Gilfeather and Parsnip Soup!

So i found a gilfeather (top round vegetable) at the farmers market last weekend and decided to buy it because i didn't know what it was. Doing a little research I found the gilfeather to be a root vegetable indigenous to vermont! (it must have been fate) It was named for John Gilfeather of Wardsboro - a town on the southern border of Vermont who grew the rutabaga (although he called it a turnip) in the early 1900's. Each frost it undergoes in the ground only increases the sweet yet mild flavor, which makes this root veggie particularly well suited to grow in vermont. In fact it is one of the few vegetable actually indigenous to vermont and is a heirloom variety.

So inspired by the creamy turnip soup that the chef at my restaurant makes I did a little improvising and made a spicy gilfeather and parsnip soup. I started by sauteing a diced onion in butter, then adding vegetable broth and the root vegetables (i threw in 1 random potato for texture) and simmering for about 45 minutes, or until soft. Next adding in some heavy cream and blending it with my handheld kitchen aid (which since my butter making incident I am very careful with). Once everything is pureed, I simmered a few dried chili pepper in the soup for about ten minutes. This adds a nice smokey flavor. Overall I couldn't believe the sweet flavor of the gilfeather, balanced with the parsnip unique flavor. I loved the creamy texture with the smokey flavor too. Watch the video I took when i made my roommates taste it!

Franklin Cafe, South End Buttery, Central Kitchen and Green Street Cafe

Some other places I've checked out lately:

I stopped in to Franklin Cafe for a bite of eat after going to a Bordeaux tasting at the Boston Harbor hotel. I had a tasty Seared Tuna with scallion potatoes and a small side salad - $17. It was perfect, and to go with I had a Cucumber Gin martini. I liked Franklin Cafe, located on Shawmut in the South End, just down the street from my favorite, Formaggio's. It's a dark little restaurant know as an industry hang out of the area as they serve dessert until 1:30am. The only downfall was they don't serve dessert. From a business stand point this makes sense in a way, you don't make a lot of profit from dessert and its going to keep the customers there another 20 minutes when you could be turning the table and getting more people in and out. Never the less, I live for dessert and was a little put off.

It did however give me the opportunity to walk a block down to the South End Buttery. From first appearance it looks just like a bakery, but a few years ago they opened up a restaurant and bar in the back and it was super cute. Downstairs is a restaurant and upstairs a tiny little bar. I had a hot chai cocktail and creme brulee and a little limoncello. Fun little place, I'd recommend!

Another night I started out at Central Kitchen in Central Square with a cocktail and Mussels. It was a dark, rustic decor. Yummy bread from Iggy's (does anyone bake their own bread anymore?) served on a little cutting board. Small menu, but I liked what they had going on their. Unfortunately the couple next me at the bar was being obnoxious so I left after that. Also they have really little wine glasses (fail). I headed over to green street grill to meet friends. we had some cocktails, and enjoyed a tasty Mac n Cheese with tomato. For dessert we shared a rosemary ice cream and pumpkin ice cream. While it looks from the outside like a dive bar, the inside is clean and sleek without being pretentious. I'd check it out!

Bergamot!

So I've been doing a bit of wining and dining the last few weeks! I've been rather into going out to eat solo. I've found eating at the bar is a fun way to check out a lot of the restaurants around town, and i usually end up chatting with rather interesting people. Who says you need someone else to go with you to go have a fabulous meal! So here's some of the places I've checked out Recently.

One of my new favorites is Bergamot on the edge of somerville and cambridge. I've probably driven past it a ton of time and never noticed it, but its on the corner its on the corner of Beacon and Washington Street sort of behind Inman Square. Its super cute. I liked the atmosphere of the bar (casual, fun, classy) and found the dining room (while cute and slick) a little stuffy. The kitchen is open to the dining room and you can see the chef's cooking. I got to chatting and it turned out the old general manager and bartender from my restaurant Pigalle worked there and so I ended up with soo much food. All the staff was very kind :-)

They had a very decently price Bar Menu around 10-12$ and even the dinner menu was decently priced with entrees around 20-25$.

I started with a momisette sour to start which has Genever, Pastis (french anis flavored liquor), Orgeat (syrup made from almond, sugar and rosewater), and Classic Eggwhite sour. I had never heard of Genever, but Paul the bartender explained to me if gin and whiskey had a baby, this is what it would be. Its the herbs and flavors of gin, but its distilled like whiskey and is actually what gin evolved from. It was absolutely delicious. Its interesting, I've been seeing a trend around the city of bringing back classic prohibition era inspired cocktails. Very interesting....

They sent out a little amuse from the chef but i forgot to take a picture (with my crappy iphone camera) and I can't really remember what it was but it was yummy :)

Next I had fried oysters crusted with potato napa cabbage slaw,

carrot-raisin emulsion and fried capers. $11

Grilled Griggstown Quail chickpea-manchego puree, chorizo dust, napa cabbage, piquillo pepper vinaigrette. I went CRAZY for the chickpea manchego, sooo good. I can't wait to try making it. I've definitely been in love with beans lately. $12

The best of the night was the lobster melt. Cheese and seafood are usually such a culinary fopaux, but this was the most amazing thing I've ever had. Lobster grilled cheese. At 11$ its so worth going for. The bartender said before he worked there, he worked at craige on main, and came every monday on his day off for the lobster melt. I will definitely be back for that!

They were kind enough to send out a side of brussels sprouts tossed with ham and roasted. So delicious. My favorite veggie find of the winter for sure. I had never really had it until it showed up on the crispy duck dish on the menu at my restaurant. What and under valued vegetable! I don't really understand why its always had such a bad rap i my mind, but they were definitely super tasty. I guess its a generational thing about how its cooked and if you've never had any how would you know!

Next I was fed some sort of small almond tart as a dessert amuse. yum!

White Chocolate Lime Mousse dark chocolate teardrop, lime filaments, white chocolate powder. This was heaven. $10

Stop in for a bite at the bar at Bergamot!