Bruschettina

Sunset Magazine

I am featured in this month's (August 2006) Sunset Magazine (pg 88) - I even gave up some of my secret recipes!

Article by Molly Watson

Photos by local Columbia City-ite Jim Henkins

Seattle Farmers Market Food Article

This article was in the Seattle P-I today - here's my part:

Check out the link for the full article and a "shiny, happy" picture of me - powder, please!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/277448_rest14.html

Farmers markets also offer a fresh bounty of noshing choices

By REBEKAH DENN
P-I RESTAURANT CRITIC

The grilled toasts called "bruschettinas" ($2.50 each, $7 for three) are a sunny reflection of the best of the market spirit, changing weekly to showcase the freshest and loveliest ingredients from neighboring booths. Chef Jennifer McIlvaine dips garlic cloves in olive oil, skates them over slices of artisan bread, grills the bread while you wait and tops it with your choice of seasonal bounty, with hot toppings warmed in well-worn cast-iron pans.

In early spring the options may include heavily grilled asparagus with bits of young green onion, or farmstand eggs hard-boiled and chopped, mixed with paper-thin radish slices. A week later, fresh snap peas may stand in for the eggs, with the radishes giving way in their own turn when more mature peas are paired with grilled onions.

Our personal favorite this season was cool pickled cauliflower decorated with fennel fronds. (Most popular, ironically, is the octopus-chickpea mix, the sole dish whose ingredients don't come from the markets.) The same attention to quality and detail shows in the sparkling citrus-mint juice ($2.50), for which McIlvaine muddles sprigs of fresh mint in a cup before pouring on fresh juice and topping it with a separate slug of chilled mineral water.

McIlvaine, a former cook at Asteroid Cafe and Zig Zag Cafe, also serves monthly five-course "Farmers Market Dinners," with signup sheets at her booth.

Where: Ballard Farmers Market (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, 5300 Ballard Ave. N.W.), Columbia City Farmers Market (3-7 p.m. Wednesdays, 4801 Rainier Ave. S.), Edmonds Farmers Market (9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, corner of Bell Street and Fifth Avenue).

July 21 Dinner

This is the menu for the Friday, July 21 Bruschettina Dinner.  This will be final dinner until I return from Italy.

  thank you!

$75 per person (plus gratuity), $20 deposit per person required.

Reservations can be made by email or at the farmers market.

Hope to see you soon!

Jennifer

FRIDAY, JULY 21

7:00 pm

SUMMER IN ROMA

ZUCCHINE RIPIENE

Zucchini stuffed with ground veal, tomato and herbs

with fried squash blossom

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ACQUACOTTA LAZIALE CON VONGOLE

"Cooked Water" in the style of Lazio with Clams

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SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

Traditional, made with guanciale and fresh duck eggs

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TROTA AL CARTOCCIO

Whole trout, cooked in parchment

with artichokes, baby potatoes, and fennel pollen

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FRAGOLE ALLO ZABAIONE GRATINATO

Strawberries with Sabayon gratin

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a flight of summer whites

Colli di Luna Vermentino

Castello della Sala Orvieto Classico Superiore

Villa Simone Frascati Superiore

Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico

Fazi-Battaglia "Arkezia" Spumante

*menu subject to change*

Local Heroes?

There is a great article in this month's (July) issue of Gourmet Magazine about the overuse of "local" and "organic", and how many chefs who claim to use all local, seasonal, organic produce really don't.  Many chefs and restaurants have PR people who know the current "buzz words."  They send out press releases to magazines and newspapers who simply print whatever the PR agent says, without doing any research.  And yes, this is even true of many Seattle restaurants - I know I could name a few.....

Its the same issue we are facing at the farmers markets, especially those markets that have looser standards and inspection procedures.  Believe it or not, there is a percentage of farmers who actually buy some of their produce from Charlie's  - and much of their inventory comes from California and other far off places.  I don't like to say that one should only buy certified organic produce (I don't - there are a lot of politics and money issues involved with certification), but I can't stress enough how important it is to really get to know your favorite famers and ask a lot of questions.   This seems extreme, but I'll even ask the same questions every week - if they change their story, they are probably not being truthful about their products. 

Even in our favorite "organic" grocery stores who have large banners claiming "local" with quaint stories of farmers...Really look around and read the fine print.  You'll see that less than 10% of the produce is from an area within 150 miles.

All that said - eat local, buy organic, and support your famers market!

(Gourmet magazine article is not available online)

Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em

That's the motto of my new favorite BBQ joint, Roy's BBQ in Columbia City.  The owners have been loyal customers of mine, and I have never been to their place because I'm always in a rush getting to the market, and then I rarely leave Ballard on my days off (excuses, excuses).  So Shane organized a trade with me, and brought me an Oyster Po'Boy and Fish Tacos.  I have been missing out!!!  I pretty much like oyster-anything, so I definately liked the po'boy, but it was the fish taco that I'll really be craving.  I don't know what kind of fish it was - seemed like cod, but it was smoked to perfection:  great flavor and really moist.  It came in a tortilla with one of the best slaws I've ever had - made with crunchy purple cabbage, mayo, and a little heat - it was awesome!  I might even venture out of Ballard for it.....

Overheard in Philly

this is a site dedicated to overheard conversations in my hometown city of Philadelphia - oh the pride I feel!

http://overheardinphilly.blogspot.com/

note well:  this site is intended to be humorous and very un-p.c.

Prosecco!

great excerpt from the NY times, especially since I just watched Mondovino last night - a must see documentary about the "war" between Mondavi and small wine producers in Europe.

June 21, 2006

Wines of The Times

A Sip, a Smile, a Cheery Fizz

By ERIC ASIMOV

HEY, you! Yeah, you, Mr. Mucketymuck, in your black power suit and shades. You never let 'em see you sweat, right? You and your air-conditioning turned all the way up — at home, in the car, in the office, in the beach house — you like to see the others shiver. You're the man, starched and creased. While around you people wilt and melt into puddles, you're triumphant, with your big, expensive cabernet in the dark, chilly steakhouse.

You're not the kind of guy who'd ever be caught dead with a prosecco, are you? What is that, you ask, some kind of girly wine? Hey, did someone turn off the air-conditioning? Now what will you do? It's getting hot. It's getting sweaty. You can't take it, can you? You've got to go? Exit, stage left!

Whew. Sorry about that, but I had to get rid of that guy. So annoying! And he does not understand summer, or summer drinking. Of course he wants a prosecco! Prosecco was made for summer, when you need something blithe, airy and carefree. It's a light summer dress, a summer thriller for the beach, an entertainment, not a burden. It's a social drink. You cannot brood over a prosecco.

Not that I have anything against air-conditioning on a scorching day, but drinking prosecco is more like the gentle cooling of a rippling breeze, always leaving you wanting more. It's almost meant to be consumed outdoors in the heat or the shade, partly because it's low in alcohol, generally under 12 percent. It's refreshment, and it's stylish, too. Millions of Italians can't be wrong about that.

Nobody drinks sparkling wine as regularly as the Italians do. It's made in almost every Italian wine region, and no meal seems complete unless it starts with a frothing glass of spumante, the melodious Italian word for sparkling wine. Among all the Italian sparkling wines, prosecco is rising rapidly in popularity, trailing in the United States only that old standby, Asti spumante, which takes its name from its region of origin. And why not? You could not ask for a better value in outdoor sparklers, in the garden, at the beach, up on the roof or under the boardwalk. read on at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/21/dining/21wine.html?pagewanted=all

July Dinner

I recently found out that I won an internship to work at an organic agriturismo in Italy in August.  Everything is included except the airfare, so I am adding an additional dinner on Friday, July 21.  Check out where I will be:  http://www.spannocchia.org/

$75 per person, $20 deposit per person required.

Reservations can be made by email or at the farmers market.

Hope to see you soon!

Jennifer

FRIDAY,  JULY 7

MONDAY,  JULY 10

FRIDAY, JULY 21

7:00 pm

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EARLY SUMMER IN LIGURIA

CIUPPIN

Ligurian fish stew

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TROFIE AL PESTO DI NOCI

traditional Genovese pasta with walnut sauce

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INSALATA DI PORCINI

fresh porcini and cucumber with local herbs

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CONIGLIO AFFOGATO ALLA LIGURE

braised rabbit with a fricassee of artichokes,

taggiasca olives, baby potatoes, rosemary

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ALBICOCCHE MERINGATE

apricot meringues

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Colle dei Bardellini Riviera, Ligure di Ponte Vermentino

La Columberia "Terrizo" Colli di Luni Rosso

Sciacchetra

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*menu subject to change*

Summer at Spannocchia

I recently found out that I won an internship work on an organic agriturismo in Italy, just outside of Siena.  The internship was sponsored by Women Chef's and Restauranteurs http://www.womenchefs.org/, and I will be working at the beautiful Spannocchia Foundation http://www.spannocchia.org/.  As far as I know, I will be doing farm/garden work in the mornings, and then cooking for the guests and residents of the Castello in the afternoon.  I better start really studying my Italian, as I will be in a non-english speaking kitchen -a little scary, but I know it will be fun!

Any volunteers to work at the stand while I'm gone?!?

School is Cool!

Especially when it is in Italy!!!

Ho preso i lezioni d'itliani per quattri mesi...I have been taking Italian lessons for four months at La Scuola d'Italiana http://www.scuolaseattle.com/index.html in Belltown for 4 months, which I highly recommend (I would get a lot further if I would study...).  A student from another class recommended a language immersion class in Italy: La Cultura Italiana http://www.culturaitaliana.it/newhome/indexeng.asp.  I checked it out, and beyond seeming like a really great way to experience true small town Italy, the prices for the school and board are unbelievably cheap - I'm thinking about it for the fall!