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Fall Recipes from Argenta Market’s Chef Shane Henderson

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Seems that Chef Shane is in a generous mood lately when it comes to recipes. Today I received another little email gift from him, this time focusing on the current fall harvest. I will definitely be making the sweet potato and apple soup. Enjoy!

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These are the recipes which will be included in our October Basket A Month Program.

Muscadines Wrapped in Caramelized Bacon with Roquefort Cheese

Appetizer

Makes 16 pieces, enough for 4-6 people as an appetizer.

I remember as a child my father coming home during the fall with tons of wild muscadines, we never really knew what to do with them, so they usually ended up getting juiced and stored away, and maybe a few made them into a pie.

As I have gotten older I have began to see that there are a lot more applications for this sweet fruit than just that.  This is part of a borrowed idea I got from one of the farmers at the market, we started discussing how well the sweetness of them played with cheeses, especially blue cheeses.  I then started thinking about how well bacon goes with sweet applications, and thus this dish was born right there during a busy market day.  If you would prefer not to caramelize the bacon that would be just fine as well, simply follow the directions omitting the cinnamon and brown sugar.

  • 16 Muscadines
  • 8 Pieces Caramelized Bacon (Recipe Follows)
  • 2-4 ounces Roquefort Cheese (Or your favorite Blue Cheese)

Caramelized Bacon

  • 8 Strips of Bacon
  • 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a cookie sheet with pan spray.  Cut the bacon in half.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, coat bacon slices with brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Place coated bacon onto prepared pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until beginning to brown, but not quite cooked through.  (If you are wishing to only make caramelized bacon continue to cook 2-5 more minutes until browned and finished cooking.)

While the bacon is cooking prepare the muscadines by cutting through ½ ways and removing the seeds.  Break up the cheese into small pieces and place inside the slit you just cut into the muscadines.  Wrap the filled muscadines with the caramelized bacon.  Place these back onto the cookie sheet, and place it back into the oven to finish cooking 2-5 more minutes.

Serve while they are still warm, you can complete all the steps to the last cooking ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to heat and serve.

Smokey Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

Serves 4 Dinner Sized Servings

I’ve been making some version of this recipe for years.  It is always the Henderson household’s “welcome to the fall” dish.  Feel free to play with the recipe, I never make this the same way twice. Ginger, more spice, maple syrup, omitting the apples, adding roasted chicken, etc… have all been parts of the recipe.  Sweet potatoes are a real super food and go well with so many different foods.  If you need a little more acid in the dish try a little aged balsamic and good quality olive oil right on top of each bowl.

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 3 sweet potatoes (Quartered)
  • 4 Apples-Any type will work, but try to use a less mealy type, for better texture)
  • 3 ½  Cups chicken stock
  • ½ Cup Heavy Cream
  • ¼ Cup Apple Cider
  • ½ Cup Jack Daniel’s bourbon
  • 2 Tablespoons Sparkling River chipotles
  • ½ Tablespoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Nutmeg

Peel and cut apples, be sure to remove the seeds.  Store in water with a dash of lemon juice to prevent browning.

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and sweat the onions, carrots, celery and garlic for 3 minutes or until translucent. Raise the heat to high, add the sweet potatoes, chipotle, apple cider and broth and bring to boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream, chipotles, cinnamon and nutmeg, plus salt and pepper to taste. Puree in a food processor and refrigerate. Reheat before serving, adding the bourbon to finish. Top with goat cheese, chopped chives or a fresh crouton and serve.

Sweet Potato French Toast with Pumpkin Sauce

Dessert

Serves 4

I love French toast for breakfast, but of course I’m always in a morning rush, and I just can’t start my day with something that heavy, without having a nap scheduled.  So with very little change made to the recipe French Toast can easily be made into a fabulous and unexpected dessert.  If you have some apples laying around peel them and cook them with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

  • Sweet potato bread, sliced into 8 pieces
  • 3 eggs Beaten
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 2 Tablespoon Honey
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter
  • Pumpkin Butter Sauce(recipe follows)

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except the bread.  Place the sliced bread into the mixture, and let it rest at least 1 hour before cooking.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.   Serve immediately with pumpkin butter sauce.

Pumpkin Butter Sauce

  • ½ stick (4 Tablepoons) unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • ¼ Cup pumpkin butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water.

Beat the sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Stir the egg mixture into the butter. Stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes. Remove from the double boiler and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the cream, pumpkin butter, honey and if desired 1 shot of whiskey.

Serve on top of the French toast, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.  Garnish with cooked apples if desired.

Recipes from Argenta Market’s Chef Shane Henderson

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My apologies to my two readers out there…that includes you, Mom…I’ve been sick the past few days. Not the swine flu, methinks, but enough to be pretty much on my duff for three days.

Meanwhile, I’m still not with it enough to write a proper post. I still owe you the scoop on last Thursday’s Celebrity Chef Cook-Off at Pulaski Tech, as well as the press conference on the upcoming Argenta Fall Foodie Fest. (Remember to save the date, Oct. 17, and swing by after the Race for the Cure!)

So.

It just so happens that the fabulous Chef Shane Henderson of Argenta Market dropped a little gift in my email inbox, sometime during my unfortunate incarceration in an ill body. And I pass along this gift to you, a handful of fun recipes with a Southern kick, including teaching you to learn to cook thai food. Tell him thanks by stopping by his fabulous tent at the soon-ending Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market, or at his soon-opening Argenta Market storefront on Main Street, North Little Rock. Enjoy!

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(Recipes and commentary verbatim from Chef Shane Henderson)

Catfish Cake

I love Crab cakes, a few years ago I decided we needed an Arkansas version, so I turned to catfish.  I found that it worked well as a cake or simply mixed as a catfish salad which is great for fish tacos or as a dip.  You can use catfish that was fried the day before, finally a way to get to use leftovers from that big fish fry.

Makes 4 servings

  • 1 pound fried catfish (recipe follows)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup diced red onion
  • 1/3 cups diced red bell pepper
  • 1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh parley chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon your favorite hot sauce
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons neutral flavored oil, more as needed

Breakup catfish into a large bowl, add all remaining ingredients except breadcrumbs.  Use your hands to mix the ingredients.  Add breadcrumbs a little at a time until a consistency is reached which will hold together.  Taste and adjust seasonings as you prefer.  Form mixture into 4-6 2-3 inch wide “cakes”.   In a non stick skillet heat oil.  Place cakes into the oil and cook 2-3 minutes on each side until browned and heated through.  Serve on a mixed green salad, with tarter sauce, or a spicy chipotle mayonnaise.

Fried Catfish

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pound of catfish filets
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil, enough to cover fish

Heat a fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with vegetable oil to 360 degrees F. Place catfish in bowl covered with buttermilk.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, seasonings, and the cornmeal. Dredge the catfish in the flour mixture and carefully place in fryer. Deep fry for approximately 7 to 8 minutes until done. Drain on paper towels, adjust seasoning with salt immediately.

Fall Salad

  • 2 Pears, Apples (Any apple will work I like the tartness of the Granny Smith or Stella Apple for this salad)
  • 1 Pound mixed salad greens, washed and dried
  • 8 ounces Dried Figs
  • 1 Small Red Onion
  • 4 ounces blue cheese (parmesan will work, even if you aren’t a fan of blue cheese it plays off of the apples really well in this salad)
  • Candied Pecans

Dice the apples and place them in the juice of half a lemon and cover with water; reserve the other half of the lemon for the vinaigrette. Cut the red onions into small, thin rounds. Toss all ingredients together with a small amount of salt, top with vinaigrette and toss again.

Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is so easy and helps accent all the flavors already going on in the salad.

  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 oz. balsamic vinegar
  • 6 oz. good quality olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Mix the ingredients in a small jar, top with a lid and shake to combine, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake Sale Results, Cheese-Off, and a Helena Pop-Up

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BakeSale_wordmark_alternate_rgb_Domino_CH_horizArkansas Blogger Bake Sale Results

I am happy to report that, as of this writing, we are hovering around the $2,600 mark for this year’s Arkansas Blogger Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry!

While we’re a little shy of our $3,000 goal, it’s still a great haul, and it’s more than we raised last year. Many, many thanks to our committee members, volunteers, bakers, donors and everyone involved!

If you’d still like to help, I’m not closing our sale until next Friday, May 16. You can donate cash directly to No Kid Hungry at this link, and it will credit to our fundraiser. Share with your friends and co-workers!

(One day soon I’ll tell the side-story for that day…short version: I stepped out for a couple hours to hang out with MC Hammer, for business reasons.)

Get Cheesed Off: Pimento Cheese Competition and Tasting 

While at the sale, the PR Maven at Historic Arkansas Museum dropped by to pick up some goodies and tell us about some goings on this weekend. Every year, the day before Mother’s Day, the museum holds an awesome event, the Territorial Fair. (Seriously, if you have kids — or even if you don’t — you have to go!)

This year, they are adding an even more savory element: A pimento cheese competition. Oh my word.

Competitors include Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Hillcrest Artisan Meats and Capital Hotel Bar and Grill. Visitors to the Territorial Fair can sample all the pimento cheese entries from 1 to 4 p.m., voting for a People’s Choice award to be given at the end of the day.

The Territorial Fair and the Pimento Cheese-Off are free. Historic Arkansas Museum is located at 200 E. Third Street in Little Rock.

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The original Interstate Grocery, which was the first sponsor of the King Biscuit Time radio show. This storefront will be the location of tomorrow night’s pop-up.

It’s Sold Out, And It’s So Cool: “Interstate Grocery” Pop-Up in Helena

Saturday night, Helena will host what’s likely one of the hottest culinary tickets in the state, a night with Chefs Shane Henderson and Jason Godwin. Henderson is currently a chef with food wholesaler Ben E. Keith (but you probably remember him as the opening chef for Argenta Market), and Godwin has experience in catering and restaurants, best known as the chef proprietor of Dogtown Coffee and Cookery.

They’ll serve four courses of Delta-centric delights at this sold-out event, meant to highlight not only the foods of the region, but also the success a similar permanent restaurant might enjoy in the area. Tickets were $30.

Julia Malinowski, director of the Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission, hopes the event will bring attention to the city’s potential for a “date night” type restaurant.

“Many of our residents are traveling 45 minutes to Greenville (Miss.), where investors have opened up opportunities for several restaurants to open,” she said. “We have some people willing to invest right here in Helena in a great restaurant if just the right person comes along.”

While it’s too late to join the party this Saturday, it’s pretty much a done deal that there will be more. Watch this space for details (with more notice next time, my bad) on future events.

“The Next Course” Youth Home Benefit Highlights Chefs and How-Tos

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Roasted Fall Salad with Farrow, to be served and demonstrated at The Next Course for Youth Home.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Farro Salad, to be served and demonstrated at The Next Course for Youth Home.

In a delightful new fundraiser format, the upcoming The Next Course gala event for Youth Home will not only feature amazing, seasonal food from local chefs, it will teach attendees how to make each course at home.

Last week, I got a sneak peek at some of the courses and the instructional videos that will be shown during the event. I’m not allowed to spill the details just yet, but I can tell you two things: 1) the food will be fresh, seasonal and stunning, and 2) you WILL learn something, even if you don’t cook.

Okay, maybe that was more than two things. Just trust me, it will be an amazing event.

As guests enjoy each course of the dinner, they will receive video how-tos to recreate the dishes themselves by Chef Shane Henderson of Ben E. Keith and Chef Stephen Burrow of the Clinton Presidential Center, along with his Sous Chef Jackson Bolton and Pastry Chef Anne Woodson. Guests will also take home detailed recipe cards for each dish.

Youth Home is a private, non-profit psychiatric center for emotionally troubled adolescents and their families. With state-of-the-art residential treatment, as well as day and outpatient services, Youth Home serves an important role in the wellness of our community.

During last winter’s snowstorms, the facility went without power for several days, causing a major setback for the facility and its residents. Food went bad. Medicine ruined. And spirits dampened. With funds raised by The Next Course, Youth Home will purchase power generators to avoid a similar situation in the future.

As the Official Blog Partner for the event, Fancy Pants Foodie will bring you more stories about Youth Home and The Next Course. I hope you’ll stay tuned for that.

But more importantly, I hope you’ll buy a ticket or two, or even sponsor a table. Join us at The Next Course, learn a few things, and help improve the lives of young people right here in Little Rock!

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The Next Course
Benefiting Youth Home
Thursday, October 3
7 p.m.
Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library
$100 for individual tickets, or $150 to include VIP cocktail hour
Sponsorships available at $1250 (includes 8 VIP tickets)
Click here to purchase tickets

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery to Close Doors

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Dogtown Coffee and Cookery announced today it will soon close its doors.

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery announced today it will soon close its doors. (Images from the restaurant’s Facebook page.)

Note: We contacted Dogtown to clarify; their last day of service will be on Sunday.

Despite rave reviews and a recent remodel, Dogtown Coffee and Cookery in North Little Rock announced today on their Facebook page that this Sunday will be their last day of business.

“Despite all of our efforts to lower cost without decreasing quality, we are having to close our doors on Monday, March 4, 2013,” the post stated. “It has been a painstaking decision for the owners, management, and our staff to accept. We would like to thank all of our staff, past and present employees, for their loyalty and hard work to bring you great food, coffee, and service.”

Dogtown reopened after a brief closure

Waffle Melt sandwich from Dogtown Coffee and Cookery

Waffle Melt sandwich from Dogtown Coffee and Cookery

in May 2012 to update their cooking equipment and install a grease trap, allowing them to prepare a much broader range of sweet and savory (and often combined, such as chicken and waffles) concoctions. The restaurant soon became underground-famous for its upscale, old-school plates such as roast beef, fried chicken and catfish, as well as innovative soups, panini and other sandwiches. Often the chefs would get even more creative and offer something like duck and grits or a savory waffle sandwich.

The restaurant enjoyed high reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Urbanspoon, as well as from local publications and reviewers. For many, it can be compared to the best places to eat in san francisco, which is quite a feat.

Last spring, I wrote a report for culinary school about Dogtown’s former proprietor and chef Jason Godwin, intending to publish it here. (I’m publishing it now for posterity; see below.) But shortly afterward, Godwin departed the outfit to explore “a new chapter” of his life outside the food industry, according to a July 31, 2012 post on his personal Facebook wall. I never got the chance to meet the new chef, but from the look of things, the quality of the food wasn’t the problem.

So, once again, small spots of awesome can’t make a buck, while the people of Arkansas vote Popeye’s the best-fried chicken in town. Sigh. Unfortunately, many small business owners fail to consider how difficult it will be to start a completely new business from scratch. This coffee shop won’t be the only one that has to close because of a lack of business and profit. That’s why it’s advised to look for Coffee Franchise For Sale opportunities, instead of opening brand new businesses. Sometimes, this can work better for coffee entrepreneurs. However, you might decide that you’re feeling motivated to try and create a successful coffee shop yourself. If that’s the case, you might want to consider using a customisable POS software in your coffee shop to ensure that the business operates smoothly. With a good POS system, coffee shops can benefit from marketing help and table management to ensure that every part of the coffee shop is running correctly. With this sort of software, the coffee shop should be a success!

Dogtown will be open regular hours this weekend, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery
6725 J.F.K. Boulevard
North Little Rock, AR 72116
(501) 833-3850

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North Little Rock Native Jason Godwin Makes Good with
Dogtown Coffee & Cookery
May 2012

After years of study pursuing a career in international business, North Little Rock native Jason Godwin discovered his passion for cooking was worth coming home.

“I always thought I’d be in business,” Godwin said. “But since I was a kid, I wanted to open a restaurant. I thought it would be when I retired.”

Godwin’s formal education began with a degree in French at the University of Arkansas. This led him to Europe, where he studied international business in Scotland and France, working toward a masters’ degree in that field.

Aspiring to be successful in the world international business, Godwin made sure he was in the know with important aspects of running an international business, such as global PEO. Knowing there were international employment specialists who could help with such aspects, he was well prepared to embark on a successful journey. However, whilst he was in Scotland, Godwin’s outlook started to change.

“In Scotland, I worked at one place called the Clyde Ramsey Cafe, which in a way was very much like Argenta Market but more rustic,” Godwin said. “They had organic vegetables, local cheese, and a cafe next door.

“They had this kind of set up with two chefs working side by side – which never works, by the way – one local Scot, and one from London. The British guy had a more worldly approach, grounded in how he handled things. The Scot was a fiery, wannabe Gordon Ramsey type, which was just covering his insecurities.”

Godwin marks this as one of his most memorable kitchen experiences.

His first restaurant job was of high pedigree as well, right here in Arkansas. While still in undergraduate school, Godwin worked one semester in Little Rock at Spaulé, under the renowned chef Paul Novicky.

“His bosses were the fathers of fine dining in Little Rock,” he said, including Paul Bash of the renowned 1980s marvel, Jacque and Suzanne. “That was my first taste of fine dining. I thought [Novicky] was the best chef, the way he carried himself and manipulated the food.”

In a few months, however, Godwin wilted under the high-pressure environment and vowed to never work in food again.

After earning his masters’ degree, he moved to southern California to pursue work in international business with Nestle, wanting to remain somehow connected to the food industry. He didn’t get the job.

“Then I joined AmeriCorps, through the VISTA program, for one year,” he said. “I worked with Share Our Strength through their Operation Frontline (Now Cooking Matters) program, based at the Springdale, Arkansas foodbank. VISTA pays you just 20 percent above the poverty level, just enough to get by and know what it’s like. At the end, they give you some money toward your college loans.

“I worked with chefs and nutritionists, recruiting them to teach cooking classes. I decided, through that process, that I wanted to go to culinary school.”

Vince Pianalto, chef at the former La Maison de Tartes in Fayetteville, taught many of Godwin’s classes through Share Our Strength, becoming his inspiration to finally take the leap into a culinary career.

“I wanted to position myself differently, so I went with a baking and pastry degree,” said Godwin of his culinary education at California Culinary Academy. “While I was in San Francisco, I sold cheese at Whole Foods and worked at a couple restaurants.”

When he returned to Arkansas, he worked with Shane Henderson and Coby Smith at Simply the Best Catering in North Little Rock, eventually becoming sous under Henderson when Smith left, and after a brief stint as pastry sous at the Capital Hotel during their renovation, went back to the catering operation.

Upon Henderson’s departure to open Argenta Market, Godwin became chef for two years at Simply the Best.

“In April 2011, the folks at Java Roasting Co. brought me in, basically to give this place a soul,” he said. “We tried in the beginning with no construction, just to basically pimp out a coffee shop. It didn’t work for long; we needed more.”

Godwin eventually took over the establishment and rebranded it as Dogtown Coffee and Cookery, quickly gaining notoriety for his sandwiches and breakfast items. Then, a letter from the city put his wishes for a wider menu into overdrive.

“Early this year, we got a letter from the city of North Little Rock saying we were going to have to put in a grease trap,” he said. “When they built the place, they weren’t doing any cooking that required one, but it turns out maybe they should have anyway.

“We decided to get our money’s worth and totally renovate the kitchen, making us able to offer a much wider menu. We’re putting in fridge and freezer walk-ins outside, a Vent-A-Hood with an Ansul (fire protection) system, a range with a stove and flattop, a fryer, and more undercounter cooler prep space.”

Upon reopening, the restaurant will offer breakfast all day and expand its entrée selections for lunch and dinner. Godwin says he hopes the renovation, to be completed this spring, will create a comfortable, family-friendly destination in North Little Rock, one that feels like “sitting on the porch at home.”

“I want old people to come and say, ‘I remember food like this.’ And I want young folks to come in and say, ‘This is some cool-ass, old-school food.'”

Check the Pure Bean Office Cafe resources for more details.

Feeding Arkansas’ Hungry Kids, One Celeb Chef at a Time (No Kid Hungry Little Rock Dinner 2012)

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Lovely table settings by Share Our Strength staff and volunteers.

Tuesday night, Governor Mike Beebe told a sold-out crowd at the Oxford American headquarters that Arkansas has become a success “poster child” for the No Kid Hungry program of Share Our Strength, the nonprofit group working to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. And based on the results of the event, raising over $30 thousand with a night of spectacular culinary achievement, I am not at all surprised.

The local chef rock stars who cooked for the event included Jeffrey Owen of the Capitol Hotel, Brian Deloney of Maddie’s Place, Kelli Marks of Sweet Love and a host of rising-star culinarians and other volunteers. The out-of-towners included two Top Chef graduates: John Currence of City Grocery in Oxford, Miss. (Top Chef Masters, season 3) and Marcel Vigneron of Modern Global Tasting Inc. in Los Angeles (Top Chef, season 2).

Share Our Strength is holding other No Kid Hungry Dinners across the country to raise funds for their worthy programs, including the Cooking Matters program I had the privilege to teach this summer. The secondary purpose, however, is to create a buzz, getting folks together who love to cook, love to eat and love to make sure our kids have the opportunity to do both.

Behind the scenes was an absolute hoot. The best thing about being one of those up-and-coming culinary types is being able to schlep into these things as extra hands, learning from everyone there. I was able to help plate dishes, wipe other dishes down (the rental company didn’t send them all clean!), even deliver dishes to the waiting crowd of about 120 guests.

I absolutely loved watching the chefs prepare their dishes. Each chef, from the locals to the guest chefs, had something extraordinary to offer. As I watched Vigneron finish his plates of pea soup with peas, salmon, beets, beet ice cream and a beet chip, I was astounded by the level of mastery. And, honestly, at that point in the evening I hadn’t even realized why he looked so darn familiar! (I’ll tell you this: His jerk persona on Top Chef was all editing. He’s a doll.)

The other chefs all brought their own passions, as well. Currence was especially passionate about the Cooking Matters program, telling me about the Chefs Move to Schools kickoff event he helped cook for at the White House earlier this year. He said it was essential that we work to get kids excited about healthy cooking, just as previous generations of kids were the family catalysts for litter control and recycling.

Our own local chefs created amazing dishes, as well. Owen’s cocktail-hour appetizers reflected the precision and depth of flavor that embodies the Capitol Hotel. Deloney presented the first course, a “muffaletta” napoleon of heirloom tomatoes, showcasing the beauty of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Newcomer Kelli Marks astounded the seasoned veterans with her light, perfectly balanced cheesecakes. (Vigneron loved them.) And without credit on the program, former Argenta Market chef Shane Henderson, now with Ben E. Keith, prepared beautiful vegetarian entrees on the fly for those who requested them.

Before the event even got rolling, the former-PR-person in me had to go work the crowd during cocktail hour. Turns out I walked by just as P. Allen Smith was walking in, as he was one of the guest speakers for the event. Bless his heart, the awesome ladies who came in from Share Our Strength in Washington, D.C. didn’t know who he was! I helped them all alleviate the situation without anybody getting embarrassed. My reward: Soiree and the Dem-Gaz snapping photos of me with said Mr. Smith. The white coat, they love it, even if I’m a nobody.

I may write a separate post about just hanging out with these awesome folks all evening. It’s a story unto itself. But, for now, enjoy these photos knowing that we’re this much closer to No Kid Hungry in Arkansas.

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Grand Opening (Finally) at Argenta Market

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Note: Sorry for the delay getting this posted. Originally written on Thursday, April 15. Had a bit of a technical problem. But here ’tis…

Yup, it’s true…I set myself up for an April Fool’s joke of my own.

In my earlier preview of Argenta Market, the long-awaited neighborhood grocery in the trendy downtown area of North Little Rock, I reported the opening to be slated for April 1. “No fooling,” I said.

But proprietors Shane Henderson and Jody Hardin would rather get it right, a little later, than stick to an arbitrary date. And get it right they did.

This morning, a crowd of about 100 pressed against the grocery’s outer walls as government dignitaries and folks from the Argenta Downtown Council and the Argenta Community Development Corporation congratulated each other and opened the market to the public. After a quick ribbon cutting, the crowd practically swarmed to enter.

An hour later, as I sit at the market’s laptop-friendly lunch bar against the window-glass front wall, the room is still buzzing. Several of the newly indoctrinated patrons are staying for lunch, freshly prepared by Chef Shane Henderson and dished out at the deli counter, salad bar or to-go pick up area. And 20 to 30 folks, some of whom have wandered in after the opening, are still buzzing about the store.

Several patrons are just downright giddy at the selections, today including some Hardin Farms strawberries that were still sucking minerals out of the dirt yesterday. I was pretty giddy myself when I looked in the super-cool Coke cooler (which, I’m told, was the first of its design in Arkansas) and found — get this — Mexican Cokes. You know, the ones with real sugar instead of corn syrup.

That alone, my friends, is reason enough to get over here.

There are still a few kinks in the system: many items not yet in the PLU system, and (yipes) no bottle opener for the aforementioned Mexican Cokes. But these things are expected with a new store, especially one as home-grown and locally-operated as Argenta Market.

But what is good — aisles of Arkansas-grown (and otherwise, as necessary by climate) fruits, veggies, meats and more — far outweighs the store’s first-day growing pains. I plan to whip up a nice pasta dish with the fresh goodies I pick up today, and come back later in the week for fresh meats for the week’s menu.

Hope to see you here!

(And a big boo-hiss to Jamie Walden, who has already ousted me as the Foursquare Mayor of Argenta Market. It’s on, Jamie, it’s on!)

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Long-Awaited Argenta Market Prepares to Open Doors April 1

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UPDATE: Chef Shane has nudged the opening date to April 15. And he really, really means it this time. April Fools to whoever came by on the 1st, I guess.

Walking in the back door of the long-awaited Argenta Market a little over a week ago, I couldn’t help but think of E.T.

You know, the movie…in the 80s…never mind. If you’re under 30, Google it.

The entire 7,000-square-foot space was partitioned with giant sheets of plastic wrap, much like the foreign creature’s host house in the movie. Workers busily scraped and sanded walls, creating a dreamy haze of sheetrock dust.

Store Proprietor and Chef Shane Henderson

But this dream is no science fiction for proprietor and chef Shane Henderson, who has scheduled the store, a mix of local and mass-produced groceries as well as site-made culinary creations, to finally open on April 1. No fooling.

“People were wondering if we’d ever actually open,” Henderson said of numerous delays in opening the market. “I think we ended up with a better store with the delays than if we’d opened one year ago as planned. I think we’d be closed by now if that had happened.

Henderson cites lessons learned from months of research and changes in focus, as well as the demise of similar shops in the metro area.

One critical decision, Henderson said, was that to include recognizable, mass-produced grocery brands as well as local ones.

“A lot of people were really shocked at (our decision),” Henderson said. “But we had to look at it from a market survival perspective; we’ll be serving the folks who live right around here as a local grocery as well as people looking for the specialty items.”

Jody Hardin, executive director of the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market program, has stepped out of the day-to-day limelight in regards to the Market, although he remains a partner and connection-maker between the store and Arkansas farmers.

Possibly the smartest move made by Henderson and Hardin was to hire Neal Augustine of Benton, a 30+-year veteran grocery manager, to serve as manager of the market.

Store Manager Neal Augustine and Henderson

“I started as a kid, as a bag boy to make some money, and just worked my way up,” said Augustine of his career in grocery management. He has served as manager for Harvest Foods until its demise; before that, he worked for Kroger for 20 years and Winn Dixie for 12 years.

Augustine lit up while listing some of Argenta Market’s upcoming features: seven aisles of basic and upscale nonperishable grocery items, with a notable focus on local, sustainable foods; several varieties of specialty and local cheeses and milk; standard, import and local beers, such as Diamond Bear; frozen foods including Yarnell’s ice cream, Amy’s Organics items, store-made products and exotic meats; bulk bins featuring local coffee, grains and rice, including basmati and jasmine.

“The meats will definitely be the coolest thing for the home cook,” Henderson added. “And we’ll have more specialty items to play with, ingredients you can’t get at Walmart or Kroger.”

The market will also provide Henderson the opportunity to get back in the kitchen as a chef, a passion which has been delayed as construction made the site’s kitchen unusable. He plans to offer up to a dozen specialty sandwiches on the deli menu, at least four ready-to-eat items and house-made artisan breads, plus improvisations based on what is fresh that week. He may even get into producing charcuterie (house-made sausage) each week, as well as being able to connect customers’ requests with Arkansas vendors whenever possible.

“The good thing about being our size,” he explained, “is that when people have special requests we can serve their needs. In the future, we’ll even offer online ordering. If you want goat in two weeks, we’ll be able to handle that for you.”

The market will have a full-service deli using Arkansas-based Petit Jean meats, a 6-foot salad bar featuring locally-grown products and seating with a great community view for 24, including Arkansas-roasted RoZark Hills cappuccino and coffee for purchase and free Wi-Fi provided by Urban Wireless.

Henderson, who is also an instructor at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, said he hopes culinary students will come in and look around “just to learn what all is out there.”

“For example, in my kitchen, I use at least five different kinds of salt,” he said. “There are so many different things you can do with it to create different tastes and textures.”

Argenta Market sits, at 6th and Main, in the very center of the Argenta Community Development Corporation‘s plans for the growing, trendy segment of downtown North Little Rock.

“They have plans for this area to be a walking residential and retail community, and geographically, we are right in the middle of it,” Henderson said. “It wasn’t planned that way, but it’s a happy accident.”

Argenta Market
6th and Main Streets (521 Main St.)
North Little Rock, AR
(501) 379-9980
www.argentamarket.com

Thanksgiving Disappointments and Blessings

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For many of us foodies, Thanksgiving is the ultimate holiday. We have a socially acceptable excuse to spend far too much time planning, shopping and cooking for just one special meal.

In my case, this was to be the first Thanksgiving I hosted and cooked myself. I had shopped the farmer’s market, prowled two grocery stores, studied recipes, made lists, planned an elaborate three-day schedule of cooking. I had purchased large plastic bins for brining our 19-pound turkey and three pheasants. I had washed critters out of a veggie drawer full of farm-fresh romaine lettuce.

Then, I got the flu.

Monday morning I awoke to the reality that Thanksgiving would not be what I had imagined. After a couple days of being mostly unconscious, on Wednesday afternoon I started lying around trying to watch television. Food Network, my usual staple, was in full-foodie-Thanksgiving frenzy. It was too depressing. I switched to HGTV.

Last night, still weak but just needing to “get some cook out,” I made two pans of dressing with the six loaves of bread I had purchased for the purpose. (My sister-in-law, who had graciously taken over Thanksgiving festivities, had also purchased new food.) One pan was for the Heritage House, a public housing retirement facility where our church hosts Thanksgiving each year. The other was just for us, that night. The hubs breaded and fried some deer meat he had in the freezer, which our daughter, surprisingly, was gaga over.

I also tackled a rather complex recipe for a gingerbread cake with lemon glaze, just because. I managed to save it for the actual holiday festivities.

After making those two items, I started to feel much better about things.

Today, on what was supposed to be the ultimate foodie showcase at my house, we drove over to my niece’s house, not far away. There, my in-law family had prepared a wonderful spread. We talked, we ate, the kids played. We went back home and took huge naps. And it was just fine.

What I learned from the whole thing: While it’s OK to demonstrate your abilities and cook a sumptuous feast, it’s not what Thanksgiving is about. Yes, the original Pilgrim meal was probably complex and showy. But it was with deep intentions to show gratitude for the very ability to do so — for survival, for provision, for friends and family. Today, because I was still too weak to be caught up in cooking, I was able to receive the gift of a lovingly prepared meal and more time with family at the table.

I still plan to cook most of the meal I had planned, in a little over a week. We are having some friends over from church for our turn at a supper club. It was going to be a different menu, but what else am I going to do with a 19-pound turkey? And this time, I’ll remember to replace frenzy with friends and family. And of course, good food.

My would-be menu:

I hope that each one of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you remembered to count your blessings, even if they weren’t the ones you expected.

 

At the Market — Daley Dairy and Honeysuckle Lane Raw Milk Cheese

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*Put on your Golden Girls hats and follow me, here…*

Picture it: Sicily, 1943. I was walking down the streets with your father, and we decided to stop by our favorite little café for a sandwich. Louis had been in there all morning baking the most amazing bread that had sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and…. oh, the cheese. It was the most amazing, tangy, fresh, creamy cheese you ever had. We asked if Louis would just grill the two together, and he obliged. It was heaven on a plate! Crispy, creamy, snappy…unlike any nasty, processed old grilled cheese you let my grandchildren eat today. Then Louis stepped to the side a bit, and we saw his assistant behind the counter — a cow named Bessie! She mooed loudly. Louis said she was asking how we liked the cheese, as she had tried extra hard that day…

Mom, you’re making that up!

Why, yes, I was making that up, but it was based on reality. The bread was made last week by Shane Henderson at Argenta Market (profile on them another day), and the amazing cheese was made by the Daley family of Daley Dairy, makers of Honeysuckle Lane Raw Milk Cheese in Rosebud. And yes, the sandwich was real. And it was amazing.

As I have said earlier, I’m using the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market to learn more about whole foods and add more of them to my diet. This past Saturday, I added white cheddar raw milk cheese to my repertoire, purchased from Daley Dairy’s tent.

Happy, grass-fed, pastured cows are the milk-makers at Daley Dairy.

Happy, grass-fed, pastured cows are the milk-makers at Daley Dairy.

When I purchased the cheese, it didn’t even dawn on me what “raw milk” meant. But after a bit of research on the dairy’s website and elsewhere, I have learned that it basically means the cheese is not pasteurized. As Ray Daley, Jr. states on the farm’s website:

We all grew up hearing that “pasturized” was a great thing. And it is. But sometimes, there are better ways.

Pasteurization kills the potentially harmful bacteria in milk, but it also kills the good bacteria, those that help with digestion and even some that kill other bad bugs. It also reduces vitamin content and other goodies such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which contributes to lean muscle development.

This is a huge battle between the naysayers and those who claim significant health benefits from using raw milk, one that I won’t get into right this minute. As a new user, I can’t really speak to the subject with expertise. But it is generally accepted that cheese made from raw milk is safe, under very specific conditions as outlined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Raw Milk Cheese Association defines the product simply:

Cheese produced from milk that, prior to setting the curd, has not been heated above the temperature of the milk (104°F, 40°C) at the time of milking and that the cheese produced from that milk shall be aged for 60 days or longer at a temperature of not less than 35°F (2°C) in accordance with US FDA regulations.

All that to say, Daley Dairy’s cheese is safe, for several reasons:

  1. The cows are grass-fed and pastured, meaning they are much less susceptible to disease and do not require all the antibiotics given stall-raised cows. Their diet also makes milk that is safer and more stable.
  2. The dairy only sells semi-firm cheeses (colby and cheddars), which are very stable when properly treated.

    Putting the 60-day chill on cheese at Daley Dairy.

    Putting the 60-day chill on cheese at Daley Dairy.

  3. They vacuum-pack the cheeses immediately and age them in cold storage for at least 60 days.

Want to know more? There’s a very nice article here on Serious Eats on the subject. Or you can read more on safety and “raw benefits” at the Daley’s website.

All that talk about safety has gotten me away from the subject at hand. This cheese is just darn tasty! It has a slightly different crumb, so to speak, than your average cheese; an excellent mix of firmness and creaminess. And I really enjoyed the tang brought from the cultured raw milk (good bacteria that wasn’t killed) and the vegetable rennet used to create the cheese. Hubby and I had a hankering the other day for a good ol’ grilled cheese sandwich, and we had a little of the aforementioned bread left over. Grill pan + butter + amazing, locally made bread + equally amazing, locally made cheese = WOW!

As hubby would say, dip that in your tomato soup and eat it.

Game time! How about a quiz?