Brunch at Nickel Taphouse

We were invited to a media brunch at Nickel Taphouse featuring Salisbury, Maryland's Evolution Craft Brewery beers. How could we turn that down?

Nickel Taphouse has a little bit of everything available at their brunch, from oysters and mussels to the usual breakfast-y and lunch-like dishes. The four of us at our table focused on breakfast-style dishes, with a couple additions.

Biscuits and sausage gravy can be served any time of day or night. Nickel Taphouse's biscuits are heartier, browner, and crisper than any other I've tried and make a nice textural foil for all that creamy gravy.

We also tried their deviled eggs topped with tomato jam. They were rich and tasty and served close to room temperature, which is my preference. (I dislike refrigerator-cold deviled eggs.)

Two of us at the table ordered the hash of braised brisket and potatoes topped with over easy eggs and smoked cheddar. It was filling and a perfect prelude to a lazy weekend afternoon. I had the "huevos enchiladas." I'm going to be nit-picky here. If you're going to call something an enchilada, it should be wrapped in a corn tortilla and covered in a chile-based sauce. That's what I expected. The menu did say flour tortillas, but I figured they'd still be made like a typical enchilada. What I received would probably more accurately be called burritos. There was a bit too much tortilla for my taste, but overall the dish was tasty and well-seasoned.

The fourth at our table had the eggs Benedict, and she praised the Hollandaise sauce. Additionally, her eggs appeared to be perfectly cooked, oozing nicely over the pork roll and grilled tomato when she cut into them.

We also had one non-breakfast dish, the very delish Buffalo brussels sprouts. Slicked in hot sauce and topped with a bleu cheese cream, they proved that the lowly brussels sprout can be served at any time of day for just about any course, except dessert.

If you're not into breakfast dishes, a handful of sandwiches like the restaurant's signature beef on weck is available at brunch, as are a lobster roll, Roseda beef, veggie, or turkey burgers, and a BLT. Salads, oysters, bagels & lox, too.

We enjoyed our food with rounds of Evolution (and other) beers, including Lot 3 and Sprung. The former is a nice hoppy IPA and the latter is a smooth and clean American blonde ale brewed with hibiscus. Both worked nicely with our breakfast dishes (as did all the other stuff we imbibed - hic).



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Celery Root Hash with Andouille

Sometimes one has to make do with what one has. And sometimes it's not all that much.

Usually I plan weekend dinners a couple of days in advance. Until the time comes that I don't. Sometimes I get so busy, things get away from me, you know? And it's usually those times that I open the fridge and find....nothing. Or in this case, one celery root and two andouille-style chicken sausages. 

I love celery root, but usually eat it raw, shredded into a nice remoulade sauce, or mashed with potatoes. Bo-ring. I wanted to do something different with it, and the andouille sausage prompted me to make something with a New Orleans bent. Down there, the flavors of celery + bell peppers + onion = the Trinity. I had something celery flavored in the celery root, so I needed the onion and pepper part. We didn't have any fresh bell peppers, nor did we even have a jar of roasted red peppers hanging around. What we did have was a big jar of pickled peppers.

At this point, I had decided to make a hash with the celery root and andouille and some onion, but those peppers wouldn't work there. Instead, I decided to make a ketchup of sorts with a bit of tomato paste, to add a bit of bright acid to the dish. And of course hash needs a poached egg!

Celery Root and Andouille Hash with Red Pepper Ketchup

For the ketchup:
Pickled sweet red peppers
Tomato Paste
Salt
Sriracha

For the hash:
2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 medium celery root, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 links andouille sausage, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the ketchup: Place the equivalent of a whole pepper into the bowl of a food processor or mini prep. Add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and puree. Taste for seasoning and add salt. Add a generous squirt of sriracha too, to spice it up a bit. Remove to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make hash: Heat bacon fat or oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery root, and potato and stir to coat all of the vegetables with the fat. Turn heat down to medium low, cover the pan, and cook until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add sausage and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Serve topped with a soft-boiled or poached egg, a sprinkle of chopped scallions or parsley, and some of the ketchup on the side.

Serves 4.

Posted on Minxeats.com.