Farm to Table at Blue Hill

Blue Hill Tuesday night -- pretty amazing stuff. Blue Hill has a farm in Connecticut, a Farm in the Berkshires and a few sources scattered around New York. The NY restaurant serves deliciously local food and boasts an impressive wine list. That's the overview -- now to the good stuff.

We started off with 'This Morning's Farm Egg' which was served soft boiled with Lamb's Quarters (which is a vegetable, surprisingly), Roasted Tomatoes, and Chanterelle Mushrooms. The egg was sweet and gooey and the mushrooms gave the dish a salty punch. Also had the

Fall Vegetable Salad' with seckel pears, pea shoots, pistachios and three colors of cauliflower. Paired that with a Roussane, a grape I don't believe I've ever tried, that was very satisfying and refreshing with strong honey on the nose.

A little kale chip amuse-bouche came next which was a lovely surprise -- it was served in a wood block -- how interesting.

For the entree, I had 'Rabbi Bob's Veal' - it was meaty and peppery and salty! Served with sweet black dirt carrots and yellowfoot chanterelles. Unlike most veal, this little baby calf was allowed to roam free around the farm, allowing some muscular development in the animal which results in tougher meat. However, the little fella was fed grass and mother's milk, giving the meat a hardier flavor than most veal cuts. I was served two cuts, the leg, which was meaty and a little crunchy, and a piece of shank which was soft and salty. We ordered that dish with a side of Jerusalem Artichoke, which has no known relationship to Jerusalem and is not a type of Artichoke (go figure). Cassie-girl had the fresh "Long Island Fluke" served with zucchini, almonds, apples and celery. Her plate ended up cleaner than when it came out of the washer...

Perhaps the most impressive thing at the restaurant wasn't any of the dishes, it was the people serving them. The staff was dedicated to providing the best meal possible. They were quick with knowledgeable suggestions and helpful offers. Choosing the right meal for Miss Cassie can be challenging to those unfamiliar with her dietary restrictions (no cow's milk, no red meat, no cute animals, no spicy, etc.), but the Blue Hill staff was incredibly accommodating. Case in point, when I ordered the "Honeycrisp Apples", normally served with Hudson Valley Milk Jam, Almond Cake and Honey Ice Cream, the chef instinctively knew that my lactose intolerant date would want a few spoonfuls so he left off the jam and replaced the ice cream with fresh Raspberry Sorbet. And... they could tell it was a special night for us (our second anniversary... sort of) so they brought out a little sampling of coconut marshmallows, cocoa-covered almonds, and organic berry gummi - with candle.

Well... that is just about as much as I could possibly say about a meal. All in all, it was one of the best I've ever had. Thanks to SR and DQ for making it happen!

Back to My Roots

Autumn is a wonderful time at the farmer's markets. Crunchy apples, juicy pears, and fresh-from-the-dirt root vegetables. Decided to whip up a roasted root vegetable medly a few days back, on a stay-at-home fall Saturday.

The recipe was quite easy aside from a solid half-hour of chopping. We cut half-inch wedges of pumpkin, acorn squash, turnips, parsnips, onions and potatoes -- enough to fill up a large Le Creuset 'French Oven'. All that got mixed up with a generous sprinkling of olive oil, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and cinnamon. We added fresh rosemary sprigs on top and a few garlic sections with skin left on.

Baked the whole thing at 400 for about 50 minutes, stirring once or twice. About halfway through, the delicious smells of the sweet pumpkin and the parsnip began to seep into the room... The dish was incredible. A variety of sweet and earthy flavors blended with a bit of spicy cinnamon tickling the tongue. The pumpkin and acorn squash became a rich orange mash that held the solid parsnip, turnip, and potato all together. We squeezed the roasted garlic out of their skins and stirred them through the mixture to add a little extra punch. Delicious!

This could be a meal in its own right, but I paired with my new favorite honey-glazed chicken breast recipe and a nice rich glass of red wine.