Sorry, my loyal 10 or so WiDiDallas followers. This thing called "earning a living" seems to have put a cramp in my blogging style. But now that I see that light at the end of the tunnel (which may or may not be an oncoming train), I have some time to blog about the fantastic event I went to on Sunday, Chefs For Farmers Fort Worth.
The dinner was held at Times Ten in Fort Worth. No long table in a field this time which I was grateful for since, well, it's December and freaking cold outside. Instead there were 3 long tables in one big room. Although there were only about 25 more people there than the last one, it felt like there were 3 times as many. Guess being indoors instead of a vast field changes the perspective.
L and I were running late and got there just before things started. So, alas we missed the Il Cane Rosso pizza that served as an appetizer. No infamous bacon wrapped dates this time so the toothpick count was zero (sad face). We grabbed a glass of x10 white and sat down in one of the last seats available. Thank you C for saving them for us!
Here's a run down of the courses. Every one of them delicious.
Amuse: Roasted Sunchoke Soup. Matt McCallister. A perfect amuse bouche. So many complex flavors in one little shot. The soup was topped with a parsley foam and the shot glass was rimmed with salt. Delicious. Not embarrassed to say I tilted my head back to make sure I got every bit of what was contained in the shot glass. Not that I have any experience in doing shots, mind you . . .
Course No. 1. Blue crab and white gazpacho cocktail with a hint of white truffle. Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's Restaurant (paired with Dunham Cellars Riesling, Columbia Valley 2008). I wasn't too sure about this dish since I would never think about ordering gazpacho in December but it was a knockout. A ton of crab and not too much white truffle. Would love to have some for lunch today. The pairing was nice as well. It was a bit sweeter than the dry rieslings I have previously tried but the sweetness of the wine contrasted nicely with the acidity of the gazpacho.
No. 2. Assiette of smoked fish, turnips, pickled radish, smoked roe and melba. Blaine Staniford of Grace (paired with Distefano Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley, 2009). I heard later that this was either people's favorite or least favorite dish. For me, it was my favorite dish of the night. I think the naysayers were probably turned off by the smoked fish aspect, since it is such a strong flavor. But I love smoked fish so I reveled in this dish's beauty and taste. Yum. The Sauvignon Blanc was a nice complement as well.
The dinner was held at Times Ten in Fort Worth. No long table in a field this time which I was grateful for since, well, it's December and freaking cold outside. Instead there were 3 long tables in one big room. Although there were only about 25 more people there than the last one, it felt like there were 3 times as many. Guess being indoors instead of a vast field changes the perspective.
L and I were running late and got there just before things started. So, alas we missed the Il Cane Rosso pizza that served as an appetizer. No infamous bacon wrapped dates this time so the toothpick count was zero (sad face). We grabbed a glass of x10 white and sat down in one of the last seats available. Thank you C for saving them for us!
Here's a run down of the courses. Every one of them delicious.
Amuse: Roasted Sunchoke Soup. Matt McCallister. A perfect amuse bouche. So many complex flavors in one little shot. The soup was topped with a parsley foam and the shot glass was rimmed with salt. Delicious. Not embarrassed to say I tilted my head back to make sure I got every bit of what was contained in the shot glass. Not that I have any experience in doing shots, mind you . . .
Course No. 1. Blue crab and white gazpacho cocktail with a hint of white truffle. Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's Restaurant (paired with Dunham Cellars Riesling, Columbia Valley 2008). I wasn't too sure about this dish since I would never think about ordering gazpacho in December but it was a knockout. A ton of crab and not too much white truffle. Would love to have some for lunch today. The pairing was nice as well. It was a bit sweeter than the dry rieslings I have previously tried but the sweetness of the wine contrasted nicely with the acidity of the gazpacho.
No. 2. Assiette of smoked fish, turnips, pickled radish, smoked roe and melba. Blaine Staniford of Grace (paired with Distefano Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley, 2009). I heard later that this was either people's favorite or least favorite dish. For me, it was my favorite dish of the night. I think the naysayers were probably turned off by the smoked fish aspect, since it is such a strong flavor. But I love smoked fish so I reveled in this dish's beauty and taste. Yum. The Sauvignon Blanc was a nice complement as well.
No. 3. Rocky's Micro Beet Salad with Baby Fennel and Watercress Goat Cheese, Baby Leek Ranch and Sunflower Sprouts. Dan Landsberg (paired with Dunham Cellars Chardonnay, Shirley Mays, Columbia Valley 2009). I was happy to receive a second helping of the goat cheese because my dining companion L has her evil goat cheese aversion but this salad didn't wow me. The micro greens were difficult to eat. For some reason my knife refused to do its job and cut the stupid stems. It was probably user error I'm sure. Plus, I love beets and it just didn't feel like there was enough of them or enough flavor from them. Maybe I was expecting something macro out of micro beets. Who knows.
The wine, although not a standout, did have a great story. Shirley Mays is actually the wine makers grandmother who died of breast cancer. A portion of the proceeds from this wine's sale goes to support breast cancer charities. I, for one, am always willing to drink for a good cause.
No. 4. Braised pork shank with cheddar apple dumpling. Dena Peterson Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (paired with Dunham Cellars Syrah, Columbia Valley, 2006). First, Chef Peterson managed to sneak some bacon in the braised pork shank and, as you know, I'm a big fan of bacon. But it wasn't the pork that stood out for me in this dish. It was the cheddar apple dumpling. It was not so much a dumpling but a really compact cheddar apple pie. Simply perfect on a cold December night. Sorry, don't remember much about the wine. Too dazzled by that dumpling, I guess. (um, that's what she said?)
No. 5 (dear waist line, I'm sorry). Stracotta of burgundy pasture beef on chickpea panissa, shiitake and bright lights chard. Michael Morabito of Colonial Country Club (paired with Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate XII, Columbia Valley, 2006). When we were served our dish, L looked down and said "wait, I need a new knife." Never fear, L, there was no need for a knife. The beef was that tender. While this dish was good, it wasn't a stand out for me. The dish was cooked well and the flavors were well-balanced but I honestly think that I was so full at this point I was kind of done. Of course, we still had dessert . . .
No. 6. Pave with homemade creme fraiche, and crystallized organic lavender. Zach Townsend of Pure Chocolate Desserts (paired with Dunham Cellars, Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley, 2008). I'm not sure what a pave exactly is, but it sure tasted like a chocolate cake to me. I liked the touch of crystallized lavender. Just enough so it didn't taste like you were eating soap (which is a bad thing. Trust me. My mom is old school and I had my mouth washed out with soap on more than one occasion growing up.). This final course tasted fine but was a bit too heavy for me after all that food I just had consumed. Would have preferred something more mousse like perhaps.
After dinner we then drove out to the country (like FW isn't country enough) and had a bonfire. So glad I went. There was a guy with a guitar singing Cowboy songs. There was a little 4 year old cowboy who decided he was going to the be the host with the most in his 10 gallon hat. There was hot chocolate. There was a Rahr beer keg. Did I mention there was a bonfire which Matt McCallister wanted to make as high as possible?
As we were lounging by the fire, out of the blue a horse with an Indian in full war paint comes charging at us. Eeek. Indian was not so terrifying when my little 4 year old cowboy friend walked up to him and said, "hi Kevin." Adorbs.
Dan Landsberg then showed up with some homemade marshmallows for roasting. I haven't roasted marshmallows by the campfire since my Girl Scout days. Oh, so good. This experience really kind of put the Tillman's smores to shame. Just can't duplicate a real live bonfire in a restaurant. Fire marshall would probably frown upon that. Though it would be totally cool.
Yet another fantastic CFF event. Can't wait until the next one in March. WiDiDallas knows the scoop but can't share it quite yet. Trust me. It's going to be amazing. You should go!
Cheers!
No. 6. Pave with homemade creme fraiche, and crystallized organic lavender. Zach Townsend of Pure Chocolate Desserts (paired with Dunham Cellars, Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley, 2008). I'm not sure what a pave exactly is, but it sure tasted like a chocolate cake to me. I liked the touch of crystallized lavender. Just enough so it didn't taste like you were eating soap (which is a bad thing. Trust me. My mom is old school and I had my mouth washed out with soap on more than one occasion growing up.). This final course tasted fine but was a bit too heavy for me after all that food I just had consumed. Would have preferred something more mousse like perhaps.
After dinner we then drove out to the country (like FW isn't country enough) and had a bonfire. So glad I went. There was a guy with a guitar singing Cowboy songs. There was a little 4 year old cowboy who decided he was going to the be the host with the most in his 10 gallon hat. There was hot chocolate. There was a Rahr beer keg. Did I mention there was a bonfire which Matt McCallister wanted to make as high as possible?
As we were lounging by the fire, out of the blue a horse with an Indian in full war paint comes charging at us. Eeek. Indian was not so terrifying when my little 4 year old cowboy friend walked up to him and said, "hi Kevin." Adorbs.
Dan Landsberg then showed up with some homemade marshmallows for roasting. I haven't roasted marshmallows by the campfire since my Girl Scout days. Oh, so good. This experience really kind of put the Tillman's smores to shame. Just can't duplicate a real live bonfire in a restaurant. Fire marshall would probably frown upon that. Though it would be totally cool.
Yet another fantastic CFF event. Can't wait until the next one in March. WiDiDallas knows the scoop but can't share it quite yet. Trust me. It's going to be amazing. You should go!
Cheers!
Great post. Wish I could have been there!
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