Chef Chris

Watermelon Gazpacho
Serves 8 – 10

1 medium sized seedless red watermelon, peeled and chopped
1 small cantaloupe for garnish
2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 english cucumber, peeled and chopped
½ small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
½ small red onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup picked herb leaves (mint, tarragon and basil) for garnish
lemon juice to taste
lime juice to taste
high quality extra virgin olive oil for garnish
cracked black pepper for garnish

Cut the cantaloupe in half, scoop out the seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop the entire cantaloupe into balls and set aside in the refrigerator for garnishing the soup later. In a blender, puree the watermelon, cucumber, tomato, jalapeno and onion. Transfer the puree to a large bowl or pitcher and season to taste with lemon and lime juice. Chill the soup in a large ice bath, before serving and when ready to serve, divide soup among 8-10 bowls. Garnish each bowl with a few cantaloupe balls, a sprinkling of herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and a twist of cracked black peppercorns.
ENJOY!

Chef’s note: a fun way to present this soup would be to serve it in the hollowed out melon resting on a bed of crushed ice. And the perfect beverage pairing would be either cava, a Spanish sparkling wine or super chilled Tito’s vodka mixed with club soda.

Happy Independence Day everyone! This is my favorite holiday of the year, the main reason being the courage and determination it took our United States of America to unite, stand up and declare independence. For that, I am very thankful. Over many years of celebration, obviously, our national holidays develop new traditions and many of those traditions are based around food. As a chef, I am always excited about celebrating the food culture and tradition of any and all holidays, but July 4^th touches my heart. The memories of grilling meats, shucking corn, eating a juicy watermelon, steaming crabs and drinking cold American beer make me very nostalgic. Even as a preteen aged boy, at my Uncle’s house, back in Woodbridge, I was always looking for my chance to sneak a beer of my own off of the keg of Miller Lite. Usually my opportunities would increase as night fell and the adults moved on to the fireworks display. And, still I look forward to all of these traditions. In the restaurant, we share our personal memories through our menus. We hope to touch a nostalgic part of your heart every time you dine with us, as the seasonal changes of the year inspire our cooking. As for a recipe to celebrate this wonderful time of the year, not other dish would do.

 ~Chef Chris

Chesapeake Bay Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

Serves 4

1 lb. jumbo lump crab, Chesapeake Bay crab only, don’t bother with any substitutions

1 heaping tablespoon minced celery

½ tablespoon chopped chives

½ tablespoon chopped parsley

½ cup white bread crumbs (remove the crust from white bread and dice into small cubes, leave to dry overnight on a baking sheet in the oven, turned off)

1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise, home made preferred, but dukes brand is a good substitute

Old Bay Seasoning to taste, around 1 ½ teaspoons – 2 teaspoons

In a large Ziploc bag, crush the breadcrumbs slightly. In a bowl, mix all ingredients except for the breadcrumbs, using a rubber spatula, taking care not to break up the lumps of crabmeat. Finally, add the breadcrumbs and fold until well incorporated. Set in the refrigerator for 1 hour before shaping the crab cake. Form 4 crab cakes and place on a greased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees, until golden brown and delicious.

Serve with fresh lemon and tartare sauce.

 So, our farm manager, Karen, said the last week of May will be the last week of asparagus for us. What a bummer! We must let it reseed itself for next year. Oh well, at least we have peas and favas to look forward to. Beets and carrots are growing well right now, and I am currently making a chilled soup using all the garlic scapes, in the style of an ajo blanco. The first blueberries have been picked and that is always a very exciting event. This past Sunday, The Lovettsville Cooperative Farm Market opened in downtown Lovettsville. We will providing some of our baked goods every Sunday through September. Head over there before your brunch at Patowmack Farm and show some love to our neighbors. By now, everyone should have had a chance to peruse our new website. We hope you have fun checking out our updates, photos, and current menus which will be posted more often now, so you can really get a glimpse into what we are cooking on that particular day. With the season bringing us new ingredients almost daily, you can always expect some surprises – as a matter of fact Karen just walked into the kitchen with some squash blossoms…..

~Chef Chris

As the weather warms up, try this cocktail at your next cookout for a refreshing treat. The Hemingway Daiquiri, named for the man himself, will quickly become one of your go to summertime sips.

Hemingway Daiquiri

2 oz. white rum

½ oz. maraschino liquor

¾ oz. lime juice, FRESH SQUEEZED

¾ oz. grapefruit juice

½ oz. agave nectar

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and have at it. Really shake this one, add ice and shake some more. Strain with a fine sieve, into a chilled martini glass, garnish with a wedge or wheel of lime and one or two pick peppercorns for a unique twist.

Enjoy responsibly.

Asparagus, ramps, spinach, baby carrots, beets and their greens, wild edibles, rhubarb and the first strawberries mark the arrival of May and in my eyes one of the most exciting months of the year for cooking! It’s not only the vegetables that get our kitchen psyched, the Chesapeake Bay is a great resource for our regional specialty seafood. Jumbo lump crab, soft shells, blue catfish and clams will all be in the house through the month of May. I have to give a special shout out to my buddy Steve Vilnit, from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He always keeps me up to date on everything that happens in the Bay. He does a great job of “working to reconnect the food service industry with the local fishing community.” So thanks, Steve! Also, I have to say thanks to my friends at The Sanctuary Resort at Kiawah Island. I spent the last weekend cooking at the Gourmet and Grapes Gala and finally got the chance to return to Charleston, S.C. Charleston is the town that taught me what is the grand cuisine. I have always wanted to take my wife to visit, so this was an extra special treat for us. Thanks for the invite Nathan Thurston, Robert Wysong and Nicole Leaf. I encourage everyone to visit this amazing place for the food, culture and fun! www.kiawahresort.com

 ~Chef Chris

Well, we are almost out of the woods, in regards to the weather, which is absolutely GREAT! Beverly has been so anxious to get the growing started she has been talking about it for the last month and a half, and back then I told her no way, we must wait or we will get burned by a late season snow. I think now, we can definitely move forward and get spring started early. The first sign of spring for me around the farm are the wild purple nettles that will soon be everywhere. A weed in most people’s minds, this edible plant is fun to work with and every year we think of new stuff to do with them. An old school recipe for elderflower fritters gave me the idea to tempura fry them and serve them as snacks with elderberry vinaigrette. So, you can expect to see those fun fritters on our menus until they start to disappear when the weather gets too hot.

I am also very excited about all the special events we have planned for this year. The first one being this month on Friday, March 9. Dena Drews will be bringing in a spectacular lineup of Amalie Robert wines from Oregon. One of my new favorite wines in the Pinot Meunier, but the whole Amalie Robert portfolio is of the highest quality. Please check out the website www.amalierobert.com to learn more. Keep a lookout for our next Loudoun Area Chefs Collaborative, coming soon, hosted by Mark Marrocco of Magnolias at the Mill. Follow me on twitter for updates @patowmackchef and @patowmackfarm.

In the spirit of an early spring, here is a recipe I learned while working in Spain, for white asparagus soup. Since fresh asparagus won’t be available until the end of April, this is a perfect recipe for the warmer weather, using canned asparagus. I recommend using a high quality canned white asparagus, that you can purchase from a specialty market like www.latienda.comThis recipe should hold you over until the fresh stalks of asparagus start popping up in your local farmers market. If you would like to make it a more substantial meal, feel free to enjoy this gazpacho with some toasted bread and sliced Spanish ham.

Chef Chris
Read my Blog at:www.patowmackfarm.blogspot.com

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Recipe: Gazpacho de Esparragos Blancos
Yields 4 portions

2 cups, canned white asparagus, strained
¼ cup, day old bread
6 toasted almonds
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ 1/2 tablespoon pedro ximenex/sweet aged sherry
2-4 tablespoons water
salt to taste

zest of one lemon, for garnish
6 toasted almonds, chopped, for garnish
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, for garnish

Set aside the lemon, almond and olie oil for garnish. In a blender, puree all the other ingredients into a smooth consistency. Season with salt, to taste. Set puree aside in a refrigerator, or even in a container set in ice to keep cold until ready to serve. When ready to serve, pour soup into small cups or bowls and garnish each portion with a small amount of lemon zest grated with a microplane, some chopped almond and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy