50 Local, Kennebunk, Maine

50 Local, Kennebunk, Maine

There's nothing like sitting at table with a best friend, tummies full and grinning over a wonderful dinner. "Maybe just one more sip of wine," we murmur to ourselves. Neither one of us wants to leave the table, break the spell. So we sit there a moment more. We are so thrilled with what we just ate.

Local food sources

Dinner at 50 Local---a small bistro located on Main Street in the center of picturesque Kennebunk, Maine---was indeed a thrill. I didn't imagine finding an eatery there so sophisticated, so au courant, so on the cutting edge of everything divine to a foodie's 21st century ears. Locally sourced, organic, seasonally driven. Phew.

So what about the food you ask? Aaah yes, the food. The menus, one for small plates and the other with traditional appetizers, entrees and sides, offered a nice selection of appealing possibilities.

Moules-frites, the quintessential (Belgian) bistro dish of mussels and French fries, arrived steaming in a deep bowl brimming with crispy potato wedges topping a generous pile of fat, juicy mussels. The rich winey broth tasted lightly of anise flavored Pernod and we sopped it up with 50 Local's lovely home made foccacia. I could have lifted that bowl to my mouth and drunk the broth like soup it was so good.

Our second choice was cassoulet. Usually a stew dense with garlic, beans and lots of pork, duck and mutton, this version showed a lighter hand and boasted bites of crisp-tender pheasant, luscious pork belly and plenty of the usual white beans. There was no shortage of flavor in 50 Local's cassoulet and more delicious foccacia again found itself sopping up juices and beans.

Beignets

I wish I could tell you we tasted more but we had reached the saturation point with barely room for a little sweet. Beignets. They arrived crispy hot from the fryer. Dimpled doughy balls crusted with sugar with a cool puddle of caramel scented crème for dipping. Orgasmic. Nothing else compares to the sounds we made as we ate. Everyone of those five plump beignets disappeared in minutes and I have to admit, as full as we thought we were from moules, cassoulet and bread, we easily could have eaten five more.

I applaud husband and wife team, Merilee Paul and Chef David Ross, who created and run 50 Local. Local, seasonal sourcing makes a wonderful difference in the quality and taste of food. And diners seated next to us assured me our experience was the usual as they'd been there several times before. I've got to say, when the locals come back again and again and the place is full on a Tuesday, something wonderful is going on.

Prices are moderate and there's a decent selection of wine by the bottle and wine by the glass.We enjoyed glasses of a nice Spanish white, Las Brisas Rueda, 2010. The decor stymied me a bit and I couldn't quite put my finger on the style. I can say it does all hang together in a pleasing way and the metal chairs that I initially frowned over were really quite comfortable. Our table for two was a bit small as were the plates we were given for our sharing. But neither one of those things seemed that important and certainly didn't dampen our enjoyment. Service is low key, friendly and professional. 

Well done 50 Local. I can't wait to go back.

What's in your bowl?

It's Super Bowl time. I love Super Bowl. But not because I'm so interested in clashes of titans. But because I love an excuse to get together with friends and eat lots of not so healthy food that I get to cook.

Most of the time I do focus on all the good things. This one day a year I succumb to a baser instinct and go big time for carbs, meaty stuff and things that comfort.

Here's my plan for Super Bowl 2012.....

Polpette

    Snack: Sausage bread and crispy fried lamb polpette with tomato jam-----

      Chili seasoned corn dip with vegetable crudites----

                     A big bowl of grapes---- 

Pretzel bites

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

  Homemade pretzel bites with honey mustard cream---

                     

Roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese---

                           Dinner:  Beef goulash, noodles, Auntie Florence's zucchini casserole
  Dessert: assorted puddings---minted chocolate, mango panna cotta,

                                                       caramel budino

                                                    

               Milk and cookie shots

Caramel budino

Milk and cookies

Here's the recipe for the polpette....(makes about 24)

Ingredients:

• 1# ground lamb (shoulder)
• 1/2# sweet Italian sausage (removed from its casing)
• 1/2 cup day old bread, crumbled (no crust)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• unseasoned bread crumbs for dredging
• Canola or vegetable oil for frying 

Method:

• Soak the bread in the milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes
• Mix the meats together with a fork
• Add the soaked bread, grated Parmesan, 2 eggs, butter, garlic, chopped parsley, salt and black pepper.
• Mix well with a fork or use your very clean hands. Do not over work the meats.
• Form the mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2 inches round. 
• Dredge the meatballs in the breadcrumbs.
• Fry in a shallow pan over medium heat until nicely browned. About 5-7 minutes.
• Drain on paper towels before serving.

Serve hot or at room temperature.
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A newer kind of farmer's market

There’s a new kind of market headed to Atlanta — one that founder Michaela Graham refers to as a “playground for foodies.”

Beginning in April, The Atlanta Nosh will feature 150 food-related vendors each Sunday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. In addition to a farmers market, it will offer a selection of ready-to-eat items in sample sizes and prepared foods to take home. According to Graham, they are also working to make beer and wine available for purchase.

For now, the venue is secret, but we do know it will be outdoors. Graham says that it will be in the “best, most central location in Atlanta you can imagine.”

To partake in this food fest, you’ll have to register on the event’s website. The Atlanta Nosh will function as a private club and attendees will be responsible for an entry fee. Season passes will also be available.

The Atlanta Nosh is designed not only to provide a weekly foodie haven, but also to “support new, small and local businesses who believe in good food and are willing to make things happen.” If you’ve ever wanted to start a food-related business, here’s your chance to get started. Whether you’re a cook or baker, have a cookbook or have designed a new kitchen gadget, The Atlanta Nosh can be your proving ground.

If you’re interested in getting your foot in the door, food auditions for ready-to-eat items and packaged take-homeables will be held on Feb. 18 from 2-5 p.m. at Atlantic Station in the former Pier 1 store. You’ll need to bring ten bite-sized portions for the ten judges who will select the best and most interesting dishes and vendors to join the roster. Graham’s advice to hopefuls, “Just have a dream and be willing to follow it.”

For more information on the food auditions, visit the Atlanta Nosh website.

------reprinted from The Food and More blog with John Kessler

Eat seasonably, a guide

I loved finding this link...thought you would too.

Eatseasonably.co.uk

It's the little things

A couple of years ago I visited friend Debra at the Alpharetta Farmer's Market. She and sister Tina sell their delicious Tickles and Da Sauce! there every summer. After visiting and gabbing a bit I noticed a small canvas bag laying on the table. Debra called it a mushroom bag. Out of curiosity I bought one and brought it home.

Never was there a simpler or more perfect little thing to add to my stock of kitchen equipment. Debra promised it would keep mushrooms fresh for ages and that promise came true this evening. Rummaging around in the fridge looking for stuff for dinner, I found my mushroom bag tucked in the back of the fridge still full of the mushrooms I bought 3 weeks ago (and almost forgot).

They were as fresh as the day I bought them. Thank you Debra! I love my little mushroom bag.

A short "miss me?" and The Buckhead Diner

Writing this blog has been a thrill and a joy. Deciding what to write about has been relatively easy. Often there are several blog ideas waiting in the wings. If I've had any challenge it has been finding enough time.

So realizing that I'd hit a wall and couldn't write a word was a cold hard shock. I'd heard people talk about writer's block. Now I had it too. And right before the Holidays when the food world would be juicy with goings on.

What's a blogger to do? How should a foodie cope? The answer came quickly and that's what I did. I recharged by going out to eat and doing a whole lot of cooking. Now I have restaurants to review and recipes to share.

First up?

The nice people from The Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, which owns Buckhead Diner, invited several of us blogger folk for lunch. The purpose was to introduce their new menu and show off freshly scrubbed decor.

The most successful restaurants learn to sway with the wind and update to the times without loosing their original style and Buckhead Diner has found that magic in spades. They have managed to reinvent themselves, look shiny and new without loosing the deco flair that first made them popular.

The meal we enjoyed was gorgeous and the Buckhead Diner is as classy now as it was when it opened (in 1987).

Chef  Charles Schwab out did himself. The food was fresh, clean, beautiful to look at.... each plate a crafted testament to the Chef's talent and his carefully sourced ingredients. Some of the food shows off serious Top Chef talent, while other dishes are delightfully updated retro fun.

Pimento Cheese Fritters

These were my favorites. Crispy 2 bite pimento cheese fritters with  pimento jelly. Imagine deep fried oozy pimento cheese melting over your tongue with a little dash of sweet spicy goo. A royal performance for such a lowly cheese.

Mini Corn Muffins

Nothing says lovin like something warm from the oven and these tiny corny corn studded muffins melted my heart along with lots of sweet butter. Yum, yum, yum.

Ceviche Day Boat

One of the things Chef Charles does best is show case fresh ingredients. He demonstrates a mature restraint and knows when to let the integrity and taste of beautiful food speak for itself. There is no Chef ego here. Just a skilled director who can stand aside and smile while his ingredients take the stage. This is readily apparent in the Peruvian inspired Ceviche we tasted. The menu described the seafood as pristine and that is exactly what it is. A melange of the choicest seafood morsels delicately tossed with fresh corn, mango, shallot.

Does the idea of combining bananas, white chocolate, custard and whipped cream appeal to you? Especially when it's topped with more shaved chocolate and tucked into a light flaky crust? Welcome to Buckhead Diner's "famous" James Beard award winning pie. I will let the picture say the rest.

Award Winning White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Market food

lovely Satsumas....fresh from the tree. I eat these like candy they're so sweet.