We managed to sneak in a gourmet club before the winter came, and test our culinary survival skills.
Sous Chef Vanessa started us off with an hors d'oeuvre of mini pasta nests with tomato-vodka sauce, parmesan and bacon (or mushrooms for those so inclined). She pulled from her back-up food supply of pasta and sauce, always on hand in case of emergency. Her drink was a custom cocktail with soda, cranberry liqueur, vodka and espresso. To the table for Sous Chef Dean's appetizer of Puffed Campfire - roasted carrots and red and yellow peppers, caramelized onions and baked brie over a puff pastry (from scratch) with a parmesan chip flame on top. The drink was made with gin, that was infused with foraged wild sumac he had dried- very adventurous! Sous Chef Leah leaned on her key survival food of many decades- peanut butter sandwiches. She served the crowd a homemade toasted mixed-nut butter, with a side of roasted grapes and freshly baked biscuits. The elevated PB and grape 'sandwiches' were served with a choice of a New Zealand White or California Red wine (which also helps her survive). Next up, Sous Chef Dallas tapped into 'faking it till you make it' survival approach, with her jerk (fake) chicken (tempeh), on a bed of spinach and homemade dressing. We washed it all down with a refreshing dark and stormy cocktail. Master Chef Abe showed his foraging survival skills for all to taste! He had harvested black walnuts during a camping trip in the summer - He removed the fruit, dried the nuts for a month, shelled, and turned the nut meal into a walnut pesto. He served the walnut pesto on bed of homemade noodles, with a heavy sprinkle of parmesan. The fruitiness of the local black walnuts was complimented by a glass of late autumn Riesling. Sous Chef Amy provided the chefs with a cornucopia of freeze dried delicacies including: blueberry cheesecake ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream, lemon bars, skittles candy, Neapolitan dots and mocha chocolate mousse - channeling a childhood experience with space food- freeze dried ice cream! Her drink was an individually wrapped packet of freeze dried chai tea mix. This post is long overdue, as our Survival gourmet was followed by two additional waves of COVID and an illegal occupation of the city. It's been quite the winter...but the snow has melted and the flowers are on their way. We are moving from surviving to thriving! Next up: Master Chef Amy |
MissionGood Food Archives
February 2024
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