This hearty table was the centerpiece of the scene on Sunday last, when a bunch of good eaters gathered at Heather’s place in Davis Sq for a very attractive display of local food, primarily in pie form. (Thanks, Erin, for the lovely fotos!)
We wrote about this phenom a month ago, here, but back then we were calling it an experiment, wherein a bunch of relative strangers came to our place to chow. And we invited you, anyone who is reading this,
to write to us if you wanted in on the next round. We got so many responses that we sorta had to form asecond group of good eaters, who we’ll be potlucking with on this coming Sunday — strangers all, more or less, again.
The invitation is extended once more. Please write [ info at bostonlocalvores dot org ] if this at all resembles your idea of a good time — for this Sunday or any future gathering. Also, if you happen to know of a cheap, easily accessible public venue (where controversial items like local beer + alcohol would be welcome), we are actively seeking a place to stage a very large potluck, in January or February. We would like to demonstrate once and for all to all those killjoys and cynics, that local food is still viable and delicious, even in the grim, sunless days of winter.
Below — the recipe share that followed last week’s feast.
Ana - Quiche w/ Savory Crumb Crust
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
a few dashes of dried basil and marjoram
1/2 cup butter melted
- Preheat oven to 350
- Mix together all dry ingredients
- Drizzle in melted butter and toss with a fork until uniformly moistened
- Press into the bottom of a 9-10 inch pie pan
- Bake 10 minutes
* I tend to make 1 & 1/2 of this recipe for a thick crust.
Line the bottom of the crust with grated cheddar once out of oven.
Filling: 2-3 potatoes thinly sliced, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, chives, lemon thyme, black pepper, and chopped chard all cooked in a cast iron skillet. Filling: 3 eggs & 1 cup milk, whipped. Bake the quiche for approximately 35 minutes at 375.
Heather - Cranberry Apple Crisp
- 2 cups cranberries
- 3 cups sliced peeled apples
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Preparation:
Combine cranberries, apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt; turn into a shallow, buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Combine brown sugar, oats, and flour. cut in butter. Spoon over cranberry-apple mixture. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until topping is crispy and fruit is tender.
- 1.5 cups unbleached white flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water - I think I used more like 6-7
- 8 cups peeled, thinly sliced baking apples (about 6 medium apples)
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp unbleached white flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp freshly grated orange peel (optional)
- 2 tablespoons milk
Ryan - Random Asian Slaw*
Grate or julienne any combination of the following (I recommend getting one of these!!) Note that these were just what I had on-hand/in season. You can also add cilantro, regular radishes, green onions, pea shoots, etc.:
* Rutabaga
* Turnip
* Carrot
* Daikon radish
* Ginger
* Nori
Finely chop cabbage (green or purple or both) and coarsely chop almonds.
Dressing consisted of soy sauce, sesame oil (just a teensy bit), olive oil, rice wine vingear, sesame seeds, sriracha, and a teaspoon of peanut butter.
Toss together and chill for a while to let things become friends with the other ingredients.
Jess - hot hot sauce
Ingredients:
12 hot peppers (I used scotch bonnet)
1/2 C white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
a couple of cloves garlic, minced
pinch cumin and/or thyme if you want
dried ancho pepper or other spices as desired — lots of room for experimentation here
Remove stems and cut the peppers in half, seeds and all — WEAR GLOVES for this, or your fingers may really burn if your peppers are hot hot.
Simmer peppers in vinegar until almost tender, add minced garlic, simmer until truly tender. Strain off liquid into a container and keep. Put soft peppers into blender and blend, adding strined liquid as needed. Put back on stove and add salt, sugar, and any spices desired. Add more vinegar to monkey around with desired thickness. Put in jar in fridge with skull and crossbones if needed. Yee Haw!
Me - cottage pie, aka shepards pie when it’s made with ground beef, not lamb
about 1-2 lbs of taters (ours were from our belmont csa winter share)
about 1 lb of ground beef (ours was hardwick beef, grassfed bitches! from the harvest co-op)
celeriac or celery
carrots
onions
gahlic (all the veggies were from belmontcsa and leftovers from our red fire farm csa)
chicken or beef broth
whatever fresh seasons you’ve got (rosemary and thyme, from dying plants in our kitchen)
-boil the taters, mash ‘em up, add a tablespoon of butter (or more!) and whatever else you like to taste
-saute onion in olive oil, add chopped carrot and celeriac — slow and low; then add the meat and kick the heat up a bit
-i like to put the garlic in at the end, just as the meat is browning
-then when it’s all good lookin and soft, add a tablespoon or a bit more of flour
-and the broth — a cup or a little less
-then the goods — rosemary and thyme + nutmeg
-once it thickens a bit, you’re done!
-pour the deliciousness it in a pie plate and spread the taters on top
-VERY IMPORTANT — put more butter on the taters, little bits all over, it will be pretty later
-throw it in the oven for 10 minutes at 400, then another 10 or less on broil to make it nice and toasty lookin on top