At 8 p.m. tonight, Montauk, and a notable number of the hamlet’s standouts, including the surfcaster Gary (Toad) Stephens, Capt. Amanda Switzer, the Miss Montauk party boat, Jenny Meadows, chef at the Fishbar, Todd Mitgang of South Edison restaurant, and last but not least, Paul Melnyk, king of “skishing,” will be featured in the premiere of Ben Sargent’s “Hook, Line, and Dinner,” a Cooking Channel presentation.

    The plot of the short documentary is straightforward. Ben (“I live for sea­food”) Sargent, the show’s host-fisherman-chef, pays a visit to the fishing capital of the Northeast during the 2010 striped bass run.

    While the season ended with somewhat of a whimper, the month of October stood out big time, producing one of nature’s more awesome displays; tens of thousands of striped bass on their southerly migration feeding on great clouds of prey species.

    Mr. Sargent timed his visit well and the filmmaker Ariel Astrachan has strung together some amazing underwater and surface footage of big bass in the midst of a feeding frenzy.

    We often look funny to ourselves when peering into a mirror, and “Hook, Line, and Dinner’s” visit to Montauk will strike locals as a bit hokey. At the same time, viewers will take pride in the filmmaker/chef’s choice of featured characters.

    Toad takes Ben Sargent surfcasting, first explaining and demonstrating how he got his handle by jumping over cars. As for surfcasting, he is one of the best, with a gift for colorful, stream-of-consciousness patter. Those fishing alongside him might think it a curse. That voice!

    Toad gets him a nice fish that he takes to South Edison, where the chef Todd Mitgang prepares it with creamed kale and wheatberry on a bed of chopped cherrystone clam — “a taste of Montauk in the fall,” Mr. Sargent declares.

    The host takes to the sea for a bit of fly-fishing aboard Captain Switzer’s light-tackle guide boat. They find a traffic snarl of similar boats in front of the Montauk Lighthouse, a common, and often dangerous, dangle, but this sequence includes amazing video of stripers boiling on the surface. Acres of them.

     Next, the intrepid culinary Nimrod boards the party boat Miss Montauk for a day of porgy fishing with Capt. Jamie Quaresimo at the helm. He takes his catch to the Fishbar, a terrific out-of-the-way restaurant located at the Gone Fishing Marina on East Lake Drive. The chef Jenny Meadows concocts a mouth-watering dish by grilling a fat porgy whole and serving it with a spicy tomato chutney.

    This is a cooking show, and Mr. Sargent takes pains to accent the preparations. For the striped bass dish, he stresses that the kale was locally grown, the wheatberries too. Ms. Meadows says that if the porgy’s skin sticks to the grill, it’s not done.

    Next up is the fishing chef’s meet-up with Paul Melnyk, “the craziest man in town.” Montauk locals know that while he’s out-there (in a good sense), Paul Melnyk has not yet pledged Montauk’s craziest fraternity, but as the inventor and number-one practitioner of the sport of skishing he could be described as paranormal.

    Simply put, skishing means donning a wetsuit and swim fins and swimming offshore with a surfcasting rod. It all began, he claims, when he was pulled into the ocean while fighting a 40-pound striped bass. He says it’s a way to escape the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that often cram the beach during the fall run. It helps not to dwell on the possibility that a shark could be attracted to the skish­er by the blood and thrashing of his catch.

    Mr. Sargent joins Mr. Melnyk on a skish­ing expedition which goes well — “reeling it in with nothing below you but the Atlantic” — until the tide turns and the pair is forced to struggle against it or get carried out to sea.

    All in all, Mr. Sargent does us proud. He gets it, and in the process of singing Montauk’s praises, reminds us how lucky we are to live beside a marine cornucopia.

little/red

76C Job’s Lane

Southampton

283-3309

Lunch Wednesday through Sunday

Dinner Tuesday through Sunday

    Little/red is a charming little place tucked away on Job’s Lane, where the somewhat dreary Buckley’s used to be. The space has been transformed into a bistro-style restaurant with a beautiful red bar at the entrance, an enclosed patio to the right, and a bilevel dining room to the left. The high gloss walls are an intriguing color. Are they gray, taupe, beige? How about greige? White orchids line one wall, there are beautiful candles all around, a deep burgundy banquette, and wood tables with bistro chairs. Something about the place feels familiar, from the always warm greeting at the door, to the font on the menu, to the ever-present crowd at the bar. It feels like Beacon and Fresno and red/bar Brasserie, David Loewenberg’s other fine dining establishments.

    The menu at little/red is surprisingly long for a small restaurant. The choices range from scallops or cod on the high end to a simple burger or fish and chips.

    On a recent visit we began with the prosciutto and fig salad, crispy calamari salad, and blue cheese Caesar salad. Yes, seven of the nine appetizers are salads. The prosciutto and fig salad had a wonderful balance of sweet, tart, and salty. The texture of the dried figs (as opposed to the mushier fresh) was a nice combination with the peppery arugula. Slivers of manchego cheese added some rich, salty, nutty flavor, and the honey balsamic dressing tied it all together beautifully.

    The crispy calamari salad was also very good. The calamari had an excellent crunchy coating but was not greasy at all. The bits of shaved celery root were a nice addition, as were the toasted pine nuts. The original and most delicious addition were the oil-cured olives tossed into it. Not to everyone’s liking, oil-cured olives are the dark, wrinkly ones, a touch bitter and super salty. They provided a nice zing along with the lemony vinaigrette. Caesar salad is Caesar salad; it’s always the same and is on almost everyone’s menu. This one was distinguished by a judicious amount of blue cheese and roasted cherry tomatoes. The dressing wasn’t as garlicky as I would like, but that’s just my preference.

    For entrees we tried the pan-roasted cod, the grilled cheese sandwich, and the bistro burger. And an order of one of my favorite food groups, the truffled fries.

    The cod wasn’t particularly exciting in and of itself, but once it was tasted with the rich vegetable fricassee, it was very good. A combination of asparagus, wild mushrooms, and bits of sweet corn were swathed in a rich, buttery sauce.

    I found it hilarious that a $24 grilled cheese sandwich would be offered as a dinner entree. But let me tell you, this was no ordinary grilled cheese. It was more of a duck Reuben, for grown-ups. The crunchy rustic bread held a filling of melted Brie, slow-roasted duck, and braised cabbage. It was served with shoestring fries speckled with parsley. This sandwich is so good, it’s worth a trip just for that.

    The bistro burger was the only dud. It was a pretty presentation on a brioche bun, with a pile of bread-and-butter pickles, but the meat was under-seasoned and over-packed. A problem easily remedied. The truffle fries, on the other hand, are another little/red delicacy worth the trip. Made with thinly cut potatoes, I couldn’t tell if they were seasoned with truffle oil or truffle salt, but I’m going with the salt. They were served with a bit of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, piping hot and perfectly cooked.

    For desserts we tried the pine nut tart, a white chocolate mousse, and the warm cornbread pudding. The tart was outrageously good. The crust was rich and buttery, clearly very fresh, and the filling like a pecan pie but with toasted pine nuts. The generous amount of nuts kept the filling from being too sweet. A topping of sliced orange segments added a bit of citrus punch.

    The mousse, a special of the evening, was served in a martini glass with a lovely tuile adorning the glass. The mousse was lovely, fluffy, and decadent, but the cookie garnish stole the show. It was like a gingery brandy snap. (I didn’t see the name on the menu until I got home, but I then realized that little/red has had the good fortune to snag Holly Dove-Rozzi, formerly of the defunct Della Femina, as its pastry chef. Brava!)

    The warm cornbread pudding was also a hit: The cakey pudding had nice texture from the cornmeal and the accompanying apple cranberry compote was a good foil. Even the caramel sauce was distinctive.

    Service on the nights of our visits was exceptional, from the greeting at the door to the managers always circulating through the room greeting guests and checking on everyone’s well-being. Jenny, our waitress on both occasions, knew the answers to all of our questions and was able to guide our wine choice in the right direction. The wine list is also noteworthy. It has a good number of local choices, is heavy on Italian offerings, and has a very creative selection of great Spanish wines as well.

    Little/red is moderate to expensive. Starters are $10 to $15, entrees are $17 to $42, sides are $7 and $8, and desserts are $9 to $14. The prices are considerably less at lunchtime, and there is a midafternoon menu called “something in between” that is very reasonable.

    One of my guests astutely pointed out, “Look at the bar crowd. It’s like all of their other restaurants; people don’t want to leave. Even if you just come in for a drink, you end up staying to eat. It’s cozy and friendly.” Yes, little/red is all of those things. With truffle fries on top.

   I am going to just say it, even though I may be labeled un-American: Super Bowl Sunday is as much about the food as it is the football.

    At Townline BBQ in Sagaponack, specials served during sport time on Sunday will include $3 chili cheese nachos, wings with blue cheese dressing, or warm pretzels with mustard, and hush puppies for $2.50. Popcorn and peanuts will be offered for free. Beer specials at the Townline bar will include $4 pints and $15 pitchers of tap beer, excluding Guinness, or Coors Light for $3 and $12. Drink specials on margaritas, sangria, and other specialty drinks will be $4 at 4 p.m., $5 at 5 p.m., and, you guessed it, $6 an hour later.

    For those serving a horde of hungry sports fans at home, Townline can provide a Bag o’ Wings, with 50 buffalo wings, for $38, or several catering packages, including the Big Man Football Package, which includes nachos, wings, riblettes, fried mac-and-cheese bits, and pulled pork or chicken or burnt-end sliders — enough to serve six, for $96.

    Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett will make a weekend of it, beginning with a TV giveaway tomorrow, just in time to install and watch the Super Bowl. Entries to win a 42-inch LG flat-screen TV are served up with any draft beer purchased at the bar. But get there today, before tomorrow’s drawing. Also tomorrow, Indian Wells will start the weekend with some live music from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

    On Sunday, when all three TVs over the bar at the tavern will be tuned to football, all draft beers will be $4 a pint and all items on the bar menu will be $5.

    Harbor Grill, on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton, will serve up orders of wings at half-price — buy one, get one free — for eating at the bar or restaurant during the Super Bowl.

    On Monday we fast.

New Spots

    Foodies may wish to watch the space at the Red Horse Plaza in East Hampton, formerly home of Tutto Italiano, for the opening of a marketplace at which several familiar vendors will offer their wares. They reportedly will include William Bertha, of Gurney’s Beach Bakery, Pasquale Langella, whose homemade mozzarella has a dedicated following, and Tim’s Prime Meats and Seafood.

    Another anticipated move is Muse restaurant’s plan to open in Sag Harbor. No word on whether the eatery, now based at the Water Mill Shoppes, plans to recreate its “aquatic lounge” at the new spot, but here’s one vote for the ability to watch small sea creatures swim while sipping a martini at the bar.

Palm Prix Fixe

    All this month and next the Palm restaurant in East Hampton will offer a Warm Up Your Winter prix fixe menu for $49.95 per person. Dinners will include an entree, starter, and side dish. Appetizer choices are Caesar or mixed-green salad, lobster bisque, or wild mushroom ravioli, while the entree list includes a nine-ounce filet mignon, tamarind-glazed sea scallops, and wasabi and panko-crusted jumbo shrimp.

    The Palm is also offering diners ordering an entree in the dining room on Thursdays a complimentary glass of house wine and continues to offer “prime bites” at the bar — appetizers for $5.50 per plate — on weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. There is live music in the Palm lounge on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m.

Next “Art & Dine”

    Terrie Sultan, the director of the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, will be interviewed by Dawn Watson of  The Southampton Press at the next “Art & Dine” dinner at the Living Room restaurant in East Hampton. It will take place on Tuesday night beginning at 6.

    A two-course dinner will be followed by cookies, a glass of wine, and the discussion. The cost is $36 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Thai Coffee

    Doi Chaang, coffee made from beans grown in Thailand, is served at Phao restaurant in Sag Harbor in the dining room and bar Tuesday through Thursday nights from 5:30 to 11 and on Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. until 2 the next morning. The coffee, served with heavy cream and a stick of crystallized sugar, is certified organic and naturally low in caffeine.

Cooking Demo

    Using a TurboChef oven, the cooks at the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton will be whipping up tandoori chicken breasts on Saturday, during a free cooking demonstration between noon and 2 p.m.

    One of the great pleasures of working in the restaurant industry and writing about food is getting to know our local chefs. And when you get to know the chefs, sometimes you can get recipes from them. If you’re really lucky, you may get some of their signature recipes or favorite dishes to cook at home.

    I have been collecting recipes from local restaurants and chefs for many years and they have become some of my absolute favorite tried-and-true meals, often with a story attached, such as “Tom Schaudel gave me this recipe when he was writing his book ‘Playing With Fire.’ ” Or “this recipe is from Tsunami nightclub on Three Mile Harbor Road, may it rest in peace.” I have the original Laundry restaurant’s recipe for crab cakes with chipotle mayonnaise, Holly Dove’s divine pound cake from the defunct Della Femina restaurant, and best of all, one of Kevin Penner’s recipes for salmon tartare, of which there is always some variation on the 1770 House menu.

    When Bamboo restaurant, now Shiki, opened on Montauk Highway, a local chef, Patrick Fromm, had a lot to learn about Japanese cuisine. Using his French training on Asian ingredients and working side by side with the sushi chef, he came up with one of the most delicious steak dishes I have ever tried. As much as I love sushi and sashimi, sometimes you just want a piece of meat for dinner. The recipe included below is a perfect example of French technique (with a reduced sauce), combined with fresh and light Asian ingredients, tofu, mushrooms, and soybeans.

    Tom Schaudel’s restaurant empire is now generally focused on the North Fork. But once upon a time he owned the Downtown Grille in Montauk. He said, “I love Montauk mussels. A local fisherman friend of mine, Larry Keller (who I affectionately call Capt. Grum­py) used to bring me these at the Downtown Grille. They were always very clean (no sand), plump, and the flavor is incomparable. Make sure you serve this with lots of bread and soupspoons. I guarantee there will be very little of the broth left.” And like a true locavore, he suggests serving this with a local wine, such as a Bedell gewurtztraminer.

    When Tsunami nightclub was ensconced at the revolving-door-of-nightclub-locations on Three Mile Harbor Road, it attempted to stay open for its first winter season. This seemed oddly inappropriate because the decor was clearly meant for 2 a.m. dancing, Cristal swilling, and the occasional celebrity sighting. To go to the dark-walled cavern with sensuous billowing curtains and dusky Moroccan lanterns with a gaggle of gal pals on an early winter evening felt peculiar. But the food was damn good and we went often for the chef’s stir-fried vegetables with wasabi mashed potatoes. I believe his name was John Donnelly (my bro’s name!) and I don’t know where he ended up, but his food was fresh, lively, and creative. I have made his wasabi mashed potatoes many times to go with a simple grilled striped bass fillet, halibut, or cod, and people always ask for the recipe.

    Power couple chefs Michael Rozzi and Holly Dove were in charge of the kitchen at Della Femina’s for many years until its closing last year. Holly Dove shared this unusual recipe for pound cake and described it as one of her favorites to make at home. But it was also showcased at the restaurant, paired with a variety of fruit compotes to suit the season.

    Some of these recipes call for unusual ingredients. Feel free to improvise. For Patrick Fromm’s grilled filet of beef with mushrooms you can use any variety of tasty wild mushrooms. You can find red curry paste and lemongrass at supermarkets, and I think King Kullen has yuzu juice or a yuzu marinade.

Cafe Max

    Reports of Cafe Max’s demise are false, Max Weintraub, its chef and owner, said this week. The restaurant is, and will be, open, and is welcoming New Year’s Eve revelers with three dinner seatings, at 5, 7, and 9 p.m. The earliest birds will get two courses, with a choice from five appetizers and five entrees, for $30 plus tax and tip. At 7 p.m., diners will be offered feathered tiaras, top hats, and noisemakers along with a $65 four-course dinner, which includes a free house drink. The 9 p.m. seating will cost $50, including the four courses, party favors, and a midnight toast.

More New Year’s Eve

    The Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone in East Hampton will offer an early a la carte dinner for New Year’s Eve, served between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., and a $125 holiday special beginning at 9 p.m. It includes a four-course dinner and a glass of champagne. Choices for starters will include wild mushrooms served with a brandy truffle cream and toasted brioche, gravlax with potato pancakes, creme fraiche,  Swedish caviars, and oysters. Entree choices will be loin of venison, Muscovy duck breast, veal with lobster, and roasted rack of lamb.

    Those who choose to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Shagwong in Montauk can order a dinner special, with prices starting at $10.95, or choose a $40 prix fixe that includes three courses plus a glass of champagne.

    At Manucci’s, also in Montauk, a New Year’s Eve special includes a four-course dinner and complimentary champagne toast for $45 plus tax and gratuity. Seatings are at 6 and 10:30 p.m.    

    The Harvest restaurant in Montauk will be open for New Year’s Eve, as will East by Northeast, where there will be live music by Klyph Black and Tali (Icepack) Jackson.  A first dinner seating costs $40, and a later seating, at 8:30 p.m., will cost $85. It will include a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres, a three-course dinner, and midnight champagne. Reservations have been requested. Items on the menu will include local bay scallop ceviche, roasted filet mignon, monkfish, or Long Island duck breast, lobster, rack of lamb, and shrimp, clams, and mussels served over udon noodles with lime and sake broth.

    On the day after the big night, there will be a New Year’s Day brunch at Gurney’s Inn, to start 2012 off right.

    At Pierre’s in Bridgehampton, an early birds’ dinner will be served from 5 until 6:30 p.m., for $55, and a New Year’s party celebration dinner will begin at 8:30 p.m. and cost $95. On New Year’s Day, Pierre’s will open at 8 in the morning, and will serve an American breakfast as well as brunch and dinner later in the day. 

    The Southampton Inn has promised an “old-fashioned New Year’s Eve party, Hamptons style.” The package includes not only dinner, accompanied by an open bar and midnight champagne toast, but overnight accommodations at the inn, a New Year’s Day brunch at OSO, the inn’s restaurant, and a late checkout, at 2 p.m. New Year’s Day. The cost for all is $389 per couple plus tax and gratuity.

Top Latke

    Jason Weiner, the chef and owner at Almond in Bridgehampton, took first place at the third annual Latke Festival held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Dec. 19. His potato latke with house-smoked bluefish, goat yogurt, and dill was made using a family recipe passed down from his grandmother and featured local ingredients.

    A prix fixe is being offered at Almond between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. every night of the week. The $28 special includes three courses, with a choice among three items from the regular menu for each course. The choices change nightly.

    Do you think of New Year’s Eve as a time to reflect on the past year, make resolutions to improve your life and the lives of others, or as an excuse to be as debauched as possible, drink too much, stay up late, and make a fool of yourself? Yeah, me too.

    New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are the most celebrated holidays throughout the world. How and when did they begin? The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a the arrival of a new year date back 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. It was originally celebrated in late March, on the first new moon of the vernal equinox. This was the day that had an equal amount of sunlight and darkness. Civilizations around the world developed increasingly sophisticated calendars, usually pinning the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event.

    The early Roman calendar, created by Romulus, founder of Rome, consisted of 10 months or 304 days. A later king, Numa Pompilius, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun. So in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar decided to do something about it. After consulting astronomers and mathematicians, he created the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the Gregorian calendar used by most countries today. Caesar instituted Jan. 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake, Janus, the Roman god of new beginnings. Janus had two faces, one facing backward, the past, and one facing forward to the future. The day was celebrated by decorating homes with laurel leaves, offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts, and last but not least, having raucous parties.

    How is New Year’s celebrated around the world? In most countries it involves lots of fireworks, plenty of toasts and family gatherings, feasts, and lots of drinking. There are also some pretty interesting customs and superstitions. In Italy, red underwear is worn for good luck and old things are thrown out the window. Lasagna is considered a good luck meal, macaroni, not. In Spain, red underwear is also considered good luck, as is eating 12 grapes, one for each chime of the clock at midnight, with a wish made for each grape consumed. This 12-grape ritual is also practiced in Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. In Costa Rica, some folks grab a piece of luggage and run around the streets with it in the hope of great adventures and new trips in the coming year. Brazilians wear white and eat lentils.

    In the Philippines wearing clothing with circular patterns such as polka dots should bring money. Bright colors show enthusiasm for the coming year and tossing coins at midnight attracts wealth. Shaking coins in a metal casserole brings good luck, jumping up and down will make you taller, and making a lot of noise will scare away evil spirits.

    The Germans enjoy massive fireworks displays and tell fortunes by dropping molten lead into cold water. I do not recommend this activity at home. If you touch a chimney sweep this will bring luck, as will consuming jelly doughnuts and marzipan pigs.

    In Iceland and Canada and many other countries there will be a satirical TV show making fun of politicians, artists (?!), and business people. Then neighbors all get together around a bonfire and watch fireworks.

    Some traditions are quite sweet. In Belgium farmers go outside to wish their animals a happy new year. In the cities and towns all bus service is free, and a company called the Responsible Young Drivers taxi service gets all the revelers home safely.

    An old superstition in France was that the wind direction on New Year’s Eve would predict trends for the following year. Wind blowing east meant a good year for fruit, blowing west a good year for fish and livestock, blowing south meant good weather all year, and blowing north meant crop failure. They also believed that all old wine had to be consumed by Jan. 3. I imagine that if the wind was blowing out of the north on Dec. 31, this would not be hard to accomplish.

    The Russians believed that if a man was first to enter your home on New Year’s Day, the rest of the year would be good. The Japanese clean house all day to welcome Toshigami, the new year’s god. Buddhist temples ring bells 108 times to represent the 108 defilements that people have in their mind.

    What are some of the foods consumed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day? In Lebanon tabouleh, hummus, and kibbeh are enjoyed after the fireworks display. In Spain the meal usually includes shrimp and lamb or capon. Estonians enjoy pork with sauerkraut, potato salad with beets, and gingerbread. In the Netherlands apple turnovers and apple fritters are served for dessert and the Greeks enjoy Basil’s pie, or vassilopita.

    I like the American Southern tradition of black-eyed peas — Hoppin’ John — for good luck. It’s so much simpler than capons and marzipan pigs.

    However you celebrate, whether simply or elaborately, with hearty partying or earnest resolutions, I think the French sum it up best with the toast “Bonne année, bonheur, santé, amour, argent,” good and happy year, happiness, health, love, and money.

    Hilary Herrick Woodward will demonstrate vegan versions of some favorite dishes at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday at noon. The program is free, but reservations are required. They can be made by calling the library or online at myrml.org

Carnivores’ Night

    Steak night is Wednesday at both Michael’s restaurant at Maidstone Park, where a full steak dinner is $21.95, and at Cittanuova in “downtown” East Hampton, where diners can choose one of three ways to have their New York strip steak prepared, for a $19 prix fixe.

Montauk Prix Fixe

    East by Northeast restaurant might just tempt those western East Hamptoners to cross the stretch one night for its specials served Sunday through Thursday, all night, and on Fridays until 6:45 p.m. There is a $15 prix fixe, or a steak dinner with wine for two for $35.

Taste, Wine and Dine

    A Taste, Wine, and Dine event at the Living Room restaurant in East Hampton on Friday, Jan. 13, will feature four courses paired with a tasting of five wines chosen by Chris Miller, the restaurant’s sommelier. The cost is $95 per person plus tax and gratuity, and reservations are required.

    On the menu will be Scottish salmon tartare with pickled cucumber, citrus broth, and an avocado mousse followed by slow-cooked Berkshire pork belly with kimchi, pumpkin chutney, and Swedish dark syrup sauce. The entree, lamb shank over polenta with truffle pecorino and roasted winter root vegetables, will be followed by a cheese course of local Mecox Bay Dairy raw cows’ milk cheese with fig compote and walnut bread. Seatings will be at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Art and Dine

    Tuesday will bring the next in the Living Room’s series of Art and Dine dinners, which feature discussions with artists, writers, musicians, and other persons of interest. Dawn Watson, a Southampton Press editor, will interview Jonni, a singer, songwriter, and pianist from the East End, whose debut single,  “Save Your Breath,” was released when she was 15, received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

    A two-course dinner will be served following a 6 p.m. meet-and-greet. The cost of the evening is $36, plus tax and gratuity, which includes a glass of wine.

    This is the time of year when soups are on my mind. And my stove. On a recent trip to High Falls, N.Y., to visit our friend Nancy at her bed-and-breakfast, she prepared a ribollita. It was so delicious we had it two days in a row and I begged her for the recipe. I have made it twice since then.

    Ribollita is an Italian soup/stew full of tomatoes, and beans and herbs and more vegetables and lots of kale. I made a huge batch on New Year’s Day, then toodled off to a party at Cindy and Jimmy’s. Cindy trumped me, for sure. She had made a big pot of Ina Garten’s corn chowder with some sweet corn from Pike’s she had frozen at the end of summer. It was a perfect, rich, and warming meal for the guests who had taken the polar bear plunge that day!

    Soups have been around for as long as man could cook in a vessel over a fire. Just about every culture has some form of soup. The French have perfected the delicate and refined soups such as consommés, bouillons, and bisques. Japanese soups are light, elegant, and healthy. Thai soups tend to be gutsy with coconut milk, fish, and fresh green chilies.

    The modern restaurant industry is said to be based on soup. Restoratifs (where the word restaurant comes from), were the first items served in public restaurants in 18th-century Paris. The word soup derives from sop or sup, meaning a slice of bread upon which the soup or broth is poured.

    Advancements in science enabled soups to take many forms: portable, canned, dehydrated, and eventually microwavable. The earliest portable and dehydrated soups were used for the military, covered wagon trains, and cowboy chuck wagons. Eventually, they became a convenience for the home pantry.

    Every cuisine has its own soups, and virtually any braised, sauced, or stewed dish can be made into soup simply by adding more liquid to the solids. Just about any combination of vegetables can be used, as long as you add a member of the allium family such as garlic, onions, or leeks. You can add backbone and more flavor by the addition of meat; cured pork products are particularly good when combined with bean or lentil soups. Sautéing or roasting vegetables enhances the flavor more than just boiling them.

    James Peterson, the awesome author of numerous encyclopedic single-subject cookbooks, describes his basic formula for all chicken soups. From this method you can then take off in any ethnic direction. Cook a quartered chicken in a sauté pan with a bit of butter or oil. Remove from pan when done, drain off fat, then sweat your aromatic vegetables in the same pan. This combination is known as sofrito in Italy, mirepoix in France, and sofriget in Catalan cooking. It is usually a mixture of garlic and/or onions, carrots, celery, and herbs. Add broth to the vegetables, shred your chicken and add it back to the soup. You could add capers and olives to make a puttanesca-style soup, raisins and apricots to echo a Moroccan tagine, cilantro and toasted tortilla strips for a Mexican accent, and so forth.

    There are also many methods for thickening soups other than using flour and cream. You can toast rice, grind it, then simmer it with the other ingredients. Soups can be a complete meal, along with a nice salad and some crusty bread. A homemade cream of tomato soup is always a hit with children, as are any soups with alphabet pasta. Vegetarians and vegans can be sated with any number of vegetable or mushroom broth-based soups, such as Nancy’s ribollita coming up.

    Another plus: Soups are a one-pot meal. There’s less cleaning up, and they are very economical, especially when simply based on beans and a variety of vegetables. So whether you attempt an ajiaco chicken soup from Colombia, a zurek sour rye soup from Poland, or any other soup from the alphabet and the world, I assure you that you will find it gratifying, healthy, and a comforting endeavor in the coming winter months.

Click for Recipes

    The Fair Foods market continues on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Sag Harbor through May, at the Bay Burger building on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

    Among the vendors that gather there are Anke’s Fit Bakery, Goodale Farms, Greek Sweets, A Taste of the North Fork, Harbor Small Batch, the Mecox Bay Dairy, Regina’s Farm Stand, and Wolffer Estate Winery.

East End Chefs Program

    At the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor, an East End Chefs program next Thursday will feature Luis Fernando, the owner of Cilantro’s, and a chef from that Mexican takeout shop, which is just around the corner from the church on Division Street.

    The class, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will include instruction in making dishes that could be served at a Super Bowl party, such as pico de gallo, guacamole, quesadillas, and chili. Wine will be served.    

    Reservations have been recommended, as space is limited, and can be made by calling the church. The cost is $30, which can be paid in cash or by check at the door.

Snacks, With Cheese

    At Lucy’s Whey cheese shop this weekend, Saturday afternoon will bring an opportunity to savor some free snacks from 2 to 4 p.m., including nibbles of cheeses served with organic jams and honeys, and hot chocolate made with stone-ground chocolate. The store, on North Main Street in East Hampton, is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Winter Deals

    At Fresno in East Hampton, now open from Wednesday through Sunday, two different prix fixe specials are available nightly, excluding holidays.

    First course selections include a soup of the day, artisanal baby greens served with pears, manchego cheese, pumpkin seeds, and a sherry vinaigrette, white bean and roasted garlic hummus with grilled pita and marinated olives, and chicken liver paté with pickled beets and rye toast points.

    Among the main course choices are rigatoni Bolognese with beef, veal, pork, truffle oil, and pecorino Romano, chicken Milanese with arugula and goat cheese salad and roasted tomato sauce, grilled center cut pork chops served with fingerling sweet potatoes, shaved Brussels sprouts, pancetta, and a port wine demi glacé, a Fresno burger, and Prince Edward Island mussels with shallots, garlic, and thyme in a white wine broth, served with fries.

    Dessert courses include a warm Valrhona chocolate cake with Nutella-fluff center and hazelnut gelato, warm caramel apple bread pudding with cinnamon gelato, and lemon buttermilk pie with sour cherries.

    Two courses are $28 and three cost $30. Other dishes are available for a supplemental charge. The specials are available in the dining room until just after 6:30 p.m., and all night at the bar.

 Red/Bar Brasserie, Fresno’s Southampton cousin, also has prix fixe choices: two courses for $28, or three for $31, served all night on Wednesday through Sunday, excluding holidays, and on Friday until 6:45 p.m.

    Main course selections might include fish of the day, truffled chicken breast with wild mushroom risotto and French beans, a grilled heirloom pork chop with roasted potatoes, and grilled leeks and sauce, or grilled filet mignon with mashed potatoes, asparagus, Roquefort, and a port wine reduction, for $6 extra.

Hot Soups

    At the Springs General Store, five soup choices are offered daily between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The soups include vegetarian and other choices such as curried zucchini, Thai chicken, creamy turkey vegetable, beef with winter vegetables, and turkey and white bean chili.

    The store is on Old Stone Highway at School Street.

Race Lane restaurant in East Hampton will host a wine dinner on Sunday. The menu will begin with butternut squash soup with bay scallops, tuna crudo, and handmade burrata with prosciutto, followed by fettuccine with porcini Bolognese sauce, veal, beef, pork, and cream, and braised veal wild mushroom risotto. Dessert will be zabaglione and berries. The Italian wines to be paired with each dish include a Prosecco and selections from Tuscany and Venice. The dinner begins at 7 p.m. and costs $67 plus tax and gratuity. Reservations have been recommended. Also at Race Lane, there is a three-course prix fixe for $30, for which diners may make selections from the full menu.

Art & Dine

    The actress Mercedes Ruehl will be the guest at an Art and Dine dinner at c/o the Maidstone in East Hampton on Tuesday. Dawn Watson of The South­ampton Press will interview her. The event begins at 6 p.m. A two-course prix fixe dinner, served with a glass of wine, will be followed by a cookie plate for dessert, and the discussion. The cost is $36 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Beer and Super Bowl

    At Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett, those who purchase a draft beer can enter to win a 42-inch flat-screen TV that will be given away just in time for the Super Bowl. The drawing will be held on Feb. 3. Indian Wells now serves lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Caramel Apple Pie

    On Saturday from noon to 2 p.m., a free cooking demonstration at the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton will center on how to make caramel apple pie using a recipe from “Country Weekend Entertaining” by Anna Pump.