Thursday, June 2, 2016
This week’s issue of Seven Days features an interview with renowned food writer Ruth Reichl. Last week, I met Reichl at Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, where she spent three days co-teaching a summer course called “Food Writing From the Farm” at the college’s School of the New American Farmstead.
There wasn’t enough space to run the entire interview in print. Here are extended questions and answers from our front-porch conversation on the Sterling College campus:
Tags: Ruth Reichl , Sterling College , agriculture , chefs , eating , dining , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Last night, I bathed the fungi (along with some oyster mushrooms my mom brought over) in a slap-dash marinade for 15 minutes, then passed them off to the grill man, who charred them briefly for a sumptuous supper side.
My marinade was simple — a splash of olive oil, a bigger splash of beer (I was drinking an IPA from Harpoon Brewery, but anything with some flavor — white wine, rosé or cider — would work), and a little salt and garlic. Also, this would work with other types of mushrooms, so you could use a portobello or even some big button mushrooms, if you're not into or can't get the wild stuff.
Tags: Chicken of the Woods , Grilling , Marinade , Recipes , Vegan , Gluten-free , Image , Web Only
When I arrived at 10 a.m, Alsammraee's kitchen was already in full swing. She divided tasks between Ahlam Al Attar and
Tags: Iraqi cuisine , kubba , borek , kofta , falafel , fatayer , shawarma , Slideshow , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
There, life on the road — and, of course, the old Italian farmers and WWOOF-er weirdos I lived with — taught 18-year-old me a few things about eating and cooking.
First: The best meals often consist of sturdy bread, handmade cheese and charcuterie or fresh pesto. Second: When cooking, most dishes require just a couple quality ingredients — and a bit of salt. Combine them with care and don't fuss about it too much!
In the spirit of all that, here's an ultra-simple, eat-the-weeds dandelion pesto, made with a little Bayley-Hazen blue cheese from Jasper Hill Farm, which I grabbed at Hand Crafters Hub on my way home from Hill Farmstead Brewery last week.
Tags: Pesto , Dandelions , Recipes , Vegetarian , Vegan , Gluten-free , Cooking , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
And last weekend, I picked up some beautiful rhubarb and greenhouse cucumbers at 4 Corners Farm in Newbury. I had grand plans of making tiny rhubarb galettes, which I'd eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of the week. Tart rhubarb pie is one of my most highly anticipated spring joys.
But the motivation to make pie crust eluded me. Plus, this shiny new machine was staring me down from inside its box on the kitchen floor.
So I juiced the rhubarb with a cucumber, which made enough juice for two or three cocktails. A pour of Honeycrisp ice cider from Champlain Orchards sweetened the deal, while a shot of barrel-aged gin from Stonecutter Spirits (which nabbed a double-gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in April) gave it a boozy kick.
The gin's herby botanicals add an extra layer of fab to this drink, but really, any well-made gin (perhaps Caledonia Spirits' just-released Tom Cat gin, aged in Vermont-oak barrels) or whatever you've got in your cabinet will do.
And, please, take this drink outside — it's basically spring in a glass.
Ingredients:
5-6 stalks rhubarb
1 small cucumber
2 ounces ice cider
2 ounces gin
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
Splash club soda
Splash Bonal Gentiane Quina
1-2 drops Citrus bitters
Preparation:
Juice the produce first and allow to settle. Pour ice cider, gin and maple syrup into a large glass and stir thoroughly. Fill glass with ice, stir again, and add juice until the liquid is about 1 inch from the top. Agitate with a spoon to mix the juice and booze slightly, then top off with club soda. Float Bonal on top and spritz with bitters. Garnish with fresh flowers or herbs or orange peel.
Tags: Cocktails , Recipes , Gin , Rhubarb , Cucumber , Vegetarian , Vegan , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
They settled on buying and roasting small batches of specialty coffee, which draws on both parties’ prior work experience. “The idea just percolated up,” says Magda. Followed by a facepalm and a groan at her pun.
The couple founded Brio Coffeeworks in Burlington in 2014. The business is primarily a wholesale roastery, sourcing beans from small farms and selling mainly to cafés, restaurants, specialty markets and co-ops. At any given time, Brio has 10 to 20 varieties for sale.
Tags: Solomon's Seal Shoots , Recipes , Buttermilk-Ramp Ranch , Vegetarian , Dill , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
I can recall all of the times I’ve had cornflakes in my dessert: once, last week at Hen of the Wood in Burlington.
The dessert was a brown-butter cake with peanut butter ice cream and apple granita, all topped with slightly crumbled cornflakes. It hit just about every taste and texture possible. The cake was light, the peanut butter ice cream salty and a bit rich; the apple added a bit of pucker, and the cornflakes gave it crunch. The dish was equal parts delightful, complicated and playful.
We ordered two of them.
Tags: Hen of the Wood , dessert , brown-butter cake , Laura Schantz , Image , Web Only
I love eating golden-crisp potatoes, roasted in a hot oven with plenty of space around each one, year-round. Today, I tossed some with a touch of Karim Farm & Creamery's hard Vertalia cheese, fresh dill and a few ramps I picked a couple weeks ago. I also threw in the last bit of my first-ever guanciale, now more than a year old...
Also, these little pommes are easily flexitarian. Vegetarian? Vegan? Hold the meat and cheese and swap olive oil for butter — it's a fine dish even without the animal fats. And it makes fab leftovers. Just pop it in a warm oven to reheat, and you're halfway to a proper dinner.
Tags: Roasted potatoes , dill , ramps , recipes , guanciale , vegetarian , vegan , gluten-free , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
For Vermont Restaurant Week, Seven Days tested the knowledge of Vermonters in a fierce 71-question trivia challenge held at Nectar's in Burlington. Only one team emerged triumphant — the team from Prohibition Pig, scoring a total of 56 out of 71 possible points.
What follows is a peek at the questions our competitors tackled. Put your knowledge to the test with 16-questions test that will challenge your familiarity with the Vermont restaurant scene, as well as your general culinary prowess.