Meat Fest II / Rose Roundup

This mornings pork forcemeat, foie gras and cured salmon omelette just about finishes the last of the left overs from Meat Fest II. Thank you all for coming out. It was a gaye olde time!

For those of you who did not make it to Meat Fest II/Rose Round Up, this post is for you--that is, this post is intended to make you feel bad about being you and the bad choices you made and, hopefully, encourage you to re-think your bad choices as we turn our sights to Meat Fest III and which ever varietal we decide to compare and contrast in the wine portion of the festivity.

Before getting to the food, let's look at the Rose Round-up. Some of you might remember the Gewurztraminer Getdown of 2009, though it is likely that none of you remember (with any precision that is) the results of said event. Sure, the delightful and delicious Gehringer Brothers Schonburger Gewurztraminer stood steady at or near the top--but that's a no brainer. Of course Gehringer Brothers Schonburger Gewurztraminer stood steady at or near the top. But certainly there were other contenders, victors and disappointers. When isn't there a disappointer in the group?

In light of this statistical imprecision, this year, steps were taken to insure thorough and precise data collection for open distribution and equal utility for all:



As you can see from the above chart, testing was thorough and extensive. (Click on image to enlarge.)

To insure quality data collection, the wines were also carefully presented in a random fashion so as not to influence perceptions by "shelf location."



Here is the list of participants:

Gazela (product of Portugal)
See Ya Later Nelly 2009
Road 13 Honest John's 2009 rose
Dunham Frose rose 2009
Dirty Laundry Hush 2009
Quails Gate rose 2009
Silkscarf 2008 shiraz saignee
Tinhorn Creek oldfield series 2bench rose 2009
Marques de Caceres 2009 rioja (Spain)
Domaine Clair Dau Rose de Marsannay Louis Jadot 2008
Jackson Triggs unity white merlot
Chat-en-Oeuf 2009 (france)
The View Distraction 2009
Emeri pink Moscato (south eastern australia)
Quinta Ferreira rose 2009
Le Vieux Pin Vaila 2009
Pascual Toso Malbec rose 2009 (argentina)
Seven Stones Speaking Rock 2009 pinot rose
Strut Risque rose 2008 (half bottle remains)
Arrowleaf Red Reather rose 2008 (half bottle remains)
Jackson Triggs 2008 Proprietors Reserve rose
Henkell rose
Gray Monk 2008 Rotberger
La Vieille Ferme Recolte 2009

A few things caught my attention.

1. Seven Stones won the gold, Tinhorn the silver and LVP Viala, Marques de Caceres, Road 13 and Dunham Froese tied for bronze.

2. There were four bottles of road 13's Rose and 3 bottles of Qunita Fererria, with people lunging for the '08

3. The Dunham and Froese had the most votes in the #2 colum "wouldn't pass it up" with seven votes, while the most anyone else got was two. A bronze in the "excellent" class, a gold in the "wouldn't pass up" class.

4. The wine that got the most "nice try" votes was a rose made from Malbec grapes.

The remaining wine from the evening was combined and inoculated with organic cider vinegar with the intent of making a red/rose wine vinegar from the event. Hopefully it can mother the wines of the next event!


Now on to Meat Fest:

The obvious place to start is with the pig as it is from the pig that so much radiated...





...Like bacon caramel



...and bacon popcorn peanut pop on a stick what nots


...don't forget blood thickened pasta with pig tails.


Of course there was beef. And while the beef was a little less conspicuous than the pork, it was staggeringly good. Like tripe in jelly.

UNBELIEVEABLE! Can someone remind me again why tripe-in-jelly isn't on at least one charcuterie plate here in the valley? Oh, and don't give me that ol' "people don't eat tripe and we won't be able to sell it and make money" line of nonsense--that's not a suitable answer for anything--least of all around here.

Then there was Okanagan's Finest Angus Beef heart sashimi marinated in the new, unreleased Note Bene (and a pair of white creepers no less!)



Said another way, local cows, fed local wine at a local feed lot, processed (somewhat less) locally, marinated in local wine, fed to people of that locality.

TERROIR ALERT TERROIR ALERT!!! That spooky raw beef heart? A DEFINATIVE CULINARY EXPRESSION OF OKANAGAN TERROIR.

There was also a bit of tallow--for a while anyway, until disaster struck and tallow clogged the gas jets ending the fun and, for all intents and purposes, ruining Meat Fest. (winking face emoticon here.)


The rig was up and running long enough to deep fry some cheeseburger spring rolls (delicious) and a pepper construction featuring cream cheese stuffing, bacon wrapping and all around breading (delicious as well.)

In the "other" category there was bear sausage (yum!)


and elk (made into tacos) and salmon (lox) which sadly did not their photo taken.

Lastly, and clearly most importantly was the very beautiful and thoughtfully made Meat Fest II cake--a cake for the ages that we hold dear to our hearts and will remember and cherish for all times by everyone.



There was also a wonderful pumpkin cheese cake that was hidden from the guests so it could be savoured in private.

I know I've left things out...that's what the comments section is for.

A smashing success all in all. A big thank you to everyone who came, brought and/or cooked.

Lunch feature 5.09.10

Pulled Pork with Peach BBQ Sauce
Grilled Smoked Cheddar & Chili Loaf
Coleslaw with Wildflower Honey Dressing
Fresh Peaches & Peach Mayo

So this feature is just an open faced pulled pork sandwich with a peach kick. I love a sloppy pulled pork as much as the next guy. However, I'm not so sure the people coming to eat at a winery in the South Okanagan necessarily want to have shredded pork cascading down their polo tees and free flowing blouses. With that being said, a little bit of refinement was in order and a fork and knife is always refined, right?

The pork was braised and then shredded before being tossed in a peach BBQ sauce. The sauce was very light, vinegar and mustard based with a lot of peach puree.

As for the bread, Smoked Cheddar from Farmhouse and local chili's. I started with a poolish that was 50/50 whole wheat and white flour. The mix itself was all white flour.

The coleslaw was simple. Cabbage, carrots and onion, with some herbs and a light dressing. The dressing was egg based, dijon, wildflower honey and apple cider vinegar, all emulsified with oil. I hate coleslaw that is bound together with a thick mayo and the pure vinaigrette ones leave me wanting a little bit more, so I find a thin dressing works the best.

The peach mayo was just as it sounds, peaches in mayo. I put some fresh peach slices on as well to add some unadulterated peach love.

I had to plate it all sliding over to make the dish look bigger. I knew that it was enough food, but when I plated it stacked up like a sandwich it looked like it needed to be served with an accompanying side dish. I think it looked good with the slant on it, since it was a slant on a pulled pork anyway. Hmm, my plating was a pun. I'm not sure if I've ever done that before.

Sean Peltier

Lunch feature 07.08.10 pt.1

Crispy pork belly
Grilled poor man's brioche
Sauteed cabbage & onion
Stone fruit chutney
Prawn bisque, mayo & oil

The summer of pork continues with another champion of swine.Who loves an open face crispy pork belly sandwich? I do, you do, we all do.

The pork bellies were braised, then pressed and cooled. Then the were cut to size an pan roasted until crisp. The belly sat on top of some stone fruit chutney(thanks to Shannon's handy work), which sat on top of some cabbage and onions, which sat on top of some grilled poor man's brioche.

This is where the prawn comes in. A bisque is on the plate, which will get all soaked up by the bread. There is an oil made from the prawn shells that is garnishing the bisque. With that same oil I made a mayo that is garnishing the top of the pork belly.

This was one hell of a sandwich, I know that I'll be making this one again sometime.

Sean Peltier.

A Cheeky Little Special

Well, pork again. I never tire of this magical animal.
I wanted to do a pseudo eggs benny with a braised pork cheek and my own english muffins.
So, that's what I did. To go along with that I did a confit of heirloom cherry tomatoes, poached free run egg with a pea and goats yogurt sabayon.
The acidity from the sabayon was really needed to cut all the richness of the pork cheeks and the english muffin. I wanted to eat this one for sure!

Please listen!

One of those "Mouth in the Foot" scenarios

I have been thinking a lot lately about being able to sell the "whole" animal to eaters in a bid to make truly local cuisine viable. You see, the most common argument going for the lack of small local producers of meat is that people don't want to eat anything but the choice cuts, i.e. the tenderloins, strip loins, rib steaks, breast meat. Therefore, they can not supply enough to fuel a restaurant. I could go on and on about all the parts of the animal that "people just won't eat". These variety cuts such as hoof, heads, testicles, sweetbreads, livers, hearts, etc. apparently don't have their collective finger on the pulse of the consumer.

Today my friends, I have proven the critics wrong, and boy did I need that. I refuse to believe that the only way to make a go of it is by selling steak. That is not what is in store for a successful, sustainable Okanagan. I must admit, that before the sales and praise for this feature were so positive, I didn't think I'd sell any. What was I selling? A pigs cheeks stuffed into a pigs foot, then braised and then deep fried. Sounds awesome to me, and apparently it sounded interesting enough for people to order it. I was really shocked at the reception this special received. People were picking up the remaining scraps of the hoof and sucking natural jelly out from between the toes and nibbling breading off the toe nails. Not a single plate came back with anything more than some toe nails and cartilage. I was blown away. Humbled even. I was really looking at the dining public with a lot of pessimism as of late. Not any more.

So, the dish.

For the trotters:
I removed the shank from the trotters which came from the front half of the pig. You have to use the front feet because they are the ones with shanks and moving joints which can be removed. The hind legs of a pig are straight bone. Once the shanks were removed(pain in the ass, but got much better towards the last few) I filled the cavity with diced up pork cheek and a little farce made from the cheek as well, with the addition of some seasoning and herbs. I then tied them up and wrapped them in cheese cloth.

I then braised them for 4 hours in a liquid of chicken stock, vegetables, herbs and cherries.

Once they were finished braising I let them cool in the braise in order to let them absorb some of the moisture they lost in the cook.

Once they were cooled I cut off the string and then breaded them.
(does this not look like a little pig?)


For the beans:
The night prior to cooking the beans it is important to soak the beans. Firstly, it inhibits the enzyme that causes flatulence and secondly it speeds up the cooking time. We have always been taught not to cook beans in salted water because it prevents them from cooking properly and makes them all wrinkly with a weird texture. All of this is true. What I didn't know until a few weeks ago, thanks to Jon, is that you can brine beans in salt and they will absorb all the flavored goodness and cook just fine as well. So, of course, that's what I did.
Once soaked overnight I drained the beans from the brine and rinsed them off. I then cooked them in an aromatic vegetable broth until 90% finished. Separately, I cooked off a mirepoix and then added that to the beans once they were cool.
With the Braising liquid, I reduced it to a sauce consistency then added the beans and veg to that. Lovely.

To go along with all this I put a nice helping of horseradish mayo, some great arugula from the Peltier family garden, some shaved granna padano and for that all important acid component some cherry relish(to go with the cherry in the braise)

Sorry, if I ramble, but this was a great day for me. I really didn't think it would sell. I really wanted it to, and it did. Hopefully this is only the beginning of things to come.

Look at that, four at once. One to a lady who already ate, she saw it go by and had to order one for dessert. The other three to a part of four from Ontario who were waiting in the parking lot to talk to me about how much they loved it. That was a little over the top. That kind of attention can be dangerous. You know what the best part of it was? They didn't even ask my name, they just wanted to talk about the pork feet. They will go home and tell people that if you wanna eat stuff like pork cheeks stuffed in trotters that they need to go to the Okanagan. That is what this is all about. Sell the Okanagan as the real food and wine mecca it deserves to be.

How to sell a feature 101: Wrap it in bacon!

Today's feature sold like hotcakes. Then again, when is the last time you've seen hot cakes sell like hotcakes. I think perhaps that saying needs to change. What is selling a lot these days. Well, Canada's mortality rate is dwindling, perhaps condoms are selling really well these days. I say that the phrase, 'sold like hotcakes' be changed to 'sold like rubbers'...I digress. The feature sold well. In fact 25 portions in no time at all. Lesson, wrap everything in bacon!

I took some Ling Cod with a sage leaf on top and wrapped it in Jon's home made bacon(I hope that one day he will actually start writing about all his magic on here). That was pan seared until nice and golden, then basted in a little bit of butter which I browned in the pan and a little bit of herbs.

For the risotto I finished it with a some ricotta cheese and cracked black peppercorns.
Also, I had some great berry gastrique which really complimented the risotto, adding some acidity to the fat of the ricotta and balancing the spice from the peppercorns.

For the marmalade I used some apricots that our friend Janice picked in her backyard yesterday. A lot of acidity again with a load of natural sweetness. I knew that this would really pair nicely with the fat and smoke of the bacon and also lift the subtle flavors of the ling cod.

All in all, a total success.


A little side note: The other day a friend was commenting on my last special(pea's and carrots), and said that she was not a big fan of stacking food. That she prefers to have her food separate so that she can taste each component on its own. I can understand this. I also agree with it, when the cook is merely stacking the food for the sake of stacking or god forbid, height.

My only response to her was that 'I stack my food because I make all the components of a dish to be eaten together'. After this I said that I know it sound egotistical or arrogant or something like that, but its true. I have been told several time before that certain components on my plates by themselves are almost inedible alone, but when eaten as a whole dish it works out beautifully.
This is what I strive for in all my food. A perfect balance between sweet, sour, salt, fat, bitter or what ever textures may be involved as well. I use a hell of a lot of acidity in some components because I know that the fat of the dish needs to be mellowed on the pallet. A lot of gastriques will allow me to add a sweetness and a sourness that will counteract with fat and salt and all the other things that make the French style of food so heavy. So when you see some of these dishes that I do I hope that you can realize that I am always putting flavor before presentation and that I really do think about what I'm composing. It's easy to make a great starch or a great protein or a great vegetable component. What is really a challenge is to make them all live in harmony both on the pallet and in someones memory.
Sorry for sounding conceded, I don't mean to be. Merely passionate and thoughtful.

Love Sean.

Pig Fistfight!

Not only that, a Portland Pig Fistfight!

That New York Times and its Portland perv...when will it end?

Never, so long as Portland is on the vanguard of acting out in the name of cred.

And Goddess bless Portland and Eric Bechard for keeping it real. (Better pictures, worse article here)

Local is local, after all. Does terrior matter or doesn't it?

It would appear that Chef Bechard is involved in another venture, Thistle. Looks like he's trying to make it happen all within McMinville.

From the article

A year ago he opened a restaurant called Thistle, 40 miles southwest,in the rich agricultural and winemaking region surrounding McMinnville.

Mr. Bechard says his goal is to eventually run the restaurant solely with food from surrounding Yamhill County. Every local connection he makes and every local dollar he spends, he believes, strengthens his ties to the economic and political future of the place he lives. He says that kind of a commitment makes a place, any place, better.

McMinnville...sleepy little agricultural town energized by the wine economy...chef trying to source from local growers...Sound familiar?

In other news, the sleepy little agricultural town of Healdsberg has been energized by the food economy, and is now on equal footing with Napa and Sonoma as a destination. That's because food drives development. True or false?

"Then the food revolution came to town." It says so right there in the article.

Rich people will go into a bad neighbourhood for a good meal, again and again and again. Then, before you know it, that neighbourhood isn't "bad" any more. I saw it happen in North/North East Portland. I saw it happen in the East Village as well.

Crazy that...

Green Jello, Pigs, What could be more food related than this?

More pork for the masses!

So today's feature is a lovely quadruplet of Pulled pork, morel & Little Quallicum 'Blue Claire' cheese perogies. Grilled Orin apple and shallot relish. Braising jus. Creme Fraiche. Arugula.

The perogie dough itself is a mixture of homemade yogurt, flour & seasoning.
The filling is braised pork shoulder, with morels that have been cooked off in shallots, garlic, white wine and grainy mustard. The 'Blue Claire' gives a really nice sweetness to the filling.

For the relish the apples were grilled off and diced, then reserved until the relish was complete. Only then are they mixed in. I do this to preserve the structural integrity of the apple. The Shallots are cooked until translucent, then mustard seeds were added and aloud to roast in the pan. Brown sugar is then added and cooked until almost caramelized. Apple cider and apple cider vinegar are added and then reduced by half at which point the apples are added. I then thickened the relish with cornstarch and season to taste. Once cooled I added herbs.

The Braising jus is simply the liquid that the pork shoulder was braised in. Once the pork has been removed the liquid is reduced to a desired consistency and then strained through a fine mesh strainer.

For the Creme fraiche. Add I tbsp of buttermilk to 1 cup of heavy cream and allow to ferment overnight in a clean jar with a cloth over top of the opening. Do not seal the jar. Once it has thickened you can refrigerate it for up to 30 days.

Make sure to blanch your perogies in boiling water until they float. Once they have cooled they are ready for pan frying.


hope that you like. Sean Peltier

The Pig cont'd...

Ok, I supose it is time to put something on the plate. Searching for ingredients to put to use in todays feature I have a pickled pigs tongue that Alvin made as a side project, Max's first loaf of brioche and the Testa Cotta that I have been aching to put on the table.

After sending these items for a spin in my centrifuge of grey matter with a little Harkers cider reduction and Sweet Orin Apples...et voila!

Tongue and Cheek with Brioche and Cider Gel.

Happy Cooking,

R.

The Porkford Files

We are having some edible fun with the Pig at Hillside Estate Winery this year. I will keep posting to this site some of our creations for you to check out. Hopefully these pics will help inspire some people to have fun with their food, or at least come out to see us to give our piggy features a taste. Enjoy!