Monday's lunch will feature organic green beans stir-fried with beef in an Asian inspired dish. We got the most exquisite order of green beans from the Badinys.
Tuesday Bruce is bringing back his Polynesian Tamales by request. They were a big hit last time. It took me by surprise that he was using Spam in his Hawaiin rice. Then he explained that Hawaiins eat a LOT of Spam and it was required in order to be "authentic." Gulp. Okay. The whole dish sure was tasty. He stuffs his tamales with poached chicken and smothers it with a pepper sauce—not a spicy one, just very flavorful.
Also on Tuesday I am making a quinoa based salad. This will be made with green onions, feta, cranberries, basil oil, parsley and fresh tiny tomatoes.
The basil oil we are using this week was made last week with all the nice herbs we've received lately. Bruce made Basil oil, Oregano oil and and a mixed variety that included tarragon, oregano, basil and dill. I am still peeling the 10 pounds of fresh garlic I got to make garlic jelly with. It is lusciously sticky with juice and takes a while to peel. Anticipation......
On Wednesday I am introducing a new item. It is a pimento cheese quesadilla. If you are from the South, you know this ubiquitous dish would grace every family re-union, every funeral and every event where one's reputation as a cook rested heavily on one's own version of Pimento cheese. It goes by various names including PC, and Mento cheese. The extra "i" is typically left out, though the truly authentic version would be Pimiento cheese. If this dish has simply been a scary deli item full of strange colored ingredients, you have missed a taste treat. Good pimento cheese starts with fire roasted red peppers (the pimiento portion), good sharp cheddar cheese grated up, cream cheese and enough good mayonnaise to bind it. Additions could include jalapenos, Worchestershire, slices of tomato, etc. While the traditional way to serve it is on white bread (from which the crusts have been removed, please), I'll be making a quesadilla and serving it with the cheese pretty well melted inside the tortillas. Mine will include a bit of jalapeno and a dash of Worchestershire. This will be its audition to the menu; so feedback is appreciated.
Thursday lunch will be pizza made with fresh pesto, shitakes, carmelized onion, mozzarella, genoa salami and sliced tomatoes. I'll serve it with a side salad. I'm excited that we seem to sell out of them most weeks that I offer them. Just so you know, I have zero interest in trying to compete with the local pizza parlours for their red sauced disks. Mine will always feature local fresh ingedients. If I could easily get fresh local cheeses, they would be included as well. Other parts of the country would have not only fresh local cheeses (cow, goat and sheep!), but also fresh local sausages, and various smoked meats. Sadly, this region has been very slow to go this direction. I'll work with what we can get.
For Friday lunch those lovely herbal oils will be celebrated with a penne pasta tossed with basil oil, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. Parmesan cheese will accompany the dish. It will be served with a side salad.
In collaboration with the Avenue Theater we'll be offering an early dinner for those attending Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on Friday night. I expect a few kids so we are doing a kids' menu as well. We'll be serving a pulled pork sandwich with fresh corn on the cob and cole slaw. The large size will be $8 and the kid size will be $5. You can have plain butter on your corn or my chili/lime butter. This will be offered only until about 6:00pm. Those attending the bluegrass jam session on Friday night at the music store might also enjoy an early dinner before heading down to pick. It will be our EARLY BIRD SPECIAL. After 6:00pm, our Friday night menu kicks in. This week's dinner entrees are:
a) Almond crusted trout on dirty rice, with praline sweet potatoes and a salad—$12
b) Stuffed chicken breasts made with southern cornbread dressing, squash casserole and green beans and a salad. $12
c) Rolled manicotti made with zucchini, summer squash, ricotta and onion... a salad and sweet potato biscuits. $10
Jon Lumsden, our incredible in-house musician, will play for you this week. Despite a fairly grueling schedule that keeps this place going, Jon plays at home most every night. As the wife of a musician I can tell you that many, many hours go into keeping one's skills honed and sharp. If you like a light jazz sound that is pretty middle-of-the-road and is easy to listen to, Jon has it mastered. His love of show tunes, and classic tunes from the 30's and 40's is apparent in the way he gently lets them roll from his tongue, each individually crafted to pull the beauty from the lyrics and melody. This man LOVES this music and you can tell. As always, we encourage you to make a reservation and entree choice so we can be assured you get what you most prefer and that we have seating for you. If you have not joined us for Friday night, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Bruce and I have been cooking up desserts. With blackberry season in full swing we have a blackberry pie as well as orange infused angelfood cake with mandariancello blackberries. We also have espresso banana bread pudding topped with whipped cream and caramel, and white chocolate cheesecake. So go ahead—indulge!
As always—thanks for being here. You are never taken for granted and we appreciate your every visit.
~~Susan
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