Huge 'Shroom at Smokejacks

I got an unusual phone call this afternoon from Josh Robinette, head chef at Smokejacks. "We just got a 25-pound puffball mushroom from a forager," he explained excitedly. "Do you want to come see it."

Of course I did...I grabbed a camera and headed up the restaurant. The big bad fungus was sitting on a sheet pan in the walk-in, but Chef R. brought it upstairs  so I could snap a pic in better light. 

Can you believe that thing? It's as big as the table!

What's he going to do with it? Put it in risotto, for one thing. It'll also make an appearance in the resto's wild mushroom ravioli, which is apparently a big seller. If you want to try it for yourself, you should head there soon...They expect it to be gone in a few days.

While I was there I asked the staffers if anything else noteworthy was going on, and owner Susan Huling mentioned that she thinks the new menu is better than ever.

She gave me a copy, and here are some of the highlights:

~ Local potato soup with scallions, cheddar, bacon and sour cream

~ Duck confit quesadilla with black beans, queso blanco and jalapeno salsa

~ Hickory-smoked Vermont pork ribs with black strap molasses bbq sauce, maple baked beans and slaw

The cheese list, which is always excellent (but pricey), currently includes many of my local favorites, including Jasper Hill's stinky, silky, perfect "Winnemere," Thistle Hill's fruity and nutty "Tarentaise," and  Vermont Butter & Cheese company's goaty, ripened "Bonne Bouche." 

 

Help Make Jelly Bean History!

The Jelly Belly company is currently holding a contest to select the taste of their next jelly bean. I've always been intrigued by JBs larger than life flavors, many of which taste like pieces of fruit on steroids. Ever tried the juicy pear? That's what I mean.

And I enjoy the weird stuff they come up with for novelties, such as candies made to taste like baby wipes, toothpaste and pencil shavings. Who thinks this stuff up? 

The ones currently in the running are of the more normal, yet still creative, variety. They are:

~ Sublime Chili Lime
~ Honey
~ Thai Iced Tea
~ Mojito
~ Acai Berry

You can vote here

While you're on the website, you won't want to miss their art gallery. It features pictures, mainly of famous people, made out of...you guessed it...jelly beans.

I like the sweet American Gothic, but was also quite impressed by portraits of famous folk such as young Queen Elizabeth II and Elvis. My only gripe -- they should have made Elvis with peanut butter and banana-flavored Jelly Belly beans. The portrait of Reagan seems like a fitting tribute, since it's rumored that he kept a jar of JB beans in the Oval Office.

I once made a paramecium out of frosting, licorice whips and other candies for a seventh grade science project, but it wasn't nearly as accomplished.

Alice Levitt's 100

Hi there, Omnivore gourmets and gourmands (Yes, there is a difference, look it up). For those who don't know me yet, I am Seven Days' food intern. Think of me as Suzanne Jr. You may remember me from such stories as Exquisite Corpse, detailing my week as a butcher, and Cart Course, in which I ate from every cart on Church Street. Suzanne asked that I contribute my own take on the meme about which she last blogged. I pride myself on my exhaustive list of animals eaten, but I don't drink, so we'll see if I can compete.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea - Nettles are great, so versatile. I love buying a big bag of them mixed with carrots and frying them up as a side with Asian meals.
3. Huevos rancheros - A bad idea.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - I have had plenty of alligator. My brother once made me alligator marsala at his late, great Essex restaurant, Feast Market and Cafe.
6. Black pudding - Any kind of sausage is just fine in my book, but "puddings" tend to be a bit grainy for my taste.
7. Cheese fondue - One of my favorite lazy winter meals is microwaving up a personal size container from Switzerland (think fondue ramen) and dipping stale bread until I am lulled into a carbohydrate coma.
8. Carp
9. Borscht - Hot, cold, spicy, sweet. Too many permutations to count.
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - I prefer Banana and Slim Jim.
14. Aloo gobi - I would only have this at a buffet. If I'm getting Indian, I want lamb or goat!
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - A cheese that will be added to the "to do" list.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - I don't drink, but I had a glut of elderberry wine for my story, Pollinate This
19. Steamed pork buns - Fuck yes. I always get a pile of cha siu bao to bring home from Dobe and Andy in Montreal
20. Pistachio ice cream - I like it best with cherries in it
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - Stunt eating. If you're not in college, don't do it.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - A childhood pre-nap favorite. You need a nap after that.
33. Salted lassi - Salted drinks may sound like a bad idea, but I always love them. Try the salted lemonade at Pho Dang and you'll become a believer too.
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - There is no greater pleasure than the last bits of ice cream, jacketed in frozen root beer at the end of an A&W float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea - I grew up around a lot of English people. I always suspected even they drank it only to be polite.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat - Another favorite. I slightly prefer goat to lamb. My local supermarket, the Colchester Shaw's usually carries stew goat. Try making your own.
42. Whole Insects - I wish.
43. Phaal - This is the hottest form of curry. Frankly, I don't know if you can even get it in the US. I've never gone hotter than a vindaloo.
44. Goat’s milk - Tastes like... goat.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - I hear it isn't even that tasty
47. Chicken tikka masala - My earliest memory is eating this at Madhur Jaffrey's restaurant in New York.
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - Whenever I am at a gas station back home in Connecticut, I must pick up some. When I can't get those, Sam Mazza's are quite similar.
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I find the Big Mac to be an example of poor food construction. I am more of a BK Stacker girl.
56. Spaetzle - The first time my boyfriend tried this Swiss/German dumpling, he remarked, "This is so good, I can't believe it's not meat."
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips - Dog food. No really. I have only ever eaten them in dog treats. Yes, I eat dog treats. What's your problem?
61. S’mores - I like to make them with a Vosges Naga (curry and coconut) bar
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - This is clay. That is not food.
64. Currywurst - Once again: Sausage good. Curry better.
65. Durian - Don't be a wimp. It's like honeydew. With camembert. Start with an M-Saigon bubble tea, then build. You can get a whole one in Montreal's Chinatown
66. Frogs’ legs - I don't know how I've missed them. Soon, I promise.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis - Stomach, fine. Oatmeal, ew.
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho - Hate it.
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost - This is a sharp Norwegian cheese. This has piqued my interest, so it will make my list imminently.
75. Roadkill - I have eaten a lot of game that could have been road kill.
76. Baijiu - This is Chinese moonshine. I have a friend who regularly brings it back from China. Its very odor frightens me.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky - I much prefer Yan Yan. You dip them yourself. If you are a man, try Men's Pocky, with coffee flavoring. If you are a woman, avoid it, lest you should grow a penis.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - It doesn't have the stars, but Sona in LA totally deserves them. Check out my blog post about it on www.AliceEats.com
85. Kobe beef - Horribly overrated. I prefer Kurobuta pork.
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse - I cooked it on my George Foreman grill. My boyfriend had indigestion for days.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - Coming out of a can makes food better, right?
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa - I had a bunch of harissa at the EatingWell test kitchen, but believe me, they were not adding rose petals
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano - One of my favorites. Jesus, I miss La Carreta.
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta - A specialty of mine.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake - I think I may have in the mists of time, but can't recall. I'm not a huge fan of the texture of reptiles as a whole, but anything for a laugh.

To learn more about me and other weird things I have eaten, check out my website, www.AliceEats.com.

The Omnivore's Hundred

This delightful meme is the brainchild of Andrew Wheeler, who is co-author of a blog called Very Good Taste. Andrew made a list of 100 foods every omnivore should try, from the utterly mundane (s'mores) to the absolutely weird (roadkill).

Here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

I've eaten a respectable 68 of the 100, and there were just a handful of things I don't think I'd be willing to try (whole insects...although I could be persuaded, roadkill and fugu).

Here goes...

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl [was the bowl actually sourdough? I don't freakin' know!]
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat [I've eaten goat, but it was roasted and in tacos]
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini [I prefer dirty vodka martinis]
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost [hate, hate, hate]
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. [The French Laundry. Yah, baby]
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare [if regular old rabbit counts, I'm in]
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam [huh, I think I must have tried it, but I can't remember a specific instance, so I'm not gonna mark it]
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

"Top Chef of the Champlain Valley," revealed!

It sounds like a nightmare: You're seated at a raised table in front of an audience a couple hundred people strong, and they're all watching you eat. And then, as you raise a forkful of risotto to your mouth, a big glob falls off your fork.

But it wasn't a dream. It happened yesterday evening during my stint as a volunteer judge for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging's "Top Chef of the Champlain Valley" competition. My fellow judges -- Jozef Harrewyn of Chef's Corner, Eating Well's Carolyn Malcoun and food-sourcing expert Annie Harlow -- and I were tasked with tasting a series of dishes prepared by high-profile local chefs, and deciding whose cuisine would reign supreme. The MC, as it usually is at such events, was the ebullient Sean Buchanan, executive chef of Solstice at the Stowe Mountain Lodge.

 

The three contestants are all well-known and accomplished: David Hoene of Pauline's Café, Connie Jacobs-Warden of Chow! Bella, and Sam Palmisano of Pulcinella's. The secret ingredients they had to incorporate: oyster mushrooms and celeriac. They also got to "shop" from a beautiful bounty of local ingredients, such as Misty Knoll chicken, baby eggplant, heirloom tomatoes and artisan cheeses.

After the scores had been tallied and the judges conferred, we announced Sam Palmisano as the winner.

Why? First of all, he did the best job of integrating the required ingredients into his dishes. Each participant had to make an appetizer and an entrée. Sam's app was a celeriac and oyster 'shroom bisque, which was thick, creamy and delicious, and, as a bonus, was topped with the mushroom and strips of julienned and fried celeriac. For his entrée, he stuffed a chicken breast with oyster mushrooms and served it over chipotle-Gouda polenta and chard, in a puddle of mushroom jus.

Secondly, everything he and his team made tasted great. The polenta was creamy and savory, the chicken was nicely browned on the outside, but not overcooked, and each item was properly seasoned. (One of my Vermont dining pet peeves is the lack of proper salting in restaurants). 

Thirdly, he resisted the temptation to make things complicated. With so many delightful ingredients available, it would have been easy to pile bunches of them onto each plate, but that can easily lead to a muddle of flavors. It seemed that he decided what would best highlight his skills and the secret ingredients without getting distracted by the cornucopia of colorful fruits and veggies.

So, congratulations Sam!

* Photo: Sam Palmisano and a team-member

Eating at the Allbee's

I had a rather unusual dinner on Monday. It wasn't unusual because of the food, which was fresh and completely local (save the holy trinity of olive oil, salt and pepper), because that's how I eat nearly every day.

It was unusual because of where I was and with whom I was eating -- in Montpelier at the Secretary of Agriculture's apartment, with the Secretary and his wife, a few reporters and a handful of ag. experts.

Secretary Allbee and his wife wore matching Cabot aprons as they whipped up an extensive spread, using a great deal of produce from their garden supplemented with items from Farmers' Market and tons of local cheese. The idea was to kick off national "Farmers' Market Week" with a menu featuring the bounty of Vermont.

It was all part of a challenge Allbee proposed: “I would like to challenge all Vermonters, as well as people across the country, to eat local for a meal, a day or even the full week during National Farmers Market Week. When you buy local you can reduce energy costs and get food items that are harvested at the peak of freshness for better taste and nutrition. Eating local gives you a chance to know the people who grow your food and how it is grown. It also keeps money in our local communities.”

I wanted to ask how our embattled compost facilities and Intervale farmers' hoop-houses fit into the puzzle, but given the venue, I wasn't sure that would be appropriate.

Here's the menu:

~ Herbed iced tea
~ Cherry tomatoes on skewers with Maplebrook mozzerella and basil
~ Homemade crackers (two kinds) and homemade wheat bread with Cabot sour cream dip, Vermont Butter & Cheese chevre, Taylor Farms gouda, Cabot cheddar and Bonnieview's rich, tangy Mossend Blue.
~ Zucchini pancakes with creamy dipping sauce
~ Cheese pie with local bacon
~ Ratatouille
~ Roasted potatoes and green beans
~ Salad with blueberries, tomatoes
~ Raspberry sorbet served with fresh berries and maple shortbread cookies

Quite the meal, huh? And everything was really well-prepared: the ratatouille was cooked just the right amount, leaving the vegetables intact but tender; the roasted beans had a hint of brown on them; the rich cheese pie was studded with pieces of (local) bacon; and the shortbread was sweet, but not too sweet.

Because there were so many guests, I didn't get to ask the Allbee's a lot of questions about their everyday food habits, so I don't know if this localvore meal differs much from their typical diet (and despite my curiosity, I didn't ask to go through their cupboards). When the fridge was opened and closed during the course of the evening, I did spy lots of local stuff therein: mustard, cheese, beer, etc. Plus a few cans of Coke.

So many state officials are talking up "eating local" these days that I'd love to know what all of them are really eating. Do you think Jim Douglas would let me check out his fridge?