Family Affair: Rosellis in East Bend fill their menu with local foods for statewide contest

EAST BEND

In less than four years, Kitchen Roselli has built a loyal following of customers. They regularly spill onto the front porch as they wait for a table.

People come for the homemade pastas, the signature tomato sauce and the addictive cream puffs.

Now, Kitchen Roselli is poised to widen its reputation after being chosen as a finalist in the Best Dish in North Carolina competition.

The contest is sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences. Despite the contest's name, it is not about a particular dish, per se. Instead, it's a competition that primarily judges restaurants' use and promotion of local ingredients. To enter, restaurants have to submit the names of up to five dishes that feature N.C. ingredients, as well as a marketing plan for how they promote the use of those ingredients.

Hearing about the contest got owners David and Laura Roselli inspired to incorporate more local foods into their menu.

"We have such great respect for the farmers," Laura Roselli said. "For us, this was fun."

Kitchen Roselli is a small family business. It's open just three evenings a week because the Rosellis do almost everything themselves.

A few years ago, the Rosellis gave up their careers -- he as an arts administrator, she as a nurse -- to follow in the footsteps of David Roselli's grandparents. Daisy and John Roselli owned the popular Sunny Italy restaurant in North Wilkesboro, which closed just last year after Daisy Roselli celebrated her 100th birthday. (She celebrated her 101st last week.)

"I grew up in a restaurant, and this is my passion," David Roselli said. "I learned to cook not at home, not at a school, but in a busy restaurant."

"We both love to cook, and David and I wanted to work together," Laura Roselli said. "And we wanted to provide something for our children."

David Roselli said that their sons, Lorenzo, 11, and Carlo, 13, are growing up in a restaurant just as he did. "They're our tasters," he said with a smile. "Carlo critiques Laura's focaccia. Lorenzo critiques sauces, salad dressings and sorbets."

The contest had a total of 45 entries this year, said Tim Parrish, a marketing specialist with the agriculture department. It has two categories, casual and fine dining.

Ten finalists in each category were chosen based on menus and other information submitted about how they use North Carolina foods.

"This is more than just a chef serving a dish featuring an N.C. product," Parrish said. "A lot of what we focus on is a marketing plan. How does the restaurant market that they are using North Carolina products?"

Restaurants must offer their submitted dish or dishes featuring N.C. products for a four-week period through Aug. 1 to allow judges time to visit. Three judges will visit each of the finalists unannounced and grade them on the taste, creativity, presentation, use of North Carolina products and a restaurant's marketing of those products.

Winners will be announced in September, and the top restaurant in each category will receive $1,000.

Kitchen Roselli promotes local food producers on their menu, website and Facebook page. They have trained their staff on local products and provided handouts about local producers to customers. They've also given seed packets to children and are selling local foods on their front porch.

The Rosellis said that the contest has inspired them to seek more local food for the restaurant, and that has brought them closer to their original vision for the restaurant, which was based on Sunny Italy.

"My grandfather couldn't get a lot of (authentic Italian) ingredients at first, so he used local everything," David Roselli said. "I remember going with him to the farmers market in North Wilkesboro. He'd back up the truck and guys would load cases of fresh tomatoes and other stuff."

For the contest, the Rosellis came up with four dishes that use local foods from about a dozen different sources.

Flour for focaccia comes from the Boonville Flour & Feed Mill. Beef comes from Apple Brandy Beef in North Wilkesboro. Pecans come from Braxton Pecan Co. in Prince­ton. Many of their fresh vegetables come from the Yadkinville Farmers Market.

The entrée uses a recipe from Laura Roselli's grandmother. But the other recipes were developed just for the contest.

The menu begins with focaccia made from scratch, served with slices of herbed goat cheese from Daddy's Girl Dairy in Hamptonville. The Rosellis came up with a creative use of Cheerwine (made in Salisbury), in a salad dressing that also uses goat blue cheese from Sleepy Goat Farm in Pelham.

Their entré for the contest is agnolotti, or crescent-shaped ravioli, filled with local spinach and Apple Brandy beef.

And for dessert, Laura Roselli experimented with local wine to come up with a variation on her popular lemon sorbet that incorporates Shelton Vineyards Riesling.

The Rosellis said that the contest has been a lot of fun for them. "Sometimes, you get lost in your own little restaurant world," Laura Roselli said. "For us this was a chance to do something creative."

And the more local, fresh food they use, the better the experience for customers, she said.

"We really believe that our food should be as fresh as it would be if we had anybody over for dinner. We want them to feel like they're coming to our home."

Laura's Focaccia

2 cups water

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

⅛ cup instant potato flakes

⅛ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2½ cups Boonville Mill Unbleached All Purpose flour

2½ cups bread flour

Topping:

Extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt and minced fresh rosemary

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer with dough-hook attachment, activate yeast in warm water not greater than 110 degrees and add sugar. Let stand for at least 5 minutes; mixture should start to be foamy.

2. Add salt and potato flakes, and gently stir. Add oil, then turn mixer on low speed and slowly add flour. Gradually increase mixer speed, incorporating all the flour. Sprinkle in more flour if dough is too wet. Stop mixer to scrape dough off hook a couple times periodically. The dough is ready when it pulls off the side of the bowl and dough feels soft and elastic, after about 5 minutes. Be careful not to get the dough too dry.

3. Take out dough and place on a work surface. Knead a couple of times to shape ball into a round and cover with damp towel or plastic wrap. Let rest for 30 minutes to an hour. Meanwhile lightly grease two sheet pans with olive oil. Once the dough has risen slightly, divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into an oblong shape about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Transfer each piece of rolled dough onto a pan and allow dough to rise for a couple of hours or more.

4. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Immediately before baking, lightly brush top of focaccia with oil and sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden. If bottom of focaccia is not golden, remove from pan and place directly on lower rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Also, if not serving immediately, focaccia can be reheated and crisped directly on lower oven rack for a few minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Herbed Goat Cheese Medallions

The Rosellis said that other coatings for the goat cheese may include paprika or crushed peppercorns.

8 ounces Daddy's Girl Dairy Naked Goat Cheese

2 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

Extra-virgin olive oil

1. Tear a 10-inch sheet of plastic wrap and place goat cheese in center. Roll plastic over cheese and begin to form a log shape by rolling cheese gently back and forth and pushing in sides. When you achieve a diameter of about 2 inches, keep wrapped and place in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to firm.

2. Mix together herbs and lemon zest and place mixture on a plate. Either roll a whole log in mixture and then slice, or cut into individual slices and roll only the outer edges in the herb mixture. (For best results, use plain unwaxed dental floss to slice the cheese.)

3. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil on the slices right before serving.

Makes 6 servings

Yadkin Valley Vineyard Sorbet

Laura Roselli recommends garnishing this with local peaches when they come in, to complement the wine's peachy flavors.

2 cups Shelton Vineyards Riesling

1¾ cups water

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup fresh lemon juice, strained

Handful ripe berries or other seasonal fruit and sprig of fresh mint

1. In a small saucepan, bring wine, water and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Then boil untouched for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

2. Add lemon juice, cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least five hours, or preferably overnight.

3. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve with a handful of ripe berries or seasonal fruit. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.

Makes about 1½ quarts.

Our Cheery Anniversary Salad

The Rosellis said that people can use a store-bought balsamic glaze if desired.

Dressing:

3 tablespoons Cheerwine reduction

2 tablespoons balsamic glaze

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon minced shallots

1 teaspoon minced fresh basil minced

Salad:

Mixed salad greens

Toasted pecans

Apple slivers, unpeeled

Sleepy Goat Farm goat blue cheese, crumbled

1. In a small bowl, whisk Cheerwine reduction, balsamic glaze, oil, salt and shallots. Just before serving, stir in basil.

2. For each serving of salad, place a small handful of greens on a plate. Arrange 4 or 5 apple slivers around the edge. Sprinkle with a few pecans and a bit of crumbled cheese. Drizzle lightly with some of the dressing and serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Cheerwine Reduction

This reduction makes more than is needed for the salad dressing. Extra reduction will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. It can be added to a sauce or glaze for grilled meats.

1 cup Cheerwine soda

2 teaspoons sugar

Combine soda and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until reduced to ⅓ cup. Cool before using.

Balsamic Glaze

This glaze makes more than is needed for the salad dressing. Extra glaze will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. It can be used as a glaze for grilled meats.

2 cups balsamic vinegar

Bring vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently until glaze will coat the back of spoon and mixture reduces to ½ cup, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Kitchen Roselli

Kitchen Roselli, 105 E. Main St. in East Bend, is open from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant does not take reservations. There often is a wait, but people can call ahead just before they come to get on the waiting list.

For more information, call 699-4898 or visit www.kitchenroselli.com.

Here is the four-course menu that the restaurant is offering through June 26 as part of the Best Dish in North Carolina competition:

•Herbed Goat Cheese Medallions with Laura's Focaccia: fresh local goat cheese rolled in herbs served with warm focaccia.

• Our Cheery Anniversary Salad: fresh garden greens, local blue cheese, toasted pecans, apple slivers, with a Cheerwine-infused balsamic vinaigrette.

• Gilda's Farm to Table Agnolotti: local beef, market spinach, garlic and Parmigiano-Reggiano filled agnolotti (crescent-shaped ravioli) with tomato sauce.

• Yadkin Valley Vineyard Sorbet: made with Shelton Vineyards Riesling and fresh lemon juice, and served with berries and mint.

These menu items will be available a la carte. And the restaurant may continue to serve some of these items after June 26 as occasional specials.

For a list of other finalists in the Best Dish in North Carolina competition, visit www.bestdishnc.com.

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