A Night of Learning and Eating in Rockport

An invite to a potluck in Rockport is a much coveted invitation. From the moment you pull into the driveway of Heather Atwood?s house you are enveloped with warmth and love with the light beaming from inside her house beckoning you in.

An evening at Heathers house is always an educational experience, but not in a going to school way, but in the sneaky way of conversation between friends. This night we were joined by Jason Phelps of Ancient Fire Wine and some of his homemade cider. I had met Jason once before and had no idea he was somewhat of a mad scientist home brewer.

Also joining us was my good friend Peppe, who is a great chef and an importer of his family?s olive oil, as well as Sarah of Roving Home, and Lindsay chef extraordinaire of Chive Events and Lindsay?s boyfriend Michael. Not to be forgotten was Heathers ever charming husband David.

When receiving the invite, the first thing that came to mind was ?what am I going to make?? At that moment I was working on beef tongue, but was having a hard time figuring out how it is used in Guatemalan cooking. Having had tacos de lengua the week before, I was planning on using my cooked tongue for this Mexican dish. Did I dare bring a recipe I had not even tried myself to the dinner? I guess I was going to have to. My being The Gringo Chapin, I had to at least bring a Central American dish.

We started off the evening with one of my favorite cheeses, Cabot?s Clothbound Cheddar, some olives and fresh local French and olive breads. These were paired with Jason?s Strawberry Cider to which he added a splash of grenadine to smooth things over. Being the inquisitive types we all wanted to try the strawberry cider on its own and to Jason?s surprise found it to be enjoyable. Soon to be added to this lineup were Peppe?s delicious bruschetta (made with his family?s olive oil of course) and some delicious  sausage he and his mother had made that used all the parts of the pig that most of would not think to use.

Next on our beverage lineup were two of Jason?s un-flavored Ciders. One was made with Sweet Mead yeast and the other with Rudisheimer yeast, which is a German Riesling yeast. The second one was the cider that Jason won the Common Cider category in the 2010 Northeast Regional Homebrew Competition with.

While Peppe was busy making asparagus and sausage risotto look easy, and Heather roasted up some root vegetables for a salad, I placed my beef tongue and corn tortillas in the oven to warm. To get our appetites going Jason whipeed up a batch of Smoke Cherry Cocktails which consists of 3 parts cherry cider, 1 part Johnnie Walker Red and a splash of Bitterman’s Mole Bitters. Smoky, sweet and warming all in one, it was a HIT! The kitchen was silent as we all savored this great warming drink on a chilly Rockport night.

Sitting down to the dinner table we started off with Peppe?s risotto which was like a big bowl of comfort; cheesy, salty, creamy and a hint of Spring. These dinners are very relaxing evenings and we just sort of eat our way through whatever people brought in a somewhat random order that determined when everyone arrives. Next on the menu was my tacos de lengua. Since this was my first time putting them together, Heather assisted me as my sous chef and we both learned as we went along. Much to my surprise they were well received and Heathers husband even had seconds, which I took as a good sign. Everyone was very kind in their comments and critique and with their help I was able to improve them the very next week to a point where I was very happy with them. A great addition to this already amazing meal was Lindsay?s calamari salad, tangy and refreshing it was a lovely touch of the Spring that would soon be here. Remember those roasted root vegetables I mentioned earlier? Heather added them to a salad to end our meal with more of the previously mentioned warmth and hominess.

Like a big family we all chipped in to help clear the table as we had a group discussion on how best to serve Jason?s dessert of homemade beer sorbet. Much like my tacos de lengua, this was Jason?s first attempt at this dessert. To Jason?s disdain his beer sorbet did not set up to his liking. But it was still a delicious way to end the meal with moans of pleasure coming from everyone around the table as they ate it. But like what I learned from my tacos, Jason too learned about his sorbet and a few days later he let us know he had a very successful beer sorbet.

Instead of a hot cup of coffee with dessert, Jason?s final act was what he calls a Cherry Bomb – equal amounts of his cherry cider and Long Trail Coffee Stout. To me this was coffee and dessert all in one and was the perfect way to end the meal and the evening.

Dining at Heathers house is like being curled up in your favorite blanket with a great novel and a hot cup of tea, but with a very full stomach and surrounded by friends. Who knew learning could be so much fun? If only school had been like this!