Hot From The Kettle ®
Among good chefs seasonal cooking is expected. But what about seasonal mixology? Chefs are taking their produce to the bar and shaking up garden fresh cocktails fit for sipping on a sweltry summer night!
Here are two of the most creative "gartending" (bartending + garden = gartending) recipes I've come across. So, gather up some fruit and veg, and get mixing!
Below is my recipe for Heriloom Tomato Bruschetta, one of my favorite summer dinner party starters. Its perfect because you can mix up the tomatos and slice the bread in advance, then just before your guests arrive you can throw it all together and leave it out for everyone to enjoy. Make sure you put out some plates or napkins, these can be very messy (in the best way).
Recipe:
Take two boxes of heirloom tomatoes and slice them all
When you know where your food comes from, it just tastes better.
I recently had the pleasure of sampling our Garden State’s own Jersey Fields Tomato Sauce. Appropriately named, the Jersey born and bottled sauce is a product of the Farm-To-Table-Food Group, a local company that specializes in the production of sauces and salsa’s using only Jersey farm fresh produce.
There are many different ways to approach the annual process of "putting up tomatoes."
Earlier in the week, we learned how Lou Palma puts up his tomatoes. Last year, Alison Bermack, founder of the Cooking with Friends Club, made a visit to the Kettle Kitchen to teach me her method of making fresh tomato sauce with a bushel of tomatoes from Matarazzo Farm.
Take a trip down Hot From The Kettle memory lane and check out last year's video!
It's that time of year again when foodies rejoice at the annual process of "putting up" tomatoes.
Yesterday I visited Montclair's most loved and respected foodie, Lou Palma, to observe the process. In true gastro-mechanic fashion, Lou converted his garage from a center for pork curing, into a tomato sauce production factory.
Want to watch the master at work? Click play!
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For me, there are few things more delicious than in-season Heirloom Tomatoes. When Ariane Duarte, owner and chef of CulinAriane, lends her Midas touch to these lutein packing beauties, their flavor exceeds even my palate's expectations - - it's gold.
Ariane and her husband, Michael, a fellow Culinary Institute of America graduate, and pastry chef, opened CulinAriane, initially as kitchen space for their catering business. The restaurant was very much secondary, with only ten small tables. Soon, however, popularity began to grow and CulinAriane became one of the stars of the Baristaville dining scene. Then Top Chef came calling and the rest was culinary (and reality tv) history.