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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for November 15-20, 2004
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| Don't Postpone Joy - the contest is upon us |
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Can you belive it is time already? Time, that is, to bring in your pictures, sculptures, songs, poems, stories, and creations. Our contest ends this week.
Everyone who enters will be given a certificate for one dinner to go. The one who brings in the coolest entry (chosen by a highly biased "panel" of judges) will be given a certificate for 12 dinners to go. Use them all at once or spread them out as you like.
The important thing is, as you know, you can't win if you don't enter. C'mon now. We really think you have the winning idea. Get it out of your head and bring it in. See you this week! |
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A Thanksgiving Story |
Early last week a woman came into the shop and, after browsing through the retail area, asked, when she saw me, if I might be Laurey. Hearing that I was (and am) she told me this sweet tale:
In 1960 she and her sister and their husbands (maybe boyfriends at the time) were students at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. Someone had been given a copy of my mother's first cookbook. That year the two sisters decided it was time they learned how to cook. And, it being Thanksgiving, they decided to start with a turkey and stuffing. They turned to The Blueberry Hill Cookbook and followed my mother's instructions carefully. The turkey and the stuffing and everything else turned out perfectly. They were quite delighted with themselves - who wouldn't be?
"This stuffing, your mother's stuffing, is the only one we have ever made," she gushed. "And we now have to make a huge amount extra. Our families want leftovers to last a whole week!"
The woman, who lives out on the coast, was as pleased to meet me as I was to meet her. I did not catch her name, but I glowed for a day or two.
Really, wouldn't you? |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner to Go |
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In case you missed it, or in case you have just decided not to cook for the gang, here is our menu for this year's dinner. Call in by this coming Friday, please. Thanks!
Thanksgiving Dinner to Go 2004
Grilled Artichokes and Mushrooms
with a Lemon Cream
served with Roasted Garlic Crostini
Blueberry Hill Turkey and Stuffing:
made with Fresh Herbs of the Season
Gravy (of course!)
Creamy Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Sweet Potato Rounds broiled with Apricots
Broccoli and Pearl Onions with Browned Butter
Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread
Jubilee Chutney
Pumpkin Pie
Elsie's Apple Cream Pie
Price per person 26.25 (+ tax)
Please call to place your order by Friday, November 19 if you possibly can. We'll have your dinner ready to pick up on Wednesday, November 24
between 3 and 5:00.
Orders will be presented in reheatable containers and you will be given instructions for reheating. Feel free to order the whole meal just for yourself or for a gang of 50.
Want just the parts? Let us know.
If you're cooking for yourself - have a great time. Happy Thanksgiving!
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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 for that night's meal. Then come back between 4:30 and 6:00 to pick up your dinner - all ready in a heatable container. Simple, yes?
Here are the suggestions for the rest of this month:
Monday November 15 Gorgonzola Chicken Fettuccine 9.50
Tuesday November 16 Greek Spinach Pie and Cheddar Corn Chowder 9.75
Wednesday November 17 Roast Pork Tenderloin with Dried Plum Dressing 10.25
Thursday November 18 Classic Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes 9.75
Friday November 19 Spicy Cajun Shrimp and Vegetable Slaw 12.00 **
Monday November 22 Cider Chicken with Cheddar Potato Gratin 9.50
Tuesday November 23 Dijon Rack of Lamb with Roasted Potatoes 12.50
Wednesday November 24 Special Thanksgiving Dinner to Go (see inside)
Thursday November 25 Stay home. Eat Turkey. Enjoy.
Friday November 26 We’ll be off today. See you on Monday.
Monday November 29 Tequila Lime Chicken with Pineapple Jicama Salsa 9.50
Tuesday November 30 Smoked Salmon Frittata with Zucchini Parmesan 10.00
** this means low carb. Still delicious, you know.
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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.
Here are the casserole options for the rest of the month. Casseroles are great for hungry families, you know.
Wednesday, November 17
Beef and Marsala Mushroom Stroganoff
Full 38.75
Half 14.50
Tuesday, November 23
(note – this week’s casserole will be prepared on Tuesday)
Shrimp Newberg
Full 42.00
Half 21.00
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Amazing Jellies |
When I first went to Paris I remember being dazzled by the incredibly flavorful jellies at Hediard, that temple of fine food. Packed in clear sleeves, their signature squares almost popped out, really bursting with flavor.
This summer, at the Fancy Food Show, we saw these pretty little squares. We actually almost walked right by, thinking that they were from another country. (We have nothing against other countries, you know, but this is a small shop and one needs to draw a line somewhere, so we decided to feature wonderful products from the United States.)
Anyway - these sweets are made in New Hampshire. We have two assortments: one with rosemary or lavender or rose flavors. The other, pictured here, features fresh berries and citrus.
I passed them around at a staff meeting recently.
"Wow!" said the first person to try one.
"Wow!" said the second.
"Wow!" said the third.
And, though it has been said 19 times before, "Wow!" said the 20th person.
I am NOT making this up.
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| Martha's Pickled Carrots |
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Here's a look at the pickled carrots from last week's offering - in Louisville, Kentucky. We were part of the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs' conference, as I mentioned in the last newsletter. I was the coordinator for the first night's reception.
What a silly job.
Here's how it went:
Two months ago - call everyone to get menu suggestions ("everyone" means 7 chefs and 6 cheesemakers from all over the country.)
One month ago - call to confirm, get last minute volunteer needs, storage needs, equipment needs, times, etc.
Two weeks ago - check with organization's coordinator to confirm all of above.
One week ago - go to hotel early to get bearings, find equipment, meet hotel staff, find storage areas, equipment areas, etc.
Day of the event - prepare room, get set to meet other chefs. gather "Laurey's" food and equipment. get ready to direct volunteers, set to arrive at 3.
3:00 pm. volunteers arrive. look for chefs. no chefs are visible. check with front desk. no chefs have checked in. reception starts at 6:00. YIPES!
3:30 - go to reception room. wonder how far our one offering will go toward serving a party of 300.
4:00 - still no chefs. sweat. try to think of things for volunteers to do.
5:00 - chefs arrive. volunteers fly into gear.
5:45 - almost all the food is presented. one presenter has dropped all her food in the elevator. volunteers swoop in to help.
6:00 - guests arrive. wine and bourbon flow.
7:00 - everyone gushes about Richard's Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Tomatoes and Martha and Deb's Pickled Carrots and Beets and Okra. Nora (my hero) stands by my table nibbling the sweet potatoes right from our platter. (This makes me very happy!)
7:30 - guests leave. clean up. thank chefs, staff, volunteers. go out to dinner. arrive late. drink bourbon. begin to relax. |
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| A Note from Laurey |
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November 13, 2005
Hello from Asheville on a grey, chilly day. I am not ready for the weather’s change. It’s not really cold enough for a winter coat, but my thin fall jacket is not warm enough either. I have not switched to wool socks, though I need to. Seems like just last week I was in a t-shirt.
The conference was good. I spent time thinking about things that are so important to me. Surrounded by the leaders in this world of food, I listened to stories about how these women are changing their restaurants and their businesses. Nora, as I mentioned, is a purist, using only organic ingredients in her restaurants. I hosted a table one day and shared stories with other women about how they are moving toward more responsible, sustainable practices in their work. I felt small and unsatisfied, but also energized and inspired by their examples.
I pledge to continue to do as much as I can, here, to take us in the direction of providing healthy, carefully made food that contains ingredients from local sources whenever possible. It is not easy. There have been floods which affect crops here which means that we need to find foods outside of here which are more expensive, not to mention the fact that carefully grown food is more expensive in general, right? But these leaders point out that an educated buyer will understand. I hope they are right, for this is the direction, the vision, I have in my heart and mind. Handmade food. Carefully made. Using the best ingredients available, from local sources whenever possible. This continues to be my pledge.
I came home to electronic chaos. We’re changing our website to reflect this new direction. It is a handmade website, with hand drawn frames, hand crafted illustrations, and also some high-tech parts: photgraphs of the food, the staff, the products float in these hand drawn frames. I’ve been working on it, with the web fellow, for months now. He made the switch late last week. The old web site is gone. The new one is up.
But there are some glitches. Some people (me included) are still only getting the old site. The new site has some little mistakes – like the fact that the newsletter on display is still the one from August. (Argh!) The web fellow is in the middle of a move to New York and is between desks, computers, phones. This means that the mistakes can’t be fixed at the moment. (Double Argh!)
Added to this was the unfortunate point that all of our office e-mail systems stopped working due to the swith over. Since I do 95% of my work via e-mail, this was horrible for me. And then someone cut through my cable at home (new neighbors inadvertently chopped the wire) so I was out of luck there too. My cable at home is now fixed after a three day wait. And I can finally use the work e-mail. But the web site is still dancing between old and new, correct and incorrect. I hope we’ll fix it all up soon. In the meantime, I have reverted to long walks with my dog. She, out of all of us, thinks things are just great. I hope to agree with her – any day now.
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"And to have fun while we do what we do" |
It's part of our mission!
Here's Kris, decked out for Halloween. In her other life she bakes. Pink IS the new black, you know. |
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Contact Info: |
Laurey@laureysyum.com
828-252-1500
67 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801 |
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