Vino Oysters & Picpoul At the Old Jake and Mike’s Location
Serving New & Traditional American Cuisine with a Twist
Open Lunch and Dinner Tuesday - Saturday 11 am to 9 pm Sunday Brunch 10 am to 3 pm Closed on Mondays
806 William Street Fredericksburg, VA 22401 Tel: 540 899-0941 From the Owners of The Soup and Taco, Etc.
12
April 2015
The Renowned Northern Italian Restaurant once in Stafford on Garrisonville Rd moves to downtown Fredericksburg’s “Historic Chimney’s Building” on Caroline Street adding Internationality to their Cuisine
Open 7 days a week Monday to Saturday 11 am to 10pm International Sunday Brunch 9am to 3pm Dinner from 3pm to 9pm Private Dining Rooms for Your Holiday parties or any occasion!!! 623 Caroline Street Fredericksburg VA 22401 Tel (540) 368-1 1107 Fax (540) 368-1 1108
Front porch fredericksburg
By scott richards On August 19, 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe kicked off the Virginia Oyster Trail to attract the tourist trade to the growing oyster industry in Virginia. Concern over the marine life in the Chesapeake Bay has long been an issue for many. Recently the Oyster Company of Virginia started doing something about it. Oysters for Life was formed as an organization to take steps toward renewing the Bay to its former grandeur. Oysters for Life is a co-op with a one time fee charged that buys a oyster cage in which oysters can be raised. A ten year subscription to the co-op is $175.00 and a lifetime subscription is $250.00. A single oyster can daily filter out the impurities of fifty gallons of water An oyster cage, holding 2000 oysters, will allow for 100,000 gallons of water to be filtered per day. When the English first came to North America, there were enough oysters to filter the entire Bay in three or four days. Not to minimize either the effect or the importance of the cages of oysters, but their is an additional benefit to subscribing to Oysters for Life is FREE OYSTERS!!! Each year, subscribers can recie two dozen fresh oysters. Recently, I cashed in on this deal. My youngest son, Kyle, and his wife, Ashley, came up from Richmond and we feasted. My wife, Diane roasted half of them in the oven (400º F) until they opened up. The rest I shucked and we ate them raw. The oysters were Northern Neck Oysters from the Wicomico area. The raw had the sweet, buttery taste oysters from this part of Virginia are noted for. Raw oysters are a Virginia delicacy, a few bites to extract the flavor and then let them slide down. The roasted oysters were done just right, with more of a solid feel but not overly done so they shrivel up. Again, the good sweet, buttery taste was there to be enjoyed. To supplement the oysters we had a vegetable tray with a spinach dip and light
crackers. Kyle brought a bottle of 2011 Castello La Leccia Chianti Classico because he knows I like the taste of Sangiovese wine. A nice, fruity, hearty wine, it did pair as well with the oysters, but not as well as another wine we served. A chilled bottle of Picpoul de Pinet from the Langue D'Oc region in the south of France paired perfectly. The nose on the Picpoul has a floral sense which hints at the excellent structure of this wine. At first a delicate taste can be sensed, only to be given over to a wonderful balance between the acidity and the effect of the limestone terroir. Grown near the Mediterranean Sea, this grape grows in large, loose clusters that produce a crystal clear wine that can be only be described by its own uniqueness. Among those familiar with this region of France, it is known how well this wine and seafood go together. For those of us who are not as familiar with the region, take my word for it, not because I have knowledge of French geography, but because I have had this wine with some of Virginia's finest oysters. There is one word to describe this pairing: Excellent! Scott Richards is owner of Loch Haven Vineyards. Read his blog at fromthevine.wordpress.com or Contact him at lochhavenvineyards@gmail.com
Season’s Bounty last of winter greens By vanessa moncure Snowy, chilly, windy March is now a meteorologic memory - maybe you didn’t especially notice with the stillsubfreezing temperatures and a final deep snowstorm, but Spring began officially on March 20 this year, the annual vernal equinox in our Northern Hemisphere. Spring, and gardeners usually sit up and take special notice of the Almanac, mailboxes fill with planting catalogs, and potting soil, fertilizer, seed cups and twirling racks of seed packets replace displays of snow shovels and ice melt at the local hardware store. Well, this year I might be a month behind with my garden. Last year, the weather was so mild, I was foolhardy enough to plant potatoes, sow rows of peas and onions sets, even transplant tender lettuces, cool-weather loving arugula and all of my herbs from seed to the garden before March 20th - I say I was foolhardy because I’ve had years where mis-timing saw the potatoes rotted in toowet ground, late freezes turned lettuce to mush, and few if any seeds germinated. But the Almanac reassured me, and later I forked up bushels of Yukon Gold, Kennebec white and Beauregard sweet potatoes - best harvest ever! March 20th this year saw the ground frozen inches down, and now drowning in mud - forget about the tiller, and I think even the tractor might get bogged down in the farm garden! If herbs could shiver, mine would. They’re still in their peat cups, waiting to be transplanted, spending their days hardening on an outdoor bench. Last month I hoped to find my winter kale and spinach still living under a crusty blanket of snow - and yes! my south-facing stonewarmed greens were there, the curly spinach probably the equivalent of $100 of organic grocery spinach packages - and so much kale that I’ve welcomed every neighbor with a bag and exhortation to pick, cut or pull as much as they’d like - I know the tiller will be turning the soil, and remaining greens, over in the next few weeks! A few recipes for the last of my garden greens… GARDEN CRESS SANDWICHES Garden cress is not watercress it’s an herb related to mustard greens and watercress and shares their tangy, slightly bitter and peppery flavor. My grandmother used to cut and clean it, then blanch in several changes of boiling water and simmer with fat meat, S&P and an onion for several hours on the back of the stove, then serve with a vinegar cruet aside. I do like a bowl of cooked cress, if just for a memory, but really love the flavor garden cress in mixed salads tossed with a whole-grain mustard vinaigrette or especially added to sandwiches - more
tang in the flavor profile. This is a favorite - use up your Easter eggs! Peel and chop six whole hard boiled eggs and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together scant ¼ c. mayonnaise, 1 T. whole grain mustard, ¼ tsp. dry mustard powder, ½ tsp. vinegar and finely chopped whole green spring onion or bunch of chives. Fold together with the eggs, adding more mayo by the teaspoonful if needed. Spread on dark bread, like pumpernickel, top with cress and enjoy! Sometimes I spread vegetable cream cheese on a tortilla, then cress and shredded carrots - roll and enjoy! OR have you ever heard of Taylor Pork Roll? Find it in the sausage/bacon aisle it is a fine-textured pork sausage mixture which you slice and brown in a skillet, then serve hot as on an onion roll sandwich with scrambled eggs and some cress. EASY SPANAKOPITA SIDE DISH This is great with lamb, think about your Easter dinner, or even as a stand-alone vegetarian dish. Cut, clean and coarsely chop about two pounds of fresh spinach, then blanch or steam - you should have about 4-6 cups cooked spinach. In medium bowl, beat together 3 large eggs, ¼ tsp. whole thyme, S&P. Stir in ½ c. very finely minced onion or spring onions, ¼ c. melted butter, 10 oz. crumbled feta cheese, 1 T. minced fresh parsley - then add spinach. Place mixture in greased 9in. square baking pan. Unroll defrosted phyllo dough (or use homemade - that would take another two columns to explain!!) and keep dough covered with linen towel while working with it, as it dries out so easily. (When you’ve finished with this recipe, follow directions on box for saving and refreezing leftover phyllo.) Cut a stack of about 20 sheets to size, then begin layering them over the spinach mixture, brushing melted butter on each layer. Bake in preheated 350F oven 35-45 minutes until phyllo is golden brown and spinach mixture is bubbly and cooked through. The filling can also be used to make traditional small triangular appetizers which freeze very well, and are great to have on hand for appetizer emergencies. AND….ALL THAT KALE I’m actually a bit overwhelmed by the amount of kale still to pick! Please go back and check my “Let Them Eat Kale” 1/2015 Front Porch column - and if you’re in the neighborhood, come on by and help yourself! Please!! Vanessa Moncure entertains and educates us on food every month in this column.
Olde Towne BUTCHER Corner of William & Charles Streets Downtown Fredericksburg 540.370.4105 www.oldetownebutcher.com Hours Monday - Saturday, 9am to 9pm; Sunday, 11am to 6pm Lee Russell Proprietor
S ammy T’ s DOWNTOWN FREDERICKSBURG’S
Serving Great Food Since 1981
Home of the “Camper Special” & the Best Burger in Town 801 Caroline Street
(540) 371-2008
Try Our Self-Serve Yogurt open 11:30 am Daily Still Owned by the Emory Family
The General Store
Restaurant
Since 1978
Italian/American Food Monday-Saturday 11 am-10 pm
371-4075 2018 College Ave. Fredericksburg front porch fredericksburg
April 2015
13