Sickles Market Blog

Immersed in Olive Oil

2012-02-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

When my son, Cameron, was still in grade school, he used to puzzle the mothers of his buddies whenever he was invited over to play. I would frequently hear from one mom or another that Cameron had a rather unusual request at snack time. While other kids were clamoring for milk and cookies, my son would ever so politely ask for bread and olive oil. He preferred not just any olive oil: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the higher the quality the better. Sometimes we would stop by Williams & Sonoma and taste the selection of olive oils set out in little dishes on the counter. Cameron always zeroed in on the most intense, flavorful, and usually most expensive option. One may wonder if there really is that much difference between the olive oils out there on the market. What is really in the bottle? Is it worth paying more money for the so-called Super Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oils? Quite recently I had the chance to find out.

On a frosty cold January morning, I set out along the gravel path that led from my accommodations in St. Helena, in the heart of California’s wine country, skirting rows of neatly trimmed vineyards on my way to the world renowned Culinary Institute of America. I arrived at Greystone, gaping in awe at the imposing castle-like edifice that houses the CIA, once the Christian Brothers winery. I grabbed my badge and a cup of coffee and settled into a seat in the spacious amphitheater with over one hundred other retailers, wholesalers and foodservice professionals for a seminar entitled: “Olive Oil Flavor & Quality.”

Ten hours, thirty speakers, and twenty olive oils later, I emerged tired and almost saturated with olive oil but enlightened from this fascinating course presented by the CIA and the UC Davis Olive Oil Center, in collaboration with the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). I learned that yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there are vast differences between olive oils on the market today, and that much of the oil being bottled, labeled, and sold as Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or EVOO) is actually adulterated or mislabeled in some way. Some of it is even old or rancid. Tom Mueller, an expert in the area of olive oil fraud and author of the book Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, explains that this precious commodity, once the symbol of purity, has become a deeply corrupt industry in the face of today's lax protections. Cheating is commonplace; lower grade oils are mixed in with EVOO’s, color is added to enhance the look of the oil, or old olives from the ground are used instead of fresh, just -picked olives.

We had the opportunity to experience first hand the differences between fresh, fusty and rancid extra virgin olive oils. The term “fusty” is used to describe oil made from olives that have been stored in bags too long and have started the fermentation process. Tasting a number of fusty and rancid oils was actually quite valuable because I can more easily recognize a culprit. Since olive oil is such a perishable commodity susceptible to light, heat, and oxygen, there is a good chance that you will find rancid oil served unknowingly at even the finest restaurants. To make sure that only the freshest, purest oils are available to their customers, many retail stores and restaurants are beginning to check their supplies more often for freshness and are even sending samples to testing facilities to verify that the oil is 100% extra virgin. In order to be considered a true EVOO, the oil must meet specific criteria, such having a free acidity (oleic acid) of no more than .8% and being without sensory defect. The Super Premium EVOO’s are in another class altogether. These high-end premium oils generally have no more than a .3% free fatty acid level and have excellent sensory attributes of taste and aroma.

Tasting the fresh Super-Premium oils was much more enjoyable. We sampled products from several different countries including Italy, Spain, and Greece as well as local oils from California. When we sipped and inhaled the “novello” or new harvest oils from the first olives of the season, one presenter commented that it sounded like a flu clinic in the amphitheater: coughing and sputtering everywhere from the pepper sensation in our throats! After drizzling the same oil on a winter salad however, the grassiness and pepper of the fresh young oil melded with the greens and parmesan perfectly, creating a balanced combination. During our breaks we continued to experience the Super Premiums liberally applied to every kind of food imaginable: avocados and orange marmalade on toast, almond gazpacho with grapes, grilled dry aged Five Dot Ranch beef, and even chocolate olive-oil mousse!

One of the highlights of the day for me was a presentation by Paul Bartolotta, the Chef of BARTOLOTTA, Ristorante di Mare at the Wynn Las Vegas. He demonstrated several techniques for preparing seafood and how to use olive oil as a supporting role in cuisine. He selected a delicate Super Premium Ligurian olive oil rather than a peppery “novello.” Later, at lunchtime, he served us his creations, including a whole fish cooked in an aromatic sea salt crust. I was also delighted to view a slide presentation by Nancy Harmon Jenkins and came home with her latest cookbook: The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health, a volume filled with heart- healthy olive oil-based recipes.

By the end of the day, I had tasted twenty different olive oils, from the mediocre to the finest in the world. I left Greystone that evening practically glistening but more informed about extra virgin olive oils and why the best ones are worth the investment. Now I am putting olive oil on practically everything. It adds flavor, health and richness to almost every dish. No wonder Cameron went for the bread and oil at snack time!

~ Cheri Scolari

Molto Risotto

2012-01-30T16:52:00.001-05:00

The early days of September found me crisscrossing the landscape of Northern Italy in a small bus on an Autumn Buyer’s Tour, visiting artisanal food and wine producers, in search of rare and exceptional culinary finds to share with our Sickles customers. Each producer, farmer, or family that we visited had a compelling story to tell and a unique product to introduce.

Early in our trip, we took a drive to the magical Po Valley in the Vercelli district of the culinary mecca, Piemonte. Our little group of five buyers and two guides paused for lunch at the charming Osteria del Vecchio Asilo, in one of the many picturesque villages in the region. We dined on course after course of remarkable dishes created from the rice grown at Cascina Veneria, the largest rice producing estate in all of Europe. Fulvio, the manager of the factory, and our gracious guide for the day, walked us through all of the courses, describing each rice dish, from rice timbale to risotto and rice pudding, all made from different varieties of grains grown on the 700 hectare property that we would soon be visiting. We were even treated to the local specialties of fried lake frogs and lake frog risotto, which I somehow managed to eat with a smile. The frogs, notwithstanding, I was impressed with the simplicity and vibrant flavor of every dish, with the texture and characteristics of the grain taking center stage, elevating the dining experience to sublime.

After a visit from Al Fabione, a local celebrity race car driver who frequented the Osteria, we said our goodbyes and set off for the Cascina, flying through the valley past lush fields of green and gold, until we arrived at the impressive rice-growing estate. Cascina Veneria is a full cycle facility, which means that everything from planting the seed to packaging the superlative product is done on site and all in environmentally- friendly fashion. All of the traditional varieties of rice are grown, such as Carnaroli and Baldo, as well as rare rice varieties of scientific and gastronomic value. We toured the pristine facilities with Fulvio, and he showed us the state-of the-art equipment, including machines that separate stones from the rice, remove the film from the grain while leaving the nutritious bran, and one that identifies and removes the off-color and broken grains of rice from the bins so that only the finest grains are packaged. The rice is even stored in vaults filled with CO2 to prevent insects from surviving in that climate.

Afterwards, our group looked over the products to see what we wanted to introduce to our customers back home. The Carnaroli rice was a must, an Extra Fine variety that won the Gold Medal at the International Rice Olympic Games in Spain (2006) and known as the Supreme Performer in the kitchen. The Carnaroli grains are well-separated, have an excellent absorption capacity and are preferred by beginning cooks and great chefs alike. Carnaroli is ideal for making risotto and Martha Stewart’s Buttternut Squash Risotto is perfectly suited to this rice variety. Baldo rice is the creamiest of the rice varieties and is a relative newcomer in the Extra Fine category. It is actually derived from Arborio, and has translucent, compact grains with an excellent absorption capacity as well. It will make a creamier risotto, and is particularly suited to baked rice dishes, or as an accompaniment to fish or vegetables. Baldo rice would make this Caramelized Rice Pudding extra creamy and unctuous. I also chose Vialone Nano, a special rice from Northeastern Italy with a lovely smooth, light consistency. The small, rounded grains are very compact and work quite well in soups or in a rice salad.

I was also enamored with the Risotto Collection, which come in a variety of flavors, including Mediterranean Vegetable, Artichoke and Porcini Mushroom. When you are in the mood for a bowl of rich, creamy Italian risotto, this is the ultimo! Cascina Veneria starts with the Carnaroli rice and then expertly blends specially selected vegetables and the perfect combination of herbs and spices to create a risotto that only needs the addition of a little olive oil and water. I love this very easy, yet authentic risotto!

After a whirlwind week of meeting talented artisan producers and farmers and tasting their fine products, I returned home to await delivery of all of the treasures discovered abroad. As of this writing, the Cascina Veneria rice and all of the other Italian foods are finally here and making their way onto the shelves at Sickles Market. You’ll even find some soon in the new on-line store! Come by and try some of them for yourself!

Ciao!
Cheri Scolari

St. Lucia Food 1-3

2012-01-28T09:42:00.004-05:00

When Sickles' Staffer Julie Dickerson went on vacation to St. Lucia, she decided to investigate the full cycle of food on the island. In the upcoming videos, she'll film gourmet chef and restaurant reviewer Laura Donnelly working with St. Lucian Chef Pamela to make a delicious meal from both Sickles' products and St. Lucian products. In the third video, she captures them reviewing informally the Sickles' products used in the dinner.

John's Guide to Winter Citrus

2012-01-20T22:36:00.001-05:00

Don't miss out on the season's best citrus tastes!

1. Honeybell Tangelos: a delectable combination of tangerines and grapefruits hailing from the state of Florida. Taste their refreshing flavor at our sample table in the produce area. You'll need a bib they're so juicy!

2. Pummelos: our weekly special from California, it looks even bigger than a grapefruit. Big taste.

3. Yellow Nectarines: if you want a taste of summer, bite into these nectarines now in season from Chile. Just as good as the Jersey grown version.

4. Satsuma Mandarin Orange: this golden treasure won John's opinion for "best tasting fruit right now". Look for his signs to catch what's the tastiest each season.

5. Yellow Peaches: bring back those warm weather memories with these peaches from Chile. Sometimes things are just peaches and cream...

6. Blood Oranges: add a vibrant color to your table and your taste buds. Treat yourself.

And don't forget our faithful standby, the California Navel Oranges in season for another 1-2 months. They're plump, juicy, beautiful, and good for you! Almost too good to be true.

Kids in the Kitchen

2012-01-19T11:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.ellaskitchen.com/

I’m a culinary free agent. Unmarried and without kids, I usually don’t have to worry about cooking for anyone but myself. This doesn’t mean, however, that I blissfully ignore kids and what they eat. In fact, this is an issue that greatly concerns me.

The diminishing level of culinary literacy among kids (and their parents) has arguably led to the health crisis that we are facing today, namely childhood obesity and diabetes. Without a solid knowledge of what goes into the foods they eat--knowledge that comes from understanding the basics of cooking--kids can’t make wise dietary choices, a situation which too frequently leads to poor health. If the kids of today lack the skills to cook, the children of tomorrow will as well, and this will just compound the current health crisis.

It’s not just personal health that will be compromised, but also the welfare of the planet. Without the ability to prepare meals for themselves when they become adults, kids will have to rely on processed, packaged foods. These items may be cheap and convenient, but they have grave environmental costs. To ensure low prices, food processors demand overly efficient farming methods that consume large amounts of fossil fuels, pollute ground water, and compromise biodiversity.

And there’s also a loss of culture. Parents inculcate familial and ethnic identities in the next generation through food. For me, that meant roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for Sunday dinner. For the Italian family next door, it could be Sunday gravy. For the hippies down the street, it could be tofu and brown rice. What happens when the generations lose the knowledge of these special, identifying dishes? Are we all going to be homogenized through a shared diet of fast food?

So, what to do? How to develop culinary literacy?

First, it’s important to introduce the children in your life to healthful dietary choices, which means, for the most part, foods that are minimally processed. The journalist Michael Pollan, has clever, succinct ways to measure this in his book, Food Rules: “Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce” and “avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.” Sickles can definitely help in this department with its exceptional selection of fresh produce, grains, yogurts of all kinds, artisanal cheeses, wholesome breads, preserved fruits and vegetables, etc. Even its processed foods aren’t off the mark. Take, for example, Ella’s Kitchen, which is available in the market and on Sickles’ on-line store. This brand’s baby food contains organic fruits and vegetables, “with nothing else added, not even water.”

Next, get kids cooking. There are plenty of ways you can do this. First, show by example by making as many of your own meals as possible, with minimally processed foods. Next, get kids in the kitchen. If you yourself are uncomfortable cooking, there are plenty of kid-friendly programs that will show the way. For instance the first Kids Food Fest is happening this weekend (January 21-22). Co-founded by a pal of mine from NYU’s master’s program in food studies, this impressive and fun two-day event at Bryant Park will have plenty of hands-on events and cooking demos, with some big NYC-based chefs, that are geared to promote sensible food choices and generate demand for wholesome and balanced food options. A percentage of the proceeds raised will go to Share Our Strength. Keep an eye on the Monmouth County Library’s Web site; on Sunday, March 4, they are organizing a day-long program about food that is geared for whole families.

I know that this soapbox may be an inappropriate place for me to stand since I myself don’t have kids. I don’t know what it’s like to have kids screaming for food and then rejecting the wholesome meal that you have conscientiously prepared or bought, but I do know that if we don’t get kids cooking or thinking about what they are eating, we are in for crisis.

Get kids cooking!

Diana the cheesemonger

The Year of the Fig

2012-01-06T18:05:00.000-05:00

Being a California gal, my heart still leaps when I watch the most cherished of California traditions: The New Year’s Day Rose Bowl Parade. When I see the intricately designed floats and festooned performers winding their way through the streets of Pasadena, I know that the old has passed away and the New Year has officially arrived in full fanfare. Other things remind me of my earlier days in California as well: The heady, herbal scent of eucalyptus trees, golden fields of mustard on the rolling hills, and gnarled fig trees offering their plump, ripe fruit on bony finger-like branches. Figs are about as California as you can get. They were brought to San Diego in 1769 by the Franciscan missionaries and soon migrated up the coast until they were growing as far north as Sonoma by the turn of the century. The dark purple Mission Fig is the most common variety grown in California and it gets its name from this historical past.

Figs not only remind me of my California birthplace, they are a very significant fruit in my Armenian heritage as well. Although it is supposed that figs originated in ancient southern Arabia, the edible fig was first cultivated extensively in Mesopotamia, Persia and Armenia. My grand-parents had an old fig tree on their farm and a plate of dried figs could often be found on the coffee table along with walnuts and raisins. To this day, my mother makes the best fig jam I have ever tasted. Figs find their way into many recipes in the Mediterranean part of the world and have been appreciated for all of their healthful benefits. In early writings of the historical author Pliny the Younger (61-112AD), it was noted: “Figs are restorative. They increase the strength of young people, preserve the elderly in better health and make them look younger with fewer wrinkles.” I am not convinced about the power to reduce wrinkles but figs are very high in dietary fiber and rich in antioxidants, more than red wine or tea.

Bob Sickles shares my love for figs, so when he and Leslie visited Southern Italy on a buying trip this past September he made it a priority to stop in Cosenza, in the region of Calabria. Some of the sweetest, highest quality figs in the world are found in the hills of Cosenza. Here they met the Rao brothers, Franco and Antonio, who carry on a family tradition of more than 50 years, turning the local Dotatto or White Kadota figs into mouth-watering delicacies. Bob and Leslie toured the factory, the Dolci Pensieri di Calabria, where they watched the step-by-step production of the Rao brothers’ signature specialty: A unique fig ball. The fresh figs are initially dried on mats, roasted for 6 hours until caramelized, hand pressed into balls and then finally wrapped in fresh fig leaves. To eat, you just unfurl the leaves to reveal the dark, gleaming, caramelized figs. We sell these unusual fig balls in Sickles Market Cheese Department where I have served the figs with aged pecorino cheese and almonds, but they would also pair beautifully with gorgonzola and a drizzle of honey.

Another very enjoyable way to eat the prized Dotatto figs is in the form of “salami.” At the Dolci Pensieri, the brothers mix the dried figs with spices, nuts and rum (and plenty of it!), mold the figs into a salami shape, dip the fig “salami” in dark chocolate and finally cover the finished product with netting like real salami. Served in slices, this confection is a rich accompaniment to cheese or delicious on its own with a glass of sweet moscato wine.

Fig preserves are one of my favorite ways to eat figs, especially Villa Capelli’s version with a hint of vanilla and lemon. Mitica also imports a chunky fig spread from Spain, sweetened only with lemon flower honey. I like to keep these jars handy in the cupboard to serve as a quick appetizer with a wedge of goat brie or a slice of Ossau Iraty, the Basque sheep’s milk cheese that won the 2011 World Cheese Awards.

However figs find their way onto your table, I hope that you enjoy all of their delicious and healthful benefits and have a healthy Happy New Year!

Enjoy!

Cheri The Cheesemonger

A Resolution to Embrace the Madness of the Holidays

2012-01-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Down in the kitchen, making a very necessary cup of coffee before setting off on a day of errands, my mother declared, “If it weren’t for Christmas, I would just stay in bed and hibernate.”

When the days become miserably short and cold, most of us would happily snuggle under the covers rather than rise and face the day. Forcing us to get out of bed, however, and race around are the winter holidays and the endless to-do list that they generate. There are gifts to be bought and wrapped, food to be prepared, cards to be sent, trees to be decorated, menorahs to be set up, living quarters to be cleaned, tablecloths to be pressed, and countless other tasks to be preformed.

Often, at the height of juggling the obligations and expectations of the holidays, we curse them, wishing for them to be over or vowing to make them more simple the following year--fewer presents, fewer people, less food, more time in pajamas.

I, however, relish the rush of the holidays, and am now sad that they have come and gone. Despite being short on sleep and patience in the days leading up to Christmas, as I try to jam everything into a busy schedule, I encourage myself to embrace the demands of the season, reminding myself that it happens but once a year. For us all, if we don’t dive right in, letting the craziness rush over us, almost drowning us, then this special time of year vanishes and we are left with the regret that we didn’t do more. Or we might still be lying in bed, awaiting spring and missing out.

The chief way by which I try to maximize the joys of the demanding holidays is to maintain a series of traditions, chiefly food based. These are not ones that my family has kept for years, but ones that I have adopted over the past decade or so to ensure that December 25 is not just another cold winter's day to suffer through.

Here is what I aim to do each year. Not until December 1, do I allow myself to replace autumnal decorations of winter squash with homemade pomanders, fresh oranges studded with cloves, and gingerbread men, hung from windows and doorways at home. During the next few weeks, I put the finishing touches on goody bags that I distribute to friends on my birthday on December 23. For the past few years, they have contained Italian mincemeat cookies, strips of candied orange peel, and a cordial or cocktail (see my blog from October 2010).

And then the holidays begin. For the winter solstice, I take a walk at sunrise or sunset to mark the shortest day of the year and bake lussekatter, Swedish saffron buns eaten on Saint Lucy’s Day. The next day is my birthday and I bake myself a cake (this year it was chocolate stout) and distribute those goody bags. The menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas change a bit every year, but there are some constants: celery bisque with Stilton toasts or slick and garlicky vermicelli with raisins and pine nuts to start the meal on the 24th and a layered green and red polenta torta as my main vegetarian meal at Christmas. Since I come from an English family, we like to have friends over for Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. We don’t go to a great fuss with food to keep things easy, but I do make a boozy Jamaican black cake and glögg, Swedish mulled wine.

These traditions certainly do require time and effort and hours that I could be sleeping. What helps ease things a bit is keeping a binder full of the recipes that I return to each year, along with notes about how the dishes turned out the previous year. In the binder, I also insert recipes that I come across during the course of the year that I would like to try during the next round of holidays. This means that I don’t have to add extra stress, trying to find the recipes from the previous year or rack my brain thinking what to cook.

At this time of making new year's resolutions, I suggest buying a binder and printing out recipes and ideas that you would like to try in December 2012 and then allowing yourself to embrace the madness that brings a cheerful light to the dark days of winter. There's plenty of winter remaining after the holidays to hibernate!

Happy New Year!

Diana Pittet, the sometimes organized cheesemonger

A New Year’s Toast from Sickles Market

2011-12-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

By Pat Dumas

December 30, 2011

(with Apologies to Robert Burns as sung to Auld Lang Syne)

Should all your shopping be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Get the old things out, and new things in

For the sake of Auld Lang Syne.

For Auld Lang Syne, my friend,

For all our Christmas sales;

We’ll take a cup of Crème Brulee

In the Sickles Market aisles.

And surely you will buy your pints

And I will then buy mine;

Of chicken soup and chili beans;

For Auld Lang Syne

For Auld Lang Syne my friend,

For cupcakes swirled with cream,

We’ll take a cup of Darjeeling Tea

And glom the samples clean.

We all have run about the store

In the days til Christmas time,

But now its time to save some bucks

On ornaments for Auld Lang Syne.

For Auld Lang Syne my dear

For a greenhouse full of green;

We’ll take a slice of sultry Brie

For the days of Auld Lang Syne

And there’s a hand my trusty friend,

To help you through your day;

‘Round pots of herbs and orchids too,

And seeds for Auld Lang Syne

For Auld Lang Syne my dear

For those Chicken -Potted Pies,

We’ll smell the smell of Arugula too

For the love of Auld Lang Syne.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SICKLES MARKET!

'Tis the Season to Be Stinky

2011-12-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

Vacherin Mont d'Or
withcheese.co.uk

The scents of the winter holidays are evocative and comforting: evergreen trees; baking spices; glowing candles; donuts and potato pancakes frying in copious oil; roasting vegetables, meats, and chestnuts; blazing open fires--now I am digressing into Christmas songs!

One smell associated with this time of year that doesn’t make it into holiday songs is the pungent stink of some exceptional, seasonal cheeses, which arrive at market in early winter. If you don’t grab them now, they vanish as quickly as rolls of wrapping paper and Scotch tape from the store on Christmas Eve.

What makes these cheeses so special? First and foremost, it’s their seasonality.

It may be odd to think about a cheese’s seasonality. We usually reserve these notions for fruits and vegetables, but remember that cheese is also a product of the laws and rhythms of nature. Cows, sheep, goats, buffaloes give milk only when there’s a baby to feed. Dairymen stagger the breeding cycles of their cows, which lactate for 300 days, so that there’s milk year round, but the breeding cycle of sheep and goats are a little more difficult to manipulate, so there is a brief period when their milk is not available and hence cheeses made from their milk. Another crucial aspect about the seasonality of cheeses is grass. The flavors and chemical make-up of milk is affected by an animal’s diet. The first grasses of spring are different from the lush grasses of summer, and in the winter, fresh grass often isn’t available at all.

Rush Creek Reserve
www.chicagoreader.com

It’s the growing cycle of grass which affects these seasonal stinkers. The king among them is Vacherin Mont D’Or from Switzerland. What sets this gooey, meaty cheese apart is that it’s made with winter or autumn milk. Typically, the most sought-after cheeses are those made from summer milk. Think rich and nutty Pleasant Ridge Reserve, America’s most award-winning farmstead cheese, or creamy Stilton/Stichelton, the blue cheese typically eaten at Christmas in Britain because this is when the cheeses made a few months earlier in the summer are at their peak of ripeness. Why autumn and winter milk for Vacherin? Since it can get too cold in the areas of France and Switzerland, where Vacherin originated, to transport milk to a dairy cooperative, where large mountain cheese are produced, small cheeses are made at home in the wintertime, something so oozing that its middle has to be wrapped in a band of spruce wood to keep the fromage from flowing off the kitchen shelf. It’s so runny it begs to be eaten with a spoon.

You don’t need to be shivering in a farmhouse to get out a spoon and dip into Vacherin’s savory goodness. You can buy one right from Sickles. Or if you are after something a wee smaller or something domestic, go for its American version, newcomer Rush Creek Reserve, from the award-winning folks behind Pleasant Ridge Reserve in Wisconsin. This is the cheese I am treating myself to for my birthday, which falls two days before Christmas. Like Vacherin, Rush Creek is made with late-season milk, when their herd is coming off fresh grass and onto dry feed, a change in diet which results in milk that is too full of fat to make aged, hard Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Unlike its European predecessor, this equally runny and silky disk of a cheese, also girded with a flexible strip of spruce, is made with unpasteurized milk, which captures all the varied flavors of this exceptionally high-quality milk.

L'Edel de Cleron
www.tastingsgourmetmarket.com

Grab these cheeses while you can and don’t be afraid of their potentially pungent smell; their bark is often worse than their bite. Delight instead in their savory, woodsy flavors and rich, silky texture. But don’t fret if the time is not right for you; you can await until the arrival of Winnimere, from Jasper Hill in Vermont, washed in a Vermont-made beer and wrapped in a strip of wood from a nearby forest. Or you can settle for one of the year-round Vacherin-style cheeses, L’Edel de Cleron or Petite Sapin. They are delicious in their own right, but nothing beats the special seasonality of Mont d’Or and its American interpretations.

Be merry and stinky this holiday season!

Diana Pittet the Cheesemonger

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2011-12-18T11:59:00.000-05:00

Patricia Dumas

December 18, 2011

Or should I say “Oy Christmas Tree? You just don’t know what a Christmas tree means until you’ve never had one growing up.

When I was growing up in my Jewish household I was far from deprived. But, I was certain that I was totally neglected because I thought I was deprived, and cheated out of having a Christmas tree.

Every Christmas, we would go to my mother’s brother’s house where there would be a huge tree. My uncle’s wife – the gorgeous Ziegfield Follies dance goddess—was of another faith, and threw the best Yuletide celebrations ever. Old German ornaments, cookies, dinners, poker games and Scotch were always on the menu there.

As I dutifully celebrated Hanukkah, and was told I was lucky to get one present a night for eight nights, I still drooled and hankered for that Christmas tree. “No” was always the answer from my father. He relented once and brought home the silliest cardboard office Christmas tree ever seen. I loved it. I put presents under it like it was the most gorgeous thing every year until it fell apart.

My mother’s friend Ellie would say to my dad at their 1960’s customary afternoon cocktail hour, “Harold, why don’t you get that poor kid a Christmas Tree?” His answer was typically wry: “Eleanor, when YOU put a “Hanukah Bush” up in your window, I’ll get a Christmas tree!” Pretty smart old man, right? That was that. I got over it soon enough and after the sacred day, my brother and I went about decorating the outside Blue Spruce with tarnished tinsel from people’s discarded curbside trees.

When I was young, in lieu of that almighty tree, I stuffed myself with old Christmas stories. I devoured the old legends of the Christmas tree. That was enough to keep me satisfied. I read stories in a tattered blue Grimm's Fairy Tale book about the “Little Fir” who couldn’t wait to grow up until he found himself cut down, decorated for Christmas, plundered by children, and finally burned and discarded. That took me away to places and thoughts I had never imagined. .

The Christmas tale of St. Boniface, the monk who saved a child from being sacrificed in front of an old oak tree, and saw a small fir tree spring up to honor the event, delighted me. Visions of ancient Druids celebrating eternal life under the moonlight and reveling under the spirit of evergreens and mistletoe was enchanting. It gave a good Jewish girl the satisfaction of Christmastime. I sang loud at the school’s Christmas concert, made sloppy Christmas cookies, tried to wrap presents, and cut out stars, snowflakes and the occasional menorah for my bulletin board.

Now, in defense of my own selfish need for that long wished-for tree, I have to say that the Christmas tree is a universal symbol. It may not be in every household, but it’s a warm inviting icon of the holiday season where everyone seems to be happy and generous of spirit.

Now, I’m coming up on my own family’s 31^st Christmas Eve party. I always buy a huge, Frasier Fir that makes the house smell divine. For 30 years I’ve hosted family, neighbors, and a gaggle of folks with no place to go. I always get the biggest Christmas tree I can fit indoors. We have a menorah for Hanukkah, dreidels, and golden covered chocolate coins too. The more the merrier, the bigger the better, and everyone and everything is included.

If you’ve bought a fresh tree, you’ve bought not just a tree, but a legacy. You’re helping a farmer somewhere earn a living, helping open land stay open, and aiding the preservation of green places and earth-friendly practices in the farmer's domain. Even your local farmer, Mr. Sickles, keeps his land invigorated because you’ve helped him and all of us by buying a tree here. I know I would be more than sad if our farm wasn’t here. It’s a peaceful vista right smack in the middle of mad suburbia.

After the big day is done, and New Year’s has come and gone, a Christmas tree does double duty in the yard. Don’t be afraid to keep it perched outside for awhile. Birds will take refuge in your tree during the snow and cold, and the branches can be cut and spread around for a good, protecting mulch against the harsh winter winds that often kill plantings.

If on your tree journey, you’ve found a bird nest tucked away in one, it’s good luck. It’s possible that a song sparrow or a warbler from up north just might have raised a family in your family tree. For me, my tree is my wish come true. I’ve still got the feeling I’ve sneaked quite a bit from the old cookie jar.

Merry, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all!

Nuts About Fruitcake

2011-12-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

Napacakes.com; also available at Sickles Market

For some reason, fruitcake and Christmas celebrations are inextricably linked. Johnny Carson once said: “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people just keep sending it to each other.” If it’s true, that cake is getting along in years, since evidence of the much maligned fruitcake goes back at least as far as the 13th century. The panforte, which originated in Siena, Italy, is one of the earliest fruitcakes in recorded European history, having been mentioned in the annals of the Crusaders. They found this thin, disk-shaped cake studded with nuts and fruits to be an excellent source of sustenance and nutrition on their long arduous quests. To this day, the dense, rich panforte cakes often contain 17 different ingredients to equal the number the districts, or “contrade” in the city of Siena. A non-traditional but nonetheless irresistible version of panforte is produced by Napa Cakes of California. This moist, rich cake is prepared in small batches and chock full of local ingredients such as dried apricots, nuts, chocolate and spices, but no candied citrus peel in sight. I would be delighted to find one in my Christmas stocking!

Stollen at Sickles Market

One of the more famous fruitcakes hails from Dresden, Germany. The Dresden Stollen, which is still sold today at the “Striezelmarkt,” or local Christmas market, has a special seal depicting King Augustus II the Strong, and is produced by only 150 special Dresden Bakers. In 1730, the King popularized this traditional loaf-shaped cake stuffed with candied fruits and nuts and topped with powdered sugar by ordering the Baker’s Guild to create a 1.7 ton oversized stollen which fed 24,000 guests in a single day. The festival is still celebrated in Dresden annually during the Advent season to commemorate the event, however, the stollen that is now paraded through the streets weighs closer to 3-4 tons! The finest example of this celebrated Dresden sweet on this side of the pond is Balthazar’s Christmas stollen. It’s nowhere near the 3 ton mark, but this exquisite yeast bread is loaded with almonds, currants, tart cherries and brandy-soaked raisins with a ribbon of marzipan running through the center. You’ll want to order one ahead of time from the Sickles Bakery because they are in limited supply and sell out quickly.

For many families, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without the classic Italian sweetened yeast cake filled with candied citrus peels and raisins, known as panettone. Originally created in 15th century Milan, this cupola-shaped cake has always been a favorite at the holiday season, often served with sweet moscato wine or hot chocolate. The origins of the cake are a mystery, although many legends abound. Some say that a Duke’s falconer loved a poor baker’s daughter and wanted to marry her. The two lovers worked secretly at night, creating a rich bread with butter and eggs purchased with money gained by selling off the Duke’s falcons one by one. At Christmas, they added citrus peels and dried fruits and the bread was such a success that the baker became very wealthy, allowing the couple to marry.

Pasticceri Filippi Panettone at Sickles Market

I’m not too sure about the validity of the story, but I do know of a phenomenal panettone from a small artisanal bakery in Vincenza, Italy. I had the opportunity to visit Pasticceri Filippi this past September on a buying trip for Sickles Market, and saw first hand the dedication of the sons, Lorenzo and Andreas, to quality and tradition. They take no shortcuts in making the panettone and use only the finest ingredients in their recipes: Belgium butter, fresh farm eggs, Madagascar vanilla, Washington oranges from Sicily and Sultana raisins from Australia. Sickles Market is now carrying this hand-selected artisanal panettone for the holidays, in the classic style with raisins and candied citrus and also in a special version with candied orange peels and dark Swiss chocolate. Pasticceri Filippi panettone is a lovely tradition to start in your own home or to give as a gift. You may also want to try panettone French toast for a Christmas morning brunch. I have found Martha Stewart’s Brioche French Toast recipe to be exceptionally delicious and you can just substitute the panettone for the brioche. Panettone Bread Pudding is another creative way to enjoy this Italian Christmas sweet. The bread pudding can be made two days ahead and then reheated before serving. Add a dollop of mascarpone cream if you’d like to be extra decadent!

There is, finally, the classic fruitcake: The traditional dark, candied fruit-studded, rum or brandy-soaked variety. Queen Victoria herself received such a fruitcake as a gift and legend has it that she put it aside and did not touch it for a year. She intended to set an example to all of moderation and restraint. My guess is that she would have consumed it immediately with a glass of sweet moscato if it were a Pasticceri Filippi panettone, a Balthazar stollen or a Napa Cakes panforte. She most probably got stuck with Johnny Carson’s infamous traveling fruitcake. Hopefully you will be more fortunate and have a sweet, fruitcake-filled holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Cheri Scolari

Divinely Delicious Providence

2011-12-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

www.ronsaari.com

Does Providence make your list of top dining cities in the northeast? If not, it should. It may be the capital of the union’s smallest state, but Providence has a surprisingly big dining scene.

I was reminded of this while walking around the city recently, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I ventured from neighborhood to neighborhood, on an all-day bus pass, tasting the best that the city has to offer and remarking on how vibrant and progressive its culinary vibe is. Here are some highlights from that day. Note that there are many other fine places to nosh in Providence.

The Morning

Hewtin's Dog Mobile

As soon as I arrived in Kennedy Plaza, the commutation hub of downtown Providence, I jumped onto another bus to cross the city line into neighboring Pawtucket, the site of the city’s bustling indoor wintertime market, located in an artsy Hope Artiste Village. Farmers, dairymen, and cheesemakers from rural Rhode Island sell what's in season, and local food vendors prepare delicious goods, such as crepes and cheddar-scallion scones. For more substantial fare, Hewtin's Dog Mobile, a roving project from the chef of the well-regarded French bistro, Chez Pascal, prepares sandwiches with in-house made sausages and cured meats. At the market, I picked up Renaissance Ricotta from Narragansett Creamery, which won first place in its category at the World Cheese Awards in 2008. One cheese isn’t enough for me, so I also bought a plain chevre from Simmons Organic Farm near Newport.

Afternoon

Tony's Colonial

Where didn’t I go on the bus in the afternoon? I first traveled by foot up Federal Hill, Providence’s Little Italy, to visit the cheese counters at two popular Italian delis, Tony’s Colonial and Constantino's Venda Ravioli, situated near the European-style square, DePasquale Plaza, and then hopped the trolley to go all the way across the city to Wayland Square on Providence’s historic East Side. Located there is one of the best cheese shops in the country, Farmstead, which celebrates all things artisanal. Attached to it is a slip of a bistro, La Laiterie, that highlights the best produce, fish, and meat that’s in season in Rhode Island. Cheese plates with a selection of fine cheeses, paired with handcrafted accompaniments and the owner’s candied nuts are not to be be missed.

Farmstead

I slowly made my way back to downtown Providence via artsy Wickenden Street, where I used to go for coffee at Coffee Exchange when I was a university student at Brown, and hip Fellini Pizzeria for a slice of their New York, thin-crust whole wheat pizza with butternut squash--what an innovative topping! I then walked up Brook Street past one of my favorite boutique liquor stores, Campus Fine Wines, where I schooled myself about craft beer in the 1990s, when the craze was just brewing, so to speak, and up to a very local institution Loui’s, a family-owned and -run dinner, where I ate many late breakfasts after late nights of partying. It was closed by the time I got there, but saw on their window that Guy Fieri had made this one of his stops when covering the Ocean State on his TV food show.

Evening

It was time to get the evening started. Back in my college days this would be done on Thayer Street, the commercial strip that runs near campus, or on campus itself. Rarely would we venture downtown. There simply wasn’t much there. But with Providence’s renaissance, thanks in great part to Buddy Cianci, Providence’s controversial mayor, downtown is now hopping. I had a beer at one of they city’s two brew pubs, Trinity Brewhouse, and the hopped on the bus to head back toward Pawtucket on Hope Street, to have dinner with friends at Cook & Brown, one of the several, refined chef-owned bistros in town that highlight local and seasonal ingredients. I started with a cocktail, of course, which couldn’t be missed here. The highlight of the meal was a custardy bread pudding with salted caramel. I would have been happy with just the caramel!

After dinner, we hit downtown again, cool and youthful Red Fez for bad beer (Schlitz tallboys), bourbon, and Brussels sprouts. As if I needed to eat anything more, we soaked up the beer and bourbon with cheese fries from the quintessential Providence institution, Haven Brothers. A shiny trailer truck located next to City Hall every night from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m., Haven Brothers is the place for the current truck craze and even for the great American institution the dinner, which began in Providence.

It was now late and I had to leave Providence and head back down to South County, the collective area of southern Rhode Island near the ocean. It’s not a backwater; you can get great food down there, too. Providence and Rhode Island are definitely worth a foodie tour.

-Diana the Cheesemonger

My Big Fat Christmas Cactus

2011-11-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

By Patricia Dumas

Garden Center

It’s late fall, and the leaves are drying, the flowers are shriveling and there’s a bleakness in the air. All except indoors where my big, fat obscenely colored Christmas Cactus is blooming its giddy little heart out.

The Christmas Cactus, also known as Schlumbergera or Zygo-cactus, is not a true cactus as we know it. Instead of loving the dry, desert conditions of a typical cactus, they are at home as a tropical plant that preserves water in its leaves, yet likes humidity and heat. They are native to South and Central America where they get the hot, steamy weather they thrive on.

There are varieties that can bloom at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Zygo-cactus that are purchased blooming at Christmas time usually repeat their growth at the same time every year. With orchid-like blooms of red, fuchsia, orange, white and pink, there’s a variety for every décor. You just have to plan on making good friends with it, because it will be around for probably most of your life. And the lives of your children too!

I will say that my Christmas Cactus is a true antique. I’ve been growing it for over 20 years. I bought it when my children were young. They’re 30 and 28 now. It blooms heavily every year before Thanksgiving. Blasting hot pink shrimp-like blooms, my old friend gets bigger and more beautiful with just a little care and a few pinches here and there. If you don’t believe it, look at Mr. Sickles Sr.’s plant on display in the greenhouse at Christmastime. It’s almost a hundred years old, and blooms like a trooper every year. They are tremendously long-lived and are often passed down in the family for years. If that plant could talk, we’d surely know the secrets of the good old days.

Maybe you’ve seen one out of bloom, tucked away in your mom or grandmas house sitting in a corner doing nothing all year long. It looks dull green and somber for most of the year until its time arrives. Then it explodes like the promise of Christmas to come. It is big, blowsy, and full of color. Every stem reminds you of the year you bought it, and how long you’ve come since it was a little sprig.

There are a few things I’ve learned from my Xmas Cactus. It will take sun or part sun, and once the blooms come, it can be placed anywhere for a showy centerpiece. I can get it to bloom better by doing a few things. I leave my cactus outside all summer long during its growing season- letting the succulent leaves soak up the sun, humidity and rain. I leave it outside until it gets just a little bit too cold in November, and then I bring it inside. Within two weeks, it’s a blooming mass of flowers. After blooming, I let the plant rest. When Spring comes around, it goes outdoors again for its biggest growing push. I pluck off the the top leaf segments to encourage future blooms and bushy branching.

Water well during the growing season as the daylight outdoors gets longer, and fertilize monthly in summer. When the fall sets in, start the process all over again. Keep water scant before bloom, then water weekly again when the flowers appear. You’ll soon come to being “one” with your green family member. Every few years, you will need to re-pot your baby because it grows quick. More room makes more blooms. Eventually, like a child, you’ll know its habits, needs and quirks.

If you’re having a hard time with the bloom, set the plant in a cool, dark place indoors in November for 12 hours a day with just enough water to keep it alive. Once the buds set, the plant can be brought out into the household and it will bloom anywhere. If you really want your plant to bloom at Christmas instead of Thanksgiving, keep it in the dark longer until a couple of weeks before the big date.

Not much to look at during the rest of the year, you’ve got to let the Christmas Cactus grow, and make leaves until it’s ready to flower up in December. In the spring and summer, you can make babies too. Pluck a few stems and set them out to dry for a few days in a warm spot until the stems form a nice, hard callous at the bottom. Stick them upright in fresh potting soil, and water. In no time, you’ll have young plants from the mother lode; enough to start the whole family on a life-long journey of growth and remembrance.

Patricia Dumas

November 29, 2011

To keep in mind in late Autumn:

Don’t throw those tree leaves in garbage bags! They are good lawn and garden nourishment in the form of ground- up mulch. Try mowing over your leaves a couple of times. Works like a charm here. The grass is richer, and better every summer. Pile some up around bushes and in the vegetable garden too!

Bulbs planted now, will bring you color and beauty in the spring. Plant some in in the garden, and save some for inside. Just chill some potted daffodil or , hyacinth bulbs in the fridge for a month, then bring out and force in a bright window. Voila! Instant Spring!

Pick those dried, left over hydrangeas that are hanging on for dear life, and place them indoors in vases. If the color is too dull, get a can of burgundy or dark pink spray paint and spray the flowers for a great natural look.

Plant, plant, plant! You can plant all your shrubs and perennials in the cold as long as you can work the earth. They are hibernating and take less water and nourishment, while establishing themselves well in the cool weather.

Cranberries

2011-11-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

Whole cranberries are irresistibly cute.

Whether scrubbed cleaned and bagged together for sale or growing au naturel on trailing vines in a cultivated bog or on dwarf, evergreen shrubs beside a sand dune on Cape Cod, they charm me. Uniformly deep red, in a shade that’s often reserved for evening-time lipstick, they reflect the vibrant colors of autumn. After all the leaves have fallen and we are left with a brown, barren landscape, cranberries give a welcome burst of color, like the inedible berries that grow on denuded shrubs and trees. Whenever I see cranberries at farmers’ markets and on store shelves, I want them, just as I want holy greens with their red berries in the house during winter. They bring natural, visual cheer.

Fresh cranberries also embody the holidays. Can you imagine Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce? It has been an American traditional condiment since colonial times, when Native Americans introduced this tart berry, high in vitamin C and helpful in preserving food, to the Founding Fathers. America’s first cookbook author, Amelia Simmons (1796), recommends serving cranberries with turkey, and this combination has been the sine qua non of the Thanksgiving table since at least then. Even their appearance has a festive air, like miniature ornaments for a Christmas tree set up in a doll’s house. As soon as they appear in the market, we know that the holiday season is upon us.

thepioneerwoman.com

In the past fifty years, we have been able to enjoy cranberries year-round, but mainly as a cocktail juice or as sweetened, dried Craisins. For breakfast on the run, we may pick up a cranberry muffin. But as to fresh, unprocessed cranberries, we feel as though we must hold off until Thanksgiving, when we also search around for our respective families’ cranberry sauce recipe, made but once or twice a year.

I say don’t wait to buy those charmingly red berries until Thanksgiving and don’t limit yourself to sauce. Embrace cranberries’ seasonality and special place in American foodways--and their delicate cuteness!--by bringing them into the kitchen for some novel preparations.

The first time I ever used fresh cranberries was to make a cocktail (of course), Applejack Cobbler, that caputures the essence of autumn with a combination of apples and cranberries. The apple flavorings come from apple schnapps and Monmouth County-based Laird’s Applejack. The cranberries are boiled in a sugar syrup to sweeten the cocktail and to lend balanced tartness and visual appeal. Toast the advent of autumn with this delectable cocktail!

www.finecooking.com

For the sweeter side of the pairing of cranberries with apples, finish a meal with an easy-to-make crisp. Straying from Fine Cooking’s formal recipe, I leave the cranberries whole instead of chopped. This approach yields textural appeal and prevents the dessert from being too cloyingly sweet.

My go-to portable lunch in autumn is a toasted Cheddar sandwich with chutney. It provides a warming wholesomeness that I crave at this time of year. Sometimes I use a store-bought chutney, like Major Grey, and other times I plan ahead and make my own. Here’s one from Martha Stewart with fresh cranberries and apples (these fruits sure like each other!), that could also be an intriguing replacement to cranberry sauce or make zesty leftover turkey sandwiches.

Cranberries are what make Thanksgiving, but they also make a whole variety of delicious drinks and treats.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Diana Pittet, the cheesemonger charmed by cranberries

A Question of Taste

2011-11-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Realsimple.com

It’s getting to be that time of year again when there’s one burning question on everyone’s mind: To stuff or not to stuff? As the calendar approaches the fourth Thursday in November, what to do with America’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish takes front and center. I’ve always thought that stuffing vs. dressing was simply a question of semantics, but there are actually a few differences worth considering.

MarthaStewart.com

Stuffing, obviously, is exactly what its name denotes, a preparation that is stuffed into the cavity of the bird. Dressing, on the other hand, is prepared as a stand -alone side accompaniment, which takes less time and energy. Another key difference is flavor. The ingredients in the recipe determine a dressing’s flavor, whereas stuffing gets a boost of savory richness from the roasting turkey. The stuffing’s spices permeate the turkey meat as well.

The cooking time is also a key factor. The turkey takes longer to cook when there is stuffing inside of the cavity. It is also important to note that the temperature of the stuffing must reach 165 degrees F. when measured with a meat thermometer in order to prevent the spread of food borne illness. The stuffing can be removed from the bird and finished separately in the oven to bring it up to the necessary 165 degrees F. Dressing is always cooked as a side dish and poses no health threat of this nature.

MarthaStewart.com

Whether you opt for stuffing or dressing, there are literally thousands of recipes to choose from. The Southern states tend towards corn bread and pecans in their recipes. You’ll find Martha Stewart’s Cornbread, Bacon, Leek and Pecan Stuffing to be a mouth-watering example of this type of classic stuffing. For a more fanciful, creative way to present the popular side dish, try Cherry Pecan Cornbread Dressing, served as individual muffins. I grew up in the San Fransisco Bay Area, where sourdough bread is a significant part of Thanksgiving stuffing and dressings. Pancetta Sourdough Apple Stuffing balances the tanginess of the sourdough with the sweetness of the apples and the savory pancetta.

If you want to avoid a lot of fuss, try Marcy’s Gourmet Orange Cranberry Stuffing, available at Sickles Market, and follow the simple recipe. Of course, there’s a chance that your family will want you to make exactly the same recipe year after year, and that’s okay too. Tradition is a very special part of Thanksgiving. Whether you end up stuffing or dressing the turkey this year, I hope that you enjoy a plentiful bounty with a thankful heart!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

Brie by Any Other Name

2011-11-09T12:32:00.001-05:00

www.aftouch-cuisine.com

I’m a stickler about grammar and words. This doesn’t mean that I am exact all the time––far from it!––but I endeavor to be exacting with myself. This rigid mindset is especially helpful when I copyedit an academic Latin and Greek journal four times a year.

Precision about the structure of phrases and meaning of words doesn’t abandon me when I step behind the cheese counter at Sickles. In fact, I get a bit caught up about the defining names of cheeses.

Bloomy-rinds getting more bloomy

Take, for example, Brie. Folks tend to call any cheese covered in a white, bloomy rind Brie. But there are only two real Brie cheeses out there, ones that can legally and appropriately go by this name. The French government, which is even more of a stickler about language than I, officially certifies only Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun, neither one of which is available in the United States. The reason for our national dairy deprivation is that true Brie must be made from unpasteurized milk. Raw milk cheeses are indeed permitted in the United States, but they must be aged for at least sixty days. Brie’s ideal maturing time is thirty to forty days. Sickles comes as close as it can to selling a true Brie with Fromage de Meaux, which follows the recipe for the name-protected cheese, but uses pasteurized milk.

Most of what folks generically refer to as Brie falls into a popular category of cheeses called bloomy rinds or soft-ripened cheeses. Bloomy refers to the white mold on the surface of the cheese, Penicillium candidum or camemberti or Geotrichum candidum. These types of mold break down proteins in the cheese from the outside in, making them nice and soft, hence “soft-ripened.”

Not totally prescriptive, I understand that it’s much easier to refer to this entire class of cheese as Brie, just as it’s more lively to call all sparkling wines Champagne. If you were to ask a cheesemonger for a soft-ripened cheese or a wine clerk for a sparkling wine, you would sound a bit dull and scientific, in essence, a stickler. I may be one, but who really wants to be around a stickler?

Even at the risk of being rain at a parade, the stickler in me has to come out on this topic. It’s not fair--or correct--to call all white-rind cheeses Brie. A bulging, 14-inch wheel of true Brie reflects a specific sense of place and centuries of tradition, of French women on farms in Île-de-France, collecting milk from their few cows and transforming it into the solid wonder that is cheese. Calling anything else by that name denies Brie its unique flavors, texture, and history.

Instead, tell your cheesemonger than you are looking for a soft cheese, or get more specific and specify a double crème (e.g., Fromager d'Affinois) or a triple (e.g., Délice de Bourgogne). Or say, as some hip cheese shops do, that you are looking for a “bloomy,” as in a bloomy-rind cheese. That’s just as easy as asking (incorrectly) for a Brie, no? This way, when you ask for a Brie, your cheesemonger won't have to waste your time trying to figure out if you want a true, assertive Brie or a more luscious double- or triple-creme cheese.

Let Brie be Brie; let it be its unsurpassed, mushroom-y self, a cheese developed for centuries in Île-de-France. And let the other bloomy-rind cheeses stand proud in their own names.

Don’t let this stickler rain on your parade. Enjoy!

Diana Pittet, the overly precise cheesemonger

Time for Tea!

2011-11-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

By Cheri Scolari

When America declared independence from England a couple of centuries ago, in our eagerness to leave the old behind and embrace the new, we made one unfortunate mistake. Instead of just dumping the tea overboard during the Boston Tea Party, we ditched the whole tea time tradition: tea, scones, jam, the whole works. You still find formal tea service in large cities at landmarks such as the Russian Tea Room or Palm Court in New York City, or at an occasional shop like NovelTeas in Red Bank, but it is a rare find nowadays. A few years back, my daughter and I experienced an afternoon tea at the Georgian Restaurant at Harrods in London and that’s when I really fell in love with the whole notion of tea time. The room was grand and the table impeccably set with bone china and silver. A three-tiered serving piece filled with delicate sandwiches and pastries appeared, and we devoured everything with as much proper tea etiquette as we could manage while listening to gentle strains of classical piano music in the background. It was a delightful and memorable way to spend an afternoon.

Since then, I love to take a few minutes out of my busy day for a cup of hot tea in the afternoon. It’s even more enjoyable to invite a few friends to an afternoon tea. A tea time held between 2:00pm and 5:00pm is considered a “low” tea. Scones and other pastries, as well as delicate finger sandwiches, are normally served. “High tea” is actually an early supper between 5:00pm and 8:00pm and is served at a high dinner table (hence the name). In addition to the sweets and sandwiches, meat pies and cheeses are often added. Whichever tea time you choose, be sure to treat yourself to a high quality tea that is prepared well. Use loose tea leaves in a tea pot with fresh, boiling water. When you re-boil water or let it stand for a long time, the water loses oxygen and does not extract the full flavor from the tea leaves. Brew your tea for no more than 3-5 minutes. If you leave the tea leaves in the water much longer the tea will taste bitter, as tannins are released.

Harrods Tea Room

The choices are limitless when it comes to selecting teas. English Breakfast and Assam are stronger black teas with higher caffeine levels and are normally served with milk. Earl Gray is imbued with the citrus oil of Bergamot and is pairs well with lemon. Darjeeling is considered “the champagne of teas” with its lush, flowery notes and smooth finish. An excellent option in the afternoon is green tea, which has a small amount of caffeine but a rejuvenating effect on the mind and body. The Republic of Tea’s Big Green Hojicha is made from roasted Japanese green tea leaves and has an earthy aroma and lightly roasted flavor. White tea is another low caffeine option that lifts your spirits in the afternoon. The Republic of Tea’s Silver Rain from China’s Fujian province is one of the rarest of all teas. It is a high grown, white tea with floral overtones and a sweet, lingering finish.

Whatever tea tickles your fancy, you may want to sweeten it up with a little honey. I have recently discovered Aiva, a multi-floral raw honey from the mountains of Armenia. The bees gather honey from wild herbs and flowers in the pure mountain air at elevations of 5300 feet. Agave nectar from Mexico is another alternative to sugar. It is very low on the glycemic index and it only takes a small amount to sweeten your tea. Spice blended and flavored teas are also a very appealing option. Blue Lotus Chai is one of my favorite afternoon teas. The finest Indian black tea and organic spices are combined to create a traditional Masala Chai that you mix with hot water and milk. It is so spicy and satisfying! SerendipiTea is a Fair Trade company that creates organic flavored tea combinations such as Buccaneer, an African rooibos tea with coconut, chocolate and vanilla.

Afternoon tea wouldn’t be complete without something sweet to nibble on. Lark Salted Rosemary Shortbread is savory and sweet with a lovely herbal aroma that is perfect with a cup of tea. Caffe Dolcetti from Bath, England offers a Stem Ginger Sultana biscuit that pairs nicely with tea as well. For a traditional afternoon low tea, Sickles Bakery offers an array of scones from The Scone Shoppe, including Pear Pecan, Oatmeal Cranberry and Apple Cinnamon. The company’s miniature quick breads (I’m a fan of the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and the Sweet Potato Pecan) would also be an excellent choice, but they have been flying out the door as soon as they arrive, so you might have to order ahead! Add some Devonshire clotted cream and jam and you’ll have a tea time fit for a queen!

Cheri the Cheesemonger!

Cheers to Beer!

2011-10-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

http://blogs.citypages.com

If you think that beer is low brow and does not deserve to exist in the same sphere as gourmands, go tell that to the Oxford University Press!

This highly esteemed academic publisher, the smarty-pants folks behind the Oxford Latin Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, also know a little something about fine food and drink. To brush up on your culinary facts, consult their Oxford Companion to Food, Oxford Companion to Wine, and the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. (Six years ago they were planning to compile the Oxford Companion to Cheese, for which I wrote six entries, but--alas--it looks like it’s never coming out. You’ll just have to come to the Sickles cheese department to get your fromage facts!)

With their recent publication of the Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, this historic fermented beverage is finally getting the credit it deserves. There are over 900 pages in this encyclopedic tome to convince you that beer is something worth thinking about, as well as drinking. You’ll learn that it’s the third most popular beverage in the world after water and tea and its production predates the baking of bread.

Despite these credentials, an unfair perception of beer persists that it comes in only one style, the one that’s easy to drink at barbeque's (when those days return!), baseball games (those days are fast disappearing!), or on the sofa while watching football on Sundays and Mondays (lots of those days ahead!).

There is much to discover about beer. One hundred and seven distinct styles are covered in the Companion, ranging from abbey beer to ale, from dubbel to sour beer. That will keep your taste buds dancing. There are rich regional and seasonal differences, too. There is no reason, then, to keep picking up the same six-pack from your liquor store or to eschew beer because it’s one dimensional.

beerblotter.files.wordpress.com

Each style of beer, like wine, requires a different glass shape (but you certainly don’t have to, if you don’t want). Think beyond pint and pilsner glasses and steins and envision heavy goblets for heavy, Belgian ales. I first cued into the variations of beer glasses during a talk about the science of beer at the New York Academy of Science, by Professor Charles Bamforth, a small but enthusiastic English man who is the token beer guy at University of California-Davis, renown for its esteemed wine program. He told a story about visiting a colleague in Belgium, a premiere beer country, who had a different glass for each style of beer, right in his own house. Beer is indeed a complex beverage, full of wide-ranging flavors.

Also enticing is that, like the cheese, there are a lot of exciting things going on in the beer world, as folks reclaim it from the insipid, homogenized industrial model. Craft beers, as the ones conscientiously produced by small breweries are called, are making such headway into the market that, according to Eric Asimov of the New York Times, sales of the mass-produced swill are stagnant and even on the decline. As an example, there’s the very local Carton Brewing in my hometown of Atlantic Highlands and the Twin Light Taphouse in nearby Highlands that is a showcase for local beers along the East Coast. There, you encounter passionate people but no snobbery, even if there’s the Oxford Companion to Beer lying about.

Enjoy beer!

Cheers!

Diana Pittet the beer-swilling cheesemonger

Like to Cook? Join the Club!

2011-10-21T17:05:00.000-04:00

By Cheri Scolari

I’m actually not a Jersey girl. For the last thirty years I have been slowly migrating east. Originally a native to California, my husband’s work took us from Los Angeles to Chicago and eventually we wound up at the Jersey Shore, clear on the other side of the country. The one thing that I noticed as I moved from place to place is that food just naturally brings people together. Whenever I moved into a new home I looked for other people who liked to eat, liked to cook and liked to talk about food as much as I did. Before you knew it, we had a gourmet group assembled. It’s a great way to make friends quickly!

If you have never been involved in a gourmet group or a cooking club, you may want to start your own! There are a myriad of ways to put a group together, so it’s a good idea to put some thought into it ahead of time. For example: Will it be a couple’s affair, a mom’s (or dad’s) night out, or an eclectic mix of friends? How many people do you want to include? Do you want the event to be more structured or very casual? We were in a more structured gourmet group in Chicago, where one person or couple hosted the event and was responsible for selecting the theme of the dinner, the menu and all of the recipes. That host prepared the entrée and distributed the rest of the recipes to the other members. The host duty rotated to someone else the following dinner. In Los Angeles we were in a less structured setting, where an overall theme was chosen and then everyone found his or her own recipes. With my current cooking circle, we are so laid back that we skip the theme and just pick our recipes and cook whatever we’re feeling that day!

Here are some other points to consider when you are organizing your gourmet group:

Do you want to do both the cooking and the eating together or would you rather cook at home individually and then bring the finished product to the soiree?
Do you want everyone to bring a copy of the recipe to share?
Would you like to stay at one home all evening or have a progressive dinner where each course is eaten at a different house? (My parents and their friends have had a progressive dinner every December for years and love it!)

If you decide to go with a theme, regional dinners are an excellent way to start. Through the years my groups have chosen French, Mexican and North African, to name a few. If you select a North African dinner, be sure to check out Les Moulins Mahjoub Collection which offers the finest products from Tunisia, such as hand rolled couscous that is dried in the sun, traditional harissa spread, preserved lemons and wild mountain capers packed in salt. If you are leaning towards a Mexican theme, try a recipe or two from chef and Mexican food expert Rick Bayless, like these Grill-Braised Short Ribs. Once you’ve decided on a particular theme for the food, you can get as creative as you’d like with the table décor, music, and even attire.

One of our more memorable gourmet groups was an event that we hosted in Chicago in the dead of winter. The dinner was a Wild Game and Wine Tasting dinner with four couples. Each couple brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in a paper bag and we added a ringer for fun. We tasted and graded the wines then dined on wild boar sausage, elk and venison. Several people were surprised by the meats, not gamey, but rather rich and flavorful. If you’d like to try a wild game dinner, Sickles butcher shop carries a variety of wild game products, from whole rabbits and venison medallions to buffalo patties and rabbit pork ginger sausages. Venison medallions are one of my favorites, especially when prepared as Pan SearedVenison with Rosemary and Dried Cherries. You can also use ruby port to deglaze the pan instead of red wine for an even sweeter flavor.

If you have not experienced a cooking group yet, it’s time to take the leap! Find a few friends and set the date. If you like to eat, like to cook and like to talk about food, you’ll have a great time, wherever you are.

Enjoy!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

Cheese "Cake"

2011-10-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

Forget the butter cream and fondant flowers, how about a wedding cake made entirely of cheese?

The pièce de résistance at a friends’ joyous wedding celebration on a recent sunny Saturday in Boston was a tiered creation of four whole cheeses. The “cake” was decorated with grapes and their leaves and accompanied by Marcona almonds and three different fruit chutneys that the couple made themselves.

This wasn’t my first experience with a cheese wedding cake. A few years ago, I helped create one for a woman at Neal’s Yard Dairy, the renown cheese shop in London, when she came in the day before her wedding to buy a few wedges for the reception but ended up leaving with five entire wheels.

Darla, the bride, turned to me for initial consultation. By email, I recommended that she should think about the nature of her selection, e.g., all American, or different expressions of the same type of cheese (e.g., Cheddar or goat), or the classic variety of something soft, hard, stinky, and blue, and that her selection should include whole cheeses that diminished in size.

To buy the cheeses, Darla and Ben went to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Mass., which was one of the first shops in the country to construct a cheese cave for proper storage and aging. The owner Ihsan Gurdal's son sold them two goat’s milk cheeses and two sheep’s milk and suggested that they when they were ready to serve them, someone (read me!) should cut each wheel in half. One set of halves were for re-creating a cross section of the cake, and the other halves were for eating. I sensed resistance in breaking down the cake since it was so visually impressive, but cheese is for eating so I committed myself to the task. The halved cake stood watch over individual portions that I replenished throughout the party. What a delicious and memorable treat!

Wouldn’t you like to make a cheese “cake” part of your wedding or big celebration? We at the Sickles Cheese Department can help you select a variety of cheeses and suggest how to display and serve them. If you opted for all soft cheeses and placed them on tiers, guests could just cut into them themselves, but it’s probably preferable to have someone in charge of cutting and portioning the whole wheels.

As for decorating your cake, grapes, grape leaves, dried and fresh fruit, and maybe some edible flowers are be ideal. Use them in moderation or go all out. Alongside the cheeses serve nuts, chutneys, and crackers or breads. Put all the components together on a table, gather your friends around, and you’ve got an edible centerpiece that you and your guests will remember for a lifetime.

Celebrate with cheese!

Diana Pittet the festive-loving cheesemonger

Energize with the Fantastic Five

2011-10-06T12:52:00.000-04:00

Whenever September rolls around, it seems like time accelerates inexplicably, with days and hours hurtling past, before I’ve had a moment to stop and appreciate them. The holidays come next, tumbling over each other like circus clowns: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I feel like I’m in a three-ring circus myself, trying to juggle shopping, cleaning, errands, work, parties and events. And right when I need it the most, my energy level plummets and I resort to chocolate bars and afternoon cups of coffee. Fortunately, I recently came across an article at caring.com by Nikki Jong, called 5 Foods That Fight Fatigue. Although familiar with the nutrient-rich Super Foods -everyone-needs that protect and heal the body, I did not realize that five of these natural wonders are actually energy-boosting foods that we can count on during the day to give us long lasting, steady energy without that crash that usually comes after eating sugar or drinking caffeine.

The first fatigue-fighting food is oatmeal, which has already won high marks for being heart healthy and high in dietary fiber. Oatmeal is rich in vitamin B1, protein and magnesium, all important in energy production. I love starting off a crisp autumn morning with a steaming bowl of oatmeal, loaded with dried fruits and nuts or sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey. If you are looking for a quick and delicious option, try the Umpqua brand instant oatmeal. You just add hot water to these thick whole rolled oats and then eat right out of the individual container. This oatmeal is sweetened with Sucanat, made from crushed, freshly cut whole cane sugar, which adds a caramel-like flavor to the unbelievably rich tasting oatmeal. The flavors range from Kick Start with nuts, fruits and cinnamon to Old School with apples and cranberries.

Yogurt is another energy producer that your body can process quickly since it is such a soft, digestible food. Greek yogurt, which often has twice the protein of other yogurts, is a long lasting source of energy throughout the day. Yogurt is so easy to incorporate into any meal and it makes a great snack all on its own. Coat your chicken fillets with yogurt before rolling in bread or panko crumbs; add a dollop to a baked sweet potato; combine yogurt with a little honey, chopped crystallized ginger and a dash of curry powder for a flavorful topping for melon slices or fresh pineapple. Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs will energize any autumn evening!

Nuts and seeds are huge winners when it comes to nutrition and energy. Walnuts, in particular, are one of the Super Foods, although flaxseeds and almonds also contain omega-3 fatty acids and are a great source of long lasting energy. According to whfoods.org, magnesium plays an important role in combating muscle fatigue. Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds are all excellent and tasty ways to add magnesium to your diet. Bissinger Chocolates offers their Naturals Collection, pumpkin, black sesame and sunflower seeds, walnuts and almonds enfolded in dark chocolate and formed into bite sized portions, perfect for a quick energy boost when you are on the go.

The last two energy boosting foods are spinach and beans. They are both loaded with fatigue- fighting minerals including magnesium, potassium and iron. Beans and spinach are also low in calories and high in fiber, making them a great addition to your menu. Fresh beans come in all shapes and sizes and make an attractive addition to an appetizer platter, such as this Mixed-Bean Crudites with Olive-Anchovy Aioli. Or cozy up to Jacques Pepin’s hardy specialty from Southwestern France, a garbure, or White-Bean-and-Ham Stew, when the busy day is done. Spinach is at home at every meal, whether in an omelet, salad, soup, or topping a pizza. It approaches heavenly when sautéed with garlic, figs and honey.

Now October is almost here, and life is already kicking into high gear. But armed with my arsenal of fatigue busters, I’m planning to enjoy and get energized this season. I hope that you will too!

Enjoy! Cheri the Cheesemonger

The Perfume and Pride of Marjoram

2011-09-28T13:57:00.000-04:00

Tomatoes failed me this summer. I had absolutely no luck growing them--an agrarian failure that could result in my being banished from New Jersey, so renown for this highly seasonal veggie.

My only solace is that my herbs thrived--basil, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. Of those, the one that brings me a measure of pride is marjoram, since it’s a bit unusual.

I don’t cook frequently with marjoram, but some of my favorite seasonal recipes call for it. In the spring, before my plant shows any growth, I ask Jamie in Sickles’ produce department to order me a packet (you can do the same!) for two savory dishes that I serve at Easter, a ricotta tart and croxetti con sugo bianco (I just make the sauce; I buy the croxetti at Sickles). The herb’s sweet fragrance and sharp bite awaken the palate after the long slog of winter.

During the summer, fresh marjoram, typically used in Mediterranean cuisine, finds its way into corn soup and a Greek baked vegetable stew, a new addition to my repertoire. And there it is again in the winter, as my plant struggles to delay the ravages of frost, sprinkled onto sautéed kale.

From spiritualhealingportal.com

Why use marjoram? It has a heady, floral perfume and an unmatched sweet, citrus-pine flavor. On top of that, there is an element of romance, invoking ancient times and lands. Reading the Aeneid in the 10th grade, I first learned about marjoram in this passage (1.691-694)

But Venus pours gentle sleep over Ascanius’s limbs,

and warming him in her breast, carries him, with divine power,

to Idalia’s high groves, where soft marjoram smothers him

in flowers, and the breath of its sweet shade.

After reading this, aren’t you seduced to add “sweet shade” into your dishes?

If you are, keep in mind that a little marjoram goes a long way; overuse can result in food tasting like your grandmother’s floral soap. But measured use brings enchanting fragrance to your vegetable dishes.

Enjoy!

Diana Pittet the cheesemonger with no green thumb.

Fragrant Sage, Center Stage

2011-09-22T09:40:00.000-04:00

By Cheri Scolari

My earliest memories of the herb sage are, alas, not very positive ones. I remember peering into an old Crown Colony tin in my mother’s spice drawer and wondering what that nasty rubbed sage stuff was. It was a brownish green mass, almost furry looking, with a rather overpowering pungent odor. I eventually learned that sage was the essential ingredient in our Thanksgiving stuffing, so I accepted its presence in our kitchen and gave it no further thought until years later when I had a kitchen of my own and started to experiment in the culinary realm. I ditched the rubbed sage awhile back and planted a little sage seedling from the Sickles Garden Center. This prolific plant grew like a weed, through scorching summer heat waves and monsoon rains, seemingly unaffected by the weather. When my sage was buried by huge drifts of snow last winter, I pretty much wrote it off, along with the rest of my herb garden, thinking I would just start over again this spring. But lo and behold, the first green shoots to pop out after the snow melted away were those of the determined salvia officinalis, the botanical name for the herb, sage. Now, by the end of the summer, I have a mammoth sage bush, bursting with fragrant, velvety silver-green leaves, and I am adding this distinctive herb to all kinds of dishes, from breakfast omelets to cocktails and dinner.

I am not the first one, apparently, to appreciate the merits of this useful plant. Sage has been considered historically as a cherished herb and was even associated with long life in the 18^th century. As a medicinal plant it has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and can be used as a compress to promote the healing of wounds. It has been used as a mouthwash and a natural gargle for tonsillitis and laryngitis. Sage extracts are known to relax smooth muscles (found in internal organs) and sage tea is often used to combat stress or digestive ills. The volatile oils present in sage are said to affect the female system in a way similar to estrogen and may help relieve menopausal symptoms but are not advised for pregnant women.

Most Americans, however, enjoy sage as a cooking herb. With its intense, distinctive and slightly bitter taste, sage pairs well with fatty dishes such as duck, pork, sausages, and butter-based sauces. It is the defining ingredient in most stuffing and is also quite nice with tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onions and beans. Just last night, I browned some chopped sage in butter and added thick slices of zucchini, baby bella mushrooms and tomatoes, and a dash of freshly ground pepper and sea salt. We had some red Himalayan rice and fresh salmon alongside, but the sage added the interest and dimension to the meal. I kept going back for vegetables!

One of my cookbooks with quick, reliable recipes is Fresco, Modern Tuscan Cooking For All Seasons, by Marion and Vincent Scotto, featuring dishes from the restaurant of the same name in New York City. The Bistecca Fiorentina is a simple way to cook up a T-bone on the grill while we still have our barbeques fired up. Heat up your grill until the coals are very hot. Season your steaks with salt and pepper. Place a small whole bunch of sage on the grill and a 1 ½ lb. steak on top of the bunch. Grill for 2-3 minutes on one side. When you turn the steak, the sage will adhere to the meat. Grill for 2-3 minutes on the other side. Leave the sage in place when you serve. Place the steak on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Another one of my favorite sage recipes in the Fresco cookbook is Pappardelle with Summer Corn and Fresh Tomatoes. You simply toss your cooked pappardelle pasta with garlic and red chili flakes sautéed in olive oil. Then add fresh Jersey corn kernels, chopped Jersey tomatoes, freshly chopped sage leaves, and top with some grated Parmesan. What could be easier or taste more like a New Jersey summer? And speaking of summer, try a sage leaf in your lemonade, lemon tea, or lemon based cocktail – that’s another surprising combination for the end of summer. My absolute favorite pairing is sage and butter, especially browned butter. A classic version of this delicious duo is Fettuccine with Brown Butter and Sage. From there you can build on the recipe, adding cubes of butternut squash, slices of prosciutto, or perhaps some boar sausage.

If your sage plant grows anything like mine, you’ll have enough herbs to cook and experiment with throughout the entire winter. To harvest the leaves, be sure to pick the branches early in the day, before the sun has dried out the essential oils. Hang the picked bundles in a warm place to dry. When the leaves are brittle enough, crumble and store them in a clean, airtight bottle. If you keep them in a dry, dark place you can use your dried sage for months. Sage seems to thrive in almost any condition so there’s a good chance that your lovely fragrant sage plant will survive the winter and once again be front and center stage in your culinary productions.

Enjoy Cheri the Cheesemonger!

Giving Okra a Chance

2011-09-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

I was a little unfair.

At a recent Trivia Night at the Twin Light Taphouse, in Highlands, where I serve as the quizmaster every Thursday evening, 8-10 p.m., I asked the crowd, “Which vegetable, often slimy when cooked, is integral to the recipe for gumbo and is native to Africa?”

Okra--the answer that almost everyone got right--can indeed be slimy, but this shouldn’t be its single defining characteristic. It deserves more credit.

There is no better time than now to give okra the credit it’s due. Through the first few weeks of warm September okra’s in season and you can easily find it at Sickles and local farmers’ markets. I buy pints of it until it vanishes from markets.

I am not sure when I began to enjoy okra. For us Northerners, this long, elegant, vegetable, sometimes referred to as ladies’ fingers, is an acquired taste . . . and texture. The first time I remember trying it and realizing that Southerns consider it something integral to their foodways was when I was studying abroad in Rome. One of my classmates on the program was from North Carolina, and she received a jar of pickled okra from someone in the States. She was excited, as this was a taste of home that was impossible to find in Rome. Kind, she shared a pickled pod with me. It was alright, but I wasn’t converted like I expected to be. If this was such a precious treat for her, I thought I would be able to taste its special-ness. I didn’t.But it did awake an interest in okra.

The next time I recall eating it was five years later in Greece, when I was spending a summer after graduate school touring major and not so major archaeological sites with the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Seated outside one night at a taverna in the Peloponnese, I was served a dish of okra, sweet and slick with abundant olive oil, tomatoes, and onions. It was this Mediterranean preparation of okra that converted me.

Back in the States I learned to cook okra in a similar way and discovered tactics to minimize its undesirable sliminess. Key is to wash each pod individually with a wet paper towel; don’t immerse them in water. Another method is keeping the pods intact; don’t trim them too much.

Another option is to embrace its vegetal goo. After all, this is what helps thicken stews, like the classic gumbo. If you can’t abide by this, you can find a cooking method that doesn’t allow okra to get slimy, such as deep frying slices or grilling whole pods, something I would love to do if I hadn’t put away my grill before Hurricane Irene.

Briam, Baked Greek Vegetables

For now I am going to stick to my tried and true preparation: Sautee onions in olive oil until softened and nearly browned and then add diced Jersey tomatoes and cook until thick and sweet. Next add the wiped-clean pods of okra. Make sure none are too thick or they’ll never cook through and will most likely be stringing and woodsy. Season the dish with a dash of hot pepper and cumin and plenty of salt and pepper. Cook until the okra is tender. I serve this over brown rice and top it with a fried egg.

But here’s a new recipe from the New York Times, that I gave a go very recently. It’s based on a Greek preparation of baked vegetables. How fitting!

Give okra a chance!

Diana Pittet, the seasonal veggie-loving cheesemonger

Happiness is … A Cupcake!

2011-09-12T17:57:00.001-04:00

As I think about the amazing array of foods in the world, I would have to say that the cupcake rates in my book as one of the happiest. The mere glimpse of a miniature cake in a pretty paper wrapper, decked out in icing and colorful sprinkles, brings a smile to my face. Cupcakes take me back to bygone days of party hats and balloons, musical chairs and pin- the- tail- on- the- donkey. So when Carol, our Sickles bakery manager invited me along on a tour of the recently opened cupcake shops in the area, I jumped at the offer. I was surprised to discover that there are three new purveyors of cupcakes in Red Bank and one in Rumson. That’s a lot of happy vibes (and cupcakes!) I am obviously not alone in my fondness for cupcakes. They continue to be extremely popular in New York City where the renowned Magnolia Bakery and other establishments like Brooklyn Cupcake have been offering these diminutive treats for some time. They are even featured on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Our new local cupcake shops have apparently arrived not a moment too soon! Our first stop was Cups & Cakes on E. River Rd. in Rumson. This charming little shop is located within a larger gift and garden store, Entertain with Jane, and has wrought iron tables out front where you can sit and enjoy coffee and a treat. Unfortunately, the owners were on vacation so we were unable to taste the cupcakes. Our next stop was Sugarush on E. Front St. in Red Bank, and wow, is that shop aptly named! Carol and I felt like we were stepping into a 1950’s candy/cupcake emporium, with cheery blue walls, lined with five and dime candies, and cases filled with cupcakes and cookies. One of the owners, Chris, was very enthusiastic and took time to share the Sugarush

philosophy of providing the freshest products and giving the customers exactly what they want. The cupcakes are produced frequently in small batches and they also make “naked” cupcakes which allow the customers to select the toppings. Carol and I decided to let Chris pick the cupcakes for us since we couldn’t make up our minds. We sat in a festive, retro-inspired party room in the back delving into one amazing cupcake creation after another. We loved the Daily Special stuffed with Nutella and also the Signature Sugarush, a very happy looking cupcake with blue frosting that serves a nobler purpose in life: A portion of the proceeds goes to a different charity every month. While we nibbled away, Chris pulled out his laptop and showed us some amazing photos of the pull-apart cakes that his partner, Jesse creates for parties (including a very realistic athletic sneaker and the Very Hungry Caterpillar cake!) Before we knew it, it was time to move on, so we staggered out, a bit dizzy from our sugar rush, and continued on to Monmouth St. to the Cupcake Magician. Fortunately, we had already tasted these delicious cupcakes because the owners, The Nardini’s, had sent a big boxful to Sickles bakery a couple of weeks ago. Our visit was mainly to see the store and the cupcakes. While we were at the shop, which was lavender-hued and stocked up with over 30 varieties of cupcakes, we met Mr. Nardini, who does the baking, and his son who works at the counter. Mr. Nardini told us about his Sweet Charity cupcake, which is a different flavor every month, with a percentage of profits going to charity. We told him how much we enjoyed the cupcakes, especially the buttery, delicate Honey Vanilla, which is my personal favorite, and the decadently rich Peanut Butter Explosion.

Our last stop was around the corner on Broad St. at Mr. Cupcakes, located inside of Ricky’s of Red Bank, an ice cream and candy emporium. This location is one of four cupcake stores, and the cupcakes are baked off premise and finished on site. There are 35 flavors including The Real Diehl, named after the NY Giants player. The most popular cupcakes by far are Red Velvet, French Toast and Chocolate Overload, so Carol and I felt compelled to take those flavors back with us to try them out when we were not quite so overloaded! I would be remiss if I did not mention Sickles’ own cupcakes. We currently carry the locally made Cupcake of Little Silver, as well as the immensely popular Stuffed Cupcakes. Our stuffed cupcakes are made for us by Petite Café and are on Oprah’s list of Favorite things (and on quite a few customers’ lists as well). Red Velvet is the number one favorite flavor; a reddish cocoa cake with cream cheese icing. The 1989 film Steel Magnolias popularized this so-called southern dessert

by making a Red Velvet groom’s cake in the shape of an armadillo. Some say that the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York actually created the cake in the 1940’s and others credit Eaton’s Department Store. Either way, it remains the most popular cupcake everywhere we go. By the end of our journey, Carol and I were nearly as stuffed as the cupcakes we tasted, but now I know where to turn when I’m looking for happy moments – to cupcakes! Enjoy!Cheri the Happy Cheesemonger!

A Taste of History: Hard cider, once America's favorite beverage, is making a comeback.

2011-09-07T17:02:00.000-04:00

The following article was written by Sickles' Own Cheesemonger, Diana Pittet, and is featured in the September issue of Organic Gardening-available at Sickles Market

Fall is the perfect time of year to contemplate a glass of apple cider. When else do we have the irresistible urge to pick, cook, and drink this seasonal fruit? What I mean by cider isn't the sweet, cloudy beverage that we tend to buy only in the autumn at the farmers' market; that's unfiltered apple juice. I'm referring to hard cider, or what the rest of the world knows, simply, as cider. In the Colonial period and up to the middle of the 19th century, cider just meant fermented apple juice. During that time, it was the most popular and important beverage in America. The tradition came to the New World with English settlers, who also brought the seeds for planting orchards. Safer than water and easier and cheaper to produce than beer or wine, cider was typically the first drink of the day. For a variety of reasons, cider's popularity faded. Urbanization and industrialization undermined this rural drink, as did a new wave of immigrants with a thirst for beer. On top of that, pests and cold winters destroyed orchards. But the chief issue that brought cider down, almost forever, was Prohibition. After repeal, the cider apple never regained its gleam. In the past 25 years, however, cider has slowly been making a welcome comeback. For a while, there have been the sugary, commercial ciders that resemble apple wine coolers. Recently, though, traditional production has resumed, which means making cider not from apples used for eating but from cultivars specifically selected for the task. "Some of the best cider apples are so bitter that you'll wish you'd never bitten into them," says Stephen Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, New Hampshire. "But they contribute amazing character to fermented cider." So let us reconsider cider, and not just for autumn. "Lower in alcohol than wine (ours comes in just under 7 percent), cider is fabulous during the summer because it is crisp and refreshing," recommends Sharon Campbell of Tieton Cider Works in Tieton, Washington. Available in a wide variety of styles, cider goes with an equally wide variety of foods. It's a natural with cheese, but it also stands up to the spice of Indian and Mexican cooking and the robustness of pub food. Seafood is a great match, too.

By pouring a glass of artisanal cider, crafted locally and sustainably on a small scale, you preserve heirloom varietals with enchanting names like 'Esopus Spitzenburg' and 'Hewes Virginia Crab'. When Americans began eating apples instead of drinking them, many varieties were at risk of disappearing. "Cider is a delicious and valuable part of our culinary and cultural heritage," says Charlotte Shelton, of Albemarle CiderWorks in North Garden, Virginia. If you've had a negative experience with overly sweet cider that tasted more like candy than an adult beverage, expand your tasting menu. As Bruce Nissen of Crispin Cider in Minneapolis says, "You wouldn't try a Chardonnay and then extrapolate that all wines were like that." With a blend of different types of apples (sweets, sharps, bittersweets, bittersharps, and dessert), what you find in a bottle can be bone-dry or sweet and fruity. Don't forget other areas of the world where there is a historical and thriving production of cider, including England, France, and Spain. Generally speaking, English ciders tend to be dry and crisp, while French ones are sweet and complex. Spanish ciders, almost bordering on vinegar, are something unique, but stand up to full-on rustic food.
Whatever the season, have some cider on hand, for yourself and your guests, just as you have beer, wine, spirits, and soft drinks. And if you are wondering what to serve at Thanksgiving, cider might be your answer. It's American, historic, and delicious.

Regional Ciders
"If you can find a local, real cider in your area, drink that one," suggests Corrie Wolosin of Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, New Hampshire. In that spirit, here is a short list of exceptional regional ciders.
Northeast
Farnum Hill Semi-Dry Cider
(Lebanon, New Hampshire). Tightly structured but opens beautifully with food.
Original Sin Premium Cider
(New York, New York). Light and refreshing with a distinct apple taste.
South
Foggy Ridge Serious Cider
(Dugspur, Virginia). English in style and perfect with cheeses.
Albemarle CiderWorks Jupiter's Legacy
(North Garden, Virginia). Made from classic American cider apples and ideal for Thanksgiving.
Midwest
J.K.'s Scrumpy Orchard Gate Gold, Organic (Flushing, Michigan). Full-bodied and tasting like apple juice fermented naturally in a barrel.
Crispin The Saint (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Fermented with Belgian Trappist yeasts and organic maple syrup; a good crossover for beer drinkers.
West
Alpenfire Ember Semi-Sweet Cider, Organic (Port Townsend, Washington). Balanced in its crisp flavor and French and English styles.
Tieton Cider Works Cherry Cider (Tieton, Washington). Beguilingly sweet and tart and bound to be popular with guests.
International
Samuel Smith Old Brewery Organic Cider (England). Sweet and bright and dandy with pub food.
Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie, Organic (France). Elegant with velvety-smooth bubbles and suited for white meat and seafood.
Isastegi Natural Cider (Spain). Wild and bracing but intriguing and addictive.

Photo from Organic Gardening

Lisa's Landscape Transformation

2011-08-30T14:18:00.002-04:00

By Lisa Karasic

I’ve never had a green thumb. I have envied other people’s landscaping, thought it would be nice to have pretty flowers of my own, wondered why I couldn’t keep plants alive for more than a few weeks. After several failed attempts as a homeowner to add color to my yard, and without the big budget I thought I needed to hire someone to come in and do everything for me, I had resigned myself many years back to the fact that I’m just not a plant person and so what if I don’t have the most attractive yard.

Since starting to work at Sickles Market a little over a year ago, though, being surrounded by all the pretty plants, trees, and flowers every day, I became more enchanted by their appeal and it re-awakened my desire to put some of that beauty in my own life. The only problem was I still had no clue where to start, what to plant, where and how to lay it all out, how to arrange and combine different types of plants, and how to take care of them so they’d actually stay alive.

I embarked on a project to transform my landscape from barren to bountiful, sorry to sumptuous – and share what I learned with others like me. Sickles Market’s Garden Center professionals made it all possible, guiding me from planning and plant selection to final primping with outdoor accessories.

Today my front yard is charming and cheerful. I’ve enhanced the curb appeal of my home and I’m proud not only because it looks so nice, but because I’m keeping things alive and beautiful. My back yard is the private, inviting, and comfortable living space I always wanted, but just didn’t know how to make possible. My kids and I were sitting out back one night recently, when we looked around and one of them said, “Can you believe we’re sitting in our back yard?!” It was like a whole new way for us to enjoy being together. I got a little choked up as I realized our landscape transformation was a lot more than a landscape transformation. It had added new dimensions to our life.

Not only have we enjoyed hanging out together in our new outdoor living space, we had fun doing a lot of the work along the way, digging holes for the new plants, digging out bricks and debris from our planting beds to get ready to plant, visiting with neighbors while outside weeding or watering, chatting with each other while deadheading or watering our flower boxes out front.

One of my daughters remarked while we were preparing the beds for planting (digging out bricks and other debris that we found buried) that “It’s like making sure a child has a good home environment to grow up in. If there’s a lot of bad stuff that doesn’t belong in the bed, the plant may not be able to grow right.”

My other daughter looked at our flower boxes the other day and said, “I can’t believe how big and full the flowers have gotten. I guess that’s because we’re taking care of them.”

Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but these comments (and there have been many more like them), as well as my own random and philosophical thoughts along the way, seem kind of significant to me – like maybe there’s more to this landscape transformation than making our house look nicer, or improving our property value, or giving ourselves more pleasant outdoor living space, or learning ‘how to do plants.’ Sure It makes me feel good as a neighbor and a homeowner – and frankly as Sickles’ marketing manager -- but it also makes me feel good as a mom and as a person living an examined life. It’s reminded me that it’s never too late to try again something you may not have succeeded at in the past; never too late to learn something new. There’s always more than one way to work around an obstacle. Asking for and accepting help can be uncomfortable, but it connects you to your own humanity and it connects you to the people around you. And no matter how insurmountable something may seem, if you simply keep putting one foot in front of another, you will eventually get where you want to be. You can’t snap your fingers and make something happen, but taking one step at a time is a positive and powerful way to get where you’re going.

I think about the project being “complete” and I realize it’s just the creation that’s done. The maintenance goes on day to day, dead-heading the trailing vinca in my window boxes, weeding our beds, contemplating seasonal changes, pruning, and future phases, like planting perennials and more annuals next year. But instead of feeling un-doable, it feels good. There’s no rush, my kids seem interested in working on it with me, and I’m grateful that the people at Sickles Market are not only experts who’ll steer me right on what, where, and when to plant, but also friends that have joined and supported me in my journey.

Garden State Ratatatouille

2011-08-24T09:41:00.000-04:00

Sauteed Ratatouille
www.finecooking.com

I have a repertoire of summer dishes that I don’t cook at any other time of year. Only when the veggies and fruit for these recipes are in their natural, regional prime do I return to my dog-eared cookbooks, magazines, and newspaper clippings to prepare them.

At the start of the summer, for instance, I make a dip of white beans garlic scapes; at mid-summer I look forward to pasta with zucchini, ricotta, and basil, and during the last weeks of summer, I cook with as much tomatoes and corn, as possible, such as a savory galette with corn, tomatoes, cheese, and basil.

Given how much I embrace the seasonality of produce, it’s odd, then, that it took me until this year to prepare a classic, ratatouille. You can’t get more of summer into this slick stew-like mix of vegetables, once a dish regional only to Nice: tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, onions, garlic, parsley, basil, and mint. All that seems to be missing is corn.

I had a bounty of these veggies, courtesy of a Sickles employee in the gardening department. Unlike me, who has no luck growing tomatoes (I might get kicked out of New Jersey for this ineptitude!), Ryan had a surfeit of candy-sweet grape tomatoes, Hungarian peppers, and wee eggplants. He generously shared them with us at work, and I filled a whole produce bag to take them home.

In my fridge they sat. It was a crime. The problem was that I had a lot of other veggies to use up and I found myself going out for al fresco meals more often than usual. Fearful that these seasonal treats would go to waste, I realized that I had to do something with them fast.

Ratatouille seemed perfect, because I could use everything up at once. And minus the olive oil, salt, and lemon, I could make this French dish completely New Jersey. Even the hot sauce— Mazi Piri-Piri—had Jersey origins!

I thought it was going to be quick and easy. After all, isn’t ratatouille just a simple jumble of summer vegetables all thrown into a pot and stewed? I discovered, however, while following a recipe from Fine Cooking, that making a proper one requires a lot of time. Each vegetable should be pan-seared separately so that their full flavors are coaxed out by cooking off their excess water. This can mean over an hour of preparation.

I can’t deny that it took a lot of time, but the results were undeniably delicious.

I encourage you to make ratatouille, too. And here are some tips to make its preparation less daunting. Follow the Fine Cooking recipe, but not too rigidly. If you don’t have enough zucchini, for instance, so be it. And if you don’t have red bell peppers, use something other pepper (I used the Hungarian wax ones that Ryan brought in for us). I didn’t have parsley so I just doubled up on the mint and basil. If you don’t have lemons, try a dash of vinegar. Acid helps balance the richness of this dish, which is not at all shy about calling for olive oil. To save a wee bit of time, don’t prep all the vegetables before heating up the skillet. Cut up one vegetable, and while it is sautéing, prepare the next vegetable bound for the pan. Do the same for the others.

The results are delicious and the essence of summer. Eat it just as is, perhaps as a side dish or appetizer, and use the leftovers to top tarts or pizzas, fill omelets, or toss with pasta on a hot summer’s evening.

Get cooking and enjoy summer!

Diana Pittet the veggie-loving cheesemonger

Some Like it Hot

2011-08-12T09:22:00.001-04:00

The temperature has been breaking records all over the country this summer, from Oklahoma to the Eastern seaboard. I spent the day at Long Beach Island with some friends this past week, and we were sizzling like bacon after only a couple hours at the beach. But there’s more than one kind of heat wave raising the temperature around the Jersey Shore this summer. Chilies and chili food products are hot, hot, hot! Late summer is harvest time for chilies and even though New Mexico, California, Florida and Texas are the big chili growing states, we New Jerseyans can put away our share of piquant peppers. Besides being flavorful, there are numerous health benefits to eating chili peppers. The component in chilies that make them so fiery, capsaicin, is thought to fight inflammation, increase blood circulation, attack cancer cells, and boost the production of serotonin and other “feel-good” hormones. Whether we eat chilies for enjoyment or for our health, they definitely add pizzazz to any meal.

Chili peppers have a serious following in the food world and are not to be taken lightly. There are scores of websites, blogs, clubs, books and even entire stores devoted to this devilish little fruit. There is an official scale for measuring the heat of a chili or a product made with chilies, called the Scoville Heat Scale. To give you an idea of the range of the scale, a bell pepper is given a zero rating and the Bhut Jolokia pepper (the hottest known pepper in the world) is rated 1,000,000. Pure capsaicin tops out at 16 million! “The Pope of Peppers,” Dave DeWitt, supreme chili authority and co-author of The Complete Chili Pepper Book, enlightens us on everything we need to know about chilies, including why dairy products are most effective in counteracting the heat associated with the peppers (capsaicin dissolves in the fat contained in dairy, so ice cream is ideal!) And what would this fiery food be without its own competition? The Scovie Awards is the official contest of the Fiery Foods and Barbeque Industry and includes a wide variety of spicy products, such as condiments, sweets and cheese. This year there was an unprecedented tie for the Grand Winner between a horseradish sauce and Poco Dolce’s Super Chile Toffee Squares, a chocolate toffee bar infused with chile.

Chilis are exploding throughout the foodie world, from pepper vodka’s like Absolut Peppar and Hangar One Chipotle to spice up a Bloody Mary to Pineapple Chile Locopops to chill down a blazing hot afternoon. Chili peppers are peppering grocery shelves as well. Try Eatwell Farm’s Smoked Chile Sugar to rim a cocktail glass, or use for baking and desserts. Local Herbertsville Honey Co. produces a chili-infused honey that adds some fire to the sweetness when glazing ribs or salmon for the barbeque. If you’re in a snacking mood, Deep River Snacks offers Zesty Jalapeno Kettle Cooked Potato Chips and Popcorn, Indiana makes a Jalapeno Crunch version of their Chipins all natural popcorn chips. Almost every condiment you can think of has its spicy alter ego: There’s Ojai Cook Cha Cha Chipotle Lemonaise, Maya Kaimal’s Spicy Ketchup, Roasted Habanero Mustard, and Lucini’s Fiery Chili Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Harissa spread is not for the faint of heart, but it certainly livens up any couscous dish or tagine. There are hot sauces to please every palate, from wimps like me to the Dave DeWitts of the world. Mazi Piri Piri sauce from Asbury Park is our Sickles’ favorite, and we can hardly keep it in stock. The Tropical Pepper Co. has a huge range from Louisiana Cayenne Pepper to Ghost Pepper (there’s a toucan skeleton on the bottle, if that is any indication). Sailor's Swagger Pineapple Hot Sauce took away a first place medal at the 2011 Scovie Awards and the fresh pineapple flavor is a nice contrast to the chili. It’s fun to pair chili-infused sauces with cheese, such as Terrapin Ridge Raspberry Piquillo Pepper Sauce and Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese. There’s that dairy/chili combination working together to spice up your mouth without wiping out your taste buds. You can even find cheeses infused with chili, like Crawford Family Farm’s Vermont Ayr with chipotle and Boar’s Head Chipotle Gouda (for the perfect summer cheeseburger!)

If you've had enough spicy food for one day, you can wind down gradually with a bar of Chocolove Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate and a big bowl of your favorite ice cream!

Enjoy!

Cheri The Cheesemonger

The God of Summer

2011-08-03T20:22:00.000-04:00

By Patricia Dumas

August 2011

The time has come. The tomatoes are reddening up all at once and we’ll be in a frenzy to pick and find a place on the table for them. If we can not, it's a great reason to share.

When I was a kid, my brother and I used to set up tomato shop in front of our house in Tinton Falls and sell them for 25 cents apiece. We earned a lot of money to spend at the New Shrewsbury Country Fair back in the 1960’s, while serving the ravenous desires of drive-by neighbors who took drooling bites out of them right in front of our astonished eyes.

Plum Tomatoes

It starts insidiously. One little ripened fruit here, and one fat one there. Before you know it, they’re ripening all over the place-- at risk of being eaten, chewed on, and plucked by our animal friends. Picking green ones is not a bad thing—tomatoes ripen with the heat, not the direct sun on them, so putting in a little paper bag in a very warm place will speed the ripening process along.

If your tomatoes look a little split, or have a little brown soft spots on them, don’t worry. It happens. Cutting the bad spot out and eating the ripened fruit will do no one any harm. Trying to figure out the reason for every tomato problem is frustrating. Mother nature says let it be. Huge problems rarely hit the tomato garden, and perfect fruit is for magazine covers and supermodels.

There are so many things that can affect a tomato on the vine, that fretting about all of them is useless. My mother used to say, “you have to eat a pound of dirt before you die”. And I sure have. A little bruise, speck of dirt, or a touch of rot is not going to ruin your experience. Squeeze the bruised ones for pasta sauce if eating them turns you off. Any which way you look at it, they’re fresh, beautiful, and above all, from your garden!

All summer long I have plucked the basil, removed the flowers, and kept the plant bushy in hopes of having tomatoes and fresh basil ready at the same time. Basil loves to put out flowers-- picking those flowers keeps the tender basil leaves coming—enough for the mad rush of tomatoes to come. Add some Mozzarella, and that’s dinner every day for me.

Green Tomatoes

What to do with all those tomatoes? I’m not daring here to take the thunder away from my fellow writers who have given us some of the best food blogs around, but, I do have a few little things up my sleeve for a garden with tomato-itis. How about fried green tomatoes for starters? Thick slices of spicy fruit fried to perfection and served with horseradish sauce are a great way to serve up something unusual at a party or gathering. The harder the green tomato, the better.

If you have plum tomatoes galore, the thick-walled beauties can be eaten as well as squeezed and cooked for sauce. The thick flesh of plums is perfect for dicing up and using for salsa. Add in some chopped yellow pear tomatoes and cilantro for the real deal.

Eating your tomatoes right off the vine before you get in the house is a fine art. My husband can’t wait. His addiction to fresh tomatoes takes him out to the garden many times a day. He’ll even hit my Fair Haven Fields garden, (called our symbolic Victory Garden) for his fix. Eating a pound of tomatoes a day can have its drawbacks, but he persists. The acidy juices cause pain in his lips and mouth as he gleefully devours the juicy god of summer everyday.

I have to admit. My garden is a tangly web of tomatoes, pumpkin vines, gourds and basil. Getting in there to search for food is precarious--- stepping over succulent water-filled vines and long tomato plant stalks flopped to the ground is a challenge. All bother aside, I find that the mess of green keeps the garden moist in the vicious heat.

Don’t give up on your garden if it looks like a big, green mess. There are shaded, ripening treasures to be found on the vine as well as on the ground. Keeping the garden cool helps preserve water. Your tomato plants aren’t averse to a bit of shade. In fact, they do quite well with it. The tomato garden is a magical place where tangy smelling leaves draw us in when stepped on, and fat fruit plays hide and seek undercover. Here’s some thoughts for traversing the winding path to your favorite summer food:

Do you have squished tomatoes or rotten squash on the floor of your garden? No worries. You‘ll see Cardinals and other birds pecking away at the seeds come fall and throughout the winter. They can’t resist them. A mess to you is a bounty for the birds.

The extra green tomatoes at the end of the season make good fried dishes as well as sassy tomato pickles. Put them in the same pickling brine as your cucumbers, and you’ll have remembrances of summer all year long.

Tomato vines growing all over the place are actually a good thing. In time or immense heat, they shade the earth, keeping everything cool. Minerals in the ground get used more efficiently to feed the plants as well. Don’t give in to a super neat, trimmed garden. It will parch quicker and leave you with dried plants. Don’t try to clean up your garden too much. Hoeing the ground excessively lets moisture escape. Keep it green, and keep it cool.

Older, bruised tomatoes can be sliced, de-seeded and dehydrated in a 150 degree oven until dry. All winter long you can use them dried in cream sauces, salads, and olive oil dressings.

Last, but not least-- donate, donate, donate! Your extra tomatoes will be welcome at the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean County or Lunch Break in Red Bank. They’ll appreciate it, and will find countless ways to use them.

I remember a little book called, “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg. It’s a sweet little tale about a tight-knit group of women down south running a café in the 1930’s and 40’s. What brought them together was the food and fried green tomatoes they made for their devoted customers. Maybe it was the 1930’s depression, or the suffocating southern times that was the moral of the story, but, I always like to think that food brought them together. Doesn’t it always?

Summertime, And The Livin’ Is Cheesy (Goat Cheese,That Is…)

2011-08-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

It came in fits and starts, but summer has finally arrived in all its glory. And I for one couldn’t be happier. There is nothing quite like summer with its warm, balmy evenings filled with dancing fireflies and fragrant flowers and lazy sunny days at the seaside amid a kaleidoscope of umbrellas and beach blankets. I love the bountiful produce of summer best of all: Corn, tomatoes, peaches, blueberries, lettuces, and zucchini, to name a few. Typically, mozzarella is the cheese of choice, draped over sliced tomatoes and garnished with fresh basil, melted into a roasted vegetable panini or over a crisp margarita pizza. I have discovered another accompaniment that is perfect for almost any summer repast: goat cheese!

Most people think of goat cheese as the mild, fluffy white pillowy cheese that is molded into logs or crumbled onto various dishes. This is actually only one type of goat cheese. There are also goat goudas, cheddars, fetas, blue cheeses, bries, aged goat cheese pyramids and cylinders, triple crèmes, raw milk and pasteurized goat cheeses, herb encrusted, wine soaked and ash covered goat cheeses, and even a few rolled in flower petals! The flavor of goat cheese ranges from mild and tangy to floral, grassy and even “barnyardy” tasting. It is zesty and vibrant and stands up well to spicy summer salsas, exotic cocktails and the wide array of fruits and vegetables that are so plentiful this time of year. Goat’s milk is actually lower in fat than cow’s milk, ounce for ounce, and often easier to digest, which makes goat cheese a popular choice in the summer when people are looking for healthy options. Fresh goat cheese can also be frozen fairly successfully for use at a later date. To do this, tightly wrap the cheese in one pound packages or less to store, and thaw the cheese slowly in the refrigerator first before bringing to room temperature.

If you would like to incorporate goat cheese into your own summer meals, I have listed below some suggestions for breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour, dinner and dessert. You can use these ideas as a springboard for your own culinary creations!

Breakfast/Brunch:

*Kunik Honey Lavender Goat’s Milk Fromage Blanc slathered on a Seven Grain Boule or on a slice of Balthazar Bakery’s Walnut Batard

*Omelette with Bucheron French goat cheese, asparagus and fine herbes

* Spinach and Goat Cheese Fritatta

Lunch:

*Watermelon, Tomato, and Chevretine Goat Feta salad with fresh mint and drizzled balsamic

*Sickles’ own Bijou Goat Cheese Salad featuring aged goat cheese disks, grilled red onions and pomegranate seeds (you can find the recipe in the June/July issue of In Jersey Magazine)
*Panini with Beemster Goat Gouda and roasted vegetables (try eggplant, zucchini, red peppers)

Cocktail Hour/Appetizers:

*Apricot halves stuffed with fresh crumbled goat cheese, drizzled with orange blossom honey, and topped with a Spanish Marcona almond

*Goat Brie topped with fig preserves

Dinner:

*Burgers: Lamb Burgers stuffed with fresh goat cheese, toasted pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes (my brother -in-law Tim’s specialty!) or Hamburgers topped with a slice of Chevre Noir Goat Cheddar

*Grilled pizza topped with broccolini, fennel and goat cheese

*Orzo salad: Toss cooked orzo pasta with olive oil, crumbled Chevretine Goat Feta, chopped tomatoes, parsley, kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts, chopped green onions, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. You can add cooked chicken or shrimp to use as a main course

*Grilled chicken over mixed greens with fresh crumbled goat cheese, plump New Jersey blueberries, chopped dried apricots, and caramelized pecans. Splash one of Wild Thymes Salad Refreshers over the salad and toss!

Dessert

*Coach Farms Triple Crème Goat Cheese accompanied by Casa Forcella’s Raspberry and Rose Petal Preserves with a few fresh raspberries on the side

The simple addition of goat cheese to a dish can elevate your dining experience from everyday to extraordinary. Have fun experimenting with the vast array of cheeses available. You may want to check out Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s new cookbook, “In a Cheesemaker’s Kitchen,” written to celebrate 25 years of artisanal cheesemaking. There are wonderful recipes from renowned chefs such as Michel Richard of Citronelle and Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin. If you need further inspiration, stop by the cheese counter at Sickles Market and sample the wide variety of goat cheeses available. We will be happy to share our ideas with you, and before you know it, you’ll be hooked on goat cheese too!
Enjoy the summer!

Cheri The Cheesemonger

Cocktail Culture

2011-07-28T16:18:00.001-04:00

source: www.projo.com

Cocktails have been on my mind.

As a cheesemonger, I know that I am expected to have just images of fromage dancing through my head and that the only tipple I should contemplate is wine, since it’s considered (but not entirely accurately) the quintessential accompanying drink, but cocktails seep into my imagination as well.

source: www.annadepasquale.com

This was especially so a few weeks back when I made a day trip up to Providence to catch up with a friend visiting from Singapore and to do some research for an article I am writing for the magazine culture, “the word on cheese.” Also luring me to the city was a special exhibit, “Cocktail Culture: Ritual and Invention in American Fashion, 1920–1980,” at the Rhode Island School of Design’s museum.

It was an intoxicating show, so to speak, with over 200 objects, chronicling changing American mores, as manifested in the most American of social rituals, the cocktail party. Undoubtedly the highlight was the sixty haute-couture dresses, spanning sixty years of changing fashion, from flirtatious and liberated flapper dresses to the quintessential black cocktail dress, a term coined by Christian Dior in the 1950s, to the stylized, flowing “ethnic” wear of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

View of "Cocktail Culture":
source: www.fastcodesign.com

What I took away from the exhibit, in addition to a thirst for a properly made cocktail, was an awareness of how Prohibition forever changed social interaction between the sexes. Before this embarrassing experiment in American history, men drank in their dark clubs while women sipped tea in stuffy parlors. When alcohol was banished to clandestine gatherings in speakeasies and elegant private homes, women and men mixed, like a well-balanced cocktail. With the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol returned, but the segregation of the sexes did not. The giddy delights of the cocktail party had been established and woven into the fabric of American society. Added to this social institution was a heavy dash of glamor, which the current resurgent interest in cocktail culture tries to recapture. We want to bring back drinks and style.

Unfortunately, it’s too late to see the exhibit. It closes on Sunday, July 31. You can, however, view some images from it and hear a radio piece on NPR’s Web site.

Norman Bel Geddes’
1934 “Manhattan Cocktail Service”:
source: www.dinchin.com

But it’s never too late to have a dose of cocktail culture. Gather friends, dress up fashionably, and make seasonal drinks. Fruit is a great way to go. Dice up watermelon for margaritas and peaches for Bellinis. For something novel and intriguing, try fresh herbs, like basil for a take on the classic gimlet. You already know that I am keen about making lavender simple syrup for summer concoctions, such as the Bee’s Nose . I’ve also given thyme a whirl, adding grilled sprigs or infusing simple syrup for yet another version of a gimlet.

The real way to get into cocktail culture, besides putting on a stunning black cocktail dress or a tuxedo and lounging by a piano, is using measured dashes of bitters in your cocktails. Bitters, which originated as healing tonics, is alcohol infused with herbs, spices, and other botanicals. Believe it or not, cocktails aren't technically cocktails without bitters. The most well known brand is Angostura, which you can find in most supermarkets, but with the renaissance of the cocktail have come a wide range of bitters: orange (the classic for a martini), Peychaud's (the sine qua non for a Sazerac), and unusual ones like celery, Aztec chocolate, grapefruit, and rhubarb. Sickles now has a wide range of bitters from Fee Brothers. On sale right now, 3 for $21, these bitters can help you get into the spirit, so to speak!

Cheers!

Diana Pittet the cocktail-shaking cheesemonger

Tunisia: The Taste & History of the Southern Mediterranean

2011-07-20T13:02:00.000-04:00

Tunisia had long been high on my list of countries to visit.

Sbeitla, Tunisia
Source: Photographymatch.com

Africa’s northernmost country may also be one of its smallest (approximately the size of Wisconsin), but it is impressively big on history. It was the site of mighty Carthage, Republican Rome’s enemy for three fierce wars--the Punic Wars--that ultimately established Rome’s dominance in the Mediterranean. As a trained classicist, I wanted to tour Carthage’s rocky remains, as well as the nearly intact Roman cities of Dougga, Bulla Regia, and Sbeitla, that surpass Pompeii and Ostia in their grandeur. And there’s the amphitheater of El Djem that is more awesome than the Colosseum.

Grand Mosque in Sousse
Source: girlsoloinarabia.typepad.com

It’s not just the Greco-Roman world that is woven into the rich texture of Tunisia’s past. It was from Sousse that the Aghlabids, a dynasty of Arab emirs, launched their attack against Sicily in 827 A.D. Sousse, A UNESCO World Heritage City renown for its beaches, exquisite Roman mosaics, and 9th-century mosque, served as the port of Kairouan, the fourth most holy city for Muslims, after Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina. On the enchanting island of Djerba is the ancient El Ghriba Synagogue, a pilgrim destination after Passover. If you follow the Force more than one of these major monotheistic religions, Tunisia is a must-see destination since several key scenes from Star Wars were filmed in its romantic desserts and troglodyte dwellings.
History and culture were what brought me to Tunisia, on an independent three-week trip in the summer 2003, but it was its food that surprisingly delighted me. It was familiarly Mediterranean, but with beguiling, sun-kissed twists. There was exceptional olive oil (Tunisia is one of the world’s largest producers), capers, olives, tomatoes, fish, peppers, and chickpeas, and pasta, but all prepared in novel ways. One example is leblebi, a hearty breakfast soup made with a chickpea broth, flavored with capers and cumin, thickened with stale bread, and laden with whole chickpeas. It is also rich with olive oil and a freshly broken egg and spicy from the addition of harissa, a fiery paste that is almost as ubiquitous as ketchup.

Ojja - A traditional Tunisian dish with scrambled eggs & harissa

What truly distinguishes Tunisian cuisine from those of its North African neighbors and the European countries to the north is its heat. The chief source of the spiciness comes from harissa, which can be mixed into dishes, such as a bowl of pasta with a tomato sauce and chunks of potatoes, or put on a plate and drizzled with olive oil, to be daringly scooped up with slices of baguette before the main meal. Even dishes made with couscous, a pasta shape so small and knobby that it resembles a grain, can be on the spicy side; you won’t find this in Morocco.
There are also certain dishes and flavorings that you can’t find anywhere else. The classic is briq, a crispy triangle of paper-thin dough, stuffed with a runny egg and some tuna and capers or with potatoes, and deep fried. This became one of my favorite things to eat in Tunisia and it’s a dish that makes Tunisians abroad yearn for home. A spice blend unique to Tunisia is tabil, the specific spices of which change depending on who is making it. In a recipe to make tabil at home, the cookbook author Paula Wolfert provides a list of the following ingredients: coriander seeds, caraway seeds, garlic powder, ground red pepper, fennel seeds, anise seeds, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper.

If Tunisia is not in your travel plans, you can get a taste of sunny Tunisia at Sickles. Les Moulins Mahjoub offers an exquisite, “haute couture” line of products, which are the result of organic farming and traditional production methods. Favorites for us in the cheese department include the textured couscous, extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on burrata, mountain capers, bitter orange marmalade to pair with goat cheeses, delicate artichoke petals, and, of course, harissa, either sweet or spicy, that you can use for about anything.
And if you need an additional reason to make the trip to North Africa, here’s one from the owner of Les Moulins Mahjoub, whom I recently saw when he paid a trip to Sickles last Wednesday. When I asked him why Americans should travel to Tunisia, he replied that Americas know well the northern side of the Mediterranean and that it’s now time to explore the southern Mediterranean.
I couldn’t agree with him more.

bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā' (Bon Appetit!)
Diana Pittet, the traveling cheesemonger

(Hard) Cider--Historic & American

2011-06-30T07:25:00.000-04:00

source: www.examiner.com

For the Fourth of July weekend, you’ve got a wide variety of beverages on hand, for guests and yourself—bottled water, soda, beer, wine, spirits, and mixers. Why no hard cider?

For the most American of holidays, it would make sense to have the most historically American of beverages. Hard cider, otherwise known simply as cider in early America and the rest of the world, is fermented apple juice, and it was once America’s most popular drink. Safer than water and cheaper to produce than beer or wine, cider was often the first drink of the day and it certainly wasn’t the last.

Apple orchard in bloom, England

Apples came over to America with the English colonists in the 1630s and by 1850 there were abundant orchards. Just like the colonists themselves, apples became distinctly American as they adapted to the their new world. Apples spread west from the original colonies with the help of none other than Johnny Appleseed. Contrary to his sanitized story, John Chapman was bringing alcohol not fruit to the frontiers. To produce eating apples, trees need to be grafted; seeds, like those that John Chapman supplied, will more likely produce spitters, apples so unpleasantly bitter that they are suited only for cider production. To understand the different types of apples--eating/dessert vs. cider--it’s helpful to make a comparison with grapes: Just as you won’t find wine made with Thompson grapes, you won’t be able to find pinot noir grapes in the produce aisle of the supermarket. Same goes for apples.

Roger Wilkins & his cider
Somerset, England
source: Stony Grunow

Despite this history lesson, you still might not be convinced that cider is right for the Fourth of July. You argue that apples are for the autumn, not the height of summer. You are right that we have almost a Pavlovian response in the fall to crave all things apple. But I respond that summer is the perfect time for cider. Lower in alcohol than wine (usually 6 percent), it is less likely to knock you out on a hot, sticky day. On top of that, cider is deliciously refreshing, and coming in a wide variety of styles, it pairs wonderfully with an equally wide variety of food.

Next, you might cry that cider is sickly sweet. True, many corporate, widely distributed brands are more like apple wine coolers, but if you can find some artisanal brands (e.g., Farnum Hill, Crispin, Original Sin, Eve’s Cidery) or ones from other cider producing countries (England, France, Spain), you are in for a real treat and surprise. These producers don’t typically add sweeteners, and they predominately ferment cider (i.e., not dessert) apples,

Variety of domestic & international ciders

which yield complexity, structure, and dryness. If you do tend to prefer things on the sweet side, no problem. Most fine ciders come in sweet, semi-sweet, dry, and extra dry styles. Find one that works for you and for all the foods you like to eat. (Try cider with spicy food!) You can purchase many of the ciders mentioned above at Whole Foods or at well-stocked liquor stores, such as Spirits in Red Bank, on Newman Springs Road.

As we toast our independence over the weekend, why not do so with the classic American drink, cider.

Enjoy!
Diana Pittet, the cider-swilling cheesemonger

P.S. Look out for my article about cider in the September/October issue of Organic Gardening, which will be available at Sickles Market.

Summer Soirees with Cheese

2011-06-25T01:08:00.004-04:00

source: www.countryliving.com

This is the time of year for entertaining.

Nothing signifies a party more than an offering of fine cheeses and merry-making drinks. Below are some suggestions for which cheeses and drinks to serve that take into account the high temperatures of summer and the numerous places to hold a soiree when the heat is on.

Air-conditioned home
Triple-Creme Cheese, Sparkling Wine, & Dried Rhubarb

Champagne & Brillat Savarin
source: www.thenibble.com

When stepping outside immediately reduces you to a sweaty and limp version of yourself, nothing can seem as desirable or as decadent as gathering with friends in a heavily air-conditioned home. This is when it’s time to eat similarly decadent, triple-creme cheeses, like Brillat Savarin, that would otherwise disappear into a messy lactic puddle during the summer. Keep things cool and classy with a glass of crisp sparkling wine, the natural partner for rich cheeses. Add a festive element to the drink by adding ½ oz of yellow Chartreuse and ½ oz of St. Germain to each glass. An intriguing accompaniment for the cheese is sweetened, dried rhubarb. Both the fruit and the sparkling wine give just enough acidity to balance the lushness of the cheese.

Backyard Barbecue
Wheat/White Beer & Fresh Mozzarella

www.beer-chronicles.com

Something about a barbecue gets the beer flowing. Typically, I opt for full, round, hoppy American IPAs, but last summer, I found myself knocked out from just two cans of Dale’s Pale Ale. The ABV (percentage of alcohol by volume) tends to be high (at least 6 percent) for these flavor bombs, so it’s no wonder that when you are already a bit dehydrated and woozy from the sun, a few beers can bring you down quickly. For this reason, I am suggesting something slightly lighter, both in alcohol and flavor: lemony wheat/white beers. A more delicate beer necessities a more delicate cheese: fresh mozzarella. Not only is this cheese great for a few brewskis outside, but also for a side dish at a barbecue. Instead of doing the typical insalata caprese--slices of mozzarella and tomatoes interwoven with basil leaves and a sprinkling of olive oil and sea salt--try this salad with mint, cherry tomatoes, corn, and sherry vinegar, which will play off the refreshing tartness of the beer.

Picnic
Feta & Rosé

source: http://seriouslygood.kdweeks.com

You might have to brace yourself for derision if you produce a bottle of rosé at a picnic. People still assume, despite numerous articles and advice to the contrary, rosé is cheap and sickly sweet. Au contraire! It’s the perfect summer wine. The color itself is as jolly as the season, and it has a fruity dryness that is a lovely match for food, especially ones on the slightly salty side. You can’t a more intentionally salty cheese than feta, but that’s what makes it so especially delightful in the summer when we crave saline restoration. I wouldn’t recommend bringing just a hunk of feta to a picnic. Mix it into a dip, like one with sweet and hot peppers, or crumble it into a zesty pasta salad with arugula, olives, and sundried tomatoes.

Beach/Beach Club
Mild Washed-Rind Cheese & Cider

source: http://hamptons.guestofaguest.com

I know, cider is another seemingly risky beverage since folks tend to equate cider with the autumn, but it’s just right for the summer. Lower in alcohol than wine (around 6 percent) it’s delightfully refreshing, and since it comes in numerous styles (sweet, semisweet, dry), it can be matched successfully with about any food. As for cheeses at the beach, I tend to go for something semi-soft that is hardy enough to stand up to the sun and becomes pleasantly softer in the heat. Don’t go for anything too pungent (e.g., Epoisses, Ardrahan) that will get unpleasantly stinky in the heat. Try instead something more mild from the same family of cheeses: washed-rinds. Some examples are Italian Robiola, Spanish Patacabra, and French Preferes des Montagnes.

The Sailboat
Juni & Gin and Tonic
What’s more fitting for a sailboat than the classic G&T? I vary the classic by adding mint leaves and thin slices of cucumber and lime--absolutely refreshing. To play off the juniper in the gin, try Juni from Italy, a small rustic cow’s milk cheese from Italy, studded with pine-y juniper.

Celebrate summer!
Diana Pittet, the cheesemonger

Taking My Cues From Barbeques

2011-06-20T10:00:00.001-04:00

“Life should be a celebration of good food, good friends and good times.”

Urban Accents, Chicago, IL

For the record, I normally do not find much culinary inspiration on barbeque sauce labels. But when I read Rufus Teague’s rather lengthy but highly entertaining label on a bottle of his Honey Sweet Barbeque Sauce, one phrase in particular caught my attention: “Good sauce makes bad barbeque good and good barbeque gooder.”

Well, that started some musings on the merits of barbeque sauce which eventually evolved into an idea for an experiment with chicken and a variety of sauces and a rub or two. I enlisted my husband Rafael and my son Cameron as official tasters and Rafael graciously agreed to be the grillmaster for my Barbequed Chicken Cookoff. I chose seven contenders for this brainstorm and we marinated and rubbed seven separate pieces of chicken fillets and let them sit an hour before grilling. The competitors were the following:

Rufus Teague Made Some Sauce (Honey Sweet): Currently, our family’s “go-to” sauce for chicken and ribs. This fairly new company from Shawnee, Kansas, was the three time People’s Choice Sauce Champion at the Kansas City Great American Barbeque Contest and the 2007 American Royal Sauce Champion as well!

Willy Jack’s Barbeque Sauce (Original): “Towing a pig cooker and recipe in his pocket” Bill Mayberry ventured out with his sauce from Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina, and ended up in the orchards of Eastern Pennsylvania, with a recipe that includes apple cider, peppers, raisins and hickory flavor. His sauce has been enjoyed at the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl and Shea Stadium (and now the Scolari kitchen!)

Bone Suckin’ Sauce: This small batch barbeque sauce from western N. Carolina is a family affair that started back in the early ‘90’s and kept growing. This is an all natural tomato-based sauce sweetened with honey, molasses, and apple cider. Bone Suckin’ Sauce has received accolades from Newsweek, Food & Wine, and The Gourmet Retailer, to name a few.

Mariana Arytza Chimichurri Sauce: I decided to throw in a traditional Argentine seasoning, this one aged for several months and infused with herbs in the final stages of production. The Arytza Chimichurri is classically spicy hot and very flavorful.

Mazi Piri Piri Sauce: Peter Mantas’ stellar hot sauce made from the piri piri pepper of N. African and Portuguese origin. This colorful, zippy sauce is made in small batches by Peter right in Asbury Park, N.J., and was recently featured in the Source section of Saveur Magazine.

Urban Accents Chicken & Poultry Rub: The 2009 SOFI Finalist for Outstanding Flavor Enhancer, this herbaceous dry rub for chicken and poultry is sugar and gluten free. The Chicago-based company makes several different rub flavor profiles depending on your barbeque selection.

L’Epice Tandoori Masala: A traditional Indian spice blend from a local New Jersey company. The flavors are normally earthy, intense and spicy hot, but I usually add oil or yogurt before spreading it over the chicken. As a straight dry rub, it did not work as well, and I felt that we did not do the spice blend justice so we left this one out of the competition this time.

Rafael grilled up the filets and we tasted each one, recording our findings. We had a great time and the results were really quite surprising. Rufus Teague Honey Sweet Sauce, which our family usually finds robust and very flavorful, appeared mildly sweet and subtle when brushed on the chicken and barbequed. When we used it as a condiment however, and dipped the pieces of the cooked chicken, it was much zestier and robust. The Bone Suckin’ Sauce did not have as much appeal to us straight out of the bottle, but when used as a marinade, all three of us were wowed by the succulence and sweetness of the chicken. Willy Jack’s Original sauce reminded Cameron of a campfire and it worked well as a traditional hickory smoke style. Everyone enjoyed the chimichurri sauce with its complex combination of spices and oil, with just a little kick. The Mazi Piri Piri chicken was a vibrant orange and not for the faint of heart (actually, both Cameron and I wrote that exact phrase!) Both the guys liked the fiery hot, flavorful chicken, although I would have liked to have mixed the sauce with some yogurt for a slightly milder version. Finally, the Urban Accents rub was a fun addition to our cookoff with a unique layering of flavors, including coriander, cumin, paprika, lemon peel and cinnamon.

In the end, we all gave up trying to pick a winner and just enjoyed the outrageously good barbeque! Rafael found a rose wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the 2010 Mulderbosch Rose (coastal region of South Africa), which complimented the spicy chicken and added to the flavorful evening. As I was finishing my meal, I noticed the back of the Urban Accents Chicken & Poultry Rub Box:
“Rub, Grill, Eat, Smile.”

Maybe finding inspiration on barbeque labels is not such a bad idea after all.

Enjoy!

Cheri The Cheesemonger

News Flash for all of you who read my last blog, Screamin’ for Ice Cream: Jeni’s Ice Cream has just come out with a new summer flavor and it is definitely worth screamin’ about: Lemons and Blueberries Frozen Yogurt. It tastes like fresh squeezed lemons and juicy berries in a rich sweet yogurt that reminds me of cheesecake. A refreshing compliment to any barbeque!

A Bed of Roses

2011-06-16T15:49:00.000-04:00

By Patricia Dumas
June 2011

There was a time when a rose was a rose-- blooming sweetly and profusely in late May and June, only to abruptly stop while continuing to just grow branches and hips for the next season. The early summer rose was just that-- fleeting beauty for a short time.

Some of the most beautifully scented roses are the old-fashioned, one time bloomers. They have covered ancestral arbors for generations in and around family homes and are cherished as much as the house itself. Old fashioned roses with long forgotten names such as Damask, Bourbon, Noisette, and China, were and are the hardiest roses around. Old roses are classified by the American Rose Society as those that were in cultivation before 1867 before the Hybrid Tea was introduced. After that, it was an all-out competition in the rose world-- a race to develop a rose for virtually every situation in the modern garden.

There is something to be said about one time bloomers here in our area. Roses naturally despise humidity, and are prone to diseases. Early summer brings out the hardy, profuse petals of the old rose. They will survive in most soils and conditions, without all the fuss that comes with mid -summer humidity and heat.

But, can we live without roses all summer long? I beg your pardon, but, the pop philosopher who sang “I never promised you a rose garden” never met the KnockOut rose.

The world of rose breeders is never satisfied, and they continue to develop roses for every impossible garden and climate. The KnockOut is the biggest development to hit the rose world since the hybrid tea rose came into being in the late 1800’s. This landscape rose has meat on its bones and vigor in its soul.

The premier rose for the landscape, the KnockOut is a disease-resistant, vigorous re-bloomer. First bred by Bill Radler, and an AARS (All America Rose Selection) in 2000, the KnockOut rose is self -cleaning and hardy -- growing taller and wider each year. It will re-bloom generously about every 5 to 6 weeks, and continue until frost. The boring shrub is no more. It’s the best selling rose in America.

When first encountering the KnockOut, I was skeptical. For me, there is no miracle in the garden. Just hard work. The petals of the KnockOut are few, and there’s hardly a scent. But, being the adventurous gardener I am, (growing gourds up rose bushes and pumpkins in mulch piles), I decided to go for it. I certainly wasn’t expecting to jump for joy as I did. The thing literally bloomed its head off and had the appearance of mass flowers from a distance all summer long. I was a convert, and decided to buy more. They easily fit in the yard as a filler in the perennial garden, and a specimen plant on the lawn. The choice of red, yellow, pink and rainbow make it easy to choose. Pruning is minimal, and they can be kept short or tall. KnockOuts bloom on old and new wood and always have something going on throughout the season with abundant flowers in the summer and rose hips aplenty in autumn.

The new landscape roses are spectacular. You may not consider yourself a “rosarian”, but with the new cultivars, you’ll feel like a pro every time you see them hanging, gliding, draping and spilling over your landscape. Here’s a few more landscape roses worthy of consideration:
• Carpet Roses- These compact roses have a great personality in the garden. They are capable of growing canes up to 4 feet in length with a draping, sprawling habit. They bloom all season long, while scrambling beautifully over garden walls and barriers. As with the Knockout, you can mix them right in the perennial beds where they will carry on happily until frost. The Carpets are disease resistant and long-lived.
• The Fairy Rose- Looking like the old roses that cover Cape Cod cottages in the summer, the Fairy Rose sports masses of airy pink flowers that bloom all summer long through the worst heat and humidity.
• Rosa Rugosa - A Chinese import from long ago, this tried and true rose can virtually grow in the sand. The strong, traveling roots and rugged leaves make it the perfect rose for difficult landscape areas. It withstands wind, salt and flooding. The simple flowers have a luscious perfume with the look of the famous Apothecary Rose, and the hips are an added treat for making jellies and jam. It’s as tough as a Cape Cod Nor’easter and can survive one too. They’re perfect for rough terrain and seaside settings.
• David Austin Roses- British Rose Breeder David Austin has developed shrub roses with old-fashioned fragrance and fullness. Blooming all-summer long, these new classics have modern disease resistance and the look of a Victorian postcard. There’s nothing better in a summer vase than a bunch of full-petaled, freshly-plucked, Austin roses dripping over the table.

Contrary to popular opinion and lots of self-doubt floating around, roses are not difficult to grow. If you have a plot with full sun, good air circulation, and some fertilizer, you can have luscious roses in your yard. Just remember that in our intensely humid climate, roses tend to yellow and spot up. A little help from a good systemic spray once a month (yes, we have to use chemicals sometimes with roses), can prevent a lot of trouble and heartache during the hot, sultry Jersey summer months.

Sugar and spice and everything nice

2011-06-13T10:39:00.000-04:00

Sugar Cubes
Source: www.reasonpad.com

I leave the topic of spices (and herbs) to my colleague, Cheri, who has already written about this fragrant subject for the Sickles blog. I’ll tackle sugar.

Sugar is most definitely nice. In fact, it’s a universally accepted taste and one that we are born craving. But it’s also considered evil, blamed for hyperactivity in children, weight gain, and tooth decay. While we crave it, we also spurn it.

It’s important to remember that sugar is a naturally occurring substance, and most life forms, including life’s most basic--cells--depend on it for healthy biologically functioning. Even stationary plants need sugar: they store it up in their stems, tubers, and seeds as a source of food. Since we humans depend on it, too, we consume these plants for their store of sugar.

Sugarcane
Source: http://www.udcinc.org

There’s really nothing harmful about sugar per se, except, of course, for tooth decay. I am referring to sucrose, or the type of sugar that comes from sugarcane and that we add to our coffee and use for baking. The problem with sugar is that that it’s just empty calories—about four calories per gram. Over-consumption will result in a surfeit of calories and a deficiency of nutrients. As most nutritionist agree, it’s not any particular type of food (e.g., fat, sugar, other carbohydrates) that leads to weight gain; it’s excess calories that’s to blame. By cutting down on sugar, you can reduce calories and this can help you maintain an ideal weight.

Sugarcane; its products
for sale in Banos, Ecuador
Source: Flickr-Mochileira Delpaso

These days it’s almost impossible to escape sugar’s grip on our food supply, but it was once a rare and incredibly expensive foodstuff, which was treated more as an exotic spice and used sparingly. Only with the increase in production worldwide, which started with Columbus’ bringing a cutting of sugarcane to the Caribbean, did sugar’s prohibitive price drop and become more widely available. A bitter side to sugar must be noted here: the reason that level of production increased so dramatically was due in great part to the exploitation of slaves.

Jars of sugar & chilies
to add to Thai noddles

To remember how special sugar is, I suggest getting reacquainted with its naturalness and resuming its use as a condiment. In Latin America and South America, and Southeast Asia, where sugarcane is grown, the fresh juice, pressed from the cane, is enjoyed on the street, as is chewing directly on the cane for a sweet treat. We may not be able to do this so easily in New Jersey, but try to do so on any trip to those parts of the world. If in Southeast Asia, you can sprinkle sugar, as well as fresh and dried chilies, onto your noodles, prepared at a roadside stand. The granules of sugar don’t dominate the taste of the dish, but adds complexity and balance: the cuisine of Southeast Asia strives for a balance of hot sour, salty and sweet.

Advertisement in Granada
for Nicaragua's favorite rum

Of course in Latin America, one of the most popular ways to consume sugar is rum, which is distilled from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or, directly from sugarcane juice. Sweet goes with sweet, so try a Cuba Libre or Nica Libre: a cocktail of rum with a Coke, ice cubes, and a slice of lime. When you order a bottle of rum at a bar in Nicaragua, you get a few free Cokes in glass bottles--made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup--and a bucket of ice. It may sound like much too sweet of a cocktail, but it’s wonderfully refreshing on a hot, sticky day. That said, I would always ask for fresh pineapple juice for my share of the bottle of rum.

Like everything, enjoy sugar—and rum!—in moderation but also think of it as something “nice.”

Diana Pittet, the sweet-loving cheesemonger

Whisky & Oats: Royal Tastes

2011-06-07T14:49:00.000-04:00

A toast to the happily married couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

With what shall we toast Prince William and Kate? French Champagne? Mais non! We should make it something British. I say we should go with a wee dram of whisky.

Scotch is especially fitting because Prince William and Kate Middleton met at the University of Saint Andrew, the oldest university in Scotland.

Highland Cows on Isle of Mull

On top of that, Scotch, especially a single malt one, is something truly special--warming, indulgent, and exotic. I've been a fan ever since I went traveling in the Outer Hebrides, the remote western islands of Scotland, and arrived at a damp hostel on the Isle of Harris where fellow guests were sitting around a smoldering but warm fire. One of them produced a bottle of fine Scotch and passed it around to us soggy lot. After a few swigs, grimaces turned to smiles, and we strangers found easy chatter. Since then, I’ve linked whisky with that merry evening.

Extensive Scotch collection
Port Ellen, Islay

Scotch may conjure up romantic notions of windswept, underpopulated islands, but its origins are a little more pedestrian: a fermented grain mash. This is the case for all whiskeys, but what makes Scotch Scotch is that the spirit must be made in Scotland (one would hope so!) and aged in oak barrels for at least three years. The stars of Scotch are the single malts, which are highly sought after and collected. They must be produced from only water and malted barley at a single distillery.

It wouldn't be wise to drink Scotch without a little something to eat. After all, this tipple has a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40 percent. Again, let's make our nibble Scottish. The classic would be smoked salmon and oatcakes.

I assume you know what smoked salmon is and that Scotland is famous for it, but what about oatcakes? They are distinctively Scotish and not well known outside of Britain. At the cheeseshop where I worked in London, the only crackers we sold were all different sorts of oatcakes. They are basically a rough cracker made from ground oats, a grain that grows well in Scotland. The Queen of England is said to eat oatcakes for breakfast.

Sickles may not have whisky, but it does have smoked salmon as well as a few different types of oatcakes. Typically, I would select the organic ones from Nairns, since they are a hearty, no-nonsence accompaniment for cheese. For some fancier entertaining, which is in order for toasting the royal couple, I would recommend a new product, little oatcake canepes. You could fill them with some crème frraiche and a slice of smoked salmon and garnish of fresh dill.

If you prefer tea to whisky, try the Nairn's fruit oatcakes at Sickles. They are almost like a raspberry-scented cookie. For extra decadence, you could schmear it with some butter and a layer of cloudy and thick heather honey, another delectable treat from Scotland that's available at Sickles.

The royal wedding may have happened over a month ago, but it's never too late to pour yourself a wee dram and toast them. Or you can wait for Wimbledon, which starts in two weeks, and cheer on Britain's number one player, Andy Murray, from Scotland.

Cheers!
Diana Pittet the cheesemonger

Screaming For Ice Cream

2011-05-31T11:04:00.000-04:00

By Cheri Scolari

5/2011

There is one food that permeates my childhood memories and even now, can sweeten a day gone sour: Ice cream. The very thought of it hastens the balmy summer days and backyard barbeque's. It takes me back to playing hopscotch on the steamy sidewalk in front of my grandma’s house, listening for the tinkling tunes of the ice cream truck, and finally handing over my pennies for a Push-Up, that orange and vanilla creaminess on a stick. Or savoring the dark chocolaty Fudge Brownie cone at Baskin Robbins after bravely surviving my annual doctor visit and vaccines. I risk dating myself when I confess that one of my favorite hangouts in high school was Lippert’s, our local ice cream shoppe, always good for a Root Beer Float or a Tin Roof Sundae after cruising the main on Friday night.

Well, my hopscotch and cruising days are long gone, but ice cream is definitely here to stay. As a matter of fact, I am in good company when I am indulging in one of my favorite warm weather pastimes. According to the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot in 2011 survey, artisan or house-made ice cream is number one on the list of top trends this year in the dessert category. The survey was conducted among more than 1,500 professional chefs, all members of the American Culinary Federation. I really don’t need 1,500 chefs telling me that ice cream is good stuff though. Especially artisan ice cream. On my recent vacation to San Fransisco in April, I had the chance to stop by the foodie haven, Bi-Rite Market, and check out their creamery, where I tasted heaven on a spoon: Salted Caramel ice cream. The Honey Lavender was quite beguiling as well, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that Salted Caramel. Unfortunately, Bi-Rite doesn’t ship their ice cream products, so I had to find an alternative solution.

I was delighted to discover that Jeni Britton Bauer, artisanal ice cream pro and proprietor of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, sells her pints all over the U.S. including at Sickles Market. Jeni’s ice creams are less sweet and more flavorful than the traditional American ice cream and she only uses the freshest local ingredients and responsibly raised products from around the world. And best of all, Jeni has Salty Caramel, as well as other amazing flavors such as Corn Syrup Custard With Whiskey and Pecans, and Brambleberry Crisp. They are a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way and the flavor experience is something you won’t forget You’ll also find that it’s hard to go back to the regular grocery store brands after tasting real artisan-made ice cream. If you would prefer to try your own hand at making ice cream, you can check out Jeni’s book, The Homemade-Ice-Cream-Bible (to be published in June, artisanbooks.com), and create your own decadent combinations.

Sometimes I am in the mood for a scoop of vanilla ice cream, pure and simple, and nothing else will do (although a Tate’s dark chocolate chip cookie on the side would be fine too). When vanilla is calling my name, I turn to Gifford’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream. It is the best of both worlds: vibrant vanilla bean and rich dairy cream. In addition to being great ice cream, Gifford’s hails from Maine (they even have a Lobster Tracks flavor!) and has been family owned and managed for five generations. The company supports local farmers in the Northeast and all the milk used is artificial growth hormone free. The company has a plethora of awards including 2010 Grand Champion at the World Dairy Expo, and my favorite, First Place at the 2010 People’s Choice Award at the New Jersey Ice Cream Festival. Try leaving a quart out on the counter for ten minutes or so, until it gets a little melty, then dig in with a spoon, and you’ll see why Gifford’s is New Jersey’s favorite!

I love ice cream because, besides being delicious, it is so versatile. When you need to dress it up, you can layer contrasting flavors in an ice cream terrine. This recipe uses pistachio ice cream, black currant sorbet and lemon frozen yogurt and with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios. Ice cream bonbons are fun and elegant with their silky coating of chocolate and light flakes of sea salt. Surprising ice cream toppings liven up a party as well. At the end of my birthday dinner at Via 45 in Red Bank recently, I was delighted to receive a dish of basil sorbet accompanied by fresh strawberries, a drizzle of aged balsamic and a candle, rather than the usual tiramisu. Another delicious combination is praline pecan ice cream with crumbled bacon and maple syrup. Or add a hot espresso to your cold gelato and create your own version of affogato, the Italian version of a fountain drink eaten with a spoon. When I want to take my ice cream to the beach or a backyard barbecue, Ciao Bella’s Key Lime Graham Squares are the way to go. These SOFI gold award winning frozen treats are not even in the same ball park with other ice cream sandwiches. The all natural, richly decadent gelato is bursting with tart lime flavor and sandwiched between slightly savory graham crackers. When you don’t have time to cook, simply pile these little gems on a platter and your dessert will be the hit of the party.

I’m looking forward to the sunny days ahead, holiday cookouts and long strolls on the boardwalk. But most of all, I’m screaming for ice cream!

Enjoy!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

Tempting Spring Vegetables

2011-05-27T10:47:00.001-04:00

Spring vegetables: ramps, fava beans
fiddle head ferns, & asparagus

Spring is a tease.

Recollections of its gentle warmth and cheery colors comfort you during the gray months of winter. Beguiled, you assume spring will surely arrive by March. Just as a few delicate buds appear on ghostly trees, another snow storm hits and spring eludes you. Come April, just are there are more certain signs of spring, another frost grips the earth, making it hard for you to put your faith in spring's arrival. By the time you can confidently trust spring, trust that it's here to stay, it flees, looking for a chase, and you can't keep up. Daffodils bloom and die; cherry blossoms fall like snow at the slightest breeze; tulips arrive with their stately grace and shed their petals melodramatically on a warm day; azaleas burst into color and then retreat at the sight of the puffy blossoms of rhododendrons. Spring breaks your heart. You want your time with it to last, but it won't wait for you. You're always on its heels, and the next thing you know, when you think you've finally caught up, it's summer.

There are two ways that I have managed to keep a healthy relationship with spring. First, I make the best effort I can to soak in its beauty. I cycle slowly to work, admiring everything in bloom, taking it in with my eyes, knowing that within a week all the cheery blossoms will have gone. Second, I welcome its vegetable treasures, chiefly ramps, fiddle head ferns, fava beans, and asparagus. I cook with them until I can cook with them no more. At a certain point my palette is saturated and mean spring refuses to release any more of these green treasures from the reawakened earth.

Crostini topped with ricotta and
grilled ramps and fava beans

Ramps, or wild leeks, are a rare treat. They look like something you could have pulled from your rain-soaked garden, and they smell almost as earthy and herbal. Their season is so short that their advent at farmers' markets is met with a happy frenzy. This is especially the case in New York City, where I was first introduced to them a few years back, at the Union Square Market. In the city these days, it's hard to escape ramps, until their season is finished--grilled ramps on focaccia, ramps in a vinaigrette for a roasted beet salad, ramps compounded into butter, ramps sauteed and served with soft shell crabs, ramps pickled and jarred. My annual recipe using ramps is a rich, creamy pasta dish created by the New York chef Andrew Carmellini, now of Locanda Verde, but formerly of A Voce, the restaurant where he featured this spaghetti dish in the spring. It's a seasonal tangle of ramps, peas, fava beans, and American speck, bound together in a cream and egg sauce. In my version, I forgo the speck, and emphasize the flavors of the vegetables.

Thai red curry with fiddle head ferns
and tofu

Nothing represents spring as much as fiddle head ferns. Coiled and seemingly ready to bounce into action, they embody all the energy and promise that spring offers. They taste green and damp, just like the season. I first came into culinary contact with them when I was a graduate student in western Massachusetts. They remind me of the local woods that would take their time embracing the spring after the long, harsh winter. A memorable dish from that time period was a veggie Thai red curry with fiddle head ferns. I applauded the novelty and I try to recreate it every year.

Fava beans are as mean as spring. They take some work: you have to shuck them from their pods, blanch them, skin them, and then incorporate them into a dish, like the ramp pasta recipe above, or this Fine Cooking recipe with prosciutto and mint. Another idea is expressed in the picture above, of the crostini--favas and broiled ramps atop toasted bread, which is topped with a fluffy mixture of ricotta, pureed peas, lemon zest, and ramp tops. Despite the tedious work, favas are rewarding: they taste bright and as green as the first leaves that appear on trees. A simpler way to eat them is how I did at an historical, upmarket restaurant in Rome, Checchino dal 1887, where, as an appetizer, I was served a plate of unshelled fava beans and a hunk of pecorino. I was to shuck the fava beans and then eat them raw along with the salty cheese. For Romans, that raw fava beans with sheep's milk cheese means spring.

Cheddar grits with asparagus &
mushrooms

Asparagus is one of the few foods of spring that you can buy all year round, but I suggest eating it now, its traditional season, especially if you can buy it fresh from a farmer's market. I always make something with asparagus for Easter and Mother's Day, e.g., cream of asparagus soup with saffron croutons, linguine with roasted asparagus and almond pesto, and a shaved asparagus salad with Gouda and hazelnuts. For something new, I am going to try them with Cheddar grits, using mushrooms (another sign of spring, especially chantarelles) instead of shrimp.

As soon as spring arrives, I am already lament its end, just as when you are eating something incredibly spectacular, you are already thinking of taking a second helping instead of savoring what you have. Cooking with spring's mean bounty helps me prolong this seductive season.

Savor these final days of spring!

Diana Pittet the cheesemonger

Baby Rabbits in the House

2011-05-25T20:54:00.000-04:00

Garden Newsletter

Patricia Dumas

May 2011

I have them, doesn’t everyone? I learned a thing or two about our wild rabbits the other night.

Sitting in my old chair at the TV the other night, the dog and the cat were goofing around as usual. All of a sudden, there was a high-pitched squeal. Thinking it was that emboldened squirrel who comes in the cat door to eat morsels of cat food, I knocked the broom handle around wildly under a little table to scare it out of its hiding place.

Nothing. Not a jitter nor a squeak. Then I noticed there was something huddled up tightly in the corner under the table amidst the old books and boxed games. It was so pressed up against the wall that it could have melted into it. A little baby bunny sat still-- fear keeping it quiet and hardly breathing.

My cat Buster has this idea that if he brings baby rabbits indoors as gifts that I will like him better and feed his fat belly more. He’ll come in through his little makeshift cat door with a live bundle in his mouth, then set it aside to harass, torture, and bat around later. Not this time, though. I scooped the rabbit up gently and brought it outside to a neighboring yard where it could have a decent chance of surviving.

In my search for info to help my little frightened visitor, I learned that because rabbits are high on the food chain as an appetizer and main meal, the mother feeds them on the run. She’ll feed them heavily and quickly with super nutritious milk only twice a day, and never sleep with them for fear of predators. Hunching over the little shallow nest of fur, she’ll nurse them quickly then be off.

So much for our visions of a deep “Alice in Wonderland” hole. The rabbit nest is almost laughable-- out in the middle of a pasture or lawn, they are small indentations lined with fur. In the open, it’s amazing there are so many of them that survive to eat us out of home and garden at all!

But, survive they do. And they do amazingly well. Knowing now what I never knew as a kid, I know why I could never save a young rabbit. When I was a kid, I used to try and bottle feed the babies. No luck. They are stressed easily, need a super nutritious and filling diet, and when a cat bites them, it is often the fatal feline bacteria that kills them.

With all that goes against them-- great predator food, lawnmowers ravaging nests, and a virtually mother-less life, rabbits survive and end up in our yards by the dozens eating clover as well as our garden lettuce, flowers, and newly planted vegetables.

I just thought my gardening friends would like to know a few things about the creatures that on one hand touch our hearts, and on the other drive us crazy in our gardens. We can fence our gardens in, spray deterrent, or just give in. As the old farm adage goes: Plant two for the farmer and one for the bunnies.

Meanwhile, the end of the bunny story ends well, I think. After fishing the poor thing out of the pond while the cat was chasing it again, I placed it in a little shelter made out of a turned over plastic flower pot. It could get out, but, the cat couldn’t get in. One can only hope. It’s my fault that cat is outside. More birds and small animals are killed by domestic cats than by any other animal. It’s a choice we make and have to live with. I’m not proud of it.

When I held that little bunny in my hands, that old feeling came back. My hometown of Tinton Falls in the old days was surrounded by many open fields and woods. Baby bunnies, raccoons, and birds were a part of our childhood landscape. We know more these days about wild animals than we did back in the day when well-meaning kids like me tried to keep baby raccoons in cages, and feed baby rabbits regular milk. Thankfully, there’s now a growing respect for the animals that we live with and a knowledge that we can’t keep them, control them, or destroy them.

I think we want it all. Beautiful homes, lawns and gardens away from the bustling cities while at the same time not wanting deer and rabbits eating our plants. It’s hard to come to a compromise. We can use organic products like Animal Stopper to sprinkle around plants as a deterrent, and they work very well when used properly. Cutting your choices of desirable plants is an option as well-- but, who wants to severely cut back on the beautiful veggies and flowers we can grow during a very short season?

Fences and barriers work well. My co-worker Natale and I are planting our vegetables over in the town garden plots in Fair Haven Fields. Anyone from Monmouth County can sign up for $25. a season, and it’s a place of beauty and tranquility away from the bustle of suburbia. While years ago it was a simple endeavor, it’s now a labor of love. Most of us put up 7 foot fences that go down a foot below the soil to keep the critters out. It’s more work than we bargained for, but it’s worth it when we harvest magnanimous farm-style vegetables throughout the season.

Meanwhile, back at my mini farm on River Rd., another baby rabbit made it into the house by way of Buster. This one wasn’t as lucky and hopefully didn’t suffer. He was placed, with love and adoration under the piano bench for me to fawn over. Although I could have strangled the cat, I spoke in cat whispers to him and thanked him kindly for the gift. He stretched, yawned, and then curled up in my chair. No doubt he was dreaming of the next chase by which he would earn his keep.

A Few Garden Tips on my mind:

Plant your tomato and other vegetable plants now. The weather is getting steadily warmer, and they should take off quickly. Plants setting fruit during warmer nights prevent bottom-end rot in the resulting fruits.

Before spreading grass cuttings as mulch on your vegetable garden, make sure it has sat and cured for a while. The decay process will suck the nitrogen right out of your garden. Instead of cuttings, try some Bumper Crop as a top dressing. It will hold moisture in, and cut down the growth of weeds.

Save space by planting cucumbers and other trailing vegetables between the tomato plant and peppers.

Instead of using horse hay for mulch in the garden, try salt hay. Salt hay comes from the marshes and is impervious to weed seeds that will take over our gardens.

Bush beans, bush cucumbers, bush zucchini and other “bush” vegetable varieties save space in the garden, while still producing prolifically.

Great plants to try: Tackle something different this year. Swiss Chard “Bright Lights” is a gorgeous, leafy green that grows to 20 inches high in the garden. It’s beefy stalks are colored yellow, pink, purple and crimson. Use for a bold leafy touch in flower containers, or in the garden for an endless amount of tasty stalks all summer long.

Sickles Market Wows Visitors at Holly Hill

2011-05-23T16:51:00.001-04:00

Click here to watch a short video segment about the Sickle's "Wow Pantry" at Holly Hill

Stocked pantry and garden put products and ethos of Little Silver emporium on display at designer show house in Middletown's historic Locust Point District.

By Greg Kulaga | Email the author | May 22, 2011

The VNA Designer Show House at Holly Hill is a labyrinth of happy surprises, and Little Silver's Sickles Market is providing visitors there with at least two sources of inspiration; a fully-loaded pantry and a garden geared for sustainability.

Holly Hill is a historical estate located in the Locust area of Middletown Township. It was built during the depression in 1934 by New Jersey state senator and superior court Judge Thomas Brown, who used local labor and materials for the home's construction.

The estate was chosen to become the third designer show house for Stately Homes By-the-Sea, an organization that brings in acclaimed interior designers, decorators, landscape artists and the like, and has them get creative with various spaces in and around the home.

Sickles Market curated the kitchen's pantry, and third-generation owner Bob Sickles didn't merely want to stock it, he wanted to get a reaction.

Dubbed the "Wow Pantry," Sickles has stuffed the room top to bottom with goods available at his market.

As Karen Irvine, public relations for Sickles Market, explains, "it's an idea Bob Sickles had about three years ago where we can provide pantry staples from the ordinary to the extraordinary into people's homes."

"We wanted to educate our customers on what's available to them," said Irvine, who added that the pantry stocking service is available to anyone who contacts Sickles.

Out of all the items in the pantry, Irvine and Sickles both chose to highlight Mazi Piri Piri sauce, which was recently featured bySaveur magazine. It is a Portuguese hot sauce made from tomatoes, piri piri chile peppers, oil, vinegar, and a little bit of whiskey.

"This sauce has flavor, plus it's not going to kill you," said Sickles of the sauce, which is made locally by Peter Mantas. "I use it like ketchup, I just think that it's really good."

The other part of the Holly Hill estate put together by Sickles is the garden, which is a modern-day victory garden that will produce various fruits and vegetables, and also features aesthetically-pleasing elements such as a blue gazing ball, a bird feeder, and outdoor furniture.

"We all live in very stressful situations with traffic and working and all the recreation that we try to do," said Irvine. "The garden allows us to come and enjoy and relax and see things grow, and it's very extremely rewarding."

Sickles agreed, adding that he believes "gardening and working together outside is very nurturing, it's great stuff to do with your kids, it's good exercise and it teaches about science and nutrition, all kinds of things."

"It's not like everyone's going to go back to being a farmer again, but at least you can have appreciation of it."

"That experience of farm to table happens when you pick your own tomatoes, pick your own lettuce, pick your own string beans, and are able to bring them in and eat."

The VNA Stately Homes By-the-Sea Designer Show House at Holly Hill is open Tuesday through Sunday until June 12.

You can learn more about the property, which is for sale, and find out about other designers showcased there on the Stately Homes By-the-Sea website.

Sickles Market ~ Customer's Landscape Makeover ~ Step 4

2011-05-13T14:21:00.002-04:00

Food from the Streets

2011-05-08T18:08:00.000-04:00

Leon, Nicaragua

Eating street food while traveling in foreign locales can be considered a crapshoot, so to speak. When you buy something from a vendor on the side of the road, you don’t know whether you’ll be getting a deliciously prepared meal or snack for ridiculously cheap or something that will keep you confined to your hotel room in embarrassing discomfort for a day or two or, worse yet, create more serious health complications.

Rice and Beans
Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

I say that it’s worth the risk. More than that, I say that you’re not taking much of a chance at all. To date, I have never gotten sick from eating street food; the only times I have experienced food poisoning while traveling was from restaurants (twice in Australia). This actually makes sense: there tends to be a high turnover of food from a food cart, which means that there is less of a chance that the food will be sitting around and thereby endangering your health. This isn’t to say, however, that there is no risk; I do know fellow travelers who have become ill eating street food, usually something prepared with meat. If you are going to nosh from the street, make sure the food cart is popular (this indicates that there is a high turnover and that it has a solid track record) and be extra careful with meat, which tends to be the most common culprit in food-borne illness.

Cuenca, Ecuador

Street food is more rewarding than risky. For much less money than what you’d spend at a sit-down restaurant, even an informal one, you can feast or snack on fresh food cooked to order right in front of you, in no time at all. If you’re in Latin America or Southeast Asia, regions of the world renown for their street food, you don’t even need to track it down, unless you’ve heard of a particular vendor whom you want to visit. Whatever road you’re on, in whatever city, town, or village you may be in, there most likely will be someone serving up something delicious from an ingeniously rigged cart. If you are feeling peckish, hungry, or curious, stop at a vendor that has caught your eye, check out what he or she is cooking, order what you want (just point if there is a language barrier), pay, wait a few minutes, if that, eat--either standing up or at makeshift plastic tables if available--and then be on your way, satisfied. Now that’s real fast food!

Leon, Nicaragua

More than just being cheap, fast, and delicious, street food also gives insight into local food and customs, much more so than restaurants. Folks in countries where there is a lively tradition of eating food on the go usually don’t eat in restaurants. By eating food from a vendor, you are joining what everyone else is doing. Since vendors are preparing dishes that came out of their homes, both literally and figuratively, you are tasting something truly of the place. As Francis Lam wrote in Gourmet, about the new Los Angeles restaurant, Street, that is devoted to street food, “No wonder, then, that people take their street food so personally. It’s iconic; it’s their culture.” An added bonus is that you get to meet the people who are making your food, as well as the locals consuming it.

Montanita, Ecuador

In Latin America, where I recently spent three months, street food isn’t limited to just food—you can also buy drinks—and it’s not just limited to the street—you can also buy it on the beach. Can you imagine lying on the beach in Sea Bright or Sandy Hook and having enterprising vendors selling you a treat or a drink (even a cocktail!), that is certainly more tasty and healthful than the usual beach fare of hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, and soda? And you wouldn’t even need to get up off your beach chair to track the vendor down; he or she will come to you. What service! What a delight!

Brazilian cocktail
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

I am certainly happy to be back home (I’ll be even happier when the weather heats up), but I miss street food. It is on the rise in New York City, where there’s a welcome increase of independently run trucks and carts, but it’s not the same as in Latin America or Southeast Asia, where you can’t escape it. It’s everywhere, 24/7, and it’s fantastic and cheap and tastes both of home and the exotic.

Eat from the street!

Diana Pittet the Cheesemonger

Shakespeare’s Herb Garden

2011-05-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

By Patricia Dumas

May 2011

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love,

remember. And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts.

-William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5)

To plant an herb garden is to plant a piece of poetry. The scents and taste alone can bring one to ruminate on many things- life, love, and the pleasures of the garden.

William Shakespeare was a man of many loves—and the plants of the Renaissance herb garden inspired him to pen many words in honor of them. A flower wasn’t just a plant, it was a view into the soul. The herb was more than a drop of spice into a pot of stewed venison- it was a peek into human nature.
If you plant an herb garden a’la Shakespeare, there are a few little touches you might want to include.

During Elizabethan times, the classic “Knot Garden” was made symmetrically from 4 different designs that blended in with one another in a knot-like design. Evergreen herbs, boxwood and dense-growing groundcovers were used to create the manicured and precision-cut design.

In modern times, a little Shakespearean herb garden need not be as lavishly prepared. A few choice herbs and small shrubs can be planted and trimmed to create a circle, square, or triangle. Herbs that are good to use are ones that are dense and evergreen like Rosemary, Lavender, Teucrium, Boxwood, and silvery Santolina. These plants have the ability to be shaped and cut closely to keep the design tight and shapely. We may not have serfs anymore to cut our lawns and mazes with sickles and ancient scythes, but, we have the availability of a tremendous selection of common and uncommon herbs from places like Gilbertie's Herb Farm to recreate a sense of history in our gardens.

Putting together a little Shakespearean herb garden is not Love’s Labour Lost. You’ll have a memorable quote in your head for the herbs you love, and the kids may learn a few things when you put a little placard with a quote for each herb. Here’s a few herbs and quotes that may help you start a little romantic herb garden in honor of the greatest bard and poet who ever lived:

Parsley- Used in Renaissance times to make tinctures for poisons and potions for the cure of parasites, Parsley was thought to be associated with the devil. It was believed that a parsley seed had to go to hell and back before it would sprout. “I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit.” – The Taming of the Shrew.

Thyme- Thought to protect people from witchcraft and poisons, Thyme was crushed, baked and smoked by the medieval and renaissance population- giving rise, no doubt, to the thought that they could see fairies when imbibing. “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Mint- Collected in the wild by the folks of Shakespeare’s time, mint was, (as it is now) a soothing flavorful herb for stomach upsets. If you wanted to be protected against the “evil eye” and not get drunk while you’re at it, mint was the herb of choice.

Here's flowers for you; Hot lavender, mints, savoury, marjoram; The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun, And with him rises weeping-- The Winters Tale
Fennel- A beautiful airy herb that is rooted in the past, it is as important today as it was centuries ago. Today, we plant it for its succulent, licorice- flavored bulb, and food for the Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. In Shakespeare’s world, it was considered a cure for insanity and the most effective cure for eye diseases. “There’s fennel for you and columbines.” Hamlet

Hyssop- Rich in history and allure, hyssop’s intense licorice flavor and aroma was thought to cure lung disease and prevent infection when used as a poultice. It’s a strong and powerful herb, and often known as “the holy herb” for its use in cleaning sacred places of worship. Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners; so that if we will plant Nettles or sow Lettuce, set Hyssop, and weed up Thyme.. – Othello

Today, when we buy herbs, we are usually not making poultice, charms, and potions. We buy them for scent, cooking and just the joy of having them grow in our little gardens. Large herb farms like Gilbertie's www.gilbertiesherbs.com/ in Westport, CT carry over 400 herbs for our gardening pleasure. They have meticulously researched descriptions on the markers that touch on a herb history, use, and cultivation. We don’t have to forage the fields and meadows anymore for our herbs. They are as sweet and powerful now as they were almost 500 years ago when the poet of Stratford-Upon-Avon took to walking in his garden.

There are over 130 references to flowers, herbs and other flora in Shakespeare’s poems, sonnets and plays. The natural world – often misunderstood and misinterpreted- was a large, unknown presence in William Shakespeare’s time. Trying to understand it was part of a poets job.. Thank goodness he wrote. We wouldn’t have his words that often define our thoughts nor the presence of history that is always rooted in our gardens if he didn’t.
****
Dragon Soup

14 hot onions (or 6 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic)
1 pinch salt
1 handful dill
1 handful parsley
1 pinch black pepper
1 skin goat's milk
much clean water
dragon meat (ingredients listed do up to 10 pounds)

In a cauldron, bring water to a boil Chop the onions (and garlic, if used) finely. Stir this in , adding salt, dill, and pepper to the pot.

Remove any scaly, inedible outer hide from the dragon meat. Cut the meat into manageable portions, and drop it into the pot--which must be at a roiling boil. Let boil while an inch is burned down on a thumb-thick candle. Then, stop feeding the fire. As the pot cools, stir in the goat's milk and the parsley. Let stand until the fat and oil present in all dragon meat comes to the surface. Skim this off, and then reheat the mixture for dining. Uncooked dragon meat keeps six sunrises. Cooked meat keeps for twice that.

Courtesy of www.moonmuses.com

Disclaimer: No real Dragons were hurt in the conception and idealization of this recipe.

The Art of Growing Cacao and Making Chocolate

2011-04-26T22:29:00.001-04:00

As I was riding a rented bicycle south along the road from Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica to quieter Caribbean beaches away from the pueblo, I saw a sign for Chocoart at the start of a dirt road, heading west into the lush jungle. It said that it sold chocolates and conducted tours. Even though a day at the beach was my goal, how could I turn down the chance to learn more about chocolate?

Marcus, a rustic Swiss man who has lived in Costa Rica for almost twenty years, is the owner of the farm and was our tour guide for the afternoon. Armed with a pole with a U-shaped hook to reach cacao pods high up in trees and with a machete to hack open the fruit and any threatening snakes, Marcus led us through his farm and demonstrated each step of growing cacao and transforming it into chocolate.

The luscious food that is chocolate starts as football-shaped pods of an evergreen tree, Theobroma cacao, which is thought to have originated in the Amazon. Wherever it may have had its start, cacao grows in very specific conditions, at an elevation of 650–1300 ft, in a humid environment with regular rainfall and good soil. While on my bicycle, I could see these trees growing neglected on the side of the road, the remains of a once-vital growing area that was destroyed by a fungus that came in from Ecuador. Some think that it was an intentional introduction by multinational banana growers so that they could get land cheaply.

I had seen a cacao pod before, but never "live" on a tree, and I certainly had never seen its petite, delicately/pink flowers, growing directly on the truck.

There are many varieties of cacao, and here Marcus is showing us two different kinds. They develop different colors when they have reached maturity and are ready to be harvested.

With his trusty machete, Marcus hacked a ripe pod in half, along its equator, and invited us to suck on the white, fleshy pulp that surrounds each seed/bean. The pulp was surprisingly yummy and tasted nothing like chocolate. It had more of a refreshing citrus flavor, maybe like a sour sop. Out of curiosity, I bit into a seed and it was horribly bitter.

After the pods have been harvested, the beans are fermented along with their fleshy pulp for three to nine days, a process which creates compounds that give the seeds their chocolate flavor. To halt fermentation, the now- dark-brown beans are dried. At Marcus' farm, where everything is done on a small scale, the beans are left to dry on a table in the sun, an apparatus that many local families used to have to make chocolate at home. When it rains, Marcus rolls a corrugated iron cover over the drying beans. They are also raked regular to aerate them and hasten drying.

At Chocoart, the discarded pods are deposited into a pile, where they decompose easily into fertile soil.

Once the beans are dry, they are toasted, like coffee beans. In this small factory (if you can call it this!), this process is done in a wok-like pan over an open fire. This is our first scent of chocolate.

The next step is to remove the husks of the beans, which this employee is doing by rolling a heavy, round stone over them.

To get rid of the husks, the employee pours the crushed beans onto the floor in front of a fan. The husks are so light that they float away from the precious beans, which are now called chocolate nibs.

The nibs are ground into a paste by hand.

An assistant adds melted raw sugar to the chocolate paste. Since the amount of sugar equals the weight of the chocolate beans, Chocoart's chocolate is considered 50 percent cacao. This seems quite low these days when most chocolate lovers don't settle for anything less than 70 percent, but Marcus' confections have a wonderful rich flavor, since there isn't anything else in them except sugar. On top of that, no cocoa butter has been removed.

The warm, finished product accompanied by slices of local bananas. This was definitely worth giving up a day at the beach!

Enjoy some chocolate today (preferably Fair Trade), knowing now all that goes into growing and producing it.

Cheers! Diana Pittet, the roving, chocolate-loving cheesemonger

Of Robins and Worms…

2011-04-22T16:25:00.000-04:00

By Pat Dumas

April 2011

I don’t know what made me sit down and write an entire essay on Robins and worms, but, I am fascinated by these common birds of spring and their menu of choice. I find myself watching them do their thing when I am out on the back porch.

It’s the rainy days that draw them closer. The earth is loose and inviting. I look out at my bare vegetable plot, and the Robins are there by the dozens—cocking their heads and standing ever so still with their eyes and ears focused on the wiggle of a worm underneath the soil. Seemingly, out of nowhere, they pull up a juicy earthworm and swallow it whole. Just like the typical childhood pictures you see of them—struggling with a long worm from the ground.

It used to be that Robins traveled south for the winter, and came back with much human fanfare when the weather got warmer. Not so now. They hang around all winter—not so much in sight, but down by the warmer water areas. There’s too much food around these days for them to go south, and you will hear them all winter long. It’s not until the early days of spring that they will fill the lawns with the whole extended family—dozens of them—looking for sleepy worms coming up for air.

If you have a lot of Robins in your yard, you’re lucky. That means you’ve got worms. Worms are silent little workers—tilling your soil quietly, and depositing castings to make your soil rich, aerated, and plant-friendly.

When I lived on Cape Cod for many summers, there were absolutely no worms in the soil on Beachpoint in Truro where our house was on the bay. The soil was probably too acidic to host them. In 1999, I found a little old lady(really, it’s true!) named Maggie Pipkins in a more inland part of the Cape called Buzzards Bay that was famous for her worm farm called the Cape Cod Worm Farm. She sells worms and their castings (to be blunt, worm poop), at the local flea markets in the summer. She ships them all over the country and world as well-- going to Europe and Africa by the tons. Maggie is 86 now, and quite famous for her knowledge of worms and the benefits reaped from them. They aerate the soil, help retain moisture, and compost organic garbage rapidly.

I bought a half dozen bags of worm castings to put in the new Hydrangea garden I dug out in front of the house. The soil there was brought in years ago, and it really had no organic matter to speak of. Maggie’s worm castings were groveled and tilled in with the newly planted bushes, and they grew like crazy. Although there were no worms to be found in the soil I planted in, Maggie said that worm larvae can live for years and years, and emerge when conditions are right. The extremely acidic nature of the area on the beach deters worms, but, with added soil and debris over the years, it could become worm-friendly. It didn’t matter though—the Hydrangeas did beautifully in the aerated environment with the castings, and I was thrilled.

Worms live well here at the Jersey Shore. If you have them, you’ll always have good, black, squishy earth to grow your plants in. It’s easy to make a little worm farm of your own with just a few worms, rich soil, a little manure, debris, leaves, and food scraps from your own kitchen. In the spring, I always find dozens of them under the little leaf piles that edge the driveway. The goldfish in my pond love them, and suck them down eagerly like spaghetti. I just make a little pile of worms, leaves, earth, manure, Bumper Crop, and scraps from the kitchen and put it in a big bucket. In time, the worms eat furiously through the gunk. Then, the “black gold” of the worm castings is crumbly and ready—like brownie crumbs. They make a rich and welcome commodity. I spread them around the tomato plants and vegetables, and cultivate them in. The results are phenomenal.

There’s nothing like it. The next time you see a worm, you may think differently. Lowly, yet vital, worms are life itself. As very successful Maggie Pipkins would say, “it’s a wriggly business”.

A few thoughts on my mind:

Put the bird houses up now! The sparrows, chickadees, and wrens are looking to rent in the early spring. Good landlords are in need.

Robins will often nest in the most unusual places. Anything undercover will attract them. Try putting a little open platform under the eaves where there is vining growth. Then get out the camera for quite a show!

There is no reason you can’t feed the birds in the spring and summer. All season suet by Coles stands up well to the heat and doesn’t spoil. You will attract woodpeckers, chickadees, Robins, Catbirds, and Mockingbirds while feeding their young. Coles millet seed, finch seed, and hull-less sunflower are perfect for attracting summer birds when they are feeding their young.

April can see the first wave of hummingbirds coming in from Central America. Be prepared to feed these hungry and cold travelers with a hanging nectar feeder. If they find you first, they’ll grace you with their presence all summer long.

Customer Landscape Transformation ~ Step 3:

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Customer Landscape Transformation ~ Step 3:

In this installment of our landscape makeover series, Billy and Lisa make their way around the Nursery Department at Sickles Market. They have a sense of the architecture and aesthetics they're both looking

for; now their task is to start identifying the specific plants that will work within Lisa's overall plan (and budget).

In this clip, one can really sense the excitement as actual planting gets that much closer! Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment when the planting begins.

And remember, if you want to follow along with Lisa's project at your home, here is what you'll need to to:

Take photos of your project area
Measure your space, noting sun direction
Rip out magazine pictures for inspiration
Bring everything to Sickles Market
Let us help you map out your landscape