• Tim Sullivan of Great Performances’ Bourbon-glazed pork belly with tomato and jalapeno-infused cheese grit cakes and pickled garlic scapes at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons. Photograph: Phil Gross

   

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• Spencer Minch of Emeril’s Delmonico’s Gulf White Shrimp with Traditional Rémoulade at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons. Photograph: Phil Gross

   

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• Keith Luce of Luce & Hawkins’ North Fork duck wings with sweet chilies at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons. Photograph: Mark Von Holden

   

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• Attendees at the 2011 James Beard Foundation's Chefs & Champagne fundraiser honoring Emeril Lagasse at Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, New York. Photograph: Mark Von Holden

   

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• Chefs & Champagne participating chefs with Guest of Honor Emeril Lagasse, Martha Stewart and James Beard Foundation President Susan Ungaro at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons. Photograph: Mark Von Holden

   

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• The 2011 James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons. Photograph: Mark Von Holden

   

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• David Pasternack's crudo de mercato. Photograph: Phil Gross

   

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SOUTH FORK–July has become a very packed month for major food functions here in eastern Long Island. Mid-month, there was the inaugural Taste of Two Forks, with a noteworthy showing of local talent, and just last weekend the Hayground School (home to a very good Friday afternoon farmers market) hosted its annual Great Chefs dinner. Slotted in between was Chefs and Champagne, the James Beard Foundation gala that celebrated its 20th anniversary with another memorable evening at Wolffer Estate Vineyards, complete with star-studded food personalities (see above), a papparazzi of food and drink bloggers (see this post), and some ultra tasty dishes drawn from the wide sphere of influence that James Beard Foundation enjoys.

It was an impressive showing, with many veteran attendees commenting on the caliber and creativity of this year in particular. And that might have had something to do with the ingredients used. Chefs from even farflung places (the West Side of Manhattan!) paid serious homage to our area’s straight-up summer ingredients.

Consider the corn. The walkaround tasting event–complemented by beer, wine and champagne stations throughout–featured loads of delicious interpretations on sweet corn, including a panna cotta with marjoram and chanterelles a la Grecque from Kerry Heffernan of South Gate and the gooey corn pudding that went along with the Texas tenderlion from Hill Country in the Flatiron, and the chilled corn soup with marinated bass and tomatillo-cilantro puree from Marcus Samuelsson of the Red Rooster in Harlem. Lobster made another big showing in a New Englandy tribute that included Italian-style lobster rolls with fennel and sea salt potato chips from Missy Robbins of A Voce and Barnegat light lobster with lemon ricotta and micro-sorrell from Michael Weisshaupt of Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, New Jersey, and the Yellow Basinga tomato gazpacho with Maine lobster, watermelon and basil from Shea Gallante of Ciano (and garlic/chives fame). Marc Forgione, who cooked at Great Chefs, inspired some serious conversational commotion in front of his table by hitting both corn and lobster with his chile lobster with local corn and lemon verbena.

Local boy Keith Luce represented with North Fork duck wings with sweet chilies, while Guy Reuge of the Mirabelle restaurant in Stony Brook served up a very popular barbecue pulled pork with croquettes and cornichon marmalade. There was tomatoes aplenty, including from resident Greek food culture ambassador Maria Loi, who partnered with the team at Fresno Restaurant in East Hampton and sourced from both Forks to dazzle the crowd with local zucchinis stuffed with meat (lamb, pork and beef), herbs (mint, parsley, and dill from Round Swamp Farm), a feta mousse (Catapano Dairy feta), and drizzled with Elyros extra virgin olive oil. Event goodie bags included Loi’s “Authentic Greek Cookbook,” summer edition. On the way home, we dogeared the prasopita (leek pie) and dakosalata (salad with barley rusks).

And there was plenty of just-caught raw seafood, from the Hawaiian walu ceviche from Jeremy Bearman of Rouge Tomate to yuzu-marinated conch and grilled blue prawn escabeche with mango, pear, apple, mint and sweet chile relish from George Reid of Aleta Restaurant at the Viceroy Hotel, Anguilla, British West Indies. Dave Pasternack of Esca lead the way with jewels of glistening bigeye tuna, striped bass and other crudo de mercato that he splashed with olive oil and salt; for attendees who asked, Pasternack told them exactly who’d caught it, what fishing tackle they’d used and exactly what chunk of ocean they were fishing in.

Such an interest in where the food comes was common throughout the room, and mirrors a shift in the James Beard Foundation’s focus from celebrator of eating experiences to player in food sustainability issues. The marriage isn’t new (Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini has been talking about eco-gastronomy for decades) but James Beard can play a massive role in getting its chef allies and many eater members to think this way.

“Watching the James Beard Foundation engage in the conversation around sustainability is fantastic,” said Liz Neumark of Great Performances, which has catered the event seven times, and whose chef Tim Sullivan served up a bourbon-glazed pork belly with tomato and jalapeno-infused cheese grit cakes and pickled garlic scapes). “A nationally respected organization cannot be relevant unless it is involved in the conversation around what is on our plate on a deeper level than taste alone.” Neumark, a food leader in her own right, noted the Foundation’s upcoming October conference, “Sustainability of the Table: How Media and Money Influence the Way American Eats,” and the series of similar thought-provoking events that the Foundation has used to get chefs, food corporations and others to the discussion table on land preservation, the costs of sustainability and other timely food debates.

(On the matter of sustainability, also in attendance was Matt Weingarten, an avid forager, who is the executive chef at Inside Park at St. Barts and has been spending his time recently working with other Sodexo chefs to spread sustainability standards throughout the company nationwide; he served cold-smoked lamb tongue with pickled cherries.)

Of course, there was a palatable dose of glam with folks posing in front of a chocolate-colored Mercedes Benz. Richard Gere made the rounds, rubbing elbows with Daniel Boulud, dilligently sampling everything (except the meat dishes, “I don’t eat meat,” he would say to the chefs after asking what the dish was.), and not at all phased by the small crowd hovering just behind him most of the night. Wolffer’s garrulous winemaker Roman Roth donned shorts in response to the heat, pointed attendees towards his wines for refreshment, and posed for pictures with JBF leadership and honorees, including Emeril Lagasse, recognized for his leadership in helping to preserve and restore the food, fishing and farming culture of the Gulf. Though his foundation, Lagasse, who owns 12 restaurants and has authored no less than 15 cookbooks, has given millions of dollars to Gulf-related charities in the last few years.

Staffing his restaurant’s table, like all the other chef-owners in attendance, Lagasse was soft-spoken, generous with the autographs, and praising of the local seafood. “We’re kinda spoiled because most of our restaurants use Gulf seafood,” he said as introduction, but noted that he does buy from some northern fishers, including the Atlantic halibut and striped bass he favors when available, as well as some oysters and Peekytoe crab he’s been buying from Maine for years.

And how are the Gulf fisheries doing? “Very well,” said Lagasse, serving up cool, Gulf white shrimp with a traditional remoulade. ” I fish all the time, so I see it.” Pasternack, another chef-fisherman in attendance, apparently invited Lagasse to skip the event and go fishing, but was instead dishing impeccable crudo on the other side of the tent. “Dave,” Lagasse said with a reverent grunt: “He’s my man.”

Next up in the must-attend Long Island events category are the two music-focused happenings in August, with excellent food offerings: Escape to New York and MTK Festival. And don’t forget to buy your tickets (and sign up for the wine salons) for HARVEST EAST END in September.

The South Edison Kitchen gathers to read the good news in the East Hampton Star.

MONTAUK–We occasionally make the trip out to the South Fork of Long Island to visit our friends at Edible East End, especially when it involves supper. In this case they recommended we stop in to say hello to Todd Mitgang, the chef at South Edison, a year-old,  lobster-red and turquoise hangout half a block from the beach and two blocks from Montauk’s main square. (Go on Thursdays, as we did, and you can hit the tiny morning farmer’s market, which features both locally procured salt and locally grown wheat flour, as well as bread leavened by naturally occurring yeasts. You’ll probably be shopping alongside Roy, the sous chef from South Edison.)

Mitgang’s skills with fresh fish we knew well back from his days at Crave Ceviche Bar in East Midtown– in winters, he lives in Williamsburg–so we weren’t surprised at all by the excellent octopus tacos (the flesh first slow-cooked in olive oil for hours before a quick sear on the plancha); fresh Balsam Farm lettuces grown just east in Amagansett dressed with house-smoked local bluefish dressing; the slab of fried local hake served with house-smoked potatoes, a griddled Meyer lemon and a vinegar spiked with malty Sixpoint stout; or the ruddy red bowl of tomato chowder studded with fat cherrystone clams and bacon. (They smoke their own in house, by the way.)

What we didn’t expect was one of the best Southern style suppers we’d had in some time, no easy task in an era where comfort food reigns supreme across city menus. Mitgang told us his “crispy vinegar braised chicken leg” was his sleeper hit, and in our opinion he’s right, but only if the side of cheese grits it takes the staff three hours to make is off the table.

Mitgang only serves the flavorful legs of a free-range bird, slow cooking them in advance, storing them in their own fat and then breading and dunking them in the fryer. It’s served with creamy escarole, with a wonderful barely bitter bite and a sweet tomato-pepper jam. And if you’re smart, a side of those super-creamy Anson Mills grits topped with aged cheddar, chives and more of that South Edison bacon.

Funnily enough, the day we visited was the day the first review of the restaurant appeared in a local paper, a pretty darn positive piece by Laura Donnelly in the East Hampton Star. The chicken, it seems, was maybe the only thing she didn’t eat. If the rest of you are distracted by the lobster roll with with black garlic aioli and the local fluke sashimi served with chili jam (Mitgang cheffed at Kittichai, after all) and East End turnips so sweet Donnelly thought they might be beets, all the better. More fried chicken and grits for us.

The well-worn asparagus and rhubarb sign has been out at North Sea Farm on Noyac Road for at least 3 weeks.

SAG HARBOR–Thank goodness for the asparagus. Amid this chilly rain, it’s the only edible reminder of spring, and will be for a little while. Most Long Island strawberry growers are estimating their crops have been set back a week or two. (Luckily, berries will still be around during Eat Drink Local, June 24-30, when they are one of the featured ingredients, along with green garlic and chives, which have also arrived in dishes in the region.)

So, apart from some nascent greens and cellared root crops, the crunchy green stalks are the lone standout at East End farmstands. Asparagus topped with an egg and ham is on the menu at the newly relocated Almond on Main Street in Bridgehampton. It made a brief appearance at the Sag Harbor and Hayground Farmers Markets, although late-arriving shoppers had to go without.

There are other signs that spring has arrived–at least psychologically. Traffic on 27 has thickened. And food and drink businesses are rising to the occasion. Marder’s has launched a cafe to complement its mindblowing nursery stock offerings. Redbar in Southampton is sprouting a sister restaurant, Little Red. The famed Marlin Dip is back at Lucy’s Whey in East Hampton, just in time for Memorial Day. And the town of East Hampton might kill its one-beach-one-food-truck system, opening the East End mobile eating scene to some needed competition (and diversity). And Marilee Foster’s farmstand in Sagaponack, which is reporting a strong asparagus crop, is posting its hours–a level of predictability that must mean folks are serious about business.

Asparagus touches us in different ways. Mark Bittman sang its many praises a few weeks ago (when the California crop arrived in New York). And East End winemakers sipping their spring sauvignon blancs are quick to say how well it goes with asparagus in all its forms.

In the Eating with Clio department, asparagus is a perfect example of seemingly arbitrary kid food preferences–at six months, Clio was an excellent asparagus eater the first asparagus season that came after her birth, as well as last season, but she’s been timid so far this year, sometimes deciding only to eat the pyramidal tips.

Diehard Edible readers might recall we chose that veggie as the covergirl–asparagus plants are primarily female–of our first issue of Edible East End in the spring of 2005. Among a few other covershot candidates (a spring run of stripers, the expanding greenhouses at Satur Farms), asparagus seemed the best symbol of rebirth, the most inspiration for new beginnings. So thank you, asparagus, for giving us faith that the harvest season has begun.

The spring issue is here.

It’s not just this cute goat from Catapano Dairy–the cover girl of our just-out Spring issue–that is brightening our moods. It’s the forsythia, plum blossom, and slowly accumulating GDDs. GDDs is fruit grower lingo for Growing Degree Days, and with daytime temperature now reaching into the 60s (the temperature at which grapevines grow and begin to ripen their fruit) the season-long process of tiny green grapes ripening into swollen, luscious, wine-making input has begun.

Yes, we have wine on the brain. In fact, the spring issue is filled with winey content. As I write in the Letter from the Editor, “In the modern history of the East End, it’s hard to overestimate the influence of grapevines. First planted just four decades ago, wine grapes have now colonized as much acreage as once-dominant potatoes. Winery tasting rooms rival farm stands in many towns. And wine growers are a rejuvenating keystone in our agricultural community.”

There’s a story on a once-dismal Best Western hotel in Riverhead that has been reborn as the Hotel Indigo East End, a mecca for vino-seeking travelers, and a piece on the Riverhead Project, Dennis McDermott’s new restaurant in a defunct Riverhead bank building, locals and wine-sipping weekend warriors will enjoy weekly wine dinners at a communal table.

Precocious Long Island wineries are putting wines in kegs, treating white grapes like red ones (and yielding orange wines that blow wide open our region’s flavor palette), putting up wind turbines and keeping herds of cattle, and even applying to become the first winery on the East Coast with biodynamic certification.

“We are honored to be able to chronicle our wine community, and are grateful for this stalwart base of supporters,” I write. “In fact, the first major event our magazine hosted in New York City was Brooklyn Uncorked, a joint effort with the Long Island Wine Council. This May 10 we’ll celebrate the 5th annual Brooklyn Uncorked (can you believe it?), still held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and, more than ever, the place where chefs, sommeliers, wine writers and thirsty novices go to taste the state of Long Island winemaking.

Let this wine-focused issue be a thank you not only to the Long Island wine industry, but to all our advertisers, sponsors and readers that form our very Edible community.”

Wolffer Estate Vineyards winemaker Roman Roth welcomes visitors to taste from the barrel (even if they don't have a giant goblet like he does).

Buds are swelling across Long Island’s vineyards, and in another sign of spring, Cornell Cooperative Extension just sent out its first GDD (or “growing degree days”) report of the season–a tally of the cumulative grape-ripening heat that farm fields have absorbed and will continue to absorb over the weeks to come.

But since the cellar is still the cozy place to be, Long Island wine country is kicking off April with a series of barrel tastings featuring the first wines from the 2010 vintage–a year with record-breaking GDD figures that meant ultra ripe, flavorful grapes across the region. If you’ve never tasted direct from the barrel, it’s quite the beautiful experience, with the chance for one-on-one conversation with winemakers, and a chance to see these winemakers using an ingenious, pressure-driven glass device called a “thief” to extract samples from the barrels. (Sort of like what we all did, as kids, when we put our thumbs on top of a straw to extract soda from a glass).

Yes, Brooklyn Uncorked (when Long Island wine country comes west to NYC) is just a month away. (Tickets are selling fast.) But why wait until May. Plan a daytrip or book a room and consider sipping from the barrel at these participating wineries. And you can always visit www.liwines.com for more special offers.

Castello di Borghese:
Every Saturday in April 9, 16, 23, 30 at 1 pm: Join Castello di Borghese for the weekly Winemaker’s Walk and enjoy the added value of a Barrel Tasting. A guided tour of the vineyard, winery and production facilities will include some wines from the Borghese Classic Tasting, a Barrel Tasting of our 2008 Merlot and a comparison of other bottled vintages. $20 per person. Reservations online at BorgheseVineyard.com or by phone 631-734-5111.

Clovis Point:
Every weekend:
Try three 2010 barrel samples for $5.00 (a barrel fermented Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot).

Diliberto Winery:
Every Saturday and Sunday in April (except for Easter Sunday April 24) at 11 am and Noon: Wine Cellar tour and barrel tasting. $15.00/person. Tours are by reservation only. Please call 631-722-3416

Jamesport Vineyards:
Every weekend in April: Receive a special tasting of our 2010 Cabernet Franc and our 2010 Petit Verdot paired with local epicurean delights in our new private barrel tasting room. $20 per person

Laurel Lake Vineyards:
Every Sunday in April: Receive a Cellar Tour with a barrel tasting and cheese pairing. Tasting is 5 wines, 2 of them from the barrel. On Sunday only at 12:30. $15.00/person. Reservations required. 631-298-1420

Lieb Cellars:
Every Sunday in April: Special flight of wines including a red & white barrel tasting. $10

Macari Vineyards & Winery:
Saturdays, April 9 and 16, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.
Tastings will include 4 barrel samples from our 2010 vintage, and a brief cellar tour conducted by winemaker Kelly Urbanik. $20 per person for General Public/$15 for Macari Wine-Club members.
Must reserve! Each session limited to 30 people. 631-298-0100

Martha Clara Vineyard:
Every Saturday and Sunday in April: Enjoy a flight of four 2010 barrel selection wines (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot). $12.00/person

The Old Field Vineyards
Sunday, April 10, 1 pm
Compare the 2010 vintage to the 2009 vintage, and French versus American barrels.
$25 per person. Tastings limited to 14 people.

Osprey’s Dominion:
Every Saturday in April:
Reserve Merlot Flight for $15 to include:
~ 2010 Merlot (from barrel) UCD Clone 1 from Mattituck Vineyard
~ 2010 Merlot (from barrel) UCD Clone 8 from Peconic Winery Vineyard
~ 2007 Reserve Merlot (“90″ from Wine Spectator)
~ 2005 Reserve Merlot (Best in Category – Atlantic Seaboard)
Plus live music every Saturday in April!

Peconic Bay Winery:
Saturday April 16 & Saturday, April 23rd at 11 am:. Receive a brief tour & vertical tasting of our 2007, 2008 and 2009 Merlot. The 2009 Merlot will be a barrel tasting. $10 pp/$5 Wine Club. Each tour limited to 30 guests. Please contact Katherine Jaeger at (631) 734-7361 ext. 105 for reservations.

Pellegrini Vineyards:
With any bottle purchase during weekends in April, receive a complimentary taste of our 2010 Merlot. By appointment only, receive a private tour and barrel tasting in the cellar for $20.00/person. 631-734-4111

Raphael:
Sunday, May 1: Raphael will offer very unique barrel tasting events conducted by winemaker Leslie Howard. Barrel tastings will include a walk through the vineyard and an education on the process of harvesting the grapes. You’ll tour our production facility then join Les in the cellar to taste the future wines of Raphael direct from the barrel. There will be a 1:00 p.m. session, with an additional session at 3:00 p.m. if capacity of reservations require; $35/per person. Reservations required. Call 631-765-1100 ext. 101 or 105.

Sannino’s Bella Vita Vineyards
Weekends in April:
Receive an educational barrel tasting held in our classic Cantina style barrel cellar featuring one of the 2010 stellar vintage reds. Special also includes 3 tastes of our newest white wine releases.
$20.00 per person.

Sherwood House:
Saturday, April 30 – Barrel Sample Tasting Day at our Jamesport location (1291 Main Road) – Try 3 barrel samples from our 2010 vintage ($15 per person) and order futures at a discounted cost. No reservations necessary.

Shinn Estate:
Every weekend in April:
Taste our 2010 Merlot and 2010 Malbec from barrel compared with current vintages of these wines to see the progression. $20 per person

Sparkling Pointe:
Sundays: April 10 and 17
“Unraveling Methode Champenoise”
Offer includes
Tasting : Begins with a tank sample of the base wine for the future 2010 Brut. Next experience a unique opportunity to taste the unreleased 2007 Brut sparkling wine before the dosage, as well as, the finished 2007 Brut sparkling wine after the dosage.
Tour of our brand new tank room and cellar.
Wine and Cheese Reception after tour and tasting. Each date includes a 1 pm seating and a 3 pm seating. Expect the tasting to last for 1 to 1 1/2 hours
$35 per person
$25 per person for wine club members
Reservations Required. Please call 631-765-0200

Waters Crest Winery:
Sun, April 10th from 3-5pm
Sat, April 30th 3-5pm
Taste six wines from the barrel, vintages 2009 and 2010.
$15/person non-wine club, $10/person wine/barrel club members.

Wolffer Estate Vineyards:
Saturday, April 23, 1 – 5 pm: Enjoy a special vertical flight of the Wolffer Estate Merlot: 2007, 2008 and barrel sample of 2010 vintage. $15/person

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Acorn Hollow B&B: Welcome Spring with our April Barrel Tasting, Value-Added Package! All month stay two nights at Acorn Hollow B&B midweek or weekends any time in April. Enjoy a full, candlelight breakfast each morning & refreshments each afternoon. Receive a complimentary $25 gift certificate to dine at the restaurant of your choice. Must mention this special at time of reservation. Cannot be combined with other offers. Also, pre-book your June, two-night Long Island Wine & Food Festival Getaway now and we will secure your Grand Tasting tickets for 50% off. Call to reserve your room today 631-765-1234.

The Greenporter Hotel: Walk-ins who provide a dated receipt from a Barrel Tasting at any of the participating wineries will receive 10% off a one-night stay for the same day of their tasting. The offer may not be combined with any other discounts. Call ahead for availability. Also:

Passover 4/18: Stay for one night in a queen room at the rate of $229 and receive two complimentary tickets for First Seder that evening at Congregation Tifereth Israel right across the street. See our website for menu. Easter Week-end–4/22-24: Stay Friday and Saturday nights and receive a complimentary three-course dinner for two on Friday evening. Enjoy Easter-themed specials like roasted lamb and Easter bread. Rates start at $159 per night and include complimentary continental breakfast. The following information applies to all packages: *Rates and packages are subject to availability. Call 631-477-0066 for reservations. *Dinner packages do not include tax, beverages, or gratuity and are offered on Friday night only, unless otherwise noted.

Harborfront Inn: Receive a 10% discount on the same day stay with a barrel tasting receipt from any of the participating wineries. This offer can not be combined with any other specials or packages and it would only be for walk-ins on the day of the event. Call 631-477-0707 for reservations.

Harvest Inn: Your package includes two evenings at the Inn, wonderful breakfasts each morning, and lunch to enjoy Saturday at one of our local wineries. You will also receive two tickets for the Tour & Tasting at our featured winery of the month and the founding estate vineyard, Castello di Borghese. This guided tour takes you out in the vineyards and then to the winery and production facilities, where you will sample wines from the barrel including the 2008 Merlot, with a comparison of other bottled vintages. And if you aren’t wine’d out, join us for a private wine tasting at the Inn on Saturday evening! $259 per person. Call 631-765-9412 for reservations.

Hilton Garden Inn Riverhead: Spring ahead with Hilton Garden Inn’s special offers! The specials include the following: With booking for any day of the week you’ll receive 20% off our best available rate and enjoy a Full Cooked-to-Order Breakfast for two. Why drive through Wine Country when the HGI offers Personalized Wine Tours! Our Wine Tours include the following: Luxury Transportation to three wineries, a box Lunch for your tour, and a Full Cooked-to-Order Breakfast for the following morning and receive 20% off for a limited time only! Reservations should be made through the Sales Department. These promotions are subject to availability and restrictions may apply with busy and holiday weekends. Call 631-727-2733 When making reservations just ask for the April Barrel Rate.

Vintage Bed & Breakfast: Stay any weekend in April for two nights, Friday to Sunday, and enjoy a room for two with queen bed, private ensuite bath, whirlpool tub, 2 full candlelit breakfasts (often with Italian flair!), and receive discount cards for complimentary tastings and/or discounts at our area wineries, many within easy walking distance of our B&B! Many of the vineyards offer live music, some open in the evenings….come enjoy the fun during “Barrel Tasting Month” here in the middle of wine country. $490/couple (+tax). Call us now to reserve your special weekend 631-734-2053.

ALSO:

VINE TIME-a special two-night wine & food getaway package to welcome spring!
Apr. 15-17 and Apr. 20-22, 2011
Let us introduce you to our beautiful Long Island Wine Country. We’ve included everything you need for a most relaxing getaway. You will enjoy a two night stay in a luxury room with fireplace & whirlpool tub, a full, candlelight breakfast each morning, refreshments each afternoon, a VIP winery excursion tour of four wineries, transportation for the tour in a luxury van with pick up & drop off at our B&B, a gourmet picnic lunch at a vineyard, all wine tastings on the tour and two dinners at your choice of excellent, local farm to table restaurants. $479. plus tax, per person, double occupancy. Cannot be combined with other offers. Visit www.longislandvinetime.com.

School food: Compostable tableware displayed the Kalaidescopic offerings at Multi-Culti night at the Sag Harbor Elementary School.

Part of the process: Clio eats more of a food when she gets to watch (and even help) it being made, like herring fillets, roe and milt being prepared by grandpa Ronnie.

It was during Sunday morning breakfast when Clio munched through—not unlike the Hungry Caterpiller—an entire plate of pan-fried alewife roe that I suspected my wife and I fret too much about her eating. Yes, according to the old medical scale in my parents basement, Clio hasn’t gained a pound in the last few months, although she has grown nearly 3 inches. But even if she doesn’t always impress with the quantity she eats, she never fails to amaze with her appetite for new flavors, like the salty, proteiny eggs from the spring run of Peconic Bay herring. Weight gain is one measure of a good eater, but so is willingness to try and eat a diversity of foods, right?

Recently, at her pre-school, Clio was the only kid in the room to try all three French cheeses (part of a lesson about France). And the other night at an adult dinner party, Clio insisted on trying a small piece of all seven cheeses on the table, including a couple of stinky, weepy blues that most of the adults in the room shied from. “Oh. That’s really good,” Clio declared. “That’s really, really good.” At a chaotic kids meal at the eco-healthy pizza joint Foody’s in Water Mill, Clio was the only kid to return to the table for seconds. And over a homecooked dinner prepared by Almond chef Jason Weiner, Clio out-ate her counterparts in the category of tortellinis and Weiner’s Brussels sprouts Caesar.

But we (the parents of a pipsqueek) still obsess. Often times, facing a plate of pasta, duck confit and broccoli, Clio might gobble all the duck (gnawing the bone clean), but not touch the pasta and veggies—until we hand feed it to her. And sometimes during breakfast Clio’s so excited to start her day–bouncing like a Mexican jumping bean–that she’ll only nibble her oatmeal or eggs or peanut butter and jelly, before running for her puzzles or stuffed animals or books, leaving us to despair that she’s burning an order of magnitude more calories than she is consuming.

Perhaps we need to be firmer with her, sit her down for meals and not let her get up until her plate is clean. But that thinking might be antiquated, and not really helpful over the longterm. In her book, The Family Dinner, on the virtues (and logistics) of eating together, Laurie David includes Ten Simple Steps to a successful family dinner, including one that makes me feel very good about eating with Clio.

“STEP FIVE: Everyone Tries Everything,” David writes. “This is very different from the old adage “Eat everything on your plate.” David suggests that “the rigid insistence in the old days on eating all of your vegetables” has created “stealth veggie Houdinis,” kids who do whatever they can to not eat certain things.  In contrast, the requirement to try everything shows respect for the cook, gives our taste buds “an opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.”

David offers other solid advice, relevant to both toddlers and teenagers, including turning off the TV and phones (no brainer), setting a consistent meal time (important, but easier said than done), and getting kids involved in the cooking process. This last suggestion is perhaps the most powerful. Studies from a variety of universities, including a study of 3rd and 4th graders by Texas A&M, a study of 4th graders at UC Davis, and a study of youth gardening in Detroit, have shown that kids exposed to gardening and cooking, even a few times, are much more open to eat vegetables and fruit they have seen and touched in the garden, demonstrate increased knowledge about nutrition, and an enthusiasm for neighborhood beautification in general.

So, despite all our handwringing over allergies and low-weight and erratic eating, maybe we’re doing something right after all. We did expose her to plenty of gardening and cooking in her first few years. And in the case of the spring herring, we couldn’t peel Clio away from the bucket of fish grandpa brought home from his dawn run to the alewife stream. She watched him gut, fillet and cook the fish, including the row and milt sacs that fry up very nicely in a little oil with just a dusting of flour. (The row and milt membranes protect their contents, sort of like a sausage casing.)

Perhaps in terms of preparing her for a life of satisfying and nutritious and interesting food experiences, Clio is emerging as best sort of eater there is.

Dreaming of spring wines and the 5th annual Brooklyn Uncorked at BAM.

Last week, Edible’s weekly spot on NY1 headed east, to chat with prolific Long Island winemaker Christopher Tracy and to kickoff of Winterfest, a celebration of wine, food and music in Long Island wine country that runs through March 20.

The show is also a perfect excuse to announce the confirmed wineries for our 5th annual (can you believe it?) homage to New York wines, Brooklyn Uncorked at BAM, on May 10. (Tickets are on sale at a discounted price until March 15, so early birds should scoop up a few tix for their entourage of Empire State oenophiles.)

Among the wineries who will be pouring are: Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, Bedell Cellars, Bouké Wines, Brooklyn Oenology, Channing Daughters Winery, Croteaux Vineyards, Gramercy Vineyards, Grapes of Roth, Jamesport Vineyards, Long Island Merlot Alliance, Macari Vineyards & Winery, Martha Clara Vineyards, Mattebella Vineyards, Palmer Vineyards, Paumanok Vineyards, Raphael, Roanoke Vineyards, Scarola Vineyards, Sherwood House Vineyard, Shinn Estate Vineyards, Suhru Wines, Wölffer Estate.

Brooklyn Uncorked was originally conceived as a way to bring Long Island wine country to the Big Apple. And it was a natural collaboration for Edible East End (with its wine community) and Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan (with their communities of eaters and drinkers).

So, we squeeze as many wineries into the room as we can–it’s a selection you won’t find anywhere else–and pair what they pour with a star-studded cast of New York City restaurants and food makers. The result is that the room is a little bit like a stroll (on foot) through a magical place where you can taste dozens of Long Island wines, from cool-climate merlots, to steely sauvignon blancs, from fruity chardonnays to varietal roses (like the ones Tracy riffs on in the NY1 episode). And between sips, you get to nosh on food from the likes of: applewood, Buttermilk Channel, Cleaver Co. & The Green Table, Dressler & Dumont, Gramercy Tavern, Les Trois Petit Cochons, McEnroe Farms, Palo Santo, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Rosewater, Savoy, The Good Fork, The Vanderbilt, Vandaag.

“We always seem to call our Rosato de Cabernet Franc the ‘rawbar Rosato.’ It’s usually the lightest and the most ethereal, so anything coming off of the rawbar is really delicious with it,” Tracy riffed, providing a guide for anyone anxious to plan their Brooklyn Uncorked itineary. “The Merlot can go with anything, from vegetable dishes and shellfish and fish dishes to grilled vegetables, tomatoes and mozzarella, charcuterie. Often the Cabernet Sauvignon is the weightiest and the richest and we often like to call that the ‘Rosato for the grill.’”

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: In celebration of Long Island Winterfest, tickets to Brooklyn Uncorked are $30 (discounted from $40). Offer ends on March 15. Buy your tickets here.

A week later, we're still pining for these nose-to-tail tacos.

SAG HARBOR and SANTA BARBARA–Culinary travel is always a pleasure, but it can lead to gnawing nostalgia. Yes, we’re happy to be returned home, close to family, friends and familiar flavors. But, personally, I’m pining for the insanely tasty Central Cali tacos that I ate morning, noon and night–no joke, I ate them for breakfast, topped with chilis, and washed them down with coffee–while attending the Edible publishers meeting in Santa Barbara.

This longing felt most acute earlier today when I stopped in to Cilantro, the Mexican takeout in Sag Harbor, and settled on the veggie tacos. They were fine and sustaining. But the tortillas weren’t pressed by hand (they weren’t even corn), there was little flavor and no kick, and the per-taco cost was nearly twice as much as the Santa Barbara variety.

Keep in mind that here on the East End, our traditional Mexican food offerings are still limited. We don’t have the tiny taquerias in Hell’s Kitchen or the growing Mexican food scene in Harlem or the tortilla triangle and Sunset Park strip of our friends in Brooklyn. There is La Fondita in Amagansett (open all winter for the first time in recent memory), the pan-Latin De Canella also in Amagansett, and many lesser offerings. In the last issue of Edible East End, Zachary Lazar–of New York Times mag-Girl Talk-mashup-profiling fame–described the wonderful tamales now popping up at not just one, but two delis in North Sea, a community on Little Peconic Bay. The chef at one used to be the chef at the other, but a difference of tamale philosophy forced one chef to strike out on his own.

In contrast to the East End, Santa Barbara has a particularly vibrant Mexican food culture, not to mention a heavenly growing season that yields all sorts of Mediterranean goodies like olives, grapes, citrus and nuts, that were on display at the local food and drink gala organized by Edible Santa Barbara at the Maritime History Museum.  An abalone, mushroom and winter greens stirfry went particularly well with the local wheat beer on tap. And during the Edible publishers meeting everyone snacked on fragrant and supersweet Pixie Tangerines from Ojai, where the first Edible was launched back in 2002.

But, back to the tacos. On the first day of the publishers meeting, a handful of us from Empire State Edibles, including Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and the East End visited La Super-Rica Taqueria, which Saveur once called the best place to get tacos outside of Mexico. We cued up next to tattooed, texting locals to get into the popular aqua-tinged shack with an extensive selection of tacos, tamales and gorditas. Tears came to our eyes when we saw the corn tortillas pressed to order (by hand), the swollen chile rellenos sizzling on the grill and the horchata, jamaica and fresh watermelon juice on tap. Veggie tamales and assorted pork tacos were the consensus favorites.

If Super-Rica seemed stripped down, Lilly’s, on the other side of town, was even more bare bones, with an even more miniscule kitchen and an even tinier menu. Behind the counter a few cooks were grilling onions and various bits of meat. The nose-to-tail choices included assorted cow parts, including cachete (cheek), labio (lips), lengua (tongue) and tripa (tripe). Tacos (beautifully photographed by the New York Times here, and on Flickr here and here) were $1.40 a piece; $1.50 for tripe, which is only available on Fridays. The tacos, paired with Jarritos fruit-flavored soda, weren’t just delicious. They were also unbelievably simple–a mash of meat in the fold of two tortillas.

We dined there and then returned a few hours later to pick  up an order of 50 tacos for a late-night, post-Eddy awards dinner party. Our party guests seemed more intent on the California wine than the scrumptious chile toppped tacos. Never fear. They revived exquisitely in the microwave and were a perfect hangover antidote. Santa Barbara really is a touch of heaven.

The special pork taco at Super-Rica, and the author engrossed in it. The moment was captured by Zoe Becker of Edible Finger Lakes.

The winter-run herring, home-picked, and served on slices of Blue Duck bakery health loaf.

Even though everyone is gaga for those elusive Peconic bay scallops–still abundant in local seafood shops and even on city restaurant menus, including as a recent crudo selection at Il Pesce at Eataly–a lesser known indigenous seafood delicacy made it into my breakfast this morning.

About a week ago, my mom picked up some herring fillets at Cor-J Seafood in Hampton Bays, and pickled them, onions, cucumber and cauliflower in “equal parts vinegar and water, with salt and sugar and spices to taste.” They were blueback herring, a particularly beautiful and delicious local herring that migrates in and around Long Island coasts in the early winter. Baymen pick them up in pound traps, where they might co-exist with eel this time of year. Recreational fishers jig for them off Montauk (and then use them as live bait for striped bass).

These fall and winter-run herring are different than the spring-run alewives, featured in this family tale from Edible East End, along with vague recipe for pickling and other preparations. They are also slightly different from the European species that predominates at Russ & Daughters in Manhattan, or that are used by Acme in Brooklyn. I have been told that particularly big Long Island hauls of blueback herring still make their way into the Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point and then on to Polish food shops or other businesses that pickle, smoke and cream them.

Cor-J makes its own pickled herring from this species–tangy refreshing preparation for the oily fish. Reliable sources say blueback is also showing up at other East End seafood purveyors, including Braun in Cutchogue, the Southold Fish Market, Citarella in East Hampton, and the Seafood Shop in Wainscott. Which means there still time to put up a few quarts to get you through the winter.

When Stephen and I hatched Edible East End it was over the now apocryphal New Year’s Eve oystering session. Part of the business plan has always been squeezing in at least one such hands-on edible experience each week. Sometimes that just means sharing soup and sandwiches, and batting around 2011 East End story ideas, over a midday lunch break.

Today’s Edible office lunch was from Breadzilla in Wainscott, who we’ve chronicled before. It included the shredded duck quesadilla with Jack cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomato and green sauce, and the spicy tuna jack on 8-grain bread (a whole 8-grain loaf is also shown). Also in our lunch order were a grilled cheese sandwich and falafel sandwich (crispy homemade falafels on toasted squishy with lettuce, tomato and fresh lemon sesame tahini sauce.

AMAGANSETT–The dream for the Amagansett Food Institute was conceived over a dinner of harvest produce on Stony Hill Road a year ago on a golden October evening–for a center that would pull the East End together with a focus on supporting local farmers, educating its citizens (especially the young citizens) about healthy and fantastic eating, and helping to feed its hungry. With that night’s diners including Katie Baldwin and Amanda Morrow, the team who run Amber Waves Farm, and John De Cuevas and Carissa Waechter, the former baker at the Amagansett Farmers Market — all practiced at executing their dreams — the new non-profit Amagansett Food Institute is underway with dozens of programs to come.

The focus on food “literacy” is definitely in the air, from the Hudson Valley work of the Sylvia Center to the Upper West Side work of Bill Telepan, both of which we’ve written about in these pages. Back out east, 316 students in the East Hampton Middle School recently sampled a pre-Thanksgiving spread of local foods including veggie pizzas from Foody’s chef-owner Bryan Futerman, pumpkin soup from Nick & Toni’s executive chef Joe Realmuto, and natural cheddar from Lucy Kazickas of Lucy’s Whey. Several weeks earlier, students crammed a farmer’s market at the school, and a foraging program was bringing excess produce from a half-dozen farms to the Springs Food Pantry.  To come: a moveable pizza oven offering bread and healthy pizzas to schools and farmers markets, a summer speakers series and progress on the big dream.

The goal of AFI’s ambitious bricks and mortar phase: Funding to buy the Pacific East property on Amagansett’s Main Street and replace it with a new community food education center with a professional kitchen open 24-hours a day to qualified users; space to meet, for demonstrations, lectures, classes; a farmers market; possibly a cafe. Grant-writing is underway. The AFI has already received a $25,000 grant from the Baker Foundation, a large contribution and offer of an additional matching grant from Alec Baldwin.  Katie Baldwin’s (no relation to Alec) eyes flash, “This could be Stone Barns East.”

Check out the ribs on these LI Cheeses from the Long Island Seed Project; courtesy liseed.org

Firstly, we’d like to throw a common misconception out the window for you pie eaters: When you buy pumpkin mash, that squash in the can is probably not the typical orange pumpkin you see everywhere on Halloween, which is a member, scientifically, of the pepo family — that’d also include your summer squash, acorn squash and zucchini. Instead that bright, creamy orange flesh is a moshata squash, of which — along with the equally pleasing, yet more well-known, butternut squash – our local Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is a member.

We agree that some combo of gourd and dairy would be awesome, but the cheese pumpkin’s only relation to cheese is its wide, cheese rind-like appearance. It’s a bit lighter in color too, but only on the outside. Carve a knife into one of these squash, first cultivated out on the Island, and find smooth, dense meat, perfect for baking, roasting, stewing, or even for turning into custard. (Or pie: Find a great pie recipe below.)

What to Bake With Them

As per Ken Ettlinger of Long Island Seed Project, as featured in Edible East End‘s Winter 2008 story Banking on Seeds, the Long Island Cheese pumpkin (or hey, butternut squash) tastes super good in this four-step pie.

1. Prepare moschata squash (butternut types, neck pumpkin or cheese) either by oven roasting in a covered heavy pan with enough liquid to allow the squash to cook until soft without browning, or by allowing cubed squash to cook in a pot of water on top of the stove until tender (check with a fork). Allow the cooked squash to completely drain and cool and puree in a food processor.

2. Add pumpkin pie spices. For every 2 cup of pureed squash add 11/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

3. Since you’re essentially making a custard, add your custard ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 can of evaporated milk (or 1 c. of whole milk or light cream) and 3/4 cup sugar for every 2 cups of pureed squash. Everything should be nice and blended to pour into a deep unbaked pie crust.

4. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven and the depth of your pie. Check for firmness toward the end of the baking time (you want a firm custard), but don’t let the pumpkin filling overcook or scorch.

A packet of Long Island heirloom cheese pumpkin seeds from the Hudson Valley Seed Library.

Where To Find Them

Now that we’ve got your taste buds at attention, it seems only fair to help you find one of these delicious beauties. There are a few farmers selling Long Island cheese pumpkins at city Greenmarkets, but why not head out to the Forks this weekend and pick yourself up a fresh one off one of these farmstands? (And for most farms, this’d be the last weekend to do so.)

• Halsey Farm (513 Deerfield Road, Water Mill), where you can pick one up for .50 cents a pound from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Fairview Farm (19 Horsemill Lane, Bridgehampton), where you can opt to U-pick or take a pre-selected pumpkin from their farmstand at .60 cents a pound. Hours: Mon & Thurs 2-6 p.m.; Fri 12-6 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Harbes’ Mattituck Farm Market (715 Sound Avenue, Mattituck) for LI Cheeses pre-picked at .99 cents a pound now through this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Beyond producing food, Amber Waves in Amagansett focuses on food literacy, just like the Green School in Sagaponack.

Coming off of Sylvester Manor’s Plant and Sing on Shelter Island and Amber Waves Oktoberfest in Amagansett (with excellent beer from upstart homebrewer Joe Sullivan), it’s hard to imagine that harvest festivals are just rolling out across the Forks.

This weekend might be your last chance to pick up a carving pumpkin, and perhaps a few others for baking. (Long Island Cheese, anyone?) The Massoud family invites you to Paumanok’s annual Harvest Party on Sunday at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the Ross School in East Hampton, fresh from its scrumptious Harvest party, is launching a sort of mashup of Eat Drink Local and a typical community tennis round-robin. At the Sunday Local Weekend Round Up, 4-6 p.m., players enter a round robin of singles and doubles matches, and they can leave their Dannon Activia at home, since a local food and drink reception will follow. Featured food and spirits will also be on sale. $40 for drop in, or $300 for a 10-pack. Limit of 18 players. Register at 631.907.5162 or www.ross.org/tennis.

A farmer-in-training at the Green School. Photo courtesy of The Green School.

And, finally, for the kids, there’s this to consider. The Green School in Sagaponack–which gets its power from rooftop solar and whose 2 and 3 year old students spend their days making seasonally-appropriate apple muffins and pumpkin soup, and taking care of the resident farm animals—is offering extracurricular ed for those wee weekend warriors. In addition to riding lessons ($75 for a 30 minute lesson, $100 for 1 hour lesson; ages 3 years to adult) and a Saturday morning petting farm (9:30 a.m.-Noon, R.S.V.P. appreciated to 631.875.4890; $25 includes petting zoo and pony ride), families can adopt an animal and help feed and care for it as part of the Part Time Farmer offerings. Available animals include a pony, a horse, a donkey, pigs, bunnies, guinea pigs, hens and roosters. (Annual shares start at $35 and go up to $300. Learn more here or call 631.537.1634.)

At Tots on the Farm, now in its second season at The Green School, pre-nursery and nursery aged children enter the classroom through barn doors, and eat snacks often supplemented from the school’s garden. The teachers and students compost the remains or feed them to the farm animals on site. The chickens provide eggs for baking. The school’s NYC sister is called The Art Farm School, is across the way from Eli Zabar’s Vinegar Factory.

According to school founder Mari Linnman, it’s this sort of environment–“an idyllic setting filled with farm animals, gardens, and ponds”–that helps young children adjust to the separation anxiety that’s sometimes part of school. She credits the model partly to her own childhood on a dairy farm. “We have a clear message of exposing children to all that nature has to offer and how to preserve it for all those who inhabit great and small,” she says, noting that care for farm animals teaches, among other things, responsibility, compassion and patience.

Blue skies, but no more service.

The “Closed Til May” signs that have started sprouting at summer fish shacks around the Hamptons can be demoralizing, but leave it to Under the Willow on the Sag-Bridge Turnpike to remind us that there’s always something in season. The “Se Vendan Gallinas Vidas” sign (shown below) that went up in front of their roadside stand is just the latest evidence that micro-farmers Dale Haubrich and Bette Lacina continue their ongoing exercise to squeeze as much productivity (and food) from a few small pieces of land.

A few years back, citing a need to “slow down,” the hardworking couple decided to scale back their list of restaurant accounts and grow primarily for the Sag Harbor farmers market. There was a talk of a CSA too, but with the new Bay Burger next door created some people traffic, they revived their once-farmstand and have been adding to it ever since. They were among the first stand’s open (with greenhouse greens and foraged bamboo shoots) this spring and will probably be peddling dried tomatoes and winter squash until the first Nor’easters come ashore.

Among the new crops they are rolling out at Under the Willow farm stand in Sag Harbor.

Under the Willow’s sign makes us think of two things. First, the “How to Butcher a Chicken at Home” piece that appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of Brooklyn’s OVERFLOW magazine. It’s all you need to help you deal with your gallina vida. If you haven’t yet picked up OVERFLOW, we highly recommend it: we find a certain solidarity in its hyperlocal editorial mission to write for the people of South Brooklyn.

Beyond poultry preparation advice, we like the funky contributors page and feature on Brooklyn burlesque, “Gals of the Canal.”

Second, we are thinking of a few chicken roasting recipes from Evan Harris’s “No More Not Cooking” series for Edible East End. There was the roast chicken adventure with Roisin Bateman. And then there was the potpie with Cheryl Beddini. Two ideas for keeping your warm and fed from now til May.

Reader questions: Where are you getting your chicken, duck or other poultry these days? And what are you doing with it?

The food-focused household of editors Jack Bishop and Lauren Chattman, who live just down the street from Cavaniola’s Gourmet in Sag Harbor, speaks of life before- and after-Cavaniola’s. Indeed, When Michael and Tracey Cavaniola opened their cheeseshop on Division Street, they filled a certain kind of gap in the town.

There was their extensive, curated selection of hand-picked cheeses, including early offerings from Mecox Bay dairy and Catapano goat farm. The store had excellent chocolate and olive oil and pasta and other to-go-with-cheese essentials. The store evolved and grew and today, neighbors can pop in in the morning for a croissant and coffee, and in the afternoon for cheese and wine. Now, this corner of town has become a veritable one-stop-shopping opportunity. (Sag Harbor Beverage next door has been getting in all sorts of craft beer, if you haven’t noticed.)

And, with the beautiful shop’s latest addition of eye candy–a fire-engine red Berkel manual crank meat slicer featured in the video tour above–Cavaniola’s adds yet another offering to their menu: Machine-sliced cured meat that tastes like it were cut by hand. “Four out of 10 cheese shop customers get prosciutto now,” says Michael as he demos his superior slicing, shows us what they’re dishing–from smoked bluefish spread to potato chips to salad in a jar–at Cavaniola’s Kitchen next door, and takes us through the subterranean Umbrella Building, one of Sag Harbor’s oldest structures, that has become Cavaniola Cellars. See all three of this shops above, and be sure to visit him in person at 89 Division Street if you’re out in Sag Harbor.