Food In the Valley: Mystery Plate of the Month!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mystery Plate of the Month!

Can you tell where this dinner plate of food came from?
Write in your thoughts and reactions please!

(For the answer, see "Mystery Solved" posted in November 2008.

3 comments:

Sharon said...: This is just about the whitest plate of food I've ever seen. Where are the veggies? This couldn't possibly be served somewhere around here, is it? Blog on! I love the descriptions of our local dining establishments. Big Mamou is my next stop!; July 31, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Mary E.Carey said...: Thanks for the heads up about your blog. That looks like homecooking to me. I agree it could use some parsley or something.; August 26, 2008 at 7:49 AM
Anonymous said...: A plate from Big Mamou in Williamsburg?; July 10, 2012 at 12:44 PM

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Who am I?

I finally have a “label” for myself - I am a foodie. While some may scoff and tease, I stand by my delight in a new restaurant, reading restaurant menus, enjoying food magazines, recipes of all kinds, cookbooks and cooking shows.

I read and enjoy a range of food magazines and cookbooks, from the silly southern potluck “taste of home” to the most elite, high-end offerings. Recently, I enjoyed a coffee table book of what well-known chefs might select for their final meal. The choices they made, the descriptions of their favorite taste sensations, and the wild photographs were marvelous. Next I thumbed happily through the small crockpot magazine taken from the wire rack at the supermarket check out. I love it all.

My favorite TV network cooking shows are Jamie at Home and Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives. Iron Chef is always a favorite – the Japanese shows, the American shows, whatever - I watch those tastings and fantasize being a judge. (Is it me, or has Jeffrey pretty much stopped talking? Or has he gotten so grumpy that they end up editing him out?)

My favorite chef to watch of all time is Jacques Pepin. His charm and simple, wonderful preparations are always a treat. I’ve loved watching him with Julia, with Claudine and by himself. I hear the words - ”this is fast food, MY way!” - and I have to smile. I also thoroughly enjoy Top Chef whenever it is on.

I’ve been working on vinaigrettes and discovering the symphony of flavor in different vinegars. I recently bought a crazy expensive bottle of balsamic at Cooks Shoppe in Northampton and am drizzling it on way too many things. I enjoy making ethnic comfort foods and relish putting together beautiful and artistic platters. At least, I think they are artistic. After taking a sushi class at the now closed Lamson and Goodnow, I’ve experimented several times with various combinations. The best so far was the avocado and roasted corn hand rolls. I’ve got to work on the dipping sauces. Sauces in general seem to elude me somehow.

I’m a huge fan of the amuse bouché concept and completely intrigued by molecular gastronomy. Sadly, I’ve had next to no experience with either. Visiting Chicago to eat the 24-course tasting menu at Grant Achatz’s Alinea restaurant is on my “life list,” but until then I try to satisfy myself with exploring restaurants within my reach here in Western Massachusetts. Which brings me to the reason for this blog: I have opinions, I love to talk about food, I have a burning desire to share those thoughts with others who have the same kind of passion I do. So reader of this blog, are you one of those people?

I invite any of you to write in about your own experiences dining in the Pioneer Valley or surrounding New England area and/or comment on the restaurant experiences I’ve written about. I’d love for you to ask questions or participate in any way you wish in order to make this blog a fun read and a place to inspire new gastronomic discoveries. My promise to you is to write about the restaurants I visit, to be brutally honest, completely judgmental, overwhelmingly biased and have a great time doing it!

So onto discussing the restaurants. . . .

My Favorite Five Foods

Cherries
Once during a drive across country, we passed through a small town in California and stopped at a farm stand proclaiming “World Famous Cherries.” We bought a couple of huge sacks and discovered the biggest, firmest, crunchiest, sweetest, deep purple cherries we’d ever seen before (or since). We emptied our sacks within a couple of hours and stared at one another in confusion, grief and longing. It seemed silly to backtrack a few hundred miles for cherries - so we continued along our trip. Mistake. I’ve fantasized about those cherries for years – no other cherry can ever live up to my expectations again. Still I continue the search…

Prime Rib
If prime rib is on the menu, I have to lecture myself to avoid being drawn in. No one should eat that much beef at a sitting. And, truthfully, I’m often disappointed – it’s too thin cut, too much garlic (what is the obsession with garlic these days?), or topped with some weird concoction that made the cook/chef think they would impress us (not impressed). But when it’s cooked perfectly, each tender morsel is a satisfying wonder. My favorite place to order it is the Stockyard Restaurant in Brighton. The enormous portion of roasted and juicy meat brings out the happy primitive cave dweller in me, celebrating a special solstice clan gathering by a roaring fire with ecstatic peyote-induced dancing and singing.

Sungold Tomatoes
These tiny orange tomatoes are only available locally a few weeks during the summer, and I gobble them up by the bowlful. Forget sweets, forget salty snacks - actually don’t even bother with dinner. They are so firm, juicy, tangy and sweet that I had to put them in my top three favorite foods. I love tomatoes in general, but these are in a class of their own. Good luck finding them – it’s not easy. And if they’ve aged too long or the farmer wasn’t attentive enough, they won’t reach perfection. But when they do, it’s like manna from heaven. Trust me, grasshopper.

Roasted Lamb Garnish
There is a small Greek restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire which doesn’t look any different from the thousands of generic and awful Greek diners spread across the malls of the country. But don’t be fooled. This place is the real deal. Someone’s grandmother is clearly in charge, and the slow-cooked, authentic dishes are worth driving hours. Days. A vacation destination. My favorite is the Roasted Lamb Shoulder Garnish. A plate arrives loaded with food – a huge piece of roasted lamb that is so succulent and tender and rich, it makes my mouth water to write about it. It’s accompanied by roasted potatoes and rice (yes, two starches – stop thinking like the nutrition police!) and a combination of various vegetables, all slow cooked in the Greek tradition. Generally, I’ll find lima beans, carrots, string beans, zucchini, celery. Everything is olive oiled and slow cooked to melting textures. The combination of the potato and lamb and vegetables in the same bite is possibly the most perfect food on earth. We make the pilgrimage several times a year and have been going there for over 25 years. Before each trip I call, heart pounding, praying that they are still open. So far, so good.

Peach Tart Tatin
The best dessert I ever had was at Chez Albert right here in Amherst. Rich buttery pastry topped with farm fresh August peaches, sitting in golden local maple syrup and topped with frothy whipped cream … magnificent. I can’t speak about it any more – it’s just that good.

Favorite Fast Foods

Fast food conjures images of greasy, nasty hamburgers, limp salads, buckets of cola and (un)happy meals. But there are a few items which I feel deserve respect ...or at least an acknowledgement as some really tasty guilty pleasures. Here are a few of mine . . .

McDonald’s sweet tea. I know, I know. An environmental nightmare, an express ticket on the diabetes train…but it’s absolutely delicious! Beware their lack of consistency. One day you may get dark, obscenely sweet tea, and on another day it’s lightly flavored water. But when they hit it right (about half the time), it’s a wonderful way to while away a summer afternoon.

Even though I spent a year in New Mexico and am well acquainted with “authentic” Mexican food, I still enjoy the occasional soft taco supreme from Taco Bell. When made well (yes, they can be inconsistent too), it’s a terrific combination of hot, spicy meat, crunchy fresh veggies, slightly melting cheddar and rich, cooling sour cream wrapped in a soft, slightly chewy tortilla. Yum.

Nathan’s French Fries at the West Springfield cinema. Okay, they’re not the original fries from Coney Island 40 years ago (oh, don’t get me started on my cherished memories of walking with my dad around Coney island with a hot sack of fries – soft, crispy, salty and delicious), but these movie theater snacks are still pretty darn tasty.

T. Anthony’s pizza parlor across from Boston College in the city. Yes, it’s not local, but a fast food list of favorites wouldn’t be complete without my favorite pizza ever. Very thin crispy crust, a sweet fresh- tasting tomato sauce and just the right amount of cheese (not too much). Tip: order one slice at a time. The thin crust is at the peak of perfection for only 3-4 minutes. Ignore the staff who will look at you strangely.

The Polish Power Plate at Smiarowski’s farm stand in Sunderland. This absurdly large take out platter contains a large piece of slow-cooked stuffed cabbage, lazy pirogies (a mix of soft noodles and sauerkraut), kielbasa sausage and a large scoop of savory home made baked beans. Oh, and some rye bread of course. It is not humanly possible to finish the entire platter, but if you are longing for a buffet of Polish comfort food served 2 minutes after placing your order, this is the ticket. Caution: once eaten it can result in periodic cravings that can only be satisfied by another (partial) polish power plate. Oh yeah…you can get potato salad instead of beans, but don’t.

Webster’s Fish Hook Restaurant in Northampton makes the most tender, perfectly cooked fried scallops. Don’t bother with the sides, and the salad bar is like a sad puppy that brings tears to your eyes - just enjoy the sea scallops. Makes me glad to live on a planet with oceans.

Food In the Valley

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mystery Plate of the Month!

3 comments:

Blog Archive

Williamsburg Country Spices

Who am I?

Berries at Nourse Farm

My Favorite Five Foods

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Favorite Fast Foods