrigni and Pat Sheldon, the SFSR Eat-in proved a great and delicious success.
Watch for recipes of many of the wonderful dishes!
Ric Orlando has been a supporter of Slow Food in the Hudson Valley for some time. We were thrilled when he recently became the chef at New World Bistro & Bar next to the Spectrum Theater in Albany, bringing his Slow food friendly fare to our region. We were even more thrilled when he agreed to host one of our monthly dinners, this past Wednesday, August 5th. He did not disappoint, building a meal around a theme of new York State cheeses, with each dish featuring a significant contribution from a top NY cheese.
To pair with the dishes, the restaurant suggested wines from a NY State winery, Atwater Estates. To make choosing even easier and the evening even more pleasant, Atwater had a tasting station set up at the start of the evening allowing our members generous tastings of each of their gewurtztraminer, dry Riesling, pinot noir and sparkling wines, all quite tasty, with the Reisling, IMO, being the standout of the bunch.
While the attendees were gathering and conversing, waitstaff came around with Four Borthers’ Farmstead Feta, that had been fried and drizzled with Atwater Sweet Reisling Sauce. These were quite delightful and it would have been tempting to just keep eating them as they just kept coming out of the kitchen, but I had seen the rest of the menu and knew to hold back for other goodies.
The first formal course, was a Chile Relleno with Hawthorne Valley Raw Cheddar, local cranberry beans and corn and sauced with Meadowbrook creme fraiche-corn sauce. Not a traditional Mexican chile relleno,it was packed with flavor and style.
A salad of peaches, arugula, roasted beets and Berkshire Blue with truffle vinaigrette followed. The peppery arugula matched well with the controlled sweetness of the beets, the acidity of the peaches and the saltiness of the blue to provide a very satisfying salad
The main course, Fresh Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass on blue potato mash with Nettle Meadows Kunik, roasted garlic and marjoram proved a winner despite some doubts about pairing the fish with the cheese before I was served. The combination worked and worked well. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the fish was pristine and perfectly cooked.
Dessert consisted of a “Pair of Cheesy Sweeties.” These included Old Chatham Sheep’s Ricotta Fritter and Nettle Meadows Fromage Blanc Cheesecake with local honey and burnt plum. Every element of the dessert satisfied. Overall, the meal highlighted the use of cheese in such a way that had this been a contest of Iron Chef America with NY Cheese as the featured ingredient, Chef Orlando would have fared quite well.
Slow Food Saratoga Region monthly restaurant dinners are usually held on the second Wednesday of the month, however, the dates will occasionally vary for extenuating circumstances. Please keep an eye on this blog and your email for future announcements. If you are not on our email list please send your contact information to the contact address on this site. Better yet, join Slow Food USA and Slow Food Saratoga Region! There is a link on the site with which to do so.
Submitted by John M. Sconzo, M.D.,
Co-founder & President Emeritus of Slow Food Saratoga Region.
Photos courtesy of Docsconz the Blog.
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