We spent a lovely evening at Bergamot a few weeks back and enjoyed their AMAZING tasting menu.

It is 7 courses for $75/person with optional wine pairing $50/person, which we didn’t do since Kevin is more of a beer guy.

The food was spectacular.

Here is how the night progressed:

We started with home-baked bread and Parmesean Black Pepper Butter

 

Next was an amuse bouche of Pork Belly Butter with Corn Bread and Orange – YUM! The play of the fatty pork belly and the nice citric acid of the orange was perfect

 

The first salad was a Beet and Goat Cheese salad with Blueberry Reduction and toasted Hazelnuts

 

Next came a Squash, Pear and Gouda salad with Apple Butter

 

Our first warm course was Parsnip Gnocchi, with a Pink Peppercorn sauce, Cranberries, Butternut Squash cubes and Mushrooms.

It’s amazing how well the flavors from every element work so well together. This was a dish I thought about for days afterwards

 

Next, Smoked Mussels and Yam soup, with Endive Croutons, and Panchetta.

I very  much enjoyed the soup, but I felt the Endive croutons were cold and did not meld well with the warm, creamy soup

 

Monkfish with Roasted Onion suace and Celery Root puree

 

Our last entree dish was Steak served with Corona Beans, fried Chicory, Veal jus. The meat was perfectly cooked and the beans were a lovely compliment to the dish

 

The first dessert was Black Rice Milk and Honey Sorbet – delicious!!

 

The last dish was a Pineapple Upside-Down cake with Brown Butter Ice Cream, Roasted Sunchokes and Powdered Popcorn – we wanted to lick the plate!

 

Even if you can’t do the tasting menu, Bergamot has amazing (and affordable) food. They even have a $42 3-course tasting menu every night or you can order a la carte.

They have a small, but well-rounded beer list. Here are the beers we got to accompany our meal:

and

The wine and cocktail menus are great too.

I HIGHLY recommend Bergamot!

I’ve been MIA for a few weeks while we packed up the small Cambridge apartment and moved into a house (!) in Somerville. We also had to paint over glitter ceilings and pink walls before moving in, so it was quite a bit of work, but it was so worth it! 

Since moving in, we’ve hosted each of our families and had a house-warming party. I didn’t feel the urge to cook huge meals for everyone, but I did want to make something tasty for our guests.

Thus, I decided to make Pretzel Bites!!

I love pretzels. I love the salt, the chewiness of the dough, and (maybe most importantly) the fact that it pairs perfectly with mustard.

I came across this recipe last year and it has been my go-to since then.

If I don’t have time for the butter to soften on its own, I just put it in a zip-lock bag and smush it flat with my palm – perfectly softened butter in 15 seconds!

Pretzel Bites (click here to print recipe without pictures)

Pretzel Dough:
– 1 cup warm water (100° to 110°F)
– 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
– 3 cups bread flour plus more for work surface
– 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
– 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
– 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, well softened
– Vegetable oil for bowl

Baking Pretzels:
– 8 cups water
– 2/3 cup baking soda
– Coarse kosher salt

Make Pretzel Dough:

1. Stir together warm water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand until a creamy beige foam develops on the surface, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together flour, salt, and light brown sugar.

3. Add yeast mixture and butter to flour mixture, and mix on low speed until it forms a dough. Change to the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, dusting with more flour as needed if dough sticks to sides of bowl.

4. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn over to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at room temperature until doubled, 2 to 3 hours.

Alternatively, after kneading, let dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes, then transfer to oiled bowl as above, and let rise in the refrigerator overnight (12 hours or up to 2 days).

 

 

5. Punch down dough and divide into quarters. Form each quarter into 4 balls. Roll each ball into a 12-inch-long rope. Cut each rope into six (2-inch) pieces, and transfer to wax paper–lined rimmed baking sheets (or leave on your clean counter.

 

Bake Pretzels:
1. Heat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower third. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

2. In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil (mixture will be foamy at first, but foam will dissipate). Add 12 pretzel bites and cook 30 seconds (they will rise to the surface almost immediately), then transfer with a slotted spoon to baking sheets.

 

3. Quickly sprinkle pretzel bites lightly on both sides with salt before they dry (so salt sticks). Repeat with remaining pretzel bites, returning water to a boil between batches.

4.  Bake pretzel bites in oven, switching sheets between racks and rotating sheets halfway through baking, until deep chestnut brown, 8 to 10 minutes (watch closely toward end of baking; bites brown quickly in last few minutes). Immediately transfer pretzel bites to wire racks to cool.

Serve with your favorite mustard(s) and enjoy!

 

(adapted from Gourmet Live)