The Gilded Fork » Farm

Summer Fest: Stone Fruit

Jennifer Iannolo — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:41:13 +0000

This week our test kitchen is filled to the rafters with peachy, plummy, cherry, nutty goodness. It’s stone fruit season, and it seems that everyone’s busily trying to figure out what to do with those baskets of jewels. We even discovered some surprises on that list of drupes, including coconut and almonds. This is why we love playing in the kitchen, because we always learn something new, and hope that our investigations give you some fresh knowledge, too.

And though we didn’t realize it, we have a slew of stone fruit recipes, from Gingered Peach Tarte Tatin and Cardamom Rice Pudding to Classic Mexican Mole to the Love & Honor Cocktail. Yes, we’ve covered all our bases.

Those recipes, along with a bit of history, can be found in our newest test kitchen dossier, Stone Fruit: Drupey Drawers of Goodness. Come on, the title was screaming at me. Now go read and cook something.

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Here’s what our other Summer Fest cohorts are doing this week with stone fruits. Go take a peek and leave a comment or recipe. You can also follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #summerfood.

Margaret Roach: Away to Garden
What is stone fruit, anyway? Plus: Clafoutis revisited

Michelle Buffardi: Cooking Channel’s Devour/The Blog (Scripps)
Savory Stone Fruit
@mbuffardi

Alison Sickelka: Food2 blog (Scripps)
Peachy Party Foods
@ali_s

FN Dish: Food Network
Paula’s Perfect Peach Cobbler

Healthy Eats: Food Network
Puttin’ Up Peach Pickles, Compote and More

Cate O’Malley: Sweetnicks.com
Blueberry Peach Smoothies
@cateomalley

Paige Smith Orloff: The Sister Project
A Summer Fruit Whatchamacallit – Not a pie, not a crisp, but delicious
@paigeorloff

Diane and Todd: White on Rice Couple
Riesling Poached Pluots
@whiteonrice

Kelly Senyei: Just a Taste
Peaches & Cream Cupcakes
@justataste

Caroline Wright: The Wright Recipes
Ginger & Vanilla Poached Peaches
@chefcaroline

Caron Golden: San Diego Foodstuff
Grilled Peach Parfait and Coconut Peach Gazpacho
@carondg

Tigress in a Jam
Nectarine Preserves with Summer Savory
@tigressjampickl

Alana Chernila: Eating from the Ground Up
Stone Fruit Slump
@edability

Judy: Divina Cucina
Chocolate Amaretti Baked Apricots
@divinacucina

Shauna Ahern: Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
Gluten-Free Peach-Blueberry Buckle
@glutenfreegirl

Tara: Tea & Cookies
Making Peach Jam

Nicole: Pinch My Salt
Peaches
@pinchmysalt

Food Network UK
How to Poach a Peach

Marilyn: Simmer Till Done
Cherry Apricot Pie with Ginger-Almond Crunch

HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN SUMMER FEST:
Each Wednesday for the rest of the summer (and probably longer), a group of blogging friends including those above will swap our recipes and tips about the following harvest-fresh ingredients. Here’s the schedule:

7/28: Cukes ‘n Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes

We each post something and then link to one another, so that you can travel around the combined effort, gathering the goodies. Sharing makes the experience even better, so if you have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes, you can do either of the following:

Leave a comment on participating blogs with a link to your recipe/tip
Publish a post of your own, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt Armendariz of Mattbites)

We hope to see you in the kitchen!

Summer Fest 2010: Cukes ‘n Zukes

Jennifer Iannolo — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:47:05 +0000

We are delighted to participate in the third annual Summer Fest, an idea put together by Margaret Roach at Away to Garden and Deb Puchalla at Scripps.

A bunch of us have come together to run amok at farmer’s markets and our own gardens for the summer, eagerly tasting nature’s jewels still warm from the morning sun. Every Wednesday from now through the end of August we’ll be featuring a roundup here and on all the participating blogs listed below, so get ready for a feast of summer indulgence. You can also follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #summerfood. Full details of how it all works are at the end of this post, so we hope you’ll come and play in our giant virtual kitchen!

We’re kicking off the festivities with Cukes ‘n Zukes, which seem to be overflowing the baskets at farm stands everywhere right now. Here’s what we have for you to nibble on:

Our summer squash dossier will give you a quick primer on zucchini and its brethren, as well as some delicious recipes for zucchini bread and my father’s special sofrito, the mere smell of which brings me right back to childhood — and his massive garden.
Chef Mark’s Chilled Cucumber Mint Soup, perfect for the unrelenting heat of this summer, as it offers a bit of cooling refreshment to a weary system. The soup is featured in our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook if you’d like some ideas for building it into a summer menu.
Lastly, I’m toying with cucumber as beauty enhancer over on Food Philosophy, so come take a look-see.

Now, when I said there were a bunch of us, I wasn’t kidding. Feast your ideas on what to do with all those Cukes ‘n Zukes:

Margaret Roach: Away to Garden
Why size matters — and smaller is better (includes pickling tips/tricks, and freezing the excess)

Michelle Buffardi: Cooking Channel’s Devour/The Blog (Scripps)
10 things you didn’t know you could make with zucchini
@mbuffardi

Alison Sickelka: Food2 blog (Scripps)
Zucchini Appetizers
@ali_s

Michelle Buffardi: Food Network
Paula Deen’s zucchini bread

Elizabeth Gray: Food Network
Cuke Salad & Lighter Cuke/Zuke Ideas

Cate O’Malley: Sweetnicks.com
Indian Cucumber Wraps
@cateomalley

Paige Smith Orloff: The Sister Project
On excess! Why I hate zucchini (plus pickling commentary).
@paigeorloff

Diane and Todd: White on Rice Couple
Stuffed Cucumbers with Prosciutto and Feta
@whiteonrice

Kelly Senyei: Just a Taste
Cucumber & Sesame Salad (includes step-by-step illustrations of slicing cucumbers on a mandoline)
@justataste

Caroline Wright: The Wright Recipes
Cucumber Salad
Marinated Summer Squash Salad
@chefcaroline

Caron Golden: San Diego Foodstuff
Cucumber and Radish Confetti Soup
@carondg

Tigress in a Jam
50 Ways with Cucurbits
@tigressjampickl

Alana Chernila: Eating from the Ground Up
Cucumber Mint Sorbet with Lime Shortbread
@edability

Judy: Divina Cucina
Fried Zucchini Blossoms (and more!) from Italy
@divinacucina

Shauna Ahern: Gluten-Free Girl
Cucumber, Dill & Mint Popsicles
@glutenfreegirl

Tara: Tea & Cookies
Stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini “Noodles” & Pickles

Nicole: Pinch My Salt
Grilled Zucchini with Lemon & Olive Oil
@pinchmysalt

7/28: Cukes ‘n Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25 Tomatoes

Leave a comment on participating blogs with a link to your recipe/tip
Publish a post of your own, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt Armendariz of Mattbites)

We hope to see you in the kitchen!

The Joy of Coq-ing

The Gilded Fork — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:23 +0000

by Hank Shaw

Coq au vin is a classic dish, but a classic few have ever eaten in its true form because while the “vin” is easy enough to find, locating a source of “coq” is well-nigh impossible. The real dish is made with a rooster. Not a roaster. Not a stewing hen. A rooster.

Try finding one in a supermarket, or even a typical butcher. They can reportedly be had occasionally in a decent Chinatown or in a rare carniceria, but I’ve never seen them, so for years I made coq au vin with stewing hens and left it at that.

Then my neighbor, an Italian immigrant from Puglia, wandered over to my back yard and asked if I wanted some of his roosters. Dominic keeps chickens, and he knows I hunt, and he had too many. I said sure. The hitch was that I had to catch them. And kill them.

Now I’ve traveled great distances, shot all kinds of wild game and caught fish far out in the open ocean in search of the best ingredients for my table; but I’d never actually killed a domestic animal. Nevertheless, I leapt at the chance to make real coq au vin for once in my life, and eagerly told Dominic I’d come by his chicken yard.

Then a funny thing happened. I found myself putting off the day of execution for reasons that surprised me – after all, wasn’t I a killer of wild game? Yet I felt vaguely uneasy about this. Weeks passed, and the feeling hardened into this: Hunting requires you to find and kill a creature that has all kinds of ways to avoid you. At its best, it is a chase that the hunted win at least as much as the hunter. Yet when I contemplated “harvesting” a domestic animal sheltered by man, fed by man and which lacks the defenses its wild kin possess, the faintest whiff of murder seeped into my mind. I was shocked at my own feelings.

The majority of the meat I eat fell by my own hands, but I do not live on wild game alone; and in those cases, someone else did the killing. Well, I thought, I am not about to stop eating chicken or steak, so I might was well make myself an honest man and get this thing done. I walked over to Dominic’s.

Dominic’s chickens live the old way; they are truly yard birds. His flock lives comfortably under olive trees with several ducks and a goat, so at least these roosters led a decent life. Dominic and I walked into the fenced yard together. He had an old feed sack; I’d do the catching, armed with a big fishing net. We tried to exude calm, and ambled close to an old Rhode Island red. Fwump! Down went the net and the squawking began. Rooster No. 1 went into the bag easily enough, but the other two we had to chase down. Capturing an ancient Leghorn took some doing; but we got all three.

Back at my house, the roosters appeared resigned to their fate, which I meted out as quickly and cleanly as I could. Processing poultry is a nasty, smelly business: plucking in scalding water makes the feathers stink, and then they were all over my garage’s concrete floor. Clean-up was extra tough because chicken blood is unusually quick to coagulate, and forms a hard stain where it falls. Afterward, I was struck by two things: One, how huge these birds were – they had to be 10 pounds apiece, far larger than any hen I’d ever handled. And two, how narrow their breasts were – “meat” chickens are what the industry calls double-breasted, with a broad chest that provides lots of meat. These roosters had the sunken chest of an octogenarian.

I’d read that real coq au vin uses only the legs, thighs and wings of a rooster, leaving the breasts, backs and necks for the broth. So I removed the legs, thighs and wings and tossed the rest into the pot, along with onions, carrot, fennel, celery and a little lovage – my secret weapon. God, the aroma! It was the deepest, richest chicken-y smell I’d ever encountered from a broth, and was the perfect antidote for the nastiness of processing them. Roosters were becoming “coq.” I stuffed the legs, thighs and wings into a Ziploc with some herbs and cabernet sauvignon and let them marinate overnight.

The next day I rendered some lardons of homemade pancetta, then browned the roosters in the fat. I added mushrooms, onions, the rest of the bottle of cab, some broth, covered it tightly and set it in a low oven for several hours. The house filled with that chicken-y aroma again, this time laced with wine.

When it was done, I served the stew alongside some polenta (yes, yes, another deviation from the classical presentation) and it was dreamy. Using rooster brought body to an already muscular dish. It’s bolder and just a touch gamier than coq au vin made with a stewing hen.

I’m glad I went through all this, not so much from a culinary standpoint as from a personal one. In making this dish, I’d crossed a road I had avoided before and emerged on its far side a little stronger, a little wiser and yes, even a little sadder; but I came by that meal honestly, and I would do it again. Maybe next weekend.

A former commercial fisherman and line cook, Hank Shaw has paid the bills as a political correspondent since 1992, but now works full time on his meaty blog, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (Jennifer just did the site’s redesign, so he’s in some happy new digs). He spends his free time making Old World-style salami at his Orangevale home when he’s not fishing, hunting or foraging around Northern California with his bemused girlfriend.

This article was originally published in September 2007.

CMN Travels Hawaii: Kauai Coffee Company

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:08:10 +0000

Chef Mark pays a visit to Kauai Coffee Company, the largest coffee plantation in the United States. Marty Amaro shows us around the fields, explaining the growing process, and into the factory, where we see some of the roasted coffee being packaged.

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel & Accommodation provided by the Hawaii HTA as part of the “So Much More Hawaii” tour.

CMN Travels: Exploring Toronto’s Green Barn Market

The Gilded Fork — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:32:46 +0000

Jennifer and Chef Mark explore the Wychwood Barns Green Market in Toronto. with Mark Trealout, a farmer and organizer of Kawartha Ecological Growers, a coooperative of farms from the area northwest of Toronto. We learn about some of the great farm-grown produce, dairy, and baked goods at the Green Barn.

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel and accommodation provided by Tourism Toronto. All opinions expressed are those of the participants.

Foie Gras: Making Informed Choices

Jennifer Iannolo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:43:15 +0000

This past February, an article came out in the Village Voice about foie gras (Is Foie Gras Torture?), and whether or not ducks are being tortured to produce this delicacy. The debate has raged on for years, which sparked my initial rant in The Duck Stops Here. What I think author Sarah DiGregorio brings to light with this piece, however, is something that applies universally to food, and in my opinion, is a method we should all use: Know where your food comes from. Know how it’s produced. One of the leading doctors raging against the foie gras machine has never actually set foot on a foie gras farm; she simply perpetuates the propaganda from assumptions.

If you’ve ever watched a PETA video, of course the images are disturbing. That’s their purpose. PETA is going to sensationalize whatever they find in order to make a good video, because they have a very specific intent: They want you to stop eating animals altogether. And that is their prerogative, but when they are harassing members of the public (and their children!) they become their own terrorist force. Bricks have been thrown into restaurant windows, and patrons have been harassed on their way in the door. And you all know about the pies that get thrown. Are they following the equation that two wrongs make a right? How is that going to help, exactly?

I’ve met many artisanal farmers over the years, and to a person they care passionately about their work, their livestock, and for raising them in a humane way. In the end, it makes the food taste better. A stressed out cow or duck is going to have some very tough meat for you to chew, so it is in the farmer’s best interest to keep his livestock calm and happy.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras seems no different. I’ve talked to Marcus Henley, the farm’s manager, numerous times over the past few years, and he has invited me to come see for myself. I haven’t yet had the time to do so, but I will get there, because I want to know where all my food comes from. I’ve done the same with heirloom tomatoes, cows and pigs. I invite you to do the same.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Photo: Kelly Cline

CMN Video: Lidia Bastianich Cooks

The Gilded Fork — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:00:01 +0000

We join Chef Lidia Bastianich at the NY Botanical Garden’s Edible Garden as she demonstrates some great recipes using fresh garden herbs and vegetables. Here she makes a savory crostata filled with rice, zucchini & ricotta cheese.

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CSA Newsletter – September 10, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:12:11 +0000

Here’s this week’s CSA Newsletter, which I write for Hawthorne Valley Farm. They supply my Inwood CSA here in Upper Manhattan, as well as the Riverdale, Bronx CSA. I’m posting these newsletters which I create for my local group here because I’m participating in “Cooking Away my CSA” a group where we all post what we’re doing with our CSA shares to help inspire others to find new ways of cooking up their veggies!

This week I include recipes for Eggplant Catalana, Kasha & Kale, Green Beans with Mushroom Madeira sauce, Lemon Basil Potato Salad and Butter Baked Corn.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: September 10th Newsletter

Quick Bites Wales: National Botanic Garden

The Gilded Fork — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:41:48 +0000

Video of our visit to the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. We glimpse the Welsh Black cattle, and tour the unique double walled garden.

www.gardenofwales.org.uk

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CSA Newsletter – September 3, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:41:04 +0000

This week I include recipes for chunky celery soup, serafino’s sofrito, herb-roasted root vegetables, Genovese style green beans, & flatbread with winter squash.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: September 3rd Newsletter

RP211: National Botanic Garden of Wales

Chef Mark Tafoya — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:28:55 +0000

ReMARKable Palate #211: National Botanic Garden of Wales

While in Wales last month, we got a chance to learn about the great ranching and gardening programs going on at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales in Carmarthenshire. First we speak with Tim Bevan, Estate Manager, about the program he leads raising the Welsh Black breed of cattle, and then we speak with Malcolm Berry, the head gardener, about the unique double walled garden, which produces a number of heritage plants and trees, including a children’s allotment.

www.gardenofwales.org.uk

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Quick Bites Hawaii: Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm

Chef Mark Tafoya — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:45:27 +0000

While in Hawaii for the “So Much More Hawaii” New Media tour, I spent the afternoon with Lani and Ali’i, co-owner of the Ali’i Kula Lavender Company in Maui’s Kula “Upcountry” area. They gave me a tour of their lavender farm, which looks more like a zen mediation garden! Listen to the audio interview I did with them on ReMARKable Palate Podcast #209.

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CSA Newsletter – August 27, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:56:53 +0000

This week I include recipes for cardamom glazed carrots, lemon-zucchini cornmeal cookies, Thai eggplant and basil stir-fry, Elote (Mexican grilled corn), and basil-mint granita.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: August 27th Newsletter

CSA Newsletter, August 20, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:55:45 +0000

This week I include recipes for a Herbed Summer Squash & Potato Torte, Chard & Goat Cheese Pasta, Green Bean Salad, Braised Cippolini Onions, and a Cucumber-Lemon Spritzer.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: August 20th Newsletter

CSA Newsletter, August 13, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:38:41 +0000

This week I include recipes for a Cucumber Lemonade, Chipotle Corn Chowder, Zucchini & Sweet Potato Bread, Zucchini Chips, and Chocolate Chip Zucchini Pecan Muffins.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: August 13th Newsletter

Quick Bites Scotland: Mushroom Foraging

The Gilded Fork — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:19:04 +0000

We go out into the woods with Chef Tom Lewis of the Monachyle Mhor Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland, to forage for mushrooms. We met him in New York, and now we’re at his place in Scotland to discover how he uses the produce that grows wild around him in his cooking.

We’ll have some of his cooking demos coming up later on the “Main Show”, but this is a Quick Bite!

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CSA Newsletter, July 16th, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:21:29 +0000

This week I include recipes for a Cucumber Granita, Swiss Chard Potato Casserole, Baked Pasta with Zucchini & Mozzarella, & New Potatoes with Butter & Mint.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: July 16th Newsletter

CSA Newsletter, July 9, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:07:29 +0000

This week I include recipes for an easy zucchini relish, Tuscan Kale & White Bean Soup, Italian Pork Chops & Leeks, & how to wash, dry & store all the lettuce we’re getting.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: July 9th Newsletter

CSA Newsletter, July 2, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:11:19 +0000

This week I include for cabbage soup, sauteed peas, zucchini feta pie, and more ideas for what to do with all those Japanese Turnips.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: June 25th Newsletter

CSA Newsletter, June 25, 2009

Chef Mark Tafoya — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:30:45 +0000

This week I include more recipes for garlic scapes, red beets, snap peas, and rainbow chard.

Download the PDF here or click the images below: June 25th Newsletter