Lots of Everything

Some Thanksgiving gifts for you

Rochelle — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:07:37 +0000

The Frederick News-Post has some wonderful Thanksgiving gifts for home cooks in today’s paper.

First, there’s a story full of chef recipes to shake up your Thanksgiving table. I particularly like the look of Christine Van Bloem of The Kitchen Studio‘s stuffing, though Bryan Voltaggio’s Brussels sprouts look good too.

Then, once you’ve made all this fabulous food, I’ve given you a column to show you some ways to present it so it looks as delicious as it is sure to taste. Read here to learn about eating with your eyes as well as your mouth.

I hope you and your families and friends have a tremendous and delicious Thanksgiving!

Korean BBQ Food Truck…In Frederick!

Rochelle — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:08:21 +0000

I’ve been sucking down more than my fair share of Korean BBQ lately, thanks to the great folks at Gogo Gogi, a new truck selling outstanding food at farmer’s markets around Frederick County.

John and Julie Kim put out a great product. Try for yourself and tell me what you think.

Update on The Q Company

Rochelle — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:41:22 +0000

Remember that post about the local couple on the reality cooking show?

The Q Company of Harpers Ferry won last night’s episode of 24 Hour Restaurant Battle.

Here’s hoping this means we’ll get a new BBQ restaurant around here sometime soon! Congratulations Sara and Mitchell!

Beer and Cider for Frederick

Rochelle — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:49:09 +0000

I wish I had time to go to the beer dinner at Mick’s in Frederick tomorrow night. Chef James Strine has teamed up with Bob Malone of Flying Dog Brewery for the meal. The menu he sent me includes some interesting pairings like gunpowder bison “carpaccio” with pickled horseradish and yukon gold potatoes paired with “Raging Bitch” beer, and an heirloom tomato salad with “Woody Creek” beer. Call the restaurant at (301)662-0373 for more info.

I’m going to try to make the grand opening of the Distillery Lane Ciderworks at 5533 Gapland Road in Jefferson, MD on Saturday, September 5. I love the idea that there will be local cider–both fresh pasteurized and (ooh la la!) hard cider–from apples grown so close to home. More info at www.ciderapples.com.

Sharing the Love

Rochelle — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:57:40 +0000

There’s some seriously awesome food in and around Frederick these days, and it just keeps getting better. I couldn’t possibly rank my favorites, but I did share some love in a recent story in the Frederick News-Post:

10 Local Foods You Should Be Eating, from yesterday’s paper.

Local Couple on Reality Food Show

Rochelle — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:03:09 +0000

There’s a really nice couple in Harpers Ferry who run a Texas-style BBQ business. Their BBQ trailer was totalled by a car in a terrible accident, and now they’ve decided to try to open a restaurant (hopefully in Charles Town, WV) instead of continuing with the trailer. An upcoming appearance on the Food Network program 24 Hour Restaurant Battle might help.

Putting food by

Rochelle — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:47:38 +0000

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of putting food by–preserving the best of the season through food preservation techniques. This can even include something as simple as putting a vinegar-honey dressing on cucumbers and onions to keep them for a week or so–a summer salad popular among all members of my family.

Recipes from the Farmers Market Demo

Rochelle — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:29:16 +0000

Thanks to everybody who showed up to watch me demonstrate products from the North Frederick Farmer’s Market this past Wednesday.

Here’s what I made:
Pan-fried pork minute steaks with picked onions, bacon, roasted heirloom tomatoes and LOVE lemon oil
Summer berry trifle

For the minute steaks:
Separate steaks and sumberge in buttermilk mixed with salt, being sure the buttermilk touches all surfaces of each steak. Let soak for at least an hour or as long as overnight. (Overbrining the steaks may result in waterlogged meat. You can add hot sauce to the brine if you like.) Drain. Dredge in seasoned flour and pan-fry in extra-virgin olive oil just until browned on both sides. Serve immediately.

For the pickled onions:
Slice onions thinly and place in a sieve. Bring water to a boil and pour it over the onions in the sieve, letting it drain off immediately. Transfer the onions to a bowl and splash generously with whatever vinegar you like. I used a grapefruit white balsamic vinegar from LOVE, but I usually use mirin. Apple cider vinegar is good too, or white or red wine vinegar. Let sit for at least a half-hour before serving. You can store the onions in the vinegar for up to a week if desired. A mix of white and red onions is especially fetching.

For the roasted heirloom tomatoes:
Cut assorted cherry and grape heirloom tomatoes in half and place in a pan large enough to hold them no more than 2 tomatoes deep. Toss in the bacon grease from cooking the bacon or in extra-virgin olive oil. Add some chopped herbs–I used thyme from the market. Use a Microplane to puree some garlic and stir in. Add a generous sprinkle of salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour, shaking the pan periodically, until they are cooked and the edges are browned.

To assemble the pork:
Place a piece of pork on a plate. Scatter a spoonful of the onions over the top. Sprinkle the onions with bacon. Rest some tomatoes on the side. Drizzle the top of everything with a few drops of the lemon oil.

For the berries:
Combine whatever berries you’d like to use with some sugar in a bowl. Put on a glove and use your hand to mash the berries coarsely. Let sit for at least half an hour so the sugar pulls the juices from the fruit.

For the pastry cream:
2 cups milk
5oz sugar, weighed on a scale
6 egg yolks
2 ½ tbsp cornstarch
Vanilla

Combine milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, combine yolks and cornstarch with vanilla using a whisk until the mixture has melded. Gradually drizzle in the hot milk, stirring constantly with the whisk. Return the milk-egg mixture to the saucepan and return the saucepan to the heat. Stir constantly until the cream has boiled and thickened and the foam on top has receded. Strain into a clean bowl. Sprinkle the surface with sugar and press on plastic wrap before chilling and using.

To assemble the trifle:
Crush cookies (I used the awesome chai cookies baked by Kerri Eiker at Goose Creek Farm). Alternate layers of crushed cookies, berries, and pastry cream in a clear bowl. You can sprinkle the cookies with liquor if desired, or use leftover cake if you prefer. A dollop of whipped cream on top may be gilding the lily, but that never stopped me!

Coming Soon to a Farmers Market Near You!

Rochelle — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:05:31 +0000

I’ll be doing a demonstration of some excellent local foods–creating a few recipes that you can come watch me assemble, and (best of all) sample for yourself–at the new North Frederick Farmer’s Market next Wednesday, July 28.

I hope to see ya’ll next week!

Fruit Cobbler, and Traveling with Toddlers

Rochelle — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:55:24 +0000

I wrote a little story about super-simple fruit cobbler, which came to me via my friend Dean and a 1980s book on coastal Carolina cookery. I changed the recipe in Dean’s post to reflect my tastes, including using buttermilk instead of regular milk and some vanilla sugar for the regular sugar. The resulting cobbler is delicious and simple, and I urge you to give it a go.

I was also interviewed and extensively quoted in a story on traveling with toddlers that ran in the Frederick News-Post last week. There are some photos of my adorable son Colin in the story as well. Click here for a window into my summers traveling with a toddler in tow.