Eastern Caribbean, Half Moon Cay in 2010
I’ve been a little MIA this week and that’s because a lot has been going on in my life. Last weekend was the NW Food Service Show where my company had a booth, then an episode of Bizarre Foods (in which we were featured) aired on Monday night and today I leave for vacation. The last seven days have been a whirlwind and it’s about to continue for the next seven days.
Considering that over the course of the summer I’ve mentioned my inaptitude in gardening (well, at least gardening for edible things, I can grow some pretty flowers!), I think you can guess that these tomatoes did not come my garden. This, again, is why it’s good to have friends who seem to have a natural green thumb.
So thanks to my friend DB, I spent last weekend surrounded by the final remains of Portland’s Indian summer as we cooked up a batch of fresh tomato sauce.
Look at these beauties!
Once we had picked all the ripe fruit, we debated for a while about whether to take the skins off. We had enough tomatoes that the task did seem daunting. Finally I managed to convince DB it would be worth it in the end — swearing (with little confidence) that it wouldn’t take forever.
Surprisingly I was right — I love it when that happens! A quick “X” at the bottom of each tomato, plus a dunking in boiling water, and the skins slid right off. Within 45 minutes or so, we had every last one peeled and ready to go. We decided not to seed them because they were almost all flesh, perfect for stewing.
I’ve mentioned that I work as a meat distributor. While my job occasionally has its bad moments (lets just say the words “turkey grid” can induce serious panic), for the most part it’s pretty awesome. We participate in many different food events throughout the year, but my favorite one is the customer appreciation party my boss hosts every year.
We travel out to the mountain — this year’s event was held at Timberline Lodge — and eat ourselves silly. All of our customers are invited and we throw down with a party that is truly unsurpassable. There is a marketplace with vendors on hand sampling products (Iberico jamon, foie gras torchons, local elk seared on salt blocks). There is a cooking competition and cooking demos involving some of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs. This year we even had a few James Beard winners compete.
But really it’s all about the meat (well, and the booze!).
So without further ado, I present some scenes from Wild About Game 2012.
Devil Kriek from Double Mountain. This is how you start the day off right! They also donated more than 5 kegs to the event and the afterparty. Woo-hoo!
Treats from Bakeshop — these looked so pretty, it was hard to eat them…okay, maybe it was easy, but still, they were beautiful!
Capunet made with Pheasant Sausage and Veal Sweetbreads — from Carrie Mashaney, the chef de cuisine of Cascina Spinasse in Seattle
A few days ago, I posted about a dinner that I helped my husband prepare as part of the Portland Fruit Tree Project’s Orchard Series. It was a pretty amazing experience — as you can imagine when you’re cooking for 40 people in an urban garden and this is the kitchen.
The best place to cook is outside!
And the spread my husband put together was pretty spectacular. It started with some passed appetizers…
Watermelon and wasabi with Oregon elderflowers
