OCBM

July is OCBM, Oregon Craft Brew Month, and it's a month full of beer festivals, tastings, pub crawls, and specials on Oregon beers. Just a another slice of heaven. OCBM culminates in the the Oregon Brewers Festival which is always the last weekend in July. The place is P A C K E D every year. They do it at Tom McCall waterfront park and the people pour in. Entrance is free, but you have to buy a cup and tokens to be able to taste. You have to go into Brew Fest knowing that there will be long lines, drunk people, random toasts, and good beer. Just be prepared and know what you are getting in to.



Last year we went on a Saturday afternoon, this year we went on a Friday night after work. For me, Friday night was a little more enjoyable. It was still the same process of getting our cups and tokens, finding the first place with the shortest line for our first sample, and then settling in to watch everything unfold. We staked out some seats on the waterfront side of the big tent and watched everyone go by. The trick to Brew Fest is that once you have claimed chairs you don't want to give them up. So everyone takes turns taking 2 mugs at a time to stand in line for refills. Then you just soak up the sun, enjoy it as the evening cools off, catch a buzz.

Bring your adventurous spirit because there are all kinds of beers here. I had the 10 Barrels Brewing Co.'s Zitrone Kolsh and it was great. A  little lemony, but just right for the first beer of the evening. I tried the Rock Bottom Brewery's Zombie Flanders Red Ale- I'm a big red ale fan! I tried the Lompoc Kick Axe Pale Ale- a dry hopped pale ale, and another fave. All of my favorites were represented: Ninkasi, Lompoc, Lucky Lab, New Belgium, Pyramid, Rouge, Widmer, Full Sail, and so many more. They aren't kidding when the tell you that Oregon is Beervana!

Click on the links below the logos to find out more about these guys!

         http://www.rockbottom.com/home

http://www.10barrel.com/

 

http://www.newoldlompoc.com/

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer.aspx

http://www.pyramidbrew.com/

http://www.rogue.com/

http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/

http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/

Nice to Meat You

I know that I've gone on and on about PDX's farmer's markets and fresh food scene. But man cannot live on vegetable alone (sorry vegetarians). So let's talk meat. There are some amazingly meat obsessed people in Portland. They love their meat. Is it grass-fed, grain-fed, cage free, free range, organic- so many options! If you saw the episode of Portlandia where the customers obsess about the chicken's health and well-being before ordering it I'm here to say that they aren't that far off.

Now I will say one of the best things about the farmer's markets is that there are vendors who sell freshly butchered meat and building a relationship with these families has been one of the highlights. Every time I walk up I learn about the freshest cuts, newest options, and best deals. One family that I buy all of my lamb from always has their kids with them. The other is a 3rd generation farm that raises all of their animals with as much care as they can. And no matter what anyone says, you CAN taste it in the meat. We've gotten giant sized pork chops, amazing beef short ribs, lamb shanks, bacon, pancetta, and more.


The one place I hadn't been to in this meat-centric town was Gartners: http://www.gartnersmeats.com/

To hear stories of this place is to hear of a place that is packed every Saturday. People stand in lines that wrap the building waiting for their number to be called. On Saturdays they have as many as 24 people working behind the counters taking orders and cutting meat at a frenzied pace. We went on a Sunday and there was no crowd. Their cases are full of all of the chicken, beef, pork, fresh fish, and bacon you can imagine. If they don't have it, they can get it. And the prices are amazingly reasonable! We got 2 t-bones, 4 bone-in pork chops, a flank steak, and a pound of beef bacon for about $50! Amazing.

 Sprinkle a little salt on these guys and let them come up to room temp before cooking and you've got some heaven on a plate!

There are other amazing vendors too! One is Chop Butchery- this place is a close to an old-fashioned butcher as I have ever gotten. The guy sells pates, pancetta, and the occasional foie gras at the farmers market but their retail location also carries a wide variety of meats and cuts.

  

House-made pancetta and Cornish Game Hens from Chop

This place is also one of a few places that make their own charcuterie- think dried sausages, spiced with the most amazing flavors ready to pair with cheese and wine. 

If you are ever in town you have to give these place a try. It's amazing what these people are doing- it's a real craft and it is simply delicious!

It Just Works

I remember the first time I watched Julie & Julia and thought- "They get it!" After a bad day at the office Julie Powell comes home and extolls the virtues of cooking as both a methodical practice and mood-lightening experience, I thought "They get it!".  Just like the chocolate pie relives and revitalizes Julie Powell in the movie, so does cooking for me. Even after a stressful day full of meetings, answering to others, and demanding deadlines, coming home to a stove, some pans and fresh ingredients is an invitation to be creative. While I'm chopping and sauteing the worries of the day melt away. As I put the finishing touches on my dishes there is a warmth and joy inside that is rarely matched.


Today was such a day- a typical Monday wrought with twists and turns. Just when I thought my carefully planned schedule would allow ample time to accomplish my tasks this week with little to no extra time a wrench was thrown into the plans and everything went out the window. As I walked around the neighborhood looking for a little solace the only thing I could really think about was what to  make for dinner. My heart immediately went to comfort food, but my brain quickly reminded my heart that we are on a goal to eat healthier. So we compromised. The result is Gruyere macaroni and cheese, roasted chicken breast, sliced fresh tomatoes, and steamed brussel sprouts. I know, not the lightest meal I've ever made, but it fit the bill and satisfied both the heart and the brain.

The mac n' cheese is super easy. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I always start with a basic roux- a paste made from flour and fat (read: olive oil). So I warmed up about 1 TBSP olive oil in a skillet, tossed in some roasted garlic (which I am totally obsessed with right now, but we can talk about that later), and let the two heat up together. Once the oil is warm I added about 1 1/2 TBSP flour to the pan, whisking them together to make something a little thicker than a paste.Get your pasta water boiling and add your pasta so it can cook while you are making your sauce.  Keeping the pan hot I added 1 cup of 2% milk and a dash of nutmeg. Whisk again and let that come up to a boil. Once the milk is bubbling add another cup of milk and bring it back up to a boil. After the milk is up to it's second boil start adding your cheese. In this case I added Monterrey Jack and Gruyere. More Gruyere than Jack, but taste as you go to find a balance that makes you happy. Once all of the cheese is blended in and melted reduce the heat. Drain the pasta and give it a second to get all of the water out. I like to use twisty shapes for my macaroni and cheese it sometimes takes a second to get the water out. Mix the pasta into the cheese sauce to cover the noodles. Add the noodle and cheese sauce to an oven-safe dish (typically a small casserole dish will do). Toss some bread crumbs or Panko with some olive oil and then sprinkle on top of the mac n' cheese. Let it back in the oven for about 30 mins.

One of my favorite cheats is buying a whole roasted chicken from the grocery store. I mean, what's easier than just coming up and pulling that apart? Now you have chicken for the week ready to go, no defrosting. Plus I like to put it in salads for work or use it for enchiladas.

Give the mac n cheese about 10 mins to cool after it comes out of the oven. Slice your tomatoes and steam your brussel sprouts or vegetable of choice. By the time you do all that it's ready to eat. Simple, satisfying, and no matter how crazy the day it will all come together just like you thought. What an amazing thing!

Farmer's Market to Table

There is a lot of talk lately about Farm-to-Table, meaning cooks to get their food directly from the source rather than through a refrigerated truck. I've extolled the virtues and fun of the farmer's markets here in PDX, but one of the best things about them is that it lets me get closer to the farm-to-table state of cooking.

Since it's summer (at least it's trying to be summer) there is a wealth of amazing produce available at the farmer's markets right now. Inspired by a recipe from NPR I went on the hunt for my ingredients.
I made the linguine with slow-cooked zucchini, basil, and cream- it was delish!

First step- went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market for some fresh ingredients: summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Next stop, Fred Meyer (a local grocery store) for some heavy cream, pecorino romano cheese, and pancetta bits. I always keep garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and other basics on hand.

The recipe calls for the squash/zucchini to be cut in equally thick disks and the garlic to be sliced very thing (think Goodfellas when he was slicing the garlic with a razor blade). While this can be done with a knife it can get challenging. So for this job I brought out the mandolin. It's a great tool to have in the kitchen for dishes like this, lasagna, casseroles, pies, etc. It is VERY sharp so watch out. You just slide the food down the plane into the blade and it slices right through it.

The result:

Super thin garlic and evenly sized zucchini.

Once you have the veggies prepped it's time to heat up the pan and get cooking. I started with my cast iron skillet, a tsp of olive oil, and the pancetta on med-high heat. Toss in the pancetta and let it cook out most of the fat (about 8 mins). Reduce the heat and add the garlic- I turned the heat way down on my pan so I didn't brown or burn the garlic. Once the garlic is about translucent turn the heat up again to about medium and add the zucchini and squash. 

Let all of that cook down for about 30 mins- check in on it periodically to make sure it's not burning and that everything is cooking evenly. Add some salt and pepper to taste knowing that you can always add more but can't take it out once it's in there.

While all of that was getting to smell amazing I sliced up some fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market and sprinkled them with a little finishing salt from The Meadow. The Meadow is a great little specialty shop in the Mississippi neighborhood in North Portland. The sell finishing salts and salts from all over the world- who knew there was so much salt and that it could be so different? Back to the story at hand- let the salt and tomatoes sit while you finish cooking to really draw the flavors out. 

You'll know the zucchini is ready when it looks like this:

Pancetta is browned and has rendered it's fat out, garlic is golden, and the zucchini is soft and flimsy. 

Next add 1/2 cup heavy cream and let it thicken. In the meantime, get your pasta boiling so it will be ready once the sauce is finished. Slice the basil and it to the sauce just before adding the pasta.

By the time the pasta is ready it's time to add the cheese (remember the pecorino romano I bought earlier?). Sprinkle it into the sauce and stir to let it melt. Before you dump out the pasta, take 2 scoops of the pasta water and add them to the pan to lighten up the sauce. Strain the pasta and the put it in the pan with the sauce and toss to coat all of the noodles.

My sommelier/boyfriend picked out a great white wine to go with this dish. It was the 2009 Pinot Blanc from VX winery (aka Vercingetorix) in the Willamette Valley. Great notes of apple and fruit with just enough to punch through the rich cream sauce.

The wine is poured, the noodles are coated, and the salt has worked it's magic on the tomatoes- it's time to eat! Serve the pasta warm with a little parmesan on top. Enjoy!

Nostrana

One of the things we love to do in PDX is try new places to eat. With all of the great places here that keeps us very busy.

We finally make it to Nostrana so check out my review- you should try it!

Nostrana Review on Yelp

Springing out of Hibernation

I'll admit, it was a long winter. I mean, really long. We just started getting an equal number of days with sunshine as we do with rain. But the rain lingers less every day  and the sun seems to shine forever. We were sitting on the couch last night and I realized that it was 8:30 at night and the sun still hadn't set all the way yet.

Dan put the chairs and cushions out on the back porch and I have a bottle of beer just waiting to be opened in anticipation of that gloriously sunny evening where we just sit out there an relax while the grill sizzles with good things to come.

Spring is most certainly one of my favorite seasons in PDX. Of course it's amazing that all of the flowers are blooming and everything is so green. But beyond that, it just feels like the city has come alive again. People are out at every opportunity. My coworkers are anxious for lazy lunch breaks on sun drenched decks, and I'm just soaking it all up.



So here's to spring- a renewal of life, an entree into summer, and a reward for surviving the doldrums of winter.