Boat Street Cafe - chefshop.com/enews
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In this issue:
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Pickled Street
Bottarga
Nut Mix
Back in Stock
Recipes of the Week
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Organic Dark Chocolate
This 60 percent semi-sweet dark couverture has a rich cocoa taste with a prominent fruitness and a soft, sweet finish. Wholesale volumes and pricing available.
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 A Visit to the Boat Street Cafe
I lived vicariously in a previous life. Or, more correctly, it was my job to, and when the opportunity arises, I still do. As an environmental portrait photojournalist and documentary filmmaker I "live the life" of others. Sometimes it's a short moment or maybe an hour or so, and sometimes it's off and on for months, even years.
So, when the opportunity to tell the story of Boat Street Pickles (they're not pickles, they're pickled) from a favorite restaurant here, I knew I had to meet Chef Renee at the cafe. I love any excuse to go into other people's kitchens! You never know what you might see and every one is unique in some way.
Renee's pickled treats are beyond the average condiment. Though the action is the same, just spoon and place, these treats are more glorious than just an add-on ingredient like ketchup and mustard. They are complete elements that "brighten" a dish. When I first tasted them, I thought, "what dish could I design around them?" That's how inspiringly good they are!
When I asked Chef Renee, who has had Boat Street Café for 13 years now, what inspired her to create the pickled products, she didn't really have an answer. She had created them for dishes at the restaurant, to "brighten" and add character without being too heavy or too sweet. After repeated requests from patrons to take some home, Renee took on the task of converting the "kitchen" recipes from Cafe to market.
You can use them on cheese, on a pork chop, as a side on a dish, or on a simple sandwich that needs brightening.
Shop now for Boat Street Pickles and pictures of the kitchen!
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A Sardinian secret ingredient
Once known as the poor man's caviar, bottarga is the salted, pressed and dried roe of gray mullet (muggine) or tuna (tonno). The tradition of harvesting the nutrient-rich sea salt of the tidal marshes, and using it to preserve the abundant local seafood is maintained to this day in Italy, especially in Sicily and Sardinia. And now, fishermen from Sardinia bring the tradition of air-cured tuna and flavorful sea salt to the rest of the world.
While the practice of preserving tuna or mullet roe is sometimes thought to be a legacy of the Byzantines, the practice actually goes farther back, to ancient or possibly even pre-historic, times. The same process is used in Turkey, Egypt, and some coastal areas of Asia.
Today, bottarga is a specialty of both Sardinia and Sicily. To make it, the entire long, fat roe sac is salted and and then massaged by hand over several weeks to eliminate air pockets. The roe is then pressed using wooden planks and stone or marble weights and sun-dried for one to two months.
Serving Suggestions
Bottarga may be shaved, sliced, chopped or grated, and just a little provides a ton of flavor to a whole host of dishes. A very popular dish is Spaghetti con Bottarga, made with grated or finely chopped bottarga, olive oil, red pepper flakes and chopped parsley - simple but delicious. Try topping a salad of bitter greens with shaved bottarga, or grate it into your rice congee for a more flavorful breakfast.
Shop now for delicious Bottarga
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Fastachi's Cranberry Nut Mix
Fastachi's amazing nut mix. We first met Souran, the founder of Fastachi, almost 11 years ago.
Souran is a man who is passionate about his nuts. Whether you like to eat your nuts by the handful or if you're a one-at-a-time kind of gal, as soon as you take your first bite you'll realize how great this Cranberry Nut Mix really is. Souran has perfected the art of finding and roasting his nuts in very small batches, making great nuts extra special!
We always make it a point to eat a half pound handful to ensure that the nuts are super fresh. We have never been disappointed!
Shop now for the best nut mix
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Tradizionale Gold Seal
San Giacomo Gold Seal Tradizionale is one of our all time favorites for its unique characteristics and subtle nuances that make it so complex.
With vinegar batteries started in the 60's, Andrea has furthered the family's elixir and created perfection. Everything we have ever had from Andrea has been "perfection". From balsamic filled chocolates to balsamic panettone.
Balsamic Vinegar (Aceto Balsamico) is a true treasure - one of those great culinary wonders of Italy that just hasn't been replicated anywhere else. Produced in rural attics and cellars throughout Emilia-Romagna and Modena Italy, there is nothing like the sweet smell of cooking grape must in the fall, or the rich aroma of fermenting balsamic barrels during the hot summer. Sweet, syrupy, heavenly balsamic.
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DESIGN: JODI LUBY & COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK CITY, NY; EMAIL STRATEGY: CRM Group USA, SEATTLE, WA
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