Seasonal flavors

Ahh! that lovely time of year when we are all in anticipation of bright leaf colors, knowing it means the beginning of six leafless months. This is the time of year I most WANT to walk in the woods and feel the least safe doing it. Why can't hunting season be when it is too hot for the rest of us to tromp through the woods? I am fine with giving up 10 days during the gun season, but there is also bow and black powder, youth and turkey. Together they take up the entire fall. I know I am tromping on near-religious grounds mentioning this. I know and understand the importance of hunting season. I just wish I could tromp safely. Yeah, I know about orange vests. But do they REALLY work?

The fall vegetables are starting to come in. Last week Mary Badiny provided us with butternut squash for the soup. This week we will use them again in the stir-fries on Friday night. I am using the Willow Mountain Mushrooms in the roasted mushroom soup and Bruce will be using mushrooms in the mushroom risotto on Tuesday with his tamales. Do you forage for fall mushrooms or paw-paw or persimmons? I'll gladly buy them. What about muscadine grapes? Perhaps we are too far north for those. I used to enjoy them in Texas in the fall.

The new Meeting Menu is now a reality. If you have lunch-time meetings for 8 or more you will appreciate this new menu. It is made up of our top sellers plus a couple of salad offerings not on the regular menu. Because of quantites, we are able to offer some lower prices and we all win. If you place your meeting-menu order 24 hours in advance, the whole order gets free cookies. Be a hero— make the lunch meeting something to look forward to.

Monday we'll serve Waldorf salad over chopped Romaine. I love the crispness of the apples mixed with the celery, onion and pecans. A little bit of curry adds a bit of spice and notches up the flavor profile. $6.50

Bruce's tamales Tuesday brings back a favorite—Chicken Florentine. Poached chicken and sauteed spinach fill the tamales and they are topped with a mozzarella cheese sauce and served with a mushroom risotto. $6.50

I have an abundance of shrimp right now and I'll slather them in the strawberry chipotle jam and grill it to serve atop grilled polenta on Wednesday. It will be accompanied by a side salad or fruit. $6.50

Thursday, I'll be adapting a true Mexican dish called Molletes to a pizza. Jon and I fell in love with molletes while visiting Mexico City years ago. Molletes are usually made with a flaky  or yeast roll but I'll put the frijoles on pizza dough that has been drizzled in jalapeno oil. Top it with Monterey jack cheese, pico de gallo and crumble cotija cheese on top. On rolls these are usually served as breakfast. I'll accompany it with a salad for lunch. $7.00

Friday lunch will be Elk Burgers! This favorite always sells out early. If you want to be sure to get one I encourage you to call in your order first thing Friday morning. I'll serve them with oven-roasted sweet potato fries. $7.50

Friday night this week is Open Mic. I love the atmosphere when we get to audition new talent and see what might be coming down the pike in the weeks ahead. The food will forward the autumnal theme.

The seafood entrée will be wood-fired wild Pacific salmon with a sweet chili sauce served with stir-fried fall veggies and a side salad. $12

The meat entrée will be sausage and beef stuffed manicotti with salad and garlic rolls. $12

The vegetarian entrée will be a deep dish fall veggie quiche with side salad and garlic potatoes. $10

Ready in time for Monday lunch, Bruce has made a peanut butter mousse pie and lemon mint cake. I hope to play with the local pears this week. Maybe a rustic tart? We have a bunch of organic local raspberries to play with. Something will come of it. Later in the week I'll make another chocolate almond torte which has almost no flour and is decandently rich. Do you have requests for certain favorite desserts? Just ask. We might be able to make it happen. You'll have to wait until November for Bruce to bring back the Tira-misu.

As always, we treasure your business and are delighted each time you show up. It is a great satisfaction we feel when you cash in your filled-up Lunch Bunch card. We are especially proud when you bring in your friends and family to share the cafe with them. After years of basically solo work, Jon and I are both really enjoying getting to meet so many people face to face. Thank you for being a major part of what makes this place work!

~~Susan

Scattered

Scattered is a term that best describes my outlook right now. I feel like I am going off in all directions, at once. June is going to be a wild ride and I am already in preparations for it. We are excited that we have landed the banquet and breakfasts for the National Audio Theater Festival in the third week of June. This will mark a new level of catering/ banquets for us, as each day we will feed 60+ attendees. That is over and above our usual 40-50 at lunch. So I am working ahead to prepare quiches, desserts, sweet breads...all items which can be easily frozen. We're investing in chafing dishes and racks for storing prepped foods.

This week we celebrate being open at this location for 6 months. Can you believe it? During that time the learning curve has gotten a bit gentler and I am beginning to feel like I've gotten a handle on the whole picture. I still can't accurately predict how busy we'll be. We expected last Friday—going into the Memorial Day weekend to be fairly quiet. NOT!!!! It was one of our biggest single days, ever. Then, when I was expecting to be busy, like on Cinco de Mayo, we were dead.  Other surprises are when specials either sell out quickly or not at all. Hmmm. I can only guess that time and experience will be the teachers there.

The flowers this week will be less showy as they come from my herbs and other growing things in my yard. No showy, colorful flowers, this week. Instead you'll see Elderberry heads, maybe garlic flowers, privet, etc. If you have such to share, please do so.  

This short week we are keeping things pretty simple. Bruce has his tamales, of course. This week they are Polynesian. Sounds pretty fruity and delicious—Chicken-stuffed with a Pineapple/ pepper sauce and Hawaiian Fried Rice.

Wednesday, Bruce is creating a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Pasta Salad.

Thursday, I'll have pork tenderloin with a fresh mulberry sauce, fresh green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes.

Friday I am introducing a new sandwich—still not sure what to call it. It is a Greek chicken roll-up. I'll take the wood-fired chicken, slice it and add Greek seasoning, Then put it in the warmed flour tortillas we use instead of pita, add tomatoes, feta and cucumbers plus tzatziki sauce. It'll be served with either the fresh fruit or Italian Potato Salad. Enjoy it beginning this Friday at lunch. I'll really want feedback on this new item. So speak up, PLEASE!

Friday night this week is First Friday and that means Open Mic. We hope to have several performers. Last month was delightful with a wonderful variety. The house was packed and everyone was entertained.

The menu for Friday night is:

1. Lemon chicken skewers, Greek potato salad and fresh green beans $10
2. Ratatouille Quiche—zucchini, eggplant, onions, garlic with feta and Swiss cheese served with a marinated vegetable salad and cheese biscuits $10
3. Italian sausage and eggplant lasagne with side salad $10

With more fruits coming into season, you should see more desserts presented. If I am not too scattered, that is. Please join us as we begin our second half-year. We couldn't be here without your on-going support and encouragement. Have a great week!

Time Warps

I'd swear that May is a month of time warps and jumps. One moment, it is the 1st of the month and we're wondering about Spring—REAL Spring, and the next thing it is 92 degrees and Mother's Day is over. Then, next thing you know, we get a Blackberry Winter (unabashed plug for local band) and proms are over and college is graduating. Holy Moly! Next we'll be wailing about how hot it is. But with the hot will come the fresh local produce.

I am SO looking forward to seeing what folks have to sell from their gardens. Do you have fennel bulbs? What about radicchio? Berries? Mushrooms? The fresh garlic will soon be ready for harvesting. I absolutely LOVE to cook with freshly harvested garlic.

I've been thoroughly enjoying Maranatha Farms spinach and arugula. If arugula is new to you (it was to me last year), it is a salad green with a somewhat peppery flavor direction. If you like water cress, or any of the cresses, you'll most likely enjoy arugula.  I've included it in some of my recent special salads.

Most any time, if you are curious about something on our menu, I am happy to give you a free taste. That is how you learn. Few of us have the extra funds to risk spending it on a meal you are not sure you'll like. So please ask if you can have a taste. If there is any to spare and we aren't in the middle of getting slammed, I'll be happy to share it with you.

One thing I always try to be cognizant of, is that if I make the food sound too far out there or don't explain what a dish is, you'll probably skip it rather than ask questions or simply dive in. My job, if I wish to accomplish my mission of expanding your palate, is to not only introduce new flavor directions to you, but also act as tour guide, explaining ingredients and encouraging you to give it a taste. Last week was a good example of that. I could have done a better job explaining about the chicken tagine. The supper club members already have very developed palates and are adventurous in their food choices. For most of you, tagine would be a new experience. It was for me. It is a Morrocan dish—from the deserts of north Africa. The flavors were quite exquisite, I thought. But they were not ones that  normally cross your taste buds in one bite. The most active flavorings, beyond the base of chicken, eggplant, carrots and onion (so far, a fairly basic chicken stew) were cinnamon, cumin and ginger. Plus there was that unexpected combination of sweet and savory in the addition of raisins, cranberries and apricots. It simmered for many hours, allowing the flavors to meld. In culinary terms, they married. This was served with couscous that, itself, had been flavored with almonds, raisins and saffron. Couscous is a tiny pasta, smaller than rice, that soaks up the flavors of the broth and spices cooked with it. Saffron is the most expensive spice out there and is simply the stamens (where the pollen is on flowers) of a variety of crocus. At $10 for 5g, that translates to $10 for a loose half-teaspoonful. Perhaps next time I offer it to you as a special, you'll get excited. I know I will. It has a delicate flavor and gives a golden color to the couscous.

I've been playing with pastries again. I recently discovered whole wheat pastry flour at Meadowbrook. My pie crusts are now made mostly with this flour, along with butter, a bit of salt and sometimes lard. Because it is a lower protein content, it is also lower in gluten. Gluten is what makes bread hold its shape. It is the long molecules that stretch with the yeast and rise. In bread it is vital. In pastry it can make the dough taste, well, doughy. A year ago I used, maybe, 2 flours—unbleached all-purpose and whole wheat. Now I have unbleached bread flour, graham whole wheat, white whole wheat, unbleached all-purpose, whole wheat pastry flour, semolina flour, corn flour, potato flour, rice flour and almond flour. That's a LOT of flours. Each has its own distinctive flavor or properties and specialized uses.

I've never been one who habitually ate dessert. Sure, I'll snack on cookies, eat pie or muffins for breakfast. But, unless it was close to someone's birthday or a holiday, we just never kept desserts in the house. So keeping desserts going in the cafe is a new way of thinking. Bruce has often picked up the slack. He not only is very talented and skilled in this direction, he also has more time to devote to it. Along about the time when I am starting to cook the orders coming in, he tackles the sweets. His tiramisu is legendary in these parts. Last week he experimented, quite successfully, I think, with a hazelnut version that utilized Nutella and Frangelica in the flavorings. The term "to die for" comes to mind. This week I'll be on it with some pies. I am also making a batch of fresh strawberry chipotle jam that should be quite interesting. If it comes out okay, I'll have 8 oz jars of it for sale by mid-week.

At the last open mic night we were wowed, especially, by a young pair, Nathan and Tailor. I'm not sure I got the spelling right or the order they call it, but they were terrific and very contemporary. On Tailor's last day of high school she and Nathan will perform for our Friday night. That's is this week. Please join us in welcoming this young group of singer/songwirters. The menu for the night is below. Let us know if you plan to join us and, if you can, what you plan to eat. That way we have plenty for everyone. The cafe number is 505-0302.

Does your office occasionally have lunch meetings? We'd like to know about your preferences. We are making progress in developing our office meeting catering packages and don't want to miss the mark. Pet peeves in meeting foods? Special situations we should plan for? We need your input. We have suggestion cards near the register and also, always, are happy to hear from you via email, comments to blog or facebook. If you give us a suggestion that seems especially helpful, we'll reward you with free food!

Things we are looking for—

• Someone who can mow our lawn regularly (we live in Thayer) in exchange for food from the cafe
• Fresh produce, berries, mushrooms, etc
• Musicians for our Friday nights   
• A good-sized used refrigerator
• Information regarding your office menu choices
• Information regarding your Friday night music choices

Now here are this week's flavor journeys and specials—

Monday~Salmon Tacos! Back just for this week. Wood-fired wild Pacific salmon and pineapple salsa served on corn tortillas and accompanied by Italian potato salad or fruit

Tuesday~Chicken gumbo Tamales with rice on the side

Wednesday~Thai Chicken Noodle Salad over Spinach with sweetened rice wine vinaigrette

Thursday~ Pizza! Pesto, shitakes, wood-fired chicken, brie, vidalias

Friday~Sweet summer salad~Jicama, watermelon, spinach, arugula, feta, fresh basil, with balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner~ Pan Seared Salmon, Orzo, Fruit and Arugula Salad, Vegetarian Pizzas with side salad, Wood-fired Chicken Soft Tacos with black beans  

As always, we cherish your visits and look as forward to them as we hope you do. We are grateful for your patronage and never take it for granted. You are a big part of what makes this work. Without your valuable feedback, your enthusiasm for what we do and continual support, we couldn't be here. Thank you.
~~Susan

Won't THIS be an interesting week?



9 days of no power = very cold

 It is visions of scenes like this that prompt me to tell you that if it is icy, we won't be there.

That's Mom at 80 trying to cope in the cold. If it truly looks like ice is heading our way—and so far it looks likely—we'll be heading to warmer parts to avoid having to be stuck in a house without power.

I do actually have a menu planned out for the week. But I am releasing it knowing that ice could prevent us opening for more than one day this week.

Weather Whimps? You betcha.

In the mean time, I'm delighted to tell you that things have been going extraordinarily well. We couldn't be more thrilled. You have no idea what a leap of faith this was for us to do. We've always been dreamers and forward thinkers. But the last few years have taken their toll. We have to look harder at opportunities and more thoroughly investigate the downsides. We never used to do that before. We were always full speed ahead. The learning curve is beginning to lose some steepness. There is a bit more prediciton to our plan and actions and we are getting some of the logistics worked out. Believe me, whenever you are experiencing any frustration due to our greeness in logistics, I am experiencing it three-fold. It can be painful. But we ARE getting things grooved in. If you were here last Friday night you saw some of that in action. Simply by adding table numbers to each table, we were able to get food properly served without incident—yeah we're green!!! We also worked it out so that each meal served was simply a matter of serving and not having to cook to order. The result? Almost no waiting—in fact most people were able to carry their trays right back to the table as soon as they paid. So we feel we are continuing to improve as we learn this crazy food service game.

We are really trying to listen to your preferenes, so please voice them when you come in. Tell us what we are getting right and PLEASE tell us what you feel needs attention. I am most grateful for the feedback. It is all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of creating a dish and forget who the audience is likely to be.

Bottom line— it is going quite well and we are loving what we are doing. We need to continue to grow and bring in more repeat customers. We are hearing from many that word of mouth is what brought them in. I LOVE that!!!

So here are this week's planned menues—

• Monday~Chicken mole soft tacos with black beans and side salad with jicama; $6.25  Soup~ Chicken corn chowder(the lighter version) cup/$3.49 bowl/$4.99; Sandwich~ Chicken Pesto Sandwich (pesto, chicken, provolone cheese, avocado, sprouts with side of fresh fruit $6.25
• Tuesday~Italian tamales with side salad and garlic toast $6.25; Soup~Minestrone $3.49/cup $4.99/bowl; Sandwich~Chicken Pesto Sandwich (pesto, chicken, provolone cheese, avocado, sprouts with side of fresh fruit $6.25
• Wednesday~Chicken pot pie + side salad $6.25; Soup~Honey chili pumpkin squash cup/$3.49 bowl/$4.99
• Thursday~Ham and asparagus quiche + side salad $6.25; beef and Italian sausage lasagna + side salad $6.25; Soup~Honey chili pumpkin squash cup/$3.49 bowl/$4.99
• Friday~Chicken mushroom crepes with rice pilaf + side salad $6.25; French onion soup cup/$3.49 bowl/$4.99 plus lots more tapas at night

This Friday night will be a new concept for us. It will be open mic night. We'll give various local performers a chance to communicate with you and entertain you. This is a new experience and we honestly don't know quite what to expect.  We are excited to be a part of the community and we want to support our local musicians as we can—all part of local sustainability. If you know someone whose performance would work in our small cafe venue, please encourage them to come down and get on the list.

Update on Valentine's Day—we are NOT going to do it. We would rather wait until we can be a bit more organized and prepared. Plan now for NEXT year.

St. Patrick's Day— Plan now to enjoy traditional as well as decidely Irish fare. We will be serving up a very spcial Corned beef accompanied by potatoes and steamed cabbage and several other Irish surprises. March 17th, of course.

Earth Day Local Harvest Feast—April 29th (Friday) We'll be serving up locally raised and produced foods as a part of the Chefs' Collaborative—a national organization of chefs geared toward local sustainability.

Have a great week. We HOPE to see you despite what Mother Nature may throw at us.

A Grand Experiment

Welcome to the first posting of my blog. This will follow along as we do the pre-opening steps to getting A La Carte Cafe up and running. You probably found this blog because you have an appreciation for healthy eating and live in the vicinity of West Plains, MO. No doubt someone who also loves good food told you about us. That is as it should be.

I am utterly convinced that there is a pent-up demand for healthy food as an alternative in this region. My personal experience is that there is NO restaurant within 100 miles that focuses on using almost exclusively fresh, in season locally raised produce. I have yet to find a venue that takes pride in knowing where all their provisions came from. I want to connect up the grower with the consumer. There are farmers who raise organic produce and hormone/ antibiotic free meats and have dairies that can provide really fresh dairy and eggs. Why buy from provisioners who buy from out of the region with no control over how the provisions are grown?

I am proud to let you know the sources for my raw materials. In fact, as each new source comes aboard I want to feature their goods in special recipes. That way you get to know them as well and perhaps will buy the products they sell for your home use. By tasting their ingredients in my dishes you can see how they compare with your palate.

From the get-go I want this to be customer driven. I want to hear from YOU what you want to eat.

Please feel free to forward our URL to your friends in West Plains who might be excited about healthy meal alternatives. As the days go by I'll being testing out new menu items. I'll photograph the ones that pass muster and share them with you. Whet your appetite.. Oh Yeah!!!