Lento Restaurant

Pork Rib Roulade

Anthony White — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:59:34 +0000

Art made Pork Rib Roulade for this weekend. I want to take a second and clarify what this actually is. It’s very Italian to roll things. My grandmother used to make braciole with beef, pork, or chicken, about two or three times a week. They love to roll things up. (think cannelloni, manacotti, or even rigatoni) This Roulade is no different. Since Art butchers his own meats, he cut the ribs, boneless, into strips saving some of the belly on each strip. Belly on the pig is simply bacon. Then, he rolled up the rib and belly meat, seared it, braised it, and then we serve it. Imagine getting ribs and bacon with each bite. It may be, one of the greatest dishes we’ve ever done. It’s being served with horseradish whipped turnips and a slightly spicy souther style braised green cabbage. If you like ribs and bacon, this is your dish.

Art Teams Up with Fairport High

Anthony White — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:27:39 +0000

Recently, Chef Art, went out to Fairport High School to get involved with Nutrition Month. Art, along with teacher Kelly Lang and student Chris Cullen, are attempting to educate students, teachers, and parents about local meats and produce. Art and Chris are going to create meals using local foods for the students to eat. The staff at Lento is extremely excited for Art and also proud.

Eating local isn’t just healthier, its better for our community. Shopping at the markets, meeting our farmers and their families means so much to all of us. I feel better connected to Rochester because of it and it gives me a strong sense of pride when my friends come from out of town and eat at my house or at Lento. Its nice to see Art being commended for his tireless work, running a business and educating.

So I’ll speak for everyone and say thanks, Arthur. I know I’m not alone.

Read the full article from Fairport-East Rochester Post about Art.

Coming Up This Weekend at Lento!

Anthony White — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:07:01 +0000

The rotisserie smoker will be up and running again this weekend. We did some beef briskets and they came out awesome. Now we’re going to do a ham and a pork shoulder. A real showstopper, for sure. A cooking method that has been around for a long time, but just never gets old. And it’s not too common to see anymore, unless you’re at a barbeque joint. But rotisserie and smoke go beyond just barbeque. Smoke can be an exotic seasoning when combined with the slow cooking of the rotisserie and the meats natural flavors and juices.

The beef brisket we smoked came from Seven Bridges Farm.

The ham and shoulder came from a whole pig raised specifically for us by Gansz Farm.

Also, homemade ice cream cake! Yes, that’s right. Just like carvel, only better. With Rocky road cookies, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. Everything made from scratch, of course. We made one last weekend and it sold it half a night. We’ll have one ready by Friday.

Introducing Our Rotisserie Smoker

Anthony White — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:05:32 +0000

We’ve been so excited about this for so long. I think it was as far back as last June when Art came up with the idea of making the kitchen bigger and to add the rotisserie smoker in the grotto next to our newly renovated kitchen. We closed for a week last July during construction. Then, Matt Sherwood, our resident builder and fixer of all restaurant related things, built this thing from scratch with no blueprints. It has enough torque to roast an entire pig! I guess we’ll start small first.

We fired it up on Saturday just to see how it worked. The whole area had a faint smell of campfire. It smelled like summer. We’re going to fire it up again this Wednesday. Come in and check this thing out!

Lucky to be a Line Cook

Anthony White — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:08:33 +0000

Memories, health, comfort, wealth, pride, encouragment, and love are all words I hold synonomous with food. Food is more than eating. Food is more than stopping hunger. Food is a gathering, a centerpiece, life. Sometimes its my whole day, other times its the whole week.

Even beyond that, sometimes it’s just plain fun. We have a great time in the kitchen, whether it’s prepping, baking, or right in the middle of service. There’s been so many times that I’ve actually laughed until I cried at work! I can’t imagine too many people being able to say the same about their jobs.

Food brings people together, whether it be my parents coming next week for the Super Bowl (I’m making venison chili), or my coworkers in the Lento kitchen. If it had not been for cooking at Lento, I wouldn’t have known these guys. And since, sometimes, they make me laugh so I hard I snort, I guess I’m pretty lucky I’m a cook.

Sunday Steak Day

Anthony White — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:13:49 +0000

Before I became the sous chef at Lento I worked for a popular steakhouse. It was like nothing to grill 200 plus steaks on a very busy night. I liked that kind of work, just not as much as I enjoy working at Lento. But every once in a while it’s nice to get back to that kind of cooking. We had a wedding Sunday at Lento and they had pre-ordered their meals. 33 steaks at once. I was in my glory. So much so that I snapped a picture. So here’s to line cooks and grill enthusiasts alike!

p.s. Thanks to all who came back to check the score and have a few laughs. We had a blast!

Shopping for Local Fruit in the Winter

Anthony White — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:13:00 +0000

I just wanted to take a minute to talk about the quality of fruit that has been at the Rochester Public Market so far this winter. I have had literally some of the best apples and pears I have ever had in my life. But honestly I cannot recall too many times in my life where I have eatn an apple or pear and thought, “My God! That’s the best I have ever had.” Until this morning of course.

The Market this moring was cold and so not too many vendors or people were out. My wife and I like to keep the house stocked with fruits for breakfast or a snack. I went out this morning to get apples and pears. I went straight to Eaton Farms to get both. I personally like their product the best. They usually have cabbage too. Which they did this morning, and I couldn’t pass up. I have already written about how much I love cabbage.

I bought a basket of Bosc Pears. The woman who sold them to me said that her son loves them. He eats 2 or 3 at time. “Nothing wrong with that”, I said. I see why. It was the most memorable pear that I have ever eaten. So much in fact that I brought it up to my wife, to Art when I got to work today, to a few coworkers, and now I’m writing about it. That is one amazing pear. It wasn’t just the aroma or the perfect crunch, but the sweetness was wine like, and had a crisp aftertaste. I suggest Eaton Farms for their selection of apples and pears (cabbage too), but there are plenty of other local farms that are producing quality produce and meats all year long.

Check out this website for a list of local farms and producers.

http://www.rochestereatslocal.org/index.php

Lento Blog

webmaster — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:05:35 +0000

We are now featuring posts from our staff here and on our website. Stay tuned! Also, you can always check out our daily menu posted at www,LentoRestaurant.com/menu.

Local Treasures

Anthony White — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:07:00 +0000

One of our areas biggest treasures in my mind is cabbage. I use it constantly in my own home as well as at Lento. I like to braise in apple cider, cook it down with vinegar and brown sugar, blanch it and toss it with carrots and potatoes. And that’s just for the meal I’m preparing at the moment. If I have the time, I set up kimchi or sauerkraut and let it set and ferment for a week. It’s affordable and versatile and grown right here in our backyard. I know at the public market Old Home Farm has terrific cabbage.

I was reading through Edible Finger Lakes website when an article from 2009 by local freelance writer Alison Fromme was recently reposted about local cabbage fromOntarioCounty. It seems that local cabbage is no secret. The article stated that over 88 million pounds of cabbage is harvested there each year, business steadily growing over the last 10 years. This makes our state the number 1 cabbage producer in the country. 88 million pounds! That’s the equivalent of 3 WWII Sherman Tanks combined. Maybe the military should have used cabbage instead steel. Like I said, it is very affordable.

Check out your local producers of cabbage at the Rochester Public Market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Cassoulet

Anthony White — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:35:30 +0000

I love cassoulet. It’s the perfect winter dish; inexpensive, easy to prepare, and hearty. Sometimes I make it for one of those reasons. Other times it’s for all three. I like to put things in the oven or on the stove early at my house so the house smells delicious all day. Then when your friends or family get there, they open the door and the first thing they say, sometimes even before ‘hello’, is “man, something smells good.”

The things that can be most heart warming at home can often translate into a great meal at the restaurant. Art and I talked about this and decided a cassoulet sounded good for the weekend; classic cassoulet cannellini beans with a semolina bread crumb topped with a trio of meats; confit of duck leg, cotechino, and grilled tessa bacon. Come in this weekend and try this dish. You will not be disappointed.

On another note, one of the pigs that Gansz Farm has been raising for us is ready. It goes to slaughter early next week and we should be receiving it by Wednesday or Thursday. Not sure what Art has in mind quite yet, but I will let you know as it comes to me.

Check out Gansz Farm on Facebook!