The Restaurant at Potawmack Farms

In another of our ongoing first Saturday of the month dinners out, Cyn and I took a one hour leisurely drive through the Virginia countryside to Lovettsville, VA and the Restaurant at Potowmack Farms. There, high on a hill overlooking the Potomac River, Chef Christopher Edwards treated us to what was, quite possibly, the very best restaurant meal we've had since moving to Virginia. Did you hear that Chef Patrick O'Connell?

Potowmack, named after George Washington's trading company and the local Indians of the time, is an real working farm, growing vegetables and herbs for use in the restaurant. They are committed to a farm to table, seasonal and certified organic dining experience. The menu reflects what is available from their own farm and from other local purveyors.

Before we get to the food, I need to mention one small but thoughtful touch that set the tone for the meal. When we arrived, we were greeted and seated by the owner, Beverly Billand, and presented with the evening's menu. Note the personalization at the top.

In keeping with the theme of serving what is locally available, the menus are printed daily and the chef offers a prix fixe menu (with paired wines optional), and a very nice selection of a la carte items. We both decided to go with the prix fixe menu although a few of the items on the a la carte menu were very tempting -- particularly the Briars Farmstead suckling pig. Maybe next time. Since we had the same meal (with one exception I'll note later), we'll both offer our individual comments on each course.

Amuse Bouche

Lobster beignet, sea urchin butter, jumbo crab, mustard vinaigrette

Al
Come on, really? A beignet? With lobster and crab? This was like a little bit of perfection, several bites to be more precise since the portion was very generous. The sea urchin butter added a deep richness without overwhelming the other ingredients and the whole mustard seed vinaigrette provided the acid needed to complete the dish. Oh look, there was a pretty little purple flower too. Simply stated, I wanted more of this.

Cyn 
Yeah, what he said. The beignet was piping hot and full of chunks of lobster. Crispy outside, creamy inside. The crab was succulent and sweet and topped the beignet after it was tossed in the urchin butter. As a gardener, I deeply appreciated the fresh flowers adorning certain dishes on a visual level and as an eater, they added a beautiful freshness to the dish.  Could have embarrassed myself by climbing into chefs lap and eating these babies as they came out of the oil.  I don't say this often, but this was a perfect amuse, I couldn't wait for the next course.

Crudite

Watermelon radish, asparagus, red cabbage, baby carrot, kimchi broth, garden herbs

Al
I don't use the word pretty very often, but this dish was pretty, and right in the sweet spot for a restaurant that specializes in serving local and fresh ingredients. Everything seemed to be fresh out of the ground. Not quite a salad but more than the name crudite would typically imply, every element in this bowl was meant for each other. I particularly enjoyed the crisp purple cabbage that seemed designed to carry the kimchi broth in it's folds. I kept hoping everyone in the restaurant would simultaneously turn away so I could pick up the bowl and drink the broth -- didn't happen.

Cyn
Umm, yeah, what he said.  Kimchi broth was a revelation and why didn't I think of this?  The salty umami-ness of it was the seasoning for the crispy veg, and the watermelon radish was luscious as it had soaked up some of the broth but kept a nice toothiness.  Balance was perfect and the dish was incredibly 'clean' - this chef doesn't feel the need to add more frou frou crap to create a masterpiece.  Great example of less is more.

Carolina Golden Rice Middlins

soft cooked farm egg, mirepoix vegetables, Ayrshire chicken foot gravy, aged jalapeno

Al
My favorite course of the night, and that's saying a lot! The gold rice middlins were a revelation to me. They a a shorter grain rice, sometimes called "rice grits", or broken rice, that were perfectly suited to taking on flavors such as the chicken foot gravy that made this dish quite spectacular. The depth of flavor the chef developed here was almost the essence of chicken and the foot itself was wonderfully crispy on the outside without giving up that gelatinous quality that defines them. Note to the observant reader: I don't eat eggs, so I had this course without the soft cooked farm egg and wasn't clever enough to take a photo of Cynthia's, which had the egg. One last note, I don't know what aged jalapenos are, but they were perfectly suited to add both a little heat and acid to this dish. I need to find out what they are and where to get them.

Cyn
At this point, after two fabu courses, I'm expecting a lull in the action.  Can they possibly maintain this level of delicious?  No. They can't.  They take delicious and crank it to crazy fabulous.  The rice middlins I could eat every day and never tire of them.  Rich with a slight chewiness, drenched in the chicken foot gravy, my mouth is watering just writing about them.  And with the fine dice of the vinegary jalapenos and the river of molten egg yolk, pretty damn perfect.  Balance, balance, balance.  I should mention that this dish is served with one of the feet from the chicken foot gravy.  If you're not into chicken feet, I just happen to be, but if you aren't or haven't had the experience yet, this should be the chicken foot that you give your virginity to.  Trust me.

Intermezzo

sour cherry sorbet, rosemary blossom, creme fraiche

Al

I'm going to be very picky here. This was the one course that wasn't a home run for me. The sorbet has a pleasant enough sour cherry flavor but the texture seemed a bit off, icy, more like a granita than a sorbet. The creme fraiche was at the bottom of the frozen shot glass and was rock hard. Like I said, I'm being picky here.

Cyn

Yup, this was a hiccup.  It was palate cleansing and I enjoyed the hit of rosemary blossom astringency, but the creme fraiche didn't make sense - we're cleansing not coating, right?  Sour cherry flavor was fine and Al's right about the texture - we have an Italian gelato maker in house and he eats a lot of sorbet.

Hedgeapple Farm Beef Short Ribs

parsley potatoes, red wine marmalade, mushroom meleange

Al

Hedgeapple Farm is a local (Buckeystown, MD) has been in existence since 1731and has been continuously operated by the Jorgenson family since 1956. I am not a huge beef eater, but these reminded me of just how good a well prepared beef dish can be. These were everything good short ribs should be: succulent, super tender, perfectly balance between lean and fat and just bursting with real beef flavor. The red wine marmalade added a slightly sweet element that complemented the the richness of the ribs.

Cyn

Al forgot to mention the potatoes were butter poached and the short rib was sublimely glazed.  There are a lot of short ribs out there nowadays, they're trendy.  There aren't a lot of memorable short ribs out there. I knew the second my fork hit this bad boy that I would be remembering this rib - it sunk in, but there was a little resistance, and when I pulled, the meat parted and hallelujah! the juices ran.  Juice!  In a shortrib. Amazing. The juice and the marmalade and the butter from the potatoes, oh my.

Cherry Glen Monocacy Gold

andrew crush's smowmegeddon honey, beet meringue, pomegranate, orange

Al

Those of you that follow along know that when it comes to dessert, I prefer cheese over sweets anytime. If you're following ever more closely, you know that I have mentioned Cherry Glen cheeses more than once before. So, I was more than happy to see that our dessert course consisted on their Monocacy gold, a soft ripened goat cheese! Paired perfectly with what seemed to be a raw honey, candied orange rind, beet meringue and pomegranate, this, for me, was the perfect finishing course.

Cyn

Cherry Glen cheeses have an excellent depth of flavor tempered with a grassy backnote and a fresh cheese loveliness.  Paired perfectly with the honey and candied orange rind and my favorite bites were all that topped with pomegranate seeds.  Creamy, rich, sweet, chewy with a bright crispy pop.

I'm all for beets, love them.  This beet meringue did not work for me.  At all.  I tried to like them, I really did. But they were just so....beet-y.  I vote for a switch to a nut meringue, or perhaps mint.  Fennel?  Fennel would be perfect, candied fennel seeds even perfect-er.  I have my dessert for the next dinner party.

Al/Cyn

The menu called out one more item, a Friandise, which tuns out to translate to something small and dainty. To close the meal, we were served what was obviously a house made marshmallow that had been sprinkled with pink peppercorns. It was, as the menu indicated, a sweet surprise.

Al - the last word

I'll make this simple. One of the best meals I've ever had. We are already planning our return and will likely take advantage of an offer that the chef would prepare a vegetarian tasting menu if ordered in advance. 

Cyn - the last word

We didn't mention beverages, but upon arrival, I indulged in a Pimm's Cup cocktail that has to be mentioned - it was sprinkled with pink peppercorns which were a delight and a wonderful surprise. I should have known then that this restaurant was an incredible find and that I would have a truly delicious and memorable meal.  I can't wait for my next visit.

Forbidden black rice with scallions and sweet potatoes...

It was another Meatless Monday and Cyn was looking for something new to make for us. We've committed to trying to not go back to the "same old" things each week. After all, one of the benefits of Meatless Monday should be to expand your horizons into new vegetables, grains and other non-meat products.

One of her favorite sources of inspiration is Epicurious.com. This time found she stumbled onto a recipe which included a somewhat unusual ingredient - forbidden black rice. Forbidden rice is a strain of Chinese black rice which is considered to be both food and medicine in China. Forbidden rice takes on a dark purple color when cooked because it is rich in anthocyanins, which act as powerful antioxidants. The rice contains more vitamin B, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc than white rice.

The ":forbidden" name comes from the belief that, in ancient China, this strain was reserved for the Emperor and his subjects were forbidden from consuming it. It should be noted that Lotus Foods first introduced Forbidden Rice into the USA in 1995 and has trademarked the term.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Epicurious.com 


Yields: 4 servings


Ingredients
3/4 cup Chinese black (forbidden) rice
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 scallions, chopped
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), cut to 1/2" pieces
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 " pieces


Preparation

• Rinse rice well under cold water in a sieve. Bring rice,water and 1/2 tsp salt to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook covered until tender and most of the water has been absorbed (about 30 mins). Let stand covered and off heat for 10 additional mins.

• While the rice cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat and saute scallions, leeks, ginger and sweet potato, stirring until coated well, for about 2 mins. Reduce heat to moderate and add remaining salt and pepper to taste. Cook covered, stirring occasionally until potato is tender.

• Add rice and toss gently to combine. 

The rice turns a very deep purple color when cooked, has a noticeably nutty taste and a chewy texture that is reminiscent of wild rice. The vegetables add a great sweet element to the dish. 

The other course of the evening was a salad of arugula, Cherry Glen fresh goat cheese, toasted walnuts and blood orange sections. We tend to eat our salads as the second course, preferring the lighter course to finish the meal. Cyn made a sherry vinaigrette dressing that perfectly complimented the salad.

After three and a half months of Meatless Mondays I am totally convinced that the flavor profiles we've been developing in these meals are every bit as satisfying as those in meals containing meat!