Author: pam-jiranek

Note: This recipe is part of a series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2003.

Sure, it would be fun to be jet off to Munich, but it’s a heck of a lot easier to hop in your car and jet up Route 29 to the Bavarian Chef in Madison. There you can eat your fill of German cuisine, wash it down with a stein of your favorite golden beverage, admire the alpine murals and pretend you’ve traveled to the Old Country. Owner and chef Jerome Thalwitz shared a seasonal soup recipe for readers to create in their own kitchens. (Dirndl and lederhosen optional.)
 
Bavarian Chef’s Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 lb. butter
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 qt. chicken stock
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. curry powder
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. thyme leaves
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
1 qt. heavy cream
 
Sauté onion, carrot, celery and garlic in butter until onion is translucent. Add squash. Cover with chicken stock. Season with salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, curry powder, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Boil until squash is tender. Mix cornstarch with water and add to soup. Bring soup back to a boil. Add heavy cream. Blend in blender until smooth.
 
Garnish:

1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup pecans
2 Tbs. sugar
salt
cayenne pepper
sliced scallions
 
Mix melted butter, pecans, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper together and toast in 500° oven until lightly browned. To serve, sprinkle scallions over soup. Top with toasted pecan garnish. (The bed of scallions will keep your pecans from sinking!) Yields 10 servings.

Note: This recipe is part of a year-end series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2002.

Pizza Bella‘s North location in Seminole Plaza may have closed, but there was a lively bar scene early one Friday evening two years ago when we dashed in to pick up a take-and-bake pizza. Because it was the Virginia Film Festival weekend and the restaurant was just around the corner from the airport, we had our fingers crossed for a star sighting. Alas, the only stars we found were the star anise in cream sauce that accompanies this pasta recipe shared with us by head chef Willie Manning. Thanks to what Manning describes as a very authentic but easy dish to whip up at home—"really a no-brainer"—at least you can be the star of your kitchen.  These days, you can take your chances on Charlottesville celebrity-spotting at the other Pizza Bella location, still standing on Avon Street.

Spicy Italian Sausage with Penne in Star Anise Cream Sauce

Penne pasta, precooked and reserved (enough for four servings)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2-2 lbs. spicy bulk Italian sausage, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup red onions, diced
1/2 cup scallions, diced
1/2 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
6-8 star anise pieces
1 Tbs. minced garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 stick unsalted butter
6-8 oz. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (Manning uses Chablis)

In a large, heated sauté pan, combine butter, olive oil, onions, scallions and mushrooms. Cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds to one minute. Deglaze with wine and reduce by about one-half. Add cream, star anise and sausage. Reduce until sauce is thick and sausage is light pink in the middle. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove anise pieces. Add precooked penne and serve. Makes four servings.

Note: This recipe is part of a year-end series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2003.

Just like at a true bazaar, there’s a variety of unusual items found up the stairs at the Tea Bazaar, on the Downtown Mall across from the Nook. The Tea Bazaar has become a source not only for many types of tea and nourishment, but also live music and an artsy wavelength. As for the tea, nothing here comes in a paper packet, including the chai, which is Hindi for tea. Typical Indian tea is strong assam tea with milk (Indian milk has higher fat content) and sugar but, as Frankovich found, "it’s very subjective…everyone does it differently." And that includes the Tea Bazaar and their version of Masala Chai, which simply means a tea of many spices. And, in keeping with tradition, it’s a little different every day and even at different times of the day. So, no matter how yours comes out at home, it can’t be wrong.

Tea Bazaar’s Masala Chai

Broken leaf assam tea
Whole milk
Fresh ginger
Cardamom
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Clove
Fennel

Frankovich says there are not really "scientific units of measurement" used to make the tea, so adjust it according to your taste. They use a tea ball when brewing the tea, but you can use loose tea and strain it when it’s done. Blend spices in a bean grinder until powdered. Stir into brewing pot with water and tea and steep 15 minutes until "spices are assimilated." Then add whole milk in equal part with tea (they sometimes use whipping cream to thicken it), and add brown sugar to taste. For added texture, whip the tea until there’s a nice froth on top.

Note: This recipe is one of a year-end series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2002.

Think pumpkins are just for Jack-O-Lanterns and pie? Think again. Trae Tomko, sous chef at the Blue Light Grill on the Downtown Mall, has a tasty pumpkin bisque recipe that’ll make you wish you’d saved all the sticky, seedy pumpkin meat that went out with the trash after Halloween. Using ideas from a Culinary Institute of America cookbook and a few tricks from "Mom’s old pumpkin pie recipe," Tomko’s bisque was so popular when it was served at Blue Light that it reportedly brought in a lot of calls besides our own. "I took advantage of a seasonal thing," he says. Get yourself in a seasonal mood by warming up with a big bowl of bisque.—Pam Jiranek

Blue Light Grill’s Pumpkin Bisque

Note: This recipe makes about three gallons. Tomko says readers may cut the proportions as needed. He also says if you use canned pumpkin, use less water in the stock.

1 leek, diced
1 bunch celery, diced
1 Vidalia onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
a pinch of garlic
a pinch of fresh nutmeg
a little brown sugar
1/4 lb. butter
2 gallons water
8 oz. tomato juice
1/2 cup flour
1 pumpkin (Tomko’s was about 11 lbs.)
4 oz. heavy whipping cream
thyme
salt and pepper

To make the stock, add all the ends from vegetables to about two gallons of water, seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper. Let simmer until ready for use.

In a large pot, slowly cook leek, celery, onion, carrots, garlic, nutmeg and sugar in butter until everything wilts and there’s a "sort of syrupyness" to it. Add tomato juice and let seep briefly before slowly adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour to achieve a "wet sand consistency." Meanwhile, cut top off pumpkin and separate seeds from flesh. Tomko used an ice cream scoop to "wear away the inside" and get about 1 1/2 lbs. flesh. (He carved a Jack-O-Lantern afterwards.) Add pumpkin flesh and vegetable stock to roux in pot. Bring to a slow boil, stirring often. Let simmer to reduce, about 15-20 mins. Pour soup into blender or food processor, add cream, blend, and then strain through "not too fine" strainer. Tomko "after-seasons" with fresh nutmeg, salt and white pepper, then tops the bisque with toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpernickel croutons.

Note: This recipe is part of a year-end series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2004.

Easy to overlook in the Gleason’s building on Garrett Street, Baker’s Palette stands ready to satisfy cravings from the sweet and flaky to the hot and frothy. Open Saturdays and Mondays from 9am to 3pm and Tuesdays through Fridays from 9am to 5pm, the Palette has breakfast pastries and sandwiches, lattés and cappuccinos, as well as a full line of sandwiches for the lunch crowd and homemade hot chocolate to warm up those brisk mornings.
A longtime customer favorite is the Palette’s fresh-baked cornbread, the recipe for which co-owner Tom Cervelloni has graciously chosen to share with our readers. It’s delicious and a little unexpected for holiday shindigs.

Baker’s Palette’s Cornbread

4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. sugar
1 stick softened unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups yellow corn meal
4 Tbs. baking powder
6 eggs
1 qt. buttermilk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen is O.K.)
1/2 cup chopped green chiles (canned will work fine)

Cream butter, sugar and salt. Add eggs one at a time until mixed in. Mix together flour, corn meal and baking powder. Combine the two mixtures, alternating with buttermilk, starting with the dry ingredients. Stir in corn, cheese and chiles. Pour batter into hot cast iron pans sprayed with pan coating and bake at 350° until center springs back when touched lightly. Baking note: Cervelloni says, "A cake pan will work, but cast iron works best—just don’t overfill the pan, as it will be raw in the center."

Asking to lick the spoon may be uncouth, but that’s just what you’ll want to do if you’re lucky enough to watch Jiyeon Lee, Hamiltons’ new pastry chef, prepare her delectable Chocolate Tart with Almond Crust.
The recipe’s ingredients—sugar, butter, chocolate and almonds—conjure up everything that is sweet and rich-tasting about summer desserts. “It’s a slight twist on classic French pastry,” Lee says. The “twist” in the short dough crust is almond extract, which adds an “even more crumbly, yet very delightful, almond flavor and taste” when paired with chocolate, she says. Hamiltons’ diners can be forgiven if they feel tempted to skip right past the Pan Roasted Jumbo Lump Crabcake or Pistachio-Crusted Rack of Lamb to get to Lee’s delicious creation.
There are two main components to this recipe, which yields one 9" tart. But, Lee says, “you can make any size you want. You can make small, or you can make big—then you can cut it and serve it that way.”—Jennifer Pullinger

Hamilton’s Chocolate Tart with Almond Crust
Almond Crust
1/2 cup almonds (skinned and slivered)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter (cubed and chilled)
1 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbs. ice water

Process the first three ingredients in a food processor until fine, then add the flour and butter. Hit pulse until butter chunks are the size of a small pea. Add the almond extract, and then ice water gradually until the dough comes together. Once that is done, take the dough out to a lightly floured surface and give it five gentle kneads. Pat the dough into a disk and wrap it with plastic wrap. Let it rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
Next, spray the 9" tart pan with nonstick spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough to 1/8" thickness and chill it at least half an hour in the refrigerator. Line a 9" tart pan with the dough and blind bake with pie weights (To blind bake, lay parchment paper over the uncooked crust, then place pie weights or dried beans on top of the parchment to prevent swelling). When the edges get lightly golden, remove the pie weights. Return the tart pan to the oven until the crust is golden overall. Allow the crust to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache Filling
1 cup bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 cup plus 1 Tbs. heavy cream
6 Tbs. unsalted butter (room temperature)

Chop the chocolate into small pieces, then place in a work bowl and add corn syrup. Bring the cream to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Add cream to the chocolate mixture, let sit for a couple of minutes, and then mix it gently but thoroughly with a whisk until smooth. While the ganache is still warm, add the soft butter and mix until fully incorporated.
To assemble the tart, pour the warm ganache into the cooled tart shell. Let the tart set in the refrigerator until firm. Serve with fresh whipped cream.
For an extra citrusy kick, Lee suggests adding the zest of four oranges to the ganache immediately after adding the butter.

Splitsville

What better way to relax on a hot summer’s afternoon than with a favorite ice cream treat? Well, Jeff Turner, owner of Dips & Sips, has just the thing for you: their “traditional” banana split. Even better, Dips & Sips has tables both inside and out, so you can enjoy your gooey treat in the sun or out, and split it with whomever you’d like. As Turner says, “We get a lot of people who share.” On the day we reached Turner at his shop in Seminole Commons, he sounded as cool and smooth as the ice cream he was scooping (even though the sinkhole under 29 South had just decided to resurface, or re-subsurface, right out in front of the parking lot). With temperatures in the 90s, and the temperatures of the ensnarled motorists undoubtedly higher, Turner was nothing but pleasant. Maybe some kind soul will bring cones of Superman or Bear Claw out to the sidewalk and help melt away the road rage.

Dips & Sips’ Traditional Banana Split
1 ripe banana, split lengthwise
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 scoop strawberry ice cream
1 scoop chocolate ice cream
1–2 oz. ea. chocolate syrup, strawberry topping and pineapple topping (Turner recommends Hershey’s for the chocolate syrup and Smucker’s for the fruit toppings)
2 tsps. diced nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts)
3 “good-size” squirts or dollops of whipped cream
3 maraschino cherries

Place the banana in the dish, with ice cream along top. Drizzle with syrup and toppings. Turner usually puts the chocolate syrup on the vanilla, the strawberry topping on the strawberry, and the pineapple topping on the chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle nuts over top, add whipped cream, and place one cherry on top of each whipped cream squirt. Serves 1-2.

A few weeks ago, the local heroes chosen as this year’s C-VILLE 20 were feted at a reception on top of the Live Arts building. Despite occasional rain, and with the help of a beautiful rainbow, the crowd enjoyed a delightful evening, thanks especially to the inspired cocktails and cuisine provided by Jeannie Brown, the hardworking and talented owner of Kiki. Brown gets a workout with every cocktail she prepares, and we are the lucky recipients of the fruits (pun fully intended) of her labor. Each cocktail is individually mixed using fresh-squeezed-while-you-watch juices, just as the dishes offered at Kiki are handmade every day with fresh ingredients.
    Brown feels she’s on the leading edge of a trend toward making cocktails the old-fashioned way. “I like to preserve the integrity of the cocktails and make them the way there were meant to be made,” she tells us. Kiki, on Fifth Street SE, serves cocktails and a variety of dishes (such as hummus, marinated flank steak, and not-to-be-missed chunky guacamole) Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5:30pm until 2am. Brown also wants thirsty concert-goers to know that she will be open anytime there’s a show at the Pavilion. In order to make this “fabulous” Grapefruit Basil Limeade the way you’d get it at Kiki, you may have to hit a kitchen supplies store to purchase a muddler—and don’t forget the fresh ingredients! “No substituting Ruby Red and Rose’s Lime,” Brown admonishes. Believe us when we say that the results are well worth it.

Kiki’s Grapefruit Basil Limeade
12 oz. glasses
shaker tin
a muddler (a wooden drink mixing stick)
1 1/2 oz. No. 10 Tanqueray gin
juice of 1 whole grapefruit
juice of 1/2 lime
2 large or 4 small basil leaves
1 tsp. simple syrup. (“Simple syrup is simple. Three to 1 sugar to hot water!”)

In 12 oz. glass, add simple syrup, lime juice and basil. Muddle (“kind of press down and twist your wrist,” Brown explains). Pack glass with ice, add gin and grapefruit juice. Shake well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a pretty basil leaf. “And a long bright green straw would be great too!” Makes one drink.
    Brown has several suggestions for making your cocktail party a success. First, “get lots of these ingredients and put them in nice bowls for your guests, so everyone can enjoy all the good smells from the fresh basil leaves and the cut halves of fruit. Plus, it’s so pretty!”
    Another useful tip: Using fresh ingredients can be tricky, because not all fruit and herbs are as fresh or juicy as others. So if your grapefruits are small, make sure to add a tad more, and try to find fragrant basil and extra-juicy limes. Finally, a “great complement” to this drink is “The Bull,” which consists of fresh mozzarella balls cut to bite size, grape tomatoes cut in half, lots of basil leaves, a small dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and baguette slices. “Have it all near your bar so all those great fresh sights and smells make everyone hungry and happy!” Brown says.