Fresh from the Farm

I recently learned about a family-run farm close to my house that raises goats, lambs, pigs, and chickens for meat.  Called Fox Hollow Farms, they are all about natural farming, and so their animals are pasture raised and aren't given any antibiotics or hormones.  I really liked the idea of this because supporting local farming and eating hormone-free meat are two very important things to me, and I told my mom that I wanted us to go visit the farm.

Since my sister and I moved out, my parents have eaten mostly vegetarian for health reasons and because of the fact that we, as a family, have issues with the hormone and antibiotic-laced meat that is sold at supermarkets.  Both my dad and I are carnivores at heart, however, so I've been wanting to find a source of high quality, local meat, rather than having to rely on Pennsylvania or Virginia farms or eat semi-vegetarian.  My mom was very interested in the idea of grass-fed, pasture-raised animals, and so this morning we decided to stop by the farm to visit.

It was a further drive than expected and we actually had to call to confirm their location, but it was absolutely worth it.  The store is connected to the family house, and visitors are invited to come to the back to see the animals.  We could see the goats grazing, and few of the chickens came over to say hello.  My mom swears that one of the sheep made a connection with her and would have smiled if it had the facial muscles to do so.

After a brief chat with one of the owners, we went back in.  We loved the set-up and how the animals were clearly happy and healthy and had plenty of space to grow.  We decided to buy a carton of goat milk, a dozen fresh eggs (taken in just this morning!), a broiler chicken, some frozen cubed goat meat, and a rack of spare ribs (pork).  It wasn't cheap, but we were both excited about our purchases when we left.  We actually ended up sitting in the car and sharing the goat milk immediately because we were hungry and wanted to try it.  It was delicious.  Creamy, flavorful, and vaguely sweet.  I've had goat milk before, but it was a very processed supermarket brand and I wasn't very fond of it.  This milk I thoroughly enjoyed.  A tall cold glass of this could cheer me up on even the worst of days.  That's what good food does for a person.

When we got home, we decided to soft boil a few of the eggs for lunch and have them with some green beans and black truffle salt.  I didn't want to do anything too dramatic with them since they were so fresh; I just wanted their natural flavor to shine.  And oh, they were delicious.  Plus, the eggs were gorgeous.  Look at that light speckling of white on the outside!  Nature is beautiful.

Best of all was that fact that I actually spent the entire day in the kitchen with my mom.  It's rare that I have time to come home and just immerse myself in food (not literally, of course; I never do that), but today was one of those days.  I mixed and baked and tasted and improvised and made various sweet items while my mom cooked goat curry, baked the ribs, marinated the chicken, and made some savory sticky rice.  My dad played French music in the background and worked close-by.  Then, after a wonderful dinner and cleaning up, we watched Food Inc. on my computer.  It was a perfect day.

I will be posting the recipes for what I've made in the upcoming days and weeks, but I just thought I'd throw you a bone now: there is a candy recipe, a cupcake recipe, and a frosting recipe waiting for you.  Future plans do include a cheesecake and some chocolate goodies.

It is good to be home.

Another Lunch at Volt

Volt is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It is a little bit out of the way, but it is a cute part of Frederick, and there really is nowhere else that you can get that a three-course meal with that quality of food for only $25. So, I finally decided that it was time that I introduce my boyfriend, E., to Bryan Voltaggio's cooking. We made a reservation for lunch before the holidays, and took the only opening they had, which was at 2pm on a Thursday. (Side note: I was actually very excited by the fact that Bryan Voltaggio was in the kitchen that day, and came out to the dining room to check how things were going)

We arrived a little bit late for our reservation because of traffic; I tried to call the restaurant to warn them, but Volt now has an answering service and it is no longer possible to speak with a human being. To our surprise, when we came in, we were told that our table wasn’t ready, so we waited in the lounge. After about five minutes, the hostess came and got us.

We were seated and given menus and our choice of sparkling or still house-purified water. As we made our selections, I was a little disappointed by the fact that they neglected to serve us their house-made bread sticks. At first I thought it was because we were a late lunch seating and perhaps they had run out. But then a table close to us had bread sticks on the table and a table of six that was seated long after us also got bread sticks. So we were simply passed over. I am not saying that this was a deliberate, but I will remark again on it later.

While we waited for our first course, we were offered bread, along with Vermont butter with big flakes of sea salt. As usual, there was a selection of three different things to pick from. I got a buttermilk chive biscuit and E. got an olive and rosemary roll. My biscuit was beautifully flaky, but a little bit salty. E.’s roll was on the sweeter side, light, and airy.

For our first course I ordered the shiitake velouté with pinenut sabayon, chili oil, and opal basil. I’ve had this before, and it didn’t blow me away the last time, but I liked the earthiness of the velouté and I thought it worked well with the creamy sabayon. This time, however, the dish was unbearably salty. Even with my biscuit and large sips of water, I couldn’t eat all of it, and so I left over half of it untouched. It was incredibly disappointing. When our server came by, he asked if everything was okay, and I did mention the saltiness; he apologized for the kitchen and offered to bring me another dish, which was very kind, but I felt it was unnecessary since we still had two more courses to go, and I couldn’t really imagine that what they would bring out would be that much more improved.

E.’s first course was the cherry glen farm goat cheese ravioli with butternut squash, maitake mushrooms, and sage air. E. had felt slightly unsure about the goat cheese, since it can be a very strong flavor, but he ended up enjoying the dish. It had a lot of character, but the goat cheese wasn’t overwhelming, and the mushrooms provided an earthiness and a light sweetness to the dish which complemented the ravioli beautifully. The dish was very rich, without being heavy, and felt rather perfect for the season.

For my main course, I had scallops with beluga lentils, chive pudding, and variations of cauliflower. The scallops were amazing. They were perfectly cooked, and the kitchen played off the natural sweetness of the scallops with the chive pudding, cauliflower purée, and roasted cauliflower. I especially enjoyed the texture of the beluga lentils, which had a bit of a bite to them, and the crunchy dehydrated cauliflower. It was hard to find anything wrong with this dish, and I would give it a very solid 9.5 out of 10. It was fun to eat—E. called it whimsical—and I loved that there were plays on both texture and taste.

E. ordered rockfish with black forbidden rice, pureed maroon carrot, and soy air for his main course. This dish was perfect. I normally consider rockfish a very meaty, solid fish, and yet somehow the kitchen turned out something that was almost delicate, and absolutely mouthwatering. The fish was moist and the skin was beautifully crisp, providing a nice textural difference. The black forbidden rice was fragrant and the carrot puree packed a surprising flavor punch. The entire dish was solid and filling, and we gave it a 9.5 out of 10.

I was a little sad when we finished both of our main courses, as they were both so wonderful and I didn't want the experience to end. But dessert did not disappoint.

For my dessert, I had the textures of chocolate with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate caramel, and raw organic cocoa. E. was shocked by the size of my dessert, and by the amount of the sugar I was thus consuming, but we both enjoyed it. The combination of the caramel, ganache, ice cream, and cocoa provided different tastes and textures that melded together to create a symphony of flavors. While I have this dessert so many times that it no longer wows me, it is consistently and beautifully executed, and provided a nice finish to a lovely meal. It is always a 9 out of 10.

For his dessert, E. ordered the goat cheese cake with d’anjou pear, spiced vanilla ice cream, and citrus tuille. The cheese cake was light and the scent and flavor of the goat cheese wasn’t at all overwhelming. The tangy-ness was well balanced with sweetness. If it hadn't been called a goat cheese cheesecake, you wouldn't have known it at all. The pear was cooked so that it retained a slight bite to it (instead of being soft and mushy) and the ice cream was beautifully flecked with vanilla seeds. This dessert was lovely, sophisticated, and E. much enjoyed it. A solid 9 out of 10.

After our table was cleared, the check came with two little paper packages, one for each person. Each package had two big chocolate chip cookies. They were soft baked, but with crispy edges, and fragrant with butter. The takeaway gift was, as always, a nice touch, which we enjoyed later as a post-lunch, pre-dinner snack.

As for the service? Service at Volt has always been consistent and good. No matter what day of the week or how crowded the restaurant is, our servers have always been polite, friendly, and knowledgeable. They are good at refilling glasses and paying attention to the little needs of diners, and they can always answer any questions about the dishes on the menu.

Our service this time was polite, but also a little spotty. While our glasses were refilled at a good rate, I was disappointed by the fact that they neglected to bring us the bread sticks (mentioned above) and that we were never offered bread after our first tasting. These may seem like small things, but the servers at Volt are never this negligent. I was surprised that bread was only offered at the beginning of the meal, and that though we both finished our servings, we were not offered bread again with the main course. This is an anomaly, not just for Volt, but for any restaurant. Bread should be served with the main course, if you’re serving bread. And in all my visits to Volt, the servers had never failed before to offer bread during the main course (in the past, we’d had multiple offerings for bread during the course of our meal).

I couldn't help but wonder if it was the age factor. I know I look young for my age; I have a very young face. E. looks just as young as I do. When we go out, I sometimes joke with my friends that we look like two sixteen year olds. This wouldn’t be a problem, except that most young people will tell you that service given to the young differs drastically compared to service given to those who are older.

I am always wary when I go out to eat, because I know I look many years younger than I actually am, and my perceived age, I've noticed, sometimes affects my quality of service. This aggravates me beyond words. I am older than I look, and I have dined at restaurants from CityZen to Inn at Little Washington to Le Grand Vefour. I know what service I should be getting and what quality of food I should be served, and when I am paying the same price as other customers, I expect to be treated just as they are treated. I hate getting poorer service simply because people think they can get away with it. Volt, I cannot say that your service was slightly sub-par because of the youth factor, but I will be on my guard in the future. Remember, service makes up half the experience of dining out, and I dine out because I want to have good experiences.

Volt

228 North Market Street

Frederick, MD 21701
Tel: 301-696-8658

Overall rating for the price: 8.5 out of 10

Lunch at Volt (with wine pairings)

I've been to Volt several times for lunch in the past, but those times were before Bryan Voltaggio entered Top Chef and became famous and everyone suddenly knew about the little gem in Frederick. Since the Top Chef extravaganza, I haven't eaten there, and so my family and I decided it was time to put Bryan to the test. Was the business boom going to hurt the quality of food?

We made our reservation for lunch today in early September and we still had difficulty getting the day and time that we wanted; the place is absolutely booked now. I don’t think you could walk in, unless you wanted to eat in the lounge.

We all decided to order from the three-course prix fix lunch menu ($25), with my mom opting to also try the wine pairing ($15).

Before ordering, each table is given thin house-made breadsticks. This time, they were salted and coated with fennel pollen. They were a little salty for my taste, but they are always a nice touch, and the flavors do change.

For our first course, we enjoyed a shitake velouté with pinenut sabayon, chili oil, and opal basil. The velouté and sabayon worked incredibly well together; their smooth, earthy tones sang of autumn. The flavor of the shitake really shined. Surprisingly, while the dish was velvety and creamy in texture, it did not feel heavy. My only complaint was that as the size of the portion was very generous, after a while, the dish rang a little bit as “one note.” I think had there been a textural component—say something crispy or chewy (e.g. toasted pine nuts or caramelized onions)—this would have been bumped up to the next level. As it was, we gave it a solid 8.5 out of 10.

For the pairing, we had EIEIO, which is the "Swine Wine" (there was a pink pig on the label) from Oregon. It was a Pinot Noir, light on tannin with a nice acidity. It was a successful pairing.

Next, we had Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese ravioli with butternut squash, maitake mushrooms, and sage air. This dish was very flavorful and had a lot of character. Although it was rich, it was neither overwhelming nor heavy. We couldn’t get any real flavor from the “air” (which is the foam that you see), but other than that we didn’t have any complaints. Again, a solid 8.5 out of 10.

Lastly, we had the Tuscarora Farm organic beets with Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese and upland cress. This was simple but elegant, and we liked how light and airy the goat cheese was. This appears to be a staple at Volt, as we’ve seen it on the menu (and we have eaten it) in years past. We gave it an 8 out of 10, because while there was nothing wrong with the dish, it did not wow us.

For our second course, or main course, we ordered the Barramundi with cauliflower variations, beluga lentils, verjus, and cilantro. This fish was flaky and perfectly cooked so that the meat remained moist, even while the skin was crispy. The sweetness and crunch of the cauliflower was a nice contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth lentils. We gave this a 9.5 out of 10. It would be hard to get any better. The wine pairing for this was a glass of Durigutti (Bonarda grape) from Argentina. This wine had a nice fragrance, robust structure, long finish, and was not acidic.

The next main course was this pork tenderloin with Brussels sprouts, braised red cabbage, and mustard greens. The Brussels sprouts popped with flavored, and the braised red cabbage was surprisingly sweet; we actually thought it was beets at first (especially given the vibrant color). The mustard greens were surprisingly not bitter, and the pork tenderloin was tender and juicy. We gave this dish a 9.5 out of 10 and we all agreed that we would be happy to order it again.

Then we had this marinated grilled hanger steak with Rick’s Yukon gold potatoes, chive pudding, lobster mushrooms, and bacon lardon (supplemental cost of $12). The steak was a little salty, and while the meat was bold and very flavorful—and I mean deeply so—it was a little too much. The steak was also fairly chewy. While there was nothing really wrong with the dish besides the slightly generous sodium content, it did not meet our expectations for something which had a supplemental cost of $12. We gave it an 8 out of 10.

The last second course/main course was this Freebird Farms roasted chicken and smoked chicken sausage with roasted shallots, confit potatoes, maroon carrots, and yellow oyster mushrooms. I had some doubts about this, as I find chicken to be a very plain meat and I think that ordering it in a restaurant is often a waste of an opportunity to be adventurous, but we gave this a chance because of our waitress’s recommendation, and the dish won us over. The chicken breast defied all expectations of what a chicken breast should be. It was unbelievably juicy and succulent. The natural sweetness of the chicken was astounding. The chicken sausage was fragrant with fennel, and the shallots, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms did very well in their supporting rolls. We gave this a 9.5 out of 10. Who knew chicken could be so good?

A variety of breads are always offered along with the first and second course. Typically there are two rolls and one biscuit. On this occasion they offered an olive and rosemary roll, which was nicely seasoned (perhaps a little too generously salted), a chive biscuit, which was soft, flaky, and fragrant, and a French sea salt roll, which we didn’t try. All of their breads are baked in-house, so they are constantly turning out fresh batches, and they are perfect for sopping up every last drop of jus or soup in a bowl or plate.

Before our desserts arrived, our waitress brought us this orange mint semifreddo. It was an incredibly kind gesture. When making our lunch reservation, we had told them that it was my dad’s birthday and upon arrival, we discreetly reminded our hostess. We had thought that there would just be a candle, or at best “Happy Birthday” written on the dessert plate; this gift was an unexpected surprise (especially as it is not featured anywhere on the menu). And it was the perfect pre-dessert dessert: delicately sweet, fragrant with orange, and deliciously creamy.

Afterwards, our real desserts were brought out.

We started with this Gala apple tart with mascarpone gelato and opal basil. The baked apple was soft and sweet, but the dish wasn’t as strong or bold or original as his typical desserts. Thus while we enjoyed it, we gave it only an 8 out of 10. The wine pairing for this dish was a Kanu, which is a late harvest Chenin Blanc from South Africa. This was sweet and fragrant, and everyone enjoyed it.

Next, we had the textures of chocolate with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate caramel, and raw organic cocoa. This is a classic. Bryan Voltaggio has always featured some sort of “texture” chocolate dish on his dessert menu. Sometimes it is dark chocolate, sometimes it is mint chocolate, sometimes there is espresso, sometimes there is white chocolate. It always works, but the dark chocolate variation is my favorite. The dark chocolate ganache was incredibly smooth, and my mother, who does not like chocolate, raved about the taste of this. The marriage of all the elements—caramel, tuille, ganache, sorbet, cocoa—produced a symphony that we rated a very solid 9.5 out of 10. My favorite element? The tuille. I would come back for it again and again. I think this one element also displayed the talent in the kitchen. The tuille was slightly bitter—as good dark chocolate is—but the bitterness was well balanced by the sweetness of the caramelized sugar. Nothing was overwhelming, nothing was too much; it was perfectly balanced.

Lastly, we had the goat cheese cake with d’Anjou pear, spiced vanilla ice cream, and citrus tuille. This dessert was amazing, and incredibly sophisticated. My dad proclaimed that this was as close to a religious experience as he was going to get. The pear was cooked somehow so that it was firm—not mushy—and and yet infused with flavor, and the “crumb” that went along with the goat cheese worked nicely to mimic the crust of a cheesecake. There was nothing wrong with this dish and nothing that could have been improved—except, perhaps, a slightly larger portion size, as we couldn’t get enough of it. We gave this a solid 10 out of 10.

Before our desserts came out, my sister jokingly said she was afraid that dessert would be wonderful, because then the meal would have been flawless. As it was, dessert was wonderful, and the meal was very close to perfect.

With the check came four little poppy seed cakes for us to take home (one for each person). These little take-home treats are another standard at Volt, like the pre-meal breadsticks and the house-purified water (which is offered as either sparkling or still water). They are another great touch that adds to the fantastic experience of dining at Volt.

And the price? Unbeatable. We all agreed: there is no other place that you could get this quality of food (and service) for $25. We left happy and satisfied. The fame, or perhaps recognition, that Bryan Voltaggio gained from his time on Top Chef was well earned. Bryan, you never disappoint. I am so glad I live close enough to be a semi-frequent visitor.

Volt

228 North Market Street

Frederick, MD 21701
Tel: 301-696-8658

Overall rating for the price: 9.5 out of 10

Lunch at Jaleo

Well there was a change in plans last night regarding Restaurant Week lunch. We were going to eat at Vermilion, in Alexandria, Virginia, but then we discovered that on Saturdays they serve brunch instead of lunch, and so we would be paying for eggs and hamburgers, and it didn't seem worth it to us, especially not with the drive. Thus, we made last minute plans to eat at Jaleo, a Spanish tapas restaurant that we've known about for many years. It has never failed us.

This was the Restaurant Week menu. For those of you who don't know, you can click on the photos to enlarge them, so you can actually read the menu for yourself! For $20.10 (for each person) we were allowed to order 1) one soup or salad, 2) one modernas y clasicas, 3) one pescados y carnes, and 4) one dessert. While we decided on our choices, we enjoyed some bread with olive oil. The olive oil is actually poured for you by your waiter into a little bowl with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a crushed clove of garlic.

We started with a gazpacho estilo Algeciras. The bowl was plated with diced tomatoes, diced green peppers, halved cherry tomatoes (which had been blanched and had their skins removed), crispy croutons, and parsley.

The chilled gazpacho was poured on top of this. The soup had a nice kick to it. It was bright and acidic (from the Sherry vinegar), and full of character. The textures in this really came together nicely and the flavors melded very well. We gave it an 8 out of 10, because while it was very good, it was still essentially just a fancy, cold tomato soup.

Then we had an ajo blanco con uvas, or a chilled almond and garlic soup. The bowl was decorated with lump crabmeat, green grapes, raisins, and sliced almonds, and then the creamy soup was poured on top, tableside. Each spoonful of this was smooth, rich, and creamy. It was sophisticated in a subdued manner, like the soft complexity of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind. But while that was nice, Melanie just couldn’t stand up to the boldness of Scarlett O’Hara. Scarlett, in this case, would be the gazpacho. Thus, we had to give this a 7.5 out of 10. Good, but not quite as good as its companion.

This ensalada de remolacha con cítricos had red beets, some citrus, some Valdeón cheese, pistachios, and Sherry dressing. Salads tends not to be wowers, and this one, while decent, was not something that I would order again. There are too many better things on the menu.

This manzanas con hinojo y queso Manchego was another cold salad. It included sliced apples, sliced fennel, diced apples, Manchego cheese, walnuts, and Sherry dressing. It was very interesting, but also forgettable. Looking back now, it doesn’t stand out in my mind.

This chistorra envuelta en patata frita was spicy chorizo that was wrapped in a very thinly sliced potato, like a little “bun.” The addition of the crispy potato was fun and add a nice crunch to the dish. As for the sausage, its flavor was very bold, but for me it just wasn’t balanced. The dish was too one dimensional, and also a little salty.

These dátiles con tocino ‘como hace todo el mundo’ were dates, wrapped in bacon, breaded, and then fried. Delicious sounding, yes? And actually, we have ordered this before, but this time around I was slightly disappointed. While the dish was served warm, and the dates were soft and sweet and the breading was crispy, I just didn’t get the bacon flavor. I wanted more bacon. The flavor of the dates overwhelmed any bacon flavor. If it hadn’t been stated that bacon was there, I would not have known.

This was described as their “very, very famous tapa:” gambas al ajillo. The shrimp was simply sautéed with garlic. It had a slight smell of wine, as if white wine has been poured into the hot pan of shrimp right before it was served. Yet despite this touch, I was disappointed by the dish. The salty seafood was one dimensional, and I didn’t get any strong smell or flavor of garlic.

This salmón con purée coliflor y frambuesas was very nice. I really enjoyed the buttery seared salmon, which was perfectly cooked. Salmon is often served a little bit dry, but this dish was beautiful. The fish was moist, and it went well with the pureed cauliflower and raspberries, which we thought was a creative mix of flavors. This was an 8.5 out of 10.

This dish was called Calamares a la Romana. It was fried squid with aioli. The calamari was fine: crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (although a little light in color… it could have been allowed to fry a little longer). The aioli was missing acidity, but had a nice strong garlic flavor. It was a simple dish. Would I order again? Yes. But was I impressed? No.

This vieiras con calabaza y naranjas was delicately seared scallops, with a creamy butternut squash purée, orange segments, and crunchy pumpkin seeds. The scallops were cooked so that they were just caramelized and then removed from the pan. This left them incredibly soft and tender, and I really liked that texture. It was different from the denser, chewier texture you can get when scallops are even just a tiny bit overcooked. The dish was well balanced, with the natural sweetness of the seafood, the earthy sweetness of the butternut squash, the acidity of the orange, and the crunch of the pumpkin seeds. I was impressed with the flavors. It was also very visually appealing (as you can see). This was a 9 out of 10. I would definitely order this one again.

This lomo de cerdo con salsa de cabrales was a pork loin with roasted onion and Cabralas suace. While the caramelized onion was sweet, and the sauce was good, the meat was, sadly, dry and overcooked. I wouldn’t order it again, and I suggest you don’t either. Sometimes the flavor of a dish can make up for over-done-ness of meat, but this was not one of those cases. I was disappointed.

This dessert was a flan al estilo tradicional con espuma de crema Catalana. The flan was incredibly smooth and light. It just melted in the mouth. It was incredibly elegant. The cream Catalan was lightly whipped and sweetened and it went perfectly with the flan. This dish was perfection, it really was. A flan is a very normal dessert, it is nothing impressive, but this one managed to wow us all at the table. I believe I shall give this dish my first 10 out of 10.

This espuma de avellanas y chocolate was a chocolate mousse layered between light hazelnut cake layers, and topped with caramelized hazelnuts. Now I am not a hazelnut person, nor am I crazy about milk chocolate, but this dessert was excellent. We’ve actually ordered it a few times before, and each time we really enjoyed it. It was delicate—not dense—and there was a play on texture with the crumbs of the cake and the airy mousse and the crunchy hazelnuts. A 9 out of 10.

This was the house-made cherry sorbet. It was a revelation. I told you that my family does not like to order ice cream for dessert when we go out, but today we broke that rule. I am so glad that we did. The sorbet was incredibly crisp and bright. It was bursting with the flavors of fresh cherries, and it wasn’t sour. It was delightful. A solid 9.5 out of 10. Or perhaps a 10 out of 10. I just hesitate to give two perfect scores in one review; you may think I’m going soft. But honestly, I can think of no way that this could have been better.

All in all, it was a very nice meal. Jaleo is a business casual type of restaurant, decorated in a very Spanish style with bright reds and oranges. We will, of course, be returning.

Jaleo

7271 Woodmont Avenue

Bethesda, MD 20814

Tel: 301.913-0003

Overall rating for the price: 8 out of 10
**note: Jaleo has many locations, I can only speak for the address above. I am also rating based on Restaurant Week prices