Fresh Tart

Remember August? It sure was pretty...

August 9, in fact, was the Outstanding in the Field farm dinner at Little Foot Farm in Afton, Minnesota. Little Foot raises heritage breed hogs so it's no surprise that this dinner was a celebration of pork, pork, and more pork.

Thanks to chef Mike Phillips of Three Sons Meat, Inc., it was spectacular indeed.

I had the privilege and pleasure of working at the event this year instead of just attending it. I pitched in to help host chefs Mike Phillips and Scott Pampuch make and serve about 50 million pounds of pickles and condiments to enjoy with all of those beautiful courses of pork. 

While the guests gathered and enjoyed cocktails in Karen Weiss and Sally Doherty's picture-perfect farm yard...

...the hogs got frisky...

...and the crew set the signature Outstanding in the Field table.

Coppa. Glorious.

Afternoon showers meant a bit of a rush to set the table...

...with pickles! Okra, beets, peppers, cukes, rhubarb, green beans, corn, chanterelles, on and on.

It takes a village to serve charcuterie to 150 people.

Just...wow.

Kielbasa's on the grill. These beauties were plated with kimchi...

...as fast as pork-greased lightning by Scott and Mike.

The one vegetarian at the dinner ate very, very well. Kimchi and pickled corn with a poached egg? Yes, please!

That's Mike, slicing one of the three golden, crackling porchettas, plated and served with sauerkraut.

Huge thanks to my left and right hand ladies Emily Anderson...

...and Kathy Yerich for working their butts off AND being a total blast. Oh how I love those gals.

Stunning Laughing Loon Farm and Minnesota Peach Farm tomato salad with grilled kale was a welcome refresher after three courses of pork. Those bowls came back very empty!

As the sun set...

...little jars of roasted fruit topped with toasted oat crumble, whipped cream, and magical sugar-glazed grapes, prepared by pastry chef Kelsey McCreight, wrapped the meal.

Another dreamy farm dinner for the books. Huge thanks to Mike Phillips, Scott Pampuch, and the whole crew for letting me help out. The highlight of my summer, without a doubt, both the event itself and the preparation leading up to it.

See pics from:
Scouting Little Foot Farm with Mike and Scott
Pig butchering/charcuterie making in preparation for the meal
Outstanding in the Field dinner 2011 at River Bend Farm in Delano
Pork Burgers!

When I got home, and unloaded the 50 million pickle jars from my car, I found...a gigantic tub of honey! Farm dinner spoils, nice. In honor of the buckets of delicious coffee that powered the dinner prep and clean-up, I made these coffee, honey, and cinnamon custards. I will not lie...they are divine.

Ode to OITF Coffee Custards with Honey & Cinnamon
Based on a Martha Stewart Living recipe
Serves 4-6

soft butter
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Set out a 9x13 baking pan. Butter 4-6 oz. (or 6-4 oz.) ramekins and arrange them evenly in the 9x13 pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, milk, and espresso powder and heat until mixture almost simmers. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, egg, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk a bit of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, then whisk in all of the cream mixture until well combined. Ladle into the prepared ramekins. Set the 9x13 pan on rack in preheated oven, then pour hottest tap water into the pan until it comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custards are set and jiggly, about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and water bath. Cool to room temperature and serve or chill to serve later. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the custard and then flip over onto a serving plate. Give the plate and ramekin together a bit of a shake to loosen and the custards will slide right out.

Tickets for Outstanding in the Field 2012 - August 9, at Little Foot Farm in Afton, Minnesota - are on sale. I bought a ticket and then thought, Hey! I should post the pictures I took at the 2011 event, at Riverbend Farm in Delano...last July...

Yeah. In fact I have several pretty posts in the queue, waiting for me to dust them off and share them. I guess it takes a looming one-year anniversary to kick my butt into gear.

Or a new batch of pics! I tagged along just this week to Little Foot Farm with host chefs Mike Phillips and Scott Pampuch as they scoped the site for this summer's event and chatted through the menu. Stay tuned this coming week for more information, a recipe, and some fun pics, both here and on TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Until then, here's a mere fraction of my snaps from last year's shindig, taken while eating, drinking, talking, and running around like a sundress-clad lunatic. Damn I had fun, particularly because I was lucky enough to attend with two of my favorite people in the world, Debbie & Stuart Williams. The three of us attempted the 2010 event but were too late to the game. I put myself on the mailing list so we wouldn't miss the next go-round and I swear we were the first to buy tickets.

Yes.

It turns out that July 26 was one of the prettiest days of the whole of last summer. Riverbend Farm was nothing short of breathtaking in the late afternoon sun, sparkly and lush and golden. Stu did his wine genius thing, handing out glasses of deliciousness mere minutes after arriving.

He's good that way.

While we all enjoyed pretty cocktails in the shade of hosts Mary & Greg Reynolds' front lawn, the crew was putting the finishing touches on the signature Outstanding in the Field table, snaking it's way in this case through a wheat field with a lovely view of the river (bend!).

Why one wears boots to farm dinners, courtesy of Debbie Williams.

It's the best fun of all for me to see the crew pull the meal together, having a blast while working their asses off, crafting a gorgeous meal out of fire and freshness. It's a sight to behold, truly.

Cucumber Salad with Goat Milk Creme Fraiche, Mint, Basil, Shaved Onion & Tomato

Field Salad of Greens, Soft-Boiled Eggs & Summer Vegetables

Braised Goat with Cornmeal Cake, Chile-Stewed Turtle Beans, Mustard Greens & Pickled Vegetables, my favorite dish of all of 2011. Divine.

Thousand Hills Grass-Fed Skirt Steak, Wood-Roasted Potatoes, Radishes, Green Beans & Chimichurri

I might have spilled my wine. And pissed off the wine gods for my wastefulness...look at the angry eyes in that stain! Luckily no one snapped a pic of my dress hung up on the back of my chair. Between that move and posing for pics in the middle of the wheat field, I had a pretty mosquito-bitten arse. Utterly deserved for being such a dork, of course.

And so totally worth it.

This Chanterelle Mushroom Ice Cream (recipe below), with Black Trumpet Caramel Shortbread, Morel Sugar & Toasted Wheatberries, blew my mind with its layers of earthy, creamy sweetness. A collaboration between forager Kathy Yerich and chef Scott Pampuch, I've thought and talked somewhat obsessively about it all year long.

As you'll see in my next two posts, preparations for the August 9 event at Little Foot Farm are already well under way. See you there?  

Chanterelle Ice Cream
Chef Scott Pampuch
Makes 1 quart

Note: Start the ice cream the day before you plan to serve it.

1 c. (8 oz.) egg yolks (about 10-12 large yolks)
4 oz. dried chanterelle mushrooms, crushed with a rolling pin
2 1/2 c. heavy cream (like Cedar Summit)
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

Freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker per manufacturer instructions, at least a full 24 hours before you spin the ice cream.

Add the egg yolks to a small bowl and whisk a bit to break apart the yolks. Leave whisk in the bowl and set aside.

Combine mushrooms, cream, milk, and sugar in a large saucepan. Set pan over medium heat and warm the mixture, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves (do not simmer).

Temper the egg yolks by slowly whisking one ladleful of warm cream into the yolks. Slowly whisk the egg yolk-cream mixture back into the pan of cream. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Cool mixture to room temperature, then cover and chill overnight. 

When you're ready to churn the ice cream, working quickly so the cream stays very cold, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down on the solids to extract all of the cream and flavor (discard solids). Immediately transfer mixture to the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker and spin according to manufacturer instructions (usually around 30 minutes). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

As someone who spends a lot of time in grocery stores, it's hard to deny the primal thrill of foraging for edibles in the great outdoors. It's similar to the pleasure in picking tomatoes I've grown myself, except a bit more powerful. There is, in fact, a Hierarchy of Food-Gathering Satisfaction, which exists completely in my own mind, and goes something like this: Foraging (hunting, fishing), gardening, farm stands, farmers markets, co-ops, grocery stores. The thrill of the chase apparently persists even in the soul of a city girl.

Especially when you can forage right in the city! There are stinging nettles to be found in almost anyone's yard, which you well know if you've ever grabbed one to yank out of a flower bed (ouch). Next time you see them, put on some gloves, pull them up, then save them to make salt, an idea I'm stealing from my friends Kathy Yerich and Scott Pampuch, who both made and shared nettle salt in the last couple of weeks.

Nettle salt is easy to make and deliciously savory, with a slightly grassy flavor that is lovely with corn, eggs, butter, and bread. Kathy made hers by pulsing fresh nettle leaves with sea salt in a food processor, then spreading the mixture to dry on a baking sheet. Her salt was bright green and pungent, a gorgeous topping for the pizzas we Minnesota Food Bloggers made at our recent gathering at Kitchen in the Market with Zoe Francois. Scott made his by first drying the nettles before pulsing with coarse sea salt. His version had more texture and a softer flavor, which was amazing sprinkled on the popcorn tossed with brown butter he set out at his In Search of Food party at Fulton Beer.

Make it both ways! Recipe for Nettle Salt at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.