People are always asking for more blogs but lately I’ve been fresh out of ideas. It seems to me I have maxed out on the empty nester story: homeowners upsizing, downsizing, rebuilding, removing. Been there done that. I needed something new to think and write about. 

So it was serendipitous that our long-time customer, 41-year-old Antonio Ciongoli, asked Keith to help out on a video promoting Mephisto Shoes in late March. Watch the video below to see Keith sporting said shoes which, according to the WSJ, “Mephisto, the ultimate grandpa brand, is suddenly, improbably cool. Once the butt of jokes about aging ungracefully, the 59-year-old French shoemaker has become an It-girl and It-boy favorite, producing footwear as treasured for its comfort as for its stubbornly unfashionable authenticity.”

And, not surprisingly Antonio is totally, but not improbably, cool too. We first met him well over a decade ago when he was designing higher-end Italian menswear and looking for out-of-the-box items to furnish a Madison Avenue showroom. Poking around the Red Bank antique district Antonio found his way to British Cottage where he bought a pair of massive iron and vintage wood bookshelves, then repurposed them into awesome, industrial-styled garment racks.

In 2017 he created 18 East, a clothing brand designed to appeal to the newly minted crop of corporate and not so corporate guys who were craving a more relaxed style related to the skater looks they grew up wearing but not wanting to be identified as hip hop wanna be imposters either. Antonio’s focus is on natural materials, and while comfort is paramount he is not afraid of a little quiet elegance. 

Which is a natural seque into what British Cottage has always been about. Our customers have never welcomed a cookie cutter approach to home decor. Yes they share their homes with kids and dogs and messy spouses but they still  want every room to be a great room. They want furniture that has good bones and a lot of style–certainly not the mass-produced s__t from a catalog that everyone else has.

And while the furniture we sell is all about function; we want the kids to sit on our sofas and do their homework at their British Cottage tables, nothing says it can’t be attractive and made to last out of materials that are natural and organic and certainly non-toxic. Whether antique or reproduction we want real wood, and never particle board shelves, thin veneers or cheesy cookie-cutter mass produced components. 

Which is the lead in to another totally cool customer who literally puts his money where his mouth is, Tom D’Ambrisi, owner of The Butcher Block restaurant in Long Branch. Ten years ago when Tom was delivering meat for his family business, expecting his first child, and renovating his first home his mom dragged him into British Cottage to look for a dining room table. This was way before he even thought about having his specialty butcher shop, let alone a restaurant. In the end he bought a large, farmhouse style dining table and over the years he would stop in for this and that.

In 2019, not long after Tom opened up a retail store selling all kinds of specialty meat products people started to ask if he could do meals too. Next thing you know Tom took his British Cottage table from his own dining room and put it in the shop (which could well be the one on the left in the above photo) and thus, his restaurant was born. In just a few years, despite his lack of restaurant experience and a global pandemic he has become wildly successful, combining his family’s insider knowledge of the meat industry with his own unique and crazy talented design sense to create one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Monmouth County–if not all of New Jersey.

Like Antonio, Tom is cool because he is not conventional. He is not following a trend, he is making one and that, we like to think is the point of businesses like theirs, and ours. You do you.

Usually I end my blogs with a recipe and today is no exception. I had thought about some kind of homage to Tom and his already iconic Block, but really you need to go there. The decor, the service, the one-of-a-kind cuts of meat and personalities of the staff all meld to create a sensory experience that is unique and just cannot be duplicated on the home turf.

So instead let me tell you about a truly interesting and delish dish that Keith made for us last week: Rigatoni with White Bolognese. I know, I hear you snorting blasphemy and already groaning about what can only be a tragic misinterpretation of a classic. But this recipe by Heidi da Empoli, an old friend of Amanda Hesser, who has been a food columnist and editor for The New York Times for over a decade is more than worthy of a trial run.

Reminiscent of Beef Stroganoff, (which is basically the classic French fricassée de boeuf with the addition of onions and sour cream) this rigatoni is enveloped by an aromatic mix of rich and flavorful gravy that combines meat and vegetables just like a classic Bolognese, but without the dominant tomato taste. In all honesty I have to say Keith used ground turkey instead of beef, a substitution we have been making frequently these days, and he resisted me when I wanted to toss a few cherry tomatoes into the mix. Either way, try it, you’ll like it!

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

• Extra virgin olive oil
• ½sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1stalk celery, finely chopped
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1pound mild Italian pork sausage meat, removed from casings
• 1pound ground beef (not lean)
• 1½cups dry Italian white wine
• 1cube beef bouillon dissolved in 2 cups simmering water
• 1½ounces dried porcini mushrooms rehydrated in 3 cups lukewarm water
• ⅓cup heavy cream
• 1pound rigatoni
• ¾cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Add enough oil to a large, deep sauté pan to coat the base and place over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until glassy and just tender, about 5 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the sausage and beef to the pan, breaking it into walnut-size pieces, and brown well.

2. Step 2

   Pour in the wine and keep at a rapid simmer until the pan is almost dry. Then pour in 1½ cups beef bouillon and lower the heat to medium. Simmer gently, uncovered, until the bouillon is nearly gone, stirring now and then. Meanwhile, chop the rehydrated porcini into small pieces, reserving the liquid. (More full confession: Keith used fresh mushrooms and no bouillon!).

3. Step 3

   Bring a large pot of salted (he never adds salt) water to a boil. Add mushroom liquid to the sauce to cover the meat halfway (about 1 cup) along with the porcini and continue simmering until the sauce is loose but not soupy, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper; it should be highly seasoned. When the consistency is right, fold the cream in. Remove from the heat and cover.

4. Step 4

   When the pasta water is at a full boil, add the rigatoni and cook until still firm, but not hard, in the center. When the pasta is almost done, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and reserve. Drain the pasta and then return it to the pot. Pour the pasta sauce on top and fold in with a wooden spoon. The pasta should not be dry. Add a little pasta water or mushroom liquid to loosen it. (It will continue to soak up sauce on the way to the table.) Serve in one large bowl or in individual bowls, passing the cheese at the table.

 

Redirect to Parker’s Fish And Chips

Unlike the infamous Cat in the Hat, I wasn’t frustrated because it was too wet and cold to go out and play–it was just too darn hot to even think about making a move out of the A/C. The beach was baking, the pool jammed with little kids and my garden felt like a steam bath.

Fortunately I have friends in cool places, like The Channel Club Tower, the chic-esque high rise in the exclusive waterfront community of Monmouth Beach, so off I tootled. On the northeast corner of the eighth floor, my friends, empty nesters, had landed themselves an aerie with incomparable views atop luxurious accoutrements–valet parking, heated pool, state of the art gym facilities and meticulously landscaped grounds.

Although they are renters, they are renters with sensibilities so it was a bit of a shock to move into a big white box in the sky–a far cry from their Colts Neck spread with its lush landscaping , wrap around porches and rooms galore, but hey sometimes you just gotta move on down the road or in this case–across the river.

The floors throughout their new digs are in an engineered neutral hardwood that they left mostly bare, and they furnished with bits and bobs from their Colts Neck manse that give the space a Sister Parrish oh my gosh are we at the island house in Maine aura. (Full disclosure there is another house fully furnished Downeast but that is for another blog).

Although this was clearly a downsize there is still ample room for their looks antique but made of antique wood 96″ farmhouse table and 8 gorgeous Windsor chairs from West Barnstable Tables on the Cape.

And you know how they say every picture tells a story? Well there is no shortage of raconteurs  here, each wall has something delightful to say.  Garage sale finds cavort with listed artists to make an engaging mix.

But what does British Cottage have to do with all this? Well, there is the table in the foyer and then this robust chest of drawers from our factory in Hungary. Along with the blue and white ginger jars, a classic way to accessorize just about anything for the last 4 or 5 centuries at least, and look another wall is won. And that shell on the pedestal? Oh my!

Mostly it’s fun to know someone who loves stuff as much as I do. In this minimalist moment in interior design, when people own neither hutches nor breakfronts, bookcases or credenzas, it’s awesome to see someone else care about the art of antiquing and the joys of tablescaping. I mean take a look at this grouping. Love it. Love it. Love it.

And what about this carefully curated vignette in the kitchen? In anyone else’s home this is where the coffee maker would sit.

But time was going by fast and I was getting more and more peckish so we ambled over to the riverside restaurant just across the street. In my day, many years ago, it was The Haul Out–a fun bar and burger joint on a dock–now it is The Beach Tavern, still dock side but much more Palm Beach than Jersey Shore.

My friend had the steamers and said they were delicious but if I’m eating steamers I need at least two dozen, maybe more.

And steamers are a breeze to cook, just get a mess of clams from Lusty Lobster, toss them into an inch or so of boiling water, cover and they are done in a few minutes. (Just make sure to rinse them first if they are at all gritty).

I had the Fish Sandwich which was good, and another thing you can easily make at home if you are in the mood for a classic shore meal. Try this recipe for Fish and Chips that Keith makes all the time.

Meanwhile, my friend has promised to send over her recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms–something I LOVE and never make. TBC

Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Spicy Peanut Sauce

Basically everything.  From the annals of psychiatry (over 400 articles have been written about the various roles the couch is reputed to play in psychoanalytic settings) to its more mundane, but nonetheless fundamental function as the backbone of modern living and family rooms, let’s face it, your space is only as good as its sofa.

As our lives become more layered, hectic, and maximal–are you working from home, not working and at home, everyone is home, no one is ever not home? More than ever you need a place to park your tush and just chill.  Couches, even the most minimalist in design, have an essentially cocooning purpose; this is where we get to nest, regroup, recharge, and relax.

It’s what’s on the inside that really counts:                                                                         So what makes a couch great? Oddly enough it is not the design or style that matters most–it’s what’s under the hood–what’s inside–that really counts.  The frame should be made of hardwood, or solid, engineered wood, with eight-way hand-tied spring systems, Marshall unit spring backs, and premium spring-down cushion and filling materials. A single sofa can take over forty hours to complete and have over 250 individual parts and components!

Measure up:                                                                                                                                       Next up is size. The best couch in the world is no good at all if it won’t get in the door, down the hall, or in the elevator. And while lounging may be paramount in your book and when you are in the store that 48″ deep sofa may seem perfect for laying prone in front of the tv, you will need a crane to get your 5′ mother-in-law out of it.

Focus:                                                                                                                                                         On fabric choice. There are multitudes upon multitudes of fabrics out there. Century Furniture offers at least 1700! It used to be if you had dogs or kids, slipcovers were the smart way to go but now the new “Performance Fabrics” are stain and odor resistant. Also don’t overlook the hundreds if not thousands of natural and synthetic fibers available with have high rub counts and are easy to clean.

On style:                                                                                                                                                   This is where therapy–or couples counseling–may be needed. If he likes a traditional, over-stuffed zaftig profile and you are all about clean, modern lines and straight angles, Houston you have a problem. And keep in mind that often opposites do attract and a modern sofa in a traditional setting (or visa versa) may be just what you need to shuzh things up.

Just try to remember you get what you pay for. A good couch may cost a few thousand dollars you don’t have–but if you do–go for it.  Their hardwood frames are often guaranteed for over 30 years and certain styles are timeless. Fabrics may wear out but recovering is a desirable and sustainable option for a sofa made by a reputable company out of non-toxic materials. Do we really need to add more s h i t to our landfills?

Meanwhile, it is summer and so hot and humid out there that I don’t feel like cooking anything. Fortunately, we have half of a Costco chicken left in the fridge and a bunch of crisp vegetables, that combined with a spicy peanut/ sesame noodle sauce and a bowl of chilled pasta–we’ve got dinner tonight!              

Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Spicy Peanut Sauce

First, boil some water and cook about ten ounces of linguine. Rinse under cold water and set aside.

In a food processor or blender combine at least 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth, chunky, all-natural whatever is in the cupboard), 1/3 cup soy sauce, at least two tablespoons maple syrup, the juice from 1 lime, 1 glug sesame oil, chile oil to taste, and a chopped clove of garlic. Add warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is semi-liquid. 

Next, take whatever vegetables you have in the fridge: radishes, peppers, cucumber, red onion, carrots…and cut into thin matchstick size pieces and add to the bowl of pasta along with a tablespoon of sesame oil if you have it–but olive oil works just fine.

Transfer the veg/pasta mixture to a large platter and pour the peanut sauce over the top. Then add shredded chicken, chopped scallions, parsley, or cilantro, and serve.