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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for July 17 - 22, 2006
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| True beauty |
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This glamor shot is inside our walk-in refrigerator. Boxes of locally-grown, organic produce. I always show you photos of the salads and dishes that we make with these ingredients. Last week I showed you some of the produce at the tailgate market. Here, not quite so snazzy, is today's cover girl.
We really mean what we say - that we use the best ingredients available, from local sources whenever possible. In the summer it is SO possible that we're overwhelmed. But that is a terrific dilemma for us - not to mention being so much the better for you!
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Teaching in Swannanoa |
Yesterday was a full one.
I spent the morning teaching at the Swannanoa School of Culinary Arts. The focus was local food, nicely prepared. The subtopic was about what it is like to be a culinary professional. The students had had five days of classes already that week and were full and tired from it all. They perked up at the sight of fresh tomatoes and herbs and interesting techniques. The range of participants kept things fun for me: two teenage boys who want to own their own restaurants, some retired happy eaters, and a smattering of high level foodies. Nice!
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| A class in local ingredients |
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These gals were in my afternoon class yesterday (um, I forgot to check my schedule when I put my day together a while ago.) For these folks I did a demonstration of what to do with some of the produce that shows up around this time of year. Newcomers to Asheville, they were appreciative watchers and tasters. I cooked three different local greens (kale, collards, and chard) in three different ways (steamed, sauteed, and braised.) I showed them a fast, fresh tomato sauce, and whipped up some Eggplant Caponata. I don't speak Spanish and they spoke very little English but the language of food transcends all that (and we did have a speaker of both languages with us.) I was a newcomer here at one point, so we had that in common too.
Food is food and taste is taste and these ladies were all lovely, enthusiastic, entertaining, sweet. My favorite part was watching a young daughter of one women giving tastes of the pasta to her baby sister who almost inhaled it, slurping noisily as she ate. At the end of the class everything was cooked, eaten, absorbed. I went home, had some watermelon and corn on the cob and went to sleep. Early!
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Dinners to go |
Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Here is the menu for this week:
Monday July 17 Tarragon Mustard Chicken with Jasmine Rice Pilaf 9.75
Tuesday July 18 Zucchini and Sausage Pie with Israeli Couscous 10.25
Wednesday July 19 Cuban Pork Loin with Yellow Rice and Black Beans 10.25
Thursday July 20 Crabcakes with Maple Cole Slaw 11.50
Friday July 21 Pistachio-crusted Snapper Filet 12.25
By the way, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go. Inaugurated a few months ago, our first winner was delighted! Maybe you'll win next month.
Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!
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Our website |
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| Special casserole of the week |
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We make a special casserole each week on Wednesday. Please give us a call by the end of the day on Tuesday and we’ll fix yours for you. Come by between 4:30 and 6:00. Get a half (for 4 appetites) or a full sized pan (for 9 or so.)
Wednesday, July 19
Beef Tips and Mushrooms
with Wild and Brown Rice
Full: 29.00
Half: 19.0
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Summertime on a platter |
Here is a look at a lunch we served earlier this week. Inspired by my jaunts to Tuscany, we made a family-style meal of grilled things and roasted things and tastes of here and there. The guests, finished with a full morning meeting about employee benefits, sat, family-style, and, by the time they were finished with the biscotti, were chattering like real Italians!
Buon appetito!
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| Local Fennel and Carrots |
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Another part of the family-style lunch.
Delicioso!
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Collards for the ladies |
Oh - another fun part about the second cooking class was that the local tv station came by to film. The camera man, a fellow who has photographed our food on a few occasions, joined in the discussion when it came to collards. He was amazed that it could be possible to eat these greens after less than a full day of cooking. My gals, never having encountered them before, willingly went along with my suggestion of a far shorter time. As we sampled my version, slipping some to the cameraman, I could see his wheels turning. Indeed, as he was packing to leave, he announced that he was going to go to the market to buy some collards to take home to cook for his wife.
Now THAT, in my mind, is a terrific thing, wouldn't you say?
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| A Note From Laurey |
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July 15, 2006
Hiya,
Hoo boy I’m glad it’s Saturday. And, a reasonably quiet one at that. We’ve been going full strength and I’m happy for a brief reprieve. Later today I’m going up to the countryside to spend the night. Tomorrow we might go tubing which will be fun. Monday’s my day off. Maybe I’ll go to a movie. Maybe I’ll sleep late. It all feels deliciously possible, luxuriously long. Two days! Bliss.
This morning I got to crank up “Jam Babes’ Blackberry Jam” production. My friend Kim is the guru at a local place that has canning facilities. I had a stack of flats of blackberries, a stack of boxes of jars, and a sack of excitement. (In Italian there is a wonderful collection of expressions that all include the words “a sack of…” as in, “when I was young I did a sack of stupid things,” or “don’t tell me a sack of lies.”)
I got all geared up to make jam. In previous years I’ve made it right here on the stoves of my kitchen, but lately I’ve gotten too busy and it is harder and harder to find time and, more importantly, space to make jam. Two years ago I could tell I was really in the way, trying to keep my table free was a major inconvenience. Last year I lost half of my production because I did something wrong and the seals didn’t work correctly – an expensive mistake. Kim has come along at just the right time.
This morning, while I stirred with a gigantic paddle, so big I had to use two hands, I inhaled the steamy sweetness of the jam and smiled. My parents did the same thing a number of years ago. They started by making a few jars of blueberry jam on the counter of the kitchen at Blueberry Hill. After a few years and some timely attention from a food writer with The Associated Press, they could no longer keep up. For them the step up took them to Massachusetts where they hired off-duty servicemen to sort berries and clean jars and pack jam. Jam time involved them being gone for an entire week.
It only took me 15 minutes to get to Kim’s place this morning, and part of that involved going to the store for some throat lozenges. Kim had all the jars washed, lids were ready and the machine was calibrated. The berries were pristine so that part was very easy too. Two hours after I left I was back here, ten cases of warm blackberry “Jam Babes’” jam tucked into boxes and stacked in the back of my car. I am splattered with bits of blackberries, but that’s not so bad. Give us a couple of days to get some labels printed and put on and they’ll be ready to go.
But now I have to go. Menus await.
Ciao – I’ll be in touch next week.
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Oh my |
I didn't even let her get them out of the holder this time before I had my camera out and clicking. Judy says that yes, as you might assume, her garden is richly loaded with color. She seemed to be overwhelmed at it all, but to me, I swoon with the thought of it all.
Maybe next year.
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Contact
Info: |
Laurey's "Gourmet Comfort Food"
Eat In - Take Out - Catering
67 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, NC 28801
828-252-1500
Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 - 4:00 pm
"Don't Postpone Joy!"(tm)
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