Fall vegetable lasagna with broccoli rabe pesto

Chicken "Pot Pie"

The Farmer and Scenes From Feast in the Field dinner at 1895 Organic Farm

I have tried over the last 6 years to support the small guy, the farmer. But like every small business, farmers have their own set of issues. The biggest for me is distribution. I can't spend all my time driving from farm to farm and the farmer can't spend his time driving to me for a $100.00 order.


So how do we fix the problem?

I don't know other then to continue supporting the good ones I do find. Where do I find them? At the local farmers market, I have 2 that are both convenient and good quality-- Burlington Ag Center in Moorestown and the Haddonfield Farmers Market.


Restaurants are just a marketing tool for a good farmer, and I'm proud to be one. I've made some good friends when getting to meet the people that grow our food. But none better then Kim Batton of the 1895 Organic Farm.

This summer Kim and I have worked closer together, with Kim asking   me about her growing variety and style. So I thought it time for me to get Kim's opinion about my cooking. So the 1st annual Feast in the Fields Dinner at the 1895 Organic Farm took place on Sept. 27th, 2009.

It did not start out as a very good day with rain in the forecast and on the ground. But Kim's husband Wayne told me not to worry that it would clear by afternoon and be great for dinner. I dropped off my delivery of equipment and left Mari and Adam to begin the set up process and headed back to the restaurant and right into a down pour.

That was the last of the rain I would see until it was time to back up and go back to the restaurant around 7:30pm.

I really can't do the day justice in my writing, you should have been there. Mari took some really nice pictures, give them a look and make plans to join us next year.

Going to try and catch up

Well, I haven't done a good job over the last couple of months of keeping up with this blog.

I could blame it on the few complainers that wrote in, but I really don't care what they think or I could blame it on being to busy, but who are we kidding I own a restaurant in S Jersey in the summer.

The truth is -- life got in the way.

I'm going to try and post a few times over the next couple of weeks on some of the events we did this summer. At least it sounds like a good plan tonight.

Stay Tuned!!!

On the farm for dinner

Feast in the field 2009

Feast on the fields 2009

It really doesn't get better then this ---scenes from feast in the field

Grilling peppers from the farm, getting ready for the Feast in the Field this Sunday.

Let's toast and Bottoms up!)

Facciamo un brindisi e vuotate i bicchieri
(Let's toast and Bottoms up!)

I heard it through the grapevine, there's a new gig in town. We at Elements are pleased as punch (ummm, wine to be exact) that there's a new pairing that we'd like to be sharing - enjoy your fine dining experience with Elements as you sip a glass of Auburn Road wine.

Elements Cafe, which is owned and operated by Chef Fred Kellermann and his wife, is located in historic Haddon Heights, N.J. Always striving to offer the customer a unique dining experience, Chef Fred uses his culinary talents combined with the freshest ingredients available to create palate pleasing fare. With a flair for trying new things in the kitchen, Chef Fred is always on the lookout for something different. Coupled with the desire to support locally owned businesses, he wanted to do the only thing that seemed natural. And what goes better with food than wine? So, on a muggy summer day at a wine tasting in Medford, Chef Fred came across the booth for Auburn Road Vineyards and was impressed. After sampling several glasses, he decided this was the local vineyard he was looking for.

Located in Pilesgrove, N.J., Auburn Road Vineyards is a locally owned and operated winery and enoteca. The co-operative effort of three couples (and several willing helpers), this vineyard is a sight to behold. Stepping onto the property, and surveying the terroir, one truly feels as though they have entered wine country. From the beginning, when the idea was first planted in their minds and with no practical experience in making wine, they forged ahead. Since then, they have cultivated their dreams and their business into what it is today - an award winning vineyard. Read their story here. http://auburnroadvineyards.blogspot.com/2009/06/continuing-tale-of-auburn-road.html

With an eye to the future and the hope of providing our customers with more dining options, Elements has begun the application process to become a retail outlet for Auburn Road wines. Should we receive approval we will be able to offer our customers the ability to purchase these wines in house. Rest assured, we are still a B.Y.O.B and you will always be allowed to bring your own bottles with you, this is simply another service we hope to provide to our patrons.
But with this future union in mind we are proud to offer the opportunity to enjoy and explore the Auburn Road Winery while enjoying a specially prepared dinner from Elements café and Chef Fred Kellermann.

Hors d’ oeuvres
Carrot and Salmon “Tar Tar” with tarragon aioli
Crab Grits stuffed Mushrooms
Rabbit “Cordon Blue”
Grape Leave steamed Shrimp with black pepper grape marmalade
Fall Fruit Gazpacho with mint walnut pesto

Dinner
1st Course
Jersey Sweet Corn Puree
smoked turkey and shiso
2nd Course
Compressed Melon and Blue Cheese Salad
arugula, lemon oil and Minus 8 vinegar
Main Course(choice of)
Slow Cooked Pork
or
Olive Oil Poached Tuna
Sole poached apples and Swiss chard
Dessert Course
Apples Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Sunday Oct 4th Hors d' oeuvres start at 5:30pm dinner at 6:30pn
$40/person plus tax and gratuity, please call 856 546 8840 for reservations

Anyone mention this post today and get 10$ off your dinner check

Chef Wars Act 3

It took me awhile but here is the pictures from the round 2 chef wars dinner.

These were taken at Ted's on Main in Medford.

Adam and I had a really good time that night and Ted's crew was great.

I finally got some sleep

Well anyone that knows me and how much I work will be surprised to here this--- I finally got some sleep!

Not a lot ,about 7 hours but enough to finish the week.

We had a great time last night doing chef wars against Ted's on Main--we lost--- oh well. It was a lot of fun and Ted is a great cook and fun to work with in the kitchen. He inserted a little excitement and enthusiasm when I was feeling a little run down.

I have pictures from both dinners, his place and mine that I'll post by the week end.

5 more days and I get a day off! 1st in over a month!

I'm getting behind......

Sorry the lack of good updates. I'm in the middle of working about 30 days straight. And that's a good thing.

Small recap-- We were at Ted's on Main on July 16th for a Chef Wars dinner. It went very well and Adam and I had a great time with Ted, his staff and guests. We lost... but it was close.

Ted will be at Elements on Monday August 3rd for our turn hosting Chef Wars. We have a full house now, so after the dinner I'll post pictures....I know I keep saying I'll post but I really will.

On Saturday Aug 22nd we'll have our 2nd Tomato Dinner, watch for the newsletter it'll have the menu and other great upcoming events.

Dear Guests

After a couple of e-mails and a couple of comments to the blog-- which I love finally I have proof that someone reads this. I think yet again I must explain myself.



One person used the words "disdain for my guests" and I think this is completely unfair. Many times I'm found in the dining room talking with people, giving out recipes or just taking the moment to meet someone new. This part of the business I truly enjoy.



It is when I'm treated poorly that I boil over and I don't enter the dining room, instead I choose to vent my anger for a persons' total lack of common courtesy in this forum.



And quite honestly I'm shocked that people are so put off by it. But then maybe I shouldn't be.



People are so used to getting their every little wish, treating employees badly and just being a bad people in general that when they are called out on it, even anonymously they go running for the their "Mommy's apron".

With all this in mind I find it necessary that I offer you a bland, kiss your rear, insight into the restaurant world.

If I had known idea that offering frank straight forward views of the few bad seeds we get here in addition to the hundreds of great people was going to be so off putting to so many people.

So look for pictures of food and advertisements for upcoming events but if you want honesty--- sorry you can't handle it.

For the majority of you that know and understand me and have commented to me directly on your enjoyment of my writing and know where I'm coming from, please e-mail directly and I'll give you a link to my new blog-- it'll have all the inside ideas, passion, and dirt.

But remember it will be honest.

Why do You go out to eat?

"Crab cakes weren't that spectacular, but we left full with money in the wallet."--- on a regular basis I read the reviews of other restaurants and this was written on a opentable review of a local restaurant.

I had always said that opening a restaurant in New Jersey would be a bad idea, too many chain restaurants and the people always look for the cheapest way out.

Now don't get me wrong I like a bargain as much as the next guy, my staff even refers to me as cheap.

But the event of dining out should be a social event from start to finish whether you're just 2 people out for the evening or a group of friends on a night on the town. You should be out for the total package service, ambiance, food and PRICE-- and this should be determined by your personal tastes.

If your biggest concern is price, stay home and learn to cook it will always be cheaper then dining out.

Ask any economist and they'll tell you the fastest way to save money is to cut back on non-essentials like dining out.

Ask me the fastest way to live a short, boring life is to cut back on the non-essentials like dining out, and enjoying the company of friends and the talents of the restaurant pros that excite you.

No Class--Part 2

Just in case you thought I was going soft, I must give you a new edition of NO CLASS!

YO ASSHOLE! When you make a reservation for 10 people and we call you to confirm 2 hours before your reservation and you say-"yes, we'll be there at 7pm for a party of 10" and you show up with 4 at 7:30pm. Be prepared to be treated as well as you have treated us.

It goes beyond my ability to be professional to an ASSHOLE such as yourself.

If you're sitting in my dining room and I think you're taking to long to eat-- the next course is coming.

If I think you're finished you're entree-- you're finished.

And if I want to send your desserts out before you order coffee-- get the hint.

We'll take your money tonight but you are not worth the effort to have back.

And yes, you're in the dining room right now and I'm coming to shut off the air conditioning and turn up the lights --- get out!

It was a beautiful morning for a walk on the farm

One of the best parts about being a chef is getting to meet the people that produce the food I get to cook with. I've been really lucky to work with some great people and for about 2 years now I been working with Kim Batton from the 1895 Organic Farm in Lumberton NJ.

Well this morning I took a drive out to the farm to meet some fellow chefs about a project that I'll tell you about later.

It was a beautiful morning and I got to the farm a little before 9am and started walking around. I don't think people really realize how lucky we are to live so close to farms that really care about what they do. Kim has a small farm that she works basically by herself-- planting, weeding and picking 7 days a week from mid march to late October. She's able to produce enough organic vegetable to supply several restaurants including Elements, her own farm stand, her stand at the farmer's market in Moorestown and a Shop Rite in Marlton--- and I thought I worked a lot. Now I'm not talking about just a couple different crops, it's everything from strawberries in the spring to pumpkins in the fall, with everything you could want in between.

Now a days most people no what it's like to get fresh vegetables at a road side stand or at the local farmers market and don't get me wrong these are all great. But to go to the farm and pick them right out of the ground is just plain amazing. I've had farmers bring me stuff straight to the restaurant that was "just picked", but when you bend down and pull a beet out of the earth it's like it almost has a heart beat. Now I don't want this to turn into a discussion about the vegetarian vs carnivore or anything close to that. I'm just trying to say when you pull a beet out of the ground and bite into it and the juice leaps out of it like it was shot out of a hose-- that's fresh. Remember I'm talking about a beet not an orange or strawberry, things you think of having a lot of juice but a beet.

With the over abundance of rain in southern NJ and the abnormally low temperatures we've had the farms haven't been producing like the normally do. We've had about a week of basically dry time and they say the thermometer will be near 90' by Sunday so I'm hoping for a telephone call from kim and the farmers saying "Fred it's time, come get the vege's by the case".

In the mean time hope for good growing weather for the farmers and--

Here's a couple of random shots of the farm. I'll had more in the future when I remember to bring a real camera.

Ideas I'm working on

Thyme roasted pork belly with honey poached turnips and black pepper gastrique

Coffee crusted beef rib eye with crispy beech mushrooms and bordelaise syrup

Rainbow trout and tasso ham wrapped in brioche with tomato caper vinaigrette

Chef Wars Act 2

This time it was a little harder then the first.

I had a really good time cooking this part 2 of this dinner series but it does let me know there's no place like home. You just know your area, your stove and are bit more comfortable in your own kitchen.

I want to think Rich, Marianne and the whole staff at Andreotti's for a great evening.

And here's the pictures.

On to the 2nd Round