Harvest Hits and Misses

No doubt, this has not been a banner harvest. Indeed, for the first time in my 12 years involvement, our wine making group may go without any opportunity to pick grapes. Tomato and pepper plants offer meager rewards if at all. Another huge miss for me was a second year of missing out on the annual late summer sea hunt where a dedicated band miscreants gather to reap the bounty of the sea: abalone, cod... all kinds of sea critters - anything that lives off the coast is fair game. Wolf Eal? No problem - unagi. One person actually had 2 cans of Japanese plum sauce used for grilling the eal. A hardier band of foodies I've rarely come across. Apologies to Lisa and Mike for my no-show.

Yet still, there is bounty to be had and now is the time to take advantage. A recent blast of summer heat has brought what will assuredly be a brief glimpse of what we have taken for granted for sometime. With a prediction of a moderately hot day, Mrs. Gastro Hound and I set out to the Farmer's Market to secure the ingredients for a late afternoon repast. Our treasures in hand, we set off for home to relax and escape the summer heat in the shade of our yard - a bit of Provence on a local level. The result was a pleasing plate of tasty bites highlighting the best of what is especially good this time of year. But nothing speaks to the moment of harvest like the squash blossoms. At best, they are only at market for about 6 weeks. So delicate, they must be picked, sold and consumed all on the same day. The reward for such attention to detail is a truly unique bite. Stuffed with a combination of cheeses including chevre, battered and deep fried, nothing else comes close - except maybe for the rest of what's on our plate.


Franco's Sausages - always good. The Merguez is killer, but today we found a new favorite: Hawaiian-Portuguese Linguica. Pineapple replaces sherry to supply acidity and tropical sugar.


Crescent Moon Farms produces some tasty, hard to find chilis. Bright yellow Ajis and my personal favorite: Padrons - a tiny Spanish frying pepper. A classic tapa offering.


The quality of the produce can't be matched. These squash blossoms were destined for my fry-o-later.


Did I mention I love peppers?


The finished plate: stuffed squash blossoms, fried Padron peppers dusted with sea salt, grilled Hawaiian-Portuguese Linquica, and cherry tomatoes (courtesy of Sean's garden. Thanks Sean!). I don't know how you roll, but this is how we roll on a hot summer afternoon.


A big shout out to MamaRoux for her hand made kitchen towels featured in the photo of our tapas plate. Also check out her summer salad recipe here. This has been a favorite of mine for sometime. She offers up her recipe and some great photos as a showcase. A must. And of course, a big thanks to the Gastro Pup for the bacon n cheese crickets. A tasty n crunchy treat.

I give it a score of 3 out of 5. Great crunch and savory cheese flavor... the bacon flavor was lacking.

Much more to come soon: new BBQ Sauce recipes, and competitions as well as the best damn canned tuna I've ever had.

This n That And Char-B-Q Too

Welcome back foodies. While it might have appeared that things were quiet here, i've actually been hard at work. So let's get right to it.

Most recently, over the weekend of Aug 14th-15th, I had the chance to get out to South Lake Tahoe to catch a performance of Michael Bartle's "Images of Elvis" show. Outstanding. And of course, there was food and beverage. The 14th saw us in Virginia City, Nevada. Best place for an ice cold beer? Bucket of Blood Saloon. Don't miss the view overlooking Boot Hill.

Now back to Tahoe. My impression is that it's not exactly Food Mecca, but there are glimmers of hope. Prior to our show, our entourage had dinner at the Edgewood, located at the golf course of the same name. The views are a main attraction as every single table as a westward view in order to catch the dramatic sunset. This photo was actually taken directly from our table.



The food is quite good. It does not try to over achieve, yet there isn't a "comfort zone" feel as well. Fresh, top grade ingredients are allowed to be their own star. Mrs Gastrohound had a light yet deceptively flavorful pasta dish incorporating lobster and diver scallops. I went with the the pheasant breast, wrapped in pancetta with forest mushrooms:




The sauce was simple yet flavorful: pan drippings deglazed with sherry and stock. Note too, that the "vegetable side" is really just a garnish. I love this. @#$% the veggies, and let the pheasant shine. While perfectly cooked, they were really just a garnish to balance out the plating of the roasted cippolini onions which were much more interesting. What's harder to note in the photo, is that the breast was removed from the bone, yet the wing portion was retained (sans wing tip). Little touches often make or break the dish. If you bill a dish with a main ingredient, you better feature it and know how to handle it. On this night, Edgewood delivered.

Next morning, we had some free time and caught an "Artist's Fair" in the parking lot of the Mont Bleu. Of course, I immediately noticed a BBQ stall setting up. This wasn't some slipshod operation, as I spied an upright water smoker much like mine - just more robust. I had the opportunity to talk up the crew and learned that there is a "Best On The Mountain" rib cook off, held in July on that very spot. This provider won this year. The resulting demand for their sauce was so great they've had to go to a commercial facility to keep up with demand. The sauce was good, but leaned more toward an all purpose sauce - which brings me to the next bit: My BBQ Sauce.

Following my victory in last year's 2009 Harvest fair, I entered my Char-B-Q Sauce in this year's 2010 Sonoma County Fair. Based on what I saw at entry time, I felt the competition would be even tougher. It was. My goal was to finish in the top 3. I placed 4th, which did not disappoint, except for the hot pink ribbon that was awarded. I did note that the sauce I beat out last year took 3rd this go-round. It was close, and tough all around. I've got one more competition scheduled for my Char-B-Q Sauce coming up next month. I'm thrilled with how my sauce has performed over this past year and the response it has generated. I'm already at work on my next sauce recipe. Stay tuned!

Also - I've got yet another update to my last post regarding Three Sheets. As it turns out, Travel Channel did in fact drop it despite the very positive response. They just didn't know what to do with it. Zane was more than diplomatic over the whole affair and presented Travel Channel's position fairly. The good news, he's just wrapped 24 episodes of a new show - "Drinking Made Easy" which will air this fall on HDNet. Unfortunately, HDNet is only currently available in certain metro areas (Boston, Denver, Houston, Central PA, Indiana, Minneapolis). Comcast hopes to add HDNet to our burg late this year. Will it be in time? DOUBTFULL! In the meantime, Zane also says that Three Sheets is not dead either. He appears to be in contractual negotiation as he could not reveal the source of his renewed enthusiasm. Cross yer digits folks, and reorient your statolith. Things are indeed looking up. To reflect this update, I'm linking to zanelamprey.com at the side bar so those who are interested can follow all the goings on, which just happens to include: Zanetoberfest 2010, taking place September 2010 in Chicago. Check it out for yourselves. Put it this way, I wish to hell I could go.

A special thanks to our dear friends Mimi and Wayne who ensured our Tahoe excursion was a memorable one, and to Barbara for the private touring of the Elvis Suite at the Horizon. Elvis DNA anyone?

Cheers!

Man does not live by food alone...

... occasionally, there must be beverage. And if you're Zane Lamprey, beverage is your job.

A few months back, quite by accident, I caught a show on Travel Channel called "Three Sheets". It was a slow period for Travel Channel as new seasons for their most acclaimed series were due to start in June. In the lead up, Travel Channel padded their schedule with some unlikely choices, including some early Rachel Ray work. However, one show was Three Sheets. With a name like that I had to tune in. I did. The first episode did not impress, worse, it disappointed. I don't remember where the episode took place... it was that bad. The following episode took place in Hawaii, so it was worth a shot. And, as it turned out, was THE episode that sparked my keen interest. Everything that missing in the first episode was present in Hawaii... in spades. I actually learned STUFF, while thoroughly enjoying myself. Over the next 4 episodes, I would have the same experience. Zane's stop in Vancouver was especially good. Unfortunately, the 6 episodes were over all too quickly and I gave up hope of ever seeing any again. But today, hope is rekindled. Due to a positive response, Travel Channel has agreed to show all 52 previous episodes beginning June 30th. If the ratings are strong, they are open to funding additional episodes. I've followed the Wild Boyz and No Reservations long enough to know that every culture has their beverage of choice, and a drink offered in friendship is never refused - even if that beverage consists of previously masticated fruit pulp that has been fermenting in the ground for 3 weeks. To do otherwise would be rude.

Three sheets has had a tough history, starting out on the now defunct Mojo TV network. It was then picked up for an additional season on the Fine Living Network, but nothing seems to have come of that. I won't bore you with additional details. You can catch the show on Thursday nights on Travel Channel. Just watch the show and if you like, continue to do so. If not, don't bother. For me, I will continue. The show is quirky, low brow, with understandably low production values. Yet, there is a depth to the show and Zane takes his new gig seriously. For complete info on Three Sheets, there is a Wiki page with all the info you need. And for some immediate gratification, check my Food Porn sidebar for some quick clips of Three Sheets.

Cheers!

Update 7/26/10
Heads up!
Next week, beginning Aug 4th and 5th, Three Sheets will feature 2 episodes each night. Plan accordingly and don't forget to review the Three Sheets drinking rules (especially as it's a week night).

Prost!

Update 8/7/10
Travel Channel giveth, and Travel Channel taketh away. I don't know what is up with this, but Three Sheets is no longer on their schedule. Even though 2 episodes were scheduled for Thursday 8/5, they did not air. A quick check of the coming week revealed no episodes scheduled. At this point it's anyone's guess as to what is going on. Maybe they had to make room for more Rachel Ray:::shudders:::. The grassroots effort to keep Three Sheets alive continues. In the meantime I've got 10 episodes on DVR and will treat them with the reverence they deserve.

Father's Day

Where to begin. How about some great memories, and some of the best come from a series of family outings to the California Sierras, for fishing and all sorts of fun at the Sardine Lakes. Each year in late summer, 3 generations of Finleys would head for a cabin and and adjacent campground that nestled up to the aforementioned lakes. As a dad, my greatest memory was of my daughter, all of 8 yrs old, catching her 1st trout all by herself. She baited the hook, cast out, hooked the fish and reeled it in. She was all smiles as was I. Needless to say, we were bringing in a good a haul of fish.

The thing is, trout is best consumed fresh, the day you caught it. After that it loses something. Maybe we were just spoiled and that may be, but if we couldn't do that day there was only one thing to do: smoke it. This was my introduction to smoking. My cousin Bill had invested in a fish smoker and one year I decided I would do the smoking. I soon learned what it was to smoke something low and slow. The investment of time and attention to detail, I was not prepared for. But after a couple of years, I had it down. The one ingredient I could not account for was the brine. When smoking fish, a brine isn't always essential, but for trout, I do believe it is. By the time your back at home and ready to smoke, the flesh has lost a it's delicate fresh flavor. The brine replaces the natural moisture of the flesh with liquid packing more flavor. My dad had experimented with several brines, and the following is the one he felt worked best. I have to agree, this is one flavorful brine - having worked with it over a period of years. This recipe comes straight from my dad. I only have it, courtesy of hand written notation on a scrap of paper that I keep tucked inside my What's Cooking in Kentucky cookbook (Irene Hayes). This brine works very well for salmon as well, but keep in my mind, this is a brine and not a marinade. You will want a fair amount of liquid to fish to ensure a proper brine. Increase the recipe as needed for your fish. The following brine recipe is exactly how I have it on my scrap of paper:

2 qt water
1 cup salt (uniodized)
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Fish are brined, clean and whole. For trout, brine for 3.5 hours and for salmon brine for 18 hours. When done, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. From my experience, another couple of hours of air drying helps as well.

As for the smoking process - that's up to you.

I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this recipe. It's always done well by me. Thanks dad!

Food Porn #2

Birthday Dinner 1st Course:
Chorizo Stuffed Potato Chip with Red Pepper Flan

This comes to GastroHounds from a birthday dinner thrown for a longtime friend at a favorite local winery. Chorizo stuffed potato chip? I can only assume the potato was sliced gossamer thin and stuffed with Mexican chorizo. Suddenly, my truffle salt potato chips seem pedestrian.

Side note: I've finally updated the Food Porn Video Bar, this time featuring Chris Cosentino. I've met the chef on a couple of occasions as part of my old work commute. The salumi at Boccalone in the Ferry Building is incredible, and the "spreadable salami" is an intense mouthfull - more like pepperoni than salami but I loved it none the less.

FUBAR'd

A sad story gentle readers. Apparently my Foodie Karma Account is seriously in the negative. I was forced to withdraw from Guys Can Cook Too competition that took place over the weekend due to my paycheck NOT being delivered on schedule, leaving me unable to purchase the necessary product to prepare 600 servings of my pulled pork appetizer. Sucktastic doesn't begin to describe it. My final dry run held the over the weekend of the 15th and 16th produced fantastic results - the best pulled pork I've ever had, no doubt about it. The combination of applewood and hickory produced a rich, smoky flavor that permeated the meat but did overpower it. My dry rub caramelized into a succulent bark. I had moved well beyond any concern about embarrassing failures and was suddenly enthusiastic about my chances in capturing the appetizer division. NOT. TO. BE.

Once my rage had subsided, I was able to give myself over to some quiet reflection/beer consumption and concluded that the real goal wasn't the competition but the pork itself.. of acquiring the hard won knowledge of what it takes to produce truly good BBQ. In that regards, I kicked @$$ and intend to so again very soon. Memorial Day is right around the corner, and I've got several pints of my competition BBQ sauce on deck and ready to go. I can assure you, there will be no taking of prisoners.

Food Porn #1

Birthday Dinner:

Salmon Chop with shallot-sherry cream
Roasted baby red potatoes with crispy salmon "bacon" bits
Sonoma greens in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette

Yes, it's low rent but the food was pretty damn good. The salmon "chop" is actually a noisette. If that makes me the Ron Jeremy of food porn then so be it. There's more on the way so just get used to it.