I've been on the road a lot recently. Well, not just the road, in the air as well. It makes writing a bit challenging, so I usually get most of my posts down on my iPhone. Whenever I mention this to people, they always shake their heads... they can't imagine typing that much with their thumbs. I find it freeing though. Grammar and spelling become less important and I'm able to focus on my thoughts. I'm not a natural writer and often struggle to find the words to convey what I'm feeling. But this little keyboard allows me to get it out without over-thinking it.

As I mentioned, I've been traveling a lot these last few weeks. It started at the end of April with a whirlwind trip out to Los Angeles by way of New Jersey. After a long weekend out west for the Big Traveling Potluck, I returned to my parents house to help out as my mom recovered from an operation. It was nice to be there... to be with my family and the daily routine of things, even though it was obviously a very hard time for my mother.

When I returned to Boston, things didn't slow down. I've been fortunate enough to work on some great projects that have kept me pretty busy. There were a few slow days this last week where I got to create some recipes that have been stewing in my brain for a bit. One was this bowl of grits topped with two of my favorite seasonal ingredients: fiddlehead ferns and ramps. I kept the dish fairly rustic. My goal was to create a comforting dinner for a rainy spring night that would stick to your ribs a little. With a bit of brown butter and cheese mixed into the grits, I would call this one a huge success.

Now my thumbs are tired. I'm going to give them a little rest.

Enjoy!

Cheese Grits with Fiddleheads and Ramps in Brown Butter

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup quick cooking grits

6 oz. Gruyère cheese, shredded

1 tablespoon lemon zest

4 sprigs of thyme

1/2 lb fiddleheads, rinsed

1 large bunch of ramps, rinsed

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions

Follow the directions on the packaging for cooking the grits. Once they are done, stir in the shredded cheese and 3 tablespoons of butter lemon zest, and the leaves from the thyme sprigs. Season with a little salt and pepper
Place the fiddleheads in a large microwave-safe bowl and add in an inch of water. Cover and cook in the microwave at high heat for 4 minutes. Remove from the microwave and drain water.
Set a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the remaining butter to the pan and let it melt, whisking frequently. Once it starts to foam, add in the ramp bulbs (not the greens) and cook in the butter for a minute or two. At this point, the butter will begin to brown and the ramps will get some color on them. Add in the fiddleheads and the ramp greens and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Transfer the grits to plates or bowls and top with fiddleheads and ramps. Be sure to get as much of the butter on top of the dish.

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We drank a lot that Monday night. More than we normally do. More than we should have on any weekday, but, hell, we were doing it as a part of our mixology education. The class was with Domingo-martin Barreres, the head bartender at Market by Jean-Georges and he had provided a number of recipes to try that night. Besides the six cocktails we were also given free reign to play with the ingredients purchased for the class. That led to another four or five beverages. Oh, and we hadn't eaten dinner yet.

Two things I took away from that evening were 1) that cocktails incorporating egg whites are da bomb and 2) that shrubs are going to be used in every one of our cocktails this summer. Shrubs, for those of you who aren't familiar with them, are vinegar based syrups. These shrubs are made by mashing fresh fruit with sugar and then soaking the fruit in vinegar for a week. The result is a slightly acidic, sweet, and fruity liquid that can be added to a cocktail to give it a little zip. There are basic shrubs (mango, strawberry, apple), but you can also play around with them to create some fun pairings (mango sriracha, strawberry basil, apple ginger). Here, though, I wanted to go seasonal, so I went straight for the classic strawberry-rhubarb combo.

Strawberry Rhubarb Shrub

(adapted from the recipe from Domingo-martin Barreres, the head bartender at Market by Jean-Georges)

Ingredients

.75 cups cut up fresh strawberries

.75 cups cut up rhubarb

1.5 cups white sugar

.75 cups balsamic vinegar

.75 cups cider vinegar

Directions

In a bowl, combine the cut up strawberries and rhubarb. Sprinkle the sugar on top and then mix together until all the fruit is coated with sugar. Let sit for 1 hour at room temperature.
Mash the fruit with a wooden spoon or whatever tool you have around to break up the fruit. Once you have done so, let sit for another hour. At this point, a lot of the juices should have been released.
After it has sat, mash the fruit again until it is completely mushy. Let sit, covered, at room temperature, for 24 hours.
Add in the vinegar, stir, and let sit, covered, for one week, making sure to give it a good stir every day.
After a week, strain the fruit from the mixture and save the liquid in a mason jar for up to 3 weeks. Use in a cocktail (I've provided a recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb Collins below)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub Collins

(created by Domingo-martin Barreres, the head bartender at Market by Jean-Georges)

Yields: 1 drink

Ingredients

1.5 fl. oz. citron vodka

1.5 fl. oz. strawberry-rhubarb shrub

4 fl. oz. soda water

1 strawberry slice, optional

Directions

Add vodka and shrub to a collins glass
Fill the glass with ice.
Top with soda water and garnish with strawberry slice on the rim.