June 2013
An early update this month, we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to get involved with our latest special event, Loco Eats! On Sunday, June 2nd, we will host several of my friends at our place to cook up some seriously good food and celebrate our wonderful region of food, wine and agriculture. Please see our website www.locoeats.com for more information or just call Beverly and make your reservation. The event will start at 3:00 p.m. and I’ve asked the chefs to serve food until around 6:00 p.m. There will be plenty of fun and friendly banter going on all day and the camaraderie of the chefs will be contagious. Bring your friends and family or just make some new friends when you get here. Some menu highlights will include a local charcuterie trio from Ed Matthews of One Block West in Winchester, grilled shrimp gumbo salad with roasted corn vinaigrette and paired with Lost Rhino Pilsner beer from Becky Jordan of Lost Rhino, Bev Eggleston will be providing his divine swine to my good buddy Kyle McKnight for some tastings direct from his new restaurant Highland Avenue in Hickory, NC. Our pastry chef Emmet will be presenting an elaborate dessert display to satisfy your sweet tooth. We will be donating a generous portion of the proceeds to Mobile Hope, an Inova Mobile Health Service that travels throughout Loudoun County providing assistance to homeless and precariously housed youth. http://www.inova.org/inova-in-the-community/index/mobilehealth/mobile-hope/index
Now that it is almost summertime and the Maryland crab season is in full swing, I’d like to share with you a recipe for Maryland Crab Soup. We recently shared this recipe at a Chesapeake Bay Seafood cooking class. Remember, we do host a cooking class on one Saturday each month, please check the events tab on our restaurant website for the full schedule.
Maryland Crab Soup
Serves 8
1/2 gallon fish stock
2 cups, mirepoix vegetables diced (carrot, celery, onion)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups greens, chiffonade (spinach, chard, collards or turnips)
delmarva crab spice, to taste
salt, to taste
malt vinegar, to taste
1/2 cup cooked barley
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, fresh!!!
Bring fish stock, mirepoix vegetables and tomato paste to a boil. Add greens and then season to taste. Add barley and crab just before serving.
Chef’s Notes:
Throughout crab season you can certainly incorporate beans, corn and potatoes into your recipe.
Chef Chris