Spice is Nice

Growing up in a Jewish home, my mother wasn't big on the hot pepper or the jalapeno's! Garlic.... rosemary... salt... pepper... they were the constants. So for me, spicy food was always something that meant burns going in and out! When I got to college in upstate New York, I discovered real "Buffalo" wings. These were nothing like the wings I'd seen before or since. When presented with a "suicide" wing, I was immediately aware of how well named these little crispy nuggest were. However, with a bit of blue cheese on them, I found it to be not just tasty, not just hot, not just juicy, but addictive. Every week without fail, we'd order our wings from Sergio's - 2 dozen wings a piece with extra blue cheese, carrots and celery. Originally for me, college was about being on my own and discovering alcohol... now, it was the quest for buffalo wings. After college, it was all about blackened food. Spicy cajun rubs for fish, chicken, steaks and shrimp. You could practically order anything blackened and I think everyone did. Then the big spice craze was wasabi. The one spice I can handle as hot as it comes is wasabi. Horseradish heat cleans my head, literally. And I LOVE it. So, now at the cafe, I've been looking to add new sandwiches and salads to the menu. My memmories of blackened spices came right back and I knew, right away, that a blackened chicken sandwich and a blackened chicken salad were in order. The sandwich gets a nice chive and key lime aioli and the salad gets goat cheese, candied pecans and a strawberry vinaigrette! We're going to have the salad on the menu this Sunday for mother's day. I may have grown up without the hot and spicy, but now, I find that it's definitely something that I can't imagine having ever lived without!

What's Your Comfort Food?

As I woke up this morning, I noticed that it was raining and grey and all I wanted to do was stay in bed... with a bowl of mashed potatoes. Yep... Mashed Potatoes! I am not ashamed to admit that mashed potatoes are one of my most favorite foods. Why do I love them so much? I think it could possibly be because of the creamy texture. Or maybe it's because I put an extremely generous amount of butter and cream in them. Or maybe it's just that I have yet to meet a potato that I didn't like! Yesterday was my day off, however, a friend of ours who is a massage therapist was coming over to help out with pinched nerves and sore muscles, and in exchange for massage, he requested fried chicken. So, 2 dozen pieces of crispy buttermilk fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and coleslaw were prepared as payment. Fried chicken is another comfort food for me. This one is easier to explain - IT'S FRIED CHICKEN! Seriously.... it's dangerously delicious. It turns out, our massage therapist lists fried chicken as his ultimate comfort food. In asking those I work with what their comfort food is, it became more exciting to find out not just what their favorite was, but, WHY it is. Linda told me that her comfort food is soup, or a pot roast. Ashley turns to her mother's special chicken dish. Jade turns to chocolate. After talking to all of them, it seemed comfort food provides comfort in many ways; texture, taste and smell which for some leads to positive memories. For whatever reason, when asked what their favorite comfort food was, they all made the same happy faces as they brought out their answers! What's your favorite comfort food?

Out of Season - Yet In Style

This week in the Cafe, I've brought back my pumpkin soup to be our "seasonal soup". Several customers over the past weekend had remarked that they couldn't wait until fall when pumpkin would be back in season. So, that got me thinking.... people do "Christmas in July" why couldn't I do pumpkin soup in the spring? Now, we have certain dishes we love that we associate with either a certain time of year or for certain holidays. For me, apples have always meant fall; watermelon was only for summer (for that matter so are Gin and tonics!); veal paprikash is for winter; chicken and asparagus are for spring. Mostly, these associations are directly related to when ingredients are in season. However, more and more products are being grown year round in warmer climates, making a lot of "seasonal food" always available. So, while I don't think that I'll be regularly serving a heavy stew in the heat of summer or a light fruit salad in the middle of winter, you may just find a gem from seasons past popping up in my kitchen every now and then. And, with so many of you having asked, listed below is my recipe for pumpkin soup - to enjoy ANY time you want! Pumpkin Soup 2 lbs large vidalia onions, sliced thin 1 lb carrots sliced thin 1 lb celery sliced thin 4 tbs unsalted butter 1 tbs dried sage 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp all spice 1 tsp clove 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 28 oz cans pure pumkin puree 8-10 cups chicken stock Melt butter in large sauce pan over a medium-low flame Add carrots, onions & celery and sweat covered for 20 minutes Add dried spices and combine well, cover and let cook for another 15 minutes Stir in brown sugar and cook for another 10 minutes Add pumpkin, mix well and remove from heat and let cool for fifteen minutes In the blender, fill half chicken stock and half with pumpkin mixture and puree in batches and return to pot. Once all pumpkin is pureed, heat over low flame and rewarm. Garnish with a sprinkle of dried powdered cloves

Dinner from the Pantry

How many times have you been too tired (or, if you're me, too lazy) to leave the house to head to the market to shop for dinner? Now, as I happen to actually love shopping at the market, it's not too - too often... but, every now and then, I find that on my way home from work, I just don't want to stop at the store. In my head, I start taking a mental inventory of what I think I have in the fridge, freezer and pantry and I start making up a menu. And every time I get home, I find the store in my head is usually much more plentiful than the one I'm stuck with! This however, is where the real creativity comes in.

This morning on my way to work, it hit me that I sold out of all of my seasonal soup on Sunday and that I hadn't ordered anything for soup for today. My reaction? Aloud I said "crap in a bucket" and then proceeded to go through my mental work refrigerator. Once again, the real refrigerator was much less full! However, there was garlic. And onions. And vegetable stock. Could it be that simple? Would it work?

So, with about 60-70 cloves of garlic and three onions spread onto a pan and then lightly drizzled with oil and salt, pepper and rosemary, I crossed my fingers and placed them into a 350 degree convection oven! Thirtyfive minutes later, I removed the VERY frangrant tray and let it cool, and then combined it in the Vitamix with veggie stock. It was delish. All day I've been handing out the recipe.

I'd like to say that I was quick enough to come up with a cool reaction about the soup but being the over excited gerbil that I am, I simply said "I realized this morning I needed to make a soup and forgot to order supplies. This is the result." Not so cool or witty, but, hey, it's the truth! Come on in this week for our caramelized garlic and onion soup!

Here's to the Ladies (and Gents) Who Lunch!

Ok, so, I have to admit, I've never been much of a lunch person. In my corporate life, lunch was that quick blip of time where I pretty much decimated a sandwich and chips between meetings. I'd like to say I tasted my food, but, I'm pretty sure my priority was to keep my blood sugar levels in place.

My friend Eric, pretty much my "brotha-from-anotha-motha" is all about lunch. Before I worked weekends, Eric would always say "wanna have lunch?" My go to plans were always meeting for cocktails or dinner... but lunch? Who has time????

Now that I serve lunch 6 days a week, I'm seeing what Eric was so nuts about in regards to lunch! Our customers come in... they sit... they are away from work, so, conversation isn't about work. In other words, a true "break" from work. And when they leave, they seem to be refreshed and ready to go back to work. (Though once we have our liquor license I'm wondering if anyone will be calling out for the afternoon????)

I had the day off yesterday and Jack and I actually "did lunch". It was fish and chips. And chowder. And I loved every minute of it! I wasn't working. I wasn't watching the clock. I was sitting, eating and loving every minute of it. It made me realize that a lovely afternoon meal can absolutely change the rest of your day! It also made me realize that almost every day, I have the awesome opportunity to change somebody else's afternoon for the better.

Now, since I'm serving you all lunch 6 days a week, I'm thinking I can still stick to the cocktail hour in order to stay caught up with everyone! Martini anyone??????

Soup's On!

So, every week at the Cafe, we have a different seasonal soup. In the beginning it was a pumpkin soup. I love pumpkin soup and really happen to love my recipe for pumpkin soup. Thankfully, our customers did as well! It remained on the menu for close to 3 months! Any mention during the winter of changing the pumpkin soup was met with threats of me losing an appendage! However, now, we're on a weekly soup. The fun part is coming up with new creations each week.

Inadvertently, I've created somewhat of a following for my seasonal soups, as usually, they're a cream-less puree of some type. I like to blend whole vegetables (and a lot of them) together with stock to create a nice thick and creamy soup that doesn't include cream. You can do this at home providing you've got a good blender. At work I use a Vitamix and at home I use a Breville. Both work beautifully. I'm not so much into the hand blender as I don't think it gives you as silky of a texture that I like.

This week, I've come up with a sugar snap pea and vegetable soup with fresh herbs. On my way to work today I was thinking about what I don't like about pea soup and what I do like about it. Usually, I find it grainy and not so much silky. Also, I find that dried peas just aren't my favorite. I do love the heartiness of a good thick pea soup, but, that's more of a winter soup. Sooooo.... sugar snap peas, some carrots, celery and onions sauteed down with some butter and herbs makes the base... this blends with a nice strong vegetable stock and voila! A silky and delicious soup that doesn't have cream. However, being known for my love of all things butter and cream, I had to add something to finish the soup. So, just before serving, a few crumbles of goat cheese are placed right in the center. It's delicious!!

Now, tomorrow, April 4th, Scott Haney will be at the store for a visit, and from what I heard, he should be there around noon - LUNCH TIME! Scott loved my pumpkin soup, so, I hope he'll feel the same way about the pea soup!!

Dress It Up!

Since we opened the Cafe in October, the house vinaigrette has been a pretty large topic of conversation. The staff love it and many of our customers have asked me for the recipe! Salad dressing is a personal thing - some want only oil and vinegar while some want the ever pleasing ranch. Salad is usually the first "go-to" lunch or dinner meal for those who are focused on a healthy diet. Often it's fortified with chicken, nuts and seeds or various fruits and cheeses. I myself do that when I choose to make salad my meal. However, I have to say that when I dine out and salad is what I'm in the mood for, it's the dressing more than anything else that can sway my choice.

Our vinaigrette at the cafe is comprised of three ingredients; white balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and canola oil. Yes, canola oil. Now, I'm sure many of you have the same reaction that a lot of my customers have, "Why aren't you using olive oil???" Well, I'll tell you. In my opinion, the type of oil I use in a dressing will vary with the kind of greens I'm using. For a heartier lettuce with lots of crunch but without a lot of flavor, I want a heartier oil such as olive oil. For a salad comprised of a more delicate lettuce, such as our spring mesclun mix, I want a lighter oil that won't hide the greens flavor so I choose canola oil.

White balsamic vinegar - I cannot tell you how often a customer will swear to me that there is lemon juice in my dressing. The white balsamic is a bit lighter and much fruitier and when blended with the dijon, it gives just the right balance of acid, fruitiness and tang. Simple? Yes. Delicious? Yes, I think it is!

So, since many have asked, here's the recipe for our vinaigrette:

1 Cup White Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 Cup Dijon Mustard
2 Cups Canola Oil

Whisk together the vinegar and mustard until thoroughly combined. Very slowly whisk in the canola oil until fully incorporated and you have a light emulsion. Transfer to small air tight container and keep in the refrigerator. *If oil congeals, set it out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. If the dressing seems to have broken, simply whisk until well combined!

Now go on and toss your salad!!!