Bay End Farm + The Blue Room = One Long Table!

I experienced the delicious pleasure of attending a 'From Farm to Table' event late last month. Held at Bay End Farm, our dramatic 'One Long Table' sat 80...... simple sophistication at it's best!

The Blue Room from Cambridge packed up their knives and cooked straight from the farm, transforming fresh ingredients.. picked that day... into vivid, mouthwatering masterpieces.

Our extraordinary evening started early with a tour directed by Kofi, the shy and highly intelligent owner of Bay End Farm. While we sipped a chilled 2008 viognier, domaine sallies, Kofi led us from field to field. http://www.bayendfarm.com/

He talked in great detail about the burden of the blight this season, and how it literally wiped out his entire crop of tomatoes. You have to sell a lot of cucumbers to make up for that kind of setback!


We really lucked out. The weather was perfect and the company was as interesting as Kofi's tour. Royal Chef Steve Crellin was in attendance. He loved hearing about the rebirth of organic farming in Southeastern Massachusetts and the preservation of the integrity of fresh, local food.

Lauren Feinburg was all smiles. Making the trek to Bourne from Boston, she choose to attend the event with a friend in celebration of her birthday, smart lady.




The scene was chic simplicity. A civilized union of 80 genial neighbors coming together between soil and sky, to sit and savor the treasures which come from the earth directly under foot.

Wine and food was brought up each side of the table. Jovial helpers - many just washed up from a day in the field - served a five course, five star, line up starting with a chicken liver pate topped with a tomato jam - which I immediately went home and recreated in my kitchen OMG! - served with sliced Iggy's bread. We washed back blue fish cakes with a crisp Girasole Vineyards, 2008 Chardonnay... yummy.. and moved onto this fabulous Greek Salad.

The refreshing presentation of each course was ultra carefree, exuding an essence of ease beyond imagination. http://www.theblueroom.net/



By the time our smoked suckling pig and ribs arrived (not as scary as it sounds), everyone was really getting into the groove, feeling the love and extending introductions beyond their immediate neighbors.

I met so many interesting people. I even had the chance to meet one of my unsuspecting idols! Pegja, owner of Iggy's Bakery. Along with his big personality he provided his award winning artisan breads. Iggy's was always my choice of bread when catering. I started buying Iggy's in 2000 and was instantly hooked. http://www.iggysbread.com/
The sun went down quick, kind of like the wine and fish cakes! Before it was time to say goodbye everyone who was involved in orchestrating this glorious event came out for a toast and a bow. Very beautiful.

Already a popular tradition on the west coast, I predict we will be seeing much more of this sort of gathering here in New England. This event helped raise thousands of dollars which will be used to rebuild the farmers market on the Bay End Farm property. Nice.

Unleash Your Inner Locavore!

Making a difference, one bite at a time!

I dedicated August to the locavore that lurks in all of us.
Living in New England, southeastern Massachusetts to be specific, we have lots of opportunities to buy local. A literal rebirth of farming in this area is going on right at this moment. Brave farmers, willing to weather the storm.... the blight.....the insects...... are banning together to bring back this once thriving industry.

Eileen at Lucky Field Organics in Rochester, Ma hooked me up with some serious Beet Greens for my August cooking classes and took me on a personal tour of her working farm. Typically tomatoes rule in August, but with this summer's weather.. or lack there of... beautiful lettuces are taking the helm of this organic wonderland.

Eileen and her husband Wes have been farming in this area for 6 years. They have a CSA membership upwards of 100 and are constantly looking for creative ways to extend their season.

Here are the remains from the beet patch Eileen freshly picked for me. The beets made their way into happy CSA bins!

Visiting Lucky Field Organics is like going back in time. As I walked through the fields I felt an overwhelming urge to camp out under a big tree and watch the wind comb each crop.

Andreas, a friendly farm hand, was hard at work tying tomatoes. He is 1 of 18 employees that keep the farm running.

Eileen is a hard working woman setting a great example for her kids. We talked a lot about the pressures involved.... farming ain't easy... one must be persistent and have patience... her biggest complaint is that she has little time to cook the delicious wonders coming off her property.

I left Lucky Field with a big bin of beet greens, 5 lbs to be exact. They were DELICIOUS!

In my class, curious cooks enjoyed them in several ways. Gratin (who knew!), Braised with Bacon and Port Wine, and as a simple salad with goat cheese and roasted beets!

The results were divine.
Locavore! Make a difference, one bite at a time!

Visit Lucky Field Farm and find out how to become a CSA member. http://www.luckyfieldorganics.com/

For more info on Southeastern Massachusetts farmland vist http://www.howonearth.net/

Chow!

Oh, Sunset Lake

My wonderful sister Kelly has a quaint little cottage on Sunset Lake, New Hampshire. Nestled in rural Greenfield, Sunset Lake has become the official headquarters of Girls Weekend.

Girls Weekend has become a tradition, and we try to have as many as the summer (and Bob and Chris, our husband's) will allow us. With warm mountain breezes and a sunny dock calling our names it is easy to drift off into total relaxation, which we do plenty of. But the reality of it is we can't relax, not until we've cooked a feast. Kelly and I are Gourmet Heavyweights and Girls Weekend is when the gloves come off! We pack the back of her wagon with the most unbelievable culinary ingredients available to mankind and head north. Kelly also makes sure we have plenty of top notch white wine to sip during our grandiose gourmet preparations, luscious red with dinner and Patron for pre-preparation margaritas.
Okay, admit it, you wish Kelly was your sister.
Menus are always mapped out before we head North. We plan everything but the produce. Rosaly's Organic Farm will dictate our veggies....

And our Flowers....

Gotta love Rosaly's

Dinner this Evening will be Moroccan Chicken with Dried Apricots and Olives, Roasted Beets, Sauteed Zucchini and Minted Cous Cous (recipes to be posted soon on my website!)


We used Bone in Chicken Thighs for our Moroccan Delight. I like to use the darker thigh meat in ethnic dishes with lots going on. The flavor of dark meat is richer and gamier than white meat. It doesn't get lost in the mix of heavy spices, sweet apricots and tangy olives used in this dish. It's important to allow the chicken to marinade for several hours.

Get your grill going! We use an old school Weber with lots of hot coals, but a preheated piping hot gas grill works just as good.

When our coals are hot we preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The chicken is grilled for 3 minutes on each side, just to char and sear in all the flava-flav. The grilled chicken is then placed in a roasting pan or ceramic casserole dish. A beautiful saute of shallots, butter, garlic, dried apricots, olives and reserved marinade is added to the chicken, and the dish is covered. Bake for 30 minutes.

Summers not over yet, and fall is the best time in the Monadnocks! There will be more Sunset tales to come!