Post 390 Cycles through the Local Food System (by Nina Quirk)

Like any good tourist in a foreign land I enjoy sampling the food. However over the past year, thanks to Post 390, I've traveled New England’s abundant farms without ever having to leave Boston. I have been enchanted while tasting some of the area’s finest ingredients. Fruit, berry and vegetable farms in the summer. Game and pork in the fall. Dairy farms and shell fisheries in the winter. Seeing food in light of what’s available month to month has helped me become aware of the species we cultivate here in the northeast. As luck would have it, we are rich in food and it is a great culinary tradition like Post 390 is hosting, that helps me to appreciate the abundance.

Okay, so after seven months of “Farm to Post” receptions, I arrived late to one. And, what’s worse about my tardiness is that I missed cocktail hour. Cocktail hour listed an hors d’oeuvre called Redman Cheddar-Pecan Shortbread with Apple Butter. Surely it was my loss.

I’m grateful they know me quite well after all these dinners. My hands were greeted with my favorite cocktail, the Provencal Gimlet. Quietly sipping, I reflected on the menu for the rest of the evening. Five more courses to indulge in. And what is even more exciting about this month’s farm is that they are featuring a Kosher Raw Milk cheese maker who pasture feeds his quaint lot on a 100 year old dairy farm.
Oh yeah, we were all in for a treat. I sat next to my favorite restaurant publicist Martha Sullivan and Sales Consultant Shane Brunette of Baldor Boston, a specialty foods distributor. Across the table sat Alan Glustoff and his wife Barbara of 5 Spoke Creamery, Meghan from the Travel, Wine, and Dine blog, and next to her, Globe Correspondent Jane Dornbusch.

While the minds at the table were certainly not simple; the table was set for cheese and cracker conversation.

So we had at it. Three sips deep into discussing the benefits of raw cow milk and the rise of urban farming and I realized the immense wealth of knowledge that sat at this table. Inquiring minds want to know, (and that’s me!) so I started asking questions.

I think I can at least speak for the central group at the table in saying we all learned a great deal about cheese making, land policy issues, how competitive the cheese market is, and Lance Armstrong’s drug scandal. After all this hard thinking, it was time to feast. However my mind could not rest. I thought about all the hands that contributed to the meal. How many people were doing a job they loved for wages below what they deserve? How many people can go back to work if we just started to view farming as a decent way to make a living. I started to annoy myself with all this thinking; it was time to shut up and eat.

Cauliflower and 5 Spoke Heritage Cheese Soup was laid down in front of us. In the middle sat a Brambly Farms pulled pork and Kimball Fruit Farm apple fritter; both ingredients from past feature farms. The stock of the soup was made with Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale by Berkshire Brewing Company and Brambly Farms bacon. With ingredients like this, need I say more? I did hear lots of “Oooh’s” and “Aaah’s” as people ate, if that is any indication.

Roasted Monkfish with Foraged Mushroom-Talcott Gratin, and Lobster Demi-Glace arrived right as I finished up the delicious glass of Godello, Rafael Placios, Louro, Valdeorras, Spain 2011. A glass of 2010 Frech Chenin Blanc, Marc Bredif, Vouvray Loire was awaiting me right away.

As we toasted the chef, we scoffed down this ‘poor man’s lobster.’ Monkfish is often called this because of its meaty, succulent texture. Beneath the fish swam three types of juicy wild mushrooms, in a puddle of melted, cheesy goodness. Succulent fare indeed.

The next course brought some innovation. It was comprised of a Rabbit and Welsh Cheddar Tamale served next to a marinated, roasted red pepper salad. This tamale had an authentic feel sitting in its husky jacket, busting at the seams with a mixture of pulled rabbit, masa, and 5 Spoke Welsh cheddar cheese. The earthy flavor matched well with the bright acidity of the peppers.

Herb Roasted Veal medallions and  panko encrusted Veal Sweetbreads sat on top of a bed of Orecchiette pasta in a Broccoli and Crawford Cloth Bound Cheddar Cheese Sauce. A veal jus was drizzled over the top. Layers upon layers of goodness. Each bite was delightfully paired next to a glass of Italian 2009 Barbera D’Alba, Sottimano, Pairolero.  The delicate red wine complimented this luxuriously rich dish.

Dessert time had come and so did the end of our enlightened conversation. I bid farewell to my new friends as we all raced to eat our Welsh Cheddar Bavarian. Flan-like custard was topped with Honey Apricots and Cinnamon Phyllo Crunch that tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch the cereal except this dessert was made from real ingredients. Certainly this was a perfect ending to the feast of our senses.