Walla Walla’s Salumiere Cesario launches new website

Salumiere Cesario, Walla Walla gourmet grocery, is offering a glimpse of its goods on a new website.

Owners Damon and Colby Burke have launched a new site dedicated to food at www.salumierecesario.com .

The site features detailed information about the products, as well as frequent updates about the store’s freshly prepared soups, pastas, sandwiches and more, according to an announcement.

An eCommerce addition is in the works so that customers will eventually be able to purchase foods online.

Designed and developed by Seattle-based TrueGood Creative, the site is a colorful showcase of the store’s products with easy navigation. Built on the WordPress content management system, staff can post updates on products, events and specials easily.

Damon Burke said customers can also connect with the store, 20 N. Second Ave., through Facebook and Twitter; read reviews on Urban Spoon and Yelp; subscribe to an RSS feed of the store’s blog; and sign up for Salumiere’s monthly eNewsletter.

“With the increasing importance of social networking in today’s business circles, we knew we needed to keep on the forefront of this movement,” Burke said in a prepared statement. “We hope to keep very active in today’s online communities to keep our fans and customers up to speed about the new and exciting things we have happening at the shop.

Recipes – Pasta Bolognese

Ingredients:

1/2 lb each: Ground beef , ground pork, ground lamb or veal (we use lamb)
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes (we prefer the San Marzano)
1 onion, finely diced
3 carrots, finely diced
4 celery stalks, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 to 11/2 cup dry white wine, preferably un-oaked
1 cup chopped Pancetta or Bacon
2 tbsp herbs de provence without lavender, freshly ground
(we use a mortar and pestle).
1 to 2 packages of dried long pasta such as linguini
(one package for every four adults)

Salt and pepper to taste
(Note: Salt should be added sparingly until just prior to serving as liquid will reduce and intensify the flavors.)
Fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk or cream

Method:
In a heavy, deep sauce pan (5 to 7 quart) over high heat, brown all meats except pancetta/bacon. To keep meat from sticking we add 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil before adding meat. Make sure that your pan is HOT before adding oil or meat or browning will be an issue. Reduce heat if smoking occurs. Once all meat is evenly browned, remove from pan with slotted or perforated spoon, leaving fat. Remove half to three-quarters of the fat. add bacon/pancetta and brown, reducing heat if smoking occurs. Remove bacon/pancetta once browned. add carrots, celery, onion. DO NOT STIR. The key here is to caramelize your root vegetables so the sweetness comes out and enhances the depth of flavor.

Shake pan every five minutes to see how browning is coming along. Once caramelized add garlic and tomato paste, stir and allow to caramelized. DO NOT BURN GaRlIC. Once tomato paste has caramelize (2 to 3 minutes) add wine to deglaze, being sure to scrape bottom of pan to remove browned bits, aka good stuff. add meat back to pan (not bacon, it is for you to munch on while cooking or add to a salad). Stir. add tomatoes and any juice from cans. Stir. lower heat to low simmer. Stir. add seasoning as necessary, salt, pepper, herbs. DO NOT aDD NUTMEG. Stir. adjust seasoning as necessary, remembering that this needs to simmer for at least onehalf hour and as it sits the taste will intensify, so add salt cautiously. Stir. Just prior to finish add 1/8 tsp (I don’t measure so this is a best guess, add more if you want) fresh nutmeg. add milk. Stir. Boil pasta. When pasta is still slightly undercooked (i.e. crunchy on the inside) remove from water. add pasta, along with one ladle full of pasta water to a large sauté pan. add 2 to 3 ladles of sauce. Over medium heat combine pasta, sauce and pasta water. When pasta is al dente (still slightly firm, but not crunchy on the inside) plate. For a portion you only need 2 to 4 ounces of pasta per person. add one large tablespoon of sauce to each portion. Serve. Enjoy!

The recipe is courtesy of Damon Burke of Salumiere Cesario

The Chef’s Table – Damon Burke

Damon Burke talks to his food. Or at least I imagine he does, and perhaps it talks back because he seems to have an otherworldly relationship with every product in his small, but carefully stocked grocery. He can tell you the history and uses of everything from ground mustard to Turkish olive oil in a way that makes them come alive. And don’t even get me started with his meats and cheeses, which have practically landed me in a 12-step program.

After working in the film business for almost 10 years, Burke was disillusioned and burned out. He left the set of “First Daughter” to work grape harvest in Walla Walla, seeking sanity and quality of life.

Burke and his wife, Colby, opened Salumiere Cesario to present products they were passionate about. Products to “expand and delight the palate,”
Burke says.

“When I came to work harvest, I made a mental list in the back of my head of everything I couldn’t find: out-of-area wines, prosciutto, cheeses that I had fallen in love with in LA, things I had become accustomed to. We started making a list and then it was just do it! Open a small grocery. I think I wanted to change the way people eat. Instead of having a
“ginormous” dinner with a 16-ounce steak, go with a 4-ounce steak, and a little salad and a little charcuterie before dinner and afterwards; instead of a piece of pie, do a little cheese.”

Burke combined Salumiere, which means grocer in Italian, and Cesario (pronounced CHE-sario), his grandmother’s maiden name, chosen as a way to honor her memory.

“She used to tell us bedtime stories, and no matter how many times I heard the same one, I’d never tire of it. That’s why I wanted to get into film — to tell stories — and in a way, I feel like that’s what we’re doing here.”

Where did the idea of the cheese closet come from?
BURKE: Did you ever watch that Kardashian show?

(Eyebrow raise. Where is he going with this?)
BURKE: O.K., so we don’t watch that show. But there’s this place they have lunch — (The) Blue Table, which we used to frequent. The fi rst time I went into their cheese closet there …

… and $150 later?
BURKE: I won’t say. I will tell you that it totally changed the way I viewed cheese.

What’s with all the salts?
BURKE: (laughing) I wish I knew. I started out with Gray salt for cooking and Fleur de Sel for fi nishing. Now we’ve got smoked salt, truffl e salt, lemon salt – put that on the rim of your margarita and it’s absolutely fantastic. We’ve got lime salt, green chile and habanero salt – those two on French fries (Burke rolls his eyes and tilts his head back) … unbelievable.

I notice you make your own pickles and have heard rave reviews. I’ve never liked pickles until they were used in a sandwich recently. I wouldn’t have eaten it without them.
BURKE: (pointing to me, touching his nose and pulling his earlobe like a baseball pitcher) You get it now, right? That’s what it’s about. It’s that thing that without it, it’s not the same.

Pet peeve?
BURKE: When people say, “Well, it’s good for Walla Walla.” Either it’s good or it’s not. I don’t accept mediocrity.

That sounds like a good motto.
BURKE: That and don’t ever half-ass anything. And, I don’t like fuss in food. If you can’t eat it (referring to garnish) why is it there? Seriously!

So people can sit and have a “meal” here now. I see this pickled cucumber Korean style on your menu, which seems unlikely for here.
BURKE: Do you want to taste it? (Pause while Damon brings a sample) Now imagine that with a cold beer. It’s not popcorn, it’s not chips, but it fills the same purpose (with no calories). Think about it: hot summer day, you’re sipping on your beer, a little oi kimchee and the world is right.

I can hardly wait.