Zest N Zing (What a Night Part II)

Judges: Jennie Runevitch, me, Jacob Tamme

So there I was. With an Indianapolis Colt on my left and a WTHR news anchor on my right, I am tasting (and judging!) food prepared by local celebrity chefs and their celebrity counterparts (with assistance from local farmers to boot!). 

The first course was served to us while we sat in the front row in the audience. It was an appetizer course. One team had to use cheese, the other pork (piece of cake ingredients!). The first was a crepe filled with ricotta and basil and topped with a bacon-black cherry buerre blanc. The basil lended a nice flavor to the ricotta, and the crepe was very nicely done. I wanted the ricotta to be warm, because the texture was a little mealy and the fact that it was served cold made it worse. The sauce was really rich, smoky and complex.

Ricotta Basil Crepe w/ Bacon Black-Cherry Buerre Blanc

The next appetizer was a roasted pork loin on a crostini with orange-honey reduction and poached plum. The pork was perfectly done, and the crostini was perfectly toasted. The orange sauce was very sweet, especially when combined with the poached plum on top. I really enjoyed the texture of the dish!

Next the teams were challenged to entrees and desserts, and the entrees had to feature pork.  The first dish was a seared pork tenderloin topped with bacon and cheese (I coundn't really determine what kind of cheese, something white and stringy), served with a bacon-bleu cheese gnochhi and some poached white asparagus. Everything tasted fantastic! The gnocchi was my favorite part of the dish, along with the nice acidity of the white asparagus with the richness of the other flavors. The pork tenderloin was a little tough (it steamed instead of searing), but everything else was great.

This team (Team Moo) presented a dessert of a crepe filled with vanilla ricotta and fresh berries. It was simply delicious, and a welcome lighter ending to a heavy meal.

Roasted Pork Crostini with Orange-Honey and Poached Plum

The next team (Team Pork) presented a seared spiced pork tenderloin on a bed of fresh red wine pappardelle (from local Nicole-Taylor's Pasta) topped with a ragout of tomato, sausage, bacon, and zucchini. The flavors of this were awesome, and the pork was perfectly executed to a juicy medium temperature. The pasta ended up drying out a bit, and I really didn't think the sauce needed all of the bacon and sausage, but the whole thing was good.

Team Pork's dessert was insane: bleu cheese and bacon bread pudding. After lots of reflection--this dish is not easily forgotten--I still don't know if I liked it or not! I've never been so confused by a dish. It was so salty, so smoky, and so sweet! It was also extremely rich (no kidding) after an already rich meal, so that didn't totally work for me. Jacob Tamme thought it was the best thing ever, but I  suppose when you train like he does (and you have to eat 6000 calories a day or whatever the number may be) you need to love food like that.

Entrees and Desserts from both teams

Team Pork ended up winning (it was 2-1, and I won't reveal which way I voted). All in all, it was an excellent competition that I thoroughly enjoyed. Smiley and Paul Poteet were undeniably charismatic and fun, as expected. The other judges, Kellie Runevitch of WTHR and Jacob Tamme of the Colts were a true delight, kind and interesting. I have to say the event was quite an experience. It made me realize a few things:

1) Judging food is challenging! (especially when it's for charity!)

2) Richer and bolder is not always better. There is an art to restraint in cooking.

3) Local is becoming more of a mainstream way to shop and eat.

4) Milk is typically good for at least one week after the date on the carton (which is a sell-by date). Sniff it to make sure though!

5) Pork (despite what the FDA guidelines state) can be cooked just like beef! The problem with Trichinosis was that pork had not had the same dietary requirements as other animals, and the result was lots of parasites and other nasty stuff. Now that all of that is controlled, those are not any more of a concern than with beef. Hooray! Pink pork is so much better than well done!

I want to thank Chelsea, the Farm Bureau, and everyone who made this such a memorable experience for me. (Thanks for taking pictures, Mom!) I am humbled by my opportunity to participate in such a great event to benefit meaningful causes. On a side note, if anyone wants to let me judge food again, I am not above RockPaperScissors, standing on my head, or any other silly test to get me there. Cheers!

Surprise! What A Night...

A lucky participant was picked to be a food judge

Last night was the debut of an event called Zest N Zing, put on the Indiana Farm Bureau (@infarmbureau).  It was billed as "a foodie event for the at-home chef." I received an email that prompted me to pay $20 for a night benefiting Gleanor's Food Bank and the Ronald McDonald House while enjoying hors d'oeuvres and local beer and wine. It was held at the Indiana History Center, which has undergone a beautiful facelift and faces the canal. Twist my arm.

I brought my mom, and we were off! The event was run by volunteer farmers who were anxious to share more about their farms, local availability, and great tips for cooking and preparing healthy, delicious meals. The entrance fee included enough food tickets to try one of everything plus two alcoholic beverages. They featured Turtle Run and Oliver Wineries (I like the Turtle Run Red Zinfindel and the Oliver Gewurztraminer best), as well as Upland and Sun King breweries. Everyone also got a swag bag filled with surprisingly useful take-aways (meat thermometers, cutting boards, aprons, cheese slicers, oven mitts, etc). We also received recipes for everything we ate and much more. I'm fairly certain this event, while it was extremely well executed and well-attended this year, will explode next year. I was so impressed that I offered to volunteer with next year's event.

The Maple Leaf Farms Duck (lower right)

My favorite bite was the spiced Maple Leaf Farms Duck on a crispy sweet potato round with a tangy citrus salsa. It was the perfect bite: salty, earthy and sweet with the perfect balance of acidity and a fabulous texture. I went back for seconds. Though I'm pretty sure that wasn't allowed, they were too nice to refuse me! I'll include the recipe to this in a later post, so stay tuned.

Then the night went from very enjoyable to extremely interesting! Heather Tallman (@BasilMomma who writes the terrific BasilMomma blog), who I had met previously at a Season 52 tasting event, flagged me down. As we were chatting and comparing notes about the event, the event's "Official Tweeter," (a very respectable position at any event more formal than a weeknight family meal) Chelsea Nord (@Chelsea_pa) came up to us and offered one of us a coveted Golden Ticket. While I had no idea what this ticket may had been for, I have watched Willy Wonka and know that a Golden Ticket is never to be refused (and Heather, who always knows the scoop, was very excited about the ticket in question). So we went all "mature" and played PaperRockScissors (best of 3) for whatever this golden ticket would mean for one of us. I won! Lovely Chelsea still wouldn't tell me what I had won, so I had no idea that I was in for a true thrill....

As I walked upstairs to the auditorium, I see Dave Smiley (@smilyradioshow) and local weather personality Paul Poteet (@paulpoteet) cooking on a stage with Chef Chip Huckaby and Chef Jason Anderson in an IronChef-esque cook-off. I am escorted to the front row, where I am seated between Jacob Tamme (the starting Colts Tight End) and Jennie Runevitch (a WTHR anchor). I am the third judge! No way! Apparently this was on the event's flyer and it was the big deal of the night (I somehow missed the memo).

This was just too much to process. The only minor problem was that not knowing I would have to taste a lot more food, I sort of filled up at the event downstairs (I had been too busy to eat lunch so I was famished by the time I made it to the first table). Well, when duty calls you just have to suck it up. I'll explain everything I tasted (and all of the fun people and swag that went with it) in the next post. 

In the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to Heather. While you are one of the true blogging queens of the food scene (and I barely know what I'm doing), I have a clearly superior skill-level in PaperRockScissors! What else do you need in life? Let's just say my face hurts from the grin I had for the next 90 minutes. Stay tuned for more....

Never Have a Terrible Restaurant Meal Again!

It occurred to me a few days ago that the reviews on this blog are more often positive than negative. While everything is honest, there just aren't a lot of horrible experiences to write about. Here's my best understanding as to why...

1) Since no one else funds my efforts, I am very selective about where to dine (and spend money).

2) I try to be an educated consumer, understanding what a particular establishment does well (and doesn't).

3) As someone whose life revolves around food (as much as it can with a day job, volunteer commitments, and a personal life), I understand what I enjoy. While I try to be adventurous and try new things, I will generally order things that I will probably like.

My late father was the king of ordering the wrong this at a restaurant.  After dozens of terrible restaurant meals (and writing off so many decent establishments after one bad experience), he learned an easy trick.  Almost without fail, every time he sat down at a restaurant with menu in hand, he called me. "Honey--what do I like here?" Problem solved. If you don't have a go-to person who understands your specific tastes in the context of a particular menu that is available around the clock, don't worry. The first part of having an enjoyable experience is choosing the best place to dine.

I'm not talking about price, prestige, or month-long waiting lists either.

There are several restaurants that know what they are good at and stick to it. I frequent many such establishments, so you will find them all over f+f. Everything is better when this is a guiding principle; food is fresher, more consistent and often even more interesting. Some good examples around Indy are Pizzology, Boogie Burger, Brugge, Yats, St. Elmo, Petite Chou, and many others. Far too often though, eateries will try to be everything to everyone.  This is typically not a winning concept if you want your food to be the star of the show.  Unfortunately, there are so many of these restaurants that you are bound to navigate your way through a menu featuring ribs, pizza, stir-fry, burgers, and seafood sooner or later.

I assure you that you do not need your own "personal orderer" (at one point I seriously considered the viability of opening this type of business).  It's easy to make the best choices in any restaurant. If you don't have great foodie instincts, this will take time.  Be patient!  Eventually, you will learn how to identify what to order where.  I maintain that every restaurant (if it has been around awhile, at least) does something pretty darn well, or they wouldn't stay in business.

• Pay close attention to what they brag about (don't use menu price as an indicator here thought- that can lead you astray)
• Ask your server what his or her favorites are (if you have a good repoir with him or her, ask what they plan to eat on their shift break)
• Ask what other patrons have raved about recently
• Identify the "regulars" sitting around you and see what they are eating
• If the place is usually busy, order the special if it sounds good

To those of you who are disappointed that I won't be trashing lots of eateries, oh well.  The truth is, I'm a foodie who generally understands how to get the most out of my restaurant experience.  There will be mediocre reviews and disappointments, but I hope to stay on the positive side of food. Regardless of how I feel about a particular experience at a particular restaurant, I will always be honest and as respectful as possible. I have a lot of admiration for the people in the front lines of the restaurant industry, and I understand how hard it is to be excellent in that world. Happy dining!  Cheers...