Regular readers of this blog know I am a big fan of David Tannis. When I learned through Instagram that Fort Hill Farm was harvesting Romanesco broccoli this week I went on a Tannis/Romanesco hunt on the interwebs. I was very happy to find this tantalizing recipe for baked romanesco with mozzarella and olives since that is a pretty compelling combination of ingredients and most are readily available at the market.
Also, what to do with those slightly prehistoric-looking Brussels sprout stalks they've been bringing? (I love seeing the creative ways shoppers are finding to pack the stalks at the market. They've replaced the baguette as the classic market underarm accessory.)
Save yourself the trouble of trimming and cross-hatching the buds and roast the stock whole! It's simple:
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place your Brussels sprouts stalk onto a large rimmed baking sheet and drizzle it evenly with olive oil. Sprinkle all sides of the stalk with the desired amount of sea salt and pepper. Maybe even a few red pepper flakes, if you are so inclined.
• Add to the oven and bake for 45 minutes until slightly soft and charred on the outside. If you like your Brussels extra crispy you may even turn your broiler on for the last few minutes of cooking. Make sure to rotate the stalk a third of the way every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking. When done, let the stalk rest for 5 minutes. You can cut the buds off the stalk or you can slightly "pre-cut" each bud at its source and let guests pull them off the stalk if you are serving as an hors d'oeuvre. In this case, serve with a tangy aioli for dipping.
And, make sure to stock up on Neversink Spirits' Apple brandy, a true eau de vie. A brandy is a truly unique way to experience a fruit; capturing the power, complexity of flavor, and clean fruit notes, hand-crafted from New York State apples, this brandy is great to mix into cocktails or to sip after dinner by a roaring fire – a good way to tide you over this winter and keep the market alive while we hibernate this winter.
After our pie contest, dog-costume contest, we now bring you our annual Chili Cook-Off. Overall, contest participation has been really impressive this year and we are so grateful to all of you shoppers demonstrating such courage and community spirit. Thank you! We hope to see a large batch of entries on Saturday. As always, lots of good prizes for our winners. And, once again, members of the Chappaqua and Millwoold Fire Departments will be tasting and judging. Check out details on our events page.
We have a special guest this Saturday. Please stop by The Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming tent to learn about this nonprofit organization in Cold Spring, New York. Their mission it is to help save farming in the Northeast, particularly the Hudson Valley. Ask them about the cool things they are doing to make sure small local farms thrive both in the fields and in the marketplace.
Don't forget to order your holiday turkey from Stone & Thistle Farm!
And, don't forget your carving knife so our trusty knife sharpener can get it nice and ready for its big day!
See you at the market!