Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1057568
109 Clockwise from top, saffron panna cotta with cardamom cream, focaccia with olive oil, rosemary, proscuitto, and vin santo-cured chestnuts and Lynch in her Gloucester kitchen. classic spread last year, including two turkeys stuffed with her mom's recipe: Pepperidge Farm bread with Bell's Seasoning and a "load of butter." Christmas isn't much less crazy; last year she fed about 30 people. "I forgot who I invited," Lynch says with a laugh. "We were opening gifts, then rewrapping them to give to other people." Her nephew strung up twinkle lights in the garden, and the menu included chicken Parmesan—her daughter Marchesa's favorite—and ricotta ravioli. Chicken parm and twinkle lights will not be on the menu for the holidays at No. 9 Park, but it's still pretty special. In addition to din- ner service, the restaurant opens for lunch from November 26 to December 21, with a menu that includes luxe offerings like roast goose for two, a French onion soup redolent of braised oxtail, and seared foie gras, with a toffee bûche de Noël for dessert. When celebrating at home, Lynch prefers more intimate dinner parties with simple, beautiful food that can be mostly done in advance. "Don't slave. Just don't slave," she advises. "Get the shopping done two days ahead and you're golden." Want to impress your guests? Bake the focaccia studded with vin santo–soaked chestnuts and speck that Lynch learned how to make decades ago on her first trip to Italy. "Focaccia is my favorite dish," Lynch says, still reveling in the memory of Mita Antolini, the woman who taught her to make it, entering the kitchen with an apron full of chestnuts. "I didn't speak a word of Italian," she recalls. Just as her restaurants show a mix of Italian and French techniques, a dinner party is likely to draw from both countries. A favorite main course is poulet au pain— chicken roasted inside a crisp bread crust. e brilliance of this dish is that the chicken comes out of the oven up to two hours before serving, because it continues cooking inside its bread casing. Served with a festive grilled radicchio salad, it makes for an elegant table, but everything can be prepared before the guests even arrive. "It's not fussy," Lynch says. "It's just food you want to eat." Her large FiveStar range at home is getting quite a workout, but Lynch has yet to put her stamp on the kitchen. While she's still thinking through what changes she'd like to make, she's feeling rooted in the community. e chef spends at least several nights a week here, splitting her time with a place in Boston, while Marchesa moves between Winchester, where she lives with her dad, and Gloucester. e city's mix of working-class waterfront, artist colony, and upscale shopping and din- ing suit Lynch's own style. "I like the people