T he Cu l i nary North On the Table
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uilt in the 1800s from hemlock, our three-story bank barn is—by definition—set into a steep hillside and DINING IN accessible from every level. The chicken coop is on the middle floor and we journey down a set by STACEY BRUGEMAN of wooden garden stairs to get there. One recent morning, I Eggs are more expensive than ever walked past the rhubarb plants that will soon poke their way this spring. Give them the royal treatment through those stubborn vestiges with this tonnato-inspired mayonnaise. of snow. I stepped past the castiron water spigot, still shut off for winter. I placed my left mud boot onto the landing near the black raspberry canes that Whether you wander to your own chicken coop in need pruning. Right on cue, our rooster crowed. “Good your pajamas or you have to put on your big girl pants and morning, Rocky,” I said. As I approached the vintage slidfork over the going rate, treat chicken eggs like caviar this ing door, I found myself so grateful for those chickens. month by giving them the reverence they deserve. Grateful I didn’t have to worry about soaring egg prices. Grateful that all year long, from the heat of summer to Stacey Brugeman is a 20-year food and beverage journalist. the depths of winter, those “girls,” as we call our flock, Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + hang out in that romantic but drafty barn laying all the Leisure, Eater and on Instagram @staceybrugeman. eggs our family needs. While eggs are a year-round staple, traditions associated Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer with Easter and Passover have made them decidedly spring. based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and This year for those holidays, try a softer, 5-minute boil— Facebook @dzwphoto. which results in a vibrant, jammy yolk. Then leave the yolk where it belongs, and top each egg with a generous dollop Sarah Peschel, @22speschel, is a stylist and photographer with of luscious, tonnato-inspired mayonnaise that’s been folded an appreciation for all things related to local agriculture, food with smoked fish from right here at home. and drink.
A GOOD EGG
50 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N
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3/2/23 11:56 PM
