|
Farm Dinners |
Volunteer! Our dinners wouldn't be possible without our wonderful volunteers. If you are interested in exchanging your hard work for great food, wine, and company, send me an e-mail!
Guest comments
Megan & Gordon,
Olympia, WA
Heidi & Kobi, Seattle,
WA
Rachael, Forster, &
Becca, New York, NY
Sasha, Seattle, WA
Erin & Brian, Issaquah,
WA
Jay & Angie, Boise, ID
Karen & Ben, Mercer
Island, WA
Marlene, Seattle, WA
Sallie, Seattle, WA
Joel & Kazumi, Redmond,
WA Wright Eats Blog on our July, 2008 dinner
|
Farm Dinner Journal Here we have captured our 2008 dinner events in photos and text. Enjoy! September 20, 2008 Statistically, we knew every one of our dinners couldn't fall on a beautiful, sunny day. But as farmers, we are optimistic by nature. The weather report was "fuzzy" on the likelihood of rain, so we didn't change our usual setup for dinner in the orchard. At 3:30 AM, we both woke to the sound of pouring rain. Reality set in and we jumped out of bed to deal with the change in venue. By the time we had the tables moved into the barn, the wood was soaked and there was no way it was going to be dry by afternoon. While not the most environmentally friendly solution, we wrapped the benches and table tops in plastic stretch wrap. No sign of the rain letting up and there was no way we could do a farm tour, so I quickly created a slide show that we projected at one end of the barn. We finally got to use the candles--the day was dark and then the low clouds that moved in were so thick you could barely see the orchard on the other side of the road! Our volunteers, chefs, and most importantly our guests took it all in stride and had a wonderful evening! Chefs--Erik Jackson and Tony Catini Menu *Reception* Grilled eggplant, purslane,
and cured clementines with apricot dressing Chanterelle clafoutis with
unripened pears and duck gravy Loose lasagna, late summer
ratatouille, and mint béchamel Grilled steak with pole
beans and radish vinaigrette Apple pie with Riesling
sorbet and extra sharp cheddar cheese
August 16, 2008 David and I made appetizers for this event. It was another very hot day. Too hot, in fact, for us to do the farm tour as we typically do at the beginning of this event. We invited our guests to make themselves comfortable under the canopies and umbrellas, sipping sparkling wine and munching appetizers, while David and I gave a virtual farm tour. It was still quite warm as we seated our guests for dinner, but it did eventually cool off. Many people stayed after dinner for the "chicken" and "greenhouse tomato" tours. Chef--Erik Jackson Menu *Reception* Beet and blackberry salad
with goat cheese pannacotta and lemon emulsion Zucchini soup with shrimp,
fennel, and fennel crackers Heirloom tomato sorbet with
corn cream Braised duck with cabbage,
quinoa, and plums Brioche with summer berry
bread pudding and basil whipped cream July 19, 2008 This was a hectic day for us. I was ironing tablecloths until 10:30 AM and potting off the lavender in our souvenir/name tags for the table until 2 PM when the volunteers should have arrived. The chefs were late, too. They brought the wine pairings and wine notes from the sommelier, who decided to serve a white wine instead of champagne for our reception--and I didn't know until an hour before our guests arrived requiring a quick change of the glasses laid out for the day and last-minute printing of the menus with the wine pairings. We were short of volunteers, some that didn't show up until the guests started to arrive and others that had to leave as we were serving the third course. But we were so thankful for the friends, market customers, and previous dinner attendee that helped us make this another wonderful event! The guests were extraordinary and lingered on into the evening, mingling with the chefs, other guests, and horses until dusk. Chefs--Erik Jackson and Tony Catini Menu *Reception* Cold poached Dog Mountain
Farm duck egg on brioche with anchovy aioli and herb salad Cotechino sausage and
nectarine Napolean with homemade puff pastry and spicy honey Cucumber and grape gazpacho
with almonds Grilled pork chop with
collard greens, Walla Walla onion jam, and Muscat and peach sauce Melon sorbet sundae with
port syrup Ingredients provided by the
following local farms: Alvarez Farms, Yakima—cucumbers, grapes July 12, 2008 This was a fundraising event for our new Slow Food Snoqualmie Valley Convivium. Our guest chef, Eric Wright, former Cactus Executive Chef and founding Convivium member, planned and executed a complex menu for 42 guests. We started Friday evening making fresh pasta. I pulled out the Cuisinart to get started and was quickly set straight, "Put that away, we are doing this the proper way!" Using flour from the Fairhaven (Bellingham) Cooperative Flour Mill we made a "nest" of flour, added egg yolks, and gently mixed them together with a fork, then put the dough through the pasta maker. Eric was back at 6 AM to continue the menu preparation! Chef--Eric Wright Menu *Reception* Chilled pea soup with mint
crème fraiche Grilled peach, frisee, and
hazelnuts dressed with orange-champagne vinaigrette Fresh fettuccine with
oyster mushrooms, asparagus tips, and shaved Parmigiano Roasted halibut on heirloom
tomatoes with saffron aioli and herb-lemon salad Blue Dog Farm fresh berries
with sabayon brulee Ingredients provided by the
following local farms: Blue Dog Farm, Carnation—blueberries, raspberries June 28, 2008 Another beautiful and very hot day for this full-house dinner. Thanks to Judy Niver, we had an amazing group of volunteers that helped with the event and allowed David and me to spend more time with our guests. We initiated our outdoor kitchen outside the barn in the covered patio, which the chefs loved, and saved the servers a lot of walking. Chefs--Erik Jackson and Tony Catini Menu Veal roulade, confiture,
cheese, and olive oil crackers Halibut cheek with heirloom
bean, pea vines, and tomatoes Ricotta gnocchi with Spring
pea and mint pistou Roasted lamb belly with
radicchio, fingerling potatoes, and orange gremalota Blueberry pastry with
sabayon and lemon granita
May 17, 2008 This was our first farm dinner. Thankfully, it was an intimate group of 12 and we learned a lot. We were too busy running this event ourselves to take many pictures, but our kids hung out in the kitchen with the chefs and captured some of this beautiful and delicious meal. Chefs--Erik Jackson and Tony Catini
Menu
Crispy Pork Belly
w/asparagus, preserved lemon dressing, & microgreens
Grandview Morel
Mushroom Soup w/smoked duck
Duck Confit
w/savory bread pudding & chard
Candy Cap Crème
Brule w/caramelized bananas
Crispy Pork Belly
Duck Confit
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| © 2008 Dog Mountain Farm, LLC |
|
|
Dog |
