To Everything There Is A Season…..
Read “A Farewell To Farms” at D.C. Foodies. It’s a retrospective on my wonderful experience at my nearest farmers market this season.
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Vermillion Restaurant, Old Town Alexandria
You know those V-8 commercials? The ones where you could have had a V-8 but didn’t and some fool (or baby) smacks you on the head? That’s what I felt like after dining at Vermillion recently. Vermillion, part of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, has long been a favored eatery in the neighborhood and with the recent addition of Anthony Chittum at the helm, it has taken its’ place on the area’s culinary map. Chittum’s cooking brings local and seasonal ingredients to the forefront, carefully prepared with restraint to allow the food to shine.
Frank and I actually decided to visit Vermillion on the way to Old Town. The usual conversation of “what are you in the mood for?, what do you want?” was bantered about. Comfort food? an old standby? something new? Something new it was. We decided that it was worth a try to get in to Vermillion at about 6:30 on a Friday night. Daring, I know, especially in the afterglow of very nice reviews in the Washingtonian Magazine and Washington Post Dining Guide.
We entered the romantically lit space, adorned with red curtains and warmed by wood. A hostess was glad to tell us that yes, table 41 was open and it was one of the window tables (I love them!). I’m normally wary of barstool tables but these were very comfortable with good back and foot support. A waiter came to our table and took our drink order and said, quite proudly, that they do not have any specials because what is on the menu is local and seasonal and that the dishes change about every 2 months. OK. We had enough to choose from with menu items that suit our taste, but I will say that the number of entrees is relatively small, around seven or so.
I, of course wanted to try the highly touted charcutrie plate, which Chef Chittum makes himself. The charcuterie came with a basket of grilled flat bread points. The meats were accented with cherry mustard and pickled vegetables. I only wish that the server had described each meat, as we were left to guess what we were eating. It all tasted incredibly good though.
At the same time, I had ordered the cauliflower soup with seafood sausage. The presentation was beautiful, with roasted cauliflower sitting beside sliced seafood sausage in a bowl. The soup is grandly poured into the bowl from a white porcelein teapot (very clever touch). The soup and its’ contents could have been a bit warmer, because I think it would have tasted even better. I make roasted cauliflower soup and this version is lighter and less spicy than mine, allowing the scallop and fish filled seafood sausage to shine.
Our main courses were spring chicken and roasted pork loin. Frank had the chicken and it indeed was petite, tender and oh-so juicy and flavorful. The accompanying polenta was cooked perfectly but suffered from sitting perhaps under a heat lamp too long, as it developed a tad of a crust on top. The grapes were an ideal addition to set off the protein. I must remember this the next time I make roast chicken!
My pork was ordered medium, as I’m trying to break away from the whole “must cook the trichinosis out of pork and dry it to bits” thinking. The pistachio and fig - filled pork was presented in sliced medallions and was accompanied by garlic sausage, fig gastrique and alsatian cabbage. The flavors complimented each other really well. The garlic sausage wafted of well, garlic but did not leave me reaking of the stinky wonder later. And fruit paired with pork, whats not to like? The cabbage hit a slight sour note which balanced the sweetness of the fig perfectly. I loved this dish.
The service was attentive and enthusiastic, with obvious pride taken in the local and in house made ingredients. We were greated by someone who I assume to be a manager and we chatted/gushed about the charcuterie. And again, to walk into a popular restaurant on a Friday night and be accomodated immediately and with cheer, was indeed wonderful.
Once again we were too full for dessert (sorry folks!) but perhaps next time. There will be plenty of next times!
Vermilion
1120 King Streeet
Alexandria, VA 22314
703 684 9669
Rosemary, Dew Of The Sea. A Recipe For Rosemary, Olive and Honey Quick Bread- WHB**
As early as the Roman Republic, rosemary has been loved for it’s wonderful scent and the the beautiful appearance of it’s flowers and needle-like leaves. It was woven into bridal head pieces for lasting love and placed under mattresses for faithfulness, as well as warding off insects. The name rosemary is from the Latin ros marinus, dew of the sea. From the French term incensier, it was used church ceremonies to ward off evil and dark spirits.
Rosemary’s complex scent is reminiscent of sea air, pine and camphor. It’s essential oils brings both brightness and earthiness to dishes ranging from chicken, to lamb, to potatoes and many things in between. Foods rich in fat and bland foods favor rosemary as a pairing.
Rosemary dries well and the dried herb can be easily substituted for fresh. Usually 1/4 the amount of dried rosemary will do, and should be chopped fine or ground since when dried, rosemary is like pine needles. The plant takes well to growing indoors as well as outdoors and should get plenty of sunshine.
Here’s a bread which can be made in a jiffy, as it has no yeast and needs no time to rise. It will go nicely with soft cheeses and butters and is perfect for sopping up soups and sauces.
Rosemary, Olive and Honey Quick Bread
makes one loaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 /2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. fresh rosemary, chopped coarsely (or 1 t. dried rosemary, chopped fine)
3/4 cup olives* drained and chopped coarsely
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Into mixer, place eggs, milk, honey and olive oil. Using paddle, mix at low speed for 3-4 minutes, until combined. At slow speed, add 3/4 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Set speed at medium and combine for 2 minutes until incorporated. Add olives and rosemary. Combine at medium speed. Add remaining dry ingredients and allow mixture to combine for 3 minutes.
Transfer dough to a greased loaf pan (approximately 8″x 4″). Place pan on lower 1/3 of oven and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out dry. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer loaf to a baking rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
*You can use any type of olives you wish. I happened to have Manzanilla olives, or green olives stuffed with pimento. I love how the salt plays off of the sweet of the honey!
**WHB- Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly blog event held by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s event is being hosted by Pille at Nami-Nami. She is a fantastic foodie, cook and blogger from Estonia. Check her out!
A Little Time For Leftover Thyme-Parmesan Thyme Biscuits-WHB*
After getting all appled up at the farmers market last week, I was excited to make an apple cider braised pork with apples. The recipe, from Cooks Illustrated (which I love, even that persnickety Chris Kimball), didn’t exactly meet the mark for me to share it with y’all. It sounded incredible on paper, what with apple cider, apples, fresh thyme and pork chops. Oh….and bacon from Cibola Farms. How could that be anything less than stellar, right?
Well, the sauce was a bit too thick and I’d rather finish the pork to medium next time, instead of braising it on the stove top until tender. Perhaps it was the fact that I couldn’t get thick cut bone-in pork chops (which the recipe called for) and used boneless center cut chops instead. Not sure. The chops were a bit dry and that doesn’t cut it for the blog. Not to say we didn’t enjoy it because, you know, bacon in the sauce.
So now the leftovers are gone but the question is: what to do with the rest of the fresh thyme?
Inspired by a couple savory biscuits we were served before a recent dinner at Majestic in Old Town Alexandria, I thought I’d try to make some biscuits with what I had on hand. This recipe combines shredded parmesan with fresh thyme, but feel free to use cheddar if you like, or dried thyme instead of fresh (only cut the amount in half).
This biscuit dough is whipped up in no time using a food processor.
Parmesan Thyme Biscuits
makes 20 2-inch biscuits
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup shredded parmesan or cheddar
1 T. fresh thyme, or 1/2 T. dried thyme
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup fage/plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a food processor combine first three ingredients, pulsing 2-3 times. Add cheese, thyme and shortening. Pulse about a dozen times to incorporate shortening into pea size lumps. Add yogurt and milk. Blend just until a consistent dough forms a ball. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Flour hands and shape dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Return dough to floured surface and dust dough and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll dough into a 12-14 inch disc, starting from the middle and rolling outward in each direction. When the dough is approximately 1/4 inch thick, take a glass or ramekin to use as a template for cutting dough into biscuits. I used a 2 inch wide glass. Transfer each biscuit to a non-stick treated pan or a silicon mat lined pan (I use a Silpat).
Bake biscuits for 15 minutes or until light golden brown on top. Serve with butter.
*WHB- Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly blogging event sponsored by Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s event is hosted by Susan at The Well-Seasoned Cook. Check out this week’s entries!
