Foodies of New England Episode 10–Italian… by FoodiesofNewEngland

Turkey Meatloaf with Caramelized Onion & Mushrooms

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New year, new issue! Comfort foods, recipes (including gluten-free), a visit to the Worcester Foodies and Boston Foodies tours, features on desserts, beer, wine, whiskey, and food history..it’s all there in more. Pick up a copy on newsstands or check out our digital edition. Care to share with a fellow foodie? Please feel free. Enjoy!

Ready for Butternut Squash Cous-Cous and a sweet Pear Tart? Domenic and Chef Barry Sexton of The Opinionated Palate work up a couple fall favorites–think Thanksgiving with a twist.

Sure, she enjoyed a good drink as much as the next person — especially if the next person was my grandpa. But her appreciation for The Citizen in Worcester would really come from the fact that she was a true Old School grandma.

Pillsbury didn’t own an inch of space in her kitchen. She could make her own (and far superior) crescent rolls from scratch, thank you very much. Potato salad from the deli? Please. She had her own homemade recipe — one that made all other versions of the dish seem pretty weak.

There’s a similar philosophy at Citizen.

“People want to drink the way they eat.” said bar manager and bartender Dave Delaney. “In short, that means people are looking for something fresh, local and in season,” he said.

Behind the bar, that translates into making homemade syrups and using simple, pure ingredients. Delaney said it’s part of a cocktail renaissance as people are rediscovering some of the classic drinks — some of them over 100 years old — being made true to their roots.

This involves breaking a drink down to its basic parts, making quality choices for the ingredients, and then mixing them so the flavors can interact as they were intended, he said. It’s a contrast to the world of pre-made mixes that are designed primarily to cover the taste of bad spirits, he added.

For example, in Delaney’s quest to create drinks like Millionaire of Havana and Ticket to Paradise, he saw he needed Swedish Punsch. Rather than ordering someone else’s off-the-shelf version, he kept experimenting until he had concocted his own Swedish Punsch formula. His recipe is a process that takes six hours, and it’s all to make just one of the ingredients used in his cocktails.

And for people packing their own cocktail recipes, Citizen has the tools to accommodate: eyedroppers, metal jiggers, spirits approved by the bar’s tasting panel and even a leather bound book for customers to document the specifics of their individual drinks.

Dubbed the Citizen’s Assembly, the book is a throwback to recipe books kept in the bars of yesteryear. Kevin Ludy, the beverage director for Niche Hospitality, Citizen’s parent company, started the book when Citizen opened nearly two years ago.

Of course, people can and do write anything in the book besides recipes, Ludy noted. A given page is as likely to contain a recipe as it is a proclamation of love Travis, referring to Citizen’s mixologist Travis Doyle. But Ludy wouldn’t have it any other way. The book is getting used exactly the way he wanted.

For those customers not quite sure what they want to drink, Ludy, Doyle and Delaney bring plenty of creativity to the table to mix up something appropriate.

“I like to ask, “What kind of day did you have?” or ˜What kind of mood are you in?” Delaney said. “The drink from yesterday might not work today.”

The key is balance — not too bitter, not too sweet, he said.

One of his creations, Bitter in Brazil, won Delaney a trip to New Orleans last summer to Tales of the Cocktail, an international cocktail industry celebration. Delaney’s drink is a variation of Caipirinha, Brazil’s national drink, he said, adding he wanted “put a little spice in it.”

This was the drink I had to try.

Delaney carefully mixed Cacha, Cointreau and Punt e Mes, setting each bottle on the bar for me to see. He also added ice, bitters and an orange peel that he first carefully wiped around the rim of the glass before placing it the drink.

The orange’s subtle smell and taste got a boost from the Cointreau. Then the punch of the Cacha and Punt e Mes kicked in. I’m not sure, but I thought I got a very faint flavor of whiskey, which Delaney said could have come from the bitters. Or he may have been politely humoring my inability to isolate all the distinct tastes in the drink.

Bitter in Brazil definitely achieves his goal of balancing and blending the worlds of bitter and sweet, with a succession of flavors competing for the taste buds attention.

When mixing a cocktail, “I try to make it as multi-dimensional as possible,” Delaney said.

I suddenly had a craving for my grandma’s crescent rolls. Wherever she is, I’m pretty sure she approves of Delaney’s work.

Written by Jeff Haynes

Jeff Haynes

Jeff has been writing and photographing for a variety of publications since 1995. His work has covered a wide range of topics such as art, sports, politics, real estate, human interest, business and the environment. In addition, his photography includes portraiture, promotional work for various artists, and fine art imagery seen in shows around New England.

He is also a fan of all good things to eat and drink. It’s a habit — addiction, perhaps — that he attempts to feed daily.

Healthy at Home

By Elaine Pusateri Cowan

Elaine Pusateri Cowan

Elaine strives to create beauty everyday. Whether she’s designing web pages or interiors, preparing appetizers or entrees and even refinishing furniture or making art, she always looks to satiate her appetite for all things artistic.

As an artist, foodie, interior designer and amateur photographer, Elaine believes in the quality of a sustainable life, not just living well. Her strong sense of duty to integrate such sustainability into every aspect of domestic life begins with perhaps the most basic of all elements: diet. She believes eating well to be fundamental to well being and with a stocked pantry filled with local produce, anyone can whip up quick, fresh and delicious meals every night.

Elaine holds a B.S. in Sociology from Worcester State University. From there, she worked as a social worker until the birth of her second child when she also became involved in creating Elaine’s Epicurean Enterprises, a catering and in-home meal service. At that time, she also acted as a substitute teacher in the culinary arts department for Worcester Technical High School. Currently, Elaine is enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design where she studies interior design a passion born from the major renovations of her home. She has also been the registration administrator at the Worcester Art Museum for the last ten years, managing their education department database and online registration system.

Elaine lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband Chuck, son Chad, daughter Antonia, dog Buster and, throughout the summer months, with her snow-bird mother Betty.

Salmon

Foodies of New England – Summer Vacation -… by FoodiesofNewEngland

Foodies GF recipes

GF Pasta Salad:

• 1 bag/box Gluten Free Pasta
• ¼ cup diced onions
• ¼ cup diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup diced peppers
• ¼ cup sliced black olives
• ½ cup gluten free Italian dressing
• 1 T Balsamic reduction
• Salt/pepper to taste

MOP:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender. GF pasta is tricky. You want to make sure it is not under cooked nor over cooked. Taste as you are cooking till you get that perfect consistency and once achieved strain pasta and shock in ice water to stop the cooking process.
3. Combine pasta and chopped vegetables along with dressing, balsamic and salt and pepper.
4. Serve and enjoy.

GF Thai Chili Teriyaki Marinade:

• 3 T regular sugar
• 3 T rice vinegar
• 4 T GF Tamari sauce
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 1 T chopped ginger
• ½ cup Sweet Thai Chili sauce

MOP:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. In a bowl combine sugar and vinegar and whisk until sugar dissolves.
3. Add rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, tamari and sweet Thai chili sauce.
4. Whisk all items together. Can be used as a sauce or a marinade for what you are grilling.

GF Quesadillas:

• 2 rice flour tortillas
• As desired- diced onions, peppers, tomatoes, (cooked) chicken
• 6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

MOP:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. On a hot grill spray with pan spray and place tortillas directly on the grill.
3. Add your cheese and toppings.
4. Once your cheese is melted remove from grill and fold in half. This will make sure the inside is warm.
5. Cut in half and enjoy.

Fresh Guacamole:

• 2 ripe Avocados
• 1 T chopped onions
• 1 T chopped tomatoes
• 2 t chopped jalapenos
• 1 T chopped fresh cilantro
• Juice of one lime
• Salt to taste

MOP:

1. Remove pit and skin from avocado and chop roughly.
2. Combine with diced onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice and salt.
3. Mix until desired texture. (the less you mix the chunkier the guacamole will be)
4. Served and enjoy.

“I just spent an hour reading the second issue of Foodies magazine and I’m not done yet! The beautiful images, well-written articles, and pleasing layout make Foodies a cover-to-cover read with something I know your advertisers will appreciate–a long shelf life. Already looking forward to the next issue!” –Joe Klimavich, Klimavich Communication, Sturbridge, MA

“It is really a beautiful and very interesting magazine. The “Pizza Wars” article was especially clever. It’s a fine a magazine as any other of its genre.” –Monsignor Rocco Piccolomini, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Worcester, MA

“Thanks to the new issue of Foodies, every day is pizza day at the office!” Robert Chevalier, Publisher of Bride & Groom Magazine