Chef Brett Shuler presents "Late Summer Locavore"
First Course:
North Coast Salad Nicoise
Wine Pairing - Moonstone Crossing Sauv.Blanc, '07 (Trinidad)
Second Course:
Grilled Goat Chop with Huckleberry Sauce
Potato & Artichoke Hash
Glazed Varietal Carrots
Wine Pairing - Cabot Red Table Wine, '05 (Klamath)
Third Course:
Poached Figs with Blackberry Sauce and Vanilla Ice-Cream
Cost: $30 (member price)
This is an odd way to start the project, but I heard from so many people that the guest chef's cooking demonstrations at The Co-op were brilliant and so I had to try it out. Plus, one of the huge benefits of living here is all the incredible local foods and this event just seem to fit the bill.
As I am walking in I stop by the butcher counter and ask if they have any goat. Assuming the goat chop is tasty, I wanted to know if I could get some to try the recipe at home. They don't have goat. In fact, she told me they only get goat meat at auction after the County Faire, and once they are sold, that's it. Hmmmm.
The room itself is a cooking demonstration room, but nice because their are cameras set up over the stove and prep areas so you can see everything that is going on on the large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. Chef Shuler did a good job - but I think this might have been his first time in this kitchen because he said he wasn't familiar with the grill and some of the other kitchen tools. For example the seive was too fine to strain the blackberries.
To the food....after all that is what this project is about right! The nicoise was nice - all local products including the albacore tuna, from our very own Katy's Smokehouse in Trinidad.
The greens were fantastic, and at first I was disappointed that he used oil-cured olives instead of nicoise, but they were also really good too. I thought the dressing was a bit bland and asked those seated around me and we all agreed it could use a bit more lemon and salt. The 11-year old boy to my left said for me to be sure and try the onion, tuna and potato in one bite. Great idea, and where else do you get suggestions like that from the kids at the next table? If this were a restaurant I would have just asked for that - really picky and a matter of taste I am not complaining at all, just noting it. The wine was a bit too tart for the bitterness of the greens...but again, others liked it more than I did.
During the preparation of the second course I asked the Chef where he got the goat, and sure enough, the County Faire. I told him the Co-op didn't actually carry goat, and he said oh, well this wasn't a great choice for a locavore dinner then, but then he noted the recipe works just as well with lamb, and we have plenty of great local lamb here.
The Huckleberries were picked in Trinidad, and the heirloom carrots and potatoes are all from local organic farms. He admitted the artichoke hearts were canned, but that was due to the time constraints of the demonstration. Here it is
This was truly fantastic. I have never had goat, and at first I found it a bit tough, but the meat closer to the bone was a bit rarer, and oh my, that sauce. I was afraid it was going to be sweet what with "berry" in the name, but it was not sweet at all. The recipe is shallots, thyme, peppercorns, red wine, and beef stock, reduced forever, and then the berries come in about half way and they are fairly tart. The potatoes were very good (bit light on the artichokes), and the carrots were sweet but well balanced with the other flavors. The wine was one I was not familiar with, and it was again, perfectly paired and just that one extra flavor that brought the whole thing together. My only quibble is that there was not enough salt on the meat - could have been because the Chef was having a problem with the grill and it burned off to fast, I don't know. How good was it? The 11-year old boy asked for (and got) seconds. Where else would that happen?
Now to dessert - the only dish that while tasty, did not work because it was just a poor choice for the environment. The blackberry sauce called for a bottle of red wine and should have taken over an hour to reduce, but there was no time, so the chef used half as much and reduced it as much as he could in 20 minutes. It was okay, but obviously lacking the intense flavor that was needed to infuse the very mild figs with some umph. He also didn't have enough time to allow the figs and sauce to cool sufficienty so that the ice cream just melted away - the picture is a sloppy mess, and the chef admitted that visually the dish just didn't work.
He should have picked a recipe that could have been done in the time allowed. Bet he doesn't do that again!
Overall - best value in the County, hands down. Probably a tie for the best meal I've had since we moved here (that I didn't cook). Atmosphere was truly unique - this is not a fine dining experience, but you can ask questions of the chef, exchange opinions and tips and you get copies of the recipes -- unique and fun. In fact, I liked it so much that I am going to go back and take Geoff with me!
