Winter 2023 Publisher’s Letter
Photo: Michael Piazza
Every year, for as long as I can remember, I’ve spent Thanksgiving weekend making a batch of homemade eggnog, setting it in the fridge to “cure” until Christmas. This is the old fashioned, watch-out-around-an-open-flame style nog: a dozen egg yolks beaten to a pale yellow with golden cane sugar, the whites whipped into billowy clouds, with equal parts whole milk and heavy cream, copious amounts of booze and nutmeg on top. It’s decadent and there’s always too much of it but I’ve never tried making a smaller batch—it’s all or nothing with this recipe. It’s “the holidays” in liquid form.
So when Fred Yarm, our resident cocktail historian, suggested a couple of nogs for this issue—one hot and one cold—I was in from the jump. His traditional eggnog is just like mine, with a couple of tweaks here and there and a storied history. But the Tom & Jerry was new to me: This 19th-century concoction of eggs, sugar, spices and milk, fortified with brown spirits, is just as lovely as my beloved nog but considerably lighter (even more so if you swap in nut or oat milk for the dairy or leave out the booze.) It’s perfectly suited for outdoor parties and fire pits, when a steaming mug of something sweet doubles as dessert and carries an evening’s revelry into the wee hours. Cozy, cozy, cozy.
After summer’s record heat and a relatively mild fall, some cold weather is looking pretty good to me. There’s comfort in the predictable nature of nature. My late October garden may still be ripe with cherry tomatoes and wax beans, but the days have shortened and there’s a chill in the morning air; winter is coming, no matter the weather. November 6th will be our very last “fall back,” as daylight saving time becomes permanent. Will we miss the 4:15pm sunsets in 2023? And an 8:15am sunrise? I’m conflicted on that one. Should nature dictate the daylight, or were humans correct to correct it? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s make the most of our dark December days and get extra cozy. The contents of this issue should help.
First, a trio of Edible Food Finds for your shopping and dining out lists: Gria Food Company, Pariva and Forage. Sustainably and ethically sourced in Benin, Gria’s roasted, spiced cashews are finished right here in Dorchester as part of CommonWealth Kitchen’s Ready to Launch program. Pariva’s spreadable, marinated yogurt balls—also produced at CWK—are more than an upgrade for your cheese board; they’re probiotic and zero-waste, immersed in a jar of seasoned oil to cook with long after the cheeses are gone. And at Cambridge’s Forage, you’ll find nose-to-tail eating in its truest sense: a menu sourced 98% from New England and an admirable, reduce-reuse-recycle ethos. Remember the zero-waste fruit-scrap cocktail story in our Winter 2020 Climate issue? Yup, that was Forage, too. These guys are the real deal.
In a new department, Edible Makers, we’ll be bringing you stories of food-adjacent craftspeople; our first subject is woodworker John Welch of John Francis Designs. Flag this for your holiday shopping—the pasta lover in your life will adore Welch’s works of art. His wooden cavatelli boards and intricate ravioli molds are as beautiful to cook with as to put on display.
Next up, a set of recipes for more sustainable eating at home. Claudia Catalano, along with chefs Jeremy Sewall and Michael Leviton, brings us four wintertime seafood dishes celebrating undervalued local species, like cusk, monkfish and skate wing. Mussels make an appearance here, too, a reminder of how easy they are to cook—foolproof, really, and inexpensive to boot. Then there’s Todd Heberlein’s ode to New England farm cooking; with five hearty, flavorful, vegetable-forward dishes, the chef of Needham’s century-old Volante Farms is here to keep those cold weather blues at bay. Simmer up some roots and grains and hold on until spring.
When the cabin fever sets in, how about a few wintertime road trips? Robin Hauck leads the way with a visit to Lowell’s Mill No.5, a refurbished mill building housing a community of small businesses and a Sunday farmers market made for people of all walks of life. Then Jackie Cain heads to Milford, NH to catch up with chef Chris Viaud; the MA-born chef’s adopted home is the inspiration for a food-focused itinerary you’ll want to follow to the letter. And Margaret LeRoux profiles yet another Central MA farm that’s adapted to suit the times and the lives of its farmers; find the Colyer family and their glorious wool at farmers markets or (by appointment) on their Hubbardston farm. For something closer to home, Nina Livingstone braved the crowds at Newbury Street’s Faccia a Faccia to interview veteran chef-owners Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer. Learn the backstory of this newest jewel in their restaurant empire, an homage to the coastal cooking of Italy, boasting some of the best gluten-free handmade pastas in town.
Speaking of pastas, Barefoot Books’ new installment for the littlest Edible readers is all about dumplings—the many kinds made around the world, the flavors and fillings that go inside, and even a pair of recipes to make together on a snowy afternoon.
And finally, a pair of stories showing the highs and lows of the food system in Greater Boston. Winton Pitcoff reminds us that food access inequities are endemic, with federal subsidies funding unhealthy options while local farmers struggle to compete. It’s his hope, and ours, that the work done at the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health will spark change for the better. And Mike Floreak gives us a glimpse into another side of the local food industry—startup funding for food tech and innovation— with a profile of Branch Venture Group, connecting food entrepreneurs with angel investors keen on improving food systems from the bottom up.
May your holidays be bright and your winter healthy. We’ll see you on the other side.
Sarah
