November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  My favorite holiday since its about food, drink, family and gratitude.  Dinner for 12 at stately Fred Manor:

 Appetizers:   Cheese Plate & assorted munchies

To drink:  assorted bubblies: La Marca Prosecco, Soligo Prosecco and Conde De Subirats Brut NV Cava

 Soup:  Sweet Potato Bourbon Soup

To drink:  assorted bubblies: La Marca Prosecco, Soligo Prosecco and Conde De Subirats Brut NV Cava

 Mains:  Roasted Maple Lawn (Fresh, local & natural from the Common Market) turkey

            Butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding

 Sides:  Garlic mashed potatoes

            Traditional stuffing

            Corn pudding

            Cider-glazed Brussels sprouts

            Green Beans with citrus-walnut vinagrette

 Bread:  Homemade cornbread with cranberries

            Dinner rolls (a nod to  the traditionalists)

 Relishes & Sauces:   Canned cranberry sauce (a nod to  the traditionalists)

            Turkey gravy

            Mushroom gravy

            Homemade cranberry relish

 To drink:  2003 Virna Barolo Riserva

            2006 Jean Louis Chave Offerus St. Joseph

            2007 Chehalem Dry Riesling Reserve

            2006 Neyers Zinfandel Pato Ranch

 Desserts:  Brown sugar-pecan cupcakes with caramel frosting

            Other desserts to be brought by guests

 To drink:  coffee, tea or port.

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November 24, 2009

Odds and Ends

Just received word that the magazine Edible Chesapeake is ceasing publication.  That’s sad as I always looked for it at the Common Market and enjoyed reading it.  From the release: 

I will no longer be publishing Edible Chesapeake magazine. The decision is the result of much reflection on how best to balance the needs of my family and myself as a small business owner, with the needs of the local food community of which Edible Chesapeake has been an important part since 2005. The recently published Fall 2009 issue, with the incredibly scrumptious apple cider donuts on the cover, is the last of my tenure as publisher and editor. It is uncertain at this time whether Edible Chesapeake will return under a new publisher.

Frederick Wine House is having a number of interesting looking wine classes over the next month.  The Champagne and sparkling wine course looks great!

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November 19, 2009

Farmer’s Market Book

As promised in my earlier post there is one book that I find invaluable in helping me turn farmer’s market finds into delicious food on the table.  That is Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference by Elizabeth Schneider.   This is a huge book (800+ pages!) that covers every vegetable you are likely to encounter in the United States.  Do you know the difference between true (French) shallots and most of what you find in US grocery stores?  I didn’t until I read that entry.  Alphabetically organized it covers more than 350 vegetables.  Each vegetable has its own section which goes over the history, the varieties and what to look for in selecting perfect vegetables.  Beautiful color pictures illustrate throughout.  Following each entry it gives a bunch of recipes using the vegetable and then finishes each section with chef’s perspectives on using the vegetable.   With this book if you see something, you can buy it and take it home and be confident that you will have recipes and a strong starting point to maximize your find.

veggies

You can find it here on Amazon.  Not cheap but very worthwhile.

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November 17, 2009

Beaujolais Nouveau (Again)

I know I run the risk of devolving into a repetitive bore since I have commented on this subject before, but it just dawned on me that the 19th is the third Thursday of the month.  Yes that means Beaujolais Nouveau time is upon us again.  Honestly I’m not sure I’m even going to buy a bottle.  I feel the pull of tradition versus the  memories of disappointments past.  Besides  I’ve already got my Thanksgiving bottles picked out.  I’ve got 10 bottles for eight adults so I should be covered.  If not we can always raid the cellar.  What do you think?  Any BN in your future?

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November 16, 2009

Farmer’s Market Finale

I don’t blog too much about my favorite farmer’s market, the West Frederick Farmer’s Market.  Not because I don’t love it, but because the blog Grown In Frederick (a long time resident of my links list), does such a good job.   You should check it out.  The market’s last day is next Saturday, but since I will be out-of-town I had to say my farewells this weekend.  The drizzle didn’t seem to dampen the turnout.  There were roughly eight  or nine vendors there and they still had a great selection of apples, pears, fall vegetables, herbs and especially potatoes.  Always on the lookout for something different I’m kicking myself for not buying the beautiful bunch of white carrots they had there.  The line for the meats must have been 40 people long.  It was sad to say goodbye, but I am already looking forward to next year.  Thanks to everyone.

Next:  the one book you should have if you frequent farmer’s markets.

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November 13, 2009

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

I have to admit I was really looking forward to trying this one as IPA, or sanke dogIndia Pale Ale, is one of my favorite styles of beer. [note: if anyone wants to bribe me Sam Smith's India Ale does the trick; actually anything by Sam Smith does the trick; aw heck pretty much any decent alcohol does the trick!]  Anyway it had a nice orange-copper color and left a nice thick head. For my taste I find that some brewers feel that an IPA is all about the bitterness and go completely over the top with the hops, which is not my cup of tea.  I really liked this brew because of its nice balance between the malty sweetness and the piney/resin bitterness from the hops.  Medium bodied and at 7.1% alcohol its the strongest of the bunch so far. 

Other reviews in the series are:  Old Scratch Amber Lager; Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale and Road Dog Porter.

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November 12, 2009

Happy Anniversary to Me (again)

Well another year gone by and  Fred Foodie is now two years old.  It seems like just yesterday that I wrote my first Happy Anniversary post.  I also took this time last year to look at my goals for the blog.  I am sad to say that I didn’t really meet them.  On the plus side that just means that I can recycle them for this year!  Blogging was admittedly irregular, often the casualty of work and family, but the blog now has 145 published posts.  That averages to one post every 5.03 days.  Not bad if I do say so myself.  So here’s to year three!

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November 9, 2009

Truffle and Salt

truffle saltAbout as local as the topic of this next post gets is the fact that you can buy it on the internet and have it shipped to Frederick, but every once in a while I just have to mention something I come across that I love.  One of the most amazing condiments I have ever encountered is Casina Rossa Truffle and Salt.  Notice they call it truffle and salt.  That’s a good clue.  More than just salt infused with some truffle oil or flavoring, this product is sea salt from Abruzzo, Italy interspersed with flecks of genuine black truffles; about 5% the jar says.  Just open the jar and stick your nose in:  amazing.  Heck I could be quite happy just sniffing the jar, but put it on food and WOW.  So far we have enjoyed this on everything it has touched.  Some of the really high notes have been on buttered popcorn (oh the decadence!); in some olive oil as a dipping sauce for bread, and last night I had it on some steamed brussels sprouts.  I don’t know of anywhere that carries this locally but if you do let me know.  It seems like the sort of thing that they would carry at Firestone’s Market on Market.  I’ll have to check and if anyone knows please post.  At around $24 for a 3.5 oz jar it’s not cheap.  But considering the price of truffles it is not outrageous and would make a great stocking stuffer for the foodie in your life.

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November 6, 2009

Isabella’s Meats

The other night Mrs. F and I were eating at Isabellas.  While I felt guilty not trying something new so I could report on it here, it was a very rare date night so I wanted to make sure there were no disappointments.   I have made no secret of my love for this place in the past (here  and here if you are interested)  and it lived up to my expectations as usual.  Of interest was that I saw on the menu that they are sourcing a lot of their meats locally.  The beef was grass-fed from Hedgeapple Farms and the pork was also from  a local producer.  The wholesaler which provides all their seafood was identified as well. The only thing missing was any mention of where the poultry originates.

As an aside we went on a Saturday night and the place was packed.  Could only get a seat at the bar where we enjoyed a nice big pitcher of sangria with our food.  They have a cool new system where they insert an enclosed ice core into the pitcher to keep the sangria cold without diluting it as the ice melts.

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November 4, 2009

Flying Dog Road Dog Porter

Continuing my tour of Flying Dog Brewery beers with their Road Dog Porter. road porter Nice dark mahogany color, with a creamy brown head.  Nice malty aroma.  Has a good malty flavor as well, with a hint of coffee.  Finishes with a touch of bitterness.  This struck me as a bit lighter than some other porters I have tasted but it was right up my alley.  I would definitely say this was my favorite out of the ones I have tasted so far.  At 6 % it is half a percent higher in alcohol than the others that I have tasted.

In case you are not keeping score here are the others:

Old Scratch Amber Lager; Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale

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