What a great week for a foodie. My friend Michael Harris came to Hanover and a weekend at The Beechmont, bringing with him a sampling of his wonderful artisanal cheeses. Michael amazes me. His ice cream shop, now in its second year on Warren Street in Hudson, New York, serves up salted colossal pistachio, black raspberry chip, and many other “just-what-you-want” flavors of ice cream at Lick. As if a shop isn’t enough, he decided to buy some goats last spring and started Bench 8 Creamery. My husband and I first feasted on an ash-covered bloomy rind semi-aged cheese he calls Cloud Nine. Yum. I crumbled a feta over fresh green beans one night for dinner, and tossed a chevre into a veggie pasta dish the following night. We still have a Banon, which is a cheese wrapped in a brandy-soaked grape leaf. Michael and his partner Christopher sell the cheese at a number of farm markets in Hudson and the surrounding area. If you’re in Hudson, be sure to stop by Lick for ice cream, too!
As if cheese wasn’t enough, I took a road trip with a good friend into the D.C. area this week to stock up on spices from Penzeys. Oh, I could shop online, but going into the store and seeing and smelling all those spices makes a girl smile. I was long overdue for cleaning the cupboard and I am now ready for most any recipe calling for ground red chipotle, smoked Spanish paprika, and India Tellicherry peppercorns. I have a huge bottle of double strength vanilla, too. If you have a retail Penzeys near you I consider you a lucky person.
Peaches are plentiful at the farm markets this week in south central Pennsylvania. They’re really juicy this year, the kind that run all over your hands and chin when eating. I made my first peach clafouti of the summer with these bursting-with-flavor peaches, and decided maybe you’d like to try one, too, and am sharing the recipe. Apple harvest is just around the corner, and apples also make a tasty clafouti as do cherries and blueberries. I just adjust the seasonings to suit the fruit.
Enjoy!
The Beechmont Inn Bed & Breakfast
http://www.thebeechmont.com
Kathryn White
Bed and Breakfast Foodie