What’s cooking in the Berkshires? Lots, from my vantage point.
Fall cleaning has been under way: New restaurateurs have taken over old venues or are renovating new ones. We have touched upon some of the changes in News and Notables, pages 4–5.
Retailers seem optimistic: Their summer and fall seasons were good and real estate professionals saw increased activity and results for the second year in a row.
Restaurants appeared to be busy and in some cases packed with eager customers.
Farmers and residents who grow for themselves experienced a great season, especially when it came to bumper fruit crops.
As we all know, many foods are seasonal—so it’s worth mentioning that this year’s seasonal release of the Northeast’s favorite, Mallomars, marked its 100th anniversary. The sweet treat was created by Nabisco and sold to a grocer in West Hoboken, New Jersey, on November 13, 1913—when a box cost 10 cents. Time to stock up.
We thought that living and visiting New England in the winter presented a wonderful opportunity to cook for family, friends and yourself. To help generate fresh ideas and inspiration we approached two dozen culinary professionals and asked them if they would contribute to this issue. We are fortunate here to have a growing number of creative culinary professionals amongst us. So, what better way is there to figure out what one might cook or bake than to ask our top chefs, cooks and bakers what they would suggest?
We requested that they each contribute a recipe that reflected the culinary signature of their establishments. Ingredients that could be sourced locally would be a plus. All responded to our request, and most offered to prepare the dish for us so we could show it to you.
For various reasons some of the recipes could not be included. However, we are pleased to present the lion’s share in what we hope will be our first collection of “What’s cooking in the Berkshires.”
When I was a child, my late Nana once told me, “If you can read, you can cook.” Here’s hoping you will roll up your sleeves and give some of these great recipes a try.
We would love to hear about your culinary experiences, your thoughts about the recipes and the adjustments you made, along with a picture or even video. Hey, make it a family project.
Please share your experiences with us: Message us at Facebook or email to ed**************@*ol.com. With your permission we will post your comments on Facebook and select some to be included in a future issue of our print publication.
Happy holidays and warm wishes for the New Year.
