Northeast FLAVOR - Summer Preview

Am

M az OR ing E Re THA cip N es 40 Ins ide !

NEW ENGLAND’S FOOD AND WINE MAGAZINE AZINE

NEWSSTAND EDITION COVER

RATED A

TOP 10 MAGAZINE OF 2011!

Julia!

CELEBRATING THE FRENCH CHEF’S

100

th

page 22

MAKE THIS CLASSIC DISH: Lobster a l’Américaine p.17

New England FOOD TRUCK FESTIVALS: get out, eat well & have fun! page 30

plus:

must try S SUMMER WINES

CHAMPIONSHIP NEW ENGLAND BAR-B-Q A SHOT OF TEQUILA HISTORY THE SECRET TO SALT WATER TAFFY:

New England’s Classic Confection

GET MORE FLAVOR! Scan this code with your smartphone and like us on Facebook.

NORTHEASTFLAVOR.COM

For more information and to order your copy today visit CiaoItalia.com

Departments * Summer 2012

Food + Cooking 12 HOW TO The Campfire Gourmet p. 66

16 CHEF’S SECRETS

50

Lobster l’Américaine

18 HEALTHY FLAVORS The Recipe for a Smooth Summer

Northeast Traditions 54 CLASSIC

In the Glass 20 WINE FINDS Vinho Verde: Good Green Fun

44 SPIRITS Tequila: The Long and Shot of It

Kisses by the Seaside

58 COMMUNITY Good Medicine

Get Inspired 62 IN THE KITCHEN WITH… Judith & Julia

Local + Sustainable 46 SEASONAL FLAVORS

66 THINGS WE LOVE We All Scream for Ice Cream

Stalking up on Summer Asparagus

50 FLAVOR FOCUS

54

Mussel Bound

62

IN EVERY ISSUE Editor’s Letter 7 Featured Contributors 8 Ask the Editors 10 The Book & Blog Club 68 Recipes 69 Advertiser directory 70 Next Issue Highlights 71 Roots 72

NORTHEASTFLAVOR.COM

3

(recipe on p. 41)

Features * Summer 2012 22 If You Knew Julia Like We Knew Julia

30 Food Trucks are Everywhere

36 The Best Barbecue: Does New England Rate?

Celebrity chefs dish on what it was like to play, work, and cook with Julia.

Appearing in both big cities and small towns, food trucks literally bring the world to your door.

Our little corner of the world beats out the traditionally southern competition.

By Mike Morin

By Lisa Goell Sinicki

By Elaine Tomasini

On our cover: Julia Child’s Lobster a l’Américaine, recipe on page 17.

Photograph by Glenn Scott. Recipe preparation and food styling by Catrine Kelty.

Photograph of Julia Child used with permission of Chronicle Books. Provided by the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.

4 SUMMER 2012

Photograph courtesy of Fair Winds Press

Cheesy Grilled Corn

THE LARGEST NEWSSTAND IN THE WORLD Millions of stories. Any device. One location.

www.zinio.com/readnortheastflavor

FOOD + COOKING | Chef’s Secrets

A French Favorite meets Classic New England Now’s the perfect time to feast on one of Julia Child’s Greatest Hits

BY MARK R. VOGEL | PHOTOGRAPH BY GLENN SCOTT

Lobster a l’Américaine

(recipe on p. 17)

Editor’s note: Julia knew summer in New England meant an abundance of fresh, local lobster . . . one of her favorite treats. We couldn’t agree more! Celebrate with us by creating this recipe, or by visiting one of the many seafood festivals around the region. See our website, www.northeastflavor.com for a list.

16 SUMMER 2012

LOBSTER A L’AMÉRICAINE, OR for its full French name, Homard a l’Américaine, is a lobster dish of dubious origin. It is decidedly French, but there ends all that is definitive about its provenance. A popular story is that a chef by the name of Pierre Fraisse (who hailed from the Languedoc region of France), whipped up the dish circa 1860 in Paris for a group of late night diners. He had spent time cooking in the U.S. and thus gave the dish its American tag line, “Américaine,” or so they say. Others claim the dish was already on the menu before Fraisse arrived, but did originate in the Languedoc. Finally, there exists a contingent who insist the dish is actually named after Armorica, the ancient name for Brittany. However, as various food writers have pointed out, the dish contains oil, garlic, and tomatoes, all ingredients not indigenous to Brittany or its cuisine. This may explain yet another theory that the dish sprung from the

Lobster a l’Américaine 4 lobsters (1¼ pounds each) Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil, as needed 1 small carrot, small dice 1 celery stick, small dice 3 shallots, diced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cup dry white wine 3 ounces cognac or dry sherry 1 pint fish or chicken stock, more as needed 2 bay leaves A few sprigs of thyme 4-6 ounces heavy cream (depending on how creamy you like it) 4 tablespoons of cold butter Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) Chopped parsley or tarragon to taste

Mediterranean. A final and quirky postulate is the dish received its moniker because it was served to first class passengers on ships headed for America. It never

ideally a rondeau which is a wide, shallow pot with straight sides. If you don’t have a rondeau, you can substitute a large standard pot such as a Dutch oven. A final

Lobster a l’Américaine, or for its full French name, Homard a l’Américaine, is a lobster dish of dubious origin . . . ceases to amaze me just how many classic concoctions are mired in controversy over their origins.

Whatever its sources, Lobster a l’Américaine is a delicious, albeit, laborious dish.

It has a number of variations and some optional ingredients. After perusing numerous recipes, I’ve devised the following step-by-step framework discussing the technique, ingredients, and/or options at each stage. You’ll need a large pot,

caveat. This recipe is not for the faint of heart, the 30-minute mealer, or anyone who has issues with live food. You must have live lobsters and dispatch them by hand with your knife. You can’t just toss them in a pot of boiling water, close your eyes, wince, and think about something else for 10 seconds until they’re dead. For this recipe, the lobster must be in pieces and cooked raw for the best flavor and tenderness.

1. To efficiently kill a lobster hold its body with one hand, place the tip of a large, sharp, heavy, chef knife on its head between the eyes, and with a singular, firm thrust split its head. As gruesome as this method sounds, it is actually the most humane way to terminate a lobster. This technique instantly severs the brain in a lightning strike. If you still can’t get up the nerve, ask your fishmonger to kill them for you. But then the clock is ticking. You must use the lobsters immediately.

After dispatching the lobster, twist off the tail and cut it in half lengthwise. If any of your lobsters are female and you wish to incorporate the roe into the dish, remove it and set it aside now. Next twist off the claws. Finally, cut the head and body section in half and scrape out the guts. However, if you are a fan of the tomalley, (the lobster’s liver), and wish to use it in the dish, remove it and set it aside.

Discard the remaining entrails from the lobster’s head and body.

2. Season the lobster pieces with salt and pepper, (including the hollowed out heads/bodies), and sauté them in olive oil on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they turn red, (about 10 minutes).

Remove them from the pan and when cool enough to touch, remove the meat from the tails and claws, reserving both the shells and the meat.

3. Sauté the carrots, celery and shallots, with some salt and pepper, adding more oil to the pan if necessary. When soft add the tomato paste and

garlic and sauté one more minute or until the paste is caramelized. Be very careful not to burn the paste or garlic. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and the cognac or sherry. Some recipes also use Madeira, a fortified wine from Portugal. Reduce the alcohol by at least half.

4. Return the reserved shells to the pot. You may need to break them into smaller pieces. Add the pint of stock or more as needed. The shells should be completely covered. Add the bay leaf and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Strain the sauce through a coarse strainer, to remove the large pieces and then through a finer strainer to eliminate the finer particulates. Simmer the sauce to reduce it by half. Meanwhile, if incorporating the tomalley and roe, chop the tomalley, and with a fork, work it and the roe into half of the butter. Whisk this into the sauce and simmer for a minute or so. If not using the tomalley and roe skip this step and add the heavy cream. Continue simmering until the desired consistency is achieved.

Whisk in the butter and finish with the cayenne, herbs and/or additional salt and pepper if needed.

Return the lobster meat to the sauce just long enough to warm it. Serve with a rice pilaf or sliced bread.

*

Article reprinted with permission from www.foodreference.com.

NORTHEASTFLAVOR.COM

17

If You Knew Julia

Like We Knew Julia

BY MIKE MORIN

Julia made sure all cameras got the shots they needed. Here, Julia cooks while photographer Jim Scherer lines up the perfect shot. Editor Judith Jones keeps an interested eye out.

Photo courtesy of Jim Scherer. For Jim’s story on what it was like to work with Julia behind the scenes, see page 72.

food trucks are

! e r e h w y r e v E

BY ELAINE TOMASINI | PHOTOGRAPHS BY TED AXELROD

30 SUMMER 2012

The Summer Shack’s Classic Maine Lobster Roll (recipe on p. 34)

The Best Barbecue: Does New England Rate?

BY LISA GOELL SINICKI

For true barbecue aficionados, the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue is the World Series and Super Bowl combined. In 2011, the top prize went to Smokin’ Hoggz of Abington, Massachusetts. That’s right, out of a field of approximately 95 teams, a New England team won.

Say what? Since when have New Englanders become barbecue experts? Well, if you haven’t heard, New Englanders have arrived on the barbecue circuit.

In addition to Smokin’ Hoggz’ success at “The Jack,” as the barbecue crowd calls it, I Smell Smoke of Malden, Massachusetts, took eighth place overall and Lakeside Smokers of Methuen, Massachusetts, finished on top in the pork ribs category.

And these guys weren’t the first New Englanders to reach the podium. That trail was blazed by IQUE, also from Massachusetts, which won top honors at the Jack in 2009.

“Traditionally, New England has never been a bastion of barbecue, but we’ve woken a sleeping giant,” says Dennis Mike Sherman, aka Denny Mike, whose eponymous company markets barbecue seasonings and sauces.

Clearly, in the past few years, competitive barbecue has grown in popularity in New England. To the folks who participate, it is a passion bordering on religion. They invest hours and hours perfecting their practices. They experiment with different techniques, invent new seasoning mixes, and explore the flavor differences created by smoking with oak versus apple wood.

Many competitors show up a week early to set their camp. They roll up in big camper rigs hauling trailers full of gear.

They unload utensils, supplies, ingredients, and smokers of all shapes and sizes.

Unlike competitive cooking which boasts some big prizes and prize money, the grand prize at The Jack is $5,000. Not that

impressive, especially when you consider what all of those big rigs, equipment, ingredients, and smoking gizmos cost.

So why do they do it? Two reasons. One is unlimited bragging rights — something all barbecue practitioners seem to find incredibly important. Thousands of people claim that they make the best barbecue, but only the team that wins The Jack has third party validation. The other reason for participating in barbecue competitions is something even more basic, and a reason I heartily agree with: Barbecue, and everything that goes with it, is fun.

As a group, the barbecue crowd is passionate, fiercely competitive, and most of all possessed by an overwhelming sense that they are right about, well, pretty much everything barbecue. This isn’t to say they are arrogant or snobs;

Editor’s Note: We love a good barbeque, so we wouldn’t miss the Summerfest in Eliot, Maine.

We’ll be there August 11-12th; stop by our booth and say “Hi”!

NORTHEASTFLAVOR.COM

37

NORTHEAST TRADITIONS | Community

Good Medicine The healing power of organic farming at Serving Ourselves Farm at Boston’s Long Island Homeless Shelter

BY LAURA POPE | PHOTOGRAPHS BY TED AXELROD “WORKING AT THE FARM, tending the gardens, is particularly suited to recovery.

It’s a place to quiet the mind, meditate, and focus on the tasks at hand. Growing food is a very clear activity; it’s not complex in the way a lot of the world is. The sea breeze makes it a perfect environment to work outdoors.”

So says Erica La Fountain, farm manager at the four-acre, certified organic Serving Ourselves Farm at Long Island Shelter in Boston Harbor. The farm provides food to the homeless, trains homeless individuals in a wide variety of skills, attracts volunteers, and offers a sanctuary to troubled youth, while also serving the community at large.

Each growing season, the farm yields 25,000 pounds of fresh organic food — vegetables, fruits and herbs, eggs and honey — that helps to provide 2,000 meals each day for 800 homeless persons at the Long Island and Woods-Mullen shelters.

Some of that bounty also lands in local restaurants — including Hamersley’s Bistro, Ashmont Grill, Tavolo, and Barbara Lynch Gruppo restaurants, while 20 percent goes to be sold at farmers’ markets in Boston.

The brainchild of Boston Mayor Tom Menino, Serving Ourselves Farm was founded as a vocational training program in 1996, as part of the Boston Public Heath Commission’s Homeless Services Bureau.

The farm also partners with the city’s Office of Jobs and Community Services, which funds Youth Options Unlimited (YOU) a training and employment program for court-involved youth. For seven weeks each summer, a large group of youth from YOU arrives at the farm to lend helping hands.

“There are so many different aspects of work and training here,” explains La Fountain, who brings a background in social service and organic and community

58 SUMMER 2012

Produce from the Serving Ourselves Farm is sold at many farmers' markets in the Boston area.

“We emphasize kitchen staples in our plantings — potatoes, tomatoes, greens, onions, carrots, and summer squash” — Erica La Fountain, farm manager, Serving Ourselves Farm farming to SOF. “There’s the seeding, tending and harvesting, then the culinary arts program in the shelter kitchen, where trainees learn to prepare meals as well as methods to preserve harvest foods such as pickling and drying herbs,” she adds.

“We also maintain an apiary for honey and to help pollinate plants, and we tend our free range laying hens. Our adult trainees become mentors to our youth participants.”

The farm is one component of the Serving Ourselves Program (SOS), an integrated, holistic program which focuses on developing basic work and life

skills, while providing services to homeless individuals. Each season, the farm employs as many as six client workers, who receive shelter, meals, case management, education services, health services, and counseling while in the program.

After graduation from the program, each client worker is helped with finding work and housing.

In addition to the training programs, the SOF utilizes the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. In this model, those who purchase farm shares are given a reusable bag of fresh produce every week throughout the growing season,

Above: Gardening’s benefits include more than produce; the quiet time lends itself naturally to contemplation.

Below: Serving Ourselves Farm annually produces 25,000 pounds of grocery staples, such as eggs, potatoes, scallions, and wild berries.

The farm is worked by client residents, volunteers, and youth from all over Boston.

sm i t h/ker r

associates

Recipes

+seapoint *

books

Recipes can be found at www.northeastflavor.com

Soups and Starters Cream of Asparagus Soup with Lemon Crème and Parmesan Crisps. . . . . . . page 48 Jacques Pepin’s Duck Giblet Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 65 Pasta with Fresh Asparagus, Peas, and Ricotta Salata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 49 Summer Salad of Shaved Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette and Pecorino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 48 Watermelon Gazpacho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover

Main Courses

$27.00

Baby Back Ribs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 43 Beer-Basted Spatchcocked Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 15 Broiled Bluefish or Mackerel over a Bed of Fennel and New Potatoes . . . . . . . page 64 Broiled Mussels with Parsley-Artichoke Pesto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 52 Chicken Bahn Mi Sandwich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 35 Classic Maine Lobster Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 34 Colossal BBQ Shrimp with Crab Cake Stuffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Grilled Sesame-Ginger Salmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 15 “In Gouda We Trust” Grilled Cheese Sandwich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 35 James Beard’s Swordfish-Olive Pasta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 64 Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 48 Lobster a l’Américaine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 17 Muffin Tin Smokin’ Sliders with 647 Secret Sauce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 42 Mussels Fra Diavolo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 53 Mussels Steamed in White Wine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 52 Spicy Thai Mussels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 53 Wood-Grilled Party Panini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 41

*

“A wonderful book about fish and shellfish cookery” —Mary Ann Esposito

“A feast for the eyes and the stomach” —Jasper White

$16.95

Sauces and Sides 647 Secret Sauce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Buttermilk Slider Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Caramelized Onions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 42 Cheesy Grilled Corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 41 Dry Rub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 43 Duck Cracklings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 65 Horseradish Coleslaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 43 Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 48 Seasoned Salt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 42 Vasilka’s Garlic Salad Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 15

* *

“You can’t go wrong with Union Oyster House Cookbook” —Bobby Flay

$12.95

Sweets Coffee Ice Cream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Raspberry Ice Cream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Smoked Pears with Berry Compote and White Chocolate Sauce . . . . . . . . . . .

Strawberry Ice Cream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

page 67 page 67 page 43 page 67

Cocktails Flaco Margarita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 45 Skinny Margarita (Flat Margarita) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 45 Tequila Cosmo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 45

Smoothies Blackberry and Blackcurrant Smoothie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 19 Country Breakfast Smoothie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 19 Power Smoothie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 19

For more great recipes, visit our website: www.northeastflavor.com

$17.95 “An innovative cookbook” —Bon Appetit

Our books are widely available through all good bookstores, through internet retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BAM, IndieBound, and through distributors around the world.

Prices may vary.

Smith/Kerr Associates, LLC One Government Street, Suite 1 Kittery, ME 03904 Visit our new site: www.smithkerr.com