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!
