Princeton resident Fran McManus and her partner, Hopewell resident Wendy Rickard, have created a series of books devoted to eating foods that are in season and locally grown.
By: Pat Tanner
It is more than ironic, during these barren winter days, that Princeton resident Fran McManus finds herself cooking up summertime delights such as soft-shell crab, roasted corn soup with heirloom tomatoes and fresh pesto, and plum sorbet.
It is ironic because Ms. McManus and her business partner, Wendy Rickard of Hopewell, are editors of a series of books devoted to eating foods that are in season and locally grown. They are currently pesto-deep into their second book, to be titled, "Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic," which they hope will be out in the fall.
Their previous book, titled, "Cooking Fresh from the Bay Area," was published early last year, and was the first publication from Eating Fresh Guides, the name of the pair’s business. That book, which is available locally at Micawber’s in Princeton, included recipes from the San Francisco area’s best known chefs who are dedicated to eating local, organic produce at its seasonal best.
The mid-Atlantic book will include recipes from about 25 well-known chefs from the D.C. area, Richmond and Charlottesville, Va., Baltimore and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, including, for example, Jimmy Sneed, the award-winning chef from Richmond’s The Frog and the Redneck restaurant.
"The way we identified the chefs was to talk to farmers in the region, to get them to identify the chefs who were buying from them buying local," said Fran McManus, taking a break from recipe testing. She emphasized that chefs are chosen not so much for their celebrity status as their dedication to patronizing local organic farmers.
"Our principal resource in D.C. was the Tuscarora Co-op in south-central Pennsylvania. I also spoke with the woman who heads a program called BuyGreen Virginia" similar to the Jersey Fresh program.
"It is a joint effort with the Virginia Association of Biological Farmers and with Mothers and Others for a Sustainable Planet," she said.
The Virginia representative of the latter organization, Eugenia Anderson-Ellis, told Ms. McManus about an annual event in Richmond where they pair chefs and farmers. That is how Ms. McManus got the name of Robert Ramsey, executive chef of the Fox Head Inn, which is located in a small town outside of Richmond.
"Ramsey is quite great," Ms. McManus said. "Some chefs are more involved in buying local than others. This chef, on each recipe he submitted, he put ‘recipe terroir,’ meaning, of the earth. He is saying that the taste of food is dictated by where it is grown. I thought that was great."
She related a further example of how chefs all over the country are awakening to the influence of local conditions on agricultural products. "Joel Salatin, a Virginia farmer, told me this story," she began. "He was selling his eggs to a chef and he explained that because his chickens are allowed to roam and graze, the eggs have a different taste at different times of the year. The chef said that he was comfortable with that because where he had trained in Switzerland they had used different recipes for May eggs and August eggs and November eggs."
With her list of possible chef-contributors in hand, Fran McManus then sent each one a copy of her San Francisco book and a letter outlining what she and Ms. Rickard were planning. "We invited them to participate, asking for four recipes one for each season, " she said. "Then I followed up with a phone call. Not one chef said no! They’re all so committed to this idea of using local product."
But as simple as the concept of buying local, eating seasonal sounds, it is actually quite challenging to put into action at least in terms of a regional cookbook. Ms. McManus explained: "I have to go over the recipes and make assessments on each. For example, one is for peach soup with lime. Now, limes are not a Virginia product. But the recipe uses a lot of peaches, which are. Plus, it is delicious so I kept it in. Often my decision is based on the percentage of ingredients that can’t possibly be local. For example, olive oil is not made in Virginia.
"Seafood is my biggest problem," she continued. "For example, salmon is not a mid-Atlantic product. It is neither caught nor farmed in this area. Plus, we don’t want to promote using an endangered product, although we are not trying to be so purist. We are just trying to get people to think about what they are using, how it is produced, and where it comes from."
In the end, she kept in two salmon recipes. Then there is the matter of assessing recipes for the availability of the ingredients they specify. "One of Robert Ramsey’s recipes includes all-natural bison ribs from Buffalo Hill, a farm in Madison, Va. Their buffalo meat happens to be available in supermarkets all over Virginia," but certainly not here in New Jersey, she noted.
"When a chef is that specific on what I know to be a hard-to-source item, I know it is worth searching out."
Fran McManus has personally tested each recipe. She characterizes herself as a home cook who is "totally dependent on recipes" and doesn’t interpret anything. For the more complicated recipes she has a professional chef on call as recipe tester: Linda Twining of Princeton’s Twin Fish to Go, a home-meal replacement service.
The Eating Fresh Guides duo also uses the services of a recipe editor. Even the most straightforward sounding recipes can prove problematic to the home cook. Discussing the bison ribs recipe, which is given below in its edited form, Ms. McManus recalled, "This recipe seemed simple and clear at first. But I found myself asking, what do I do with the bacon after I render the fat."
The chef hadn’t specified, but after testing, she and Ms. Twining decided to include it with other ingredients that work their way into the pot of veal stock.
In her quest for specialty items or out-of-season produce, Ms. McManus has found several local resources to be especially helpful. "Nassau Street Seafood is a great resource for both seafood and produce," she said. At the beginning of January, for example, the store’s manager, Colin Rooney, managed to get her soft-shell crabs, and oysters from a particular bay.
She also cited the Whole Earth Center and McCaffrey’s Market for their produce sections. "I needed a lot of fava beans at one point, and McCaffrey’s ordered me a case," she said. "Another time, I put them on a mission to find arugula. They went up and down the chain of suppliers and didn’t give up until they had found me the best case of arugula."
She is especially beholden to Laurent Chapuis of the Princeton Corkscrew wine shop. "When a chef specifies a particular wine to accompany a recipe, I don’t like it to be one that is too expensive. Laurent tells me why the chef recommended a particular wine, what its characteristics are. Then he gives me recommendations in three price ranges. He also is big on terroir, so he understands the chefs’ commitment."
Fran McManus came to the world of food writing via work she has done in the area of organic farming. Over the last 20 years she worked on behalf of the Whole Earth Center and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey. "Farming came first, food came second," she said. "When Wendy and I did the San Francisco book, I got more involved in the culinary world. It’s interesting because to me local and organic is where the food world and the gourmet food world meet."
BRAISED BUFFALO HILL SHORT RIBS
(Robert Ramsey, executive chef, Fox Head Inn, Manakin-Sabot, Va.; From the forthcoming "Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic," Fran McManus & Wendy Rickard, editors)
Note from the chef: Our primary source for bison, Buffalo Hill (formerly known as Georgetown Farm), is in the mountains near Charlottesville, Va. Turnips and fingerling potatoes, grown by many of the small farmers from Manakintowne to Nelson County, are frequently sold at farmers markets.
5 pounds bison short ribs 2-inch cut, washed, and tied in three-rib portions (see note, below)
Salt
8 ounces smoked bacon, chopped into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
1 cup dry red wine
2 quarts rich veal stock (see note, below) or beef consommé with tomato chips (see recipe, below)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried juniper berries
4 small (walnut-to golf ball-sized) turnips, scrubbed and trimmed
8 fingerling or Yukon gold potatoes, washed thoroughly
1. Pat short ribs dry with paper towels. Lightly salt meat on all sides.
2. Render bacon fat in a 10-inch iron skillet over medium heat. Remove bacon pieces and place in a stockpot. Raise heat under skillet and add peppercorns. Add bundled ribs, two at a time, and sear on all sides. Remove browned ribs to stockpot and repeat until all ribs are seared. Remove peppercorns and add to stockpot.
3. Pour excess fat from skillet and deglaze with red wine.
4. Place ribs and deglazing liquid in stockpot, cover with veal stock. Bring to a simmer over high heat for 5 minutes, skimming any fat that rises to the top. Reduce heat to simmer and add tomato paste and juniper. Cook for 90 minutes.
5. Add turnips and potatoes. Add enough veal stock to keep ribs and vegetables covered. After two hours, check ribs for doneness. They should be fork-tender.
6. Place ribs and vegetables in large, heated bowls and ladle braising liquid over all. Serve with crusty bread, and a 1998 Rhône wine.
Serves 6 hungry people
Note: Buffalo Hill bison short ribs can be ordered via the Internet at www.eatlean.com, or by phoning (888) EAT-LEAN. Rich veal stock is available frozen from Bon Appetit in the Princeton Shopping Center.
TOMATO CHIPS
(From "Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic")
Tomato chips are easy to make, keep forever in the freezer, and add a boost of color, flavor and body to soups, sauces, chilis, stews or anywhere you need a rich, roasted tomato flavor.
1 can tomato paste
1. Spoon 2-ounce dabs of tomato paste onto a well-greased, non-stick cookie sheet or frying pan.
2. Flatten each dab to approximately ¼-inch thickness with the back of the spoon.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the edges are dark and crispy. Turn over with a spatula, and brown the other side until it is almost black. The chips will look like leather.
4. Let cool; store unused chips in a freezer bag.
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