Get thee to the farmers’ market and a how to for pan sauce

That’s right my fellow Madisonians and Middletonians…today marks the start of the blessed farmeres’ market season. So if you’re reading this on Saturday as you drink a cup of coffee and ponder what to do with your day, get up and go…they’re selling until 1:00 so you’ve got time.

I was at the Westside Community Market this morning, at around 7:00. I forgot my camera but I can tell you what I bought:

• Brats, breakfast sausage, pork chops, and bacon from my good friends at Jordandal Farm
• Salsify, beets, spinach, scallions, and cippolini onions from Primrose Community Farm
• Eggs and goat cheese from Diana at Dreamfarm
• A 6 year aged cheddar and an Avondale Truckle from Brunkow
• Pain au chocolat from Madison Sourdough
• Maple popcorn and little sausages from Geoff King from Sunnyhill Acres
• Cinnamon roll from Stella’s Bakery
• Milk and cream from Blue Marble
• Sourcream and strawberry yogurt from Sugar River

Next week I’ll remember my camera and I’ll have photos to share. In the meantime, I’m still working on pan sauces and to that end I roasted a chicken yesterday and served it alongside some lentils with a pan sauce…it was fabulous.

How to make a pan sauce

1. Roast chicken on a bed of onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage, and parsley.
2. In a small saucepan simmer the chicken neck, gizzard, wing tip, and heart in water.
3. In a sauté pan cook shallots in butter over a low flame for 15 minutes with lid on, 15 minutes with the lid off.
4. Soak dry porcinis in a bowl with some of the hot stock you are making with the chicken parts.
5. Add some cognac or wine to the shallots.
6. Add the drained porcinis to the shallots.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven. Place the chicken on a plate. Deglaze the roasting pan with some of the stock.
8. Strain the deglazed pan juices into the sauté pan. Stir and adjust heat to reduce.
9. Add more stock as needed to the sauté pan. Adjust seasoning.

My favorite snack this week was Madison Sour Dough baquette with excellent butter and sea salt plus radishes with butter and salt….mmmm so good and perfect with a glass of vin rouge.

That cruet and small bottle are full of excellent olive oil and pistachio oil from Vom Fass on University (same strip-mall as Penzeys) but I’ll write more about them next week.

19 April 2008 | Local, Westside Community Market, Wisconsin, bits and pieces, bread, favorite products, food, humor, instruction, surveys, recipe | Comments