april 2011 feast magazine

she’s a busy bee

joy stingereasy like sunday morning

easter brunchgear up for the season

farmers’ markets

Inspired Food Culture / Saint Louis feastSTL.com / AP RI L 2 0 1 1 / FREE

DELICIOUS, PURE & SIMPLE

3Inspired Food Culture APRIL 2011

feastSTL.com APRIL 20114


Put together a scrumptous easter brunch buffet with our time-saving recipes

that don’t skimp on style.

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from the staff

| 14 | feaststl.com

Check out this month’s online content.

| 16 | from the PUBlIsher

Celebrate the simple pleasures of food.

| 18 | feast faVes

This month’s inspired ideas for tasteful living in St. Louis.

colUmNs

| 32 | my stUff

Kick back at home with Jamey and Lisa Tochtrop of Stellina Pasta Café.

| 35 | gadget a-go-go

We put five egg poachers to the test.

| 36 | oN the shelf

New and notable in beer, wine and spirits.

| 38 | mystery shoPPer

Buy it and try it: pickled watermelon rind.

| 40 | tech school

Get modern with the 65o egg.

| 42 | easy eats

A simple take on a classic: wild mushroom and broccolini risotto.

| 82 | PUll UP a chaIr

Get Bac in black ... or red or natural wood.

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Of A 65° EGG (PAGE 40)

BY Jennifer Silverberg

APRIL 2011

Inspired Food Culture / Saint Louis

66

bees will be bees 56

69ChICks In the CIty

74FountaInSoda

Favorites



Volume 2 / Issue 4 / April 2011

Publisher and EditorCatherine Neville

Managing EditorBrandi Wills

Online EditorKristin Brashares

Art DirectorLisa Triefenbach

Vice President of AdvertisingDonna Bischoff

Copy Editor Andrea Mongler

Proofreader Barbara E. Stefàno

Contributing WritersErin Callier, Russ Carr, Pat Eby, Chad Michael George, Erik Jacobs

Jennifer Johnson, Angela Ortmann, Barbara E. Stefàno Matt Sorrell, Michael Sweeney, Cassandra Vires

Contributing PhotographersGeoff Cardin, Brian Cummings, Ashley Gieseking, Gregg Goldman

Tuan Lee, Laura Miller, Jonathan Pollack, Greg Rannells Jennifer Silverberg, Carmen Trosser

Contact UsFeast Media, 14522 S. Outer Forty Road

Town & Country, MO 63017Fax: 314.657.3347feastSTL.com

Advertising InquiriesSusan Eckert, 314.340.8587

[email protected]

Editorial [email protected]

DistributionTo distribute Feast Magazine at your place of business, please

contact Tom Livingston at [email protected].

Feast Magazine does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Submissions will not be returned.

All contents are copyright © 2010-2011 by Feast Magazine™. All rights reserved.

Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents, without the prior written permission of the publisher, is strictly prohibited.

A publication of Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, LLCA Lee Enterprises Company

Magazine


ONLINE CONTENT

STL.COM

ONLINE FEATURE: Join STL Fish Fry Crew members on their first Lenten outing of the year. Photographer Jennifer Silverberg chronicles this local tradition, and the crew gives their top picks for must-try fish fries this month.

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Connect with us at facebook.com/feastSTL for daily recipes, cooking demo videos, culinary news and behind-the-scenes photos.

Follow us at twitter.com/feastmag for up-to-the-minute restaurant news, special deals, FEaSt events and more.

Foodspotting get ideas on where to dine out with FEaSt’s monthly Foodspotting guide to Inspired Eats at foodspotting.com/feastmagazine.

INTEraCT with FEaST

DESIGN BITES: always on the hunt for deals and steals, FEaSt online columnist Erin Callier reveals the flea-market and design-store scores she’s landed for her kitchen and dining room. She shows you how to make out like a bandit, too.

COOKING DEMO: tech School chef Cassandra Vires teaches you how to achieve restaurant-style results with a step-by-step demo of the 65° egg pictured on our cover. She pairs it with savory Parmesan French toast and an herb salad. get the recipe on page 40.

ONLINE EXCLUSIvES > THIS MONTH’S FEAST > WATCH & LISTEN > FEAST EvENTS > RECIPES > DIGITAL ARCHIvES

shop girl

DEsigN BiTEs

QuiTE ThE pair

DiNNEr & a show

TravEloguE

ONLINE FEATURES

ThE FEED


Cooking DemoTue., April 19, 6:30pm, L’Ecole Culinaire

$40/person, 314.587.2433

Everything’s all-American at this month’s L’Ecole class. Join us as chef Matt Borchardt demonstrates how to put a contemporary spin on traditional diner favorites.

Wine TastingThu., April 21, 6pm, Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar

Complimentary, [email protected]

Join columnist Angela Ortmann for a wine tasting at Bridge.

Cooking ClassWed., April 27, 6pm, Schnucks Cooks Cooking

School, $40/person, schnuckscooks.com or

314.909.1704

Get hands-on at our monthly Schnucks class. This month you’ll learn how easy it is to make perfectly creamy risotto.

Feast Book Club Meet-UpThu., April 28, 6 to 7pm, Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar

Join us for complimentary hors d’oeuvres, exclusive wine specials and in-depth discussion of this month’s book club selection, Blood, Bones & Butter, a memoir by Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of acclaimed New York restaurant Prune. Pick up your copy at Left Bank Books and get 20% off!

Maplewood Coffee CrawlSat., April 30, 9am to noon, Complimentary, rsvp@

cityofmaplewoood.com or 314.645.3600

Stroll through Maplewood from Stone Spiral to the Bottleworks as you enjoy this self-guided tour featuring regional coffee roasters demonstrating the coffee process. Delicious treats will be offered by your favorite Maplewood coffee houses and shops.

Cat’s PicksWednesdays, 8:35am, The BIG 550 KTRS

Tune in as FEAST publisher Catherine Neville chats with host McGraw Milhaven and gives her weekly picks for the best places to eat and drink in the St. Louis area.

WFROM THE PUBLISHER

feedback?

[email protected]

hat’s simpler, more fundamental, than an egg? In the process of choosing this month’s cover, we had a number of striking images to consider, but it was that beautiful egg that best embodied the tone of our April issue. Spring is a season of renewal, clearly. But beyond that, this particular egg – more specifically, the way this particular egg was cooked – symbolizes a modern approach to cooking.

The egg on our cover was cooked at 65ºC for an hour and a half to the consistency of custard. Seems simple enough: take an egg and cook it low and slow for a long period of time. But the results you achieve by cooking an egg this way are undeniably unexpected and luxurious. That is modern cooking. Take great ingredients and let them shine with a restrained approach and innovative techniques.

And what else is modern? A fundamental lack of free time. You may want to spend Sunday afternoons playing around in the kitchen, but on a Tuesday, you need to feed your family quickly and well. Knowing that, this month we debut two new columns to fit the desires of contemporary cooks: Tech School and Easy Eats.

In Tech School, chef Cassy Vires teaches you how to achieve restaurant-style results in your home kitchen. This month, she takes you through the 65º egg step by step. And Easy Eats? Each month, you can look forward to an easy-to-make dish that’s still interesting enough to get you chopping on a weeknight. We give you the recipe, a full menu suggestion and host a hands-on cooking class (listed at right) to teach you how to make everything on that menu from start to finish. Fantastic food can be a part of your everyday life and I’m happy to be able to bring you fresh inspiration with each new issue.

Until next time,

Catherine Neville

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Foundation Grounds CoFFee House & CaFÉ

Foundation Grounds is much more than a neighborhood coffee shop. Pastries beckon from a small case by the register – don’t miss the Russian tea cakes and (our favorite) the perfect-with-coffee Goo balls. Sandwiches, hot off the panini press, include the sweet, cheesy Perfect Pear with sliced pear, spinach, red onions, melted brie and apple butter. Try a combo, and match the brother Mike’s Ham Sammy with one of the café’s organic salads. And if you’re in the mood for something, well, bigger, one of the brunch burritos will satisfy – The bucko mixes beans and eggs with peppers and lots of Cheddar cheese. The coffee, by the way, is roasted in Edwardsville, Ill., by Goshen Coffee Co. your visit to Foundation Grounds will leave you fully caffeinated and well-fed.

7298 Manchester Road, Maplewood foundationgrounds.com

FEAST FAVES / where we’re dining

Foundation Grounds

Coffee House & Café

314.601.3588

Maplewood

JoIN US at the Maplewood Coffee Crawl on Sat., april 30, from 9am to noon for samples, demos and treats at Maplewood businesses.


FEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIentFEAST FAVES / At hom e

FEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIentFEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIent

Lots of tasty things are whirred into shakes and concretes in this town, but goat cheese? Don’t ask. Just give it a try. The first sip of your Foz-O-Licious from Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium will taste sweetly of apple pie, but that sweetness deepens into a rich tang as you savor this shake. Here, caramel and roasted apple are mixed with fresh goat cheese, resulting in a not-too-sweet concoction that’s a rich foil to one of the tiny shop’s amazing sandwiches.

1170 S. Big Bend Blvd., Richmond Heights foodatfozzies.com

| 1 | Nostalgia Electrics old-fashioned ice cream maker, 29.99; Bed Bath & Beyond, multiple locations, bedbathandbeyond.com | 2 | Cuisinart Soft Serve Mix-it-In ice cream maker, $99.99; Macy’s, multiple locations, macys.com | 3 | Deni Candy Crusher automatic ice cream maker, $59.99; Kohl’s, online only at kohls.com

Goat cheese

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Fozzie’s

Sandwich Emporium

314.932.5414

Richmond heights

| 1 |

| 2 |

Ice cReaM MaKeRs

| 3 |

Foz-o-Licious shAKe

get A gReAt Recipe FoR homemAde ice cReAm on pAge 78!


FEAST FAVES / SecreT ingredienTFEAST FAVES / FOOd STUFF

SWEET SNACKSThese locally made, hand-crafted nibbles bring artisan flair to sneaking a bite of something sweet.

Made in Creve Coeur

Made in Ladue

Made in StoCkton, Mo.

| 1 | Mom’s Originals dipped pretzel rods, petites and mini 4-packs, $1.75 to $4; visit momsoriginals.com for your nearest retail location | 2 | The Caramel House caramels, available in almond, bacon, beer-pretzel, coffee, coconut and vanilla, $18 for ½-pound bag or $36 for 1-pound gift box; thecaramelhouse.com | 3 | Hammons Nut Emporium mix of caramelized and dark chocolate-covered black Missouri walnuts, $7.69 per pound; Local Harvest Grocery, 3108 Morgan Ford Road, Tower Grove, localharvestgrocery.com PHOTOGRAPHy by Laura Miller


FEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIentFEAST FAVES / where we’re dInIng

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When’s the last time you took a bite of bruléed meat? At the new bogart’s Smoke House, ribs are slathered with apricot preserves and put to the torch, resulting in a hauntingly sweet flavor that perfectly offsets a spicy rub and balanced level of smoke. Employees of Pappy’s Smokehouse recently bowed this smoky outpost, offering the same level of barbecue that has folks in line for hours at the Midtown original. Tender beef brisket, silky prime rib, sausage “fatty” and pastrami are expertly prepared and paired with any number of sides. Dill-laced deviled egg potato salad; thick, sugary baked beans; and barbecued pork skins round out your plate at this slice of carnivore heaven.

Bogart’s

Smoke House

314.621.3107Soulard

Bogart’s smoke House

1627 S. 9th St., Soulard bogartssmokehouse.com


FEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIentFEAST FAVES / What We’re buyIng

HONEY POTSDip into these darling pots at your next brunch or make a “just because” breakfast at home a special occassion.

| 1 | Honeybee honey pot and

creamer set, $20; Williams-

Sonoma, multiple locations,

williams-sonoma.com

| 2 | Michael Aram honey pot

with spoon, $72; Neiman Marcus,

Plaza Frontenac, Frontenac,

neimanmarcus.com | 3 | Honey

pot with stirrer, $7.95; Sur

La Table, Plaza Frontenac,

Frontenac, surlatable.com | 4 | Le

Creuset honey pot with silicone

dipper, $19.95; Cornucopia, 107

N. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood,

kitchencopia.com

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A new addition to the Balaban’s menu in April, this light but luscious dish is the perfect lunchtime indulgence or delightful introduction to dinner. Succulent lobster meat is perfectly seasoned and poached and then plated atop a drizzle of saffron beurre blanc, avocado salsa and fresh tomato concassée (meaning “skinless and seedless”).

The dish marries an assortment of flavors, textures and techniques that pique your palate with every bite. The only thing that could enhance the experience is a glass of expertly paired wine. Try the house recommendation, a 2009 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay.

1772 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield balabanswine.com

Butter & Citrus PoaChed LoBster

FEAST FAVES / seCret IngredIentP

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Balaban’s Wine Cellar &

Tapas Bar

636.449.6700

Chesterfield


FEAST FAVES / DESIGN TRENDS WE LOVE

honeysuckle

Each year, world-renowned color authority, Pantone LLC, declares its choice for the Color of the Year, and designers and trend-watchers everywhere eagerly await the announcement of what will become the new haute hue in fashion and home décor. 2011’s color to watch for: honeysuckle.

A bold and dynamic choice, reddish-pink honeysuckle adds a touch of vibrancy to tonal rooms and brings a bright enthusiasm to dark spaces. Meant to attract the eye and engage the senses, the color works better in well-appointed bursts than as a dominant element in a room’s design.

Look for accessories and small appliances in this energetic hue to enliven your kitchen or dining space, or call Pantone at 866.692.6567 to order a can or two of their expert-blended interior paint and get creative.

PANTONE 18-2120Honeysuckle

DIGITAL DRAWING BY ©ISTOCkPHOTO.COM/IvANWuPI HONEYSuCkLE PHOTO BY ©ISTOCkPHOTO.COM/fACE333


nirvana

FEAST FAVES / whAT we’re drInkIng

| 1 | Faces bar tool set, $99; Williams-Sonoma, multiple locations, williams-sonoma.com | 2 | Bar tool set, $49.95; Crate & Barrel, 1 The Boulevard, Richmond Heights, crateandbarrel.com | 3 | Swissmar stainless steel seven-piece bar set, $69.99; available online only, target.com

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Taste Bar’s Ted Kilgore, well known for his exceptional cocktails, has developed new

concoctions to go with the bar’s new digs. At Taste, “hand-crafted” is the

mantra. Case in point: Nirvana. This smooth sipper starts with a clear-as-glass cylinder of ice. The drink’s lush ingredients are shaken and poured atop the ice, which

Kilgore then dresses with a tiny dried rosebud. And why use that cylinder of

ice? A large block melts at a slower pace than conventional cubes. Less ice melt, less

dilution of the drink’s intensely sweet-tart flavor.

4584 Laclede Ave., Central West Endtastebarstl.com

Taste Bar

314.361.1200 central west end

Bar SETS

| 1 | | 2 | | 3 |

NirvanaBy TED KILGORE, TASTE BAR

Serves | 1 |

1½ oz Flor de Caña Grand Reserve 7-year ½ oz Rhum J.M. Gold ½ oz Trader Tiki’s Orgeat ½ oz Theia Organic Jasmine Liqueur ¾ oz freshly squeezed lime juice 2 dashes Angostura Bitters 2 dashes The Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters 1 dried rosebud, for garnish

| Preparation | Mix all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a dried rose bud.


Not quite ready for big, earth-driven Italian reds? Consider Super Tuscans. Tuscany, traditionally known for Chianti, has in recent decades led a revolution in traditional Italian wine making with its internationally styled Super Tuscan wines. They are produced using Tuscany’s native Sangiovese grape and nontraditional grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah – often a blend of these – and aged in French oak to produce full-bodied, intensely flavored and long-lived wines. They have a reputation for $100-plus price tags from such producers as Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia, but you can find many terrific Super Tuscans at terrific prices.

SUPER TUSCANS

wrITTeN by Jennifer Johnson

FEAST FAVES / shop-o-matIC

FEAST FAVES / what we’re drInkIng

The popularity of this beloved local and organic grocery is such that Local Harvest has finally outgrown its space. Not hard to do, considering it was operating out of 660 square feet. However, the move has afforded the locavore store more than just some extra elbow room.

with their new 1,800-square-foot space just a half-block away from their original location, co-owners Patrick Horine and Maddie earnest have expanded their classic offerings and added a number of new vendors and products. Of note is the carry-out case, featuring prepared foods from Local Harvest Cafe (the smoked chicken salad is heavenly!), dips, soup mixes and an exciting addition to the LHG lineup: macrobiotic, vegan bento boxes.

The new space has also allowed LHG to offer fresh (no longer

just frozen) meats, a larger selection of wine and beer, a boutique selection of spirits, a larger offering of organic produce year-round and a more constant and consistent supply of dairy, including more organic cheeses and milk.

All of this is offered up in a bright, spacious store full of delightful decor. we love the Mason jar lighting hanging from the ceiling and the custom checkout stand made by Craig winn with wood transported from earnest’s family property in Arkansas. The same wood is used in decorative accents throughout the store. It’s a beautiful setting in which to celebrate (and support) the continued success of a local treasure.

3108 Morgan Ford road, Tower Grove Southlocalharvestgrocery.com

LoCAL HARvEST GRoCERy

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Tower Grove

2006 Tolaini Toscana TenuTa s. Giovanni valdisanTi

Tuscany, Italy

Rich, dark berry and cherry dominate the nose of this

Cabernet Sauvignon-Sangiovese-Cabernet Franc blend, and the full-bodied palate contributes

toasty oak, leather and a hint of thyme through a lengthy finish.

Pair with sausage, bresaola, mushroom lasagna and herb-

roasted pork loin.

$28; Veritas Gateway to Food and Wine, 1722 Clarkson Road,

Chesterfield, veritasgateway.com

2005 TenuTa di arceno Primavoce Toscana

Tuscany, Italy

This mostly Merlot-Cabernet blend opens pleasantly

with plum, cocoa and subtle bramble fruit supported by a

soft, medium-bodied palate of baked cherries, baking spice

and a touch of forest-floor earthiness. Serve with lamb

shank, gnocchi Bolognese and bison burgers.

$16.99; Schnucks, 10275 Clayton Road, Ladue, schnucks.com


St. Louisans love Italian cuisine. Pasta, in particular, whether fresh or dried, stuffed or simply sauced. Jamey Tochtrop has been known for his fresh, organic, handmade pastas for years – many years, in fact, before he and his wife, Lisa, opened Stellina Pasta Café. Lisa is the bustling café’s pastry chef, baking delicate cakes, tarts and cookies. Jamey handles the savory side of things and his approach to Italian cooking fuses an authentic restraint with just-from-the-farm ingredients. Pasta varies daily from lasagna layered with prosciutto, grilled green onion and artichoke, to agnolotti stuffed with eggplant, pine nuts and Asiago cheese. A recent expansion has grown the number of non-pasta entrées as well. “We consistently have access to the very best of the local scene because of longstanding relationships [with local farmers],” says Jamey. And what’s new this spring? “We are growing some of our own organic heirloom produce for the first year. I am pretty jazzed about that!”

What would you choose as your final meal? Slow roasted Hinkebein Hills pork belly. I could eat it off of someone’s shoe and be happy! What’s a typical family dinner at the Tochtrops’? Sunday and Monday it’s usually what we didn’t sell at the restaurant on Saturday night. Do you make pasta at home? No way! Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese if any. Are you the supplier of classroom cupcakes and sweet treats? Yes, but cupcakes aren’t allowed at school. It’s usually cookies or Rice Krispies treats. Favorite Sunday-morning coffee? Kaldi’s Favorite after-work drink? The Afternoon, a new drink on our spring menu. Maker’s Mark, ginger beer, bitters and lemon … delicious. What’s Harper’s favorite snack? Chicken nuggets and mac. He also loves veggie burgers and cantaloupe. What does he refuse to eat? Salad Does he still have a spot to crash in the back of the café? Yes, but the naps are no more and it’s impossible to use the office computer for work anymore. We have to ask his permission between games of Super Mario. You and Lisa run the restaurant together – how do you spend your time off with each other? Mostly lazy days. There isn’t much time I am not here. I spend as much time with Harper as possible. What do you wish people knew about running a restaurant, especially as a couple? I think in general people see this work as glamorous. Although it has its perks and I wouldn’t want to do anything else, it is a ton of constant work. If you had a whole month away from the café, what would you do? If it was up to me, I would go back to Italy for sure. If it was up to Harper, Disney Castle.

MY STUFF

JAmey And LIsA TochTRoP

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written by Catherine NevilleowneRs of sTeLLInA PAsTA cAfé

Stellina Pasta Café3342 watson road, South City314.256.1600stellinapasta.com


Nordic Ware Non-Stick Egg Poacher Insert

PROSConverts a 10- or 12-inch skillet to an egg poacher in a jiffy. The directions call for a little butter in the bottom of each cup – always a plus. Eggs poached to set whites and hot runny yolks in six minutes every time. Easy storage and cleanup; hand wash.

CONSThe poacher fits any skillet of the correct size, but the lid must be domed to accommodate the center handle of the insert. Wrangling the eggs to the plate took a little practice, as all four cups are connected.

$10.95; Kitchen Conservatory, 8021 Clayton Road, Clayton, kitchenconservatory.com

Poachpods by Fusion Brands

PROSBright and dark green, these supersleek pods float eggs in gently simmering water in any lidded pan. Eggs poach to perfection in under six minutes. Pull straight from the pot by the corner with your fingers. Eggs release cleanly and quickly. Best of all, they stack and store in a drawer. Dishwasher-safe, top shelf, speared on a prong through one of three holes.

CONSThese versatile cooking tools don’t have a downside unless you can’t tolerate silicone.

$9.95, set of two; Cornucopia, 107 N. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, kitchencopia.com

gadgEt a-go-go

Put to thE tESt

WriTTEn By Pat Eby

What to look For :

Try out these handy poachers at home when making Easter brunch. Check out our brunch feature for great recipe ideas.

Stovetop or microwave: Some folks consider microwaving an egg a sacrilege, while others find push-button eggs cooked fat-free a religious experience. Choose first. Egg poachers abound in both genres.

Size: if one egg does it for you, choose a stand-alone poacher. A single egg will cook in a poacher designed to hold three or four, but why waste the stovetop space?

Cleanup: Look for nonstick finishes for easiest cleanup. Plastic, tin and silicone require extra attention to left-behind egg whites and oil.

Storage: When storage is an issue, consider stackable silicone pods that fit in a drawer. inserts occupy a middle ground in the cabinet, but full-blown pots with multiple inserts and lids need space to perch.

Nordic Ware Microware Egg Poacher

PROSCompact, user-friendly cookware to cook eggs down-and-dirty fast. The eggs break directly into the cups with no butter or oil necessary. The lid snaps tight, and two eggs microwave in under a minute and a half; then the eggs rest for another 30 seconds before being served.

CONSOdd as this sounds, the two eggs in the same cookware never cooked to identical doneness during the test. Many eggs overcooked and undercooked. The results weren’t as reliable as with conventionally poached eggs.

$2.99; Kmart, multiple locations, kmart.com

French tin Egg Poacher by Combrichon

PROSAesthetics rule with this old-fashioned tin contraption. Submerge this poacher in 2 inches of simmering water and a splash of vinegar. Three to four minutes later, pull up a beautifully poached egg. Bring the egg to the table on a plate in its footed container, run a spoon under the egg and plop it onto wheat toast. Sublime eating. Buy two, or four, for special breakfasts.

CONSWhen the egg hits the water, egg threads fly, so you need a scouring pad to clean the pan and the poacher.

$6.95; Sur la Table, Plaza Frontenac, Frontenac, surlatable.com

Farberware Non-Stick Egg Poacher

PROSCooking four eggs at once took so little effort. The well-made pan balanced perfectly on the stove so the egg cups slipped in and out without a hitch. Easy-to-grab plastic tabs on each cup never got too hot to hold. Eggs slid smoothly from cups to plates.

CONS Large supermarket eggs came close to overtopping the egg cups; a big farm egg probably wouldn’t fit. The deeper cups threw off the timing, pushing a six-minute egg to eight minutes consistently. To avoid a burn, watch for steam release when lifting the egg cups.

$19.99; Bed Bath & Beyond, multiple locations, bedbathandbeyond.com

Check out page46!

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ON the shelf

BEERwritten by Michael Sweeney

When not using his spare time to make fun of people who write blogs, Michael Sweeney writes the beer blog STLHops.com. The irony is lost on him.

OUR TOP PICKS FOR APRILPouring wine PhotograPhy by ©iStockPhoto.com/Lauri PatterSon

Cocchi Barolo Chinato

Provenance: Barolo DOCG, Italy (16.5% abv)available at: The Wine Merchant, 20 S. Hanley

Road, Clayton, winemerchantltd.com; $59.99

giulio cocchi concocted this treat in 1891, and the recipe has not changed since. in essence, this bottle starts as a tasty barolo, which is then aromatized (à la sweet vermouth) with quinine bark, rhubarb, ginger and other aromatics. in a limited vermouth market, it is a welcome addition to any bar. try it neat with a chunk of your favorite chocolate.

Bonal Gentiane-Quina Aperitif

Provenance: France (16% abv) available at: Lukas Liquor Superstore, 15921

Manchester Road, Ellisville, lukasliquorstl.com; $17.99

bonal is another european concoction dating back to the 1800s. also a wine-based aperitif, bonal is flavored with gentian, quinine and herbs of the grand chartreuse mountains (also found in – yes, you guessed it – green chartreuse). technically a fortified wine (mistelle), bonal has beautiful bitter notes that manage to not overwhelm the sweetness. this is a great sweet vermouth replacement for added complexity in any cocktail.

GET CHAD’S RECIPES

ON THE WEB

feastStl.com

Cardamaro Vino Amaro

Provenance: Italy (17% abv)available at: The Wine & Cheese Place, multiple

locations, wineandcheeseplace.com; $19.99

Quality amaros are scarce in our fair city, so giovanni bosca’s cardamaro is a welcome addition, infusing cardoon and blessed thistle for an extra-smooth taste. cardoon is a cousin to the artichoke, and blessed thistle was a bubonic plague treatment in the middle ages. Smooth and nutty flavors with a strong, spicy backbone highlight this tasty bottling.

SPIRITSwritten by Chad Michael George

Award-winning sommelier and mixologist Chad Michael George is founder of Proof Academy, which covers everything from wine and cocktail list consulting to spirits and mixology education.

Goose Island Beer Co.’s Big John

StYle: Imperial Stout (11.5% abv)available at: The Wine & Cheese Place, multiple

locations, wineandcheeseplace.com; $8.99 (22-oz bottle) PairingS: Devil’s food cake • Smoked pork ribs

i’ve always been a big fan of truth in advertising. if you call something “big,” it had better live up to the name. at 11.5 percent abv and 60 international bitterness units, big John from goose island certainly lives up to its name. brewed with roasted malt and cocoa nibs, big John provides plenty of big chocolate flavor and aroma.

2nd shift Brewing Co.’s Wheat freak

StYle: American Wheat Ale (5.5% abv)available at: Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar, 1004 Locust St., Downtown, thebridgestl.com; $5 (12-oz draught) PairingS: Chicken gumbo • Chèvre

wheat beers don’t have to be boring beers. they are fantastically refreshing

but also provide plenty of flavor. the 2nd Shift wheat Freak is bursting with citrusy hop aroma while

providing a pleasant, grainy finish. this beer smells like an iPa but drinks like a wheat.

Brouwerij Rodenbach’s Rodenbach Grand Cru

StYle: Flanders Red Ale (6% abv)available at: Corral Liquors, 3304 Nameoki Road, Granite City, Ill., corralliquors.com; $10.99 (750-ml bottle)

PairingS: Camembert • Grilled lamb chops

if someone pinned me down and made me pick a desert island beer, rodenbach grand cru would almost certainly make the cut. the beer is slightly sweet with an extremely complex and funky aroma and flavor. with a relatively low abv of 6 percent, this is one you can feel free to share or even enjoy all by yourself. (only available in illinois.)


Join Angela Ortmann and FEAST publisher Catherine Neville for a happy hour wine tasting at 6pm on Thu., April 21, at Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar. RSVP to [email protected].

WINEwritten by Angela Ortmann

STLwinegirl Angela Ortmann shares her passion for all things epicurean through her event and consultation business, which is dedicated to enhancing your food and wine experience.

2009 Réserve de la Saurine Grenache Blanc

Provenance: Languedoc, Franceavailable at: Robust, 227 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, robustwines.com; $12, carry-outFood Pairings: Shrimp scampi • Lemongrass chicken • Tomato salad

Grenache blanc is a full-bodied white with rich tones and crisp acidity. the Saurine blanc offers notes of mandarin oranges and ripe nectarines with a hint of minerality and zesty citrus. Serve this wine warmer than most whites to enjoy the full aromas and flavors.

Valdespino Pedro Ximenez El Candado Sherry

Provenance: Spainavailable at: Provisions Gourmet Market, 11615 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, provisionsmarket.com; $21.99 (375-ml bottle)Food Pairings: Camembert • Figs • • Chocolate desserts

Velvety and sweet, this amber-colored sherry displays characters of roasted nuts, caramel, dates and brown sugar. Slight acidity helps lighten the syrupy quality common in dessert wines. the lengthy finish makes a small pour more than satisfying. For an added treat, pour it over vanilla ice cream or enjoy it with a fine cigar.

NV Anna Spinato Prosecco

Provenance: Veneto, Italyavailable at: Di Gregorio’s Market, 5200 Daggett Ave.,

The Hill, digregoriofoods.com; $5.99 (187-ml bottle)Food Pairings: Almonds • Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus • Smoked seafood

As picnics and barbecues approach, wouldn’t it be great to find a convenient and perfectly sized bottle of bubbles to enjoy? Look no further. the Anna Spinato Prosecco has fun packaging and an easy-to-open (and close!) screw cap. Aromas of apricot and sweet bread are not lost in the mini bottle and reach out to elegant flavors of peach and apple with a finish of almond.


mySTery Shopper

America’s colonists were a hungry bunch. One still wonders what drove those early Americans to look at discarded watermelon rinds and say, “Drown it in enough hard cider, and I could eat that.” But we’re glad they did.

What is it?

“To Pickle or Make Mangoes of Melons” was among the many recipes in the very first cookbook published in America – American Cookery by Amelia Simmons (1796). And while Simmons’ recipe for pickled watermelon rind is perhaps a bit more savory – “a clove of garlick, a little ginger and nutmeg sliced, and a little whole pepper” – than today’s variations, the preparations are familiar.

Pickled watermelon rind uses only the white part of the rind – the tough green skin is peeled away. It is chopped into bite-size pieces, brined and boiled until it starts to soften. It is then cooked in thick, spice-laden syrup spiked with vinegar for a tangy bite. The finished translucent, topaz-hued morsels have a flavor similar to spiced pear.

hoW do i use it?

The warm spices that infuse the rinds – clove, cinnamon and allspice – make these pickles a great pairing with roast turkey or a sweet contrast to smoky barbecued pork. Or make a fast appetizer by placing slices on toasted baguette rounds smeared with soft, salty cheese.

Prepared pickled watermelon rind can be found at local grocery stores, but come summertime, when melons are plentiful, you might want to get bold enough to make your own batch. The recipe featured in Alice Walters’ Chez Panisse Fruit is the go-to recipe for Farmhaus’ Kevin Willmann, and it makes a generous 1½ quarts – giving you some to savor immediately and some to stock up against those winter privations.

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Stop by to pick up more delicious recipes featuring pickled watermelon rind. Visit straubs.com for information on its four locations.check it out!

FeasT exTra

marinated pork Loin with Watermelon pickle Slawby Kevin Willmann , FARMHAuS

Serves | 6 to 8 |

2½ lbs boneless pork loin 2 quarts pickled watermelon rind, brine reserved salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil 1 large shallot, sliced thin 1 bulb fennel, shaved 1 Tbsp fennel seeds, toasted

| Preparation – Pork Loin | Place loin and brine in a plastic bag and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove pork from brine; pat dry; gently season with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof pan, sear loin in butter and grapeseed oil over medium heat until golden-brown all the way around, being careful not to brown the butter-oil mixture too much. Transfer to the oven in the same pan and cook to an internal temp of 140 to 145°F, about 12 to 20 minutes. Let pork loin rest 15 to 20 minutes (temperature will rise 10 degrees or so to a medium-well but still juicy center).

| Preparation – slaw | Slice pickled watermelon rind into thin strips, and then toss in a mixing bowl with shallot, fennel and fennel seeds. Slaw can be refrigerated while pork loin rests. | To serve | Slice pork and serve with chilled slaw.

meeT: PIckleD WAtermelOn rInDWRITTen by russ Carr


TECH SCHOOL

The 65° eggSTORY AND RECIPE BY Cassandra Vires

Chef Cassandra Vires received her culinary training in Houston, Texas, and has a knack for reimagining classic dishes.

The egg is one of the most versatile and indispensable ingredients in the kitchen. However, it took on a whole new persona when French chef and molecular gastronomist Hervé This became famous for the 65° egg (that’s 65° Celsius).

Describing the results of this technique is difficult because they are completely unique. The white is smooth and custardy, and the yolk is soft but not runny. The white is brilliantly white, and the yolk is nearly as orange as a raw yolk. It simply melts in your mouth and is delicious on its own with a little salt and pepper or, for example, as a luxurious addition to spring asparagus salad.

Some might raise an eyebrow at the idea of eating an egg cooked at 65°C.

But rest assured, as salmonella is killed at 55°C and egg whites start to set at 61°C, this egg is definitely “cooked” and safe to eat.

The egg must be cooked at 65°C/149°F for a long period of time and temperature control is critical. The best way to maintain a constant temperature is to use water. After a few dozen eggs and a few dozen theories, I was able to come up with three options using equipment found in almost every American kitchen.

Toaster Oven Method: Preheat a toaster oven to 149°F. Fill a small oven-safe dish with water and place in oven with an oven-safe thermometer. Once water reaches 149°F and holds for 10 minutes, add eggs and cook for 90 minutes.

Slow Cooker Method: Fill a slow cooker with enough water to cover eggs and place an oven-safe thermometer in the water. Once water reaches 149°F and holds for 10 minutes, add eggs and cook for 90 minutes.

Stovetop Method: Fill a large stockpot with warm water and place on stovetop over low heat. Fill a slightly smaller pot with warm water and place inside the larger pot, creating a double boiler. Place a thermometer in the water of the smaller pot and adjust the temperature as needed to reach 149°F and hold for 10 minutes. Place eggs in water and cook for 90 minutes.

COOKING VIDEO!Not sure how to unmold your 65° egg?

Chef Cassy shows you how to make it and break it.

Scan the Microsoft Tag from your smart phone (get the free app at gettag.mobi), or watch the video in

the Watch & Listen section at feastSTL.com.

Parmesan-Crusted French Toast with a 65° Egg, Fresh Herb Salad and Bacon Vinaigrette

This dish provides a delicious combination of textures. It is impressive as an appetizer, as well as for lunch or a light dinner.

Serves | 4 |

6 large eggs, grade A, divided, brought to near room temperature 1 day-old baguette* 1 cup milk ½ cup Parmesan, grated 2 Tbsp unsalted butter ¼ cup cider vinegar ¼ cup olive oil 2 Tbsp bacon drippings 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp sugar salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 cups leafy herbs, stems removed as needed (arugula, chervil, basil, chives, tarragon, dill, parsley, etc.)

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 250°F. | 1 - 2 | Prepare four 65° eggs using preferred method. Slice baguette diagonally into eight 1-inch-thick slices. Arrange bread in baking dish and set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk remaining eggs, milk and Parmesan to combine. Pour over bread slices and soak for 20 minutes. Turn bread over and soak an additional 10 minutes.

Place butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted, brown bread, in batches, on each side. Place toast on a baking sheet in a warm oven while cooking remaining bread.

Place cider vinegar in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in oil and bacon drippings. Whisk in

mustard and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Hold at room temperature until ready to use.

| To Serve | Place herbs in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss with bacon vinaigrette. Place two slices of Parmesan toast on the plate and top with a generous mound of tossed greens. Using the back of a butter knife, gently crack the shell of one 65° egg. | 3 | Very gently open the shell and allow the egg to slip onto the toast. Sprinkle egg with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining ingredients to create four servings. Garnish with grated Parmesan, crumbled bacon or red pepper flakes.

*If using a fresh baguette, place sliced bread in the oven for 10 minutes to dry out.


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EASY EATS

RIsotto story and recipe by Lucy Schnuck

pHotoGrapHy by Jennifer Silverberg

risotto, a creamy italian rice dish, makes for an easy and delicious meal any night of the week. this basic recipe offers a great guideline for preparing the classic dish, but you should feel free to experiment with other veggies or meats to create a flavor all your own. While making risotto does demand your attention, it doesn’t require advanced kitchen skills, making it a favorite among novice and experienced cooks alike.

make your own stock: Use homemade stock to enhance your risotto and give you control over the amount of sodium in it. to make stock, hold on to your vegetable trimmings and mushroom stems. add these along with additional carrots, celery, onion, leeks, garlic and fresh herbs to a pot and cover with water. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 2 hours. strain and use in risotto or homemade soups and sauces.

for mushroom stock: rehydrate packaged dry

mushrooms with water or boxed vegetable stock. strain the liquid through a fine sieve after mushrooms have been rehydrated, and use that as the stock for cooking the risotto. this stock will be rich in mushroom flavor.

another tip: sauté the shallots before adding the garlic. if the garlic is added too early, it may burn, and once garlic burns, it turns bitter and will ruin the dish. you want to sauté the garlic only until you start to smell it. always avoid browning.

| cooK’s |

serves | 4 to 6 |

2 tbsp grapeseed oil 1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced 1½ cups broccolini, chopped into 1½-inch-long pieces 3 large shallots, diced and divided 3 cloves garlic, sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 cups vegetable stock 3½ tbsp butter, divided 1½ tbsp olive oil 2 cups Arborio rice ¼ cup dry white wine 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

| Preparation | in a large sauté pan bring grapeseed oil to medium-high heat. When oil appears to shimmer, add mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned and tender. remove mushrooms and add broccolini to pan. sauté broccolini, stirring frequently, until almost tender, about 4 minutes. reduce heat to medium-low, add 1 shallot and sauté until translucent. add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 45 seconds. return mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. set aside.

bring stock to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm.

in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 1½ tbsp butter with oil. add remaining shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. add rice; continue to cook while continuously stirring for 2 minutes. add wine and stir until evaporated. | 1 | add 1½ cups hot stock; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. add remaining broth a ½-cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

| 2 | stir in mushrooms, broccolini and remaining butter. | 3 | stir in cheese, adjust seasoning and top with parsley.

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Join FEAST and the Schnucks Cooks team on Wed., April 27 at 6pm to make the tasty menu above. Tickets are just $40 for a night of cooking, dining and wine. RSVP at schnuckscooks.com.

JOIN US!rsvp:

schnuckscooks.com or 314.909.1704


recipes by Erik Jacobs | photography by Jennifer Silverberg

easter brunch is all about gathering the family for good food and fun, but putting together an impressive spread so early in the day can get hectic. We make it easy with recipes for a simple-yet-sophisticated buffet that mixes make-ahead steps and morning-of prep.

easy,breezy

brunch


Sweet Potato Home Fries with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Thyme

Brunch is not complete without a salty potato element, be it fried hash browns, cottage fries or rustic home fries. This recipe uses sweet potatoes, but if sweet potatoes are not your cup of tea, feel free to use red potatoes or russets. Sweet melted onions and fresh thyme round out this brunch staple. A little Tabasco on the side would do these well.

Serves | 8 |

3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes ¼ cup + 2 tsp kosher salt 2/3 cup olive oil, divided 1½ lbs yellow onions, diced 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided 3 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 500°F. Add potatoes to a pot of boiling water seasoned with ¼ cup salt. Cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain potatoes and shock in 6 quarts ice water to halt the cooking process. When they’re cool, drain again and dry.

In a large sauté pan, heat 1/3 cup olive oil over medium heat and add onions, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Stirring frequently, cook onions until amber brown and sweet. Toss potatoes with remaining olive oil and roast in oven, turning once, until brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Toss with thyme, onions, and remaining salt and pepper.


Chilled Grilled Asparagus with Shaved Parmigiano and Balsamic Syrup

One of the defining signs of spring is the abundance of fresh asparagus in the produce aisles. Pass on stalks that are wrinkled, mushy at the tips or dried at the base. Choose firm spears that are heavy and show a deep, vibrant green. This is a great dish to make a day or two ahead of your brunch service. Just be sure to remove the stalks from the grill while still a bit underdone so that they will not overcook as they rest.

Serves | 8 |

2 lbs fresh asparagus stalks 3 Tbsp olive oil ½ tsp kosher salt ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 cup balsamic vinegar ¼ lb Parmigiano-Reggiano

| Preparation | Trim asparagus bases of any tough, fibrous outer skin with a vegetable peeler, usually the lower 3 to 4 inches of the stalk. Toss asparagus in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Over a hot fire, grill asparagus until a bit underdone, about 5 minutes. Remove and chill immediately. Do not shock in ice water, as you will lose a great deal of the flavor. Simmer balsamic in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to ¼ cup. Cool and refrigerate. Before service, arrange asparagus on a platter and drizzle balsamic on top. Use a vegetable peeler to slice thin ribbons of Parmigiano-Reggiano on and around the asparagus as a garnish.


Cajun-Spiced Bacon Candy with Smoky Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Thick-cut bacon. Crispy, salty, sweet. Smokey-hot. On a stick. Wowza. Salume Beddu’s bacon would be amazing in this dish.

Serves | 8 |

Bacon SkewerS 1 lb thick-sliced bacon ¼ cup freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup Cajun seasoning ½ cup brown sugar (light and dark work equally well)

Hot Sauce 1 lb fresh jalapeños 6 cloves garlic 1 medium carrot, chopped 2 tsp salt ¼ cup honey 2 cups water ½ cup white distilled vinegar

| Preparation – Bacon Skewers | Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet (raised sides) with aluminum foil and place a flat roasting rack or cooling rack on top. Lay the strips of bacon on the rack, leaving about 1/8-inch between slices. Depending on the cut of the bacon, you may need another rack.

Sprinkle bacon with black pepper and Cajun seasoning. Then sprinkle with brown sugar. Place bacon in oven and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, until sugar has caramelized and bacon renders out much of its fat. Let sit 5 minutes. Working quickly, and wearing gloves, place bacon strips on 10-inch bamboo skewers. Serve vertically in any kind of long, thin vessel, with the dipping sauce nearby.

| Preparation – Hot Sauce | Smoke-roast jalapeños in a barbecue grill by setting up a small indirect fire (low to medium-low heat) and using chunk hardwood to generate smoke. Check after about 30 minutes. Jalapeños should be dark brown but not burned. They should be soft to the touch and have a very smoky aroma.

Wearing latex gloves, remove stems, seeds and as much charred skin as you can. Place cleaned peppers in a blender with remaining ingredients and purée until smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust to suit your

preference. Removing more of the seeds will make the sauce

less spicy, and leaving them will increase the

spice levels. Sauce will keep well for about 2 weeks refrigerated.


Easter Feast Strata

Sottocenere is a delicious black truffle-infused cow’s milk cheese that pairs beautifully with egg and mushrooms. This is an ideal main dish for a brunch setting because you prepare the strata the night before and allow the custard to soak into the bread overnight. Before brunch, you simply bake and serve. Buon appetito.

Serves | 8 |

1 large onion, slivered (about 1½ cups) 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 4 portabella mushroom caps, cleaned* and diced into ½-inch cubes salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped 8 cups cubed (1-inch) French baguette 8 oz coarsely grated Sottocenere** 2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 10 large eggs 3 cups whole milk 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

| Preparation | Cook onion in butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, and cook, stirring, another few minutes until mushrooms are softened. Stir in spinach. Allow spinach to wilt and remove from heat.

Spread 1/3 of bread cubes in a buttered casserole dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with 1/3 of spinach mixture. Sprinkle

with 1/3 of each cheese. Repeat twice with remaining ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until frothy, and then add milk, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour evenly over strata. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

About an hour before baking, remove strata from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature while preheating oven to 350°F.

Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until light brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

*To clean gills from portabella caps, turn upside down,

and with a spoon carefully scrape the gills out.

Though they add extra flavor, oftentimes the

black color will bleed into the dish.

** Available at Salume Beddu and Whole

Foods Market.

Check out the Let’s Eat section of the Post-Dispatch every Wednesday in April for more great egg dishes!

FEAST EXTRA


Ginger-Lemon Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries

This is a quintessential Italian dessert amped up with American springtime flavors. When you have just a few ingredients, they must be top-quality and fresh or the dish suffers. This simple dessert showcases citrus and ginger mellowed by sweet honey and rich cream. Just make sure that if you make the panna cotta a few days ahead of your brunch, you wrap the wine glasses in plastic wrap so that the cream doesn’t pick up any off flavors from your refrigerator.

Serves | 8 |

4 cups heavy cream (or half-and-half) 3 small lemons, zested ½ cup + 2 Tbsp candied ginger, finely chopped ½ cup orange blossom honey ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 packet powdered gelatin (about 2¼ tsp) 6 Tbsp cold water

1 lb fresh berries

| Preparation | Heat the cream, lemon zest, ¼ cup of ginger and honey in a saucepan until the honey is dissolved and cream comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the still-hot cream

mixture over gelatin and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into wine glasses, slowly,

so it does not splash onto the sides of the glass. Chill overnight. Garnish with fresh berries and remaining ginger.


Great Buy-and-Serve Sides:

Bagel + Cream Cheese assortment: Bagels on the brunch table are mandatory in many homes. Make a trip to the Bagel Factory on Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur for real bagels that are chewy and dense. Wonderful selection if you get there early. Slice them, put them on a baking sheet and warm them all at once to avoid a traffic jam at the toaster.

“Fixins” Platter: Even though that bagel is now toasted and slathered with cream cheese, your yeasty masterpiece is only half-complete. Conduct the second movement of your bagel symphony by heading to Kirkwood and stopping at Global Foods Market for a variety of international fixings. Put together a platter of the market’s various smoked fish. Add some red onion, capers, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, various herbs and cured meats. The sky’s the limit.

artisan Cheese Plate: Cheese is a perfect offering on a brunch table because of its versatility and wide appeal. You may not have someone who loves a runny Camembert, but odds are everyone will go wild for that cloth-bound English Cheddar sitting right next to it. The Wine Merchant in Clayton has been offering the world’s finest cheeses for more than a decade. Visit Simon and the gang at the Merch for your own customized spread.

EASTEr EGG PhOTOS BY ©iSTOCKPhOTO.COM/BACKliTCOYOTE

CheCk it out!

Feast extra

Go to feaststl.com for a great bloody Mary recipe and expert tips on creating your own bloody Mary bar.

Average in height and a tad

on the wiry side, Joy Stinger, 75, is sprightly,

sharp and delightfully warm. Her salt-and-pepper tresses are woven into braids that ring her head, though a few random strands have worked

loose. Tagus and Fado, her Portuguese water dogs, vie for attention and treats in the kitchen while cats Shysty and Paws roam the yard and living room.

She graciously offers her guest a cup of hot tea, which she serves from a china set in a wicker caddy. Hanging overhead is a rustic

metal light fixture with a bulb that shines through cutouts in the center lamp shade and several candleholders that jut out like

spokes. The candles burning there are a product of Stinger’s Honey & Beeswax, which Stinger operates out of her Clayton home.

Stinger – no kidding, that’s her real name – gets her surname from her first marriage, a union that dissolved some 40 years ago. “I wasn’t thinking

about bees at the time, but [the name] is a good thing now,” she says, adding that people

comment on the ironic moniker frequently.

WrITTen By Barbara E. Stefàno | PHoTogrAPHy By Greg Rannells

bees will be bees


A former graphic designer, she got into bees 25 years ago, more or less on a whim, and had no intention of pouring much money into the hobby, aside from buying an old-fashioned bee skep. (Skeps, constructed of straw or grasses, have little in the way of internal structure to support the honeycombs and are used only for decorative purposes these days.) “I saw a picture in a garden magazine with a bee skep in the garden, and I thought, ‘Oh, that’d be cool,’” she says. “I didn’t know what I was doing. Nobody around here was really doing bees at that time.”

She set the skep in her yard in the hopes that bees would move in. When nothing seemed to develop, a friend informed her that bees would never just take up residence in her skep – she’d have to buy bees and place them there. The first couple of sets of bees she ordered arrived with dead queens. When she finally did get a live one, it met a grisly fate – as a few real and fabled queens are known to have done – at the hands of the angry masses.

Stinger sought advice from Jim McCaskill, then a member of the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association, who examined the skep and, to Stinger’s surprise, found eggs. Roaming bees had, it turns out, made their home in the skep; they’d killed the queen Stinger had bought in order to protect the one already living there.

Eventually, Stinger moved the colony from the skep to a wooden hive, where it could better withstand winters. One hive became three, and then three became eight, all sitting on her landscaped lot on Westmoreland. In those early years, Stinger took honey and wax for her personal use and gave much of it to friends and family. Eventually, there was too much to use or give away, and she began selling it to individuals and wholesale buyers.


Stinger gathers two or three honey-soaked boxes from each of her hives three times per year: late May, early July and mid-August. It’s hard work, especially when she’s covered head to toe in a bee suit and veil on muggy summer days. A single box can weigh up to 50 pounds, and she must retrieve two or three boxes from the top of each hive. (A screen between the bottom and upper sections of the hive allows workers to pass through and build honeycombs in the top boxes, but its spaces are too small for the queen. This prevents her from laying eggs in the portion of the hive from which honey is taken.) Though Stinger occasionally enlists help removing the heavy boxes, gathering and processing the honey is mostly a one-woman operation.

“Most of the effort is in taking honey off [the hives] when it’s 90 degrees,” she says, “and sometimes the bees aren’t real happy to see you.” With any luck, though, she can empty the boxes when most of the bees are away on official bee business.

Stinger quickly learned to recognize that special pitch and timbre of an angry bee. Others learn the hard way. Last summer the U.S. Postal Service refused to deliver mail to her home for a time after a postal carrier was stung. The post office agreed to resume service only after Stinger moved her mailbox a bit farther from the hives.

Each bee season can yield 1,200 to 2,000 pounds of honey, all of which Stinger extracts by hand. The extractor sits in the southeast corner of her basement, partially concealed by a laundry line laden with freshly washed clothes. Stinger uses a simple, fine-tined fork to uncap the honeycombs and places them in four roughly 5-by-17-inch frames that slide into the drum. She vigorously cranks the extractor to spin the frames, allowing centrifugal force to draw the thick liquid from the combs. The process can take a half-hour or more for each four-frame batch, and she works up to 50 batches each time she gathers the boxes from the hives.


There are pleasant floral notes in Stinger’s honey. She plants mint, comfrey and hops on her lot for the bees to pollinate, and there’s an abundance of bush honeysuckle growing wild in the neighborhood. But she attributes much of the flavor of her honey to the nearby linden trees, which impart a citrus character. She uses honey in place of sugar in some of her baking, to great success.

Stinger repurposes packaging as much as possible, cleaning used Mason and pasta jars for single-jar sales. She sells honey and candles out of her home mostly to individuals, but she still hits the occasional Clayton or Tower Grove farmers’ market and plans to be at the Webster Groves farmers’ market this year; wholesale buyers include Straub’s Markets, Jennifer’s Pharmacy & Soda Shoppe, Local Harvest Grocery, Winslow’s Home, Schnarr’s Hardware Co., and Starr’s wine and liquor store.

In addition to honey, Stinger makes and sells beeswax candles and ornaments. She melts her beeswax on an antique gas burner, which she suspects has sat in the basement corner since the house was built in 1904. She forms decorative candles and ornaments in elaborate molds, and buyers can choose either the au naturel style or items she has painted by hand. Creations can range from a simple, undyed tapered candle or tea light to an entire nativity set, complete with a sycamore stable hand-crafted by a carpenter friend.

Even the fresh eggs Stinger sells at market are adorable. She gets striking baby blue eggs and pale green eggs from her Araucana or Ameraucana hens. Tucked into a carton next to the standard brown and white, they make for a lovely dozen, almost too cute to eat. Most of Stinger’s customers, however, have no trouble gobbling up her wares … and probably can’t get enough of Joy either. It’s all golden.

5Our Readers’ 50 Food Faves

Where is the best place to buy kitchen gadgets?What food best represents St. Louis food culture to you?

What’s your favorite St. Louis food memory?

Tell us what’s so great about food in St. Louis!

FEAST WANTS

YOU!

In our anniversary issue (August 2011) we’ll be celebrating all the things that make St. Louis a flavorful place to call home. The FEAST 50 will present our readers’ favorite St. Louis culinary experiences: where you like to shop, your favorite dishes to prepare at home, which restaurants you love and your most treasured St. Louis food memories.

So share your thoughts and opinions with us!

The best stories, ideas, tips and recipes will become part of the FEAST 50, a reader-inspired tribute to St. Louis’ love of food.

Email [email protected] and tell us what food in St. Louis means to you.


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FARMERS’ MARKET SURVIVAL GUIDE

Tote Your Veg in Style

carry on the eco-conscious spirit of the farmers’ market with this stylish tote, which is made with 95 percent postconsumer recycled material. Equipped with a sizable side pocket, this swell shoulder bag will easily accommodate all your delectable finds.

Cargo shoulder tote, $15; Phoenix Rising, 6331 Delmar Blvd., The Loop, shopphoenixrising.com

wRiTTEn BY Erin Callier | PROducT EnviROnmEnT PHOTOGRAPHY BY Brian Cummings

From Sappington to St. Charles there are at least a dozen farmers’ markets operating within the St. Louis metro area. Navigating the cornucopia of apples, apricots, zucchinis and zinnias can be as overwhelming as it is inspiring. To help you through this market season, we sought the advice of market operators and frequent shoppers who know the best items for making the most of the market’s bounty.

Stash Your Cash

maddie Earnest, co-owner of Local Harvest Grocery and board member of the Tower Grove Farmers’ market, reminds market-goers that “farmers don’t usually take credit cards,” so don’t forget to have cash on hand. carry your cash in an easily accessible spot, such as a coin purse or pouch.

Splaff Hemp Zip Pouch, $11.95; Home Eco, 4611 Macklind Ave., Southampton, home-eco.com

A Basket for Your Bounty

“i always take a big, soft-handled, sturdy market basket to the farmers’ market so that veggies can nestle side by side without getting squished,” says Terry winkelmann, owner of Home Eco and avid farmers’ market shopper.

Blessing Basket, $43.50; Home Eco

There’s an App for That Eggplant!

without a recipe in hand, you may be at a loss for what to do with some of the items you discover at the market. download the free Epicurious app for more than 25,000 recipes to match your provisions.

Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List App, free; scan the Microsoft tag or visit epicurious.com

A Handy Hand-Held Guide

with tips on how to select, store and prepare your market finds, the Farmers’ market companion app will help you become more market-savvy.

Farmers’ Market Companion: A Guide to Buying and Enjoying Fruits, Vegetables and Other Delicacies, by Jenna Caruthers, 99 cents; scan the Microsoft tag or visit meetthebeet.com

Pick up the Let’s Eat section of the Post-Dispatch on Wed., April 27, for a complete guide to local markets!

FEAST EXTRA


Reusable Shopping Bag

“I carry the Acme Earth Bag, a big washable bag that stands open and holds a ton,” says Winkelmann. “It also has a side pocket that I stash my cell phone and keys in so they don’t get buried under apples and asparagus!”

Acme Earth Tote, $12.95; Home Eco

Carryout Cutlery

“If I think I might nosh while at the market, I take my bamboo utensils,” says Winkelmann. “Try as I might to resist, I always end up getting the crêpes at the Tower Grove market.”

To-Go Ware Repeat Utensil Set, $11.95; Home Eco

Consolidate Your Produce

Ditch the wasteful plastic bags and stock up on reusable (and washable) mesh or cotton bags to keep your greens crisp and farm-fresh. Most market experts agree that these are a must.

ChicoBag Produce Stand Starter Kit, $16.95; Garden Gate Shop, Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., Shaw, gardengateshop.org

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Holden, Winkelmann and Earnest all encourage market-goers to bring their own bottle of water while they browse the market. “Stainless steel is the best!” says Earnest.

Klean Kanteen, $15.95-$24.95 depending on size; Home Eco

Shop in the Shade

It’s not uncommon to bring home something unexpected from the farmers’ market ... including a sunburn. Sunscreen and a floppy hat are must-haves for any market excursion.

Ghana Hat, $18.95; Home Eco

For a Rainy Day

One of the hazards of shopping en plein air is being at the mercy of the weather. Drop an umbrella or poncho into your tote bag, and you won’t have to flee for cover if an unexpected shower hits.

Jonathan Adler Umbrella, $24.95; Francesca’s Collections, multiple locations, francescascollections.com

Portable Rolling Cart

“If you buy a watermelon, it’s hard to carry it around in a sack,” says Veronica Holden, project and garden coordinator for the North City Farmers’ Market. Rolling carts are a must for hefty items and large loads.

Aluminum shopping cart, $79; The Container Store, 1769 S. Brentwood Blvd., Brentwood, containerstore.com

Shop Smart with a


ChICks In the CItyGlancinG at Maura Martin’s house, an elegant and expansive two-story on Kirkwood’s north side, you’d never suspect what’s going on in the backyard. Even while standing on her back deck, it’s not readily apparent.

But then you hear it: a quiet brrk-brrk-brrk coming from somewhere under your feet. Martin goes to the edge of the deck and makes loud kissing sounds. Five multicolored hens burst out from under the deck, and their quiet brrk-brrk changes to loud, insistent clucking.

“Kissy sounds – they know that means treats,” Martin says, grinning as she tosses a handful of feed and veggie scraps to the birds below. Placated, the hens turn down the volume and concentrate on pecking up a snack. The neighborhood goes about its business, oblivious to the farm-life moment that’s just passed.

“Some of [our neighbors] don’t even realize we have chickens,” Martin says. Those who do “tolerate it well enough. We had one neighbor call us, saying our chickens had gotten loose and were in their yard. Turns out they weren’t ours;

that’s how we learned someone else [in the neighborhood] was raising them too.”

Martin may not be the only one in her neighborhood raising chickens, but she took on a pioneering role by starting up an Internet-based meet-up group so local backyard chicken farmers can share information about their poultry pastime. In just about a year, the site has gained about 200 members. Some are poultry pros, but others are new to the idea and are looking for advice and encouragement. Martin is right there to take them under her wing.

“It’s not that hard,” she says. “They’re easier than dogs. And they lay yummy eggs!”

In fact, the five hens Martin nurtures lay more eggs than her family members need, so they’ve been selling the extras to raise funds for local eco-friendly service projects. That’s big community service points for Martin’s feathered friends.

the best fish are the ones you catch yourself, clean and toss into a hot skillet just minutes after you get your boat to shore. The best salads are made from the tender, leafy greens you’ve just trimmed from your garden. So it stands to reason that the best omelet is made with eggs collected from your own chicken coop. And an increasing number of St. Louisans are discovering just how true this is. Tucked along city alleys, sheltered under suburban oaks, with cluck-clucks here and there, chickens are finding room to roost, bringing their owners golden-yolked dividends.

WrITTEn By Russ Carr | PhoTogrAPhy By Greg Rannells

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Raising chickens may not seem faR-fetched if you’ve got a sprawling yard. But in south St. Louis, where most backyards are described as postage stamps, the thought of incorporating a chicken run can seem challenging.

Not so, says Bill Thompson, who keeps a flock behind his Southampton two-family flat. Thompson took an interest in chickens while visiting his grandparents’ farm as a boy. But when he decided to take the first steps toward raising chickens, he found a more modern source for guidance. “I started listening to Andy Schneider – the ‘Chicken Whisperer’ – and his

podcast. Then I looked on the Internet to figure out how to build the coop,” he says. Thompson’s four hens share a short, skinny home that features a convenient human-level door for harvesting eggs; his feathered foursome produces about a dozen each week. And though there’s a caged, open-air section for the birds to run around in, Thompson usually lets them out for a couple of hours once he’s home from work.

“They’re always waiting for me when I pull in,” he says. “They’ll run around for a while, but then once the sun starts

to go down, they’ll go back in and put themselves to bed. They’re really good about that; they know the routine.”

Thompson heads the Backyard Chickens in St. Louis meet-up group that Maura Martin founded and is quick to extol the virtues – and the quirks – of his chickens.

“There’s a pecking order; some get picked on, even when there’s no rooster,” he says. (Roosters are not permitted in St. Louis or most other area municipalities.) “They’ve got big personalities. They’re a lot of fun and not a lot of work.”

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nWHERE TO PICK UP CHICKS To order chickens and necessary supplies, visit Lebanon, Mo.’s Cackle Hatchery online at cacklehatchery.com or call Kirkwood’s OK Hatchery, 109 E. Argonne Dr., at 314.822.0083.

You can also stop by the Fenton Feed Mill, 412 Water St., in Fenton, to choose from their selection of chicks and pullets (young hens) and stock up on feed and accessories. Call ahead with questions at 636.343.7272.


Tucked inTo a bucolic backyard within a half-mile of the bustling intersection of I-44 and I-270, 18 chickens are living the good life. Their custom-built coop even comes with an observation deck. That may be taking a chicken crib a bit over the top – literally! – but Bill Ruppert knows you don’t get rotten eggs from spoiled chickens.

“I think they’re fantastic,” Ruppert says, trekking down the hill to his backyard chicken palace. The feeling must be mutual because 18 chickens begin purring – there’s no better word to describe it – as Ruppert approaches the coop. But then, he has an affinity for fowl that, like Thompson, stretches back to his childhood and visits to his aunt and uncle in Pinckneyville, Ill.

“That was just a childhood memory for me, going to their house,” he says. “I couldn’t wait to see if there were any eggs.” Now Ruppert makes the considerably shorter trip to his coop each day, harvesting a basketful of eggs that would make the Easter Bunny jealous – especially considering the eggs’ many dusky colors.

“The Ameraucanas lay green or bluish eggs,” Ruppert explains. “Cuckoo Marans lay eggs that are chocolate or copper-colored.” Ruppert’s hens are a mix of breeds and a far cry from the stereotypical “little red hen” and a carton of white eggs. The eggs are just as different on the inside.

When you crack them open, “the yolk stays much higher, and the whites don’t spread,” says Ruppert. “The [yolk] color is much more deep yellow or orange.” Such distinct differences between store-bought eggs and his hens’ supply have become strong motivators to Ruppert and a selling point to those considering their first coop.

“The more people become aware of their food sources and who’s in charge [of them], the more people are going to get involved in this,” Ruppert says. B

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Backyard chicken reSourceS If you’d like to learn more about backyard chickens, there will be a special Earth Day “Eggstravaganza” at the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market on Sat., April 23, starting at 10am. Bill Ruppert and others will be on hand to answer questions, and OK Hatchery will be selling backyard chicken starter kits.

For additional advice from local chicken enthusiasts, including information on local regulations, coop building and picking the right breeds, the Backyard Chickens in St. Louis meet-up group offers online forums at meetup.com/stlouischickens.

Listen to advice and educatinal information from Andy Schneider, the “Chicken Whisperer,” at chickenwhisperer.net.

Soda Fountain FavoritesWritten by Matt Sorrell | PhotograPhy by Jonathan Pollack


The days oF goIng To The neIghborhood soda FounTaInor ice cream parlor and plunking down a nickel for something sweet are long gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still indulge in old-fashioned favorites. Three local joints share recipes for the tasty stuff that makes their sweet treats so darn good. Try your hand at them, and transform your kitchen counter into your own personal candy counter.

The FounTaIn on LoCusT

Orange Ice Cream Soda – Orange soda and vanilla ice cream make up

this delish Dreamsicle treat. Fresh soda is key, and it’s fun and easy to brew

up your own at home (see recipe below).

“[The soda] is pure and clean, with no additives, chemicals or corn syrup,” says

owner Joy Christensen. “We make it fresh by the glass each time.”

Phosphate sodaBy JOy ChrIStenSen, The FOunTain On LOCusT

4 cups fruit (berries work especially well) white cane sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice 1½ cups cold sparkling water (do not use club soda or

tonic water)

| Preparation | Place fruit in a small sauce pan and cover with tap water. Bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes.

squeeze the juice through cheesecloth into another small sauce pan. For every cup of juice remaining, add 1 cup of

sugar to the pot. Bring juice and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil until sugar is dissolved. add

lemon juice. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes. Let cool. use 2 Tbsp syrup per 12 oz

of sparkling water. To mix, place about 1 inch of sparkling water in a glass, add the syrup, stir and then add the rest of the water without stirring.

Chocolate SauceBy Andy KArAndzieff, Crown Candy KitChen

1 cup Karo syrup 4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder 2 cups water

2¾ cups sugar vanilla extract

| Preparation | Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a pot and place

over low heat. whisk until all ingredients have dissolved

and there are no lumps. Finish with a splash

of vanilla and stir.

Join FEAST and L’Ecole Culinaire on Tue., April 19. Chef-instructor Matt Borchardt will be slinging some classic diner fare with a contemporary spin.

Call 314.587.2433 to reserve your space!

Crown Candyfire Chief Special – two scoops of ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries,

sliced bananas, pecans, crushed nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top make up this over-the-top indulgence.

“the recipe goes back nearly 100 years,” says owner andy Karandzieff of his chocolate sauce. “it’s tried and true, and

it blends great with the vanilla ice cream.”

Serendipity

Grasshopper Milkshake – This contemporary classic is made with vanilla ice cream, crème de menthe and whipped cream. Mix up your own concoction with the vanilla ice cream recipe below.

“The most fun about making this ice cream at home is the creative flavors you can come up with, like the grasshopper,” says owner Beckie Jacobs.

Old-Fashioned Vanilla ice CreamBy Beckie JacoBs, SerendipiTy HoMeMade ice creaM

2 vanilla beans (1 Tbsp good-quality vanilla extract may be substituted) 2 cups heavy cream 2 cups whole milk 2 whole eggs ¾ cup pure cane sugar

| Preparation | Using a sharp-pointed knife, split vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape the tiny black seeds into a heavy medium saucepan. add vanilla pods, cream and milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat. once mixture has reached a simmer, remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes. (if you are using vanilla extract in place of vanilla beans, there is no need to remove from heat at this point. you can keep mixture at a simmer.) combine eggs and sugar in a heat-safe bowl and mix with an electric mixer until thick and pale yellow, about 3 to 5 minutes.

remove bean pods from cream mixture and return mixture to a simmer. Slowly add 1 cup of the cream mixture to the egg mixture, whisking constantly until blended. add egg-cream mixture back into the remaining cream mixture. cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or reaches 170ºF on a candy thermometer. Take care not to overcook and curdle the eggs. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until completely cold, preferably overnight.

after custard is refrigerated, place in an ice cream maker, freeze and mix per the machine’s instructions. put ice cream in containers and place in the freezer until ready to serve.

Variations: For the grasshopper shake pictured here, add ¼ cup crème de menthe or ¼ cup Torani syrup (non-alcoholic version) after the ice cream has been frozen. For coffee ice cream, add 2 Tbsp of instant espresso powder just before it’s removed from heat and strained into the bowl to be refrigerated.

78 feastStL.com APRIL 2011


BOOK CLUB

From cookbooks to memoirs and everything in between, FEAST, in partnership with Left Bank Books, brings you our monthly picks for what’s new and notable in the world of foodie books.

ThIs mOnTh’s pICK:Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton

Chef and owner of NYC’s acclaimed East Village restaurant, Prune, Gabrielle Hamilton deconstructs her past – from picking fiddlehead ferns and chanterelle mushrooms in the woods with her French mother to stealing cars and doing hard drugs to becoming a wife and mother – revealing the recipe behind her success.

Sign up for our enewsletter or visit the FEAST EVENTS section at feastSTL.com to read up on our current pick and get a link to 20% off this month’s featured title. Plus, get our staff picks for more tasty memoirs by notable chefs.

Check out this month’s FEAsT Book Club pick!

JOIN US! Thu., April 28, from 6-7pm at Bridgesit in on the FEAsT Book Club meet-up for complimentary hors d’oeuvres, exclusive wine specials and in-depth discussion of this month’s selection. RsVp to [email protected].

20%off


puLL up a chair

Brought to you by the designer of the Thinking Man’s Chair, Jasper Morrison’s Bac armchair is a stellar blend of midcentury charm and Eastern influence. Constructed of solid ash and plywood and available in a number of color and finish variations, the Bac chair evokes a Zen-like elegance and is as timeless as it is versatile.

$768 to $991; Centro Modern Furnishings, 4727 McPherson Ave., Central West End, centro-inc.com

written by Erin Callier

Archie TAble “the different radii at the top and bottom of the Archie table’s sculptural bases create a slightly tilted effect, which marries perfectly with the continuous, curved armrest and sloped rear legs of the bac chair.”

Todd Lannom, Centro Modern Furnishings

$7,319 to $8,195, depending on size; Centro Modern Furnishings, 4727 McPherson Ave., Central West End, centro-inc.com

XAvier lusT s TAble“i like the S table by Xavier Lust for the way that the base is curved, overlapping and solid. i’m amazed at the beauty of the S table. it ties in nicely with the lines of the bac chair.”

Renée Céleste Flanders

$4,444; reneecelesteflanders.com

iron Works round TAble“My first impression of the bac chair’s design is that it offers

a quiet elegance and practicality. i think pairing it with the iron works round table offers a contrasting rustic design. incorporating different elements such as wood, metal and vibrant colors is a winning combination.”

Carla Hunigan, St. Louis Loft Style

$899; stlloftstyle.com

Bac chair

Three local furniture gurus suggest distinct dining tables to pair with the Bac chair:

april 2011 feast magazine

Documents

simple pleasures of

jennifer silverbergapril

jennifer silverbergeasy

jennifer silverbergconnect

months inspired ideas

feast magazine

cover photography

feast faves