Local Food Finds

 

Moonlight Chaorce

Amazing Real Live Food Company

The young farmer stood in the market aisle, adjectives streaming from his mouth. "Bloomy, aged, tart cheese ... Milk from our very own cows."

The herbed farmer's cheese sample was smooth, but the Moonlight Chaorce is what caught my tastebuds. A chevre-like log with a Dali-esque accent of ash under the rind, it's difficult to believe this cheese isn't made with goat's milk. But the cows milk brings a lighter, melty texture and the Amazing Real Live Food Company add a tincture of four probiotic cultures to give you a healthy boost, too.


Where to find it:
Adam's Fairacre Farms, Poughkeepsie
Beacon Natural Market
Wild Hive Bakery, Clinton Corner

More Locations

The Famous $1 Turkey Sandwich

Overlook Farm Market

Looking for a blast back to the moment you opened up that brown
paper sack only to remember that mom made turkey on Sunday? Go no
further than Overlook Farm Market and Country Store.

This cozy market, with a cinnamon potpourri boiling on the
wood-burning stove, is home to the Famous $1 Turkey Sandwich. It's
a simple thing - whole roasted local turkey piled on bread with a
little mayo and lettuce. But simple, to me, is perfection.

The market also has single-serving apple crisp, fresh macaroni
salad and other lunch fixings, as well as cider donuts for dessert.
Stop in for lunch or grab a bag and pick some apples. And say hi to
Ninah for me!

Where to find it:
Overlook Farm Market
5417 Rt. 9W, Newburgh

Suggest a local food find by emailing
hvfoodnetwork@gmail.com

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Strawberry balsamic truffle

Lucky Chocolates, Saugerties

The first time I popped this strawberry balsamic truffle in my
mouth, I giggled. Then, I started laughing.
Once the enjoyment subsided, my first question was 'where do I get
more of these?'
Now, I have a little bit of experience with good chocolate. I lived
in Chicago, where I ate copious amounts of Vosges
Haut-Chocolat. I used to watch Jacques Torres PBS show Dessert
Circus and I've spent some time in his shop.
Lucky Chocolates makes the best truffles I've ever tasted. They
also have a snazzy new store on the main strip in Saugerties, where
you can ogle things like chocolate covered pretzels and salted
almond bark in classic candy store displays.

Where to find it: Lucky Chocolates
Chocolatier: Rae Steng
On Facebook
115 Partition St.
Saugerties, NY

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Cinnamon Nut Bread

Downtown Breads & Bake Shop in Montgomery has a lot of
delicious secrets tucked into the tiny nook of a store. Every time
I walk in there's kneading going on and a waft of warm doughy air
coming from the back room.
This bread, a cinnamon-nut sourdough, isn't something I'd normally
choose. I like my breads simple and savory. But this was great for
breakfast, simply toasted and buttered, and even better in french
toast.
If you're anywhere near Montgomery, take a spin into the village
and check out what's baking at this shop. I'm sure there are more
local food finds awaiting discovery.
Where to buy it:
Downtown
Breads & Bake Shop
63 Clinton St., Montgomery

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Pete's Bar-B-Que Sauce

I already had a bottle in my basket, but while walking that market
aisle one more time, I saw the signature telltale sign of homemade
goodness: a Kerr's jelly jar.

I plucked the White Oak Farm sauce off the shelf and took it home
with high hopes. I was barbecuing pig feet, so I needed an
extra-delicious sauce. Needless to say, it was a good sign that
this one came from Hillsdale, NY, just an hour north of my
home.

This concoction was just the right blend of smoky and sweet, with
crunchy bits of garlic that took the flavor over the top. Perfect
for chicken, pig's feet, burgers. I'm slathering it on
everything.

Where to find it: Adam's Fairacre Farms, Poughkeepsie, Route
44

Read about more Local Food
Finds.

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Quattro Pheasant Sausage

I knew I was on the right path, when I saw the hand-painted sign:
Fresh Chickens Sold Here.

I pulled up to Quattro Farm Store next to a pick-up truck and
thought for a brief moment that I was walking into a tackle
shop.

This is not a chi-chi market. It's a good, old-fashioned butcher
store, where a guy named Paul slices up your whole chicken in
seconds flat. As he points to the pheasant sausage that I came for,
he says most times this smoked two-foot long stick doesn't make it
out of the trucks of his customers.

Cheryl Paff told me of her addiction to this sausage, it's why I
stopped at this unassuming Pleasant Valley store. I'll return
because of all the other treats inside: quail and turkey eggs,
fresh baked bread, duck, venison, and many other shelves and
freezers I didn't have time to explore.

Oh, and the sausage. I enjoyed it on Wild Hive brioche, with Acorn
Hill fromage blanc and catbrier, a yummy edible weed.

Where to find it: Quattro Farm Store, Route 44 and
Pleasantview Road, Pleasant Valley or Sundays at Rhinebeck Farmer's
Markets

Read about more Local Food
Finds.

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Rambler Farmstead Cheese by Tonjes Farm Dairy

There was a piece of paper on the counter, "She sliced his wrist
with the knife" followed by "Rambler, smooth, tart with a bit of
nutty flavor."

That's sums up life as a newspaper reporter. I write about crime
and sooth the stress with mouthfuls of cheese. That time, it was an
impressive aged farmstead cheese from Tonjes Farm Dairy in Callicoon.

These cheesemakers are talented and understated. Not much comes up
in a search, except for a few items from Chronogram to the New York Times. I guess the cheese speaks for
itself.

Find it at the Sullivan County Farmers' Markets or Catskill
Harvest Market in Liberty.

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Walnut Gorgonzola Bread: All You Knead Artisan Bakery inBeacon

I'm not a cereal person. For breakfast, most often I eat a slice of
bread, cheese and a bit of fruit. Thus, I'm always on the lookout
for creative crusty loaves to start my morning right.

Last Wednesday, I found my latest obsession: Walnut Gorgonzola
Bread from All You Knead Artisan Bakery in Beacon. The
bakers have transformed a space in the old Beacon High School into
a commercial bakery. They use locally-grown grain from Millbrook.
They don't have a website, and attempts to knock down the door for
a taste on site have gone unanswered. The one loaf I've been
munching on tempts to me try again.

You can find All You Knead at Adam's Fairacre Farms in Newburgh
(tastings on Wednesday) and Poughkeepsie (Saturday), as well as
every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Beacon
Farmer's Market located at the train station.

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Maple Bourbon from Cronin's Farm in Hopewell Junction

For those of you who missed the first weekend of maple festivals,
never fear: there's one more weekend left.

I did a two-fer, stopping at Cronin's
Farm in Hopewell Junction, then heading over the highway and
through the woods to the gorgeous Sharpe Reservation Maple
Fest.

At Cronin's I bought one of my best local finds yet: Maple Bourbon.
There's no alcohol in this elixir, just purely outrageous syrup
that's been aged in bourbon barrels. In 24 hours, I've put it over
ice cream, grilled chicken and pancakes.

You can pick some up at next weekend's fest, or just head to
Cronin's any time. I'm told there's usually someone there to sell
you a pint ($22). Call ahead for availability, 845-226-3815
Posted March 20, 2010