Chefs for Farmers

I went to Chefs for Farmers ("CFF") yesterday at Eden's Garden in Balch Springs. CFF brought together some of the best and brightest chefs in town and joined them with some great local farms to give you a true farm to table experience because, well, the table is right there at the farm. Seriously, one big long communal table for 100 in the middle of a field. All supporting gleantexas.org. It was a perfect day to eat and eat we did.

First, before we get to the dinner,

An Ode to An Appetizer

How do I love thee
Bacon wrapped dates from Cafe Malaga
Let me count the ways
One . . .nom, nom, nom
Two . . . nom, nom, nom
Three . . . nom, nom, nom
Four . . . nom, nom, nom
Ten . . . nom, nom, nom
Eleven . . . nom, nom, nom
Twelve . . . nom, nom, nom
Oh, please don't take them away server.
I still want to eat more.
I will remember you always
Oh delicious bacon wrapped dates

We had to hide our toothpicks of shame because none of us wanted to be conscious of how many of these pieces of heaven we actually ate. I kinda liked, er, loved them. Cafe Malaga is in McKinney and these would be worth that drive.

We took our seats at the long communal table. I can now safely say I finally sat with the cool kids. I didn't really know many of the people I sat by when the evening started but we had an instant rapport which made dining so much more fun. Lots of laughter was had when we weren't stuffing our faces.

First up, Nathan Tate and Randall Copeland of Restaurant AVA in Rockwall. Barking Cat Farms Roasted Sweet Peppers with Local Greens and Brazos Brie (wine pairing: 2008 Cooper Mountain Reserve Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, OR). When I spoke to Chef Copeland at the after party, he told me that he was really excited about being first up and he wanted to keep the dish very simple. It was . . .simply amazing. Purple basil was combined with lightly dressed local greens. To the side, some melted brie on top of roasted yellow sweet peppers. I adored the brie/peppers combo. Smeared on a little bit of the bread placed in whole loaves on the table, yum. I'm a bit embarassed to say this, but when the girl next to me whom I just met didn't want to eat hers, I helped myself right off her plate. It was that good. The sweetness of the pinot gris was a nice pairing with the peppers and cheese as well.

Second course, Abraham Salum and Al Havens of Salum. Seared Scallops with Eden's Cucuzza Squash, Caprino Goat Cheese, and Pancetta Bread Pudding with Grain Mustard Viniagrette (wine pairing: 2007 Brooks "Ava" Riesling, Willamette Valley, OR). What's a cucuzza squash you might ask? It looks like a pale zucchini on steroids. They have a zucchini flavor but retain their firmness better when cooked. Chef Salum carried around a cucuzza proudly when explaining his dish -- which, by the way, was probably the BEST scallop dish I have ever tasted. As everyone who loves scallops knows, they aren't the easiest things to cook. They get chewy quite easily. How they managed to cook 300 of these scallops to perfection, I have no idea. Melt in your mouth good. I was extremely hesitant about the riesling pairing since I was convinced the sweetness of the riesling would ruin the scallop perfection. Imagine my surprise when I tasted the riesling and it was dry. A wonderful pairing. Crisp but not overpowering.

Third course, Matt McCallister of Stephan Pyles. Smoked Tennessee Duck Breast with Spiced Pumpkin Puree and Rocky's Swiss Chard (and red celery and pomagranate seeds) (wine pairing: 2007 Brooks "Janus" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR). When I saw duck, I sighed. I'm not a huge duck fan. It's a bit too greasy for me. But smoked duck breast (aka "duck ham") made me a duck convert. The smokiness took all of that ducky fat out of it and made it so good. The pumpkin puree and the crunchiness of the celery and the sweetness of the pomagranate seeds threatened to be "one thing too many" but they combined to make a complete dish. I wasn't too crazy about the wine pairing for this course, however. I thought the pinot was a bit too overpowering for the dish. I understood what they were trying to do in light of the smokiness of the duck, but it didn't quite work. Who knows, maybe I was just over Willamette County at this point.

Fourth Course, Bruno Davaillon of The Mansion at Turtle Creek. Confit of Local Pork Belly with Blood Sausage, Heirloom Apple, Rapini, Chestnut and Aged Sherry Vinegar (wine pairing, Anam Cara "Nicholas Estate" Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains, OR). Ok, I'll admit it, I was a bit terrified when I saw "blood sausage" on the menu. I've had it once before and it kind of "oog'ed" me out. But this was Bruno Davaillon and this was his beautiful interpretation of blood sausage. It had a very mild flavor and smooth texture which actually reminded me a lot of one of my favorite Polish breakfasts, kishka. I said this out loud at the table, and one of my table mates started belting out the Kishka Song which made me laugh. This silly little song was like a lullaby to me and my sisters growing up and I honestly thought it was something my grandparents had made made up. It's a polka (of course) and goes like this:

Who stole the kishka
Who stole the kishka
Who stole the kishka
From the butcher shop?

Silly I know, but, hey, I'm Polish, and we do silly well.

But I digress, this course was delicious. I enjoyed the contrast between the sweetness of the apple and chestnuts and the sausage and pork belly. As for the wine pairing, I enjoyed this Pinot better than the last and would have probably preferred the pinot served with Chef McCallister's course with this dish and vice versa.

Fourth course, oh, dear, how can I eat any more? But it's Chad Houser and Janice Provost of Parigi and they were making Burgundy Beef "pot roast" deconstructed (wine pairing 2005 Boudreaux Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington State). I love me some pot roast so I was excited. Served with root vegestables and mashed potatoes, this was a slight miss. It was very tasty and the meat was very tender but compared to the previous dishes, it just didn't have that wow factor the other dishes had. And it needed just a touch more salt and pepper. I enjoyed the Cab though. Cajun goes to Washington, starts a vineyard and calls it Boudreaux. Sweet.

And we are finally to the end, Chef McCallister did double duty and made the Gleaned Sweet Potato Panna Cotta with Coconut Lemongrass Sauce (wine pairing Anam Cara "Nicholas Estate" Gewurtztraminer, Chehalem Mountains, OR). Luckily, it tasted nothing like Boston Cream Pie Yogurt (sorry, inside joke). It was very good. Not too sweet but just sweet enough to make your sweet tooth happy at the end of a long meal.

It was an amazing night. Great food, great wine, great weather, great people and a great time. Not only was the food fantastic but I was absolutely amazed with all of the chefs. They looked like they were having so much fun and they were constantly helping out each other. The comraderie was amazing. No egos could be seen here. They were plating and serving each other's food and smiling the whole time. Great job guys.

After dinner, many of us convened to Veritas where Brooks and the gang hosted an after party with food provided by Horne & Dekker next door. I honestly couldn't eat another bite (although drinking 2 more glasses was apparently no problem whatsoever), so I couldn't tell you what food was served or what it tasted like. But it was great to see the party continue. A sign of a truly successful event.

A final word to my dear friend, Iris McCallister, who organized this event. Iris, you are truly amazing. Your drive was awesome to watch and your biting wit made those late night calls and emails about the little details so much fun. You honored me with your Special Thanks but I was the one truly honored that you let me share just a little part of this with you. I cannot wait for the next event!

Cheers!