May 26th, 2009 by Trevett

the week ahead
You can expect to see lobster ravioli on the menu every day this week. We make a limited number of it on a daily basis (because the leftovers just aren’t as good the next day) so come on the early side if you’re in the mood for lobster. 

Whole black bass is on order for Tuesday.  Our plan today is to splurge and bring in a few pounds of Copper River salmon for Thursday and Friday.  Day boat halibut from Maine, which continues to make our customers very happy, will arrive on Friday for the weekend.

Seared duck breast will be available Wednesday and maybe Thursday.  Duck liver and dried cherry mousse by Thursday.  Duck leg confit will be available in a few weeks.   

Jamison lamb chops replace the lamb steak this week.  This fancier cut brings the price up a few dollars, but it is still a tremendous value considering the quality of the lamb.  I am thankful that we are able to serve some of the best lamb in the country at our humble little bistro.  

mulberry garden
Peas look as though they’ll be ready by the weekend.  Customers have been enjoying the morning-cut spring lettuces, though supplies are dwindling.  Hopefully Grow Pittsburgh will have some lettuce by the weekend.  The arugula patch continues to thrive.  Radishes galore. 

waldorf school benefit dinner: sunday, june 7
Come join us for a simple late spring meal benefiting the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh.  Tickets are $60 a person including corkage and gratuity.  The menu has yet to be determined but will surely feature vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes that highlight the best of what the season has to offer including herbs grown by the children at Waldorf. Many of our generous farmers have offered to contribute their meats and vegetables, so it should be a wonderful evening.

25 best restaurants party
Little Johny Shaver, John IV, J.T., Jamilka and I will be serving food at Pittsburgh Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants Party next Monday.  We are honored to be included in the top 25, though we’re not exactly sure how we’re going to prepare two thousand samples of food that are supposed to represent what we’re all about (especially since what we’re all about is consciously doing things on a small scale).  

I am also honored that Pittsburgh Magazine named me “Chef of the Year,” though I think it would be more accurate to honor the collective effort made by the staff at Legume.  I am not an especially outstanding chef, but if I do anything particularly well it is to surround myself with talented cooks whose hard work and good taste I am utterly dependent upon.     

The way food is experienced is very much affected by the people who serve it, and thus I am dependent also on our superb front of the house staff led by my indefatigable wife, who somehow manages to bring a calming presence to the dining room after spending all day with a baby and a toddler.  It is a rare and wonderful thing for a chef to know that his or her vision is expressed through the work of the servers.

Legume is and always will be a collective effort whose sum is greater than its parts.   I am just the lucky one who holds the title “chef.” 

May 18th, 2009 by Trevett

the week ahead
Loup de Mer is scheduled to arrive on Friday.  This fish is served whole and is a little bit of work for the diner.  But for those who love whole fish, this one is delightful.  I can think of no better warm weather dinner than a salad and the loup de mer followed by a rich dessert like the buttermilk pound cake.  

If you’re less inclined to work for your seafood you can order the lobster ravioli.  Each order of ravioli contains a whole one-pound lobster’s worth of meat.  Lobster bodies are made into sauce and tossed with the ravioli along with some chives and butter.  Simple, clean flavors.

We’ll give homemade ricotta gnocchi another go since my friend Geof said it was one of the best things he’s ever eaten.  They’re a pain to make, and they make service more difficult, but he’s one of the best eaters I know so I should probably listen to him. Damn you Geof.

Halibut will be on the menu again later in the week for a similar reason.  We were ready to give halibut a rest when someone called up to ask if we were going to have it again this week.  She had eaten it the week before and said it was the best fish she’d ever eaten!  That was reason enough for us to order 25 pounds for this Friday.  We’ll be offering a simpler preparation this weekend so that we can rein the price in under $30.

rachel’s sustainable feast, may 24
Many of Pittsburgh’s best chefs will be at Rachel’s Sustainable Feast offering samples of their food next Sunday.  Jamilka and I will be serving samples of our homemade ricotta cheese.  In addition to great food, there are many other interesting things going on at the event.  Click here to find out more.

waldorf benefit dinner, june 7
Come join us for a simple late spring meal benefiting the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh.  Tickets are $60 a person including corkage and gratuity; seatings at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.  The menu has yet to be determined but will surely feature vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes that highlight the best of what the season has to offer including herbs grown by the children at Waldorf. Many of our generous farmers have offered to contribute their meats and vegetables, so it should be a wonderful evening.

musing
It’s an interesting thing to write a menu while at the same time balancing personal preference, customer expectations, and the realities of what is available.  Sometimes I think Legume should be offering more spring fruits and vegetables right now like strawberries, peas and fava beans, even though they’re not truly in season in this part of the country yet.  Is it really a good choice for me to expect my customers to eat nothing but leafy things and root vegetables until the end of May until more local stuff becomes available?  What’s wrong with enjoying California strawberries and fava beans for a few weeks until the better tasting local ones appear?  We use lemons, oranges, and pineapples now.  Why not strawberries?  Does every experience involving a strawberry really need to be a peak culinary experience? 

May 13th, 2009 by Trevett

the week ahead
The Maine halibut we received last week was amazing.  It is truly a joy working with fish so pristine and beautiful and we were encouraged by the positive customer response.  More to arrive on Friday.  Whole black bass is supposed to arrive on Tuesday for the beginning of the week. 

The buttermilk pound cake with pineapple compote and whipped cream is a huge success.  What makes the pound cake great is the outstanding quality of the basic ingredient (Brunton’s ridiculously good buttermilk, lard rendered from backfat and Plugra butter) and Jamilka’s innovation of heating up the individual slices of pound cake to order in a hot oven until the outside gets crispy—an accidental discovery I never would have come up with myself. 

Neiman Ranch flat iron steaks will be available by Thursday evening.  In other beef news, we were very excited about the samples of local grass-fed beef we received from a new farm in Somerset. This is the first time we have seen reasonably priced, properly aged and processed, not frozen local grass fed beef.  It’s almost too good to be true.  Rib steaks should be available by the end of the month!!!

Rhubarb is here!

Lobsters are down in price again which means we’ll be serving them more frequently in the next few weeks.    

Salad mix is coming right now from Kistaco Farms and Grow Pittsburgh.  These two mixes couldn’t be more different from one another, but they are both equally wonderful in different ways.  Kistaco greens are robust and crunchy.  Grow Pittsburgh’s are delicate and subtle. Neither needs the typical distractions of candied nuts and dried fruit that the tasteless bagged mesclun mix from California requires.  From now until the hot spell in the middle of summer, you can expect to see outstanding local salad greens on the menu.

sunday brunch
Something we’re hoping to add to the brunch menu this coming week are blintzes featuring our homemade ricotta cheese and rhubarb compote.  Eggs wrapped in caul will be on the menu if we can get a hold of some caul fat in time. 

If you’re coming for brunch, don’t forget to take advantage of our BYOB status and bring your vodka or champagne.  Corkage is waived with any purchase of a carafe of bloody mary mix or orange juice.  

And if you’re recovering from a rough night, the eggs shirred in tripe stew is just for you.

Call for reservations or stop by from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.