New Year's Resolution

My New Year's Resolution of 2011: Start a food blog. Why? I want to chronicle all of the eating, drinking and farming we're doing at my Fourth Floor Farm.





Meal #1
New Year's Eve dinner was made in a stranger's kitchen on a electric range (gasp): Papparadelle with Chestnuts, Mushrooms and Spring Peas.

I know what you're thinking. The traditionalists are crying out, "But that's just a variation on the classic Italian dish without the boar!" (Yes, it is. This is the burden I bear of having vegetarian and Jewish friends.) The seasonally-conscious folks are wondering how I got spring peas in winter, or are accusing me of unsustainable practices. But no! I was fortunate enough to shop at The Berry Farm, a market that was plentifully stocked from its greenhouses in the back.

The hero of this recipe: DRY VERMOUTH.

In an attempt to keep this dish on the lighter side, I took out the heavy cream I would normally have used to bind all of the components' flavors together. So naturally the dish was missing something.

Culinary math:
 Sweetness (Chestnuts) + Texture (Pasta) + Savory (Mushrooms) + Freshness (Spring Peas) - Binding component (Cream) = Lackluster pasta

BUT

Substitute Dry Vermouth = FABULOUS

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