At the restaurant we try to source everything from as close to our location as possible...Steve at Northern Neck Fruits and Vegetables in Kinsale, Virginia makes it easy. Check out these awesome products from Steve this week...Red Spring Onions, Baby White Turnips, Tiny Spring Garlic, and Black Peppermint. Thank You Steve....you make us look good.
Also...Check me out on Twitter to see what we are up to more often.... twitter.com/1789ChefDan
ZOOFARI!!!....Tonight we grilled 1000 Wellfleet Oysters and topped them with house-cured bacon, pickled ramps, and basil....Straightballin. Pictured to the right is the team who did it..Travis, Me, Freddy, Annika, and Me again. The only reason we were able to get it done was because there was two of me and that I was wearing a pink rubber belt. Also thank you to WIlliam Watts, Ann, Amy Bridges, and the whole Clyde's Team for their help.
Northern Neck Asparagus, Surryano Ham, Villa Madori Balsamic Vinegar and Serena Cheese....all special ingredients. And just so everyone knows Surryano is correct....its not a typo. I get that all the time from those "foodies" :) who know it all!! It's a ham cured in the style of the Spanish Serrano ham, but it is done in Surry, Virginia by S.Edwards. None the less, its an awesome product and the fact that it is made only a couple hours away makes it even more special. And by the way, that wasn't a dig on "foodies"...just on those few people who tried to publicly correct me in front of a crowd of people at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market a few weeks ago.. ;)
Ramps are one of those things that when they are in season(NOW), you kind of find a way to incorporate them all over your menu. You can saute them, roast them, serve them raw, pickle them.....etc. We grill the bottoms(they have leafy tops) on a sheet of aluminum, just to difuse some of the heat, than we douse them with sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Sweet fancy moses they are good!! Definetely something to try! If you are reading this and have no idea what a ramp is and cannot really tell by the photo than you are going to have to search the world wide web to find out because I'm tired...
We have been awaiting the arrival of Maryland Blue Crabs all winter. They cannot be beat....and just by taking some careful steps, you can come up with some outstanding dishes. Currently we are using the females to make she crab soup. It's an old recipe with an awesome result. Unfortunately, with the oil crisis in the gulf, Louisiana Blue Crabs are out of the picture so the price for a bushel of Maryland Blue Crabs has gone from $45 to $88 overnight......
We got this awesome trap caught squid from Rhode Island this weekend! With great success, we grilled it and served it with Fregula Sarda(Sardinian Sphere Shaped Pasta), Grilled Ramps, and Salsa Verde... Fantastic
