Merrimack Valley Magazine

Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar Opens Monday

July 10, 2020 by Kristin Cole

Coastal Italian Vibes Come to Newburyport

On Monday, July 13, Joe Faro and the Tuscan Brands team will open the Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar on the Newburyport waterfront. This new location, overlooking the harbor on Merrimac street, offers striking views of the Merrimack River right where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The cuisine offered at Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar will feature coastal Italian-inspired creations that utilize locally sourced seafood, alongside many of the popular scratch-made Italian dishes from Tuscan’s existing restaurants. Tuscan’s fine cuisine can be paired with a variety of beverages. The Sea Grill and Bar will feature an extensive wine list and a raw bar with a collection of cocktails that help the restaurant create a “special al fresco dining experience.”

This waterfront location was designed in part by Taniya Nayak, a principal interior architect and design expert member on HGTV and the Food Network. Nayak helped bring Tuscan’s vision of coastal Italian-inspired themes to life.

Starting Monday, Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar will be open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

TuscanBrands.com

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 3 )

August 16, 2019 by Marc and Christopher Horne Leave a Comment

July and August are typically the peak months of fresh local produce in New England. Finding unique ways to prepare the variety of greens, carrots, squash, zucchini, eggplant, corn and other vegetables can be challenging.

Enter the grill. Summer in New England means outdoor cooking, which has the added benefit of keeping your kitchen cool. Whether you are cooking on a charcoal, propane or wood fire, preparing vegetables over an open flame offers a tasty alternative to the boiling, steaming and roasting methods usually relied upon for vegetable cookery.

The following recipe offers a new take on preparing your vegetables outdoors, including grilling your picnic-table salads. Take a risk and grill that kale!

GRILLED CARROT SALAD WITH CARROT GREENS PESTO AND SUNFLOWER KERNELS

Start to finish: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 4

SALAD AND CARROT PESTO
1 large bunch fresh carrots
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano, finely grated

DRESSING
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the carrots, setting aside the greens. Slice the carrots lengthwise and set aside.

2. Blanch the carrot greens: Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and season with salt, about a tablespoon for every quart of water. Once boiling, add the carrot greens for 15-20 seconds. Immediately strain and soak the carrot greens in ice-cold water. Set aside to dry.

3. While the carrot greens dry, add half of the sunflower kernels (1/4 cup) to your food processor and gently pulse. Then add the garlic clove and grated cheese. Slowly mix in the sunflower oil. Once processed, add the carrot greens. This mixture will be thick, so slowly add in 1/4 cup of cold water to thin out, and use more if needed. Set the pesto aside.

4. On a very hot grilled plate, with the carrots cut-side down, cook for 4-5 minutes. Once the carrots become lightly charred and are slightly tender, set aside on a plate. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

5. This salad will be best served individually plated, with a large spoon of the pesto spread on the plate and a serving of the carrots piled on top. Garnish with the remaining sunflower kernels and enjoy with some crusty grilled bread.

Check back next month for more recipes from Christopher and Marc.

While working for Mill City Grows, Christopher Horne was a FoodCorps service member and taught gardening and cooking classes to Lowell students. In 2017, Christopher graduated from The Farm School’s learn-to-farm program and now runs a half-acre market garden business that offers a small CSA service. He sells his produce to local restaurants in the Merrimack Valley area. Learn more at HorneFarms.com.

Marc Horne is a lifelong Lowell resident. He works as a community development professional, developing affordable housing in the Merrimack Valley for nonprofit organizations. Marc also assists his brother, Christopher, with farming operations at Horne Family Farms in any way he can. His personal interests are strongly centered on food and the natural environment, especially cooking family dinners with local agricultural products.

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 2 )

August 3, 2019 by Marc and Christopher Horne Leave a Comment

The following recipe offers a new take on preparing your vegetables outdoors, including grilling your picnic-table salads. Take a risk and grill that kale!

GRILLED RAINBOW CHARD SALAD, WITH RADISH AND HERB DRESSING

Start to finish: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 4

SALAD
1 large bunch rainbow chard, washed and with woody ends trimmed
1 small bunch radishes

DRESSING
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sour cream
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill to a high temperature. Once the grill is heated, place the rainbow chard on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side. Set aside on a plate to cool.

2. Wash the radishes and pat dry, then slice finely.

3. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, sour cream, and a sprinkle of salt and pinch of pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until well combined. Whisk in the parsley.

4. Slice the chard in long thin ribbons and place in your salad bowl. Add the salad dressing and toss gently until well combined. Garnish with sliced radish for texture and color.

Check back for more recipes from Christopher and Marc.

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 1 )

July 19, 2019 by Marc and Christopher Horne Leave a Comment

The following recipe offers a new take on preparing your vegetables outdoors, including grilling your picnic-table salads. Take a risk and grill that kale!

GRILLED KALE AND CORN SALAD WITH SWEET ONION DRESSING

Start to finish: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 4

SALAD
1 large bunch of kale
2 large ears of sweet corn

DRESSING
1 small sweet onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill to a high temperature. Wash the kale and trim the woody ends, leaving the leaves whole. Peel the corn, removing as much corn silk as possible.

2. Place the corncobs on a very hot grill and cook until slightly charred, turning occasionally, about 4-5 minutes. Set the corn aside on a plate to cool.

3. Place the kale leaves on the grill and cook on one side for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

4. For the dressing, finely slice the onion and place in a small bowl. Add in a sprinkle of salt and a dash of pepper. Add the vinegar and mustard. Stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the oil.

5. Place the corncobs upright on the plate and slice off the kernels. Place the kernels in your salad bowl and add the onion dressing. Mix well to combine.

6. Slice the kale in long, thin ribbons and add them to the salad bowl. Toss well to combine.

Note: This salad pairs well with grilled fish or crusty grilled bread.

Check back for more recipes from Christopher and Marc.

Good Eats – Picanha’s Brazilian Grill

June 8, 2019 by Dean Johnson Leave a Comment

When folks dine out these days, especially families, they too often have to decide whether they prefer quality or quantity. How do you sample a variety of fresh, tasty items, avoid paying big bucks, and without ending up at a chain eatery?

It’s a challenge. But it can be done, especially in the Merrimack Valley, where there are so many ethnic dining options.

Consider, for example, Picanha’s Brazilian Grill in downtown Nashua. The restaurant, which has been open since February, makes it easy for a couple to enjoy a cocktail, stuff themselves like the guests of honor at a pig roast, share a dessert and finish the night with a bill under $60. [Please note that at the time of publication, the restaurant in this article was offering special services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please call or visit their website for updates.]

Like many Brazilian restaurants in the Merrimack Valley, Picanha’s specializes in a buffet menu, but it’s different from the all-you-can-eat places I’ve visited. The dinner options cater to most palates, though, truth to tell, they seem to tilt in favor of the dedicated carnivore.

The full dinner treatment is a fun night out. For $29.99, you get an unlimited amount of food, including as many as 10 different grilled meats, as well as a long buffet table of fresh fruits, salads, vegetables, stews and a variety of rice.

Place your dining card green side up, and a chef will be at your table in short order with a long skewer of something hot off the grill that will be sliced for you until you say stop. It might be sirloin or pork sausage or chicken wrapped in bacon, or … well, you get the idea.

Left: Chef Flavio Balzanelli stands ready with a sharp blade and a hot skewer of what Picanha’s does best: savory Brazilian barbecue. Right: Picanha’s Grill offers a number of refreshing adult beverages to complement the carnivory. Pictured are the coconut margarita, strawberry caipirinha, caipirinha classic and brisa do litoral, a cocktail made with tequila reposado, Aperol, passion fruit and lime juice. Photos by Kevin Harkins.

Picanha’s offers other menu options that may be more family friendly. For $7.99 a pound, diners can enjoy the salad bar and buffet table, which includes homemade black beans with sausage, spare ribs and more.

Or for $9.99 a pound, you get the same buffet table option as well as a selection of the grilled meats available with the unlimited buffet. For people on any kind of a keto diet, this is catnip. They can load up on meat, meat, nothing but meat, and get away with a check that would be hard to match elsewhere.

I opted for the by-the-pound platter with the grilled meats option. I sampled two kinds of sirloin, chicken wings, pork sausage, creamy mashed potatoes, addictive plantains, the recommended homemade Brazilian potato salad (nothing too exotic, just nicely herbed), and, well, most everything else previously noted.

The idea was to sample most items rather than pile ’em high. Nevertheless, I was almost ready to explode at meal’s end and had a borderline case of the “meat sweats,” in this instance a good thing!

Here’s the kicker: At $9.99 a pound, my repast cost me a measly $15.88. Now, there are some caveats tucked into all of this: You may not always be able to get the grilled meats the way you prefer them. The chicken wings, for example, were a little dry. Other items were a tad salty. But overall, it was a good bang for the buck.

My wife and I split a coconut flan ($7) for dessert, something whipped up from an old family recipe that had more body than your typical flan, and flavor to spare.

Pichanha’s has created a casual, relaxed atmosphere to enjoy their buffet. Richly-hued wooden chairs and festive yellows dominate the space, which can accommodate nearly 60 diners. There is also a small bar area smack in the middle of the single dining room.

Care for big fresh flavors and value for a relatively small check? Try Picanha’s.

Picanha’s Brazilian Grill
Nashua, N.H.
(603) 459-8069
PicanhasBrazilianGrill.com

Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday: 4 to 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar Opens Monday

Coastal Italian Vibes Come to Newburyport

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 3 )

GRILLED CARROT SALAD WITH CARROT GREENS PESTO AND SUNFLOWER KERNELS

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 2 )

GRILLED RAINBOW CHARD SALAD, WITH RADISH AND HERB DRESSING

CSA Merrimack Valley – Grilling Greens ( Part 1 )

GRILLED KALE AND CORN SALAD WITH SWEET ONION DRESSING

Good Eats – Picanha’s Brazilian Grill

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