Cartersberg Orchard, Auction House, & Duty Free

By Jason
Recipes: Dijon Thyme Shrimp & Goat Cheesecake

Growing up 20 miles west of Manhattan in Mountainside, NJ, I had the best of both worlds: deer in the backyard and city lights on the horizon. My summer days were spent in tennis whites learning to slide on clay, and weekends were spent in the city visiting museums or Tribeca trattorias. I was always fascinated with city life, but being close was never good enough. I wanted that life, and I knew that I, too, would end up renting a few square feet of vertical living space.

But after spending seven years living in Manhattan, I now dream of a more rural life. So when the opportunity for a weekend exodus arises, I’m usually the first to sign up. Among my latest escapes: “Stretchy Pant Weekend” in the Berkshires with Adrienne, Francesca, and Adam.

Adrienne and I can never seem to travel without issues. For one thing, I often start the festivities the night before my departure, and then have to travel dehydrated and lacking sleep. Our Berkshires journey was no exception. The drive up was further complicated by rain, hydroplaning, and my need to stop twice for food and milkshakes. But after I picked up a Hudson River Valley real estate leaflet, our spirits were bolstered with talk of purchasing a home to share with friends.

As with our cooking adventures, the plans quickly escalated. Within minutes we went from looking for a simple country house to purchasing an abandoned airport set on 40 acres. I’d have an orchard; Adrienne would run an auction house; and we’d alternate nights sleeping with a headset on in case we had a bogey coming in hot on our runway. For the moment, Cartersberg Orchard, Auction House, & Duty Free was our future. We did, after all, name it after ourselves—or at least the combination of our last names.

After a weekend of relaxing, cooking, and eating, we hit hours of traffic on the ride home, and plans for the Cartersberg property have since been sidelined. I know that I’m addicted to NYC, with it’s pace, culture, and conveniences. For now I’ll settle for weekends away with good friends and good food.

Adrienne has already posted her Confusion Ribs and Splendid Mojito recipes. Here’s some of what I brought to the table:

Dijon Thyme Shrimp


1 lb 16-20 count uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon-thyme or herbes de provence
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp fresh pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently until the shrimp are coated. Allow flavors to combine in the fridge for at least 2 hours or for 30-45 minutes at room temperature. (If kept in the fridge, allow the shrimp to come up to room temperature before cooking).

Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with olive oil and bring it up to medium heat. Add the shrimp in one layer (otherwise they will steam rather than sauté) and cook approximately 2 minutes per side, or until pink.

Goat Cheesecake


2 boxes cream cheese, at room temperature
10.5 – 11oz goat cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
Pinch of kosher salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
Zest of half a lemon
1 frozen pie crust or graham cracker crust (I never bake/make my own, store bought works perfectly).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine cream cheese, goat cheese, and sour cream in the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor. Mix until smooth and then add in the sugar, flour, and pinch (small) of salt. Slowly mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add lemon zest.

Pour the mixture into the crust and place the filled crust on a baking sheet. Bake until set in the center – about an hour. Allow to cool and then place in the fridge until cold.

I also love this cheesecake with mascarpone instead of cream cheese, and ricotta instead of sour cream. Try serving it or the variation with blueberries with fresh lemon juice and thyme, or any of your favorite fruits.

(Adrienne Note: This cheesecake doesn’t last long. Francesca and Jason proceeded to consume most of it the night of our big meal. Adam and I merely watch in amusement. It is that good.)
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Stretchy Pant Weekend, with boys

By Adrienne

Recipes: Confusion Ribs & Splendid Mojitos

The concept of stretchy pant weekend (SPW) was invented in the Berkshires a few years ago. These are the basics. My friend Francesca, aka FP, invites me to her mom’s place in Massachusetts, or I invite myself. Boys are not included. For the entire weekend, stretchy pants with elastic waste bands are worn. Showers are optional, although we generally regret that decision on the drive home.

We try to do this a couple of times a year. It’s much the same every time. We grab diner food on the way up late Friday night. The food is consumed over too much red wine. Saturday night is our big blowout meal. We go shopping at Guidos, the high-end market in Pittsfield. Typically, lamb is served, accompanied by more wine. We buy cheese and wine at the wine & cheese shop down the street. (The shop has a name, Nejame’s. But we always refer to it simply as “the wine & cheese shop.”)

This past weekend we invited boys, Adam and Jason. I didn’t know what to expect. I spend a fair amount of time with both Jason and Adam. But stretchy pant weekend is about getting in touch with our inner slob. I wasn’t sure how boys would factor into it. I wasn’t even sure Jason understood the philosophy of stretchy pant weekend. The week before the trip he sent me e-mails with plans for the weekend, including skeet shooting. That’s just not what the SPW is about.

Needless to say, we had to make a few adjustments. We all regularly showered. I actually put on makeup once and wore something other than sweat pants. And rather than cooking at lunch on Sunday, we went to a restaurant on the lake. Blasphemous for SPW.

But ultimately the spirit remained: a lazy, relaxing weekend filled with food. FP handled dinner Friday night, a meat feast with chicken and beef kabobs. We drove to our friend Matt’s place in Otis for a lunch that included yummy barbecue chicken and a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie, courtesy of his boyfriend Brian.

Jason and I took charge of Saturday night dinner. After trips to two grocery stores, one farmer’s market, one petting zoo, a few coffee runs, and the beloved wine and cheese shop, we had all our ingredients.

Here’s what we served.

The Menu
Dijon Thyme Shrimp
Confusion Ribs
Guacamole Salad
Chipotle Rice Pilaf
Goat Cheesecake



Confusion Ribs
These were meant to be Puerto Rican ribs, a dish that first appeared on Top Chef. My friend, Jeremy, sent me the recipe—three times. And each time I kept deleting it from my Blackberry. I had I to wing it without a recipe, and so developed confusion ribs, a fusion of Asian and Latin flavors.

2 racks of pork ribs
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, shredded
2 cups low sodium soy sauce
2 bottles Goya Malta beverage
Salt and pepper
Chinese Five Spice

Preheat oven to 225. Rub ribs with salt, pepper, and Chinese five spice. Wrap them together in foil. Roast in oven for three hours.

Just before the ribs are done—say 15 minutes or so—combine jalapenos, scallions, ginger, and soy sauce. Bring ingredients to boil. Add Malta. Bring to boil, and reduce ingredients by more than half until gooey, glazy, and delicious.

Brush each side of the slow-roasted ribs with glaze, using three-quarters of the glaze. Set aside the remaining glaze. Grill ribs for three to four minutes on each side. Essentially, you want them to be grilled but not charred. After the ribs are grill, rub the remaining glaze on each side of the ribs. Cut and serve.

Splendid Mojitos (ie, the diet mojitos)
(A recipe refined from my mom)

Juice of 12 limes
2 cups of simple Splenda syrup
A bunch of mint
2 liters diet tonic
.75 liters of rum
(Ingredients are for the full bottle of rum. Each serving should be prepared individually as below, rather than by pitcher. It’s all about the art of the cocktail.)

To prepare the simple syrup, combine 2 cups of Splenda and 2 cups of water. Boil until it is approximately half the amount. Cool.

In a pint glass, combine 3 Tbs. of lime juice, 3 Tbs. of simple syrup, and 10 to 15 mint leaves. Muddle together. Add ice to fill the glass. Pour in equal parts rum and diet tonic. Serve, preferably outdoor at sunset.
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