I think the past 18 months can be best broken up into three segments:
- New Zealand (first half of 2011) + sketches
- Oregon (second half of 2011) + sketches
- Iowa (2012) + sketches
Hence, I will provide some general overview of the food we ate in each of those places, with a few featured meals.
Oregon
Like NZ, we were usually working in the winery. When we weren't, we could typically be found out visiting as many wineries in the Willamette Valley as we possibly could. In addition to the outstanding Andrew Rich Wines and J. Daan, our favorites were The Eyrie Vineyards, White Rose, and Cristom. Domaine Serene had a fantastic '09 chardonnay (Clos du Lune) that is worth seeking out.
Anyway, once again, plating was secondary to taste and brevity during this time. Luckily, we know how to make a delicious dish. Also luckily, the winery provided our lunches (thanks again, guys!). That made life much easier.
Homemade soba noodles, shiitakes, vegetables
?
Homemade soba, Tillamook aged cheddar, beans, roasted tomato sauce
Potato salad, black beans, samba, chèvre
Tofu with ratatouille and fried egg
*Worth trying: Goat's milk Gouda with Nutella
*Sauce worth remembering: puréed steamed cucumber seasoned with vinegar, a dash of sugar, salt and pepper
Served with ratatouille, spicy glazed tofu, soy-glazed egg
Date filled with nutella and roasted local hazelnuts
Omelette thing and sautéed vegetables with homemade ancho sauce
Pan-fried potatoes, sautéed vegetabales
The most ghetto of our winemaking attempts (in the closet in a cooler)
*not recommended
Tillamook soufflé
Syrah sketch
Petit Verdot
Illy... I miss you
Steamed chicken with mirepoix, toasted kale, sweet potato gratin
Grenache sketch
Hunting for chanterelles (and we found so many)
We did not eat these. But, this is what grapes with botrytis look like (all Oregon wineries struggled with this in 2012)
Thanksgiving in Portland (we brought the brown butter/garlic/toasted hazelnut polenta in front, plus a cold southern-French style lentil salad)
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