Country Roads and Hidden Treasures

We spend a lot of weekends in VT enjoying my family’s vacation house. Just like at home we tend not to eat out much, but when we do finding a new place is always a fun way to enjoy somebody else’s cooking.

Because the area where our house is located is near several large ski resorts there are lots of restaurants to be found in the high traffic areas, but the random find seems to be the best way to get out for a local bite. This weekend we happened upon Stoddard’s in Londonderry, VT. Mom & Dad had a gift certificate from the Fireman’s Auction in 2010, but didn’t know where the place was. It turns out we have driven by the place hundreds of times, never registering it was a restaurant; and all day breakfast & lunch diner at that!

I had a club sandwich with fries, and everyone else had a burger. Margot opted for onion rings which turn out to be a great measuring stick of a restaurant. Both the rings and fries were perfectly cooked and very clean tasting with minimal salt. There was no commercial packaged food here and the bacon on my club and my parents’ burgers had been deep fried! The burgers were the real deal, made by hand on site. When paired with the deep fried bacon and some VT cheddar cheese they easily satisfied our crew.

Next time you are in the Londonderry, VT area check out Stoddard on Main street right near the junction of routes 100 and 11.

Cheers!

Jason

Ignite Bar & Grill – Manchester, NH

Margot is back working in Manchester. This is a joyous thing for several reasons. This time I work from home a couple days a week so meeting up for lunch in the city once a month is a snap.

For our first outing we picked Ignite Bar & Grill on Hanover street. We have read several reviews of this place, seen their ads in the local papers but hadn’t stopped in yet. They have a great location right near the Palace Theater. I could see this place getting busy before and after shows. The bar has seating for a decent sixed crowd. There are also two open rooms with seating sporting modern décor and at least when we were there some groovy music playing.

We started with the fried pickles. Seriously, when you see something like that on a new menu can you really refuse? The best asset of these is that they are salty, and that saltiness prohibits eating them by the container-full! They were fantastic. A light breading covers your typical pickle chip. Perfectly fried and not greasy. There was a Jamaican Ranch dipping sauce provided, and it only added character to this already winner of a starter.

Margot went with the ostrich burger (Big Bird) and I had the fish & chips. Both were again excellent, although I think Margot liked the fish better. The ostrich burger is what you would expect a lean white meat burger to be. It has more structure (think less fat) than a beef burger and isn’t quite as soft. I thought the flavor was great and the sweet potato fries were surprisingly good.

The fish and chips were cooked extremely well. This is an easy dish to screw up and clearly the folks at Ignite know that and came through. The batter on the fish was light and just this side of cooked so it was crispy, but not hard. The fish was flaky and clean tasting. The standard fries were great and since they show up on quite a few of the plates, getting them right is pretty important. I had a Long Hammer IPA with my fish & chips and found it to be a worthy partner with the meal.

I would definitely recommend Ignite as a new place to try in Manchester. With so many places to try I’m not sure how soon we will get back there to try more selections from the menu. If you go be sure and let us know what you had and what your experience was like.

Cheers!

Jason

Salmon Burgers – First Attempt

With the summer grilling season upon us I am venturing to try as many different burger styles as I can. I plan to wait until the end to try some beef variations, something I have done many times before.

I saw a recipe two weeks ago for Salmon Burgers at the Ardent Epicure / Magic of Spice blog. Because I hadn’t made burgers from fish before I used this recipe as a guide hoping to get the proportions right and a result worth evaluating. I did veer off when it came to flavors and the final preparation, but that is where the fun comes in. The recipe was a handy guide and the complete preparation from the blog would make a great meal.

The recipe I used can be found below. The process was quite straightforward and did not require any special equipment or a lot of time. They cook quickly which is a bonus when you get home late on a weeknight.

Upon eating the burgers I was immediately sure that that the adornment of the burgers with a fresh salsa certainly enhanced the flavors. The burgers as I prepared them were mild in flavor, but had a wonderful texture and a nice crisp coating on the outside. I considered what I would do the next time.

I would add more salt to the mix and swap out the jalapeno cheese for regular cheddar and some habanero pepper sauce. More flavor there. I would also add some ground cumin and chopped cilantro to the mix also for more flavor. Where I am going is typical for me. I don’t add a lot of stuff on top of my burgers, I like the flavor to be in them. I dress them up with cheese, lettuce and tomato and sometimes some mayonnaise, which would work well here too; although I don’t think it would be a big change.

I did not find a good wine match to go with these burgers and I tried two different wines available the night I cooked the burgers. The first was the Miguel Torres Tormenta 2009 Organically Grown Viognier from Chile. The wine was very dry for a Viognier and the burger accentuated the dryness and made the wine taste a bit tart. I then switched to a bottle of a Chilean Pinot Noir we made with some friends and found a better match, but no sparks.

I will be making these burgers again, applying some of the changes I mentioned above and looking for better beverage pairings to create a super summer meal. The next burger adventure is going to be with ground turkey and some spice ideas culled from some of the new shows on the Cooking Channel.

Recipe for Salmon Burgers
(makes 3 large patties)

9oz boneless salmon filet
12 whole wheat crackers
3 tbsp light mayo
1 tbsp country style Dijon mustard
2 tsp chopped fresh drill
3 oz shredded jalapeno cheddar cheese
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp butter
3 small whole wheat pitas, cut open
Sliced tomato and lettuce for garnish

• Pulse crackers in the food processor to small crumbs, set side
• Combine mayo, mustard and dill in a small bowl, set aside
• Shred cheese and set aside
• Finely chop onion, set aside
• Remove the skin from the salmon and cut in medium sized chunks
• Process in the food processor until it has a smooth texture and some pieces still visible
• Scrape into large bowl, mix in mayo/mustard, crackers, cheese, onion, salt, pepper and lime juice
• Form into 3 patties
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and melt butter in pan
• Cook patties about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and pale pink in the middle
• Top with cheese after flipping, if desired
• Use the pitas, tomato and lettuce to make 3 burgers.

Cheers!

--Jason