Oyster Shuck Off

Every Thursday Night is Oyster Night at Jimmy’s No. 43 (6:00- 10:00 PM). The Thursday menu features local oysters and highlights local beers. On January 28, from 7:00- 9:00 PM, the back room at Jimmy’s will be the setting for an Oyster Shuck Off. Oyster growers Karen Rivara and Jim Markow will talk about growing oysters and demonstrate their oyster shucking skills with 600- 800 Peconic Pearls and Mystics at their disposal. $20 per person.

In recent years, wild oysters on Long Island had disappeared. Pollution, algae, storms and other environmental factors had destroyed their numbers and their habitats. Now, thanks to the efforts of growers like Karen Rivara, Jim Markow and the Peconic Bay Land Trust, we are witnessing a rebirth of the wild oyster. Come to Jimmy's and find out more about how oysters get from the grower to you. In the mean time, check out this short video featuring Jim Markow:

Vegetarian Beer Dinner

Gerry Visco, of NY Press fame, came down to last week's Vegetarian Beer Dinner at Jimmy's No. 43 and was kind enough to write about it. She also took some pictures. Five vegetarian plates were accompanied by five Sixpoint beers. It just goes to show that eating well goes hand in hand with drinking well!

Sausage Favorites

Jimmy's No. 43 and our Greenmarket Sausage Week was mentioned on tumblr. In case you missed it- we created Sausage Week to showcase Greenmarket farmers and their products.

We served dishes like:
Flying Pigs Farm sweet italian sausages, beer braised apples, local polenta.
3 Corner Field Farm lamb merguez, roasted with olives. lemons, briased radicchio.
Tamarack Hollow Farm's kelbasa, with braised carrots and cabbage.
Cassouelt with Greenmarket sausages, duck, white beans

Some of our favorite Greenmarket sausages:
1. Flying Pigs Farm kielbasa.
2. Violet Hill Farm bangers
3. 3 Corner Field Farm lamb sausages, all kinds.

Cassoulet Wrap-Up and a Recipe!

Food writer and friend, Cathy Erway posted a great recap of the Cassoulet Cook Off on Not Eating Out in New York. She was also kind enough to include her Moroccan inspired cassoulet recipe!

Just before the Cook Off, I received an email:

"i am french and from the south so i know cassoulet and i was wondering if you are doing this only this week end and if it's possible to enjoy it only during the special event ???? i mean is it possible to eat your cassoulet saturday night for example ???"

Well, my French is rusty, but...

Bien sur, mon ami! Il y a cassoulet à la carte pendant l'hiver a Jimmy's No. 43. Bon Appétit!

I hope that answers your question!

Cassoulet, Cassoulet, HOORAY!

This year's Cassoulet Cook Off was a blast. Greenmarket supporters and cassoulet lovers responded to the foodie buzz and came out on Saturday to taste and taste and taste again. Cathy Erway was there, as was Metromix's Kelly Neal. The big news of the day, however, is that Theo Peck of The Food Experiments (also known as "Mr. Cook Off) won the Judges' award. Nick Suarez, another cook off favorite and Peck's partner-in-crime at The Food Experiments, walked away with a more than respectable second place. The People's Choice award went to Emma Feigenbaum and Sandy Gluck. For a fun read and cassoulet wrap up, check out Theo Peck's blog Carnivore Hearts Herbavore. Congratulations Cassoulet Kings and Queens!

I am From Massachusetts

Last year, a friend and his partners had planned to open a brewery in a depressed town in western Massachusetts called North Adams. So I offered some insight, from a local's perspective.

Some local color:
Let's see, history... history... we learned a lot about the history of Massachusetts. History, being about words, must offer a choice selection of words that could be fitting names for the beers of this new brewery venture.

The "Once Great State" Ale
The "We Banned Slaves, But Still Bought Their Cotton" Lager
"No Irish, No Catholics -Real, Olde Tyme, Yankee Porter"
"Thrifty, and Proud of It" Pale Ale
"Snow Shoveling Zen - Japanese Style White Ale"

Ethan Frome, the novel, was set in this part of western Massachusetts. He was a miserable guy stuck with a wife he hated, lusting after her younger sister who came to live with them. His big thrill was hitching up the horses to a sleigh in a snowstorm and zooming down a dangerous hill. For much of the year in western Massachusetts, the weather is cold and the earth is hard. Ethan Frome thought he got lucky when his wife had to travel to take care of a sick relative. Somehow, her beautiful sister stayed behind to look after her husband, Mr. Frome, but he still missed out on any possible pleasure, because the growing season is short and the old Yankee/Boston ethics too repressive.

Some fun taunts for the land of Red Sox fans! Happy New Year!

Cassoulet Cook Off- Saturday, January 16 from 1:00- 5:00 PM

In the dead of winter, there is little that is more comforting than cassoulet. Beans and sausages are the backbone of this hearty meal, but the rest is subject only to the chef's imagination! Duck, goose, pork, tomatoes, carrots...if you have some cassoulet, you know you are being well fed.

Last year, Ed Yowell (Slow Food and Greenmarket board member) suggested the Cassoulet Cook Off. One thing that most of the Greenmarket farmers (who raise meat) have in common is that they make (or have made) sausages from their animals. There are so many good sausages at the Greenmarket: 3 Corner Field Farm - lamb sausages, merguez, chorizo, Italian; Flying Pigs Farm - pork sausages, includign my favorite chorizo; Catskill Merino - lamb sausage, inlcuding an interesting spiced sausage; and pork sausages from Tamarack Hollow and Ted Blew. That's just at Union Square! There are many more!

The Cassoulet Cook Off is a benefit for the Greenmarket. $20 at the door buys you a sampling of 15 different cassoulets from pro and amateur chefs. Vote for your favorite! There will be drink specials at the bar on small production beers from B. United Importers. For example, a Reissdorf Kolsch and Schlenkerla Helles Lager will be only $5 a glass!

January 20 Vegetarian Beer Dinner with Sixpoint Craft Ales' Shane Welch

When Shane Welch of Sixpoint Craft Ales asked to host a beer dinner at Jimmy's No. 43, we weren't very surprised when he begged off the bacon and steered us to a vegetarian menu. The vegetarian dishes will be simple- 5 courses paired with 5 Sixpoint Beers (prix fixe $45.00/ per person). We are flexible about many things- including beer dinners- so an a la carte menu will be available as well, including several meat, sausage, and bacon dishes should you so desire. To whet your appetite take a look at what we have been working on for this event (Wednesday, January 20, 6:00- 10:00 PM):

Braised cabbage and carrots with local polenta;
Smoked herring on toast with onion/dill relish;
Winter squash gnocchi, sage, aged cows milk cheese;
Shushan snow sheep's milk camembert, baked apple;
Bread pudding w/ hazelnuts, six point otis reduction

Here is a brief interview with Shane:

What is it about beer (your beer in particular) that makes it so very food friendly?

The range of esters, varietals of hop strains, and depths of malts in craft beers create a vast and diverse spectrum of flavors to work with. Our beer, in particular, has a signature yeast profile that tends to be an all-purpose suitor for good food.

Do you have a secret or house style of yeasts or malt?

Yes, we use unorthodox and uncommon ingredients, which distinguishes our beer from most others. Just like most breads/beverages/food on the market, most beers use the same yeast strain and same basic ingredients, and that is why a lot of them taste the same. Craft beers, of course, are the exception.

If you weren't making beer in NYC, where would you make beer?

In Amsterdam. And in my basement or garage.

Recently, I tasted the Brownstone on Martha Stewart Radio / Whole Living. It stole the show! Enough said? We also tasted several Belgian Dubbels... at 10am!

Belgian Dubbels are best at 10am. And they go really well with bananas for some reason...