For the faithful readers here – you know that aside from farming and general activities outside – Kelli and I also have a passion for good food. We like making and eating interesting dishes. So it seemed fitting that this last weekend we celebrated our 9 year anniversary with one heck of a tasty meal.
We thought about heading out to a local restaurant that specializes in dishes made from local products – sorta part of the Slow Food movement – but that seemed too “hippie-ish” – since we “participate” in the movement by growing our own items – it didn’t make sense to spend the cash for a lesser meal than we make on a daily basis. Actually – our friend Max turned us on to a show on PBS several months back called “The Endless Feast” – it’s a series of shows hosed by a set of pretentious, self-absorbed idiots (not a fan of the hosts) who are fascinated by the concept of eating locally grown food. Anyhow, the interesting part of the show is the spectacle that is put together ON the farm and the gourmet food that is served. There’s a social commentary in here that’ I’m not going to touch – but the show is fun.
So – Kelli and I find ourselves nightly making a meal and proclaiming it our own “Endless Feast” – a meal made up of over 95% of things that were grown or harvested right on our own farm – literally. The challenge in making a fancy meal for our anniversary was really not simply to make a tasty meal – but to also try to keep the point of origin of the food as close to home as possible… and the grocery store does not constitute “close to home”. With all of that baggage – and the desire to finally drink a bottle of pear wine we bought in Maine 2 years ago – this was the menu I pulled together. All inspired by as local and as seasonal as you can get while still have a bit of flair for the creative and good taste!
Pear/Gorgonzola Bruschetta
This is something I have always wanted to make – as big fans of cheese and fruit – this is a killer! The pears were locally grown, the cheese was from Vermont and the olive oil drizzle was from somewhere in Europe that folks visited… while that doesn’t qualify as local – since they were on holiday over there and brought it back as a gift…
Mixed greens with toasted pecans and pear dressing
The greens and pear were local and seasonal – pecans, olive oil and pear-infused balsamic, not so much. I did add a squeeze of fresh pear juice into the dressing to take the edge off the balsamic – that was a terrific choice.
Rainbow Trout with sautéed apple balls, lemongrass panko, and buttery Riesling sauce
The trout was farm raised in the US – so it’s a safe bet, Riesling is Finger Lakes produced, apples are in season locally and the balance of items are from within 500 miles.
I suppose when you eat like this at home (made Friday night after work in under 2 hours) – there’s not much excitement for the palate to be had in a restaurant given the price. We both very much enjoyed the feast – it was light and crisp – full of local fall flavors – paired well with the wine we have been wanting to drink up… and a great way to celebrate 9 years. Here’s to (at least) 9 more!
