Eat First

New product alert: Hofmann chicken sausages

I grew up on Hofmann hot dogs and have been eating them my entire life. In moderation. I like the German franks and beef franks with natural casing. Grill 'em up outdoors or on the stovetop and add a thin stripe of German-style mustard -- I don't even need a bun. It's a true taste of Syracuse.

 

The Hofmann Sausage Company has been around for more than a century and continues to evolve and reach new customers by introducing new products, like beef jerky, hunter sticks and condiments. The company recently introduced a line of chicken sausages and asked Central New York-based food bloggers to give them a try. Before long, a big box of well-iced sausages and condiments showed up on our doorstep.

 

With less fat and calories, chicken sausage is a healthy alternative to traditional sausage. All of Hofmann's new chicken sausages are fully cooked, gluten free and made without fillers. The flavors are interesting and won't overwhelm your taste buds.  You can see bits of ingredients like apple, basil and roasted red pepper in the sausages.

 

 

Our package included: 

 

• Harvest Apple Chicken Sausage: Just a hint of sweet.

• Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage: Nice and savory.

• Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage: Garlic flavor is mild/mellow, not in your face.

• Roasted Red Pepper and Asiago Chicken Sausage: The peppers give this sausage a bit of color and bite.

• Maple Sausage Breakfast Links: Sweet and savory sausages made with pork. Perfect for a winter morning.

 

To get an idea of the flavors, we pan-fried some of the chicken sausages and served with fried potatoes and a green salad. The apple sausage would make a great "sheet pan" breakfast or supper medley with onions, winter squash and other vegetables. The tomato and basil, roasted garlic and roasted red pepper sausages would make a great addition to "Sunday gravy.''

 

I pulled out a chili recipe that originally called for turkey sausage or turkey Italian sausage and subbed in three-quarters of a pound of the Hofmann chicken sausages (roasted garlic and tomato and basil), slicing the sausages into rounds and searing them in olive oil. The sweetness from the potatoes and the "umami" from the sausages work well together.

 

Look for Hofmann's chicken sausages at Tops Friendly Markets; Green Hills Farms, Syracuse; Spera's Meat, Deli and Grocery, Cicero; Nichols Supermarket, Liverpool, and other area grocery stores. Shipping is available nationwide. For more information on Hofmann Sausage Company and its products, CLICK HERE.

 

Sweet Potato and White Bean Chili with Hofmann Chicken Sausage

(Adapted from a Co+Op Deals sales flyer)

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound Hofmann chicken sausage, sliced into rounds (we used roasted garlic and tomato basil)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)

3 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin seed, toasted and ground

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Additional salt and pepper to taste

Bunch of scallions, white and green parts sliced (optional; for garnish)

 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Using a slotted spoon, remove meat to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Add onion and red pepper to pot and cook for about three minutes. Add sweet potato; give everything a good stir and cook for five to six minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute.

 

Add tomatoes, broth, spices and salt to pot and give everything a good stir. Return meat to pot and stir to combine. Bring chili to a boil then reduce meat to medium-low and stir in beans. Cover and simmer until chili thickens slightly, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately and garnish with scallions, if using.

 

Makes 6 to 8 servings, depending on size.

 

Note: All photos by Margaret McCormick unless otherwise indicated.

 

 

 

Day trip: Little Falls Cheese Festival

If your schedule revolves around cheese, you’ll want to add the Little Falls Cheese Festival to your planner -- for next year.

I made the 65-mile trip from Syracuse to Little Falls (Herkimer County) for the fourth annual Little Falls Cheese Festival on Saturday (July 14, 2018). The festival, typically held on the second Saturday of July, was created to celebrate both cheese and the history of cheesemaking in Little Falls. Before leaving, I filled a small cooler with ice packs. It was hot and humid and I knew I would want to purchase some "souvenirs."

Three blocks of Main Street are closed off for the annual festival, which features dozens of vendors from across Upstate New York and the Mohawk Valley. There were also vendors selling wine, vinegars, cutting boards and other items.

What came home in my cooler?

• A ball of fresh mozzarella from Jones Family Farm, a diversified family farm in Herkimer. Owner Suzie Jones said the fresh mozzarella has a short shelf life and suggested using it son. So we enjoyed some of It that night as part of a Caprese salad.

 

• A wedge of punchy, deep-veined Shepherd's Blue, a sheep milk blue cheese by cheesemaker Sean O'Connor, of R&G Cheesemakers, in Troy. His selection included chèvre, several Camembert-style cheeses and Rolitini, cows milk mozzarella rolled with prosciutto.   

• A square of velvety havarti from North Country Creamery, Keeseville. The creamery produces yogurt and a variety of hard and soft cheeses from their herd of 100 percent grassfed cows (and also sells raw milk, available at the farm only).  

• A package of squeaky-good cheese curds from Adirondack Cheese Company, Barneveld (and Clinton). Their specialty is New York State cheddar, aged on site from one to seven years. 

 

• A couple packages sea salt and black pepper crackers from Saratoga Cracker Co., makers of thin and crispy artisan crackers, perfect for pairing with cheese (and eating on their own).

 

What local and regional cheeses do you like to include on a cheese plate? Leave a comment below and let us know!

 

Pro tip: Store cheeses in the refrigerator but bring them to room temperature before serving. It's tempting to eat cheese straight from the fridge but allowing time to take the chill off really enhances the flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiedies: How to make Binghamton's favorite food, at home

Spiedies: They're everywhere in Binghamton, Endicott and the Southern Tier.

In Syracuse? Not so much, though they put in appearances at the New York State Fair, the Madison-Bouckville Antiques Fest and the occasional pizza parlor and sandwich shop menu. And bottled spiedie marinades (think Salamida) are widely available.

For those who've never had them -- or aren't from these parts -- spiedies are cubes of marinated and grilled meat (usually chicken, pork, lamb or beef) served on soft Italian bread. The idea is to use the bread like a mitt, to pull the freshly cooked meat off the skewer. At some stands and restaurants, spiedies are served on a sub roll, which tends to overpower the meat. Spiedie meat cubes can also be served minus the bread -- on top of a salad, for instance. The marinade recipe varies, but usually involves olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon and Italian herbs and spices.

As part of getting to know my grill a little better this summer, I decided to make spiedies one weekend. The recipe below is from Tom and Marti Macinski, owners of Standing Stone Vineyards in Hector (Seneca Lake East).

 

The Macinskis grew up in Binghamton, met and married in Binghamton and worked there before starting their winery 20 years ago. They LOVE the foods of their native Binghamton: Earlier this year, as part of their popular "Comfort Food'' series of wine and food pairings, they hosted "Binghamton Days'' -- with a menu that included spiedies, "City Chicken'' and salt potatoes.

Pork Spiedies
Adapted from a recipe from Standing Stone Vineyards, Hector

For the marinade:
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ cup dry Riesling or Chardonnay
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, boneless chicken breast or boneless lamb, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive bowl or heavy-duty, zip-top bag. Reserve a half cup of the marinade to use at serving time. Add the meat to the zip-top bag and combine well to coat each piece. Marinate meat overnight in the refrigerator.

 

If using wooden skewers, immerse skewers in water, then place 6 to 8 chunks of meat on each skewer. Oil grill grates lightly and grill skewers on a hot grill, two to three minutes per side.

 

Serve the Spiedies Binghamton-style: Grab a thick slice of fresh Italian bread in one hand and pull the meat off the skewer. Serve with salt potatoes and a green salad. Makes 6 servings.

 

Wine pairing: Riesling or Pinot Noir.

 

Note: If the meat gets dry, brush on some of the reserved marinade before serving. 

 

No wonder Oneonta crows about Brooks’ chicken

Why would you drive 85 miles for a chicken dinner? You might ask yourself that question on a misty Sunday afternoon, meandering along Route 20 east and in the countryside between Cooperstown and Oneonta, stomach growling.

But then you see the smoke billowing across state Route 7, catch your first whiff of barbecue chicken in the air, glimpse the retro, blinking neon sign and note the parking lot packed with cars – and the question becomes a moot point.

Welcome to Brooks' House of BBQ. The Brooks name is a household one in Oneonta, in the Southern Tier, where generations of Oneontans have grown up on Brooks’ signature chicken and crave that hometown flavor when they move away.

Brooks’ opened in 1961, on a much smaller scale, and now boasts the largest enclosed barbecue pit east of the Mississippi. The place can seat several hundred and has grown into a roadside attraction. There’s a gift shop selling ice cream, souvenirs and many flavors of Brooks products, including sauces, seasonings, rubs and marinades, all made and packaged on site.

But back to the chicken: That’s what brought us to Brooks’, after all.

The chicken served at Brooks’ is basted with a simple sauce made with oil, vinegar, egg, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. It’s grilled low and slow, and turned frequently, yielding chicken that’s slightly dark on the outside, moist and tender inside, and slightly smoky in flavor.

It’s a close relative of the “Cornell chicken’’ developed by the late Dr. Robert C. Baker, professor of poultry science and food science at Cornell University, who came up with an egg wash/baste recipe to help sell more chickens. It’s ubiquitous in Upstate New York: If you’ve been to a roadside or church barbecue around here, you’ve had this style of chicken.

We sampled the chicken in a half-chicken dinner and a chicken and rib combo dinner, and found it to be delicious. A half-chicken dinner sounds enormous, but when the chicken is that good, the temptation is to keep on picking at it, even after you’ve become full.

The ribs, meanwhile, were fall-off-the bone tender and glistening with a thick, somewhat sweet glaze. Meals come with your choice of potato and a trip to the salad bar – big bowls of iceberg lettuce and the usual toppings and dressings.

Supper left no room to spare for dessert, but we did tuck a slice of house-made coconut pie in the cooler, along with chicken dinner leftovers.

Had it been a nicer day, we would have eaten outside at a picnic table. A line of diners waiting to be seated snaked through the restaurant, but we eliminated wait time by requesting seats at the S-shaped counter.

Brooks is a well-run operation – no frills, no alcohol, the type of place that Jane and Michael Stern, of “Roadfood’’ fame, might seek out in their travels – and the type of place worth going out of your way for.

Why would you drive 85 miles for a chicken dinner? Because it tastes really good. 

Brooks House of Bar-B-Q is at 5560 State Route 7, Oneonta, about 85 miles from Syracuse. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. On Monday holidays (like Memorial Day and Labor Day) the restaurant is open, then closed on Tuesday. Information: (607) 432-1782. 

In a New York (food map) State of mind

Where do we live?

North of Spiedies. South of Thousand Island Dressing and Croghan Bologna. East of  Beef on Weck, Chicken Wings, Garbage Plate and White Hots. West of  Peppermint Pig, Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie and Utica Greens.

We live in the land of Salt Potatoes and Dinosaur BBQ. We are firmly planted in soda country, well east of the Empire State’s Soda vs. Pop line.

If you love food and love to discover local and regional favorites, none of this is breaking news. But New York’s diverse food terrain is officially noted on an appetizing and entertaining map, “New York State by Food Regions,’’ created by Shannon Glazer, a Geographic Information Services specialist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

“Inspired by my visits to all corners of New York State, I recently decided to map different food regions in the state,’’ Glazer notes on the New York State Food Map Facebook page. The map has been “shared” more than 2,500 times. 

“After the first version of my map spread like wildfire, I decided to edit the map based on some of the comments I received. … 

“I'm starting this page to continue the conversation! Post your thoughts on local food here...Check out the "likes" on the page for more info about some of the restaurants and foods on the map!’’

My editor at Central New York: The Good Life Magazine turned me on to Glazer’s accomplishment. The May/June issue features a story on the treasure-filled foodie map, as well stories on Upstate travel destinations in all directions of Syracuse.

I can live without Michigans (a Plattsburgh specialty; hotdogs piled with onions and smothered in mustard and meat sauce) but I am bound and determined (translation: hellbent!) to get to Brooks Chicken BBQ country (Oneonta), possibly on the way to Mozzarella Sticks with Raspberry Sauce (Albany/Capital Region).

Thanks, Shannon. Happy food trails!

Syracuse resident wins ticket to the Pride of NY Harvest Festival!

Update to Tuesday's post: Tracy Tillapaugh, of Syracuse, is the winner of the ticket to this weekend's Pride of New York Harvest Festival at the state fairgrounds -- and not just because she is so excited to attend! There were just three entries. Thanks to Maureen and Ryan for entering as well.  And stay tuned. You never know when there might be another giveaway here!

It’s that time of year again: Time to be thankful for and celebrate the harvest. 

And time to celebrate New York’s farm, field and artisan food producer bounty at the Pride of New York Harvest Festival.

This year’s Harvest Festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (November 5) and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday (November 6) at the state fairgrounds, in Geddes.

There will be an array of homegrown and homemade NYS foods to tempt your taste buds: cheeses, spreads, toppings, sauces sweet and savory, cookies, mustards, muesli – you name it. There will also be wines from all corners of the state to sample.

I’m looking forward to trying/taking home and baking with locally produced, sweet cream Meadow Butter from Kriemhild Dairy Farms and picking up some of the “java-licious” dry rubs from Keuka Lake Coffee Roasters – to single out just two of the many food vendors who will be there.

Tickets to the Pride of NY Harvest Fest are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

I have in my possession one admission ticket to give away to a reader.

TO ENTER TO WIN: Leave a short and sweet comment below telling me why you’re looking forward to the fest OR how you like to eat/buy local. The giveaway is open to Central New York residents only and IMPORTANT NOTE you will need to pick up your ticket in person.

The deadline to enter is 9 a.m. Thursday and a winner will be selected at random. Good luck!

 

Destination NYWCC: FLX/NY food, wine and fun

 Life's short. Eat dessert first?

Woo-hoo! Another weekend is upon us. But we’re still savoring the soul-satisfying day trip and leisurely lunch we had last weekend in the Finger Lakes.

For Christmas, we received a gift certificate to the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua. As happens with gift certificates sometimes, its expiration date was nearing.

We visited the website and considered signing up for a culinary class or kitchen skills workshop. There are plenty of them, including pie making, bread baking and farm-to-table outing and meal prep in the center’s state-of-the-art kitchen.

In the end, we decided to make a reservation at the Taste of New York restaurant. The restaurant had just introduced its early fall menu, which still features many summer flavors.

Among the things we enjoyed:  

Wine flight ($12; choose three) with Anthony Road dry Riesling, Long Point Ciera (semi-dry rose) and Dr. Frank Old Vine Pinot Noir. I would be happy to have a bottle of each of these wines in our cellar. Robert’s beer flight ($8; choose four) featured a couple pale ales and an interesting fruit ale (blueberry) from Long Island.

Cold smoked salmon with capers, red onion, radishes and arugula salad ($11).

White pizza with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, caramelized onion, pepper Flakes and garlic oil ($11).

Chilled gazpacho with basil, cilantro, avocado and heirloom tomato, swirled with spiced sour cream ($8).

Butternut squash ‘flan’ on a thin layer of spice cake, garnished with what appeared to be browned bits of candied ginger. A dessert made to match the changing seasons.

Canandaigua is a great walking town on a nice day (don’t miss the historic boat houses at the city pier), and we intentionally parked a distance from the NYWCC, in the shopping distance on South Main Street, knowing a walk after lunch would be in order.

It wasn’t our first trip to the New York Wine and Culinary Center, and it definitely won’t be our last. Thank you, Eileen and Dave, for a great day!

The New York Wine and Culinary Center is at 800 S. Main St., Canandaigua, overlooking the pier. Information: 585-394-7070.

 

Cuba Cheese, please! It's a Western New York favorite

Some people come home from Cuba with cigars and rum. We come home from Cuba with cheese.

I’m talking cheese from Cuba, NY, a village in southwestern New York State, about 15 miles east of Olean (my mother’s hometown and my college town) and 75 miles southeast of Buffalo.

The Cuba Cheese Shoppe is best known for its own award-winning white cheddar cheese and cheese products. For more than a century, Cuba cheese was available only to wholesale and select mail order customers.

The retail shop in downtown Cuba opened in 1976 and has expanded over the years to welcome hundreds of domestic and imported cheeses, like Manchego from Spain, Ricotta Salata from Italy and Stilton from England. We’ve been going there for years and always pack a cooler when our travels take us to that corner of New York.

In addition to a world of cheeses, you’ll find cheese boards, slicers and spreaders and shelves-full of crackers to complement selections. The shop also stocks oodles of gourmet foodstuff: jams, jellies, mustards, barbecue sauces, spice rubs and more. There’s also syrup and other maple products from local favorite Sprague’s Maple Farms (and restaurant) in Portville.

On a recent visit, we came home with a brick of Cuba reserve cheddar (aged two years), a slab of Palatine Valley Dairy tomato, basil and garlic cheddar (from the Mohawk Valley), a container of Cuba cheese curds (a form of cheddar; slightly chewy and squeaky and a great snack) and a tub of Old York sharp cheddar spread – a souvenir for my sister. 2023 update: Cheese spreads labeled Old York no longer appear to be available, but there are several Cuba Cheese spreads on the website. 

Cuba Cheese has gone through several ownership changes over the years. It's currently owned by Ohio-based Great Lakes Cheese, which operates the Empire Cheese plant in Cuba (and is supposed to expand to a larger facility in Franklinville, according to news reports). The Cuba Cheese Shoppe is indepenently owned and operated.

The Cuba Cheese Shoppe is at 53 Genesee St., Cuba. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The online shoppe is open 24/7.

The Cuba Cheese Museum chronicles Cuba’s (and the region’s) rich cheese-making heritage. Click here to find out more.

(From a postcard image)

 

Glug-glug: A brown jug of Syracuse’s Middle Ages beer

The empty brown jug sitting on the basement landing finally made me do it: go straight to the source for a refill “growler’’ of pale ale from Middle Ages Brewery.

I’ve enjoyed many a pint of Middle Ages beer at our favorite Central New York taverns, and at the Middle Ages anniversary party held each year at Syracuse’s Leavenworth Park.

But I had never visited the brewery on the near west side of Syracuse until last Saturday. I arrived in the mid-afternoon to find a full house in the tasting room and gift shop and a lively, happy hour vibe.

The brewery, owned by Marc and Mary Rubenstein, is known for its small-batch, hand-crafted British-style ales with names like Wailing Wench, Dragonslayer and Druid Fluid to match the medieval theme.

Step in the entrance and down a stone-lined hallway, past a knight’s armor, into the tasting room and gift shop.

You’ll find about six beers on tap to sample. Start with something mild, like Apricot Ale or Swallow Wit (a wheat beer), then work your way down the list to the more full-flavored (higher alcohol content) varieties like Old Marcus (extra special bitter), ImPaled Ale (Middle Ages’ version of India pale ale) and Duke of Winship (a rich, dark porter).

At 4:40, the young woman pouring samples yelled “last call,’’ and there was a surge to the counter to get growlers (half-gallon brown bottles) filled.

We received a growler of Middle Ages Pale Ale for Christmas, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Empty it, wash it and visit the brewery to filler ‘er up.

A refill of Middle Ages Pale Ale cost $9 plus change. That’s good bang for the buck, when you consider that you’ll spend about $7 for a couple of pints at a bar. And the beer will stay fresh for about a week.

Which reminds me… I refilled that growler almost a week ago. Better head home and crack that puppy open. It’s Friday and getting on beer o’clock!

Middle Ages Brewery is at 120 Wilkinson St., Syracuse. The tasting room and gift shop are open 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Information: 315-476-4250.

Full of Greens: Utica Greens!

Greens Morelle, Dominique's Chesterfield Restaurant, Utica

Many local foods have a place in the hearts -- and stomachs -- of Utica residents: Chicken riggies, tomato pie, Half Moon cookies, pusties (better known as pasticiotti here in Syracuse). 

And let's not forget Utica greens. 

This staple of restaurant chefs and home cooks owes its existence to Utica's Italian-American community and takes escarole, a common salad green, in a whole other direction. It's chopped, blanched, sauteed in olive oil, then tossed with prosciutto (usually), cherry peppers, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and piled on a plate. 

Voila! That's how escarole becomes Utica Greens, an appetizer to share or a complete meal, depending on how you want to eat it -- and how much you want to eat. 

Our travels took us to Rome and Utica recently, and we weren't about to leave the Mohawk Valley until we were full of greens.

First stop was Dominque's Chesterfield Restaurant, on Bleecker Street on Utica's east side. The restaurant is well-known for its Greens Morelle, named for chef Joe Morelle, who added the dish to the menu at Dominque's many years back, according to our bartender/waiter. 

The generous portion of greens ($8.99) was savory and well-seasoned, rich and filling thanks to prosciutto, Romano cheese and breadcrumbs and slightly zippy, courtesy of the thinly sliced cherry peppers that dotted the dish. The greens were served with crusty Italian bread and dipping oil, and a single serving was plenty for two of us.

Greens Giorgio, Giorgio's Village Cafe, New Hartford

Second stop was Giorgio's Village Cafe in New Hartford. The menu offers several takes on greens, including Greens Giorgio ($8.50), which combines escarole with Romano cheese, salami, hot cherry peppers, roasted potatoes and seasoned bread crumbs.

They were tasty, to be sure, but the presence of the potatoes in the greens made us think of fretta (a popular breakfast scramble here in Central New York) and made the dish seem heavy.

If we were to go back to Utica for greens, and it seems inevitable we will, we'll go back to Dominque's Chesterfield.

Apple Pusties, a seasonal treat at Florentine Pastry Shop, Utica

Besides the lure of its greens, the restaurant is conveniently located within walking distance of several of Utica's Italian bakeries, including the Florentine Pastry Shop, also on Bleecker Street, where we picked up a couple pusties (single-serving pastries filled with chocolate, vanilla or lemon custard) and some Italian cookies for the road. 

Do you have a favorite place in Utica or Syracuse or anywhere in between you like to go for greens? Let's get a dialogue going -- leave a comment below! 

 Photo courtesy of Stef Noble

Want to try your hand at Utica Greens at home? The following recipe is from an old newspaper ad for Chanatry's Market in Utica. 

Utica Greens

1 large escarole (or 2 small heads)

4 slices prosciutto, thin slices, chopped

1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 long Italian hot peppers, seeded and julienned

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

1 cup chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean and rinse escarole twice; chop in large pieces.

Boil down for 5 or 6 minutes so it’s tender and wilted.

Place olive oil in a saute pan and heat.

Add chopped garlic and prosciutto and render for 2 or 3 minutes. Do not burn garlic.

Add seeded peppers and cook another minute or so.

Add the escarole and all the other ingredients in the pan.

Gradually add the breadcrumbs and grated cheese, tossing gently until blended.

Taste for final salt and pepper seasoning.

Place in a casserole; sprinkle a little of the breadcrumbs and place under a broiler for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot.