The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Grapefruit, Elderflower, Jasmine, and Prosecco cocktail on the rocks
Fervere Orchard Bread with Poblano Pepper Jam and Fresh Cheese from Greendirt Farm
Wooly Rind Cheese with Achiote Mustard and Chicharrones
Polenta Bread with Chateau Cow’s Milk Butter
Crum’s Heirloom Tomatoes – Pork belly, Green Dirt Farm “Prairie Tomme,” arugula, and roasted tomato vinaigrette. Paired with Avinyó, Cava Rosat, Reserva, NV, Spain. (Tomatoes tossed in basil and cilantro. Arugula dressed with grilled sweet corn vinaigrette)
Queso Fundido de Chorizo Verde – Green Dirt Farm “Bossa” cheese and rajas poblanas. Paired with do Ferreira, Albariño, Spain, 2010. Served with warm corn tortillas. (Green Chorizo made with Swiss Chard and mint, Roasted/Peeled Poblanos cooked with oregano, onions, garlic)
Haymaker Switchel – Ginger soda with lemon balm, mint, lemon juice, honey
Lamb Posole Rojo – Rancho Gordo hominy, crunchy garnishes including shredded cabbage, radishes, cilantro, and hominy cooked into corn nuts, lime. Paired with Ostatu, Rioja, Reserva, Spain, 2007. (Lamb rubbed down with chili paste and wood burned first then braised in pepper and sauce. Hominy from California. Wooly Rind melted in the middle.)
Peach “Cobbler” – Green Dirt Farm sheeps milk cajeta, and cajeta and vanilla bean ice cream. Paired with Sablettes, Sauternes, France, 2008.
Broadway Roasting Company Latin American Chiapas
Rarely one to attend “event” meals as I prefer see a restaurant in its natural state, I was fortunate enough to be in Kansas City during one of Green Dirt Farm’s “Farmtable Dinners” and as an invited guest of the event’s photographer to experience the cuisine of Patrick Ryan from his upcoming restaurant Port Fonda I will simply say these four things:
#1) Should you ever have the chance to visit Green Dirt Farm, particularly for one of their dinners, you should absolutely do so – the open pastures, rustic barn, and bucolic setting are serene and beautiful while the cheese, particularly the creamy and soft Wooly Rind, is amongst the best American Sheep’s Milk cheeses I’ve enjoyed.
#2) Patrick Ryan may seem like an inked up white dude living many miles from the cuisine he cooks but from the Queso Fundido to the Posole every bite of food I tasted at Green Dirt Farm was on par with the Mexican Cusine being served here in Phoenix and other highly touted restaurants from Chicago to Los Angeles. The next time I find myself in Kansas City I will undoubtedly pay Port Fonda a visit.
#3) I love peaches; to call this cobbler, cooked over an open fire, memorable would be an understatement and to proclaim the pairing perfect would be even more so.
#4) It takes more than a cold towel, refreshing switchel, and ceiling fans to quell the heat of Mexican cuisine just outside of Kansas City on a scorching Sunday in July but despite the beads of sweat rolling down my face and back I enjoyed every minute of my visit to Green Dirt Farm and the diverse group of people I met while there – Midwestern through and through, and all the better for it.