Sassy Southern Cooking with a French Twist

locally sourced

Smashing Grapes and Fabulous Fare

The Williamsburg Winery Offers a Smorgasbord of Culinary and Natural Delights

Just a few weeks into sampling some of Williamsburg’s many beautiful and delicious destinations, I’m fairly sure I found a new favorite that, based upon the pure joy of the first visit, will remain at the top of my destination list for a long time. And, I humbly suggest to all Williamsburg visitors and residents, it should be at the top of your list, too. Nestled on a 300-acre farm of rolling hills situated on a spot initially selected by colonists in 1607 for their settlement, it shimmers with pastoral, verdant beauty, and a palpable sense of history.  It is a quiet and soothing place that features tours, wine tastings, special events, lodging, and two restaurants,  Gabriel Archer Tavern and Cafe Provencal (located in Wedmore Place Inn).  Forty of these acres are comprised of a vineyard producing multiple varietals of exceptional quality (I especially enjoyed the Viognier) and a half-acre garden and greenhouse which supply the restaurants with the goods to create their memorable farm- to-fork sourced fare.

I was visiting with a friend to celebrate his birthday with a Sunday brunch on what turned out to be a special occasion day in every way. The weather shined with radiant, crisp sunshine, and the first blush of autumn cool, which paired perfectly with a sumptuous, al fresco feast on Gabriel Archer Tavern’s grape vine-draped patio. It faces the wine tasting rooms and shop which look like they were imported directly from medieval Southern France. Indeed, I felt as if I were in France, or at least some other perfect world.

The servers proved themselves to be affable, efficient, and wholly knowledgeable of the food and wine, and how best to pair them. The menu is gutsy and rustic featuring sturdy BLT’s and burgers with locally sourced goodies like Billy Bread, Virginia country ham, and produce from the garden. Our meal’s beginning and end (sandwiched with blue crab cakes and a crab bisque) were the best, I thought, and the two dishes that lingered with me the longest, five days and counting now.  The country platter is an ample offering of country pate, dried sausage, toasted bistro bread, and Edward’s Virginia ham; salty, buttery, and exquisite on the toasts with house made lingonberry jam or chunky, tangy country mustard.  Dessert, which arrived with a sparkling candle, and happy birthday song from three servers (and eventually the entire patio of guests), was a frothy vanilla shake layered with an airy, mocha mousse, and a savory, dark chocolate and bourbon laced brownie crumble at the bottom. Get thee to the winery!

The cupola on the winery’s outbuildings is reminiscent of Colonial Williamsburg and France, too.

 

Speaking of Frothy Deliciousness….

The brownie crumble-meets-mocha mousse-meets fresh vanilla ice cream shake, reminded me of a similar dessert that’s especially fitting for the upcoming Labor Day holiday and unofficial end of summer. And, I can share the recipe. This Deep-Purple Cherry and Blackberry Milkshake recipe comes from my cookbook,  Mashed – Beyond the Potato (Gibbs Smith), which features the last bursts of hot summer fruits. Fresh sweet cherries and blackberries simmer together briefly with orange juice, vanilla seeds, and honey to form a luscious compote that would be delicious served over ice cream or yogurt, or, as it is here, blended with ice cream to create deep-purple, frothy, and irresistible milkshakes. Serve in tall glasses with straws and garnish with a fresh cherry and a few blackberries. The compote can be made a few days ahead, stored covered in the refrigerator and blended at the last minute. The shake recipe needs to be made in 2 batches to accommodate a standard blender size and will make 4 generous shakes. Repeat to use the entire compote recipe and create 8 shakes.

Deep-Purple Cherry and Blackberry Milkshakes

(Recipe yields 2 cups compote, enough for 8 milkshakes)

Deep-Purple Milkshakes from Mashed – Beyond the Potato (Gibbs Smith) by Holly Herrick. Photo by Alexandra DeFurio.

For the compote:

1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and halved

2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries

1 fresh vanilla pod, halved vertically, seeds removed by scraping with a paring knife (discard pod)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher or sea salt

1 tablespoon honey

For the shakes:

1 cup cooled compote

1/2 cup whole milk

3 cups best-quality vanilla ice cream

For the compote, place the cherries, blackberries, vanilla seeds, orange juice, vanilla, salt, and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium high, reduce to medium low, and cook for 20 minutes, uncovered, until the fruit has broken down into tender chunks. Mash briefly with a fork or manual, hand-held potato masher. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate to cool for at least 1 hour or overnight. Prepare the shakes in 2 batches, placing the compote, milk and ice cream in a blender, and process until smooth and frothy. Serve immediately.

Bon appetit! Wishing everyone who celebrates a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. Special blessings to all of those dealing with Hurricane Dorian. Be safe.

Author, Chef, Cookbook writer Holly Herrick

Fondly, Holly and Rocky

 

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Park Cafe Delivers Big Flavor and Urban Sophistication

I decided to spend Labor Day morning exploring this pleasant restaurant’s breakfast options. The results were more than delicious, especially the Danish pastries which were served hot out of the oven with fresh blueberry jam. For more about the restaurant, click on the link below which will take you to my new blog at The Permanent Tourist Charleston.

Park Cafe's Danish delights.

Park Cafe’s Danish delights.

 

http://charleston.thepermanenttourist.com/big-apple-meets-chucktown/

Bon appetit!

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Get Your Happy Food Buzz on at Butcher & Bee

The locally sourced, organic trend that’s at long last  gripping large parts of the country and the Lowcountry is not new. It’s been trending hotter than an August Charleston afternoon for the better part of the past three years.

What is new (just four weeks old) is Butcher & Bee and the utter purity with which it approaches its localvore love. Tucked inauspiciously away in a parking lot near Columbus and Upper King Street, everything here, from the artisinal community table to house made everything (including pickles, bread, ketchup, mayonnaise, an organic garden out back, and locally sourced animals purchased whole and broken down in-house) is done the real, old-fashioned, and waste-free way.  The Butcher & Bee experience is an exceptional journey back to a time that far too many Americans have forgotten with the haze of fast food and mass-produced processed “food” that has clogged our supermarkets, hearts and palates for far too long.

The brainchild of Owner/Partner Michael Shem-Pov of local Mellow Mushroom fame and Chef/Partner Stuart Tracy, the purely executed concept (even in its very early, opening days) takes a nod from butcher shops and nature. The menu, broadly conceived at the beginning of each week and modified according to what farmers deliver on a daily basis and what sells out sometimes on an hourly basis, is coaxed to understated perfection in the hands of Tracy, who trained at Johnson & Wales and cut his teeth at Palmetto Cafe before finally stretching his chef and entrepreneur legs at his Butcher & Bee baby. While his competence at Palmetto Cafe was always evident, it literally shines here.

The vegetarian and sandwich intensive B & B menu changes daily.

Pure is the best word I can find to describe his magnificent fare. Getting there, as Tracy puts it, is all about “control and balance.” So very well put, indeed. It sounds like a simple concept, but it’s the kind of fuss-free, technique-rich execution too many chefs miss with over-manipulated, over made-up, overly-complicated concoctions. The clarity of each flavor and each texture at Butcher & Bee allows the freshness of the food to shine through. That is an art, and one Tracy proudly and passionately brings to the table here.

Sandwiches and vegetarian dishes are staples, but weekends afford a beefy burger (more on that later) and fresh interpretations on egg-centric brunch favorites like “Toad in a Hole” and French toast. Considering that bread makes up about 50% of the essence of a sandwich, Tracy considers it a priority. “You can’t be a sandwich shop and not make the bread,” he says. Indeed, brioche, pita, and assorted breads are made here daily and are sometimes served still warm from the oven – just like Mom (or well, maybe Grandmother) used to make.

Garden fresh Brussel sprouts, bacon, Granny Smith apples and peanut side.

 

This gorgeous, warm side salad (pictured above) was offered on a recent Sunday brunch menu, and is an idyllic edible testimony not just to Tracy’s talent, but his restrained, controlled balance. Roasted, nutty and lightly caramelized Brussel sprouts (likely picked from one of the elevated, organic garden beds out back) are tossed with salty, smoky bacon, layered with crisp, tart/sweet slivers of apple, and anointed with the salty crunch of peanuts. Swirling flavors of vinegary onion confit and a swatch of nutty, browned butter seal the deal ever so sweetly.

Pimento Cheeseburger the B & B way!

 

But, if the Brussel sprouts spelled “like”, the burger spelled “love”, as in “I wanna’ be Wimpy, now!” kind of love. Perfection, it literally was impossible to resist. The golden hue of the brioche,  and the density of the bread, possessed just the right amount of airy girth to support the hefty, but not overwhelming burger.  Fresh, peppery/smooth pimento cheese oozed temptingly over the moist, savory, locally sourced beef. A flutter of fresh onion crunch and a thick layer, about one inch high, of the ultra crunchy, cool house made cucumbers were heady, indeed. The toasted, buttered bun, got a flavor kiss from the aromatic house made ketchup and mayonnaise, to boot.

What is not to love? Despite increased competition from some truly worthy burger havens (HOM, Husk, and other stalwarts included), this is a dream maker.  It’s just the kind of burger stuff that keeps you up at night, especially when you realize you have to wait for the weekend to experience it again!

With all of the personalized attention in the kitchen and the pristine (and, thus more pricey) sourcing of the food, the Butcher & Bee team manages to keep the price points extremely gentle, with entrees ranging from $8 – $11 and sides somewhere from $2 – $6. Considering that a “meal” at McDonald’s will cost you about $6 – and that’s just the beginning. That’s a huge deal, especially since the Butcher & Bee experience is profoundly nurturing at every level – spiritually, sensually, and sating our growing hunger for purity and deliciousness.

Seating is limited to about 20 now at the community table and some limited outside seating in the sunny parking lot, but plans are in place for a second table, and the late night crowd takes to standing and eating at the long, comfortable bar. Heck, I’d stand on my head if I had to  for another bite of that burger and just about everything that comes out of Butcher & Bee’s amazing kitchen. Bravo!

Butcher & Bee

654 King Street

www.butcherandbee.com

 

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