Menus, Tahiti and Cannes Film Festival...

First would like to say to all in the Carlton Area- This saturday is a wonderful night of eating and drinking at Brookside Inn on the Abbey road. Space is limited, so if you would like to come out to the event, it is important to make your reservation as soon as possible, by calling Bruce or Susan at 503 852 4433. Here is the menu for the adventurous pallates, and it is being paired with Ray Walsh's (Domaine Meriwether and Capitello) wines. So come on out and support your local businesses!
The Menu-

Wine and Food pairing with Ray Walsh and Capitello wines
Brookside Inn April 18, 2009

Passed Hors D’oeuvres/ Amuse bouche
Buckwheat and red onion waffle with American Caviar, crème fraiche and soft poached quail egg

Starter
Panseared Foie Gras, served on toasted brioche with a Rhubarb-Dolcino baste, topped with fried leeks

Seafood Course
Panko crusted Northwest Oyster atop a green papaya and savoy cabbage slaw, dressed with a curry buerre blanc

Pasta Course
Sauteed wild mushrooms with hints of anchovy, white wine and fresh Thyme, tossed with handmade semolina pasta, Reggiano Parmesan, topped with braised rabbit

Main Course
A trio of flavors- Braised buffalo short ribs with a raspberry barbecue sauce, confit of duck leg with a fig, juniper and rosemary compote, grilled elk sausage with caramelized shallots, traditional Irish champ, mélange of vegetables

Intermezzo
Fresh fruits macerated in Dolcino with a hint of fresh mint

Dessert
An enticing platter of small bites- stem ginger shortbread, lemon tartlet, petite angel food cake with chocolate and berries, pine nut and golden raisin Florentine

Next, would like to let all that read this know that I will be gone for 5 weeks, three to French Polynesia and then two weeks of work at the Cannes Film Festival. So if you want to know more about it, shoot me an email at quinn@haveknives.com. I will write before I go, but get your butts out to the Brookside Inn on Saturday night and have a culinary experience!!!!!

On Finishing salts, BBQ tastings, et al...

So first off, my opinion on finishing salts- I was always taught to season before you cook. In my career, I've found this to be very sound advice. I had the occasion to eat at a very nice restaurant in Seattle a short time ago, and as is the case with nice, cutting edge restaurants, they want to be, well, on the cutting edge. So they use finishing salts. I found that one bite would be oversalted, and one bite would be bland. Please folks, have fun with your finishing salts, but do yourself a favor and make sure you season BEFORE the food goes in the pan... and now I will step down from my soap box, and tell you another tale of culinary bliss!

My friend Ken, owner of The Filling Station Deli, came over to the house yesterday so that he and I could work on a spankin' BBQ sauce for his pulled pork sandwich that is on his menu. We made three different sauces, all similar but with all slightly different flavor profiles, to come up with the 'mac daddy' BBQ for the best sandwich shop in Yamhill Co., Oregon. I will keep you informed on what happens with it, and what route Ken takes on his way to BBQ fame.

I have to run, but keep up the fun, and for the love of blog, keep cooking, and tell me about it, I want to know!

Peace,

Quinn

Long walks, Street food and boats...

Portland, OR... What a great city! Saturday was the opening of the Saturday market, and a wonderful day it was. I met with my lovely friend D., and our day together started with a lovely walk along the esplanade, right on the river. We walked the east side of the river with a gentle sprinkle on our backs, crossed over to the downtown area where we proceeded to enjoy the food court of the Saturday market. We had wonderful turnovers from Africa, one with lentils and the other with beef, and then we were off to find the falafel man. Falafels ordered, we had a chat with the chef and owner, Mouhamed, and found that he also made New England clam chowder. Being of a New England mind, we asked for a taste and the taste was offered up. Wonderful chowder! It was creamy with out being too thick, a nice smooth consistency with lots of good clam flavor as well. And the falafel was wonderful too, with all the appropriate condiments, which made for a nice filling yet healthy experience. Mouhamed's restaurant is called Bumblekiss, incidently, and is in NE Portland, at 46th and Fremont. If you want a great falafel or chowder(he also does fish and chips that looked wonderful too!) then head on down and let me know what you think.

Our stomachs full of good food, we washed it all down with some strawberry lemonade, while we watched a one handed man play a guitar like instrument and sing songs. Very fun! We said goodbye to the market, and headed off to complete the southern leg of our journey to where we had parked. We passed by the Oregon Maritime Museum, which is actually an old paddle boat. They were giving free admission, and since free is good, we took a tour of a really cool old boat. We stood on the observation deck and watched a rather large sea lion playing in the river. We talked to an old maritime historian. We got bumper stickers! And then we headed on...

The day finished with a stop at Petite Provence, where we enjoyed tea and cappucino, and artfully crafted pastries. I highly recommend them if you like french pastry. I don't drink cappucino, but that looked gorgeous too.

So there you have it, a day in the life. Thanks again D. for a lovely day! Until next time, have fun all,
Quinn

My holy trinity strikes again...

You can talk of your fathers, your sons and your holy ghosts, but for me the holy trinity consists of good food, good friends and good wine. This was apparent again last night, when I was invited over to some friends house where we cooked up some pearl couscous risotto with mushrooms and sweet potatoes, fortified with duck stock and an aged Gouda. Served with that was a hard seared filet mignon, served rare, a very colorful salad of Bull's blood beets, asparagus, butternut squash, caramelized shallots, beet tops and baby greens, all of which was topped with panseared sweetbreads.

I'm telling you, if you haven't had sweetbreads, and have an adventurous pallate, there isn't much better in my mind. These particular sweetbreads were seasoned with truffle salt and pepper, dipped in buttermilk and dredged in flour, then quickly sauteed in peanut oil and finished in the oven. Divine!

So the meal was served up with great friends and great wine(2006(I think) Road's End from Carlton Cellars), and a bit of local cheeses to start.

So dear friends, please, if you have a mind, try this recipe, it is unfailing:

3-4 good friends
1-3 bottles of nice wine
As much food as is needed

Bring together in a comfortable happy environment and let the three ingredients meld and blend their flavors. It's a hit every time!

St. Paddy's Day, and a celebration of meat...

Hello all my few faithful,

I hope all is grand in all of your little slices of heaven. St. Paddy's, like any other day, is not a day of rest. I got the call to do a small(4-5) person, high end dinner, and I made all attempts to rise to the occasion. I was told they like meat, were carnivores as it were, and that I should make the menu as such. So without further ado, here is the menu, and after I will discuss some points of it-

Brookside Inn Event
March 17, 2009

Passed Hors D’ouevres- Pork cheek rillettes on a Yukon gold potato chip with a five-dry chile mayonnaise

Amuse Bouche- caramelized shallot and Oregon Black truffle brulee with a toasted brown sugar crust

Starter- Panseared Buffalo slider on soft Rosemary lavosh with baby greens, concasse of tomato and a roasted garlic aioli

Pasta- local mushrooms with hand-made pasta, white wine and cream, aged Reggiano Parmesan

Main – Confit of duck leg, roasted breast of duck with a maple-rosemary-juniper baste, sweet potato puree, white wine braised spinach

Intermezzo- Tomato sorbet with baby greens, crispy Carlton farms bacon and a savory black pepper biscuit

Dessert- Vanilla bean soufflé with a raspberry-dark chocolate sauce

Cheese- local selection of cheeses

So there you have it, and to break it down by course, here we goooooo...

Hors D'oeuvres- The pork was braised in red wine with onions, rosemary, and chicken stock. They were cooled, pounded out, pressed into molds, and warm braising liquid was poured over them, then cooled. unmolded, they were then sliced and put atop the chip with the mayonnaise.

Amuse- a custard of caramelized shallots, and black truffle that was pureed with the cream and eggs made for a very savory and rich custard that was complemented by some fine local Pinot Noir.

Slider- Buffalo from L Bar T Ranch in Forest Grove, OR was mixed with a small portion of ground Carlton Farms Pork cheek, seasoned, and served on homemade rosemary foccacia and aioli. It was a perfect complement to the rich, oaky Archery Summit Pinot Noir it was served with.

Pasta- Fortified with duck stock, the wild mushrooms used were- Hedgehogs, hon shemigi, king trumpet and hen of the woods. as a bit of a bonus, I added a bit of panseared sweetbreads to the top. Very tasty. This went with a lighter Pinot from Stevenson-Barrie.

Duck- locally raised duck was used, a much leaner duck than typical farm raised ducks. Two of the four diners said that they don't eat duck or sweet potatoes, but nevertheless they cleared their plates.

Sorbet- The intermezzo was off the top of my head. I wanted to make something that would make me smile, as well as something that would make the guests question the course, then ultimately taste it and be pleasantly surprised. It worked quite well. They had never had anything like it, and they loved it. I curled the raw bacon around the handle of a wooden spoon, so after it baked in the oven, it held it's spiral shape. The biscuit was actually a shortbread that I infused black pepper into, and the sorbet was grape tomatoes, a touch of mayonnaise and stiff peaked egg whites, hand stirred.

Dessert- very straight forward, very traditional.

Cheeses- three of four were Oregonian, and one was California. aaawwwwwww.... it's sooo good.

So there you have it, yummy yummy. I still had time afterwards to go to a small house party, have my alotted amount of Corned beef, Guinness, and a bit of a tipple of Power's.

So as always, I look forward to comments, concerns(with this menu, probably mostly cholesterol related concerns, and just whatever else you would like to comment on.

take care all,

Quinn

Hopworks beer and sausage...

So I gave myself a little break from the diety thingy I'm doing, and came to Hopworks for a pint of beer and an internet connection. I'm sitting next to four writers from the Oregonian, and I just finished an ESB, and I tell you, it was Extra Special, as the name suggests. It was happy hour, the waitress suggests the the pepper and garlic sausage, so I said sure. Here comes a mammoth sandwich with Kraut and whole grain mustard, served with handmade chips for $3.75(!)- it wasn't the most amazing sausage I've ever had, but it was more than filling, complemented the beer very well, and was a great deal. Bravo Hopworks, and here is to handmade beer in a frothy mug!!!!

Peace,

Quinn

Sitting in a cafe, tea in hand...

Food and chance meetings... aahhh, life is grand! I've had some wonderful experiences lately, and a common thread in each was good food and good people. Le Pigeon was an incredible experience, a bit pricey but amazing- foie gras profiteroles with foie gras ice cream and the rest- amazing!

My father came out from Maine for ten days, and we ate and drank our way across the Willamette Valley- notables were Elk Burgers from my next door neighbors Fall hunting endeavors. The elk was succulent, blended with a bit of ground pork to give it a neccesary level of moisture. A night at my friend Adria's house, was spent with good local wine, her four boys and of course my buddy Nike, Adria's 3 year old Golden Retriever. I brought over a braised elk roast(again from my friend Kevin's elk) that I braised with rosemary, juniper red wine, and a bit of barbecue sauce. This was accompanied with simple sides, and her next door neighbors home made tamales. Good friends, food and drink- the holy trinity of a wonderful evening.

On Friday evening, Adria and I met up with other friends at a great place in Carlton, OR called 'The Horseradish'. It is a nice little Wine and Cheese shop that has local music on the weekends. We danced to the music of two guitarists(the lead guitarist actually teaches Adria's son), had wonderful tapas plates of Italian meats, wonderful cheeses, marinated cipolline onions, sweet vinegary peppers, artichoke hearts, and of course the prerequisite local wines- Anthony Dell Syrah and a great Pinot from White Horse Vineyards. Another amazing fun time with that holy trinity I mentioned earlier!

Last night- I had a date! At least, I think it was a date. I believe it had all the neccesary attributes of a date- Amazing conversations, wonderful company, great food and drink, mutual attraction, a designated time and place to meet- I ask all that read to be the judge(D.? would you say it was a date or a meeting? I never know). Anyway, enough silliness. We met at the Delta Cafe. A wonderful corner seat offered an oppurtunity to be close enough so that we could talk at a normal conversational level, and appreciate each other's company. The Delta Cafe offers up southern and New Orleans fare at a very good price, and as I found out a high quality level as well. We started with a couple of adult bevies- my companion for the evening had a bloody mary that made me reconsider my general dislike for the drink- it was what a Bloody Mary should be- large and full of good veggies- pepperoncini, green beans, oversized celery stalk, and probably a few other things that I missed. I had a drink of Cucumber vodka with sour and cranberry- so very refreshing! Our orders came in a very timely fashion- a Southern sampler plate was three sides- the choices were Collard greens with pork, broccoli and cheese casserole and Mac n' cheese. I ordered pan seared red snapper with aioli, Mac n' Cheese and Red beans and rice. All were wonderful- the greens were tender and flavorful, with nice chunks of pork, the mac and cheese was probably some of the best restaurant Mac I've ever had- not dayglo orange and artificial, this was the real deal. the broccoli casserole was 'Momma-made' if you will, topped with corn flakes which gave for an interesting chewiness that was not unappealing. The red beans and rice were wonderful as was the fish. But in all of what I have written, and if you have gotten this far I commend your patience and fortitude, there is one underlying note in all I've written, and it is this- good food is made great when you have wonderful people to eat it with. I feel that I have achieved this at every turn in the last few weeks. And to those that were present for these festivities and read this and have comments, I welcome them. For those that were not a part of these good times, I suggest you start looking at booking a ticket to the great Northwest! Cheers!