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Newsletter for December 2008 Your source for what’s cooking at OBW
25 South Indian Alley Winchester VA, 22601 Information: info@oneblockwest.com Reservations: reservations@oneblockwest.com 540-662-1455 Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-2pm & 5pm-until |
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In This Issue: |
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Is it December already? I guess that means we just blew through chanterelle season and will be serving black trumpet mushrooms any day now. Hedgehogs cannot be too far behind. Why is my mind so constantly focused on wild mushrooms? I think I love them as much as you do; we sell cases and cases of them a month. (Wanna see a cool mushroom? Another one?)
While I have your attention and before you get off reading, I want to wish you all our best for the upcoming holiday season. The crew and I look forward to seeing you and giving you our best in person.
Enjoy,
Ed Matthews, Chef/Owner |
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Our holiday schedule is straightforward. We’re closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. That’s closed on December 24 and 25 and January 1. Contrary to some persistent rumor, we never have closed at all in January and we will be open for normal business this January. |
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Each year for the holidays, we offer our beautifully boxed and delicious Noël chocolate truffles from France. These are the same ones that we serve after dinner. They make great hostess and office gifts and need no additional wrapping. Each box of approximately 30 truffles is $9. We offer a 10% discount on the purchase of any 15-box case. We have truffles in stock for walk-in purchase or you may order truffles for delivery each Thursday in December. We’ll be getting shipments on the 4th, 11th, and the 18th. To reserve yours, call us at 540-662-1455 or email at info@oneblockwest.com. Don’t forget that we also retail excellent Sicilian olive oil at an incredible price for all your foodie friends. And as always, don’t forget your One Block West gift certificates. Feel free to call ahead and we can have them waiting for you or mail them to you. |
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This perplexes me. I’m the kind of person that will order something I never heard of before just to see what it is; of course, I’m not a timid eater. And, our servers all know what the ingredients are and are happy to explain anything and everything on the menu to you. You needn’t feel embarrassed to ask; I’m constantly putting ingredients on the menu that many of you will never have heard of. Mâche is a small salad green that is more popular in Europe than it is here, where it is sometimes known as corn salad or lamb’s lettuce. It’s a green that grows in small rosettes of low-to-the-ground light green leaves. These leaves are extremely delicate and have a sweet and nutty taste, which is generally why I dress them with the complementary walnut oil. Mâche is definitely one of my favorite salad greens. Next time you see mâche on the menu, try it. I guarantee you will love it. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. |
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It was tough this month to pick from all the recipes I published since the last newsletter, but I think I have something here that you’ll enjoy making at home. If ever there were a dish that screamed "Charleston!", Shrimp and Grits would be it. The following recipe records what I made in my latest cooking class on Low Country cuisine. The recipe is here…. |
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You’ll want to see the following how-to photo essays this month:
§ First, You Make Some Roux…, roux step by step. § Collards, here’s how to prep them. § Wahoo, how to portion a side of this fish. § Chiffonade, how to perform this basic knife skill.
By all means, if there is a cooking technique that you need help with, please let me know. |
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One of our best selling wines is a Crémant d’Alsace Rosé, a sparkling rosé from Alsace made from 100% Pinot Noir. The term crémant, meaning creaming in French, is an old one that was originally used to designate wines that were lightly sparkling. This is the same distinction that the Italians designate with frizzante (lightly sparkling, see the link to Brachetto below), fully sparkling wines being called spumante. In the early 90’s and ever since, there has been a push in the European Union to restrict the use of designated place names to those places that gave the name to the term. One such instance is Champagne, and by derivation, méthode champenoise, the production method for making Champagne. The EU declared in 1992 that sparkling wines made outside the Champagne could not use the terms Champagne or champenoise, meanwhile reserving the term Crémant for those wines. Subsequently, several new appellations d’origine were adopted in France (Crémant d'Alsace, Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Die, Crémant du Jura, Crémant de Limoux, and Crémant de Loire) and one outside France, Crémant du Luxembourg. So there you have it. Crémant is any sparkling wine (generally French) made outside the Champagne. For more on wine, see the following articles on One Blog West: § Of Corks and Screwcaps, my take on screwcaps. § Amarone, that great Italian wine. § Picpoul de Pinet, an excellent value wine. § Brachetto, a fun frizzante wine from Italy. |
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Recently, a customer asked me to make razor clams for him and his girlfriend. I really don't mind it when customers call or email and ask me to cook a certain food product for them. It's actually one fewer decision that I have to make during the course of the day and because the menu changes daily, I'm always looking for different foods to feature. More…. |
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I know that the down economy is pinching us all pretty hard. Thanks for hanging in there with us and for all your support. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you over the holiday season. Here’s wishing you the best and a Merry Christmas from all of us at One Block West. Ed
Copyright © 2008 Shenandoah Food and Beverage Holdings, LLC sensational seasonal cuisine and the W logo are trademarks of Shenandoah Food and Beverage Holdings, LLC. |
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