cassoulet, brunch, and the underground food collective in brooklyn
My good friend Solana was in Brooklyn for a few days between her travels from Puerto Rico and to Berlin, so I made a salad of mache, chevre, and blood orange to start, cassoulet to follow, and we cut a Galette du Rois at a dinner to introduce friends.
We were too engrossed in the cassoulet and the cutting of the cake for me to take proper pictures of Solana, Daryn, Eva, and Dean, but they were as charming as the laughter that filled the apartment, and you will see all of them here, I hope, many times this year.
A few hours after Solana and I finished washing the dishes (and she left to ready for her flight), my friend Laura arrived as part of a surprise weekend to celebrate Nina’s birthday. Cassoulet only improves the next day, so we scrambled eggs on top and then she was on her way into the city as Nina and Tim boarded a train in D.C. headed toward New York—
That night, all four of us went the Underground Food Collective (UFC) dinner held in the Sweet Deliverance kitchen, following a handwritten sign instructing us to climb the stairs,
to a bright room where cava and concord grape juice were waiting, along with the full complement of UFC cooks and guests that began to pile their coats near the doors.
Cured pork livers with kumquat preserves are always a good way to start (the kumquats were marvelous here, cutting the richness without being too sweet).
Nina opened the menu,
and Nina, Laura, Tim, and I watched the prep for the first courses begin.
We snuck crisp sweet potato chips from a counter,
watched as the plates were garnished,
tasted the lemon in the rillettes,
that we spread on bread and topped with black radishes, mushrooms, and homemade pickles.
Duck tartare was next, in lettuce leaves that matched the ruby meat,
then sprouts with pork in a “spicy brown” salad with head cheese (so delicious!) alongside those sweet potato chips.
The plates landed on tables in quick succession,
beets and citrus with pistachios and an avocado dressing beginning the second series of plates.
After beets, a beautiful smoked ricotta appeared as the centerpoint of a salad with pears and a raw salad of salsify and sunchokes:
And the different kinds of vegetables proved the point of this dinner from a dedicated group of cooks, artisans, and troublemakers from Madison, Wisconsin—that inspired cooking with a diversity of preparation is possible, even at this time of year. (“We’re from Madison, Wisconsin,” they told us; “we know something about winter.”)
This is the ham they’ve been curing for two years, topped with diced Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese—from Wisconsin, of course, as the woman who arrived with our plate told us with obvious pride.
The pork pot pies we had watched being etched with pigs on the crust followed,
filled with potatoes and carrots under the buttery crust.
The pot pie was matched with a beer “from our friend Larry,” we learned, glancing over to see the natural camaraderie that marks the style of cooking and serving at UFC events.
Snug Haven spinach was dressed, making us smile too, (Garin, at left, greeted me earlier in the evening, saying, “the last time I saw you, you were dressed as a strawberry.”)
and the strong flavor of the spinach stood up to the creamy dressing and closed the third series of plates.
Jonny came by to check in on our table (Tim, seated at left, and Shamus, seated at right are former members of the Collective);
then, the Collective introduced themselves (this is just an excerpt) to sincere applause.
Shamus congratulated other Collective members as they passed by our table,
and we almost couldn’t finish the Meyer lemon cake,
smiling and sipping tea with lemon verbena and rosebuds. The tables stayed seated, laughing, and talking, everyone reluctant to leave the space.
Wherever the Collective cooks next, I’m planning to attend.
The next morning, Laura and Nina examined the wonder that is Bark‘s grits with an egg fried on the outside,
before we headed to the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket, deciding on a brunch menu for the following day, and helping Tim collect some additional supplies (greens, mushrooms) for the UFC’s Sunday dinner.
A lazy Saturday, we walked to the Brooklyn Flea, vintage shops on Brooklyn’s 5th Avenue (Odd Twin is my favorite), the Barn for a drink, and Franny’s for dinner; later we headed into Manhattan for adventures that impaired our ability to wake early the next day to prepare our own abbreviated collection of plates.
Tim’s mad knife skills carried the morning as he deftly peeled parsnips and chopped herbs (the UFC membership was evident), and Laura assembled a banana cake with walnuts that was cooling as my friend Josh arrived with homemade pickles (those are juniper berries).
Winnie (pictured here), Matt, and Joyce rang the doorbell next, then friends of Nina’s, then my friend Dean, and we all circled the table in the kitchen,
for cake, croissant pudding, roasted baby potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash, and brussels sprouts with Tomme Fleur Verte, Evolutionary Organics greens that Laura tossed thin slices of Braeburn apple and baby fennel into, and warm biscuits with homemade butter, to go with a Bloody Mary base we made with fresh horseradish and cava mixed with a mystery syrup Winnie brought (she is mysterious).
In the afternoon, suitcases were packed, and everyone headed out into the rainy Sunday except Winnie and Dean, who stayed to talk of the future of online content about food.
As I cleared the table, I kept the beautiful honey Nina brought from D.C. (from a friend who “runs with beekeepers”) in the center.
Honey, I have learned, lasts forever, which is about as long as I would like to have the people who stayed in my apartment this weekend as my close friends.
Happy, happy birthday, Nina. I’m so glad we could all celebrate it with you—
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Posted Monday, January 18th, 2010, 5:34 pm * Filed in Entertaining, Food, brooklyn. * Tags: brunch, cassoulet, collective, Food, kristen, kthread, taylor, underground. Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 18th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
This is such an amazing document of this special weekend. Thank you for your love & warmth.
Kthread’s New York is the best New York. Only you could turn everywhere we go into an extension of the cozy magic cottage.
I am so lucky to have slept in your kitchen. xoxox
January 18th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Nina, I’m so glad you are a big fan of NY now, as I want you to visit often :) I think your weekend residence in the kitchen (and bringing a beau who cherishes food community so) brought great energy into the apartment and for all of us that will continue in your wonderful year ahead—
January 18th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kristen Taylor and Timothy Vollmer, Timothy Vollmer. Timothy Vollmer said: .@jonnyhunter, @benwhunter see http://bit.ly/6xkLOM via @kthread [...]
January 18th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Where can I find your cassoulet recipe? The leftovers Sunday morning were as amazing as anything I ate the entire weekend.
January 18th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Thanks, Tim (and thank you again for helping make the Sunday brunch happen). Here’s the cassoulet recipe:
Soak the beans (flageolets or Great Northern) for three hours (most recipes say two, go for the extra hour).
Dice 1 medium onion and 1/4 lb of guanciale, let them make friends for ten minutes over medium. Add the soaked beans, a lot of chopped thyme, 2.5 quarts of some combination of stock and water (up to you) and simmer for 45 minutes. Check occasionally and stir; add more liquid if it dries out. Then add the peeled cloves from a whole head of garlic (at least 10 fat cloves) and simmer for another 15 minutes. Salt, cool slightly, cover with foil and chill for 8 hours, overnight, or as long as you can.
Then, warm up the saucepan of beans (they will be stiff), cover the bottom of a large (13″ x 9″) baking dish with the beans. Add 1/4 lb bacon cut in 1″ pieces and 1/2 lb diced garlic sausage on top of the beans. Add four pieces of duck confit (and remove excess duck fat from the confit, save for later) on top (I like to have one for each guest, but 6 is probably the limit in one large baking dish).
350 degrees for 45 minutes (can go for an hour); it will bubble and smell thrillingly intense. Take the dish out of the oven, and crisp breadcrumbs in oil; scatter on top with chopped parsley when you plate.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:48 am
So much fun!!! Will be dreaming of cassoulet and nigella’s croissant pudding until your visit to the best coast. xoxo.
January 19th, 2010 at 6:38 am
The cassoulet was so delicious, I still remember every bite. Thank you Kristen!
January 19th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Laura, your birthday month is next, and what a birthday month it will be :) Can’t wait for the sunshine and fun of visiting you!
Solana, so glad you liked it. It was good to catch up, as always, and we’re all planning things for your return :)
January 19th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I love kthread’s new look, especially the big pictures.
Your underground food collective event looks fantastic–bustling, busy, and full of delicious food! Do you go looking for these events, or do they find you?
January 19th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
thanks, Mica, I think the big pictures will be a fun update for this year.
and the Underground Food Collective is my new favorite thing. What a good question you pose—let’s say that I am always seeking the new, deliberately placing myself in its path, and quite happy when it finds me.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:13 pm
This post really makes me wish I’d lived in Brooklyn. Sigh.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Move back to NY and live in Brooklyn, Eric. We’re waiting. (Also, let me know when you visit next and we’ll make cassoulet or something similarly involved.)