Wednesday, August 12, 2009

dinner 8

crazy that is has been 8 weeks since our last dinner. ryan + i had the nervous jitters all over again during prep before everyone arrived for sunday's dinner. luckily for me, i only had to worry about cleaning the house while ryan dealt with the food. and thank god for that.

ryan calls dinner menu number 8 one of his favorites.
it included some ridonkulous heirloom tomatos that once pureed turned a beautiful melon color, making it hard to believe that no cream was added. a salad of grilled peaches and local goat cheese turned out to be the crowd favorite while we had mixed reviews on the quail. being the peak of fig season, we rounded out the dinner with a double dose of baker yard figs.

thank you to all who attended: lindsey, jeff, alex, jen, leah, ryan, lucy, patrick and don (unfortunately we forgot to take a group shot). the photos below are curtosy of jeff viscomi of adventurous tastes.


a hybrid of traditional spanish gazpacho (including tomato, bread and olive oil) with the addition of some diced zucchini and cucumber for texture.
a southern favorite with a modern twist. grilled peaches with boutique georgia goat cheese, crispy bacon, marcona almonds and a drizzle of burnt honey. the burnt honey lends a nice bitter edge to contrast the sweet syrupy peaches.
the key to a great bruschetta is the bread. light and airy cibatta bread was the perfect vehicle for these pan roasted chanterelle mushrooms.
a southwestern take on quail. it was grilled over hardwood charcoal and served with a smoky plabano cornbread stuffing and local heirloom bean and cabage slaw. sauced with a sweet and spicy bbq sauce.
grilled pork tenderloin from riverview farms with cast iron carmelized baker yard figs, 12 year old balsamic and fennel salad garnish.
fresh baked warm fig cake topped with old fashioned homemade vanilla ice cream and finished with preserves made from baker yard brown turkey figs.