Food

Food

Perfect for Late Winter: Summer Fish Curry

When the weather turns, as it has this week, from merely cold to utterly brutal, I retreat, as much as possible, to the kitchen. The numbing weather presents cooks with a fork in the road: either make rib-sticking, hearty comfort food (nothing wrong with that, except what  it will do

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Food

Olde Hudson Wants To Do Your Shopping For You

"I was bored," says Dena Moran when asked why she decided to open an antique-furniture/body-and-bath shop in Hudson in 2001.  In Manhattan, she had worked with her husband Dick Moran in the domestic textiles business—designing, merchandising and selling.  Initially, their house in Claverack had been a

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Food

Local 111 Among Top 25 Farm-to-Table Restaurants in U.S.

There it is in the pages of the February 2009 issue  (and on the website, naturally) of Best Life, a men's magazine from Rodale Press, our own Local 111 in Philmont, cited by a blue-ribbon jury as one of the top 25 farm-to-table restaurants in the United States.

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Food

Adventures in Slow Cooking: Moroccan Chicken Stew

Since starting my adventures in food here at Rural Intelligence, I've received a few requests from readers. Some I've tried to address, some I'm still working on, and one, until now, had me stumped: recipes designed for a slow cooker. I am, theoretically, the

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Food

Cooking With Chef Jeff

Fresh from a working vacation in Nice, caterer Jeff Loshinsky [that's him, in the white jacket, in the market there] is bursting with new techniques and recipes he wants to share.  "Nice has one of the best markets, Cours Saleya, in the world," he says. "

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Food

Peace, Love & Chocolate in Stockbridge

Peace, Love & Chocolate sounds like the name of a shop run by an old hippie, but Ali Aronoff is more of a hipster.  A personal trainer and chef who's lived in Stockbridge for fifteen years, she opened a chocolate boutique six weeks ago in The Mews next

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Food

Fit for A Dinner Party: Kasha with Preserved Lemons

I know some people who are perfectly confident in most areas of their lives—and perfectly capable in the kitchen—who become paralyzed at the idea of throwing a dinner party. The thing  I've learned is that dinner parties aren't necessarily any more work than a

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Food

A Jolt of Green: Bravo for Broccoli Rabe

I'm surprised—happily so—whenever I find broccoli rabe, also know as rapini, on a menu. Whether in a restaurant or a friend's home, I always feel like my host and I have a shared secret, because I can't believe how few people appreciate—

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Food

Best 2009 Calendar: The Hunky Farmers of Columbia County

A posh New York City caterer, Great Performances, is selling a calendar the profits from which benefit two worthy causes neither of which is headquartered in our region.  And we care about this because…? Well, for starters, the photographs that illustrate Down to Earth 2009 are of the farms and

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Food

Fa-la-la-la Flavor: Berkshire Mountain Bakery's Holiday Bread

Over two decades, Berkshire Mountain Bakery has built its reputation on hand-crafted sourdough and whole grain breads. So it's somewhat surprising to find founder Richard Bourdon rhapsodizing about his Old World Holiday Bread studded with rum-soaked dried fruits. "I think it's a stollen," says

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Food

Dan's Diary: Thanks for Shopping Locally

Since August when we wrote about one-month-old Haven, it has become the most happening spot in Lenox. Owner Shelly Williams has created what feels very much like the town's highly-caffeinated social center. This Saturday, to encourage and thank folks for shopping locally, Williams will be giving out a

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Food

Paige's Picks: Gifts for the Foodies on Your List

I suspect that non-cooks wonder what in the world to give those of us who are culinarily-obsessed. Cookbook? New gadget? Basket of delicacies? These are all good ideas—but how do you take them from "good" to "impossibly clever"?  For me, simpler is better,  and, as

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