Crown & Glory

"How might I go about making a meal with maple syrup," I sometimes ask myself--and this most often at breakfast, digging into tiers of toasty waffles with abandon, dripping with syrup and butter. The folks at Madava Farms in Duchess County, New York make it easy with certified organic Crown Maple syrups and other products. Their collection include medium amber (ginger bread, roasted chestnut aromas!), dark amber (coffee, chocolate!), and extra dark (ideal for cooking!). The varying versatile tastes of the ensemble enhance and enable a number cocktails and dishes incorporating the sweet stuff.

Look below for a kale salad with luscious caramelized peaches and corn before moving on to short ribs with a bourbon glaze, courtesy of Madava Farms' Executive Chef Jacob Griffin ... now, speaking of spirits, let's start with a cocktail, shall we?

Crown Maple Leaf, crafted by Niccole Trzaska of The Liberty NYC 

Ingredients

1½ oz. Maker’s 46
¾ oz. Crown Maple Medium Amber syrup
¾ oz. lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.

Peach, Corn & Kale Salad
Ingredients

4 ears of Fresh Bi-Color Corn

1.5 tsp of Kosher Salt

1/8 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper

1 tbsp Olive Oil

4 ea Medium Size Kale Leaves, de-stemed and finely sliced

2 ea Parsley, chopped (about 1 tbsp)

.25 ea Small Red Onion, sliced

1 ea Ripe Peach, washed, pitted and chopped

.25 cup Crown Maple Dark Amber Syrup

pinch of Salt

.5 ea Lemon, juiced

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut corn cob in half and cut the kernels off the cobb with a chef’s knife
3. Spread out evenly on a parchment lined sheet tray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil
4. Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes or until the corn starts to brown on top and the sides. Remove from oven and let cool.
5. Chop peach into a medium sized dice, toss in a bowl with Crown Maple Dark Amber® and place on a fresh parchment lined sheet tray
6. Watch peaches carefully and let caramelize for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown
7. Remove peaches from oven and let cool.
8. Toss corn, kale, parsley and lemon juice in a bowl. Adjust seasoning if needed. Top with caramelized peaches.
Note: You can also use this recipe as a vegetarian taco filling too. Add a little chili paste to add some heat.

  
Crown Maple Bourbon Glazed Short Ribs

Ingredients

10 ea Beef short ribs (about 1.5 lbs)

1 tbps Kosher salt

1.5 tsp Fresh ground pepper

4 tbsp Vegetable oil

1 ea Medium onion, large dice

1 ea Medium onion, large dice

1 ea Large celery stick, large dice

4 ea Cremini mushrooms, large dice

4 tbsp Tomato Paste

3 floz Dry Red Wine

2 floz Bourbon

1 qt Veal or beef stock

2 ea Bay leaves

.5 tsp Dried thyme

.25 cup Crown Maple Extra Dark

.25 cup Bourbon

Preparation

1. Rub salt and pepper evenly over short ribs.

2. Sear short ribs with vegetable oil over medium-high heat around all edges
in a stockpot or cast-iron pot
3. Remove short ribs from pan, reduce heat and sauté diced onion, carrots and mushrooms until soft and tender.
4. Add tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until a sweet aroma develops
5. Add wine and bourbon and cook until liquid has reduced by half
6. Add the veal stock and bring back to a simmer
7. Cover pot with lid and place in a 275°F oven
8. Cook for 1 hour, then carefully add bay leaves and thyme
9. Cook for 1 additional hour or until meat is tender that a fork easily shreds the meat
10. Remove short ribs rom the pot
11. Add Crown Maple Extra Dark and bourbon to the sauce and simmer until sauce thickens
12. Taste glaze and add seasoning as needed
13. Pour maple glaze over the hot short ribs and serve immediately

The Madava Farms' sugar house is open to the public on a regular basis, offering tours, culinary experiences with in-house chefs, places to hike and enjoy picnics. Sounds like a great day trip to me!