Succulently Rustic

Local Food: There's little that's more succulently rustic than a nicely aged potted meat. For the Quebecois, it might be creton, or ciccioli in Italy, also known as rillettes in France. Whatever the name, the variations on this traditional home technique provide a texture similar to a liverwurst spread, but with much more pork flavor. With pork ribs provided by the famous cheese makers at Jasper Hill Farm, Steven slowly cooks the meat in a braise of Shelburne Vineyards NuMondo red wine until it is fall-off-the-bone tender. The pork rests for a few days to let the flavors develop. It's then finely shredded and mixed with blueberries from Shirley's Produce that Steven preserved over the summer. With just the right combination of smooth textures, the rillettes are spread on a hearty grilled slice from a six grain loaf baked at Patchwork Farm & Bakery. Topped with pickled red onions and ramps for a touch of tartness, and served with a sprout salad for a bit of green to balance out the rich pork, the rillettes are drizzled with mustard elderberry vinaigrette to finish, featuring elderberry juice from Honey Gardens.

Around the Galaxy: With Valentine's Day approaching, consider the bright red Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human or a passion infused combination of recipes and travel writing, In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love by the proprietors of Osteria Pane e Salute in Woodstock.

Music Notes: Birchwood Coupe will make their debut at Claire's on Thursday, February 3 at 7:30. Check out their folk/americana originals and support local music.

Local Events: Spend the afternoon of Saturday, February 5 with Tom Stearns, president and founder of High Mowing Organic Seeds at Highland Lodge in Greensboro. Tour the High Mowing Seeds facility in Wolcott from 4-5, enjoy dinner at the Lodge from 5:30-7:30 and stay for the presentation at 7:30 by Tom about healthy food systems. Call the Highland Lodge for more information at 533-2647.

Super Bowl Sunday is next Sunday February 6. Start your pre-game at Claire's with $2.50 Switchback pints, $4 wine and $5 Hot & Cold Martini.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

Reserve some love and make your Valentine's Day reservation today.

Heavens to Dumplings

Local Food: Even as the outside temperature has dipped below zero, the temperature in Claire's remains warm and cozy as you settle in with a bowl of Steven's Chicken and Dumplings. With chicken, shallots, and parsnips from Pete's Greens in our last delivery before the fire, Steven adds carrots from Harvest Hill Farm and potatoes. They are served in a warm jus with white wine, and creamy cornmeal dumplings on top. The dumplings are made with Butterworks Farm cornmeal and greenhouse grown rosemary from Vermont Herb Company for a burst of herbaceousness. Steven browns the dumplings just until they are golden and just a bit crispy.

Around the Galaxy: While the Galaxy takes a break from events for the winter, there are plenty of books to keep you warm this winter. Whether you want to escape with a novel or an adventure tale or spend some extra time near your warm oven, Galaxy has it. This is a great time to explore some of the 270 recipes in Andrea Chesman's Recipes from the Root Cellar, or to sample from Eating Well's Comfort Foods Made Healthy.

Music Notes: Soulful, gritty and sweet singer/songwriter Dave Keller returns this Thursday at 7:30. Come in from the cold and support local music.

Local Events: Help support Pete's Greens in their effort to rebuild their barn after a devastating fire. Visit Bid for the Barn to bid on a wide variety of items donated by Vermonters to help raise money for the effort. Check out our donation, a dinner for four with Pete and two rooms at the Kimball House in Hardwick.

As part of the ongoing mission to raise money for Pete's Greens, we will make a donation from our sales on Thursday, March 17, also known as St. Patrick's Day. Celebrate the day by wearing your finest greens, bring some extra greens in your wallet, and show off your talent at our Open Mic Night in support of Pete's. Email newvermontcooking@yahoo.com if you are interested in performing.

If you are interested in making a more immediate financial donation to Pete's Greens, stop by Claire's and drop it in our donation bucket or donate directly on the farm website.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

Please remember to make reservations at your earliest convenience. It helps us plan a more enjoyable and relaxed evening for you. Without a reservation, you may have to wait longer for a table.

Upcoming Events: Valentine's Day will be here soon- reservations fill up fast so make yours today.

Take a look as we update our new website.

Serving Community Along with Dinner

With our break behind us and concerns at hand after the fire at Pete's, we re-open our kitchen on Main Street tonight. Community is much on our minds. While Linda had a lot on her plate in Hardwick, from a fresh application of Vermont Natural Coatings on the wood floors at Claire's to working with the Center for an Agricultural Economy, her Claire's co-owners Steven and Mike went to New Orleans to learn from the the emergence of a new food community in a city well-known for its cooking but still struggling in the aftermath of Katrina and last summer's oil spill.

They found exciting new efforts, centered in part on a small program called Our School at Blair Grocery (left and above) in the still devastated Lower 9th Ward. This program helps young men and women from the community complete a high school degree while learning about sustainable agriculture, growing food at affordable prices for the neighborhood and selling produce to both established New Orleans chefs and rising newcomers. One of the best of these restaurants is a casual eatery in Bywater called Satsuma Cafe, named to honor the local citrus and not far across the canal from the Lower 9th (below).

Like Claire's, the Cafe provides a community space where people gather for good food, to keep in touch, and to enjoy an ever changing exhibit of local artists.

Another is Cochon (right) in the more established Warehouse Arts District. Both do their best to source local and sustainable produce in a region where farming and fisheries have been devastated by industry, bad government policy, and neglect, and are just beginning to make a comeback.

Coming home just after the fire at Pete's, Steven and Mike are inspired by how much communities can accomplish when they pull together to realize their dreams - even in the aftermath of overwhelming disaster, antipathy, and indifference. You can learn more about their trip by stopping by at Claire's or reading Mike's blog post and links on the Saint Michael's College website.

Aware that much of the food at Claire's is grown at Pete's, many in our community have asked what will happen now. We are fortunate beyond measure to be in the heart of an agricultural economy of such abundance; we're inspired by Pete's plans to rebuild and by the many efforts to support his plans in creative ways. So close to the farm itself, we are working with Pete on how we might best help, and you can send your support directly to Pete at his Farm Fund. While we look forward to the rebirth at Pete's Greens that spring will offer, the food at Claire's will continue to reflect the abundance of farms all around us.

Claire's is open tonight and every night except Wednesday, with bar service, coffee, and baked goods after 2:30 and dinner seating from 5:00 until 9:00 pm. On Sunday, we are open for Blunch from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. Reservations are encouraged.

Time to Re-Open and to Come Together

The image at left, taken in late Spring, is a reminder of the abundance we enjoy from Pete's Greens. This week's fire has been a shock for us, coming during our winter break just before we returned to prep the kitchen to re-open this coming Monday. As neighbors, we talk with Pete or his staff, go by the farm, receive deliveries, and serve the food he grows every day. Our staff is strongly connected to his. We're always pleased to see Pete and everyone who works on the farm come in for dinner or enjoy a beer at the bar. Pete's Greens is our largest provider and we are among his top customers. We count everyone at Pete's Greens among our family.

For our community, the loss of the barn, equipment, and stored food is a social and economic loss. The growth of his farm has been one of the most important parts of our local food system, sustaining our environment and numerous families. This is a setback for Pete, for his staff and the families who depend on them, and for the businesses like ours who count on the quality food Pete grows, as well as the countless other businesses nurtured by the dollars first earned on the farm.

Despite this loss, we are nonetheless optimistic. The fire is something we will work through as a community, and like any setback, it provides the opportunity for growth and renewal as we all pull together. So the photo of the farm taken in the Spring is also a symbol of regrowth.

We will open on Monday with produce that came from Pete with the deliveries prepared just before the fire. We are fortunate as well to have more than two dozen farms we work with, and a number of others who have inquired about providing food for our pantry. Of course, this might mean we'll have to venture a bit farther down the road than the 15 miles we are used to, our menu might be a bit shorter, and we will certainly be on the phone more frequently to rustle up enough produce for the kitchen.

And all of us in and around Hardwick will be pulling together. We're working with Pete to see how best we might fit into his plans to raise the capital needed to rebuild. In the meantime, please go directly to his website at www.petesgreens.com/Fire.html and contribute to the Pete's Greens Farm Fund.

You might also come by on Monday and after to enjoy some of that legendary produce.

On New Year's Eve, Invest in Hardwick

Local New Year: Though it seems these difficult economic times aren't over yet, we still have much to celebrate and to encourage locally as the New Year breaks. As always, we're investing our New Year's Eve in the communities around Hardwick and so can you. Join us for dinner on Friday, and you can trust that 79 cents of every food dollar we spend spend goes to local farmers and artisans. While you celebrate with your family and friends, you'll also enjoy the unique sounds of old timey Americana and jazz from our favorite local duet, The Butterbeans. Performing from 7-9, their nostalgic tunes will bring to mind the best of New Year's Eve past.

From the bar, toast the coming year with our bubbly cocktail special, a New Year's Bellini. Frozen raspberries and elderflower liqueur are blended until smooth and topped with Honey Gardens sparkling mead.

Every reservation of two or more made by Thursday, December 30, at noon, will enjoy two desserts as a gift from us, and all our New Year's Eve guests can enter to win the Grand Prize Drawing, a Valentine's Day dinner for two.

Around the Galaxy: The gals at Galaxy are grateful for everyone who has shopped at Hardwick's independent this year. Read this fun article about Galaxy and other quirky Vermont bookstores in Seven Days.

Music Notes: Acoustic Bluegrass/Roots group Wiley Dobbs Duo will join us Thursday, December 30 at 7:30 with their mandolin and guitar. This will be their first time at Claire's and we look forward to welcoming them and supporting Vermont music.

Local Events: The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is open for the ski season. You can buy a season or day pass and enjoy winter in the Northeast Kingdom. Mark your calendars for the Craftsbury Marathon on Saturday, January 29 and the Craftsbury Marathon Tour on Saturday, March 5.

Getting Ready for the Holidays: Buy a gift certificate now through the new year and we will donate 10% of sales to NOFA-VT's Farm Share Program.

Our annual closing will start at 2 pm after "blunch" service on January 2, reopening Monday, January 17 at 5 pm for dinner.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

We appreciate it when you reserve a table with us, as it helps us plan a relaxed and hospitable experience for you and all our guests. To show our appreciation, when you call, email, or stop by to make a reservation, you will be entered into our weekly drawing for a $20 gift card for your next visit.

Vermont Gifts

With wishes of peace, joy, and love for all our purveyors, friends, families, and neighbors!

Local Food: Steven's cooking philosophy is based on bringing out the fullest flavors our farms can provide, which is best exemplified in all its simplicity by his traditional approach to the cheese plate. Truly our local gift, the wealth of cheeses produced by neighboring artisans provides a variety of flavors that can be fully appreciated on their own as well as complement other flavors. The cheese plate features a rotating selection of three cheeses from Jasper Hill Farm, Ploughgate Creamery and Bonnieview Farm. You will find Coomersdale cheese, a semi-hard cheese similar to young pecorino from Bonnieview; Hartwell, a soft-ripened bloomy rind cheese from Ploughgate; Bayley Hazen blue and Moses Sleeper, a soft and grassy triple cream cheese from Jasper Hill; or their Clothbound Cheddar. The plate features apple slices, walnuts and crunchy croutons to complement or contrast with the flavors and textures of the cheese. Our cheese plate can be enjoyed as an appetizer to start your meal or as your final course.

At the Bar: December means eggnog time and we feature the rich decadence from Strafford Organic Creamery at the bar. We serve our hot chocolate with a splash of Organic Maple Liquor from Green Mountain Distillery and top it off with a heaping serving of warm and frothy egg nog.

Around the Galaxy: Whether you are looking for Christmas gifts, cookbooks to add new flavor to your holiday meals, or a great new book to settle in with by the fire during a vacation, Galaxy has plenty to choose from. And don't forget Hardwick's 2010 bestseller, The Town That Food Saved, available pre-wrapped for your gift giving ease.

Music Notes: Students from Hazen High School choir will help get us in the holiday spirit by singing a variety of songs on Thursday, December 23 beginning at 7:30.

Local Events: Startdust Books in Craftsbury will host December's Full Moon Feast on Tuesday, December 21 at 6:30. The monthly potluck dinner will feature a representative from Vermont Foodbank who will talk about the organization. Bring a dish to share and a plate, utensils and a cup. For more information, call 586-2200.

Getting Ready for the Holidays: Buy a gift certificate now through the new year and we will donate 10% of sales to NOFA-VT's Farm Share Program.

We will be closed December 24 and 25 so our staff can celebrate the holidays with their families and friends. Our annual closing will start at 2 pm after "blunch" service on January 2, reopening Monday, January 17 at 5 pm for dinner.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

We appreciate it when you reserve a table with us, as it helps us plan a relaxed and hospitable experience for you and all our guests. To show our appreciation, when you call, email, or stop by to make a reservation, you will be entered into our weekly drawing for a $20 gift card for your next visit.

Bring on the Braise

Local Food: Nose to tail is a mantra to some, indicating the careful use of very traditional techniques to prepare every cut of meat available. Our pork braise is inspired by these traditions and the slow cooking used in kitchens around the world to get the most flavor and the lightest texture. Pork cheek from Pete's Greens is unique, a rich cut of meat that is often found smoked or cured. Steven marinates it in Shelburne Vineyard's NuMondo red wine, then adds a dry rub of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, mace, coriander and star anise. With the flavors absorbed, he braises the meat in red wine and apple cider from Harvest Hill Farm in Walden. It is then sliced and served with jus from the braise as well as cranberry and house made mustard sauce. Purple cabbage from Surfing Veggie Farm marinated with apples and onions in the NuMondo wine and red wine vinegar accompany the pork cheek, along with mashed potatoes and sunflower sprouts.

At the Bar: Savor the flavors of the holiday season with a Gingersnap Appletini. A pop of ginger flavor comes from Domaine de Canton liqueur, which is mixed with your choice of vodka. Apple cider from Harvest Hill brings out a little holiday sugar. Shaken vigorously to incorporate the flavors and give it a chill, the Gingersnap Appletini is served up, with the rim dusted with crushed gingersnap cookies from Vermont Common Foods.

Around the Galaxy: The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion and The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe From Each Year 1941-2009 - need we say more?

Music Notes: Hardwick's own The Butterbeans return for their hometown gig this Thursday, December 16 at 7:30. Support local music and enjoy the sounds of their fiddle, guitar, banjo and mandolin on jazz, blues, swing and original tunes.

Local Events: Celebrate the newly renovated Hardwick Inn at 4 South Main St on Wednesday, December 15 from 4-6 during the Open House hosted by Lise and Larry Hamel. From 3-4 on the 15th, Santa will welcome families and children. Refreshments will be served. Also on the 15th, S & J Fitness will be offering special deals including 15% off all memberships and gym services. Visit them on the second floor of the Hardwick Inn from 2-7.

Getting Ready for the Holidays: Buy a gift certificate now through the new year and we will donate 10% of sales to NOFA-VT's Farm Share Program.

Book a Holiday Party at Claire's now and you'll be entered to win a $30 gift certificate. For groups of six or more we will offer a $25 prix fixe menu.

We will be closed December 24 and 25 so our staff can celebrate the holidays with their families and friends. Our annual closing will be after "blunch" service on January 2, reopening Monday, January 17.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

We appreciate it when you reserve a table with us, as it helps us plan a relaxed and hospitable experience for you and all our guests. To show our appreciation, when you call, email, or stop by to make a reservation, you will be entered into our weekly drawing for a $20 gift card for your next visit.