One of the great things about the At The Table With..is that it provides a venue for learning about culinary traditions and rituals that might be common experience for some folks, but completely new to others. Growing up in a secular, non-jewish household I had never experienced a Passover Seder dinner, and since the ATW... season runs through Passover, planning a modern take on the traditional Passover Seder dinner sounded like a fun way to learn about this special tradition. I approached our Sous Chef Elissa Singer about collaborating on a Seder and she went to work creating a menu for the occasion. I also asked her to write a bit about the planning process and her thoughts about creating the menu. It is as follows:
    When Robert came to me with the idea of doing a modern day take on a traditional Passover dinner for the series “At the Table with...” I was intrigued yet skeptical. How would I go about breaking down a traditional Passover Seder into a 6-course tasting menu? For one, the word “Seder” means “order” in Hebrew.  My first challenge would be to break away from the traditional order of the meal which is the very essence of the dinner. This ritual meal has been practiced for generations amongst Jewish families around the world.  A traditional Passover Seder includes reading from the Haggadah, which tells the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.  As the story is retold, we eat from the Seder Plate, the symbolic foods, and partake in customs that let us remember what the slaves experienced and celebrate our freedom. After the story is told and the four glasses of wine consumed, we eat a traditional dinner that varies from family to family.  
To tackle this project, I thought about the dishes I am accustomed to eating with my family. Some of them are traditional for Passover and some are common amongst Jewish families such as brisket and roast chicken. I decided to stay very close to the order of the Passover Seder with each course progressing according to tradition. While including the symbolic ingredients, I fine-tuned and elevated each dish creating a contemporary take on an ancient tradition.  While this meal does not conform to the Laws of Kashrut, it can be considered Kosher for Passover because of the sole use of unleavened bread or Matzo. I hope that this experience will give you a better understanding of what Passover is all about while also providing you with a delicious meal.  I am excited to share a new approach to an age-long custom!

The menu is here as well:

~Thursday, March 28, 2013~

At the Table with… Passover Seder

Amuse-Bouche

Manischewitz Granita

“Seder Plate”

Poached Quail Egg, Charoset Crisp, Roasted Marrow Bone

Parsley, Horseradish and Lemon Gremolata

Second

Pollock Timbale, Haricot Verts, Dill Cream

and Sweet Potato Doodlies

Third

Matzoh Ball stuffed with Chicken Liver Mousse in Consommé

Fourth

Roasted Squab with Fig and Red Wine Reduction,

Potato Kugel and Crispy Kale

Fifth

Braised brisket, Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Candied Carrots and Braising Jus

Dessert

Hazelnut Torte, Cinnamon Ice Cream,

Rhubarb-Strawberry Coulis and Matzoh Brittle

Elissa has created a lovely menu and we hope to see you soon at At The Table!

Tomorrow Night: At The Table With...Will Myers of CBC!

Another epic tasting tomorrow night at The Table!  Will Myers of Cambridge Brewing Co. is paying our table a visit.  He'll be noshing and joshing as well as introducing a bevy of brewed beauties.  At The Table With... is always a discovery of new culinary delights, visit the Reservation page to see if any seats remain!

03/16/13 Farmer's Market to Your Table Cooking Demonstration

RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY MARCH 16th

Join a market-to-mealtime workshop with Chef Robert Harris of The Table at Season to Taste.  

The day begins with a  shopping trip through the Cambridge Winter Farmer's Market with Chef Robert choosing the best local fare for our luncheon meal.  The class then moves to The Table's intimate kitchen in North Cambridge for a cooking demonstration and locally sourced lunch

Saturday

March 16th, 2013

10am
The Cambridge Winter Farmer's Market
Cambridge Community Center
5 Callender Street
Cambridge MA 02139

Sage Words, Beer Bathed Menus and More Yet to Ferment...

"At Mystic Brewery we aren’t afraid of no stinking microbes (quite literally). Our way is to brew new beers in the old tradition. Our way is to make living beer. Our way is to build Boston’s brewing tradition into one of legend. And we are doing it the New England way: with hard work, perseverance, and meticulous dedication to craftsmanship."

From "Our Story" Mystic Brewery

Chef Robert Harris has teamed up with Brian Greenhagen of Mystic Brewery to create a beer flattering menu displayed below.  There will be a follow-up blog post from Robert's visit with Brian at Mystic's operations, so stay tuned...

Oh and don't forget to reserve your seat for ATTW Mystic Brewery before it's too late!

 

Ciao Italia! Ahoy ye sea lovers!

Chef Ashley Ondrick plating
smoked swordfish

Last Thursday evening, At the Table With... took a trip through the Italian wine country with Martin Langer of OZ wines and it was bellisimo!  

With a start of creative tapas styled bar food (Speck Wrapped Breadsticks with Apple Moustarda) paired with Prosecco from Veneto and a finish of traditional fare (Coffee and Red Wine Braised Beef Cheeks) matched with Barolo from Piedmonte, Martin and his guests enjoyed a spectacular evening.

Martin Langer of OZ wines speaking to guests.

Thank you to all who joined us on this sojourn to Italy.  And a gracious tip of the hat to Martin Langer  & Chef Ashley Ondrick for bringing a knowledge of the Italian grape and its consumate lover, la cuinca, to our Table.

If you missed this tour through Italy, join us for one of the many adventures to come... 

Thursday January 24, 2013 7:00pm  

• Chris Edelman of Seafood Specialities dishes up sustainable treasures from the Northeast Atlantic.

Thursday February 07, 2013 7:00pm

• Don't miss Mystic Brewery's Brian Greenhagen  showcasing new beers brewed with the oldest of traditions right here in our own backyard (Chelsea.)

We look forward to sitting around the table with you!!!
ATW

And the other shoe drops...

Here it is!  Translated from Italian, the menu for this coming Thursday's At The Table With... Martin Langer of OZ wines.  For those joining us, gear up for an intimate evening exploring Italia through the art of cucina e vini.  If you weren't able to get a seat this time round, no worries please, we'll be hosting many more dinners At The Table With...  Check out what's coming up next!

Se il vino è il cibo dell'amore.

Martin Langer Dinner Menu (Teaser alert)

One of the great things about running an egalitarian kitchen, with a policy of mutual respect, and a reputation of sourcing high quality local ingredients, is that we tend to attract talented cooks that have a willingness to collaborate on menus. This dovetailed perfectly with this year's Northern Italian wine dinner with Martin Langer of Oz Wines. As it turns out, Ashley Ondrick one our hard working cooks, worked for three months at L'Angelo d'Abruzzo in the town of Carsoli on Northern Italy. So under her tutelage we have worked up a wonderful menu. This teaser menu is all in Italian. However, the English menu is to follow along with the specific 10 wines to be tasted.

Buon Appetito!

Aperitivo allo Sportello

Salumi Misti. Grissini di Casa. Seadas. Mostarda di Mele.

Antipasti di Frutti di Mare

Crudo di Mercato. Finocchio. Limone

Pesce Spada Affumicato. Cipollini in Agro Dolce. Pane Fritti

Primi Piatti

Sacchette alle Lenticchie. Cotechino di Anatra. Caramello di Carote. Mascarpone. Cavolo Fritto.

Secondi Piatti

Guancia al Café e Vino Rosso. Polenta. Gremolata di Ciliegia. Pastinaca Croccante.

Formaggio

Fiddlehead Tomme. Boggy Meadow Farm, NH.

Dolci

Fior di Ricotta. Pera. Granella di Mandorla e Semi di Finocchio.

...And We Are Back

Our amazing winter dinner series is back in action. With the last of the leaves falling off the trees and the air starting to turn cold and crisp, we turn our keen culinary eyes to the great indoors.  This year we are featuring old friends like Martin Langer with incredible wines from Italy as well as new, and interesting concepts such as a modern sophisticated twist on passover dinner. We believe that our Table is an incredible concept that allows us to learn about everything from our local farmers/producers to artists, writers and musicians. We then share our knowledge in an entertaining fashion over a delicious multi-course dinner. Our initial listing of upcoming dinners is posted, but we will be adding more as they fall in to place, so stay tuned!

School's Out for Summer!!

Spring is in the air and our busy wedding season has kicked in. So just like way back in the day, we are taking a break for the summer and instead of offering a cooking class or an At The Table With...in our kitchen, we will be taking it on the road. Our next big event is on May 17 at the Multi-Cultural Art Center in Cambridge and we hope to see you there. A pop-up harvest dinner is also in the works for late Summer.
    The good news is that our nightly pri fixe Table dinners are still available and more info about that can be found here: The Table. We plan on starting our in house cooking classes and At The Table With... Dinners in the fall, so please check back when it cools off and the leaves start falling off the trees for more of our super special dinners.
  Have a great, safe and fun summer, thanks so much for your interest in The Table at Season To Taste.

At The Table with Shady Oak's Organics

 

Sourcing vegetables during winter in New England presents a challenge, and mushrooms are no exception. During the warm seasons we are able to procure amazing, wild-foraged mushrooms from local mushroom guy extraordinaire Ben Maleson. Sadly, during the winter we end up sourcing from Oregon and other far- flung corners of the country, that is, until we met Nate Seyler, Devin Stehlin and Leif Johnson, partners and cultivators at Shady Oaks Organics Mushroom Farm at the Cambridgeport Farmers Market. They are year round mushroom farmers that specialize in growing beautiful yellow, pink and white oyster mushrooms as well as shiitakes. After speaking with Devin, it became clear that we should invite them to The Table for a “mushroomcentric” four-course dinner featuring their incredible mushrooms. Before writing the menu, Paul, George, and I headed up to Shady Oak’s production facility to check out the growing process and to brainstorm a menu. The following is a tour of the facility:

From left to right:George, Robert, Leif, Paul and Nate

When we first pictured a mushroom farm on the North Shore the image that came to mind was of a bunch of hippies living in the woods cultivating spores on dead wood in the forest. As we arrived at the production facility a much different picture was presented. Their facility, which is actually a warehouse space on the outskirts of Newburyport, is a pristine, clean facility with a well thought out and organized plan to produce the North East’s highest quality cultivated mushrooms. Here is the flow of production:

 Oyster Mushrooms are grown on straw based medium that is delivered in these bags.

 The straw needs to be sterilized so that competing organisms which discourage the growth of the mushrooms are removed. The straw is placed in a DIY boiler in 50 gallon drum. After the straw is boiled, it's then moved to a clean room and dumped out on a stainless steel table to and spread out to cool.  

 After cooling the straw is inoculated with spawn that is procured from 

one of the bricks that Nate is holding in the above photo. 

 The straw is then gathered in plastic bags and hung in Shady Oak's custom built grow house. The grow house is held at the perfect heat and humidity level to encourage growth of the mushrooms.

 Pictured here are shiitake mushrooms grown on wood medium.

 For now they purchase the wood with spore already inoculated. In the future they 

will be installing a system to create their own Shiitake growth medium.

We welcome any and all mushroom fans as well as supporters of local small farmers to join us At The Table With Shady Oak’s Mushroom on Thursday May 3^rd. Menu to follow…

Risotto Recipe from a recent Class

Ingredients:

¼ Cup     White onion, finely diced

2 Tbls.      Olive oil

¼ Cup     White or red wine

1 Cup       Arborio rice

3 Cups     Vegetable, chicken, mushroom or beef stock

¼ Cup     Butter

¼ Cup     Cheese (Parmesan/Fiddlehead Tomme/Aged Cheddar)

Technique:

        In a saucepot, combine and cook the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the rice and stir to evenly to coat the rice with the oil. Cook for about a minute in the oil. Add the wine and cook on medium heat until completely absorbed. Add 1 cup of stock slowly, stirring constantly until liquid is completely absorbed. Repeat process two more times, until all the stock is used. It’s important that you stir as much as possible with a wooden spoon, so that you extract the starch from the rice, which helps to create the creamy rich consistency of a good risotto. After the third addition of stock has been completely absorbed, taste for seasoning, then remove from heat and fold in butter and cheese. The addition of the cheese must be the final step, just before serving.  If you continue to heat or cook the risotto after the addition of the cheese and/or butter, there is a good chance that the dairy will de-emulsify resulting in a loose, oily end-product.

Servings:

6 Five ounce portions

Notes:

   There are all kinds of delicious versions that you can create with this basic recipe/technique. Here are some of our favorites:

Roasted Beet Risotto topped with Goat cheese and Buttery Bread Crumbs

   

Simmer one bunch of whole beets with orange, fennel and onion until tender. Peel and puree beets in a blender. Strain the cooking liquid off, season with salt, and use for the first two additions of stock. Finish with one cup of the beet puree. Garnish the bowl with any remaining beets, spoon the risotto over the beets, and top with goat cheese and buttery bread crumbs.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Take one pound of fresh wild mushrooms, break the stems from the caps and use the stems to make a flavorful mushroom vegetable stock. Rough chop the caps, and sear at high heat with olive oil. Make the risotto with the mushroom stock and fold in seared mushrooms after the first addition of stock. This risotto goes well with roasted chicken. For an even better risotto, fold roasted beef bone marrow in at the end instead of butter and serve with a poached egg

Great Write up about Cooking Lessons at the Table

The Dinner Series joined us at The Table recently and posted this awesome story about our cooking lessons. The dinner series is sponsored by our friends at Didrik's a lovely retail store in West Cambridge.

Cooking Lessons at The Table