What I Did on My Winter Vacation: Tech, pizza, and restaurant edition
First and foreleast, my hard drive crashed. And man, it takes a lot of time to get your digital life back in order.
But! That was not all that happened between eggnog season and now. Incidentally, do you like eggnog? I don’t. But maybe I need to try fancy Cocktail Revival Eggnog.
So after several December trips, including a Hanukkah jaunt to Miami and a holiday party in my hometown, we made our way to Woodstock, Vermont for a week of skiing, snowshoeing, comfort food, and Bananagrams. Pretty much in that order, though the eating and Bananagrams may have superseded the snowshoes. Despite my earlier grumbling, I’m all for comfort food in the proper context. To that end, there was biscuit-topped chicken pot pie, chili and cornbread, and some very tasty pizzas topped with smoked mozzarella from Maplebrook Farm and a sprinkling of gruyere-style Ascutney Mountain from Cobb Hill. Both excellent choices for pie, though the latter is a little pricey and was only used because we were cleaning out the fridge.
Those two cheeses were part of an all-Vermont cheese tasting bonanza, which we conducted over the week. I’ll go into some detail about that in the next post.
Meanwhile, should you find yourself hungry in Woodstock, there are three excellent restaurant/cafe options:
Getting back to the Scroogery…
3. Cupcake Bakeries
Sure, cupcakes are cute, fun, and tasty. I have no problem with the product. In fact, I enjoy the occasional swing by Kickass when I’m over in Davis Square. But we’ve reached saturation and there’s no more need for a bakery devoted solely to one product. Because guess what? Cupakes are made with sugar and butter just like every other pastry. They are not a separate class of baked good. Eating mini-cakes at a “cupcakery” doesn’t make them any more fun or virtuous than a brownie or lobster claw.
Hypocritical confession: I’m actually psyched that a new fro-yo place moved in down the street from me. I know we’re saturated there, too, but what can I say? It’s dessert without guilt.
4. Fake Locavorism
Word to the wise: When a restaurant tells you it serves “local, organic produce when possible,” or makes a big show of a single Verrill Farm tomato on the menu, be suspicious. Chances are, they’re not really walking the walk. The local/seasonal/sustainable mantra is hot stuff, but it’s a tough road to walk, much harder than just getting all your veg from a single distributor. Despite the efforts of many, New England lacks really efficient farm-to-table networks. Chefs like Tony Maws and Tim Weichmann spend a lot of time on the phone with individual growers, tracking down ingredients. Chefs already work crazy hours, and many aren’t able/willing to scout free time scouting. Others can’t afford the price differential.
So fine. Don’t do it if you can’t. But don’t try to snow us, either.
…to be continued.
A new year, a new decade, and a good time to vent about
all the overcooked food trends that have become a source of torment for anyone who eats out on a regular basis.
1) Comfort food
Until, say, 2 years ago, I liked mac n’ cheese, short ribs, and steak frites as much as the next emotional eater. Before they achieved ubiquity, these high-fat indulgences were a lovely, naughty, occasional treat. Now they’re just your typical dinner at an average mid-price restaurant.
My hometown of Windsor, CT, is no culinary hotbed, but it has its charms. Every May, the village elders hold a giant carnival/craft fair/roach-clip-market called the Shad Derby to celebrate the arrival of A. sapidissima as it makes its way up the Connecticut River to spawn. As I remember it, there was always fried dough, candy dots, a bounce house, and Seventies-style ground beef tacos from the Saint Gabriel’s School PTO booth. It was a time.
In honor of Thanksgiving, here’s a recipe for a Spiced Tea Cranberry Sauce that I developed for Sunset magazine a few years ago. It’s made with cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and—stay with me—Earl Grey tea. That may sound odd, but Early Grey is flavored with bergamot, a citrus fruit, and it’s amazing with cranberries.
This sauce is incredibly easy to make—just pay close attention to the timing, so you don’t over-steep the tea.
In a 4-quart pot over high heat, combine 1 3/4 cups water; 2 1/4 cups sugar; 4 whole cardamom pods; 3 whole star anise; and 3 cinnamon sticks. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Add 5 Earl Grey tea bags, and simmer exactly 2 minutes. Remove tea bags and spices with a slotted spoon and add 8 cups whole cranberries (about 2 1/2 bags, fresh or frozen). Increase heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring often, until cranberries soften and split their skins and sauce thickens, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before serving (the sauce will thicken further as it cools). Or cover and refrigerate up to 4 days. Yield: 6 cups
(Photo by Iain Bagwell)
I emailed Phillip Tang a few weeks ago to ask when he thought he’d be opening his hotly anticipated Momofuku-esque restaurant in the old Benatti space in Inman Square. Just got the following reply:
Sorry it has taken so long to write back but I have been inundated with emails recently as I have been seeking employees for the new restaurant. I unfortunately cannot give an exact date due to the unpredictability of restaurant openings, but I would like to open either in mid-December before the holidays or wait until just after the new year. Thank you very much for taking interest in the opening of my restaurant, I am very excited about this project.
I can’t wait…
——Original Message——
From: Amy Traverso
Date: November 19, 2009 12:55:36 AM EST
To: Jolyon Helterman
Catching up on reading, and noticing some seriously late-to-the-game food reporting lately. You?
——Original Message——
From: Jolyon Helterman
Subject: Breaking News!
Date: November 19, 2009 1:14:55 AM EST
To: Amy Traverso
Scan-It-Yourself: Local Grocery Stores Let Customers Play Cashier!
——Original Message——
From: Amy Traverso
Subject: Re: Breaking News!
Date: November 19, 2009 1:55:36 AM EST
To: Jolyon Helterman
Pesto: The Next “It” Ingredient!
——Original Message——
From: Jolyon Helterman
Subject: Small Plates Go Bigtime
Date: November 19, 2009 2:14:41 AM EST
To: Amy Traverso
Once upon a time, fickle diners had to content themselves with choosing from amongst a handful of appetizer or starters from the top of the menu. No longer. Local chefs are giving graze-o-philes a boon with menus full of small plates, or “tapas.”
——Original Message——
From: Amy Traverso
To: Jolyon Helterman
Subject: Re: Small Plates Go Bigtime
Sent: Nov 19, 2009 2:23 AM
Crazy for Cocktails!
Forget the Island Oasis margarita slushies you’ve been drinking up ‘til now: Today’s bartenders are turning out retro elixirs using quality spirits and the freshest mixers. One sip of these sidecars and Cosmos and you’ll be saying, “You’re so money and you don’t even know it!”
Active time: 30 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes: 8 to 10 servings
For the dough:
2 1/3 cups (330 g) flour
3/4 cup (225 g) sugar
4 teaspoons (40 g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (4 g) table salt
15 tablespoons (213 g) butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs (about 55 g each), at room temperature
For the filling:
1 lb. (454 g, about 2) firm-sweet apples (such as Golden Delicious or Jazz)
2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) apricot jam
Garnish: 2 tbsp (4 g) sliced almonds mixed with 1 teaspoon (5 g) sugar and 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350º, and position rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9- or 10-inch Springform-style pan with removable sides.
2. To make dough, sift dry ingredients into the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer). Add butter and mix at medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add eggs and mix until ingredients form a ball, another 30 seconds (dough will be very soft). Using a spatula, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into two equal pieces, wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon juice over apples and stir. Set aside 10 minutes.
3. Press one ball of dough into prepared pan so that it covers the bottom. Cover with sliced apples. Top all over with small dabs of jam. Divide the remaining ball of dough into 10 equal-sized balls and distribute evenly in top of apples (the dough will rise up around filling as it bakes). Sprinkle with almond garnish. Bake until dough is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and let cool 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan and serve.
I’m not even a fan of Seth Rogen movies, but I can’t stop pointing out this apple’s obvious resemblance to a plumber whenever someone comes over (friends, MassPIRG, Fed Ex). For example: “Hey, if I finally do eat this apple, does that make me an assmunch?”
Also, lesson: Don’t get soapstone counters if you’re not prepared to oil them semiweekly.
