It’s a lot of fun to invite friends over and have a great evening around the table “fondue-ing” on a cold winter night. And fondue sets—with pots and skewers—are available in most kitchen supply stores, as well as the occasional thrift store or yard sale. But making the fondue can be a little tricky, especially the melted cheese, which we will be getting into here.

Cheese has a tendency to seize up in clumps when heated, because the fats will melt and separate from the proteins. My advice is to heat the complete mass up very SLOWLY, and keep stirring steadily … but not too fast! Add a little cornstarch as needed for texture. Then, when you are about to serve it, make sure the fondue does not cool off too much.The recipe I have here is a basic and simple one. You should feel free to experiment with dunking ingredients and fondue flavorings. Try using some local cheeses; try a well-aged cheese, or a moist cheese that grates well. Also, the thin crust of toasted cheese left on the pot’s bottom at the end of the party is a special treat.

Oh, and please observe fondue etiquette. Try not to touch your skewer with your mouth. Absolutely no double-dipping. And if you drop your item in the fondue pot, the host devises the appropriate penalty.

Fondue

½ lb. Emmenthaler cheese, shredded
½ lb. Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. of Kirschwasser (clear cherry brandy)
pinch of nutmeg
a lot of day old bread, cut up in cubes
fondue set

In a small pot bring the white wine and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce to low heat and add the kirschwasser, cheese, and cornstarch. Stir steadily but slowly until mixture is melted and smooth, adding wine or cornstarch as needed to achieve consistency.

Rub the crushed garlic on the inside of the fondue pot, and pour in the cheese mixture, adding the nutmeg on top. Put the fondue pot on the fire stand (lit), and enjoy a great night of cheese!

(Wine, of course, goes great with this … but may I suggest trying a cup of Earl Grey tea with this fondue. You’ll be amazed by the combination.)

For years it’s been “common knowledge” that when you eat cheese before going to bed, you will get nightmares. Well, fear no more! This myth has apparently been put to rest recently by the British Cheese Board, who have found that eating cheese before bed will actually be more likely to help you get a good night’s rest, as the amino acid tryptophan in cheese reduces stress and helps induce sleep. The study by the board also claimed that more vivid dreaming occurred with cheese eating, and that different cheeses will give you different dreams. So eat your cheese and sleep tight …

Living in Paris for two years another world of food opened up and there was an education in every patisserie in the city.

While studying interior design in Manhattan she worked for many years at NYC’s Union Square Café. During that time the restaurant was awarded the James Beard award for outstanding service. She received a remarkable education in food wine and hospitality from owner, Danny Meyer who is considered a leader in the field today.

After moving to New Paltz she attended the Institute of Culinary Education while planning the renovation of the beautiful 19th century structure, the former tailor shop of Alderd Schoonmaker.

Here’s Agnes’ recipe for one of her most popular items. Enjoy!

Dingle pie.

DINGLE PIES (Irish Style Lamb Pies)
Dingle is mountainous sheep country in the west of Ireland where the peninsula plunges into the Atlantic Ocean. Traditionally these pies were made from scraps of mutton. Fisherman cooked them in a can at sea. Farmers slipped the cooled pies in a pocket for a tasty meal.
Our version is made with ground lamb & flavoured with cumin seed. They make an excellent lunch on a hike or picnic.

2 Large Onions
5 Carrots
2 Stalks Celery
3 Teaspoons Cumin seed
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ Teaspoon Pepper
2Lb Ground Lamb
1Pint Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Eggs (egg wash)

Makes approx 2 dozen pies.

Dice finely the onions, carrots & celery. Season with ½ teaspoon salt & soften on a low flame in the butter approximately 15 minutes.  Add the ground lamb and brown evenly breaking up the meat, so there are no lumps. Add the cumin seed, remaining salt & freshly ground pepper. Stir in chicken stock when lamb is browned. Place, uncovered in a low oven (250º) for 30 minutes.

Roll out cream cheese pie dough and cut into 5” circles. Chill circles for at least one hour. Holding a circle of dough in the palm of one hand, fill with cooled lamb mixture. Bring both sides together starting with the outer edges and working towards the center. Pinch the edges of the dough so it sticks together. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and crimp the edge. Freeze overnight or for several hours. (If the pies are not frozen they will burst open in the oven).
Whisk eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt. When the pies are completely frozen, brush with egg wash and bake in a 400º oven for 35 –40 minutes until golden & filling is bubbling.

Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust

6 oz   Cold Unsalted Butter
10 oz Unbleached All-purpose Flour
¼  Teaspoon   Salt
¼  Teaspoons Non Aluminum Baking Powder
4.5 Oz Cold Cream Cheese
2 Table spoons   Ice Water
1 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
Make Two 9” crusts

Place flour, salt & baking powder in the bowl of a mixer. Add well chilled cream cheese cut into 1” pieces and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add butter & process until butter is no larger than pea sized. Add water & vinegar Mix briefly. Mixture will be in particles. Dump out on to counter & bring together with you hands. Divide into two discs, wrap & refrigerate at least one hour

The Village Tea Room, 10 Plattekill Avenue, New Paltz (845) 255‑3434 www.thevillagetearoom.com

Save the trip to the Blue Note Club in New York City or the Newport Jazz Festival and enjoy an afternoon packed with preeminent musicians on the Hudson River’s breezy shores, for performances spanning straight-ahead jazz to more contemporary and international interpretations. Women are prominent at this year’s festival, including bands led by Rene Marie and Mimi Jones. Joanne Brackeen, performing in the Javon Jackson Superband, was recently named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Jazz in the Valley is a daylong celebration held at two stages on a nine-acre green oasis in downtown Poughkeepsie. The main stage under the big tent at Waryas Park features the festival’s headline acts. The festival’s second stage for free performances by regional musicians has moved to Upper Landing Park directly adjacent to the Walkway over the Hudson.

Over nearly two decades Jazz in the Valley has presented a galaxy of star musicians, including several Grammy winners and National Endowment for the Arts “Jazz Master” honorees: Randy Weston, Ahmad Jamal, Ron Carter, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut, Hugh Masakela, Kevin Mahogany, Bill Charlap, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Delfeayo Marsalis, Curtis Fuller, Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy and Percy Heath, Eddie Palmieri, Arturo O’Farrill, Steve Turre, Michelle Rosewoman, Steve Nelson, Roy Ayers, Houston Person, Ray Mantilla, Lou Donaldson, and “Chocolate” Amenteros.

ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTISTS

Rene-Marie

Rene-Marie

Rene Marie was 42 when she began singing professionally, and her career quickly skyrocketed after she signed with the Maxjazz label in 1999. Vertigo, her second album with the label, was awarded a coronet ranking by The Penguin Guide to Jazz, at the time a distinction given to fewer than 85 recordings in jazz history. Marie made different waves in 2008 when she was invited to sing The Star Spangled Banner at a civic event in Denver and substituted the lyrics for Lift Every Voice and Sing, also known as the Black National Anthem. This arrangement forms part of the titular suite of Marie’s 2011 cd The Voice of My Beautiful Country (Motéma Music). Her most recent Motéma recording Sound of Red came out in 2016. Marie is also respected for primarily performing her own compositions.

Eddie Henderson

Eddie Henderson

Trumpeter and flugelhornist Eddie Henderson came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of pianist Herbie Hancock’s band Mwandishi, and he went on to lead his own jazz fusion groups through the decade. After leaving Hancock, the trumpeter also worked extensively with Pharoah Sanders,Norman Connors, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, turning especially to acoustic jazz by the 1990s. The versatile Henderson also earned a medical degree, and for many years he worked parallel careers as a psychiatrist and musician. His newest recording Be Cool was released earlier this year.

Joanne Brackeen

Joanne Brackeen

Named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2018, pianist Joanne Brackeen has over twenty albums to her name as well as having performed on dozens of other recordings. In 1969 she was the first woman to join drummer Art Blakey’s famed Jazz Messengers, continuing with the band for three years. Eventually she emerged as a band leader after stints with groups led by renowned saxophonists Joe Henderson and Stan Getz. In addition to her captivating improvisations, Brackeen has written intricate and rhythmically daring compositions in a wide range of styles. She is also a longtime full professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, as well as a guest professor at the New School in New York City.

Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson came into international prominence touring and recording with the Jazz Messengers led by legendary drummer Art Blakey. He has gone on to release 14 recordings as a band leader, including six projects for Blue Note Records featuring collaborations with Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Kenny Garrett, Jacky Terrason, John Medeski, and Vernon Reid. He has joined in dozens of touring and recording projects with jazz greats including Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, and Donald Byrd. Jackson is also Chair of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music. And in 2014 he began serving as Artistic Director for the Jazz in the Valley festival.

Mimi Jones

Mimi Jones

Multitalented bassist Mimi Jones also has credits as a vocalist, producer, music label owner, and filmmaker over more than two decades. Musically she made her name as a sidewoman to numerous stars including Kenny Barron, Beyoncé, Lizz Wright, Frank Ocean, Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kevin Mahogany, Corey Glover, Toshi Reagon, Rachel Z, Ravi Coltrane, as well as Terri Lyne Carrington’s Grammy Award-winning Mosaic Project. She also founded Hot Tone Music in 2009, which has put out nine recordings including three led by Jones. Her ensemble project Black Madonna primarily includes Jones’ musical compositions, which typically blend aspects of jazz, funk, folk, and rock.

Donald Harrison

Donald Harrison

New Orleans-born and raised saxophonist Donald Harrison grew up in a home saturated with the city’s traditional brass bands, Afro-New Orleans culture, modern jazz, R&B, funk, classical, world, and dance music. His connection to New Orleans’ roots and a new American style of African culture was deepened by his father, a Big Chief. He went on to combine jazz with Afro-New Orleans traditional music on his critically acclaimed and influential albums Indian Blues (1991) and Spirits of Congo Square (2000).  Perhaps Harrison’s signature creation is a musical style called “Nouveau Swing,” that merges jazz with modern dance music like R&B, Hip-Hop, Soul and Rock. Over three decades Harrison has been on stage and on recordings with some of the most influential artists of the 21st century including Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, McCoy Tyner, Lena Horne, Ron Carter, Dr. John, Digable Planets, and Notorious BIG.

Jazz in the Valley is presented by the Hudson Valley based non-profit organization TRANSART & Cultural Services. Promotional partners for the festival are Metro North, Dutchess Tourism, the Poughkeepsie Journal, and the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Featured Image is of Mimi Jones by Nicholas Carter

Actors & Writers at Shadowland Theatre Saturday, November 16 at 8pm.

Join the always fabulous Actors & Writers ensemble as they bring an evening of toothsome short plays by Laura Shaine to their latest venue of choice, the very excellent Shadowland Theatre in Ellenville.

Company members photographed: by Jennifer May — (From top left) Nina Shengold, Shelley Wyant, Davis Hall, David Smilow, Brian MacReady, Sigrid Heath, Nicole Quinn, Joe White (From bottom left) Katherine Burger, Mikhail Horowitz, Mary Gallagher, Sarah Chodoff, Carol Morley, Jason Downs and Sophia Raab Downs.

Deep in the Transylvanian Gunks, student recruits to Nosferatu U attend an orientation on all aspects of the vampiric afterlife style.

Celebrated playwright and author Laura Shaine plunges deep inside the hearts and minds and undead bodies of vampires with these comic love bites.

Laura Shaine

Admission by donation: $10 suggested: any amount gratefully accepted.
Visit Actors & Writers on Facebook or at
www.actorsandwriters.com

SHADOWLAND THEATRE
157 Main Street, Ellenville
www.shadowlandtheatre.org
845 647 5511

The retro-security firm, Stinkerton’s LLC, has been engaged in the effort to prevent the brazenly determined pair from getting anywhere near the stage. Capture cages baited with strudel, lemon pie, and other goodies from The Village Tea Room Restaurant and Bake Shop in New Paltz have been placed in strategic locations within a two-mile radius and Christine Crawfis, Unison’s executive director, feels confident that that the sanctity of the Center will not be violated again this year. Others, however, disagree.

Throckmorton Purbrite, a well-known local mentalist, dance instructor, and locksmith, reminded us that the cages were unsuccessful last year and that the slippery twosome not only managed to extricate the bait (lox, bagels and cream cheese) from all 12 traps without capture, but they then managed to gain entrance to the hall and perform brilliantly once again for an audience of skeptics who had purchased tickets on the off chance that their heroes would appear.

Crawfis is confident that a change of bait will do the trick this year, but word has gotten out and demand for tickets for a possible appearance by Mik and Gilles, as they are known to their rowdy fans, has been brisk. Skeptics are encouraged to call 845 255 1559 and hope that there will be a few seats left.

It seems that old habits die hard, and one can easily understand why the hapless twosome seem so committed to performing once again at Unison despite all efforts to dissuade them. Mikhail Horowitz has now performed at Unison for three cycles of the seventeen-year cicadas. When he is not performing somewhere, he impersonates an editor in the Bard College Publications Department. He has been performing throughout the Hudson Valley, in New York City, and occasionally on tour since the 1970’s and is also a published poet whose performance works have been featured on more than a dozen CD’s.

He returns with his partner in musical malfeasance, Gilles Malkine, who was a member of Tim Hardin’s band at the 1969 Woodstock Festival and is also an actor, writer, disability advocate, artist, illustrator, cartoonist and composer.

Of the duo, the Woodstock Times writes, “With nimble tongue and dexterous wit, Horowitz and Malkine offer up burnt fallacies to the Gods of Reason. The two bring an insouciant irreverence to these troubling times, with a scathing, multi-media performance that comments on everything from organized religion to corporate fat cats to Beat poets. And somehow, it all makes sense …”

Unison Arts Center, 68 Mt. Rest Road, New Paltz, NY

Tickets are $21 in advance ($17 for Unison members) and $25 at the door ($21 for members). Students are half price with a valid ID. Order tickets online at www.unisonarts.org or call (845) 255‑1559 for more information.

Unison’s mission is to enrich cultural life and community in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley through cultural and educational programs, accessible to all. Unison’s Arts Programs are funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Unison is a member of the New York, Multi-Arts Centers Consortium which is funded by NYSCA

This event was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature

Sponsored by Millrock Writers  and  P&G’s Restaurant

Known for their musical precision and crowd-pleasing antics, this European quintet will delight the audience with it’s sometimes serious and sometimes humorous program of classical and popular music. It’s always one of the most popular concerts of the season.

The quintet is composed of: Hans Zellner, trumpet, Gergely Lukács, trumpet, Andreas Binder, french horn, Thomas Lux, trombone, and Manfred Häberlein, tuba. Schooled in the classics, anchored in musical performance and always high on the joy of life, this quintet will make you smile, stomp your feet, and maybe even bring a tear to your eye.

Following the Harmonic Brass on October 20th, is the cello & piano duo of Kalayjian & Kazantsev performing with superb musicianship and consummate style. Then, on November 17th, the annual Bard College Conservatory of Music Student Performance will feature some of the musical stars of tomorrow.

The New Year begins on Jan. 26, with a rousing performance by the youthful Strawberry Hill Fiddlers followed by a free concert by the West Point Highlands Brass Quintet on Feb 16th. The Brazilian Trio brings us to South America on March 16th.

On April 27th, classical music returns with the piano & violin duo of Kobayaski & Seipkes followed by perennial favorites, The Prometheus Brass on May 4th. All concerts will be held at the Saugerties United Methodist Church.

The Saugerties Pro Musica concerts are an extraordinary value. SPM is the work of a small group of dedicated music lovers who’ve served the local community for many years. Their efforts are well worthy of support.

Subscribe for the full season: $50 for all eight concerts.
Individual concert prices: Adults $12 and Seniors $10. Students are always free!
Call 845–246-5021 or 845–679-5733 for ticket info or directions:
or visit the website: www.saugertiespromusica.org

Roll invited Chef Kroner to contribute a favorite recipe to our series. He sent the following.

BBQ Duck Quesadilla

Ingredients
12 8” Flour Tortillas
1 Small red onion, chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, chopped
½ pound Barbecued duck (see below)
½ pound Fontina cheese, grated
1 cup Mango-avocado salsa (see below)
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 tablespoon Ground ancho chile powder (or sweet paprika)
Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place 4 tortillas on a flat work surface. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon each of chopped red onions and jalapeños over each tortilla. Divide cheese and into 8 portions and duck into four portions. Spread one portion of duck and of cheese over each tortilla. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover each quesadilla with another tortilla and repeat the same procedure with onions, chiles, and cheese, minus the duck. Cover with the remaining four tortillas. Lightly oil the top tortilla with olive oil and dust lightly with the ancho powder. Bake in oven for 5 – 10 minutes, until top tortilla is crispy, but not burned. Divide hot quesadillas into wedges and serve with mango-avocado salsa.

BBQ Duck Recipe
1 pound Duck legs, skinned
½ cup Barbecue sauce
2 cups water
Salt & pepper

Season duck legs and place in pot with sauce and water. Make sure that liquid covers the duck legs, if not add more water and barbecue sauce. Cook at simmer for 3 hours, until meat falls easily from bone. Remove meat from liquid and continue boiling until it is reduced to a thick sauce; be careful not to burn sauce here. Let meat cool and carefully remove bones and cartilage. Combine sauce with picked duck meat and you are ready to use it.

BBQ Duck Quesadilla

Mango-Avocado Salsa Recipe
2 Ripe Haas avocados, diced
1 Ripe mango, diced
2 tablespoons Chopped red onion
1 tablespoon Chopped jalapeño
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

terrapin
restaurant | bistro | bar | catering
executive chef/owner josh kroner
www.terrapinrestaurant.com

Gianni Scappin was born in Marostica, in the Veneto Region of Northern Italy, about one and a half hours from Venice. His parents owned a small trattoria “home-​​style” restaurant specializing in hearty fare like risotto with porcini, lasagna, and seasonal dishes like leper in salmi (stewed hare). As a very young man Gianni remembers his father Luigi working patiently in the kitchen, stirring the risotto for what seemed like hours, putting great care and passion into preparing the deceptively simple repast. Much later as an adult, Gianni realized the special lesson his father imparted to him. “He left me with a lot of wisdom. He cooked, you see, with his soul.”

Chef Scappin sent us a recipe for a typical hearty winter soup from the north east of Italy which can be served as a whole meal. Enjoy!

Beef Soup with Barley and Potatoes:  Yield: 6–8 portions (about 2 qts)

Ingredients
½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
2 oz Bacon small dice (optional)
2 lb Onions, medium dice
½ Red bell pepper (or green), small dice
¼ cup Parsley, Italian, washed and roughly chopped
1 ½ lb or more Beef chuck, boneless, cleaned, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp Sweet paprika
½ tsp Caraway seeds
¼ tsp or to taste Cayenne pepper
4 Tbsp Tomato paste
2 qt Beef or chicken stock
½ cup Barley
1 lb Potatoes, diced
Sour cream to serve

Method
Render bacon (if using it), then in the same fat sweat onion and cook for about 12 minutes until tender and golden.

Sear beef In batches and season with salt

Add all ingredients, except barley and potatoes, to onions and stir for about 10 minutes.

Add stock and cook (simmering) for about ¾ hr, add barley, potatoes, and cook until barley is done, and meat is tender, about another 30 minutes. Depending on how much liquid you want in your soup you may add or reduce the amount of liquid.

Make sure beef and barley are very tender, before you serve it.

Soup may be made in advance of course and in my opinion is even better if made the day before and then reheated, or make a big batch and freeze some for another day.

Serve with sour cream on top or with just extra virgin olive oil.

NOTE: you may use chicken or any other type of meat. Also depending on how rich you want your soup to be, you may add more or less meat.

“All the food was simple. And I don’t mean easy or dumb. I mean that for the first time, I saw how three or four ingredients, as long as they are of the highest and freshest quality, can be combined in a straightforward way to make a truly excellent and occasionally wondrous product.”—Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential, in reference to Le Madri and its head chef, Gianni Scappin

Best-selling author, ex-chef, and star of the Travel Channel’s No
Reservations Anthony Bourdain shines an occasionally harsh
light behind the kitchen door of top restaurants world-wide in his
notorious book Kitchen Confidential. Few great chefs he came in
contact with escape his hilariously acid pen, let alone receive his
absolute respect. Giovanni “Gianni” Scappin, head chef and co-owner
of Cucina in Woodstock and Culinary Institute of America
Italian Cuisine instructor, is, as seen in the above quote, one of those
rare few. —excerpt from Roll Magazine, November 2008

To read Roll’s complete interview with Chef Scappin click this link.
http://www.rollmagazine.com/master-chef-gianni-scappin-cucina/

Gianni Scappin is Chef/Co-Owner of Cucina in Woodstock NY
and Market St. in Rhinebeck NY

Gianni Scappin in the kitchen at Cucina, 2008. Photo credit, Matt Petricone