Archive for July, 2008

Congratulations Catapano

July 29, 2008 · Filed under Local, Market · Tagged

A quick congratulations goes out to Long Island’s own Catapano Dairy Farm.  At the American Cheese Society’s 2008 Cheese Competition in Chicago, Catapano won 1st place with their new blue cheese, Peconic Mist.

This is Catapano’s first attempt at a blue.  Peconic Mist is a blue-veined cheese, made from goat’s milk and is available at the dairy itself,  or at The Village Cheese Shop and Lucy’s Whey in East Hampton.  A whole 9.6-ounce wheel is $15; half wheels are $8.

Catapano Dairy Farm
33705 North Rd.
Peconic, NY 11958
(631) 765-8042

Open from 10:00am-5:00pm during the Summer
Call for Spring and Fall hours

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Mushrooms anyone?

July 28, 2008 · Filed under Foraging, Local · Tagged

I wish I could say that our mushroom foraging trip with the Long Island Mycological Club proved fruitful, but with these drought conditions (yes I know it rained a ton yesterday, but that didn’t help us on Saturday morning) we’ve been experiencing, the microbes weren’t making themselves known.

Oh well, no matter.  There are still other outings to be had, and when the weather gets a little cooler and a little moister, I’m sure that oyster mushrooms, black trumpets, chanterelles and hen of the woods will be at our fingertips.

We did find a section of wild blackberries that look a few weeks away from being in season, so check back to see how that foraging expedition goes.

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Cheese Tasting

July 25, 2008 · Filed under Local, Market · Tagged , ,

It’s not everyday that 30 or so foodies get together to taste French cheeses and drink fabulous wine, but this past Wednesday was a special night.  We were invited by Long Island’s best cheesemonger, Steven Damiani, to attend Uncle Giusepee’s first ever cheese tasting which focused on the Cheeses and Wines of France.  We were joined by a heck-of-a-lot of foodies who all piled into the Smithtown Uncle Giuseppe’s Wednesday night for a few hours.

I’ll try to get you a rundown this weekend as to the stuff we liked (I was the only one in my little section that liked the Reblochon, but I’m a stinky/funky cheese kinda guy) and what we bought (we had to buy the Reblochon and Stefani and I both loved the Tomme Crayeuse and that bottle of cava that’s sitting in the fridge would do well with a Manchego, even though that wasn’t being tasted this evening).

Also, I hope to get a few wise words from Thomas Barresi of Uncle Giuseppe’s for this page.  Quick note, being that we were all tasting wine all night, Tom offered to pay for a cab ride home for anyone that needed one, which was not only very generous and responsible but just goes to show you how Uncle Giuseppe’s is more than just a supermarket.  We don’t shop here on the regular (weekly), but do try to make it once a month or so, because they’re just a better market, stocking better products with a better selection and better prices.  If it wasn’t 13 miles away, we’d probably be there every week.  For now, it’s mostly to stock up on interesting pantry items, great cheese and that random piece of amazing produce that jumps out at us (like the Georgia peaches did to us last month; the smell just jumped up and grabbed us, so we new that they were going to be great peaches).

The event was hosted by Steven Damiani, and Jake Young whose wife told me, “he’s going to be everywhere, you’ll see.”  Great stuff Jake!

The Cheese and Wines of France

Uncle Giuseppe’s
95 Route 111
Smithtown, NY 11787
(631) 863-0900

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Local Produce

July 23, 2008 · Filed under Local, Produce · Tagged

With the growing season full upon us, it is far easier to get access to fresh, local produce than anything else, but some people still don’t know how to make slight changes to their procedure in order to take advantage of this.  We’re a little spoiled (just a little?) around here at Long Island Foodie; we’re members of the Hamlet Organic Garden for a few years which means that local, organic produce fills our kitchen every Friday.  But, even still, we like to supplement our CSA share with other local, farm fresh ingredients.

So, if we run out of something or don’t get something in our share that we are looking for, we have a few options:

White Post Farms has a lot of fresh, local produce.  Just yesterday I picked up Long Island corn and hand picked string beans.

J. Kings Local Farmer’s Market is a little bit of a hike out to Holtsville, but having access to all sorts of local farm goods (some that don’t sell retail) at farmer’s market prices can’t be beat.

Huntington Farmer’s Market is where we are every Sunday at 8:00am.  Can’t beat the farm fresh eggs ($2/dozen) from the Orchards at Conklin, plus their white nectarines are amazing.  Every week I pick up a dozen eggs, a half gallon of apple cider, some honey sticks, some feta cheese, some bread (now that the Bread Guy is back) and whatever fresh produce looks good.  I definitely recommend supporting the local farmer’s market; prices are cheaper than the supermarket, you’re supporting local farmers and the food is fresher and tastier.

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The Clubhouse – The Place for Steak since 1962

July 17, 2008 · Filed under Local, Restaurant · Tagged

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention the fabulous meal that we had the other night.  Stef’s dad took us out to eat at The Clubhouse, a venerable institution on Jericho Turnpike that has been around since 1962.  We originally were going to cook dinner at home, but a long day at the office prevented me from looking forward to slaving over a stove for anything more than a few minutes and Mike saved the day by mentioning this little gem.  We had never been there before, even though I drive past the place just about everyday.  He had been there for lunch once and was pleasantly surprised, as view from outside doesn’t really match the power and elegance demonstrated inside the restaurant.

The meal started off with a really great crusty bread and butter, the type that would be destined to mop up the last few drops of chowder (better than picking up the bowl and licking it clean).  Before the chowder came out, the three of us noshed on some really great crab cakes (although I would have liked mine with a little bit more sear to it, but otherwise it was delicious).  Then came the shrimp chowder which was by far, the best soup I’ve had to date.  It beats the seafood soup at Chez José, the seafood soup at El Picacho and the lobster bisque I brought home from Town Meat Market.  It had that velvety texture that makes you go back for more; the type of soup that inhabits your dreams at night (sucks when you wake up though to find no soup).

For protein, Mike and I ordered the Cowboy Steak which was a rib eye while Stefani ordered a piece of buffalo meat (I think it was a tenderloin).  And even though we all ordered medium rare and received steaks that were closer to medium, the flavors of the meat were so good that, not being the type to waste food, were happy to gobble up all that was on our plates (especially considering the waitress was kind enough to comp us dessert).

For dessert, we had the homemade pecan pie a la mode, the homemade white/dark chocolate mousse, and the rice pudding.  Rice pudding was a little watery for us all, the mousse was good (white chocolate actually surprisingly good) and the pecan pie, well, it was good but when you’ve had Stefani’s, it’s tough to compare.  Maybe we’ll share that recipe soon.

All in all, it was one of those truly satisfying meals.  Hey, nothing is perfect in life, you have to roll with the punches, but we rolled and as a result, had a wonderful meal.

(Hey Dad, thanks for the meal, sorry the post wasn’t up fast enough.  Pressures of the day to day, ya know?)

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Greatest salad ever?

July 17, 2008 · Filed under Local, Produce, Recipe · Tagged ,

I couldn’t wait a second longer to post about last night’s salad.

I really wanted to make something that Stefani would enjoy, using some of the farm fresh produce from our CSA.  She was going to be playing volleyball until dinner so I had some time to figure out what I was going to do.  A trip downstairs to the backup fridge found some assorted chard (swiss and rainbow) and a really delicious looking beet.  Now, I’m not a beet kind of guy, but my wife’s family is Russian and beets are big in their book, so she grew up with a certain level of comfort with them.

Although when I told her on the phone that I was serving the beet raw, she expressed some reservations.  “I’ve never had beets raw before, I’ve always cooked them.”

Well, raw beets here we go, as we make a super fast and super healthy salad that did wonders next to a piece of steak from the grill.

(The recipe comes from one of my favorite food sites, The Kitchn and I adjusted the quantities based on what I had on hand)

Sautéed Rainbow Chard with Raw Beets and Goat Cheese
serves 4 to 6

3 or 4 medium-sized beets (we had one big and 4 or 5 inch-wide ones)
4 large handfuls of rainbow chard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Peel the beets and either grate them on a box grater or in a food processor. You should have about two cups of shredded beets.

Separate and chop the thick stems of the chard. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot on medium heat and cook the stems for about 5 minutes, until they are softened. Add the leaves of the chard, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning with tongs, until the leaves have wilted and cooked down. Transfer the chard to a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

Make the dressing. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper, then stream in the olive oil while whisking vigorously.

Combine the chard and the beets and toss with the vinaigrette (depending on how much chard you have and how saturated you want your greens, you may have some vinaigrette left over). Top with goat cheese.

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Mark Bittman owns the July 4th picnic

July 8, 2008 · Filed under About Us · Tagged

For those of you who don’t know, Mark Bittman is a food writer and columnist who writes the weekly column The Minimalist in the New York Times.  For years he has always advocated a “just do it” approach to cooking, taking recipes that some people may be overwhelmed by and turning them into simple, easy to follow instructions.

He also creates these massive lists from time to time that include over 100 different “things” you can do; picnic ideas, simple meals ready in 10 minutes or less, appetizers.  Needless to say, sometime on Thursday evening, July 3, I saw Stefani with his 101 20-minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics and a highlighter, so I knew that we were going to be in store for some major picnic-ing over the weekend.

I will leave it to her to go more in detail as to what was made, what was served and what accidentally hit the floor because the fridge was too full, but I will share with you this peaceful photo of the secluded beach we snuck away to with some friends for an afternoon of fun.  Oh yeah, the pork/sundried tomato/garlicscape pesto rollups were bomb, as was the cold udon noodle salad, carmelized onion/ricotta/prosciutto pizza and the first peach thing to hit the floor.

Hope you had a great 4th of July!

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