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Allen Farms

InactiveEat Drink RI Festival Dinner by Dames — Thursday, April 30, 6 – 10 p.m.

by David Dadekian March 9, 2015

There are no upcoming dates for this event.

Clockwise from lower left: Melissa Denmark, Jessica Wood, Maria Meza, Kaitlyn Roberts, Jordan Goldsmith

To kick off this year’s Festival we’ve got the return of one of 2014’s most popular dining series Dinner by Dames–and we’ve expanded it for the Eat Drink RI Festival to include local female farmers, food artisans and bartenders–with a portion of the proceeds benefitting AIDS Project RI.

This unique dining experience brings together five of Rhode Island’s most talented chefs for a multi-course dining event. Chefs Melissa Denmark of Gracie’s and Ellie’s Bakery, Jordan Goldsmith formerly of Garden Grille, Maria Meza of El Rancho Grande, Kaitlyn Roberts of Easy Entertaining Inc. and Jessica Wood of Fire and Water Restaurant Group.

The chefs will be joined by Debbie Barrett of Allen Farms, Ann Marie Bouthillette of Blackbird Farm, Pattie Federico of Narragansett Creamery, Lee Ann Freitas of Indie Growers, Cindy West of Moonstone Oysters and Pastry Chef Lynn Williams of Seven Stars Bakery.

To make the evening that much more special Jen Ferreira, the East Coast Brand Ambassador for Lucas Bols, will lead a group of RI’s top female bartenders, including Mia Andreoli of Events by Mia Rose, Mary Hentz of The Magdalenae Room, Elizabeth Sawtelle of Nicks on Broadway and Kayleigh Speck of The Grange, in creating cocktail pairings for each course. The room will be filled with beautiful flowers and decor via Robin Hollow Farm.

The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. reception with welcome bites, then moving into a five-course dinner with cocktail pairings. The cost is $175 (inclusive of tax and gratuity, and a donation to AIDS Project RI).

Reception
Passed hors d’oeuvres, including: Parsnip Pierogies, Deviled Eggs, Petit Pressed Cuban Sandwiches, Mini Pork Belly Tacos and Mustard Gougeres
paired with the Paradisi – Damrak Gin, Aperol, lemon, grapefruit, Aquidneck Honey, Foolproof Saison, grapefruit garnish

Breads, Chef Lynn Williams
Olive Rolls, White Whole Wheat and Cheese Twists

First Course, Chef Jordan Goldsmith
Grilled Scratch Farm Radishes with miso-cured Zephyr Farm egg yolk, pine vinaigrette, almond yogurt
paired with the Opulent Brine – Ocucaje Pisco, Bols Apricot, lemon, fino sherry, homemade pickle juice, gherkin garnish

Second Course, Chef Jessica Wood
Homemade Egg Noodles with roasted Roma tomatoes, red peppers, parmesan, lemon zest, Indie Growers herbs & flowers
paired with The Dutch Monk – Bols Genever, Benedictine, Punt e Mes, bitters, absinthe, lemon garnish

Third Course, Chef Kaitlyn Roberts
Fried Moonstone Oysters with Anson Mills grit cake, lime, honey, sriracha
paired with the Smoke & Barrel – Aged Genever, lemon, smoked lemon cordial, fresh sage, mint, thyme, basil, thyme garnish

Intermezzo, Chef Melissa Denmark
Allen Farms Pea Greens Frozen Yogurt

Fourth Course, Chef Maria Meza
Blackbird Farm Beef Mixiote de Res with puya chiles, guajillo chiles, costeno chiles, potatoes, cactus, olives, white rice
paired with the The Meza-Rita – Blanco Tequila, Amaro Montenegro, pineapple, cucumber, lemon, agave, smoked chile salt

Fifth Course, Chef Melissa Denmark
Narragansett Creamery Crescendo Panna Cotta with orange fennel semolina cake, lemon curd, toasted hazelnuts, dark chocolate espresso crumble, black currant jam
paired with the Stinger? I Don’t Even Know Her! – Cognac, Crème de Menthe, Branca Menta, fresh mint sprig garnish

Mignardises, Chef Lynn Williams
Chocolate Walnut Rye cookies, Zaletti and Shortbread

Due to the limitations of the venue we are regrettably unable to accommodate any alternative menu/allergen requests other than a vegetarian option. Thank you in advance for your understanding on this matter.

March 9, 2015 0 comment

chefs & restaurants

Jonathan Edwards Winery Culinary Showdown 2011

by David Dadekian July 10, 2011

written by David Dadekian

Castle Hill Inn's table display

On May 15, Jonathan Edwards Winery held a Culinary Showdown between five restaurants from Rhode Island and five from Connecticut. Each of the ten dishes, as well as each state, was voted on by the over 300 people in attendance. The Daniel Packer Inne in Mystic, Connecticut won favorite overall dish. The Rhode Island team took the grand prize which was $1,000 for their charity, Farm Fresh Rhode Island. The Connecticut team’s charity, Connecticut Farmland Trust, was given $500.

The participating restaurants, each paired with a local farm, and their dishes were:

From Rhode Island:

Bistro 9, Chef Aaron Edwards & Watch Hill Farms – Poached lobster medallions with quail eggs, bottarga and champagne emulsion
Castle Hill Inn, Chef Jonathan Cambra & Simmons Farm – Native lobster and clam thermidor with spring vegetables
Nick’s on Broadway, Chef Derek Wagner & Blackbird Farm – Smoked barbeque braised beef short ribs with local spring vegetables, herb salad and buttermilk cornbread
Ocean House, Chef Jennifer Backman & Schartner Farms – Gateau of Moulard duck foie gras, telicherry peppercorn sable, radish glaze, victoria rhubarb, pickled ramps, Jeffrey’s greens and truffle syrup
Tucker’s Bistro, Chef Rick Allaire & Allen Farms – Duck rillette, pea greens, mango, mustard and braised sunflower seeds

From Connecticut:

Azu, Chef James Wyman & Four Mile River Farm – Porchetta on house made foccaccia with parmagiano reggiano aioli, sage caramelized onions, arugula and saba.
CW’s Chops ‘N’ Catch, Chef Cory Wry & Starlight Gardens and Beltane Farm – Goat cheese, arugula, asparagus and short rib spring roll with lobster cakes
Daniel Packer Inne, Chef Chaz Paull & Bomster Scallops – Truffled scallops served with DPI mashed potatoes croquet, topped with black truffle citrus butter, grilled asparagus and julienne roasted tomato
Octagon, Chef Paul Krawic & Maple Lane Farm – Pan seared Muscovy duck breast with currant marmalade and Aztec rice in a bibb lettuce wrap
Kensington’s, Chef Daniel Chong-Jimenez & Bomster Shrimp – Royal Red Stonington Shrimp dipped in a honey-amaretto emulsion and sprinkled with toasted walnut crumbs

Jonathan Edwards Winery was pouring five of their wines to accompany the dishes: 2010 Estate Connecticut Pinot Gris, 2009 Estate Connecticut Chardonnay, Stone Table Red, 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel and 2007 Napa Valley Petite Sirah

The winning team of chefs from Rhode Island

The favorite overall dish, Daniel Packer Inne's Truffled scallops served with DPI mashed potatoes croquet, topped with black truffle citrus butter, grilled asparagus and julienne roasted tomato

Ocean House's Gateau of Moulard duck foie gras, telicherry peppercorn sable, radish glaze, victoria rhubarb, pickled ramps, Jeffrey's greens and truffle syrup

Kensington's Royal Red Stonington Shrimp dipped in a honey-amaretto emulsion and sprinkled with toasted walnut crumbs

Nick's on Broadway, Chef Derek Wagner & Blackbird Farm - Smoked barbeque braised beef short ribs with local spring vegetables, herb salad and buttermilk cornbread

Jonathan Edwards Winery voting "booth"

July 10, 2011 0 comment

chefs & restaurants news wine & drinks

Tini’s Spring Cocktails Are Here, Along With Two New Dishes

by David Dadekian April 1, 2011

written by David Dadekian

The new Spring Cocktails at Tini, from left to right: (verb) my Green Bikini in (place), A Classy (noun), (noun) on the Horizon, (verb) the White Dog, Make Her (verb) This Time

After this winter, it seems as if everyone is working hard to bring about spring. When I asked bartender Alicia Canning about working on the five new drinks for Tini‘s Spring Cocktail Line she gave kind of a sly smile. I’ll just say bringing about spring at Tini can be intoxicating and leave it at that. It can also be delicious, as proven by Chef Darius Salko’s two new dishes. When I received Salko’s message mentioning a fried chicken skin sandwich you could almost see the swooshing, curly speed lines behind me as I rushed to Tini.

Orange Dream Salad (larger version at end of piece)

First, the food. In addition to the fried chicken skin sandwich, which is more properly called The Crackling Club, there is the Orange Dream Salad. I’ll confess, when Salko told me what was in it—orange and grapefruit segments, dates, Bulgarian sheep’s milk Feta cheese, red seedless grapes, torn mint, cinnamon and pomegranate seeds—I wasn’t sure how that combination would work. But I’ve learned to have faith in Salko’s method of putting together good, fresh ingredients in clean, simple ways that create hugely flavorful dishes. Salko told me, “We serve it with two tortillas and you kind of just have a ball,” and he was so right. I highly recommend ordering the Orange Dream Salad, especially if you’re going to also have The Crackling Club, which as you might imagine, is so good (and only a little bit “bad”).

The Crackling Club (larger version at end of piece)

While you might think a fried chicken skin sandwich sounds hedonistic, again, in the Tini style of fresh and simple, it’s really a somewhat light sandwich. I say somewhat because it is a club sandwich, so there’s also house cured & smoked bacon, Allen Farms red mustard greens, sweet cabbage, pickled shallots, bread-and-butter pickles and house made mayonnaise, along with the two chicken cracklings. It’s all piled beautifully on their house made brioche. The chicken skin is perfectly crisped and slightly puffed so the effect is really a somewhat light spring-like club sandwich and not something heavy.

Now, the cocktails. Canning prepared five beautiful drinks for me to play with making photos of, and then of course I got to try them all. The Spring Cocktail Line is called “Ad Lib” and the names of the drinks require the person ordering to fill in some key words, in the style of a favorite childhood written word game. Sure the missing spots in the cocktail names could all be filled-in with words loaded in innuendo, but then who didn’t do that with Mad Libs anyway (0r skipped the innuendo altogether and just went straight to the gutter)? The cocktails are:

White Whisky, Muddled Cucumber = [verb] the White Dog
Cachaça, St. Germain, Basil = [verb] my Green Bikini in [place]
Belvedere, Framboise, Lemon, Champagne = A Classy [noun]
Genever, Maraschino, Violette, Mint = [noun] on the Horizon
Maker’s Mark, TINI Grenadine, Thyme = Make Her [verb] This Time

I really enjoyed the “[verb] the White Dog.” It uses Death’s Door White Whisky which is fermented in stainless steel and finished in uncharred oak barrels so it never gets the caramel color or smoky flavors of a traditional whisky. Personally, I wouldn’t call it a whisky, or maybe label it with an asterisk, because it’s a delicious drink and people who aren’t fans of whisky might pass it by. The “Make Her [verb] This Time” was also a favorite. The thyme and a little touch of salt in it really brings out some subtle flavors. All the drinks were perfectly balanced and should be big hits.

In addition to the new drinks and dishes, Tini is now serving late on Wednesdays with live music. Salko posted, “It’s the Tini Show starting at 10 p.m.! 3 excellent musicians, amazing cocktails, $15 wine bottles, late night grub until 11 p.m. You can’t go wrong! Tini Weenies and Fries will be served for the Music Lovers!”

(verb) the White Dog

(verb) my Green Bikini in (place)

A Classy (noun)

(noun) on the Horizon

Make Her (verb) This Time

Orange Dream Salad

The Crackling Club

April 1, 2011 0 comment

farms news

Allen Farms Wheatgrass Proves Popular

by David Dadekian January 13, 2011

written by David Dadekian

Allen Farms Wheatgrass

Deb Barrett, owner of Allen Farms in Westport, Massachusetts, wants everyone to know how good wheatgrass is for you. Stop by her table at the Wednesday or Saturday Pawtucket/Wintertime Farmers Market and Barrett has a table display and handouts that she’s printed about all the benefits of wheatgrass along with several wheatgrass juice and smoothie recipes. Barrett, already known for growing some of the best organic herbs in the area, along with her hugely successful, tasty and good for you too, pea greens, has added grasses to her crops. Cat grass, which is excellent roughage for your feline friends, and wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass may be one of the original ultra-healthy, super-nutrient, detoxification foods. According to Barrett’s research, two ounces of wheatgrass juice contains the vitamins and minerals equivalent to three pounds of organic vegetables. The juice is approximately 70% chlorophyll, making it one of the best ingestible sources of chlorophyll available. Wheatgrass can help regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, helps heal infections, scarring and ulcers, and may even help slow the aging process. As for detoxification, wheatgrass is supposed to act as a safe agent for internal cleansing with processing powers more than ten times that of long-time detox favorites like carrot juice.

In this post-holiday season, when it seems like even food lovers are doing detoxes, head on over to the Allen Farms table at the Farmers Market and check out the wheatgrass for yourself. Be advised though, on her first Saturday selling the superfood, Barrett sold out before the market ended. But she’s growing more. Allen Farms, 913 Division Rd., Westport, MA 02748. Pawtucket/Wintertime Farmers Market, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket, RI 02860.

January 13, 2011 0 comment

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