Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Top Ten Food & Farm Experiences of 2008: Hazelnut Kitchen, Trumansburg

It takes a lot for a meal to linger in my memory long after it has been consumed.  Hazelnut Kitchen had been on my list as a "must visit" ever since I'd read about their relationship with Ithaca-area farmers to source ingredients last year.  Hazelnut Kitchen opened in April 2007 by co-owners, co-chefs, and partners in life Jonah and Christina McKeough.  I met Jonah briefly at an Edible Finger Lakes party last spring and that started my obsession with getting down to the Ithaca/Trumansburg area to check it out. 

As luck would have it, my husband's work brought us down to Ithaca on a crisp Sunday afternoon in October.  Back then, Hazelnut Kitchen only took reservations for large parties (they now take them for parties of any size) so Harrison and I strolled up and down Main Street, eagerly waiting for the restaurant to open to ensure a seat.  Well, we got in and proceeded to have one of the most delicious meals I've had in Central New York.

You might guess that we are a picky lot, my husband and I.  We went to a much-hyped restaurant while in Chicago this summer which was known for sourcing locally, organically grown ingredients and while the meal was fine, it didn't wow us.  Unless we're going out for pizza (and sometimes even then) we hate feeling like iwe could have done better (or as good) making the same meal at home.  So the question for us is, can a restaurant that is likely to be cooking with the same ingredients (from even some of the same sources) prepare a memorable meal.  Well this one can.  Hazelnut Kitchen didn't disappoint.  At all.

If I lived near T-burg, I'd eat here all the time.  The menu changes frequently but you can see what was on offer back in mid-October.  I had the quail--it was amazing.  The flavors of smoky bacon, grilled quail, blueberry (concentrated in a gastrique that provided a note of sweetness without being syrupy) and that potato and celery root hash--it was so good!

 

Harrison had one of his favorite combinations--steak and polenta.  There was nothing left on the plate when he was done. (Okay, I ate his greens.)

Aside from the incredible food, the other think we loved about Hazelnut Kitchen was it's intimate feel.  This was truly a neighborhood restaurant--the kind every neighborhood ought to have.  There's an open kitchen up front lending the feeling not so much of "dinner prep as theater" but of friends prepare an incredible meal.  We can't get back there too soon.

Top Ten Food & Farm Experiences of 2008: NYC Cheese Tour

You may remember that back in June I had a whirlwind day in Manhattan to check out Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  I was the lucky assistant to Syracuse's own Nancy Radke who operates the US information office for Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Well, I never got around to posting parts two and three (or however more I thought there were going to be).  So here are some photos with a few shots from Artisanal Cheese, step by step coverage of cutting a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese--plus a look at the lunch that Lou DiPalo made us after his guys did all the work, and a couple of shots from Murray's Cheese in the West Village.  I can't wait to get back there--especially since Di Palo's has expanded.  Maybe the week after Christmas.

Top Ten Food & Farm Experiences of 2008: Gimme! Coffee Tour

Many folks who enjoy drinking really good coffee can remember the cup that did it for them.  For me, it was a cup of Blue Bottle Coffee--Bella Donovan--that I had picked up within 48 hours of it being roasted.  James Freeman lived about a mile from our Oakland, CA apartment and he was roasting small batches of coffee and selling it at the Berkeley Farmers' Market and out of his house to get it to buyers before the 48 hour window closed.  That was five years ago.  These days, if I'm going to brew a cup at home (with my trusty press pot) the coffee I'll be grinding is most likely going to be from Gimme! Coffee.  Their organic Mexican medium roast is my favorite.  (Unfortunately they are currently sold out which is why I sent a friend on a mission to Manhattan to procure one of the few worthy substitutes--some Nicaraguan beans roasted by Stumptown Coffee Roaster). 

If you've been reading this blog since the beginning then you know how much I love Gimme! Coffee.  I dream of them opening a cafe in Armory Square.  Gimme! founder and CEO, Kevin Cuddeback is probably tired of hearing my pleas for them to set up shop here.  Luckily, Gimme! can be found at places like Sugar Pearl at the Regional Market in the Summer and Fall at the Sundance Farm stand. 

A couple of months ago, as a prelude to a farm dinner at Stick and Stone Farm near Trumansburg, Kevin gave a tour of the Gimme! headquarters.  Imagine a barn-like structure filled with bags of beans, roasting machines, and a room off to the side where Kevin explained the roasting process and pulled espresso shots.  Now when I see Gimme! being written up in magazines like Saveur for roasting some of the best coffee aold in the States I can picture the amazing place where the magic happens.

Gimme! carefully chooses beans working with growers and suppliers to obtain the best possible.  They'll call out for samples from suppliers and evaulate the beans for acidity, intensity, balance, and cleanness (of taste) among other attributes.  Bags of coffee beans weight 150 pounds and a container shipment will contain 300 bags of coffee.  A broker is usually involved to help negotiate the details of shipping and financing.

This is Kevin Cuddeback explaining the roasting process.  It is a relatively simple process as those who roast their own beans at home can attest.  But for an operation like Gimme! it is all about scale.  They roast in 40 pound batches for about 12 minutes in an hot air roaster.  The end temperature of the roast depends on the bean being roasted--all influencing the result in the cup.  The peak time to grind and drink your coffee?  Within 6-7 days of roasting.  Look for the roast date on their bags of coffee.  "After 21 days it is toast" says Kevin. 

There is no end to the advice and information available for brewing coffee or pulling espresso.  if you're going to spend good money on premium beans it is probably worth doing a little research.  Coffee Geek and the brewing instructions at Stumptown Roasters are where I go for info and inspiration.

Top Ten Food & Farm Experiences of 2008: Lucy Loo the Baby Buffalo

This is going to totally ruin my Brooklyn cred but I don't care.  Hanging out with Lucy Loo (on the right) a five month old buffalo and her pal Bucky, a Jersey steer (to the left) ranks among the coolest things I've done--EVER.  She's still a baby but look at the size of her head compared to, say, my head.  She's going to be huge--like up to 1,500 pounds huge.  You can read all about Lucy Loo and the incredible herd being raised at PDH Buffalo Farm in my piece in the Winter 2008/2009 issue of Edible Finger Lakes out now.  You can pick it up free around Central New York or subscribe here.

Gift Giving Inspiration--Keeping it Local

Though I hate the way the economy is going these days I do harbor hope that it may change some of our nation's shopping habits.  This is a subject I wrestle with daily as I'm lured and tempted by beautiful objects that I may want but don't necessarily need.  When the gift-giving holiday season is in full swing I go back and forth between desiring to keep things simple and wishing I had endless amounts of money to spend on those I love.

This year, we are all being forced to consider anew how we spend our precious resources.  It is no coincidence that the indie craft market is hitting its stride just as folks are gaining an appreciation for things that are made close to home, perhaps by people we know.  So if you've baked all the cookies you can bake and have knitted up all the mittens you can knit, then check out some of our local talent--if you're going to spend money and buy gifts you can't get any better than these artists.  And they're local/regional to boot.

Smock Paper is one of the most beautiful letterpress card companies out there.  They've been getting attention in national magazines and are one of the darlings of the letterpress world and they are made right here in the 'Cuse.  Smock is produced out of the uber cool Box Car Press right in the Delavan Center and they are the only print shop in the country to be using luxury bamboo paper--the height in eco-consciousness. 

While Syracuse waits to get a super cool stationery and card store to sell Smock Paper you can get some by contacting them via their website.

And if it is too late to get their holiday cards, don't despair.  They have cards for many occasions and can do custom orders.  Check them out.

In the shop of my dreams I would have a cool cafe pouring fair trade coffee and serving up yummy organic baked goods, a yoga studio, and a well edited selection of pens and paper goods.  And in that shop I'd sell everything that Tara Hogan creates.  Tara is the creative force behind Ink and Wit, another critically acclaimed design house that is based in....Fayetteville!  I've been dreaming of Ink and Wit cards and prints for a few years now and just reveled in Tara's show at the Delavan Gallery earlier this year.  Check out Tara's website for her latest work.  Her calendar, created in partnership with Rochester's Pistachio Press makes a great gift.

You really can't go wrong with jewelry, right?  You may have seen Round Rabbit's gorgeous necklaces, rings, and pins at the CNY Regional Market, or if you follow design blogs you'll see that Nancy Schindler is getting alot of attention for her handcrafted porcelain wearable art.  I purchased a necklace from her nearly two years ago and it is one of my favorite pieces.

Nancy is based in Owego and is helping to put Central New York on the indie craft map.

Okay, so you are stumped for a gift and you really want to send food.  And you don't have it in you to cook, can, or bake another thing.  Then let Nelson Farms take care of you.  Their gift boxes can be assembled with any number of small batch jams, condiments, sauces, pastas, or cereals made right here in our region.  You don't have to worry about carbon miles because all of their products are made in New York State if not our region.  But be forewarned, don't go there hungry because you will want to buy nearly everything.

Still not tempted?  Don't want to deal in the realm of stuff?  Then make a double gift by making a donation to the Food Bank of Central New York in honor of your friend or loved one.  It's the feel good gift and a feed good gift.  Putting food on the tables of our neighbors might just be the simplest, local, and delicous gift one can give. 

*  All photos are sourced from their respective websites.

Top Ten Food & Farm Experiences of 2008: The Tumbleweed Burger

Anyone else out there feeling in a reflective mood lately?  What a year, huh?  As I think about all the year-end wrap-ups and "Top 10" and "Top 20" lists that will soon be on every television channel, I've begun thinking of some of my own.  So over the next two weeks I'll be posting my Top Ten Food and Farm Experiences of 2008.  These are not ranked in any particular order but simply represent those meals, farm visits, food victories that I will not soon forget.

To begin I present....the Empire Brewery Tumbleweed Burger

I LOVE this burger.  There was a burger I used to have a serious jones for--you can get it at a micro brewery in Salt Lake City, UT called Squatters.  If I was anywhere near SLC I'd have to stop at Squatters for their Bourbon Burger (and yeah, it was spiked). I came up on burgers in NYC at places like the Broome Street Bar so I know from good burgers.  For 15 years the burger from Squatters reigned supreme.  During the ten years I gave up red meat the only exceptions I made were for this burger and bacon--'cause really, how often was I going to get to Salt Lake City. 

So it's no surprise then, that truly, the best burger I've ever had is at our own micro brewery--Empire--in Armory Square.

This burger is the perfect combination of juicy Angus beef, crunchy onion straws (the tumbleweeds), barbeque sauce, smoked gouda cheese and chipotle mayo--throw some sweet potato fries on the side and I've got yet another reason to begin training for a half marathon because I am powerless to order anything else.  It's a guilty pleasure and oh so good.  The only thing that makes this burger better is a nice seasonal pour like maple porter or the always in season IPA. 

Empire also rocks on the sustainable front too--their burgers are made from locally produced Sun-Fed Farms beef and they are the first (and currently only) business in Central NY to be 100% run on New York State produced renewable energy.  Well that bit about the energy doesn't make the burger taste any better but it is a nice bonus. 

My only regret about the Tumbleweed Burger is that after four and a half years in Syracuse, it took me until this year to discover it.*

*Yes, I know, if I had posted as much about beer on this blog as I do about wine, it wouldn't have taken me this long!

Recovered from Thanksgiving yet?

Great, then you're ready for an Eat Local Potluck!  This one is hosted by Jamie and Maggie at their Wyllie Fox Farm in Cato.  Maggie and Jamie have a lovely farmhouse and these gatherings are always great for reconnecting with farmers, eaters, bakers, and others who love to champion the delicious, local foods of Central New York.  Here are details:

Date:  Saturday, the 6th of December
Time:  6:00 pm
What:  Bring a dish made with local ingredients or a locally-sourced beverage to pass
Where:  Wyllie Fox Farm.  Click here for address and directions