a taste of
Woodford
Big Flavors in a Small Town
Fantastic Foods of Kentucky A New Chef at WCHS Fall 2014
Letter from the Editors Central Kentucky has a lot to offer, with a championship win ning collegiate basketball team, a popular racetrack, and various prestigious distilleries. With these popular attractions there come a huge tradition by way of style, manners, pastimes, and food; which our magazine is about. With articles about popular foods of the area, new unique dining, and even food in public schools, our magazine covers the talk about food in Woodford County. The article about food popular in the Central Kentucky area really touches on the tradition surrounding the Woodford County area. Prime Dining in Woodford County talks about an innovative dining experience, with touches of traditional dishes. Woodford County High School also recently hired a new chef, to overhaul the food program. All of these articles reflect the culture and tradition of the Central Kentucky area, with the high standards for dining. We hope that you enjoy our magazine, and hope it encourages you to try Kentucky foods!
-From the Editors
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Contributers Hey fellow food fanatics! My name is Camryn Pictor and I’m a 10th grader at Woodford County High School. I play on the varsity girls soccer team, but I between soccer I enjoy exploring different kinds of food with my teammates. We enjoy all kinds off food, Chinese, Southern Style, Indian, and Traditional America. And I am here to share all the wonderful things that I have learned about and experienced with you. I have also taken two family consumer science class that are offered at WCHS and currently take Culinary International Cuisine. In culinary we learn tips and tricks to help you create the food with ease and new interesting recipes to try. Everything I learn is somthing I hope to pass along and share with My name is Ben Isaacs and I am a Woodford County native, born and raised. I have always enjoyed food, and as a small child, my parents always encouraged me to try new foods. I also enjoy playing lacrosse, having played for most of my life. I live on a farm, and enjoy animals, including cattle, my goat, two cats, and my dog. I attend Woodford County High School, where I participate in DECA and FFA, and am in the Academy. I attended the Governors School for Entrepreneurship, and wish to seek a career in the business field after college.
Hi! My name is Regan Martin and I am a Sophomore at WCHS. I have been running for the varsity Cross Country and Track team for 5 years. I am currently taking Culinary and International Foods and have gotten the opportunity to cook and try many types of foods! I hope to continue trying new things, and expand my love for food even more. We have all worked very hard on this magazine and hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!
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Melissa’s Cottage Cafe Vegan Friendly Kid Friendly Outdoor Seating Take-Out Popular Menu items: -Chicken Pot Pie - Chicken Salad with Fruit - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie - Tomato Badil Quiche - Clams
167 S Main St. Versailles, KY 40383 Open 11:00- 9:00 Monday- Saturday Closed Sunday For Reservations Call: (859)879-6204 3
Contents Letter from the Editors
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Contributers Page
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Central Kenutcky Foods 5-7
Pumpkin Bisque Recipe 8
The Prime Place to Dine 9-12
The New Chef in Town
13-15
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip 16 Cookie Recipe 4
Flavors of Central Kentucky By Ben Isaacs From the Kentucky Hot Brown, to Spoonbread, to commercial favorites like ALE8-ONE and Mingua beef jerky, there are many iconic foods of the bluegrass state. Many famous Kentucky dishes originated in a single restaurant, and then spread to the whole region and gained popularity. One of these dishes is the Hot Brown: a clean simple
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design an open-faced, sliced ham and turkey sandwich, topped with mornay sauce, a cheesy sauce with milk or cream, added bacon strips, sliced red tomatoes, and shredded parmesan. It was inspired by the Welsh rarebit, an old dish originating in England that shared the mornay sauce and bread. The dish originated in the Brown Hotel, located in
downtown Louisville, a 16 story, elegantly decorated, English Renaissance style building. The hotel was built in 1923 by James Graham Brown, and the Hot Brown was introduced by chef Fred K. Schmidt the same year, shortly after the hotel opened. The Hot Brown has become a Kentucky-wide famous dish, including a tour called the “Hot Brown Hop.� The tours covers only 38 of the many other restaurants across Kentucky which serve the Hot Brown, most of which make their own unique, tasteful alterations to the dish. As of March, 2009, Kentucky has had its own state dish. Legislators passed a bill making Burgoo the state dish.
Unlike the Hot Brown, nobody quite knows the origin or time period in which burgoo was invented. Also known as “Roadkill soup,� it is traditionally a communal dish, where people will pitch in different meats, vegetables, and spices, and cook a large pot of Burgoo. Traditionally, any animals that were hunted were used in the stew, this included squirrel, game birds, venison, and even raccoons and opossums. Now the dish typically uses beef, pork, chicken, and mutton. The dish also includes vegetables, which, again, vary from dish to dish but typically include lima beans, corn, okra, potatoes, and carrots. Most variations of the soup include a thickening
agent, such as cornmeal, corn starch, or potato starch. The pinnacle of a Burgoo is that it is cooked for a long time, with a lot of servings. Most recipes call for the soup cooking for AT LEAST 3 hours, and often more than 5. Many people prefer to cook their soup for 12 or 24 hours, claiming that any shorter amount of cooking is not Burgoo. Most Burgoos use several spices, to add even more flavor. There are not specific ones, but things like Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, different kinds of hot sauce, chili powder, and cider vinegar are very popular. There are Burgoo conventions in Anderson and Davis county (Lawrenceburg and Owens-
respectively.) Corn has been used as a staple grain in many regions, in many countries around the world. In the Central Kentucky region it was used in many ways; cooked into soups, eaten by the kernel, eaten off the cob, and ground into meal used to make many different dishes. One of the most famous cornmeal-based dishes on the Bluegrass is Spoonbread. Its consistency is similar to a savory pudding, unlike the more solid corn dishes like cornbread. The dish also uses a small amount of ingredients, just butter, milk, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and eggs. Many people like to say the origins of the dish lie in
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the origins of the dish lie in an old Native American dish called suppawn. While the dish is very traditional, and its roots aren’t determined. It was popularized by Boone Tavern. Built in Berea in1909, Boone Tavern was named after the famous explorer and pioneer. Berea is also the home of the Annual Spoonbread Festival. At this festival people partake in many festivities, including Spoonbread eating contests, and contests for the best Spoonbread. Spoonbread has become a regional favorite, and much like Burgoo, it has many variations and different family recipes. Not a dish in and of itself, Benedictine is a cucumber and cream cheese dip, served cool with crackers and other items. It was invented by Jennie Carter Benedict, a caterer, chef, and cookbook author who lived in Louisville in the early 1900’s. While Ms. Benedict was very commercially successful, her dip has remained of the famous Central Kentucky foods. While these foods are commonly made at home, Kentucky has many commercial drink successes. Most of these are alcohol, but Kentucky has on unique soft drink: Ale-8One. It is a ginger and citrus flavored soda, invented in 1926 in Winchester, Kentucky. The inventor, G. L. Wainscott formulated his drink after traveling in Europe, learning about drink making. He had made another soft drink in 1902,
reached the same success as his latter invention. The drink is particularly popular in the central Kentucky area, but it has success elsewhere. Ale-8One is distributed to Indiana, Ohio, Tennesse, and Florida. Ale-8-One will also ship their product to armed forces overseas for only the cost of the shipping. While they have had success expanding, they have a very loyal group of consumers in the Lexington-Winchester area. Many of theses fans will only consume the drink out of a glass bottle, some of which are returnable at many locations in the area. The drink is cool and refreshing, and has fewer calories, sugar, and caffeine than many competitors soft drink, which makes it more appealing. It is also used in many recipes, including Ale-8-One chicken, Ale-8-One cucumber salad, and Ale-8-One cake. In addition to these recipes, Ale-8-One is commonly mixed with native Kentucky alcoholic beverages, called a “Kentucky Cocktail.” Since the recipe behind Ale-8-One is top secret, and only known by a couple family members, you can’t very well make your own, but you can buy one at most stores in the Bluegrass. All of these dishes are popular, and very common in the Bluegrass state. If you are from the area, you surely know about at least some of these, and if you are traveling through, you will probably be
told to try some of these products. There is a strong sense of pride in Kentucky, and many of these dishes and foods have variations across the state, and are served in different ways, by different people.
Recipe:
Pumpkin Spice Bisque
directions:
ingredients:
1. Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high 2 medium yellow onions, chopped heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic spices and stir for a minute more.
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pep-
2. Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
per 2 teaspoons curry powder
3. Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander Pinch ground cayenne pepper
4. With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pump- and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted porate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. pumpkin* You might want to add a teaspoon of salt.
5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)** 2 cups of milk 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream
from the kitchen of: A Taste of Woodford prep time: servings:
30 minutes 6 servings
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The Prime Place to Dine By Regan Martin
Photos also by Regan Martin On March 3, 2014, Woodford welcomed a new, upbeat restaurant called Napa Prime. From the creamy Crab Mac ‘n’ Cheese to the juicy Rutherford Chicken, Napa brings an energetic, classy flavor to the small city of Versailles. This burger bar + wine pub opened up a new side of Woodford. The restaurant combines classy and casual and serve gourmet food in a relaxed setting.
Appetizers
“Cooking is a therapy for me and is very relaxing, as well as artistic in many ways,” says founder Darrell Lewis. “I love to challenge people to step outside their comfort zone and try new dishes with a twist of American favorites!” Mr. Lewis is a very familiar face in Woodford. He grew up here and graduated from Woodford County High School in 1988. Always staying close to home, Lewis has opened over 30 restaurants, from corporate locations to his own concepts. After sitting down with
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Mr. Lewis, I discovered that Napa Prime really was an image of its founder; the concepts and theme show who Darrell Lewis is. Napa Prime was named after Lewis’s love for Napa Valley wines and great American burgers. He poured his heart and soul into creating a perfect menu, coming up with delicious recipes, and designing classy decor. He describes his restaurant as “polished casual dining.” Although creating an entire restaurant was very time consuming and difficult, Napa Prime turned out just how it was imagined.
Soups and Salads
A few years ago, if someone asked you where to go out to eat, people would automatically think of restaurants in Lexington and Frankfort. The “restaurants” in Versailles that serve fatty burgers and fries that come as pink goo would be the last place someone would want to go eat a nice dinner. No one really expected Napa Prime or a restaurant as nice as it to show up in Versailles. The place
show up in Versailles. The place where Napa Prime is located today formerly was a sandwich and burger pool hall that no one really knew about or went to. Versailles was ready for a change, and little did we know that we were in for a gourmet treat. After one and a half years of planning, designing, and cooking, Napa Prime became a reality. Construction began January 2, 2014 and 3
Fish tacos, one of Napa Prime’s delicious dishes.
short months later, Napa Prime was open to the public. Opening day, the restaurant was packed full. Cars were backed up into the road and people were desperately trying to get a table. Reviews were off the charts and everyone wanted to experience this new cuisine. Napa Prime soon became a name that everyone recognized. A change or opening of a new restaurant is a really big deal in the small community
of Woodford County, so when Napa Prime opened, it really wasn’t a huge surprise that so many people wanted to go eat there. For the first couple of days, the restaurant was still very busy and had new customers each day, but the fame didn’t stop coming. 6 months after its opening, people still love to go eat at Napa, and it gets very busy at dinner time. Napa Prime is an original flavor that just doesn’t get old.
Entrees
The goal of Napa Prime was to add a twist to traditional American dishes, and that has been accomplished. Some signature dishes recommended from the founder himself include the mussels, crab mac ‘n’ cheese, Rutherford chicken, and the classic Napa Burger. Mac “n” cheese, chicken, and hamburgers are a very common
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Reviews “Napa Prime is unlike any other restaurant that I have experienced. It brilliantly takes unique, “All American Food Items” and blends them with their own originality. The restaurant offers ambiguity in its food choice. The overall environment is very pleasant.” -Pranay Patel (17)
“It is the perfect combination of gormet and soul food, a blend complex, yet completmentary flavors.” -Kim Joyner (41)
“The food was really good. I really enjoyed the atmosphere.” -Peyton Popp (15)
American dish that you can find almost anywhere, but Napa Prime’s food is very different. I went in to Napa Prime for dinner recently and had a very good experience. I was first greeted by a very polite and pleasant hostess that welcomed me with kind words and a warm smile. After being seated, I was introduced to my waitress and she informed me about the specials and signature dishes. With her help , I ordered and in what seemed like no time, my food was ready. As my waitress walked up, hands full with all of these amazing looking foods, a cheesy, creamy smell mixed with a sizzling, popping sounds hit me. The food was placed down in front of my family and me, and I couldn’t decide which plate I wanted for myself. After some serious pondering, I decided to dive into the Crab Mac “n” Cheese. I picked up some of the smooth noodles and juicy crab, while strings
of cheese desperately trying to cling on to the remaining noodles. The overwhelming aroma of cheese and crab hit my nose while my mouth began to water. When the pasta hit my mouth, my taste buds exploded. It was probably the best mac “n” cheese I had ever tasted. The mix of creamy, cheesy goodness and flavorful, savory crab are a perfect, unique combination that really send you to a food heaven. After devouring that amazing, delicious dish, I decided to try the Napa Burger. The juicy burger came with lettuce, tomato, a toasted bun with a creamy sauce, gorgonzola cheese, and a side of fried onions. I assembled my burger and piled it high with the onion rings. As I bit into the huge burger, juice oozed out and an overwhelming burst of flavor hit me. The classic burger flavor mixed with the delicious, gourmet gorgonzola really is a new taste that helps create this
“I love going to Napa Prime. The food was delicious!” - Noah Pictor (12)
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Mouthwatering Crab Mac ‘n’ Cheese
flavor mixed with the delicious, gourmet gorgonzola really is a new taste that helps create this classy-casual food theme. Another family favorite is the Rutherford Chicken. This twist on traditional grilled chicken is unlike any other and takes you out of your comfort zone. A grilled chicken breast comes out on a bed of sauteed spinach and creamy mashed potatoes, covered with a flavorful pan sauce and sauteed tomatoes. Since it is paired with so many new, interesting flavors, it creates a memorable flavor that is truly delicious. My friends, family, and I have been to Napa Prime multiple times and have never been disappointed. One of my mother’s all time favorites are the fish tacos. It consists of a flour tortilla, stuffed with fried fish, tomatoes, red pepper, onions, and a chipotle aioli sauce with a heaping side of tater tots. “The portion is good size and is a great food for either lunch or dinner. It is a unique dish and I don’t know of any other restaurant that serves fish tacos like Napa Prime,” says Kimberly Martin. Napa Prime always leaves you completely satisfied. These amazing dishes really bring a new, unique flavor to Woodford, but the ingredients never really left home. Napa Prime uses fruits and vegetables from local farmers in Woodford and surrounding counties. The beer, such as West 6th, and lamb also originates in
Juicy Rutherford Chicken The beer, such as West 6th, and lamb also originates in Woodford. All of these foods are transformed into a new, unique dish, but they all have to start out somewhere. Darrell Lewis really tries to be original and different, and bring a fresh, new flavor to Woodford, but still wants to keep things close to his heart and home.
Desserts
Napa Prime is still relatively new to Versailles, but their future is already looking very bright. The restaurant is a huge success and Darrell Lewis plans on opening many more locations, when the timing is right, and will hopefully start the franchise process in a couple years. Mr. Lewis is also working on new menu items like bacon infused meat loaf, pretzel crusted chicken tenders, and a candied bacon brownie la mode.There are some sweet new items on the horizon for
Napa! Versailles is not really a place known for good, high quality foods that a lot of people truly enjoy; Napa Prime really changed that. The fresh ingredients,“fancy” yet casual environment, and out-of-thisworld food all appeal to my family and friends. This restaurant provides people of all ages a place to come together and eat some amazing food. It is perfect for a date-night, casual hangout, or pre/post game meal. I definitely recommend this restaurant to everyone and will personally will be going back many more times.
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The New Chef in Town By: Camryn Pictor
We all know the ste-
reotype of bad cafeteria food: nasty, disgusting, just reheated frozen food, but that perception just changed here at Woodford County High School (WCHS). Recently, a chef has been hired to improve the school lunches and bring flavor to them. With this, students have started to enjoy the idea of eating the school lunch much more. In the past, many students had started either bringing their lunch to school, or just eating from the snack bar. So to get students to start eating school lunch again, WCHS brought in a chef to try to appeal to more students. In the past, the school lunch was thrown in the trash or disregarded, now people are waiting in line for up to 10 minutes to get lunch, and actually want to eat it. They have stopped bringing lunch and just buying from the snack bar, and instead, started eating the school lunch.
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I went looking for the real reason behind this amazing change that has happened here at WCHS.
Reason Behind It All
In an interview about the newly hired chef here at WCHS, Mrs. Forgy explained that with a 35% student body on free and reduced lunch and only about 40% eating the lunch provided, it was becoming hard for the school to find the money to pay to buy school lunches anymore. She explained , “We needed to find a way to get students to eat the lunch again.� So, she herself volunteered to be on the hiring committee for this new position the school district was going to offer. During this hiring process, she said they interviewed people of all different backgrounds, from concessions stand back ground, to people owning their own small businesses. There were many ideas
about how to make this as efficient as possible. In the end they hired two different people. One person would plan out all the meals and organizes the food and planning behind it. This role here at was filled by Natasha Okolo. Then there is the actual chef, responsible for all actual cooking and preparation of meals. This role was filled by Courtney Quires.
The Big Interview
In an interview with Courtney herself, she explained that she had come from working at nursing homes and serving and cooking food there and also some sorority homes in colleges this was a key thing to the hiring committed. The background for her is what sold her apart from all others that were interviewed. In the interview she explained that she always wants to serve a meal that benefits everyone, meaning healthy for
those that want it, larger for those that want that too. This is a big deal at WCHS because you have people of all different eating habits and styles. Some prefer the healthy route others want something that completely fills up their plate. It is hard to fill everyones needs, which is why this is a huge test to see if it works.
Courtney Quires, the new chef at Woodford photo submitted by Courtney Quires
It’s All a Test
This is a test run for the rest of the school system. Most people know but everyday they are keeping counting the number of students that buy lunch and the meals that have the greatest number of students buying are more likely to come back later. So if you really like something she said “Tell all your friends to go buy it to make sure it will be served again.” She explains this is just a huge experiment to see if they can find something that can help our school provide a good lunch and fill in some financial issues that come when paying for those on free and reduced lunch. After recents interviews with students here at WCHS, to get there opinion about the new school lunches, Courtney seems to be passing the test. A Junior at WCHS Jessie Turner said “This year (school) lunch is more filling and appetizing, than in years past. Many of my friends that used to not eat school lunch have started to eat
it and enjoy it.” This same idea is what many other students that interviewed responded as well. The school lunch is a pleasant change to the school, something that will bring maybe new life into the halls here at WCHS. Also a Junior Natalie Hagan responded with “I have brought my lunch everyday since I have been here at WCHS (since freshman year) and after hearing about and seeing the school lunches this year, I’m really considering not bringing my lunch for the first time.” Many students that had been bringing their lunch in the past are saying the same thing as Natalie. The stereotype of bad cafeteria food, is totally
being changed this year at WCHS.
Something Special
WCHS has a unique opportunity that the other schools in the district aren’t getting, the chef is special to our school. Like I said earlier, this is totally test and hopefully it works. Within a couple years the other schools will be able to do the same thing. Courtney in her time here at WCHS says “I hope to not only provide the students with a delicious tasting lunch, but to teach the other cooks here a better way/style of provide quick. easy, and still healthy food in a school.”
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The Complicated Part
Not only is it a test to see if students like it though, It is a test to see how many meals they can create and still stay within the restricted guidelines provided. Some of these guidelines include no more than 30 percent calories from fat and no more than 10 percent calories from saturated fats. Meals must also include some sort of fresh fruits or vegetables, low-fat milk, and some sort of whole grain. Courtney explained “To create meal following all the guidelines and restraints that are required is the hardest part.” She talked about how when cooking for sorority girls yes they wanted healthy food but I never had to calculate every bit of salt that was put into the meal, or make sure each meal has the correct amount of fruits and vegetables. With this finding meals that follows all guidelines can be hard, but “its not impossible, you just have to put in a little effort.” This is what most schools don’t do, try, all they have to do is try and they can create something that is both good tasting and fits all guidelines.
Changes So far
So far this school year with the changes that have been made already, there is already a large difference in those buying school lunch then there was in years past. The average percentage of students that are consis-
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tently bying lunch has definitely increased from last year. Going back to reason behind it all, that they need it to just help pay for students on free and reduced lunch. With all the new changes, leading to the increase in students buying lunch, so far they have been achieving that goal. The first week of school started off normal-- about 40% of students. From there they have steadily increased and the student body is buying school lunch. Some student favorites include BLT sandwiches, this was the first meal that really caught students attention to maybe start buying school lunch. Other lunch favorites include; salad option, cake, and soup and sandwich. There is of course many others, these are just the one that especially caught the eye of most students, and even some teachers!
Recipe:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
ingredients:
directions:
1 cup (2 sticks) of better
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookies sheets or line with parchment paper.
1 cup white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the sugars, a little at a time, utnil the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla and pumpkin puree. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. 4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egga and usgar mixture. Stir in the chips.
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
5. Scoop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Then take cookies of sheet
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
from the kitchen of: A Taste of Woodford
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 cups (12 oz bag) milk chocolate chips
prep time: servings:
10 minutes 52 medium sized cookies
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