New England is Delicious from YankeeMagazine.com

Chowders and Chips

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 +0100

I recently revisited the Chatham Pier Fish Market--a small seafood and takeout counter (formerly known as Nickerson's) on the town pier in Chatham, Massachusetts. In Yankee's May/June 2011 issue, I highlighted this place as serving some of the best chowder in the state, and I was craving another bowl.

The chowder was just as delicious as I remembered, rich in that briny-sweet clam flavor, but I also learned that the team know their way around a frialator, producing fried foods that were crisp and not the least bit greasy. We sampled the superlative onion rings, a terrific fish sandwich, and crunchy, pillowy French fries--far too much food to finish, but great to taste. I didn't manage to try the lobster roll, but I hear it's a keeper.

We took our food up to an observation deck next to the pier where we could watch the fishing boats come in and the seals bobbing in the water. It was good to see a busy working port. And I realized that this was some of the best water-view food I've had in New England. If you're visiting the Cape this summer, it's worth a stop.

Kid-Friendly Dining in Boston

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:00:00 +0100

People often ask me where they should eat, and I enjoy solving the puzzle. Last week, I even butted into a conversation between two strangers who were contemplating an overpriced, under-performing North End restaurant. When I get the sense that people are visiting from out of town, it seems like a professional obligation to make sure that they eat well. Kind of a frivolous version of the doctor who must pull over at the sight of an accident.

One of the more common questions that comes up is, "Where can we bring the kids to eat when we're in the city?" It can be a tough one, but fortunately Boston has good options in most every neighborhood.

Back Bay Jasper White's Summer Shack 50 Dalton Street The seafood is very good, but there are also hot dogs and grilled cheese. The place is noisy enough to drown out any whining, and lobster-watching will keep them entertained for a little while.

Cambridge Full Moon 344 Huron Avenue The city's only restaurant specifically designed for kids and their parents. A back corner boasts a train table and other toys and the crowd doesn't bat an eye at anything other than hitting or outright anarchy. The solid menu is full of tasty fare similar to what you might make at home, only more ambitious and without the cleanup.

Somerville Flatbread Company 45 Day Street Excellent wood-fired pizza plus candlepin bowling. What more can you ask for? Arrive very early to snag a lane, but even if you can't pull that off (weekends are crowded), the two wood ovens are hypnotic to watch. And there's live entertainment for kids on Mondays.

Other tips:

Brookline, Jamaica Plain, Charlestown, and, increasingly, the South End have large populations of young children, so all but the most formal restaurants tend to be family-friendly.

Hotel restaurants are ideal because if little ones get antsy, they can go run around in the lobby (this is essential in the winter). Also, hotel guests are the core audience, so staff are accustomed to dealing with all ages.

Fast-food, pizza, Chinese, and casual dining restaurants like Bertucci's are always safe bets, but I've found that even moderately priced bistro-style places are fine as long as you show up by 6pm. We avoid formal sit-down places and as a result, we've never felt unwelcome.

If the bar takes up more than one-third of the dining room, you're probably not welcome. Ditto if most of the chairs are high stools.

Tea Time

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 10 May 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Between this beautiful stretch of weather and the gardens blooming all around us, my thoughts are turning to springtime pleasures and rhubarb and strawberry season, and then, because of the flowers, to decidedly feminine treats like afternoon tea.

I've learned to stop saying "high tea," because even though people commonly use that term to refer to fancy cream teas with scones and petits fours, it traditionally describes a light meal of meat, sandwiches, and other savories. Brits and anglophiles are very firm on this, so I'll follow their lead.

There are many wonderful tea rooms and tea suppliers around New England. I recently recommended the Wenham Tea House in my introductory blog post here. But three other notables come to mind:

Pairings Restaurant Directed by certified "tea sommelier" Cynthia Gold, this afternoon tea inside Boston's Park Plaza Hotel serves not just excellent sips, but tea-infused savories and desserts, as well as an Earl Grey/bourbon cocktail infused with orange and finished with a splash of Prosecco.
Perennial Pleasures On summer afternoons, this heirloom Nursery in Hardwick, Vermont (to learn more about this remarkable town, read this) makes wonderful use of its lush display gardens as a setting for British cream tea. Run by an Englishwoman and her daughter--Judith and Rachel Kane--this tea is the real deal and a good enough reason for a visit to the Northeast Kingdom.
Teasy Teas This Portsmouth, NH-based company produces some of the most exquisitely delicious teas I've ever had, and they'll ship them directly to you. Some favorites: New England Blueberry Muffin and Green Mint.

A Pancake-Cake

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Here's a fresh take on the traditional cake (and a lovely way to start someone's birthday): a blueberry pancake breakfast "cake" that's frosted with whipped cream. I dreamed this confection up in honor of my son's third birthday, which is today.

We'll be having a party with friends, family, and assorted preschoolers on Saturday, so I'll be making a cake (race car-shaped) for that. I couldn't see making a separate cake just for today. But we certainly needed something. So I bought a 4-inch ring mold at my local kitchen supply store (it cost all of 59 cents). I improvised the recipe using about a 2-cup mix of cornmeal, whole wheat, and all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, some melted butter, a little sugar, about 2 teaspoons of baking powder, some salt, and enough milk to make a thick batter. I don't like to measure early in the morning, but if you're more exacting, you can try this buttermilk pancake recipe.

I put about a half-tablespoon of butter in a skillet and let that melt over medium heat. I laid the ring in the butter, ladled in some batter, and let that cook until the sides began to firm up and appear dry. Once they were set, I removed the ring with tongs (the butter keeps it from sticking) and flipped the pancake over. A quick cook on the other side and I had my first layer. I repeated this two more times.

In a separate bowl, I whipped up some heavy cream with sugar and spread that between the layers along with some thinly sliced strawberries.

Now, the big downside to this cake is that the pancakes really should be close to room temperature before you start layering them with whipped cream. Otherwise, the frosting tends to melt. But I was able to pull the cake off with tepid pancakes, and Max didn't seem to mind a bit.

A Tart and a Riot

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

First, on the matter of last week's ricotta tart, I did make it and the reviews were mixed. My Aunt Joan said, "This is good enough to make you slap your mother!" (she has collected some great Southern expressions from a Virginia-born friend). But I found the tart too sweet and one-note. I had substituted glazed apricots for the candied citron and in retrospect, this was a mistake. The apricots weren't tart enough, whereas the bitterness of the citron would've played well off the sugar.

Also, the crust was tricky. The recipe called for Cognac as the liquid and I was intrigued. As many of you know, basic pie crust is usually made with just three ingredients (or four, if you count salt): flour, butter (or shortening), and water. Some people add egg yolks or vinegar to make their crust more tender or flaky, but the classic recipe is very simple. And in that trio of ingredients, the water's job is to make the crust more pliant and easier to roll out and shape. But it's a balancing act because water combined with flour produces gluten, which is the tough, rubbery protein that gives bread its bounce. You don't want your crusts to be rubbery or tough, so you have to add that water carefully and sparingly, first coating the flour with butter to inhibit the gluten.

Substituting Cognac for water would eliminate the gluten problem. Genius! Only the dough became very crumbly (you do want some elasticity) and I had to add water anyway to be able to roll it out. If I make this recipe again, I'll do a half-water/half-Cognac mix and I'll also add a tablespoon of sugar to the crust to make it tastier and more golden-brown. I'll cut the amount of sugar in the filling by a third, and toast and puree the pine nuts to boost the flavor.

And that's a little window into the recipe development process! Maybe I'll polish this one up and run it in the March/April 2012 issue.

Here's another window, this time into twenty-something wine culture: My husband (he writes about innovation for the Globe) and I were invited to a Boston wine tasting for the post-collegiate set called Wine Riot. The basic premise is that the wine world is often snobby and stuffy and this keeps young drinkers from taking up the hobby. Why not fill a room with winery reps pouring one-ounce samples of their wares, play cool music, and make it a party? Wine Riot launched 2009 in Boston, but now the organizers have taken it national, with events in New York, DC, and Los Angeles. It's great to see something so novel and genre-busting take root here in our storied city. The Park Plaza Castle's large main hall was filled with an impressive crowd of happy drinkers, diverse in every way but for age, which left me feeling very much like Aunt Amy coming in to see what the young 'uns are up to. But that's neither here nor there.

There were food vendors serving ribs, burgers, and savory pies. Taza Chocolate was giving out samples. In one corner, attendees clustered around a booth with costumes and a professional photographer who snapped funny pictures of them and their friends. Not your average wine tasting. The organizers even developed a Wine Riot app, which allowed you to navigate booths, note your favorite wines, and track the most popular pours in real time, which meant that people tended to cluster around the top 3 wineries.

Tracking that popularity contest led to a few revelations: Young drinkers like sweet wine. The consistent favorite was a California dessert winery Quady Winery. Not a big surprise there, as most people's wine preferences tend to start sweet and go drier with experience. And who, even among seasoned drinkers, doesn't love a good dessert wine? Young drinkers like inexpensive wine, too, just as you'd expect. Many of the wines had cute, youth-oriented names like Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz and Relax Riesling.

What was surprising was how much interest and enthusiasm there was in the room. Wine marketers take note.

Easter Sweets

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

We have a holiday-intensive life, celebrating Passover at home and with my husband's family, and Easter with my family. This year, we're headed to my sister's for Easter Sunday and my job is to do dessert--my favorite duty.

Thinking about what to make, I was reminded of a journal of recipes that I started in my teens and now keep on a bookshelf in the dining room. It's a little Italian book with blue marbled paper on the cover and recipes copied in my best 15-year-old handwriting. My intention was to illustrate each page, but I lost steam after a few tries (I'm not much of an artist). Still, it's a sweet reminder of early ambitions.

I had always intended to make this Torta di Ricotta that I copied in there so many years ago, but I never did get around to it. I can't even remember where I found the recipe. But this seems as good an opportunity as any to try it. I'm on the fence about using the old-fashioned citron, though. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Torta di Ricotta

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon table salt

3/4 cups unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Cognac

For the filling:

5 tablespoons chopped almonds or pignoli nuts

2 cups chopped citron

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 cups whole-milk ricotta

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Garnish: Confectioner's sugar

To make the pastry , sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Sprinkle with Cognac and work the dough with your hands until smooth. Roll into a ball, then press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and put away to chill for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. Meanwhile, butter a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Next make the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the chopped nuts, citron, and flour, then add the ricotta. In a large bowl, using a standing or hand-held mixer, beat the eggs until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar in a slow stream and beat until thick and pale, then stir in almond extract.
Spoon about one-third of the egg mixture into the cheese mixture and gently fold in until evenly mixed. Add remaining eggs and fold in as well. Set aside.
Unwrap pastry dough on a well-floured surface, then cut away one-third of the dough and set aside. Roll the remaining two-thirds of the dough out into a 12-inch circle and gently transfer to the prepared pie dish. Cut away any excess dough from the edges and crimp using a fork. Pour the cheese filling into the crust. Take the remaining one-third of the dough and roll that out into a 10-inch circle. Cut the pastry into 3/4-inch strips and lay them over the cheese in a lattice pattern. Bake until the crust is browned and filling is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely at room temperature, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Almost-There Salad

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Yesterday it felt like summer, today it's back to early spring. My appetite goes all over the map during these in-between weeks. One day I want hearty food, the next day light. The same thing happens in the early fall, when we're still eating summer tomatoes and peaches, but starting to see squashes at the market.

This salad makes a very good lunch or light supper for a day just like this. It's a modern interpretation of the classic Waldorf Salad--a creation of Oscar Tschirky, the first maitre d'hotel of the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

The classic Waldorf was just apples and celery in mayonnaise. Over time, raisins and walnuts were added. But I've never been a fan of fruit in mayonnaise, or raisins in salads. So I replaced the raisins with red grapes and tossed them with apples and lettuce in a simple lemon vinaigrette. Then I mixed chicken, celery, and lots of toasted walnuts in a creamy dressing of Greek yogurt with mayo, lemon juice, tarragon, and onion. It's like a chicken salad mixed in with a green salad combined with a fruit salad. And all those parts come together in a fresher, more flavorful whole.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Note: A 1 1/2 pound rotisserie chicken will give you enough meat for this salad.

Active time: 30 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes

Makes: 4 servings as a lunch entree, 6 as a side dish

For the dressings:

1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/3 cup (about 3 ounces or 100 g) reduced fat Greek-style yogurt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon (see Notes)

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced sweet onion, such as Walla Walla or Vidalia

For the salad:

2/3 cup walnut pieces

1/2 pound breast and/or thigh meat from a rotisserie chicken

1 1/2 large celery stalks, sliced crosswise very thinly

1 cup halved seedless red grapes

1 medium apple (I recommend Cortland, Gala, Ginger Gold, or Fuji for salads because they don't brown quickly) cored and cut into thin wedges

6 ounces butter lettuce

Equipment: 8- to 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet

First, make the dressings: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon lemon juice with the olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside. In another small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, tarragon, honey, lemon zest, remaining salt, and pepper. Stir in onion. Set aside while you prepare the salad.
Toast walnuts in skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Pour into a medium bowl and let cool as you prepare the chicken: Remove any skin and tear the chicken into 2- or 3-inch strips. Add to the bowl with the walnuts. Add the celery and the yogurt dressing and stir so that everything is evenly covered.
In your serving bowl, toss the lettuce, grapes, and apple slices with the lemon-oil dressing. Spoon the chicken mixture over all. Use your hands to lightly fluff the leaves and grapes, just to make it look pretty. Serve on chilled salad plates.

Cider: The Other White Wine

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

One of the upsides to our recent trip to Montreal was the chance to stock up on some excellent Quebecois hard ciders. I say "hard cider" here because we're talking about the alcoholic product, not pressed apple juice. It drives cider-makers crazy that people use the same word for both products, pointing out that we don't call grape juice "wine," and that cider really should just refer to fermented apple juice.

In any case, we've sipped our way through a couple of bottles and the drinking has been very good. One favorite: this "Ros�" from Ciderie St-Nicolas, which gets is red color from strawberries and raspberries added to the apple juice. Often, multi-fruit blends like this make me nervous--will it taste like a wine cooler?--but this cider manages to be fairly dry despite its fresh fruit flavors.

I love cider because it's a fully local product in many regions where grapes are less likely to thrive, as they are here in New England. The noble grape may sit at the top of the oenological pyramid, but apples can produce ciders with complexity, variability, and plain deliciousness. And since ciders are generally made to be drunk fresh, there's no need to invest in a wine cellar and wait for them to age. One of my favorite parts of working on my apple book was getting to sample many ciders from around the world.

I'd love to see a more vibrant national cider culture, complete with cider trails for tourists (who, incidentally, would be safer in their travels than their wine-drinking friends, since cider typically has just 5 to 7 percent alcohol). We can look to Quebec for inspiration on this front.

Here are some of my local favorites:

West County Cider, Colrain, MA, Heritage Apple Blend Vibrant with acidity, spice, and abundant fizz and anchored by forward tannins and minerality, this cider blends Baldwin, Roxbury Russet, and various European cider apples for a nice balance of flavor and structure. I love the mix of native Massachusetts apples (the Baldwin and Roxbury) with proven Old World varieties. The late Terry Maloney, who founded West County with his wife, Judith, was a driving force in the American cider revival, and his family still produces beautiful ciders, many made from single apple varieties. This blend is my favorite, and it's terrific with a cup of traditional New England clam chowder. westcountycider.com

Eden Ice Cider Company, West Charleston, VT, Calville Blend Ice Cider Much like ice wine made from grapes, ice cider (or apple icewine, as it's sometimes called) is made from juice that is concentrated by freezing. There are different ways to do this, but here the juice is extracted from the apples and then frozen, at which point some of the water separates out and is removed. The concentrated juice is then fermented and aged. This wine is so rich, you could really serve it for dessert, but it's never cloying, thanks to the perfectly balanced acidity. It's ambrosia in a glass. edenicecider.com

Farnum Hill Ciders, Lebanon, NH, Summer Cider Light and lovely, with lots of delicate bubbles, plenty of crisp, tart apple and subtle tannins, it has a long dried apricot finish. Lovers of sweet cider may find that this is a dry type that they can embrace, particularly chilled and served at a summer picnic, or alongside grilled fish. povertylaneorchards.com

Gourmet Getaway

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Last Saturday, my husband and I dropped our son off at my sister's house in Lake George, NY so that we could savor a single kid-free night in Montreal while he enjoyed some cousinly mayhem. We haven't yet taken any longer grown-up vacations, though we know plenty of people who enjoy week-long trips away from their two-year-olds. What can I say? We're wimps.

But you're not here to read about parenting. You're here for the food. And we did have some incredible food.

There is much that I love about Montreal, but four things stand out:

1)It's close enough to go for a weekend.
2)Using foreign currency makes it feel farther away.
3)People let me prattle on in broken high school French.
4)The markets.

Montreal is home to four wonderful indoor/outdoor food markets: Jean-Talon, Atwater, Maisonneuve, and Lachine. I've only ever visited the first two, and I liked them so much that it seemed worthwhile to return once more. The others will have to wait for next time, hopefully soon.

Jean-Talon, located in the Petite Italie neighborhood northeast of Mont-Royal, was the first stop. By most accounts, this is the favored market in the city, more workaday and less touristy than Atwater, though stocked with an incredible array of cheeses, meats, charcuterie, vegetables, fruits, maple syrup (Canada produces about 80% of the world's supply and most everyone was celebrating the arrival of this season's sirop d'erable), Moroccan pastries, spices, olives, and ciders. I skipped over to an enormous apple display, hoping to find some exotic Canadian varieties but seeing only familiar Cortlands, Macs, and Empires. But I did have the best crepe of my life at La Creperie du Marche--a pile of cheese, egg, tomato, and caramelized onion on a fragrant buckwheat pancake, washed down with a cup of cider.

We had less time at Atwater (so much to see in just 24 hours!), but there were delicious cheeses and pates at Fromagerie Hamel. By the way, am I the only one who has noticed that with every successive visit, Montreal grows more exclusively French. Everyone is graciously willing to speak English if you ask, but the street signs, the shops...there's a stronger sense of French identity, which makes the city even more appealing.

We admired the gorgeous Atwater produce displays (see the photos at the right), bought some more hard cider and ice cider at the government-controlled liquor store. And then we breezed through Premiere Moisson, which is like the Quebecois version of our Au Bon Pain or Panera, only so much better that it almost breaks your heart. And I say that as a relative fan of our own restaurant chains. Stop here, or at one of the other locations, for a light lunch or a pastry. The breads are beautiful, the jams and chocolates tempting, the pastries delicate. The (organic) flour is even produced by Moisson in partnership with a local milling company. And the l'erable festival was in full swing with maple tarts, maple muffins, maple cookies, and a croissant stuffed with maple cream.

It was so hard to leave, so lovely to come home.

Spring Awakening

rss@ypi.com (Amy Traverso) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Like many of my contemporaries, I've plugged into the spiritual virtues of mindfulness, of being "present in the moment." As a New Englander, I understand the value of patience. But this winter has tested my endurance and my ideals have gone out the window. I want spring! This month simply can't end soon enough.

I did find some consolation a few weeks ago on a trip down to Rhode Island's South County, the coastal region around Narragansett. The skies were only partly cloudy. The mid-50s temperatures were comparatively balmy. With some old friends, I savored an al fresco meal of just-harvested oysters on the waterside dock at the Matunuck Oyster Bar in East Matunuck. We sampled local Moonstones and Matunucks along with some Pacific Kumamotos and washed it all down with some Gr�ner Veltliner (if you haven't tried this pairing, you're in for a treat). We also headed over to the Coastal Growers Winter Farmers Market in North Kingstown, which not only inspired visions of ripe summer produce but also offered a taste of what may well be the best ice cream in New Engalnd. More on that to come.

In short, Rhode Island restored my calm. I can't wait to go back.