Dancing Spoon

Farm to Fork New England

Very Local Eating

by J. Michael Wheeler
Know Your Farmer
You never know where you might eat that eight-course meal; it might be in a barn, a pasture, a micro-creamery, an heirloom apple orchard or even at a dairy. What you will be assured of, at a New England Farm 2 Fork Project, is that Chef Sebastian Carosi and his band of roving rural culinary visionaries will wow you with their on farm dinners, luncheons, brunches, and other culinary events throughout the different New England seasons.

The New England Farm 2 Fork Project is an eco-gastronomic organization that supports a biodiverse, sustainable food supply, local producers, heritage food-ways, and the pleasures that surround the American kitchen and table. They work closely with farmers and producers to raise local food supply awareness, and to support sustainable agriculture and economic development throughout the Northeast.

Our destiny and mission is to serve the best local, sustainably produced artisan ingredients and to treat them with respect and simplicity in our cuisine...This means using as much of a products resources as possible, be it the greens from garden grown organic heirloom beets, or the livers and gizzards of pastured barnyard heritage chickens...Our deep-rooted regional influences have shaped and continue to shape New England Farm Cuisine and inspire our cooking and food on a daily basis. — Chef Sebastian Carosi

The project is the brainchild of Chef Sebastian Carosi, an admitted local foods junkie, turophile, and Slow Food  practitioner. Chef Carosi wholeheartedly supports responsible agricultural methods, exposes diners to local food resources, and is cultivating a more conscientious food culture throughout New England.

What the Indians Ate Dinner, on May 29th & 30th, is the next New England Farm 2 Fork Project event. Here’s what’s on the menu:

Heirloom appaloosa bean, smokehouse ham hock and American snapping turtle soup, shagbark hickory cured steelhead with red alder smoked sea salt and crushed wild ramps, ossipee mountain cherry wood smoked trout cakes with misickquatash, air dried Maine raised red deer with Perkins Cove juniper berries, corn smut honey, fried parsnips and foraged wild greens, smoked squash and wild maine moose meat pie, indian fry bread ‘taco’ with braised black bear, shaved lettuce, smoked pepper sauce and pickled sunflower seeds, sinzibukwud cured magret duck breast with suppawn, crushed heirloom crane-berries and swamp cabbage.

And for desert? Abenaki Indian pudding with heirloom local rhubarb jam. Of course.

Wow.
Upcoming Events: A Shaker Supper in the Orchard, A Gravenstein cider press & dinner, and National Moldy Cheese Day & A Made in New England Cheese Social. Keep up on their Schedule. 

The New England Farm 2 Fork Project

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Top 5 Restaurant Complaints

Out Eating

by J. Michael Wheeler
What's Your Gripe?
Sylvia Rector reports in the Detroit Free Press (Check it out, guys: The Top 5 restaurant gripes, 5/13/10) that it's not slow service, poorly cooked food, or even mixed up orders. In her survey of 100 diners who responded to questions about restaurant pet peeves, it's "the little things that drive people up the wall."

The Top Five Gripes
No. 1 by far, was a surprise: Significant numbers of diners of both sexes detest being addressed as "you guys" -- as in "How are you guys?" or "Are you guys ready to order?"

No. 2 Servers might take home bigger tips if they didn't ask, "Do you need change?" when they pick up a guest's check with cash. Diners considered it presumptuous or thought it was an effort to get an extra-large tip -- so they left less in protest. Most servers will tell you they're only trying to avoid an unnecessary trip back to the table.

No. 3 Checks brought too soon irk many readers; most interpret it as a sign the restaurant wants them to leave quickly. The comments of Liz Simmons of Mt. Clemens were typical: "I truly hate when the server slaps the bill down on the table while I'm still eating. ... What if I decide I want dessert? What if I want a cup of coffee to wind down my evening? ... I don't very often have a night out in my budget anymore and would love to savor it a bit," she said.

No. 4 Wiping down tabletops and chair seats with the same dirty cloth all over the dining room is a serious turnoff -- and it must be common, because so many diners described the same scene: "They take a rag that sits on a counter or shelf and fling all the residue and crumbs off the edge (of the table). Naturally a large portion falls on the chairs. ... What do we do? Yes, we use the same rag to wipe the seats. We then put the rag back ... for its next table wipe. Yuck," wrote Gene and Sylvia Oakie of Warren. And Alan Schebil of Auburn Hills calls the practice "repulsive" and adds, "I've gotten so paranoid I refuse to allow my silverware to sit directly on the table."

No. 5 Dining room noise, especially loud music. "My No. 1 pet peeve in a restaurant is the music," wrote Sharon Rugh of Shelby Township. "It annoys me beyond reason when the music ceases to become background music." Said Lorelei Christy of Farmington Hills: "People ... going to a restaurant for a nice meal and conversation with friends ... should not have to shout to be heard."

Read the full article at Detroit Free Press online Freep.com

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Manly Cupcakes

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
Butch Bakery
Rum & Coke, Mojito, Beer Run, B-52, Driller, Jackhammer, Tailgate: Dude, muscle your way up to the counter and grab a cupcake?

Yeah, these ain’t your granny’s cute little fussy cupcakes, these are MANLY CUPCAKES made for MEN! The Butch Bakery in Manhattan has a mission:

Our objective is simple. We’re men. Men who love cupcakes. Not the Frilly Pink-Frosted-Sprinkles-and-Unicorns kind of cupcakes. We make MANLY CUPCAKES for MANLY MEN.

David Arrick, formerly an attorney for a major Wall Street law firm, felt it was time to combine a masculine aesthetic to a traditionally cute product: the cupcake. When a magazine article mentioned that cupcakes were a combination of everything "pink, sweet, cute, and magical,” he felt it was time to take action, and butch it up.  He decided to create a company where "Butch meets Buttercream.” No "golf tee" cupcakes, or "baseball" cupcakes, but products that guys would love.

  WE BUILD A BETTER CUPCAKE. See plans below.

Butch cupcakes are topped with a macho chocolate disk like the Woodland Camo, Wood Grain, Houndstooth, Plaid, Checkerboard, or Marble. They’ve got Dude-flavors like Beer Run, a chocolate beer cake with beer-infused buttercream topped with crushed pretzels, or the Driller, a maple cake loaded with milk-chocolate ganache and topped with, what else, crumbled bacon!

Butch Bakery cupcakes are made to order in New York City commercial kitchen, and delivered directly to homes or offices within Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.  Butch Bakery plans to open a commercial bakery storefront by Spring, 2010.

Here Dude, have a Mojito (rum-soaked lime cake with mint white-chocolate ganache). Butch Bakery.

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Cooking with Photoshop

Beyond Above &

by J. Michael Wheeler
Boot Up the Oven
Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m both a foodie and a bit of a geek. Cooking with Photoshop...I can virtually smell it now! Enjoy.

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

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A Chocolate Air Valentine

Beyond Above &

by J. Michael Wheeler
Whiffable Chocolate Powder
A box of chocolates is so last century. This Valentine’s Day you can get her breathable chocolate from Le Whif! Really! Le Whif is a flavor delivery device invented by Harvard University biomedical engineering professor David Edwards at his ArtScience Labs (which has a base at, oddly enough, the cultural center Le Laboratoire, in Paris, France).

And just what is Le Whif?

Le Whif is a new delicious approach to eating by breathing. With Le Whif, we inhale food, like chocolate, into our mouths and taste it, without chewing, an experience of flavor without the calories. Le Whif is a fun new way to experience chocolate without the calories and coffee without the cup. – Le Whif Brochure

Chocolate without chewing? Coffee without, well, coffee? I just hope Professor Edwards and ArtScience Labs haven’t started work on Le Kiss.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

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Kitchen Sink Cadillac

Beyond Way Above and

by J. Michael Wheeler
Kitchen Sink Cadillac

Must see slide show from the New York Times:

Built by General Motors for its 1956 Motorama show, a touring exhibition of extravagant dream cars and the latest automotive technology, this Cadillac was loaded with conveniences to serve that era's on-the-go potentate with a hearty appetite. The space once devoted to the front passenger seat is replaced by a raft of culinary gadgets, including a toaster, refrigerator, hot plate, cutlery holder and, yes, a kitchen sink.

See the Kitchen Sink Cadillac

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Chocolate (Postage) Stamps

Beyond Above and

by J. Michael Wheeler
Who Wants to Lick the Stamps?

Send your loved ones chocolate in the mail. Well, actually on the mail. In France, (where else?) food and postage are strangely blended as a .56€ first class postage stamp. These chocolate-scented postage stamps tell the story of chocolate from bean to bar in ten scented stamps.

At La Boutique Web du Timbre, the French Post Office online stamp store, the Bloc Le Chocolat is described:

Le chocolat est un aliment issu de la fève de cacao après fermentation et torréfaction. Le cacaoyer est originaire d’Amérique centrale et des forêts tropicales humides d’Amazonie. Monnaie d’échange, nourriture des Dieux, favoris des cours des grands rois, plaisir des enfants d’aujourd’hui, le chocolat est devenu un mythe dont l’histoire est retracée sur un bloc de 10 timbres traités de façon hyper réaliste. Le bloc est imprégné d’une senteur chocolat.

(Chocolate is a food derived from the cocoa bean after fermentation and roasting. The cacao tree is native to Central America and the rainforests of the Amazon. Currency exchange, food of the gods, favorite of the great kings, and joy for children of today, chocolate has become a myth whose history is traced on a block of 10 hyper realistic stamps. The block is impregnated with a chocolate scent.)

Your Bloc Le Chocolat is available at La Poste in France of course, but you can order a box, I mean a sheet, of chocolate-scented stamps online. La Boutique Web du Timbre. With stamps like these, snail mail may make a comeback: Viva la poste d'escargot!

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New Lines and FREE SHIPPING

Savings Holiday

FREE SHIPPING on Our New Lines
at Foodie's Emporium!
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Mauviel Mheritage Collection 5 Piece Cookware Set, Cast Iron Handles, with Wooden Crate
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Emile Henry Flame Top Round Dutch Oven/Stew Pot, 7 quart
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Knife designer Adam Simha designs and handcrafts absolutely superb bench-made high-performance steel blades for his knives. These designs feature body geometry influenced by the best of both Asian and Western traditions. The unique grip: MKS knives come with an injection-molded bicycle grip that is tightly fitted over a naturally bacteria-resistant stainless steel tube. They are visually remarkable and functionally exquisite. Free with every purchase: a rawhide honing strap. Foodie's Emporium is proud to be an exclusive online retailer of Adam's amazing knives. Handcrafted in Cambridge, Massachusetts MKS Design Handcrafted Knives

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Shitake Bear Stew

Ordinary Out of the

OOO by Kate Krukowski Gooding

Shitake Bear Stew
Fall is here and we are going from grillin’ to chillin’ outside. Perfect weather for a stew and when you have dried mushrooms on hand it gives you more  flexibility of use and variety throughout the year.

I was in Beijing and Xiamen, China for the holidays this year to see my step-daughter, Julia, who is a Fulbright Scholar in Beijing. Understandably, she wanted family around for the holidays and Don and I use almost any excuse to travel.

We quickly discovered you cannot go anywhere without an interpreter. Thank goodness I could recognize most of the spices and products in the market. I pointed, picked the size bag, which translated to the amount I wanted to buy, and paid for my culinary treasures. The biggest bag went to the dried shitake mushrooms, the price was very reasonable so I stocked up. I also picked up dried cumin, unnamed hot red peppers, and these yummy Nori treats.

I love using dried mushrooms, they add another level of flavor and you don’t forget to add the reconstituted juices!

Burgundian Raccoon Stew

Ordinary Out of the

OOO by Kate Krukowski Gooding

Braised Burgundian Raccoon Stew and Provençal Bread
Many of my cooking adventures take me to paths unknown, with herbs, spices, meats, seafood, vegetables and wines. Raccoon is a new meat for me. It has a very light gamey aroma, looks lean and is delicious! I decided to try a layering of herbs rather than spices and braising to infuse yet another layer into the dish.

I know the rule about red wine with meats and white with fish, but not here. With the combination of fresh and dried herbs, white wine, white beans and white broth, this adventurous dish came out a winner. The fresh-made bread and complementing wine made this a complete and delightful meal, game for everyone!