Bas Rouge Chef Harley Peet Makes It to James Beard Award Final Round
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Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community
by The Spy
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by Spy Desk
Most colonial settlers had herb gardens, often near the front door. Katie Barney will discuss colonial herbs and their uses at the April 11 meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Herb Society at Christ Church Parish Hall, Easton.
Katie Barney, born in Baltimore, is a descendant of the Clagett (Claggett) family of Maryland, and many old New England whaling families. She has lived in many of the U.S.’ great architectural, historical, and waterside gems besides Annapolis – New Castle, DE; Newport and Providence, RI; Cold Spring Harbor, NY; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Greenwich, CT; Alexandria, VA; Washington, DC; and New York City. She presently resides in Easton, MD.
Katie recently finished The Enchanting World of Food, an international cookbook covering every country in the world with the history of each cuisine, the dining etiquette, and recipes contributed by ambassadors, their chefs, and her international friends.
Mrs. Barney is the co-author of The Best of Newport; author of Annapolis: The Guidebook, Eastern Shore of Maryland: The Guidebook, God’s Bounty, Chesapeake’s Bounty, Chesapeake’s Bounty II, New England’s Bounty, Nantucket’s Bounty, Maryland’s Western Shore: The Guidebook, and is a consultant on international business and protocol. Her hobbies include gourmet cooking, fine wines, history, sailing, genealogy, gardening, theology, and travel. She is presently working on an edible flower cookbook.
The society will meet at 6 p.m. at Christ Church Parish Hall, 111 S. Harrison Street, Easton. Meetings include a social period, an herbal potluck dinner, a short business meeting and a presentation on an herb-related topic. The theme for April is spring herbs.
CBHS was formed in 2002 to share knowledge of herbs with the local community. The group maintains the herb garden at Pickering Creek Audubon Center.
For more information, call (410) 763-8843 or visit the Society’s Facebook page.
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With a 150-year history as a private estate, Stoneleigh became a public garden in 2018. On Sat., April 6, join its director, Ethan Kaufmann, at Adkins Arboretum for a talk, Wild and Wonderful: How Nature Plants are Transforming a Formal Garden. He will discuss the unexpected plants, expressive design philosophy and unconventional practices that are driving Stoneleigh’s exciting transformation. The talk is from 1 to 2 p.m. and is open to the public.
Kauffman developed his love of the natural world by exploring the Susquehanna River hills in southeastern Pennsylvania. He cultivated his horticultural perspective over two decades of gardening in the Deep South, including as director of Moore Farms Botanical Garden, where he led the transition from a private pleasure garden to a public botanical garden. He enjoys creating an experience at Stoneleigh that inspires others to garden for beauty, biodiversity and the health of the planet.
Following the talk, the public is invited on a bus trip to Stoneleigh and Chanticleer on Fri., May 10. Chanticleer has been called the most romantic, imaginative and exciting public garden in America—a study of textures and forms where foliage trumps flowers, gardeners lead the design and even the drinking fountains are sculptural. It is a garden of pleasure and learning, relaxing yet filled with ideas to take home. Stoneleigh has soaring trees, expansive vistas and dynamic displays of native plants. It is a celebration of the natural world and celebrates the beauty of native plants and the importance of biodiversity.
The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive in Easton at 8 a.m. and will make stops at the Route 50/404 and Route 301/291 Park and Rides. Registration is required and more information is available at adkinsarboretum.org.
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by Jean Sanders
Food Friday is on the road this weekend. Mr. Sanders and I are heading to a family Easter gathering in Florida, and Luke the wonder dog is off for a much deserved vacay of his own with his dog pals at the spa. Please indulge me and enjoy our making our favorite Easter dessert. Play nicely at your Easter egg hunts, and let the little ones find the eggs. You can sip on a Bloody Mary or two.
At Easter I like to haul out my dear friend’s lemon cheesecake recipe, and reminisce, ruefully, about the year I decorated one using nasturtiums plucked fresh from the nascent garden, which unfortunately sheltered a couple of frisky spiders. Easter was late that year and tensions were already high at the table, because a guest had taken it upon herself to bring her version of dessert – a 1950s (or perhaps it was a British World War II lesson in ersatz ingredients recipe) involving saltines, sugar-free lime Jell-O, and a tub of Lite Cool Whip. The children were divided on which was more terrifying: ingesting spiders, or many petro chemicals?
I am also loath to remember the year we hosted an Easter egg hunt, and it was so hot that the chocolate bunnies melted, the many children squabbled, and the adults couldn’t drink enough Bloody Marys. The celery and asparagus were limp, the ham was hot, and the sugar in all those Peeps brought out the criminal potential in even the most decorous of little girls. There was no Miss Manners solution to that pickle.
Since our children did not like hard-boiled eggs, I am happy to say that we were never a family that hid real eggs for them to discover. Because then we would have been the family whose dog discovered real nuclear waste hidden behind a bookcase or deep down in the sofa a few weeks later. We mostly stuck to jelly beans and the odd Sacajawea gold dollar in our plastic Easter eggs. It was a truly a treat when I stepped on a pink plastic egg shell in the front garden one year when I was hanging Christmas lights on the bushes. There weren’t any jelly beans left, thank goodness, but there was a nice sugar-crusty gold dollar nestled inside it. Good things come to those who wait.
We won’t be hiding any eggs (real or man-made) this year, much to Luke the wonder dog’s disappointment. Instead we will have a nice decorous finger food brunch, with ham biscuits, asparagus, celery, carrots, tiny pea pods, Prosecco (of course) and a couple of slices of lemon cheesecake, sans the spiders, sans the lime Jell-O and Cool Whip. And we will feel sadly bereft because there will be no jelly beans, no melting chocolate and no childish fisticuffs.
Chris’s Cheesecake Deluxe
Serves 12
Crust:
1 cup sifted flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Filling:
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400° F Crust: combine flour, sugar and lemon rind. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add yolk and vanilla. Mix. Pat 1/3 of the dough over the bottom of a 9″ spring form pan, with the sides removed. Bake for 6 minutes or until golden. Cool. Butter the sides of the pan and attach to the bottom.
Pat remaining dough around the sides to 2″ high. Increase the oven temp to 475° F. Beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy. Add vanilla and lemon rind. Combine the sugar, flour and salt. Gradually blend into the cream cheese. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time, and then the cream. Beat well. Pour into the pan. Bake 8-10 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 200° F. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until set. Turn off the heat. Allow the cake to remain in the oven with the door ajar for 30 minutes. Cool the cake on a rack, and then pop into the fridge to chill. This is the best Easter dessert ever. This recipe makes a HUGE cheesecake! You will be eating it for a week. At least.
“Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg before it is broken.” ― M.F.K. Fisher
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This weekend at Piazza Italian Market we will taste a new wine we would like to add to our collection, the Reserve della Contessa DOC ($34.75) a white wine blend from the Manincor winery in Terlano, Trentino-Alto Adige. This region borders both Austria and Switzerland and was not part of Italy until 1919. The northern part of Alto-Adige is Germanic in architecture, language and customs; Trentino in the south borders Lombardy and the Veneto and is firmly rooted in Italy.
The Manincor family history of winemaking spans many generations dating from 1608, when Hieronymus Manincor built the estate’s historic buildings. For his service to Austria, he was awarded both a title and land on the shores of Lake Kaltern. He named his winery “Man-in-cor” which means “hand on the heart”. The aristocratic connection was strengthened when his granddaughter married an ancestor of the Counts Enzenberg. Since 1991 the estate has been managed by Count Michael Goess-Enzenberg. He ended the winery’s supplying grapes to local cooperatives and focused instead on producing top-quality wines using sustainable viticulture. His first six wines debuted in 1996.
Manincor’s wines are grouped into three categories, “hand”, “heart” and “crown”, whose symbols adorn the wine labels; befittingly, the label for the Reserve della Contessa has a crown and elegant cursive script. Her Grace is a blend of 55% Pinot Blanc, 28% Chardonnay and 17% Sauvignon Blanc. When Emily and I recently tasted this wine, we liked its aromas of apple and apricot, its mellow and elegant taste and the refreshingly acidic finish. Pair with a roasted salmon filet, starters or white meats.
Count Michael eloquently describes his wines as being “a sensuous expression of agriculture. Each of our wines speaks its own language…of the soil, of the sky, of the rain and of the hands that nurture it. At the same time, our wines are siblings that share common traits of elegance and finesse”.
After I placed a “NEW” decal in front of the Reserve della Contessa, several of you tried it and have returned for more. If you have not yet tasted it, come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45 to see if you agree we should add it to our collection.
Buona Pasqua to everyone who will be celebrating Easter!
Cin Cin!
Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
by Jean Sanders
Last week I regaled you with tales of our family’s predilection for chocolate desserts. We find almost every occasion is perfect for celebration with a confection that is both sweet and chocolate-y. Converserly, in a parallel universe, we also find garlic the consummate accompaniment when eating savoury foods. As I type this I am thinking fondly of the garlic bread we had with dinner last night. (I walked through a cloud of garlic when I come in the front door a couple of hours ago – a good 14 hours after dinner.) At lunch today I will have a nice fat kosher dill pickle, that is redolent with garlic. There is fresh garlic in our salad dressing. Mr. Sanders rubs garlic on Saturday night steaks. Garlic is infused in many of our non-chocolate foodstuffs.
Years ago, when our children were young, I would be hard pressed to find an activity to occupy our younger child, while the elder was busily occupied at preschool for the morning. By the time we returned home from the pre-school drop-off run it would almost be time to turn around for the pre-school pick-up. So some bright sunny days we would drive into the little historic downtown to look for adventure. It was early enough in the day that the shops hadn’t opened, so we walked and explored, visiting favorite cat-sighting sites, looking into alleys, poking our noses around corners. We would visit the bakery, where Kim and Jim would delight us with warm loafs of fresh epi bread, and stickers from the flour sacks. The couple of restaurants would be prepping for dinner; the tiny French bistro and the neighborhood pizza joint (known primarily for its garlic knots), and we could smell browning onions and garlic, as we strolled to the riverwalk and a bench where we could watch the river traffic. We would hope for the exciting action of a railroad train slowly journeying past, à la Thomas the Tank Engine, his most current obsession. We sat in the sun, gnawing on warm, crusty bread, smelling garlic, kicking our heels against the hollow metal legs of the bench. We weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere. It was a slow morning of good smells, friendly folks, and the bright sun reflecting on the choppy river.
I find that much of my cooking experience is trying to recapture happy meals. Sometimes we try to reconstruct the taste of a childhood meal. Sometimes it is to copy a restaurant meal from a carefree vacation. We like the succor of the familiar. I will never get it just right, but every time I make a spaghetti sauce I am trying to recreate my mother’s – and my mother was not a fancy cook; she was trying to get food on the table every night, economically, using up leftovers, foregoing ultra-processed store-bought jar sauces, just like us. We are busy and harried and worn to a frazzle. Having a little time to make garlic bread, to release a cloud of garlic-y, homey aroma, is a small blessing.
I, little Miss Middle Class me, used to feel sad for the royal family, because the Queen would not allow garlic to be served at any meal. She was conscious of the lingering after-effect of garlic, and feared breathing odoriferous second-hand garlic into the faces of the many folks who came to meet her. So sad. My manners aren’t that good. If I shook your hand today you would know about my garlic consumption. Be warned!
The love of garlic might have by-passed the current King’s table, but Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who married the Queen’s grandson, Prince Harry, is monetizing garlic. She has just announced a new brand she is launching: American Rivieria Orchards. One of the products she is rumored to be marketing is a prepared “garlic-based spread.” Take a page out of my mother’s book: save money – make memories! Meghan Debuts New Brand, American Riviera Orchard, Amid Royal Family Drama
We always look to our friends at Food52: Crispy Garlic Dip
If you want a garlic-y dip for your perfect pommes frites try Aioli
This is a good one to make in bulk and keep on hand for all sorts of garlic needs: Garlic Butter
PBS weighs in on Garlic Bread
In case you hunger for even more garlic, feel free to try:
Julia Child’s Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Or:37 Garlic Recipes for Those Who Think One Clove Is Never Enough
And you don’t need to take my word for it:
“Garlic is divine. Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”
― Anthony Bourdain
“Disclaimer: there will be copious amounts of garlic in the sauces and dressings, and you will leave whiffy and unsnoggable.”
–Grace Dent, The Guardian
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Ciao Tutti!
This weekend is Piazza’s last of our countdown to Easter and we return to the heel of Italy’s boot to taste the Copertino DOC Riserva from the Cantina Sociale Cooperativa. Even though this Cooperativa now has 300 members, their focus is not bulk production; rather, they are dedicated to producing high-quality wine from Puglia’s indigenous grapes such as this wine’s negroamaro.
The negroamaro grape probably accompanied the Greeks who settled in the Salento peninsula in the eighth century BC. Its name derives not from its taste but the dark skin of the grape whose taste is more blackberry and plum. The Riserva designation means the wine was produced from only the best vintages and was bottle aged for several years. I love its aromas of black and red fruits and medium to full body. If it does not accompany your Easter celebration, pair it with Piazza’s pasta with red sauces, lasagne, pizza, roasts or grilled meats.
I have been fascinated with Puglia since my last year of architecture school when our project assignment was temporary housing for disaster relief. My research led me to the yurts of Mongolia that may have inspired the trulli houses of Puglia. The village of Alberobello is full of trulli and this picture, courtesy of photographer Berthold Werner, shows their distinctive round shapes of mortarless construction from recycled limestone boulders found in the fields. I especially liked how this row of houses is identified by the graphic on the conical roofs-so much more stylish than a house number!
Piazza Easter Menu: Let Piazza’s Chef Chris’ Easter menu do the cooking for you so you can spend more time with family and friends before your Easter feast!
Visit https://www.piazzaitalianmarket.com/shop-special-meals/p/easter-dinner to order one item or the entire menu and place your order by emailing Leanne Young at [email protected].The deadline for orders is 5:00 pm on March 23rd and the pick up time is 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on Sat., March 30th.
Full Case Deadline: If you wish to order a case of one wine selection for Easter, the deadline for orders is noon on Wed., March 27th for pick up during store hours on Friday March 29th or Sat., March 30th.
I hope you can join me at Piazza Italian Market this Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45 to taste the Copertino DOC Riserva, my fave wine from Puglia.
Cin Cin!
Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.
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by Dave Wheelan
A garden lecture will take place on March 27 at 11 a.m. at Talbot County Free Library, 100 W. Dover Street, Easton. Talbot County Garden Club’s Free Winter Lecture Series concludes with “A Sneak Peek Preview of This Year’s May 11 Talbot County Tour of the Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage.” Event co-chairs Zandi Nammack & Kim Eckert will present.
Info: [email protected] / 301-641-7337.
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by Jean Sanders
Our family loves chocolate desserts. Birthdays call out for Boston cream pie. Christmas requires a flourless chocolate cake. Road trip? We need to bake a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies. Naturally. As one does. New neighbors? Brownies. Having a hard day? Here is a plate or Oreos and a glass of milk.
Last weekend Mr. Sanders was looking for a rainy day project, so he flipped through Dorie Greenspan’s Dorie’s Cookies book and found the most involved, multi-step, chill-overnight kind of cookie to bake, and it kept him occupied for two whole days. And yes, they are very very delicious: chocolate-y and crunchy. They contain oatmeal, so they are practically health food. Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate Oatmeal Biscoff Cookies (He made an ice cream sandwich with 2 of the cookies – I can’t begin to imagine how divine that tasted!)
While other families are preparing corned beef and cabbage (which I think stinks to high heaven) for St. Patrick’s Day, we will be digging through our cookbooks for another chocolate stout cake recipe. We will honor the blessed saint, the foe of snakes, in our own sweet way: with chocolate stout cupcakes.
I love a good cupcake – perfectly proportioned with a maximum icing to cake ratio. Food52’s Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
If you’d rather have cake, be my guest. Please, just save us a couple of slices.
Chocolate Stout Cake
Cake
• 2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
Icing
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.
For icing:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.
Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.
Here is a Guinness Cake from the kitchen goddess herself, Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Cake
I still recoil with horror at the notion of corned beef. The memory of cooked cabbage odor haunts me all these years since I last smelled it, wafting up the stairway from my mother’s kitchen to my lair at the back of the house. I will NEVER cook a cabbage. As always, we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with chocolate and Guinness, as God intended.
“Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain.”
― Dave Barry
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