follow up...on the road

Deborah
Labor day weekend has brought me back to Saratoga Springs. Saturday at the race track was exhilarating as we watched the girl wonder-horse Rachel Alexandra beat the boys by a nose in The Woodward Stakes race. The crowd was electrified by the narrow win and I felt like I had witnessed racing history, seeing the the first filly to ever clinch this classic race.


Fresh lemonade at the Saratoga Fairgrounds

My other goal this weekend was to dine at Chez Sophie, a landmark Saratoga Springs restaurant that will be closing at the end of this month after 15 years in the area. The chef owned restaurant has consistently served imaginative and delicious meals while championing and supporting the wonderful local farmers in the area.

Friday night's menu at the restaurant featured an appetizer of seared scallops with cantaloupe and heirloom tomatoes. I HAD to try it! The blog post about my Tomato,cantaloupe, and sweet onion salad back in August had caused many comments from readers about the unusual and to some, improbable combination of ingredients. I decided to make the salad for a potluck party I was invited to last week and got several requests for the recipe. It was exciting to share this dish and turn my friends on to this unexpected combination that all agreed was surprisingly just right.



Chez Sophie chef Paul Parker pureed his cantaloupe and made it the base of a vinaigrette with olive oil and chives that filled the bottom of a bowl. The golden cherry tomatoes carefully peeled and arranged around the scallops sat on top. Yummy! I had a glass of sparkling wine to go with it as per Amanda's blog post suggestion and it was perfect!
Incidentally, amid the extensive and impressive wine list the restaurant has La Vieille Ferme listed as their house table wine.

I will miss Chez Sophie. Chef Paul Parker and his wife Cheryl Clark are off to France with their two small children to run a vineyard/bed and breakfast/cooking school. It all sounds wonderful. I will even miss Cheryl's weekly email newsletter describing changing diapers, dealing with customers and managing a restaurant during floods, blizzards and electrical failures.

Bon Chance Parker-Clark family!

On another note:
This edition of the newsletter from The Roxbury Farm, a Community Sustained Farm  (CSA) in NY, does an excellent job of highlighting the concerns with the current American food systems as seen in the film Food, Inc. The newsletter provides excellent links to many of the organizations working hard to create better food standards for our country. It is well worth looking at, and see the film if you can!


Amanda
Deb, sounds like you had a great weekend as well as a wonderful dining experience! My Labor Day weekend was chockful of barbeques and screaming kids. It was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have had all year! But the one thing I wanted to share with you was my fabulous day yesterday. Chuck and Maria Russo, owners of Wine and Spirit World had a birthday get together for their son, who is turning 13 next weekend. Among a fine assortment of delectable treats was your grilled vegetable ratatouille, which was simply superb. I had told Maria about it, and she went right to our blog and printed it out. It was perfect. The one addition Maria included was portobello mushroom. I took a nice big piece of crusty bread, and spooned a heaping mound of ratatouille right on top of it. I was drinking Pinot Noir at the time, and it made a fine companion to the dish. Delish!!

Bitter Blight

Deborah


Saratoga Spa State Park, a gorgeous place to picnic.

This weekend was our family's annual trip to Saratoga Springs, NY and their farmers' market is undoubtedly the highlight of my summer. The variety of produce and the passion among farmers and shoppers for all things fresh and delicious is always palpable. I dream for weeks ahead about the elaborate meal I will make after my shopping. This year, as always, I headed straight over to my favorite heirloom tomato grower. My heart sank as I looked over his beautiful knobby fingerling potatoes and his lush lettuces. Not a tomato in sight. I was informed that almost the entire crop had been wiped out by the raging tomato blight and there was little hope of salvaging even a tenth of the crop. So sad.

One or two farmers had small tomatoes available and I grabbed up a few precious fruits. My plan this year was to head straight to our picnic site after shopping, so food prep had to be simple.

Such cute little canteloupes!

The grapefruit sized mini cantaloupes could not be passed up and some pretty sweet white onions rounded out the salad I had in mind. I had already packed a vinaigrette that I made at home, so all was set. It is hard to accept that I won't be seeing much of the heirlooms this summer. I wait all year for one month of tomato bliss. The farmer told me that the organic and small farms are the ones being the hardest hit. I had been enjoying the relentless June rains for keeping my home garden moist but now I am realizing the bitter price.

Well, I had the makings of a fantastic salad in my hands so it was time to look on the sunny side.

A trifecta!

Tomato Cantaloupe and Sweet Onion Salad

serves 4

4 Small tomatoes thinly sliced

1/2 a cantaloupe melon, thinly sliced

1 small Sweet Onion, thinly Sliced

Vinaigrette

1 Tbls sherry vinegar

I garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp powdered mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground pepper

1/4 cup really good extra virgin olive oil

So, the key to this salad is the thin slicing. The tomato and melon don't have to be paper thin, but try to get the onions as thin as possible. Arrange everything on a plate in any pretty way you like. The colors will be beautiful.

Make the vinaigrette: in a small bowl whisk together the first 5 ingredients to blend, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil as you whisk to emulsify. Try to use the best olive oil you can get your hands on as this is what is going to make the salad heavenly.

Spoon the dressing over the salad and let sit for a few minutes so all the flavors mingle.

serves four

Amanda

Deb - This salad sounds great, especially given its simplicity. I might even be making a trip to the market on the way home to try this myself! Sounds like a perfect dish for a hot day like today. I would love to enjoy it alongside one of my favorite summertime drinks - a nice, cold glass of Prosecco. This wonderfully refreshing sparkler is Italy's answer to Champagne, just slightly less effervescent. The Prosecco grape hails primarily from the Veneto region of Italy. It typically produces light, crisp, delicate sparkling wines with wonderful fruit flavors. Prosecco doesn't have the same "serious" side as Champagne. It's just a great libation to enjoy with friends, sitting outside on the patio during summer. And what makes it even more attractive is its affordability! Price generally ranges from $9-$20. Two of my favorite Prosecco producers are Bisol and Riondo. The light, refreshing characteristics of Prosecco make it a perfect complement to this light, refreshing salad! Might just have to invite a few friends over tonight! - Amanda