Harvesting the Year Past (by Nina Quirk)

Food had been calling my name, like a moth to a flame; I felt the need to at least test the light.
I started cooking. I contacted a family friend at The Castle Restaurant to learn the basics of classical French, Escoffier driven cuisine. I then tried my hand as an Event Chef for Boston’s most beloved caterer, The Catered Affair. While working for the two, I began immersing myself in the works of the great food writers. You know; Pollan, Nestle, Reichl, Waters, the usual suspects.

Birthing two ravenous boys during this time also lent to my newly formed food awareness. All the pregnancy “diets,” nursing “diets,” and homemade baby food finally got to me in a real way. In a sense it forced me to take a harder look into the issues surrounding the foods we are supplied. My research told me that this food was not adequate for me or my family, or you and your family.

During my usual investigations for the next best ingredient; or what I commonly equate to the nearest local farm, I found a network of like-minded people doing business my way. Small, family-owned businesses that focus on either cultivating or producing foods made from real ingredients. I felt the need to promote awareness to people who might not have access to this information or know how to look for it.

So I started working with a little friend named www.massbytes.com. A food blog was born and a writer and food activist was born. Next, a sweet deal came my way. I was invited by the charming team at Post 390 to check out their new “Farm to Post” initiative; which led me down a fateful road.

Last year drew on through a whirlwind of 8 weddings (Yes that’s right, I attended 8 weddings in 2012; 5 lined up for 2013 already!) and 6 months of “Farm to Post.” Plans surrounding my life’s purpose began to unfold right in front of me and before I knew it, I was applying for my Master’s in Gastronomy. Apparently if you’re obsessed with food and you live anywhere near Boston, one day it’ll feel like a watermelon has landed on your head and you will decide to go to Boston University. (FYI- Gastronomy is the Study of Food. If I had a nickel for every time I was asked that question I could probably give up my career now and be rich. Hmm…So maybe I shouldn’t have told you.)
Check out my student profile.

In the Fall I was accepted to this group of Gastronomic proportions. Around the same time I was featured in the “Names” section of the Boston Globe. I’m not sure who I am or why this happened but here I am.

To toast a successful year in food and hospitality, Chris Himmel, Owner and Business Development Manager for Himmel Hospitality invited my husband and I to dine with him at their eldest running establishment, Harvest in Cambridge.

A trip over the river to meet Chef Mary Dumont is my kind of celebration. We spent hours sampling some of her epic hand-crafted foods. These flavors still resonate in my mouth a few months later.

Bits of Black Truffles and Farro met like risotto on the plate. I looked at these two ingredients with unequal contempt, but as I chewed through my first bite, I knew I had made a mistake. It was heavenly and I couldn't get enough of this balanced, earthy dish. A crusty, charred Filet Mignon sat on top like a pat of butter on mashed potatoes. The richness just melted into the dish. A Bernaise drizzled on top literally was the butter.

Venison Stew I wanted to ladle into my mouth was heightened by a barrel aged bourbon broth. Creamy polenta sat in the middle, soaking in the goodness to create one elaborate bite. This type of winter comfort food could enlighten just about anyone’s senses.

Mary wowed us with her contribution from Nantucket Bay. The scallops were sweet, little treasures that should be hidden from eternity so that I may taste them forever. Okay, so I’m selfish. She complimented these gems with a bright cranberry vinaigrette and sparkly herbed hollandaise. Micro beet and turnip greens graced the top.

Many glasses of wine later, we tasted Harvest’s popularized dessert by Brian Mercury. Known for his hand crafted sea salt, this dish was described perfectly by another Gastronomy student in my favorite magazine, Edible Boston.

“Perhaps not so surprisingly, Mercury has selected a Taza-based dessert at Harvest to debut his white gold. The dessert features a chocolate cremeux—which he describes as a cross between fudge and mousse—containing a sea-salted caramel center with sea-salted caramel barley and a malted milk chocolate sauce topped with vanilla-whipped mascarpone. He uses his homemade salt exclusively in this recipe because, as he says with a smirk, “chocolate and salt go well together; salt and caramel go well together; and salt, chocolate, and caramel go well together. I wanted to showcase that and let people see [the salt].”
By Emily Gelsomin at Edible Boston

As the year has now come to an end and we move through my second year of food blogging, I hope to provide my readership with an elegant array of my gastronomy endeavors.  Perhaps I will provide you with some of my class learning’s, some of my research and of course meals upon meals of deliciously local food.