News
Finally –––– The Market is Open!
It is difficult to express how good it feels to tell you that La Cuisine’s Market is now open Tuesday through Sunday. A warm, welcoming room filled with tasty treats awaits you. Managers Alena Fitzgerald and Brendan Bloom have gathered a staff ready to welcome you.
Chef Uli Weil and his talented team have filled the case full of incredible offerings for you to take home and enjoy. A copy of our opening day menu is below. Brandt All Natural Beef, Murray’s Natural Chickens, Wild Atlantic Salmon, and the full range of superb sides, salads and condiments we are known for.
The bakery is stocked with breads and rolls produced right here, as well as those brought in from New York. Each morning Natalie is baking muffins, scones and coffeecakes, Sean is firing incredibly delicious sticky buns and filled brioche, and we are baking an artisanal line of cheese rolls (sourdough), curried onion cheese rolls (perfect for sandwiches), and more.
All butter desserts are all made on premise, from the delicate lemon lime meringue tarts, fresh fruit tarts, peach apricot frangipane, to the more decadent layer cakes. It appears that the chocoholics dream that made Whitfield Street buzz, Patty’s Revenge, will make it’s appearance in the next few weeks. And of course there are cookies of myriad sizes, shapes and descriptions emerging from the ovens as the day goes by.
Brendan has stocked the cheese case with a varied selection of old favorites and new finds. Each day more local, artisanal product is arriving from farms and cheese producers in New England, as well as other areas. In addition we have found some traditional, full flavored salamis, beautifully smoked bacon, and more. Olives, marinated gigande beans, marinated feta, all await.
Some truly exceptional jams and honeys to spread on morning toast are on the shelves. The jams and marmalades are produced by two groups that specialize in using local, organic fruit picked at that perfect moment that defines ripe. It is then hours, not days or weeks when the fruit hits the pots, cooked in small batches, and packaged with care. Truly unique, truly delicious.
Pasta, organic olive oils and vinegars from small producers (100’s of cases per year, not tens of thousands) join luscious organic chocolate bars and more. The list goes on and on, and is being added to every day. I am off to the Fancy Food show in the morning and will return with more product and more news.
If there is something you are looking for that is not readily apparent, please ask. Through the door is a kitchen that carefully prepares hundreds of meals a day, with shelves and walk-ins stocked with more items than you can imagine. We can probably find what you need, and will always consider ordering it for you.
We have not yet instituted table service in the café, nor can we serve any hot food in the building, but yes – WE ARE OPEN!!! Come, take a look, taste some food, meet our staff, enjoy.
Food
In the Case – July 2007
Provencal Roasted Murray’s Natural Chicken
Apricot Glazed Atlantic Salmon
Balsamic and Mustard Marinated Brandt Beef
Grilled Murray’s Lemon Chicken Breast
Fresh Fruit Salad
Nicoise Potato Salad
Bowtie Pasta Salad
Basmati Rice Salad
Two Potato Gratin
Sautéed Spinach with Lemon Zest
Basmati Rice Salad
House Garden Greens with Grilled Stone Fruit
Moroccan Carrots with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts
Bayoldi Ribbon Vegetables
Cous Cous and Feta Salad
Events
Events large and small parade across the calendar. A recent wedding deserves mention. The second in a family to be completed by La Cuisine, an Ivoryton farm was the location for about 120 guests to gather in celebration of a charming couple’s marriage. As lamb grazed on one side of the garden, their compatriots were grilled on the other! The bride’s family chose to supply the lamb for the entrée.
The First Summer Wedding – June 23, 2007
Seafood Martini Bar
Frisee Filled Martini Glasses to be topped with
Grilled Gulf Shrimp
Seared Scallops
Curried Mussels
Ceviché (with Halibut)
With a Compliment of Sauces including
Citrus Remoulade, Chili Aioli and Horseradish Parsley Mojo
Passed Hors d’Oeuvre
Olive and Chevre Tartlettes
Miniature Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli
Blue Corn Empanadas (pork) with Salsa Cream
Chicken B’steeyas
Poached Salmon on Cucumber
Caponata in Endive Spears
Summer Buffet
Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Napa Valley Mustard
Herb Roasted Chicken
Colorful, Fresh from the Market Grilled Vegetables
Purple, Red and White Roasted Potatoes
Sugar Snap Peas and Jicama Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
Dessert
Strawberries and Cream Wedding Cake
Rwandan and Decaffeinated Coffee
English and Herbal Tea
Recipes
Quick Summer Supper
Enjoy a quick, easy to fix pasta salad, add a green salad from the case or your fridge, a couple of rolls or a just baked baguette, and you’re set.
Strozzapreti Salad – Serves Four
10 oz. Whole Wheat Strozzapreti Pasta
6 oz. La Cuisine Marinated Feta
6 oz. Traditional Iberico Chorizo
2 oz. Peppadew peppers, chopped
2 oz. Gigande Beans
1 oz. chopped fresh flat leaf Parsley
Additional Olive oil and Sherry Vinegar, salt and pepper as needed
Cook the pasta in salted water until al denté.
Crumble the feta, saving the marinade to dress the salad.
Slice the Chorizo and the Peppadew peppers
Mix everything together, adding additional oil/vinegar as needed.
Enjoy!
Employment
We have a number of positions open, described below. If you are interested in any of them, please email Vicki@lacuisine.net and she will send an application to you to be filled out and returned.
We look for a few key characteristics for every position at La Cuisine:
- You generally smile, are upbeat, open and friendly.
- You move pretty quickly.
- You have an interest in food.
- You want to provide great service to fellow employees and guests alike.
Catering is looking for additional part time waitstaff, bartenders and operations staff. Day and evening shifts are available, both weekday and weekends. Much of the work is in New Haven and on the Shoreline. You need transportation.
The Market is looking for permanent full and part time staff to assist guests at our counters, as well as at the tables when the Café opens.
The Kitchen is looking for prep and more advanced cooks, as well as additional dish help.
© 2007.
Published as often as time allows by Ben Bloom and La Cuisine Café • Market • Catering.
All articles written by Ben Bloom unless otherwise noted. All photos copyright Ben Bloom unless otherwise noted.
La Cuisine Café • Market • Catering
750 East Main Street
Branford, CT 06405
email:
Phone: 203.488.7100
Fax: 203.488.7144