this tuesday's chef event MATHEW BILLODEAU

reserve your table now!
3, 4 & 7 course tasting menus paired with digestives and aperitifs provided by three penny taproom!

taco tuesdays

well then

tonight kismet was robbed and only a few things were taken.. my computer (YIKES!!!), $200 petty cash) and the $ we were raising for the washington county mental health children's garden project...(as well as the whole jar..)

i had to revise the menu anyway, which is how i discovered the computer stolen, so after meeting with montpelier city police, i went to the BLACK DOOR and sat in the office while an 80's cover band sang all of the classic 80's tunes, and re-did our menu.. wish i could show it here, but phil doesnt have internet in his office, so it is in print only (at least we have that for tomorrow...)
after finishing the menu, i drove home aware that the drama of the evening mixed with the coffee i had earlier while in burlington, was not going to allow me to sleep, but could best be used to help me prep for the morning ahead.. so i went home to kismet...
just made pork chorizo (in honor of my mother), scallop cakes (in honor of my grandmother), lamb sausage (in honor of pregnant with twins lindsay), fillet carpaccio (for the montpelier mom's in need of decadence) and prosecco poached salmon... did dishes, came home and swept my floor.... wow.. now it is 3 and brunch starts in 6 hours... dont hate me if i am not beautiful-- love me for being the mom of all of this.. sometimes motherhood means sucking snot from the infant's nose, or staying up all night then having to be nice in the morning, or saying NO or saying YES... i am a mother, and kismet is very much my child.. thank you for sharing her with me...
sleep well (i know you will) and i will see you in the morning (or you will see me first most likely because i am VERY near sighted-just so you know).
xxoo

let's do it!!!! GAME ON

THIS JUST IN:

Kismet vs. Taproom

Published: April 29, 2010

MONTPELIER – There's nothing like a little friendly competition for a good cause.

Kismet and Three Penny Taproom, two Montpelier establishments, are going head-to-head to see who can be the fastest to raise $500 in donations for the Children's Garden Project.

The competition is an effort to establish an organic Children's Garden on the grounds of the Children, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) division of Washington County Mental Health on Beckley Hill Road in Barre.

The contest will run from May 2 to May 15, and both businesses will display prominently placed donation jars to encourage customers to make contributions. Due to looming State budget cuts, this project is being run entirely on the steam of volunteers and donations, according to a news release from CYFS.

"The Children's Garden will be a beautiful and nurturing place for children and young adults with emotional, behavioral and developmental challenges…" according to CYFS.

some like it hot

well then.. hello spring!
kismet has been happily receiving lots of sunlight these last few weeks- standing over in my little area of the kitchen, i have enjoyed blazing temperatures nearing 90 degrees! Honestly, if i wasn't completely dependent on local food, I would swear it is June! but the contents of my fridge speak the truth of the season. Like many other chefs in the area, I am still having to use my creative efforts to make light and springy of the dense and heavy. Still doing the most i can with the ends of my squash, and root collection- When writing the easter menu for last week, I put calls out all around town in search of a few mushrooms or wild ramps to serve along side braised rabbit papoosas and tangletown duck eggs. Thankfully, allen lepage knows his woods and with one pound of ramps, I made ramp butter to spread all around.

Thankfully, Joe, of screaming ridge farm, has greens flowing out of his houses and we have successfully sold over 10 lbs of salad greens last week alone! we hope the warm weather will continue, but at the same time, the high temps have forced some of his delicate tender leaves to bolt into tough flowering stems...

With spring comes the hope and promise of summer. For us at kismet, that means utter abundance- our tiny kitchen will cater about 18 weddings this season, beginning in may, which means we will be making food for over 600 people each week through october!! So for now, we are doing our best to enjoy quiet moments, and little pleasures- like watching the trees bud, and tiny leaves and petals emerging from the ground.

hello! we're back!

Hello!
after taking a little vacation in Montreal- we're back in montpelier, ready and inspired and open for spring..
It's been warm, and we have wedding menus stacked in the office, and kismet expansion plans scattered along with 2009 taxes piled in the corner- and yet, it feels like the ice is breaking and everything is being put into place and the energy is here to get it all organized..

BIG THANKS to Three Penny Taproom for running Kismet while we were gone (and thanks to them i have a week's worth of chorizo in my fridge!!)- it felt really good to know that kismet was being enjoyed by others, and that the space was being used in a creative way..
upon return, I was greeted with the Seven Days article about our upcoming plans, and reminded how quickly time will go by between now and june!!

this week also gives us local tomatoes, local spinach and salad greens, and lots and lots of bright sunlight in the Kismet Dining room.
We are also beginning a new art show by Lisa Mase and Sandra Lory- a collection of collage (by lisa) and photos of cacao (amungst other things) from Sandra (she recently returned from a cacao farm in mexico)- the art is bright and alive in our newly repainted space...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH SPRING!

punk rock brunch

Guess what?

Three Penny Taproom
Does Punk
Rock Brunch

At kismet

sunday 3.7.10

9am to 2pm

kismet gals needed a little vaca- so we asked our friends at THREE PENNY TAPROOM to take kismet over for a day so we could head north-- & they said YES!

the menu:

raider nation brunch located at kismet

to quench the palette

coffee

cast-iron coffee “we’ll make it something a cowboy would drink for 3 extra bucks”

house made decaf tea ”herbs and fruit with a touch of spices”

O.J. “and no were not squeezing it”

bloody mary “if you really need it.”

dieu du ciel peche mortel stout

who drinks water?

to fill the belly

st. ambroise oatmeal stout and steel cut oats

romesco plate “veggies how we cook them served with traditional romesco” contains nuts….

green salad with poached egg “is there any better dressing”

patatas bravas “just think of braveheart”

house made chorizo con juevos

tortilla espanola “kind of resembles an omelet but better”

local piggy hash and two very sunny eggs

still want to play

tequila “we recommend with all meals”

egg

chorizo “hog intestine stuffed with local pork”

patatas bravas

old bread

tortillas

dieu du ciel aphrodite stout