Home Restaurant March 22, 2012

Photo Kate Headley

Last night we hosted a dinner for an old friend of ours and his colleagues who were in town from all over the world...  Fabulous to have so many just available spring ingredients– shad roe, fiddelhead ferns, pea shoots, rhubarb... As per our hosts request served all American wines–

PASSING

Scrambled Egg and Bacon, Shad Roe with Sorrel, Grilled Guinea Hen with Leek and Mustard, Roasted and Pureed Potato with Oregon Truffle, Watermelon Radish with Parsley, Baby Beets and Balsamic, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Ginger

(Arnot-Roberts) Rose of Touriga Nacional 2011, Bay and Lemon Vodka Martini

SEATED

Roasted Rockfish with Lemon Grass, Carrot, Salsify and Spinach– Sesame Roll

(Porter Creek) Pinot Noir Russian River 2009 

Fiddle Fead Ferns, Black Trumpet Mushroom with Celery, Celery Root and Fennel Salad– Spelt Olive Oil Bread

(Illahe Vineyards) Pinot Gris Willamette 2010 

Beef Short Ribs with Pea Shoots and Black Walnut, Turnip Gratin– 48 Hour Bread

(Porter Creek) Carignan "Old Vines" Mendocino 2009  

Winnimere Cheese, Walnut Cracker

Ginger Bread with Frozen Vanilla, Rhubarb and Candied Pecans

(Red Newt Cellars) Finger Lakes Riesling Semi Dry 2010

Cookies: Chocolate Cake, Coconut Almond, Rosemary Cornmeal, Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti

Take Home: Salty Rosemary Walnut Biscotti

Note from Path Valley Coooperative

Anyone who has eaten at a Home Restaurant or knows me at all has heard me rave about Path Valley.  Just after they were formed, nearly two decades ago,  we connected with the cooperative of Amish farmers and they have been our primary source for produce ever since. Yesterday with the weeks order list we got a note:

Yay!  It is March and the weather is being predictable for once.  The winds are perfect for kite flying and the kids have been really busy running around "catching the breeze" and "adding more tail" and generally enjoying the weather.  Spring has never seemed so welcome.
All of the growers have been busy placing seed orders and tilling and preparing for a busy growing season.   Month after month we do more business than ever and with the increase in business comes an increase in WORK and we are all ready to work.
All of us are super appreciative of being able to grow produce at home.  This keeps families at home, specifically, it keeps the guys at home.
This is far preferable than working out as a day laborer or at the local pallet shop.  There is a strong current of gratitude that I don't often mention and yet it is a fact that we all appreciate growing produce for you and engaging in such grounding and rewarding labor.
Thank you for supporting our family farms.

Home Restaurant March 3, 2012

Photo Kate Headley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At open Home Restaurants it is a joy to bring people together to share a meal and enjoy conversation with other guests they have just met.  Consistently we have found that guests who choose to dine with us are open to the experience and make fast friends with the other diners.  Last night was no exception, conversation was steady, intense and animated.  When guests left many exchanged contact information and I guess that many conversations will continue long past the duration of the dinner– We had a good night!  Thanks to everyone who joined us last night.

PASSING

White Sturgeon Caviar, Sweet Potato/ Celery, Celery Root, Celery Seed/ Shad Roe, Sorrel/ Flat Iron, Caramelized Onion/ Oregon Black Truffle, Potato/ Parsnip, Fermented Grains, Chives/ Radish, Parsley, Sesame

(Ch. L'Eperonniere) Rose de Loire 2010Bay Leaf Lemon Vodka Cocktail

SEATED

Guinea Hen, Dashi, Leek, Carrot, Giant White Lima Beams, Crinkle Cress– 48 Hour Farm Bread  (La Sauvageonne) Coteaux du Languedoc "Les Ruffes" 2009

Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Pickled Baby Turnip, Pickled Baby Beet, Black Rice, Pea Shoots, Black Walnuts– Spelt Olive Oil Bread  (Thevenet) St. Veran 'Clos de l'Ermitage' V.V. 2009

Rockfish, Salsify, Scorzonera, Rhubarb, Baby Kale– Cornmeal Herb Roll  (Jean Marc Pillot) Bourgogne Rouge 'Les Grands Terres' 2008

Rush Creek Reserve Cheese and Cracker

Sauterne Olive Oil Cake, Mandarin Oranges, Frozen Sesame and Dates  (Eudald) 'Familia' Brut Cava NV

Cookies: Black Tea Savi Seed Oatmeal Crisps, Cornmeal Rosemary Walnut Drops, Chocolate Cake with Hickory Nuts and Coconut, Salty Macadamia Nut Chocolate Biscotti

Take Home: Chocolate, Fig and Red Walnut Bread

Home Restaurant February 11, 2012

photo Kate Headley

Fabulous group gathered for a birthday celebration this past Saturday– this is what we served...

Passing

Parsnip with Garlic, Argmanac and Port Puree

Potato and Black Truffle

Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Rosemary

Vin de Paille Broth with Chive

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion

Pickled China Rose, Black Spanish and Watermelon Radishes

Bay Leaf Vodka Martini, (Labbe) Abymes Savoie 2010

Seated

Monkfish, Cabbage, Celery Root, Grainy Mustard and Black Walnuts– 48 hour farm bread

(Dom. des Roy) Touraine ROUGE "Les Linottes" 2009

Chiogga, White and Red Ace Beets – Tendersweet, Sugarsnax and Sweetness Carrots–  Gold Ball, Scarlet Queen and Purple Top Turnips on Arugula with Sesame Poppy Seed Dressing and Savi Seeds– herb whole wheat roll

(Tenuta Roveglia) Lugana Superiore Vigne di Catullo 2010

Wood Grilled Guinea Hen, Leeks, Salsify, White Lima Beans and Pea Shoots– olive oil spelt focaccia

(Dom. de Fenouillet) Beaumes de Venise "Cuvee Yvon Soard" 2009 MAGNUM

Grayson Cheese and Olive Cracker

Frozen Pistachio, Chocolate Cake, Thick Chocolate Sauce and Cocoa Nibs

Bites:  Salty Rosemary Walnut Biscotti, Coconut Almond Macaroon, Olive Oil Carrot Cake

Nouveau Nez

Vegan Home Restaurant

Last night we were very excited to host our first all vegan Home Restaurant.  Often we accommodate vegans at 1508 but this was the first time we served an entire vegan meal...

PASSING

Garlic, Port and Armagnac Puree

Mashed Potato and Black Truffle on Roasted Potato

Roasted Parsnip

Vin de Paille Broth with Chive

Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion

Pickled China Rose, Black Spanish and Watermelon Radishes

(Ch. Les Valentines) Cotes du Provence ROSE Estate 2010, Bay Leaf Vodka Martini 

SEATED

Root Vegetable Salad: Chiogga, White and Red Ace Beets on Baby Arugula and Savi Seed Dressing– Tendersweet, Sugarsnax and Sweetness Carrots on Baby Blue Kale and Sesame Dressing–  Gold Ball, Scarlet Queen and Purple Top Turnips on Pea Shoots and Poppy Seed Dressing

(Tenuta Roveglia) Lugana Superiore Vigne di Catullo 2010

Leek and Wood Grilled Salsify Stew with White Lima Beans and Sorrel

(Cheveau) Saint Amour 'En Rontey' 2009 

Napa Cabbage filled with Yellow Oyster Mushrooms, Savoy Cabbage filled with Shiitake, Green Cabbage filled with Button Mushrooms, on Celery Root Puree with Roasted Chanterelle and Black Walnuts

(Triacca) Sassella Valtenllina Superiore 2008

Grain and Nut Yogurt Cheese on Walnut Cracker

Frozen Pistachio on Chocolate Cake with Thick Chocolate Sauce, Roasted Pistachios and Cocoa Nibs

(Moutard) Champagne 'Cuvee 6 Cepages' 2004 

Bites: Coconut Almond Macaroons, Salty Rosemary Walnut Biscotti, Mini Carrot Olive Oil Cake

Take Home: Sesame Coated Bread

Home Restaurant Hors d'oeuvre

Hors d'oeuvre translates into English as “a part from the main work” or “outside the oeuvre.”  Passing small bites or ‘hor d’oeuvres’ during cocktail hour is something that can’t really happen in a traditional restaurant.  We used to serve an amuse-bouche to people as they sat down in our former restaurant Rupperts. However this seemed very much a part of the main meal for us-- A gift from the chef to try to make people feel at home.  Of course the trend these days in restaurants is small plates— multiple small plates that aggregate into the main meal.  But how does one serve something at a dinner and keep it separate from that dinner.  During our Home Restaurants we create small bites that are served during a cocktail hour. Guests gather and visit in the library or out in the garden, weather permitting.  We use the time to develop relations with the diner.  A stranger has entered in to our home to eat, not the usual entitlement that goes along with the hard and cold contract of dinner reservations at a restaurant.  We want to introduce the guest to who we are with out intruding on the meal they are about to encounter.  There are three thoughts that we take into consideration as we try to do this. 1. Size… Knowing that people can only eat so much–  keep it small,  and light— avoid heavy ingredients.  2. Function…Make it easy to eat so it is welcoming and there are no awkward moments in an already unfamiliar setting.  3. A part from the main meal… Look for lacunas in the sit down portion, maybe there is no poultry or seafood, or maybe there is something that you do really well and that something did not make it on to your menu.

We have gone back in forth over the last few years with our bites and feel just recently to have gotten the hang of this ‘outside’ of the meal.  We look at it simply as if we were in our mother’s or grandmother’s kitchen and she would offer us a taste of something that she had stashed away but wasn’t on offering that night. Simple and raw, which is to say: beginnings always start from the outside.

Sorrel in February

Sorrel, a favorite herb of ours is a perennial.  We grow a red veined variety in our front herb garden and green sorrel in our back walled garden.  Most winters it completely dies back and returns in the spring– this mild winter it is still going strong.  Saturday night we hosted a Home Restaurant and used it to complement passed Path Valley scrambled eggs.

Take Home Gift– chocolate, fig and walnut bread

I have always been a fan of both giving and receiving goodie bags.  When we do Home Restaurants we send guests home with something in hand, often warm bread just out of the oven– eaten by some on the way home from dinner and others for breakfast the following morning. My favorite take home gift of the moment is chocolate, dried fig and walnut bread.  The bonus is that we always make an extra loaf or two so we can enjoy it for breakfast the morning after we cook.

Birthday– Wednesday, February 1

-Salsify from Path Valley Cooperative, Pennsylvania

We were thrilled to host a birthday celebration for a friend of ours we met years ago at our former restaurant, Ruppert's. American wines were requested, not usually the origin of wines at our table. Tom, the wine importer who we count on to help us match food and wine did an outstanding job as always.  We enjoyed tasting wines that were all new to 1508.

Passing

Shiitake Soup, Kale with Sesame and Watermelon Radish, Parsnip, Celery Root and Shallot, Egg and Sorrel, Sweet Potato and Candy Onions, Guinea Hen and Parsley

(Illahe Vineyards) Pinot Gris Willamette 2010

Titos (Austin TX) Bay Leaf Vodka Cocktail

Seated

Wood Grilled Flat Iron Steak, Savoy Cabbage, Butternut Squash, Tiny Potato– Farm Bread

(Porter Creek) Zinfandel Sonoma 2009

Fennel, Black Walnut, White Lima Beans, Beets, Turnip, Carrot, Black Truffle– Rosemary Whole Grain Roll

(White Rock Vnyds) Chardonnay Napa 2009

Rockfish, Salsify, Saffron, Pea Shoots– Spelt Focaccia

(Porter Creek) Pinot Noir Russian River 2008

Harbison Cheese, Cracker

Carrot Cake, Coconut Sorbet, Toasted Coconut, Almonds, Pineapple

(Red Newt) Finger Lakes Riesling 'Circle' 2010

 Mini Chocolate Cakes, Tonka Bean Crisps, Chocolate Mint Drops

Take Home: Chocolate, Fig, Walnut Bread

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Welcome 2012!

Rang in 2012 at 1508 with fabulous guest, thanks to all in attendance!

Passing

Salsify, Celery Root, American White Sturgeon Caviar

Beet Noodles, Chives

Egg, Jowl Bacon, Sorrel

Kale, Sesame 

Lamb BBQ, Kohlrabi

Parsnip and Baby Turnips

(Jacques Lassaigne) Blanc de Blancs Brut 'Les Vignes de Montgueux' NV, Vodka Bay Leaf Martini 

 Seated

Hangar Steak, Avocado, Brussel Sprouts, Farm Bread

(Monpertuis) Cotes du Rhone 2009

Lima Beans, Squash, Black Walnuts, Collard Greens, Oregon Black Truffle, Herb Flatbread

(Vincent Dampt) Chablis 1er 'Cote de Lechet' 2008 

Rockfish, Saffron Broth, Leek, Carrot, Smashed Potato, Salted Spelt Bread

(Chezeaux) Bourgogne Rouge 2008

Appalachian Cheese, Cracker

Date Sesame Custard, Fresh Date, Meyer Lemon, Sesame Brittle

Frozen Truffle, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Sauce, Shaved Truffle

(Tissot) Cremant du Jura Brut Rose NV

Cookies: Sparkly Tonka Bean Stars, Coconut Pistachio, Ginger, Chocolate Mint

Take Home:  Chocolate Fig Walnut Bread

Dinner Saturday December 10, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo Kate Headley

We hosted a Home Restaurant last Saturday filled with old and brand new friends...

Passing

Scallop on Potato with Sorrel

Jowl Bacon and Eggs on Toast with Chives

Pickled Beet with Chestnut

Flat Iron Steak on Kohlrabi with Caramelized Onions

Guinea Hen Confit on Sweet Potato

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli

Bay Leaf Vodka Martini, (Domaine Brazillier) Coteaux du Vendomois Rose 2010

Seated

Lamb Shoulder with Kale Salad, Pumpkin Seeds and Watermelon Radish– 48 hour Bread

(Roger Perrin) Chateauneuf du Pape 2008

Delicata Squash, Black Walnut, Garlic, Chard, Oregon Truffle– Sorgum Syrup Bread

(Chateau de Roquefort) Provence BLANC "Genets" 2010

Rockfish with Corn Grits, Turnip, Celery Root and Carrot– Olive Oil Spelt Bread

(Chateau de Vaux) Pinot Noir "Les Hautes Bassieres" 2009

Gabietou Cheese and Cracker

Black Rice Pudding and Persimmon

Gingerbread, Frozen Chestnut and Chocolate

(Caves Jean Bourdy) Cremant du Jura Brut NV

Bites: Coconut Pistachio, Chocolate Mint, Salty Sweet Rosemary Biscotti

To Go: Chocolate Fig Bread

Fried Chicken Mushroom!

Last week fried chicken mushrooms were available through the wild mushroom forager in Oregon that I often rely on when wild mushrooms are not available locally or I do not have the time to hunt for my own.  I had never heard of them before... They were delicious, fairly mild flavored with a slightly sweet and woodsy flavor and a meaty texture.  We served them roasted with spaghetti squash, celery root sauce, chickweed and a little bit of pickled beets.  I will order them again...and am wondering if I might be able to find them in the woods locally.

Local Huckleberries

When I saw huckleberries were available from the Amish cooperative Path Valley I immediately added them to my list despite the fact that I had no specific plan about what I was going to do with them.  Some became part of a pudding (recipe below) for a tiny first dessert course that I served with a salty rosemary walnut biscotti.  The remainder got cooked and sweetened with local honey, put in little jars and given away as to-go gifts for guests at last Friday nights Home Restaurant. I am now a fan of huckleberries!

Huckleberry Almond Pudding

1 cup huckleberries, cooked, pureed and passed through a fine sieve

2 cups almond milk

1/4 cup sugar or more if you want a sweeter pudding

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons cornstarch

In a small saucepan combine huckleberries, almond milk, sugar and salt.

Heat over medium heat stirring often until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.

In a small bowl combine cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and mix until smooth.

Slowly add the cornstarch to the huckleberry mixture and combine thoroughly.

Heat over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

Pour into individual serving cups or 1 large bowl and chill until set, about 12 hours.