Although there were a ton of great dishes to be sampled at the foodbuzz Food Festival in San Francisco this November, only a few dishes really stood out as exceptional.  The other dishes that stand out most in my memory aren’t the ones that were done perfectly the first time.  The dishes that always stick with me are the ones that were almost perfect. Those dishes that I find myself wondering just what tiny little detail made them less than everything they could have been.

One of those dishes was Mezzetta’s Beer Braised Flank Steak.  Sure it was good, but it wasn’t great. It had all the right flavors just not enough of them somehow to compete with the other dishes at the same event. (Don’t blame the chef… competition in that room was fierce!)

The memory of that dish has stuck with me since the festival and when I came across the recipe card in my swag-bag I decided to see if I could take the dish up by that one much needed notch.

Now I have nothing against polenta, which is what the chef originally paired this dish with, but as a good southern boy, I don’t necessarily have polenta on hand, but I always have grits, so my first change was obvious.  The second thing I didn’t want to do was to use a bunch of pre-made store bought products to make the dish, regardless of the quality, both because they’re too hard to change to my liking and because I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the first attempt.

Don’t let the seemingly large list of ingredients frighten or deter you.  Basically I just built a pasta sauce in a braising liquid and let it thicken as it went.  You’ll be amazed how quickly it all goes together and how absolutely powerful the flavors are.  It’s simply an awe-inspiring dish and one I recommend that you give a bit of time to while the weather is chill.

Read more…

Popularity: 5% [?]

And finally my recap of the Foodbuzz Food Festival Farewell Brunch.  If you haven’t already seen my recap of Day 1 and Day 2, you might want to start there, as this is the shortest, but for me the most memorable, of the three posts. It was also the most memorable of the three days I shared in San Francisco with my fellow food bloggers for several reasons, which I will get to eventually.

This day started with an early wake up and clearing out my hotel room.  A bittersweet moment where I realized that this was the final day I’d spend in San Francisco for a while and that it was to be the last chance I’d have to meet and talk with anyone in the world of food blogging in person for quite some time. (There’s only one other food blogger in Redding… Not a lot of opportunity for serious meet-ups).

The drive to LuLu was pretty uneventful, requiring only one swing around the block to find a decent parking space and I headed off toward the already growing crowd at the door. I was immediately greeted by Joan of Foodalogue, who was insistently introducing me to one of the people I had most looked forward to meeting on this trip, PeterG of Souvlaki for the Soul. Peter has been an online acquaintance of mine for over two years and now that we’ve met in person, I’m happy to call him a lifelong friend. It was truly a moment to remember and one that I’m glad happened at this event.  Peter is an amazing person and probably the best photographer I know. It was a pleasure to meet him and talk shop for a bit.

When the doors opened and we were allowed in, the maelstrom began.  I had been looking forward to meeting a handful of people over the weekend and up until this point I thought I had done well..  Until this happened:

I finally met Elise from Simply Recipes. Elise and I have had conversations in many different venues for years. I’ll be completely honest in saying that she was the inspiration for CBSOP.  She is a hero, a mentor and an icon in my life as a blogger. She is also a warm and wonderful person who greeted me with a hug and talked about life as though we have known each other for years, which we have in a way. I don’t mean to gush or get all fan-boy.  Elise is just a genuinely warm person whom I wouldn’t at all mind sitting over coffee and talking with.

Right after Elise was Jaden of Steamy Kitchen:

Jaden is a remarkable lady with a delightful attitude and a great sense of humor.  She is also a lover of bacon, which makes her a friend in my book any day.  We only had a few minutes to talk, but in that time she managed to inspire me and to let me know that I was just “one of the gang.” In short she’s a wonder. A force of nature. Something just a little bit more than I’ve come to be yet.

I’ve got my work cut out for me if I ever want to stand level with this duo of incredible bloggers…

But of course there was more.  This weekend was all about more.

O course the food at LuLu was amazing, i just didn’t take any pictures of it.  I was too busy getting to know everyone at the table and that passed by.  The standout dish for me was the fritatta made with Kerrygold cheese… Aside from that I remember the bacon, LOL.

I met so many wonderful people at the farewell brunch:

Not only id I have the opportunity to talk with Elise, Jaden and PeterG, but also seated at our table was Joan of foodalogue, Mark of No Recipes (@norecipes) (Whom I did not manage to get a photo of, but who did take the incredible group shot above), The gorgeous Rachael, a.k.a. LA Fuji Mama (@fujimama), whom I spent a great deal of time chatting with, Diana (@dianasaurdishes) and many other great food bloggers who were seated just outside my circle of conversation. (We were talking camera’s, lighting and bacon…. I was engrossed.)

The morning was wonderful and I have only three regrets:

1. I didn’t have a chance to meet more of the people in the room… which I fervently plan to remedy next year
2. That I couldn’t really sample the bloody mary bar provided by Skyy, as I had to drive home after the event and was already tired.
3. That it all ended so soon.  I could have sat and talked with this group of people all day.  we may not have met in person before that morning, but we are all old friends and it showed in the ease of conversation.

Finally I trekked back to my car for the long drive back to Far Northern California.  It was like leaving Disneyland as a kid.

To all the people I met: I hope to see you next year.  I’ll do better planning this time.

To the people I did not get the opportunity to meet:  You won’t be able to miss me next time.  Stop by and say hello!

To the Foodbuzz Team: you guys rocked it!  For a first time event, this went off pretty darned smoothly.  The food was amazing, the company was great and I enjoyed meeting all of you, especially Ryan and Dorian, whom I have worked closely with for quite some time. Sign me up for the next event, I’ll be there… Can we do it Next month?

Popularity: 2% [?]

As I left Day One of the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival I was in a funk, but the gorgeous sunny San Francisco day that greeted me for day two of the event went a long way toward lifting my spirits.  The events that followed had them soaring.

After a quick shuttle and an uneventful ride on BART, I ended up facing the Ferry Building in all it’s glory.  The fact that I was running late for the greets and snacks portion of the day didn’t phase me.  I figured as long as there was still coffee I’d be fine and because I’d thought I’d have to cancel, I wasn’t scheduled to attend any events.  Time was on my side, the sun was shining and San Francisco was resplendent.  A good start to the day indeed.

After a few quick photos I made my way to the Foodbuzz area where there was indeed coffee.  There was also some lovely conversation with The Foodbuzz’ Team’s own Ryan Stern (@ryanthegirl), and a meeting with one of my favorite folks in the bloggosphere, Jenn di Piazza (@leftoverqueen) and her husband Roberto:

The three of us were all headed back to the Hotel Vitale and we talked on the way about everything from the proper color choices for western hats, to sustainable agriculture, their upcoming move to Vermont, rice production in California’s Central Valley and the superiority of Vermont Cheddar over California Cheeses (I’m not convinced on this last point, but I grew up in California’s cheese producing mecca, Sonoma.)

From there I met back up with Kelly Wright (@kellypea) anda few others before tastings began.

As I said, I wasn’t on the schedule for any events, but Alexa (that is Alexa, right… on the far right?), had other ideas and I was summarily ushered in for the second olive oil tasting of the day.

Chef Michael Tuohy was inspirational in his passion for olive oils, the slow food movement and food in general.  listening to him talk was enough to make me want to go and cook something right then and there… Preferably in olive oil.  And even though his enthusiasm was contagious, I was still a little unsure of tasting the assembly of raw olive oils in front of the attendees:

In the end I discovered two things:

1. Each one of these oils was distinctly different.  Each unique in its own way with different nuances and subtle variances in flavor and mouth feel.
2. That I never.  EVER. Want to do another olive oil tasting again. it’s just too much of an otherwise good thing.

The biggest bonus of the experience (aside from the side comments and more than a few laughs), was the bottle of new, early season olive oil that was presented to everyone who attended the tasting.  Chef Tuohy suggested that it be used immediately, but I’m saving it for just a few more days when I start cranking out some recipes for this year’s Holiday recipe series.

From there it was off to the Metreon City view for the Foodbuzz tasting pavilion.  On the way i was introduced to the lovely Joan Nova (@foodalogue) and Sherman of Sherman’s Food Adventures, who I kept bumping into throughout the afternoon and trading noshing suggestions with.  Kelly and I kept joking that we were both in desperate need of something to get the taste of olive oil out of our mouths as we walked the few blocks to the Metreon and I’m pretty sure a good time was had by all on the way.

I’m not sure how, but we managed to get to the tasting pavilion before it opened, so we joined the crowd milling outside in anticipation.  The throng reminded me of the previous night’s dinner, with hundreds of hungry foodies milling around the entrance like sharks waiting for a hapless sea lion to get a little too far out from shore.  It’s kind of beautiful in it’s own way, really.  …At least as long as you’re not the sea lion.

Once we were allowed in the fun began in earnest.  I’m not going to give a minute-by-minute replay of the event, there was just too much going on. the first thing we were told was to take a wine glass for ourselves, both to sample the wines and beer on the floor and to take home as a keepsake.

Then it was off to the food!  While there are several clear favorites among my fellow bloggers and I, I think the concensus is clear.  The hit of the day was the Mexican Shrimp “Ceviche” Cocktail with Peruvian peppers from Chef Jesse T. Perez of Fuego at the Maya in Long Beach, CA (A member of joie de vivre  Hotels and Restaurants, one of the show’s biggest sponsors.)

I kid you not folks.  Of all the sampling I did, the memory of this civiche will stay with me for a very long time.  I’m tempted to ask the chef for the recipe, but I’m afraid it would be a matter of “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” In which case I’d have to listen, then try to take him out first.

After that experience, and with even more chicharrones from 4505 (Lamb this time! YUM!) I decided It was time to sample a few of the wines and beers available.  All were good, but for me there were two real standouts of the day.  The first was an Irish Ale from Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery, which is unfortunately not listed at their website.  A lovely beer and one I came to enjoy repeatedly throughout the day, but the beer that won my heart was from a source I never would have imagined.  Iron Chef and Culinary Icon Masaharu Morimoto:

This black Obi Soba Ale is the most fantastic beer I have ever tasted.  It’s the perfect beer for a great roast or braised beef dinner and pairs well with chocolate, too.  If you’re a lover of dark beer and you find this: BUY IT.  You won’t regret it.

The rest of the afternoon was a delightful blur of both new and familiar flavors.  The Mezzetta’s booth was a taste of home for me.  They’re based in Napa now, but when I was growing up the company was based on 8th street in my home town of Sonoma, California.  I’ve had their products in my pantry since I was a boy and I happily hung around and talked wine Country with the guys in the booth for a while.

Following that I let the Irish in me out and headed for the Kerrygold booth, where I was rewarded with some of the best cheeses I’ve ever eaten, along with a gorgeous and silky Irish butter that I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time.  Having tried it I can say with certainty that I’ll be buying a little of all of it the next time I go shopping.  It was better than good, it was insanely good. (The crowd should give that away, shouldn’t it?)

Along the way I had the chance to meet quite a few of my fellow foodies.  I spent a very nice time talking with Kristi Willis, better known as the force behind Austin Farm to Table. (@austinfarm2tbl) about Texas, farming and, of course, bouncing around to try new foods.

I also met up with Joel Brown of Six by 10 Tiny Kitchen and had several memorable moments talking with him and several others on the balcony.  It was a nice break from the frenetic pace inside the pavilion and an entirely enjoyable time.  There were others surely, but these are the names that stick in my head.  After two hours of noshing, drinking and generally enjoying myself, Kelly Wright, Kristi Willis and I decided that the afternoon was done and took a leisurely stroll back to the Hotel.

I decided at that point that it was time to call it a day.  I wasn’t there for the big dinner, but that’s fine by me.  I was stuffed, sated and looking forward to a hot shower, a few screwdrivers and a good night’s sleep in preparation for the farewell brunch.. Which is exactly how the night ended up.  The perfect end to a perfect day.

Do not fear, foodie friends.  I’ll make the dinner next year for sure. There were reasons I decided against it this year, but those will be laid out in another post.  for now my coverage of Day 2 of the Foodbuzz Food Festival is at an end.

Stay tuned for part Three!

Share and Enjoy!

Popularity: 2% [?]

This weekend I had the honor of joining several hundred of my peers in food blogging at the first annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in lovely San Francisco, California. It was an amazing experience all the way around, far more than I can fit into a single post, so I’m breaking the event down by days.

The first thing I have to say is that day one of the event was a pretty large let down for me.  This is not due to anything that the team at foodbuzz did, nor did it have anything to do with the other attendees, the vendors or the venues.  On he contrary, from what I could see the guys at Foodbuzz rawked day one.  The general feeling of dysphoria was due to a day filled with errors and delays that I carried with me to the party.  Of course that didn’t stop me from trying!

After leaving home later than I had wanted to and a long three hour drive, insane traffic on my way into the city made me late for the meet and greet.  I actually showed up just as it was getting out, so I grabbed my badge and swag bag and headed for the Ferry Building and the Street Food “Fare.”  The walk itself was beautiful.  I spotted a few people I wanted to catch up with later on the way, but they were engrossed in conversation, so I headed to the event with hopes of a cold one and something to eat.

What greeted me was something akin to carnage on a monumental scale:

I’d missed the first event by just moments, but the Street Fare event was already full to the rafters with hungry, picture snapping bloggers.  It looked slightly dangerous to try to slip into the throng while retaining all of my digits, so I sidled over to the beer booth at the entrance and downed a sample or two before braving the sea of enthusiastic souls in the pavilion.

I had a brief but pleasant conversation with Christy from balance, and while I never had the opportunity to speak with her again during the event, I must say that the conversation was nice and that she was a very pleasant person with a pretty decent blog, so go take a look when you get the time.

After a few minutes of people watching, I grabbed a second (or third) sample of the beer vendors wares and waded into the crowd in hopes of finding a familiar face.  Doing so was not an easy task, since I tend to live in places with a nearly nonexistent food blogging population (my current city has only one other blogger) and I have never met another food blogger in my career.  Luckily, one of the first places I searched yielded one of my favorite online compadrés, Mrs. Kelly Wright of Sass and Veracity, (a.k.a @kellypea ):

Kelly and I have been bantering back and forth in both blog comments and on twitter or the better part of both of our careers as food bloggers and finally having the opportunity to meet her in person was both a pleasure and an honor.  We spent the better part of the next hour chatting with each other and some of our fellow food bloggers before drifting our own ways and by that point I realized that I hadn’t sampled any of the food yet!

At this point I must apologize to almost every vendor at the event.  It’s not that I don’t love you all, or that you didn’t have wonderful foods.  It’s not that I was ignoring you on purpose. It’s not that I didn’t fully intend to break with my normal carnivorous ways and give the Alive! Catering booth a try…

None of these things could be farther from the truth.  I had fully intended to sample as much as my usually rabid appetite could handle.  The problem came in the form of pork; both in the form of 4505’s mouth watering chicharrones and because of Roli Roti’s Porhcetta.  After I met them I had no room in my heart (or stomach) for anyone else at the party.  They had me at their porcine hello’s and I was their fool for the rest of the evening.

After just a little while longer the day caught up with me and I collected my swag, myself and the funk that was still hanging with me and wandered out into the San Franciscan night and back to my hotel. (a 1/2 hour BART ride followed by a 15 minute shuttle ride.)  By the time I made it back I was only good for a few discordant tweets, a short chat with my wife and bed with a vow that tomorrow would be better.

It was, but you’ll have to wait for part two of this series to find out about it.

Share and Enjoy!

Popularity: 2% [?]