Goat Cheese Medallions
Recipe by Beth Vogt.
a cook's life
Champagne Before Dessert: Beth Vogt
Dining at Beth Vogt’s handsome Victorian Village home includes not just a fantastic meal but an overall experience, says David Creighton, Beth’s business partner and friend. The two own Over the Counter Restaurant in Worthington. “One of the things that is so special about Beth,” he says, “is that it’s not just about her food, which is excellent, but it’s the atmosphere she creates.”
During the holiday season, Beth organizes a remarkable Christmas dinner for friends. A vegetarian, she spends the day lovingly crafting beef tenderloin with a sour cream crust for her guests simply because “people really like it,” she says. Thanksgiving meals, game nights and themed culinary adventures have filled her home, like the time she prepared muffaletta sandwiches fresh off a trip to New Orleans.
Beth’s house, which she shares with her husband, Rob, and several cats, features an elegant dining room, where an array of clocks tick amongst the 19th century period décor that matches the home’s architecture. Beth hosts dinner parties in the space, where she can seat 25 and meals are served on matching period china.
Outside, a stunning garden and a fantastic patio built for entertaining occupy the property’s grounds. Beth grows a variety of herbs in the garden, which she has lovingly tended since she and Rob bought the house in 1990 and transformed it from a five-unit apartment building back to its single-family grandeur.
On the day that I visit, Beth’s business partner David is in the kitchen after a work meeting at her house. He opens the fridge, finds last night’s leftovers of homemade chicken, mashed potatoes and asparagus and says, “Last night was Monday. After working all day at the restaurant, she comes home and makes something that would be a Sunday meal in most households.”
Later, in the dining room, Beth shows me how she sets the table for one of her holiday fetes. A stack of dishes that account for a meal’s various courses greets guests upon arrival at the table. Three crystal glasses at a place setting sparkle under the room’s chandelier. One is for champagne, Beth tells me. “You always serve champagne?” I ask. “Usually,” she says nonchalantly. “After dinner and before dessert.” Her parties have also been known to start with a drink in the nearby parlor.
An avid reader and collector of cookbooks, Beth brings home a book each time she travels. The books inspire her, she says. Yet in the kitchen she finds that her cooking usually strays from written recipes as she likes to add her own spin. Beth is known for her summertime Low Country boil, held in her beautiful garden; her potato salad, served hot and made with crisp, roasted potatoes with a base of mayonnaise, mustard, balsamic vinegar and scallions; her “magic bread,” grilled and accompanied by a homemade herb butter; as well as a slew of other inventive, from-scratch meals.
“All of my favorite moments center on cooking for friends and family,” Beth says. “Everyone enjoying good food and spirits, good conversation. I love to create that experience for people.” A grandfather clock nearby, as well as some tableware, are family heirlooms. Beth tells me that she was thrilled to inherit these treasures from her grandparents, who taught her the art of a well-dressed table and celebratory meal.
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