What makes me think of community and family? How about sitting down at a long, communal table and breaking bread with others? Well, if you feel the same way as I do, then you are in for a real treat!
I recently started doing dinners at Two If By Sea Café in Dartmouth; pairing up with Tara MacDonald and Zane Kelsall (owners/baker/baritsa master) and all their lovely staff. What we do is bring local, seasonal and super awesome food to our friends, families and neighbors.
We recently had our third dinner (an Irish dinner) to celebrate that guy, St. Patrick. 36 lovely guests graced us with their presence and enjoyed an evening filled with love, laughter, leprechauns, a lil' lamb stew and a lot of fun.
We started our evening with a smoked haddock and cauliflower soup; velvety smooth with a hint of smokiness, garnished with chives. Next, an ode to the potato. New potatoes bathed in grainy mustard and cider vinegar, with pickles, herbs, peppers and double smoked bacon from Roselane Farm. Just when you thought that was all, it was drizzled with some bacon drippins' and Westphalia ham that had been crisped up in the oven and crumbled on top. Oh happy potatoes! That salad was served on a bed of Riverview Herbs' pea shoots. These spuds were no longer known as duds.
Lamb stew, oh lamb stew. Wood n Hart lamb, simmered in Propeller Bitter for hours on end and served with creamy, buttery turnip. My heart is feeling faint just describing this dish! And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Tara and Curtis baked up an absolute delight; bread pudding made from their croissants and cooked with apples soaked in whiskey.
In retrospect, what truly made this evening feel like a family dinner was the fact that most guests got to walk away with coffee cups full of leftovers!
If all this sounds like it might be up your alley, join us for our next dinner on April 22nd, when we'll be celebrating Easter. If Easter doesn't work for you we have already started planning our Mother's Day Dinner taking place on May 8th. To stay in the loop about upcoming events, and to learn more about previous events, checkout our Facebook page (TIBS Family Dinners).