Food

    The Loaves and Fishes Cooking School’s summer series of professional culinary classes begins with a beginners’ session Monday through next Thursday at the Bridgehampton Inn. The classes will each include a lecture, demonstration, hands-on session, critique, and cleanup. Topics will include food handling, sanitation, and equipment, knife skills, stocks, soups, and sauces, roasting, poaching, and grilling, and desserts, including making cake batter, pie dough, biscuits, and muffins.

   I went to a swell party the other night. The temperature and light, the setting and night were perfect. The party was a benefit for the East Hampton Historical Society and was held at Swan Cove, a piece of property as pretty as any you’ll ever see in East Hampton.

Stuart’s Catering

    Jacqueline LaBorne is the new catering director at Stuart’s Seafood in Amagansett.  While Stuart’s will continue to do its traditional catered clambakes, pig roasts, barbecues, and raw bars, Ms. LaBorne, who has worked at Fresh Flavors, 230 Elm Street, and East Hampton Point and run her own catering business in Sag Harbor, will implement new ideas to help clients plan personalized parties.  Ms. LaBorne was appointed following the unexpected death of Karl Vanston, whose wife, son, and daughter still work for Stuart’s.

For Father’s Day

    There are three new cookery-life­style-entertaining books out with South Fork connections and they couldn’t be more different from one another. One is a new paperback printing of Ellen Wright’s “Hamptons Weekends,” originally published in 2000. Another is “Living the Good Long Life” by Martha Stewart, described as “a practical guide to caring for yourself and others.” Lastly, is “What’s a Hostess To Do?” by Susan Spungen, part of a series with other such titles as “What’s a Golfer to Do?” and “What’s a Disorganized Person to Do?”

The Cuddy

29 Main Street

Sag Harbor

725-0101

Lunch and dinner daily

Brunch on weekends

   I was disappointed to hear that Phao in Sag Harbor was to be transformed into the Cuddy. What is the Cuddy? An American gastro-pub? Do we really need another American restaurant out here? Well, I have to grudgingly admit that in the case of the Cuddy, we do.

   Those looking for a quick bite or a sweet treat now have a few more choices out east in Montauk, including two offering Mexican favorites. 

    Since Nicole and Matthew Meehan opened Gringo’s Burrito Grill earlier this spring, there’s been a steady stream of customers walking in and out, fat burritos and plates of tacos in hand. Both have worked in other food-related businesses, but always wanted to own a place of their own and thought Montauk could use a build-your-own burrito, taco, salad, and burrito bowl spot.

New Zealand Wine Tasting

    Wines from Stonecrop, a 20-acre vineyard in Martinborough, New Zealand, that is owned by Andrew Harris and Sally Richardson of Montauk, will be featured at a tasting at Domaine Franey Wines and Spirits on Montauk Highway in East Hampton on Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. The couple will be on hand to pour samples of the Stonecrop sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. The vineyard’s wines have received international accolades, including a recent New York Times rating of the Stonecrop pinot noir as New Zealand’s number-two pinot noir.

   A new chef group at Ruschmeyer’s in Montauk is gearing up for a two-year collaboration with a goal of using as much as possible “from right here in our backyard,” said Matt Kliegman, part of the team from the Smile in Manhattan that King and Grove Hotels has hired to operate the restaurant along with the executive chef, Brian Loiacono.

    Sweet and savory Beurre & Sel cookies will be sold this summer at Lucy’s Whey cheese shop in East Hampton. The cookies were created by Dorie Greenspan, a four-time James Beard Award-winner, cookbook author, and blogger. On weekends in July and August, her son and business partner, Josh Greenspan, will be at the store to sell the cookies and talk about their story.

Chicken and Waffles

Into the void and other tales of a Hamptons waitress

    Ruschmeyer’s in Montauk opened yesterday. The restaurant will be a collaboration this year between the executive chef, Brian Loiacono, and a team from The Smile restaurant in Manhattan, including Matt Kliegman, Carlos Quirarte, and Melia Marden.

    A new menu emphasizing fresh Montauk seafood and local produce includes a selection of organic wines made of grapes grown using sustainable and biodynamic methods, as well as a new list of signature cocktails. Service will be provided in the main dining room as well as in a breakfast nook. 

Madison & Main

    Spring is here and with it comes one of the best vegetables, asparagus. Available at farmers markets, local asparagus can be found in chopstick-thin stalks, Sharpie-pen fatties, and even some violet-tinged varieties. You can steam, boil, stir-fry, roast, grill, microwave, and pickle asparagus. Serve it hot, at room temperature, or cold. Puree it into soups. Save some tips for risottos. You can even shave it raw into salads.

News for Foodies

    Fresh is the new restaurant this season in the spot on Bridgehampton Turnpike in Bridgehampton where South Fork Kitchen used to be. Todd Jacobs, who was the chef at Sag Harbor’s American Hotel before moving to Tierra Mar in Westhampton Beach, has opened a “farm-to-table” eatery billed as family-friendly as well as “affordable and accessible.” The menu includes organic, raw, gluten-free, and vegetarian options, with most dishes available in different-size portions, including, for entrees,  quarter-pound, half-pound, and one-pound servings.

   I was recently fortunate enough to spend some time at a health-concscious resort called Miraval. Miraval’s motto is “Life in Balance.” It is set on 400 acres next to the Santa Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson, Ariz. And it serves booze!

Nick and Toni’s

136 North Main Street

East Hampton

324-3550

Friday and Saturday, 6-10:30 p.m.

Sunday, 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Monday and Thursday, 6-10 p.m.

   Sunday brings Mother’s Day, an occasion, for some, to enjoy a meal out at a local restaurant, a number of which have special plans for the holiday.

Montauk’s New Eats

    Gringos Burrito Grill has opened on Main Street in downtown Montauk, and is serving from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. The menu includes made-to-order burritos, soft or hard tacos, burrito bowls, and salads.

Navy Beach to Open

    Navy Beach restaurant on Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay will open for the season tomorrow night at 5 p.m. A new menu will feature new dishes such as, for starters, conch fritters with habanero aioli, a grilled Caesar salad, and salmon tartare, and, as entrees lemon-crab spaghetti, lobster salad, and the catch of the day. Old favorites including the Montauk clam and corn chowder, buttermilk fried chicken, and four-cheese truffled macaroni will also be available.

Highway Diner al Fresco

    At the Highway Diner in East Hampton, the outdoor patio is now open. Added to the restaurant’s daily menu are two specials that have proven to be among the most popular — crawfish etouffee, and grilled yellowfin tuna with grilled eggplant, curried yogurt dressing, and arugula salad.

Stuart’s All Week

    Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett will be open seven days a week beginning Tuesday.

New in Sag

   With the confidence that comes from years of first-hand food experience around the world — having lived and worked in France, Morocco, Italy, Vietnam, Argentina, Thailand, and India — Livia Hegner is clearly her own boss. However, the name of her Sag Harbor food shop, Pepalajefa, which means Pepa the Boss, refers not to Ms. Hegner, but to another restaurant owner she knew in Spain.

    Pepalajefa is Ms. Hegner’s dream come to fruition, offering a gourmet sampling from around the world, served in a to-go container or catered to a beach, boat, or home.

    Nick and Toni’s reopened on Friday after undergoing an interior renovation.

    This week’s column has been let off the leash. We are going to talk about what you feed your dog.

    First of all, what ever happened to the good old days when your dog happily thrived on kibble from the grocery store, Milk Bones for treats, and the occasional table scrap? Well, in the good old days we also didn’t wear seat belts, pregnant women drank alcohol, and doctors would smoke in their offices. We know better now. Or do we?

   The familiar sights and sounds of children and families talking and laughing as they munch on pizza and sip soda returned to Fierro’s Pizza last Thursday. Al Fierro, a co-founder of the pizzeria, which opened at 104 Park Place in East Hampton in 1983, was back behind the counter, along with Stephen Hickey, his new business partner. A portrait of Mr. Fierro’s father, Albert Fierro Jr., looked down from a wall by the counter and a Yankees preseason game played out on the television overhead. All was right in this little slice of the universe.

    Hamptons Restaurant Week begins on Sunday and brings an opportunity to sample the fare at restaurants from Eastport to Montauk, including the North Fork, at a discounted price.

    From Sunday through April 14, all participating restaurants will offer a three-course prix fixe, most for $27.95, although a couple of eateries will offer a $19.95 option. The special will be available all night every night except Saturday, when it will be offered only until 7 p.m.

    It is said that John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, “invented” the sandwich while locked in a 24-hour card game. Nowadays, Gamblers Anonymous would have a field day with this. What, he couldn’t stop gambling long enough to fortify himself? All he did was ask his valet to put meat between two slices of bread so his cards wouldn’t get all greasy. His cronies started ordering “the same as Sandwich,” and hence the name was born.

    The traditional foods of Umbria will be the focus of the next in a series of Italian cooking classes offered at the Loaves and Fishes cooking school in Bridgehampton. On the menu for the class, which takes place Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m., is homemade fettuccine with shaved truffles, stuffed pork tenderloin with a wine sauce, asparagus wrapped in pancetta, and Perugia nut cake with chocolate gelato. The cost is $165.

Lobster Roll Rumble

Oeufs en Meurette

    This recipe is from the now defunct Peter Kump New York Cooking School. Oeufs en meurette are a Burgundian specialty of poached eggs in red wine sauce.

    Serves six.

6 large eggs, poached

1 Tbsp. each of classic mirepoix (finely diced carrots, celery, onion, and ham)

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, clarified

2 to 3 cups hearty red wine, Burgundy is preferred

Bouquet garni

1 to 2 Tbsp. beurre manie (butter that is kneaded with equal parts flour)

6 slices bread

1 clove garlic, peeled

     Eggs are delicious. Eggs are boring. Eggs are a perfect little package of protein. Eggs can be dangerous. Eggs are good for you. No, they’re bad for you. All of these things are true. Eggs are confusing!

    As a cook and someone interested in nutrition, I believe in the sunny side of eggs. As a pastry chef, I constantly marvel at the egg’s ability to be transformed into a light and airy souffle or meringue or a rich custard or ice cream. They are simple; they are complicated.

Located on North Ferry Road, 18 Bay is in a lovely restored farmhouse with big windows and a covered porch. There is a wood-burning stove at the entrance, a bar in the middle, and about 12 tables all around.

    This week’s food news includes options for upcoming spring religious holidays.

    At Stuart’s Seafood market in Amagansett, Charlotte Sasso has her homemade gefilte fish and horseradish available. Other Passover specialties, which must be pre-ordered, include brisket, latkes, and kosher noodle kugel. Stuart’s is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Tuesday.

    For those ready to make reservations for an Easter Sunday restaurant dinner, Cafe Max in East Hampton will be serving a three-course holiday meal for $30 beginning at 1 p.m. on March 31.