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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for July 5 - July 10, 2004
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| Shelburne Farms' Cheddars are here |
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When George built the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville, his sister bought a parcel (!) of land on the shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont and built a summer "cottage," creating a model agricultural estate in the process. Shelburne Farms is now a place where people can visit, learn about matters of agriculture and the environment, and watch their award-winning Cheddar Cheeses being made.
While mostly sold in Vermont, a select number of retailers around the country carry this cheese. When we asked if they would sell it to us, we were questioned rigorously: Why did we want it? How much would we want? How were we going to promote it? We passed their test, apparently, and are pleased to have this wonderful cheddar for you.
Right now we have two of their Farmhouse Cheddars ("farmhouse" means the cheese is made right there, using only the milk from their Brown Swiss herd).
Try the Sharp Cheddar, which has been aged for 1 year. Or, for pure pleasure, choose the 2 year old Extra Sharp. In my mind, this is the best cheddar in the United States. |
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What's in this issue: |
1. Shelburne Farms' Cheddar
2. New products for the shop
3. Dinners to Go
4. Casserole of the week
5. Talented individuals
6. Yum # 1
7. A Note from Laurey
8. Yum, another one
If you'd rather not receive these weekly notes, simply scroll to the bottom of this page, follow the instructions about "unsubscribe" and that'll be that. |
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| New products are on the way |
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Emily and Adam and I are just back from the Fancy Food Show in New York. We met many of our old friends and found some new ones too. We're working on a line up of visits from some of them - though we figured we'd wait until you're all back from the beach for that. (I don't know about you, but I am happiest when I am looking forward to something - and I'm already excited about these visits.)
Stay tuned right here and I'll keep you in the know.
A preview of some of the new things:
Delicious (and surprisingly "affordable") Olive Oil from our friends at "O" Olive Oil in California.
Unbelievably fragrant and lovely fruit "jellies" (have you ever tried the ones from Hediard in Paris?) made in New Hampshire. All by hand. Yum!
Hilarious gum (yes - chewing gum) from a clever company in Rhode Island. You'll want to get them for the whimsical words on the packages - WE did! my personal favorite is "Be Nice or Leave. Thank you."
New jams from Sarabeth's in New York.
New preserves from "High Desert," a new company in Colorado, located at the base of some craggy peaks out there. They grow all their own fruit, developed the recipes with Deborah Madison (Greens, etc.) and are shipping us a selection of these heady jars as soon as they can. Watch for them.
New candy from the middle of our state. "J.W. Butterfield" (not exactly his real name) is quite a character. He's promised to come spend a day with us this fall and believe me - you will want to be sure to be here - not just to get samples of his candies, but to meet an amazing guy. He, in his seersucker jacket, is quite a fellow. And we love his candy too.
Okay - this list goes on. I'll let you know as these things come in. But feel free to stop in just to see for yourself. I might not have room to tell you about everythng, though I'll try. |
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The nightly dinners for the week (Call 252-1500 to order) |
Dinners-to-go are available Monday through Friday.
Here's how it works:
Just call us in the morning and we'll take your order. Then come back between 4:30 and 6:00 to pick up your dinner - all ready in a heatable container. Simple, yes?
Monday July 5 Baked and Fried Chicken with Roasted Garlic Potatoes 9.50
Tuesday July 6 Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Vegetables 10.50**
Wednesday July 7 Shrimp Primavera (or Vegetarian Primavera) 11.25
Thursday July 8 Pulled Eastern NC BBQ with Roasted Sweet Potatoes 10.00
Friday July 9 Baked Grouper with Pineapple Salsa 12.25**
** means you can enjoy this meal to your "low-carb" heart's content. Yum! |
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Dinners to go for the whole month |
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| The Casserole of the Week |
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Casseroles are made each Wednesday.
Call to order on Tuesday if you can.
Orders will be ready on Wednesday between 4:30 and 6:00.
Order a full pan for 9 (or so) or a half pan for 4 or 5.
This month we are featuring casseoles that represent some of the places our ancestors came from. Try 'em all, why don't you? Why cook?
This week's casserole (for July 7) is:
All American Chicken Pot Pie – the summer version
Full 33
Half 16.50
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Talented and interesting individuals |
This is Richard, our chief cook, grill master, jokester. He is the creator of the oven-roasted tomatoes, the grilled avocados and, last but by no means least, the incredibly popular "Roasted Sweet Potato Salad."
He can be a quiet fellow, but he manages the gang and the lists and the organizing of our daily chaos with finesse (not an easy thing to do, believe me!)
He is also the one who grills and smokes and roasts and keeps the ribs and chops coming your way. (Not that grilling is just a guy thing, mind you, but he DOES do a bang-up job at that too.)
He's been here for some time now, quietly (almost always) keeping the food coming. If you like our new ribs, he's the reason why. Thanks Rick!
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| I caught the bouquet! |
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Not REALLY, of course, but it seemed to match my hat the other day when I had the pleasure of being "grill babe" for a wedding over at Homewood. As Monroe walked by, on his way to give the flowers to the bride, I asked him to snap a shot.
Aren't these flowers beautiful?
Bright, fresh.
My favorite.
Hooray for Zinnias. |
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A Peach Trifle |
| Trust me when I tell you that each day brings something new around here. Peaches are in. Kris offered this last week. Who can say what she'll bring this week. Just come see - I'm sure you'll be delighted. |
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| A Note from Laurey |
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July 3, 2004
Happy almost 4th of July, my friends. Things are bustling here, getting ready for the picnic dinners that many of you are coming to get in a few hours. I’ll probably wander over to City/County Plaza a bit later on to hear some music and visit with friends. Tomorrow is fireworks day. Fireworks are legal here in North Carolina, which still amazes me. We managed to get our hands on some little firecrackers and “Lady Fingers” and cherry bombs when I was little, but they were against the law in Vermont so I always felt bad playing with them – even though it WAS fun to blow up my model cars that had been collecting dust on the shelves of my bedroom.
It gets a little bit quiet around here at this time of year as all the mountain people go to the beach. Of course, there are a fair number of beach people coming to the mountains too. The transfer occurs every year. Makes me laugh. No one stays put even though they both live where so many others want to visit.
One year I spent the summer on the elbow of Cape Cod in the town of Chatham. I tried to be a fisherman but quickly found out that my body and a rocking boat do not get along well. Stuck on land, I poured over the food pages of the Sunday New York Times, trying recipes and learning about the foods of that region of the world. My friend Tut took it upon himself to educate me.
“C’mon!” he’d yell from the seat of his almost completely fallen-apart truck, “the King Mackerel are running!”
We’d hop in his truck and bounce along to the shore where he’d have a skiff waiting to row out to the fish weirs. Small fish, too small to sell, went into the bucket for us. Four inch long mackerel, slathered with garlic, lemon and butter, became lunch.
“Let’s go crabbing!” he yelled one day. “Come on!”
He drove, that day, to a marshy area where, yes, a skiff waited. I, sprawled out in the bow, learned how to dive the net in front of a fat blue fellow, anticipating which way the escape route would go. Snag! Into the bucket! Blue crabs for dinner – hooray!
One day, July 4th that year, the Times’ feature was Craig Claiborne’s recipe for Baked Stuff Clams.
“Whyn’t you make ‘em for the party tonight?” my friend Carolyn invited, when she heard me reading the recipe. “Wolfie’ll bring you the clams and I still have my Dad’s opener.”
We set up in the yard, she opening the bag full of fat beauties. I ground, spiced, tucked, and arranged the clam shells. Friends arrived, bringing beer, lobsters, mussels, corn, chicken, potato salad, watermelon, blueberry pie. I lined up the trays of clams, broiling them, bringing them out into the yard. We had enough food for a small town. There were, perhaps, twenty of us. What a day! We ate, hid from the tourists (everyone but me lived there all year long), and had the grandest 4th I could imagine. At night, when it got dark, we set off some Lady Fingers, some little Roman Candles, and a few Cherry Bombs. We ate all the food. Drank all the beer. And, in short, had a terrific day.
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Yum! |
A plated version of our "Southern Antipasto"
Richard's Oven-roasted Tomatoes
Pickled Carrots
Pickled Okra
Marinated Beets
And a smidge of Richard's Sweet Potato Salad.
Nice. |
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Contact Info: |
Laurey@laureysyum.com
828-252-1500
67 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801 |
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