While visiting the Gourmet Non Cook’s family in Highland Park, Illinois, we had lunch at La Casa de Isaac. Issac, the owner/proprietor, is one of 12 children from a Mexican family. The twist is that his family converted [one assumes from Roman Catholicism] to Judaism so the restaurant is closed Friday evening and Saturday day, in observation of the sabbath. However, the Kosher rules of no meat with dairy seem not to apply here, as the steak enchiladas were smothered with cheese. They were also perfectly flavored with a delicate, subtle green salsa.
The advertised house specialty is King David’s Quesadillas with lox, cream cheese and onions, but for my money the specialty of the house is the pozole, a soup traditionally made with hominy and pork but, since this is Issac’s house, is here made with chicken.
Served alongside is a tiny plate of the traditional garnishes including lime, avocado, diced onion, red chili flakes, and dried oregano. I added more lime and more red pepper as I ate, upping the spice ante with each spoonful.
My father, a true aficionado of Mexican food, says that pozole is like meatloaf–every house has its own recipe. If you’re anywhere near Highland Park, Isaac’s recipe is definitely worth checking out!
Last night, Christmas Eve, the Gourmet Non-Cook, our two housemates, and I set a table for 17 and invited a wonderful collection of friends to “rock a roll” and make their own sushi. A good time was had by all and, once again, I felt incredibly blessed to share a wonderful meal with wonderful people.
Ace and Alicia made plates out of pine planks covered in parchment paper, an idea that came to the GNC in a dream (and which was a dream to clean up–just peel away the paper!):
We rearranged the furniture (when else do you clean in the corners?!) and set a long table:
Joanna and Amanda supervised the peeling, chopping, blanching and marinating of carrots, asparagus, sweet potatoes and portabella mushrooms:
And Peter sliced the tuna, fresh as can be thanks to the Uncommon Market:
Mary, Peter, and Joanna were the rolling coaches extraordinaire:
Patient…
…talented…
…and creative.
Amanda collected the finished rolls and took them to the table,
where they were much admired.
With great laughter and toasting we gathered to enjoy each others’ company and celebrate our community of the moment.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
At some point this season it occurred to me that something is missing from the Biblical Christmas story.
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)
And then the shepherds came to visit. Methinks the story misses a key element.
Surely, they ate.
I picture the regret on the innkeeper’s face as he turned them away, feeling sorry despite his practiced indifference. I picture his wife behind the counter, imploring her husband to find some space for the bedraggled young couple.
I picture her then moving away from the exchange and heading to her kitchen, assembling a meal to take out to the barn. Meaty stew or thin soup; fresh figs or dried apricots; leftover crusts of the morning’s bread. Something to welcome the road-weary, anxious pair. I bet she sent a son or daughter to the tiny shop next door for bread or tea or dried lentils.
(I also picture her boiling some water and calling the local midwife. But that’s another story.)
I feel sure that someone brought food to the new parents, tucked away in the barn behind the busy inn. And I feel sure that everyone was grateful–Joseph and Mary for the hospitality, the others for the chance to share their daily bread with strangers in need.
A shared meal is a powerful thing. This Christmas, I feel very fortunate to be sitting down to meals with both biological and chosen family, creating new meal traditions and celebrating old ones. With each meal, we play out the age-old story of the shared table, creating a community in that moment. I am blessed.
Sunday last, as snow finally fell for the first time this year, I was transported back in time and halfway around the globe to Dharmasalam, India. Several years ago I had the good fortune to travel in northern India; because I was there during the winter, my companions and I spent quite a bit of time in teahouses, warming ourselves with pots of spicy chai (tea) and watching the snow fall.
Tulsi Tea Room, on Elm Street, has recreated this teahouse experience quite wonderfully. A dozen tea blends are steeped by the cup or by the pot; enjoy with Solenne Thompson’s vegan whole-foods sweet-treats as well as freshly-baked muffins and cookies. At lunch time there’s an Ayurvedic lunch offering. My favorite part is a cozy cushion-covered floor space perfect for relaxing with a group of friends.
Read the whole story in the December issue of the Montpelier Bridge, on newsstands now!
And visit the Tea Room, on Elm Street next to Royal Orchid Thai, Wednesday-Saturday from 10-5:30.
Every meal with, or en route to, family has a purpose, because it’s part of the larger narrative, the timeless story about people gathering together to eat and celebrate. So here’s mine:
The Gourmet Non-Cook and I started with meatloaf and Caesar salad at the counter of the Original General Store in Pittsfield (a Vermont Fresh Network member) en route to Goshen, NY. We made it in time for family dinner before the big day: Aunt Betsy’s chicken chili, with cornbread and laughter.
Thanksgiving: Coffee and a hard roll to fuel up. A 21-pound turkey from Tangletown Farm, brined overnight in a cooler in the garage and enjoyed with my sweetie’s mother, brother, aunts, cousins–a family with whom I was grateful to be gathered. Later, apple crisp, pumpkin cheesecake, and cinnamon ice cream from Strafford Organic Creamery–though I’m not sure how I ate another bite.
Black Friday: goodbye to her family via Joe Fix Its; we picked up rugelach and flourless chocolate cake from the Goshen Gourmet Cafe next door, to take to mine. Mole polle y nino en vuelta on Arthur Avenue with mom and sis and bro-in-law, then a stop down the street at Mike’s Deli in the Italian market for prosciutto and parmesan and salad fixings. Helped my sis make turkey rice soup–while leaving enough leftovers for sandwiches, of course.
Saturday: A breeze through the Union Square Greenmarket holiday market (no food, but a beautiful spice stall) en route to Chinatown, where we ate Pho and Vietnamese dumplings at Nha Trang on Baxter Ave. Visited the Buddhist temple and the Chinese groceries before heading to Babycakes for gluten free doughnuts and chocolate chip cookies.
All good things must come to an end: Turkey sandwiches for the road, and a vanilla latte at the Haymarket Cafe in Northhampton, Mass, were a gentle ending to a weekend of good food with family and friends. May I always remember to be as grateful for food and family as I was this weekend!
“You might have to talk to me about the warm calf kidney,” the woman said dubiously to the bartender…
Check out my profile of Three Penny Taproom chef Brett Champlain and his creative meat concoctions in today’s Times-Argus.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
cut in large julienne
don’t be shy with the olive oil
cast iron skillet
covered
low heat
do something else
uncover
salt
[Vermont] butter [and Cheese]
stir a while
heat off
chopped parsey
divine
thanks: Mathew Bilodeau, celeriac guru
Chef Brett Champlain channels some kind of Jedi Force when he braises calf’s heart in root beer and brown stock, a combo that gives the substantial meat a sweet flavor he dubs a “hamburger and soda feeling.” Alongside: raw celeriac sliced thin (on an industrial slicer Champlain treats like a mandoline), tossed with a few capers, parsley, pepper and pickling brine. I nearly swooned. Another day might find him poaching calf’s breast in curds and whey and orange peel, or serving marinated duck hearts. Have a beer, eat the rest of the animal. It’s absurdly good.
And 22 beers on tap, at Three Penny Taproom. Look for a profile in Tuesday’s Times-Argus.
Buy a newspaper, will ya? A free and vigorous press is an essential part of a true democracy.
Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Crystal Maderia, chef/owner of Kismet, and Mathew Bilodeau, head chef at the Black Door, to chat about their recent collaboration in the form of a series of seasonal tasting dinners. The first part of the interview appears in today’s Times-Argus. Here’s the rest…
What do you like about these dinners?
Mathew Bilodeau: It’s nice to work with someone else to have input, because you can get kind of lonely, putting together everything by yourself without any outside influence. It’s really great working with someone. I showed up with a menu with for the next dinner, and then after sitting down for a couple of hours with Crystal, it’s leaps and bounds better than it was—not that it wasn’t good to begin with, it just works really well. There’s so much food out there, so much to draw on, sometimes you forget that something even exists, and the other person is there to throw it back at you. It comes together well, and it’s fun, and this is why I cook.
Crystal Maderia: There’s a lot of sacrifices that you have to make if you’re working in a restaurant, if working with food is your skill and your craft. You have to make sacrifices when you make a menu because people will order whatever they want off the of menu and sometimes make combinations that I wouldn’t necessarily want them to make. Plus, you don’t get to have an interaction with them to see if they really truly enjoyed it, or how it could be better.
Also, I create menus for weddings and special events and I really enjoy that, but usually it’s on such a large scale—like for two hundred guests—that we lose a lot of the details of individual dishes. So having a small group that we can both interact with—we get to do it the way we want to do it.
What thoughts do you have for home cooks who are starting to embrace local foods?
Crystal: My answer is pretty simple. I think it’s easiest to just stay with those ingredients. Don’t try to be too complicated at first. Meat and vegetables are a great meal. A lot of people, especially in America, have forgotten that you don’t need to have bread or rice or pasta to make the base of a meal. Meat and vegetables alone, just those flavors by themselves, salt and pepper, some nice olive oil…
Mathew: …certainly simplicity, and as you learn the simple preparations of your vegetables, choosing your favorites, and then expanding. I could do celeriac ten ways. When you’re eating locally, there’s no compromise in freshness, there’s no compromise in quality—when you’re buying from people who care, it’s going to taste better. Take that in as a consumer, treat it for what it is, and expand on it later. Start in simplicity.
Crystal: Don’t underestimate the relationship between the consumer and the producer. The farmers know the best what to do with their food. Ask them.
And get proper utensils and tools. One good saute pan, a steamer. Every kitchen should have a cast iron skillet, I think.
What are you hoping to accomplish with the “Warmth in the Winter” menu series?
Crystal: Because it is during the holiday season, we’re wanting to bring in the feeling of celebration. We’re talking about the idea of gifts being translated into parcels, like food parcels of some sort, and finding what that means for each of the areas. Something exquisite for each of the areas, something really unique and special, a once-a-year sort of thing. We’ll use traditional cooking methods from each of the regions, so we might be using local ingredients but with a traditional preparation.
Mathew: I’ll be heavily influenced by the origin, the history, the reason why it’s special, why it’s part of a celebration dinner. Learning why that food is there, what course of history it took to become a special item, whether it be that the season is short or that with the arrival of someone from another country, this became a prominent flavor, and so on. It’s a college thesis (laugh).
Crystal: We’ll share stories and folklore, which is exciting for both of us because that’s what inspires us to learn new recipes and new ways of cooking.
Mathew: It’s a step away from the functionality of food. It’s so much more than that. It’s an experience.
Reservations are currently being accepted for the Warmth in the Winter dinners in November, December, and January. Dinners are $100 per person. Call Kismet at 223-8646 or check out the blog at kismetkitchen.com for more details.
I love it when food is front page news! Check out the profile of Tim and Wilawan “Dang” Azarian in this week’s Montpelier Bridge. And head down to the post office at lunch time for some curry while the weather is still nice!
