The market hosts a farm to table dinner and has for six years now. We're a little late to this party. The stars finally aligned and we scored tickets this year! If you're interested in this event, be aware that it has been selling out within 30 minutes, so plan to arrive early on ticket sale day.
This is me finally scoring tickets to this dinner by getting in line at 7:30 for tickets that go on sale at 8:00, in the a.m.. And yes, for you who know me, I truly was somewhere at 7:30 when I wasn't being paid to be there!!!
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We go to a lot of "foodie" events, and this may be my new favorite. This dinner really showcased the farmers/ranchers who are providing our food. Not only were we served a dinner with ingredients sourced from our favorite vendors, many of our favorite vendors were present at the dinner. While enjoying the dishes, I was so excited to recognize ingredients in the dishes, ingredients that I routinely purchase at the market, such as Latte Da Dairy's manchego and Cardo's sprouts.
And the fantastic pork tenderloin and breakfast sausage we purchase at the market, how cool is it to see the young lady who raises those pigs from whence come all those fine products we purchase all dressed up and enjoying dinner instead of working?! We see Ruth Hutchins and her sister Katherine almost every Saturday morning at the market as they work their Rehoboth Ranch booth. It was lovely to see Ruth Hutchins, the prettiest pig raiser in Texas, at the dinner, and also to meet her dad, Robert Hutchins.
The evening began at 6:00 with hors d'ouevres and sparkling wine. The sparkling wine was 2 Muscateers from Blue Ostrich Winery. The hors d'ouevres were crostini with smoked trout, roasted tomatoes, and aioli by Chef Knifong; chix & waffle skewer with jalapeno cream gravy, hot sauce & rosemary honey by Chef Eager; and open faced reubens by Chef Knifong. They were all very good. That jalapeno gravy was scrumptious!
We so often are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and this dinner was no exception. I met Julie and Patrick Whitehead of Blue Ostrich Winery as they were arriving, and then was lucky enough to be seated next to Julie for the dinner. Blue Ostrich Winery provided the wine pairings for the dinner and I was privy to a bit of insider info about the wines by virtue of being seated next to Julie. Julie and her husband and parents are such lovely people and I can't wait to visit and tour their winery.
We were also fortunate enough to be seated across the table from John and Sandy Stewart, from whom we purchase our olive oil and sometimes herbs at the market. They also have wonderful vinegars and homemade dog biscuits at their market booth. And we have a new Facebook friend from the dinner, Don Morris.
The tablescapes were beautiful and creative. There were pretty vases of wildflowers. And then there were these canning jars filled with water with chile peppers inside and lit candles floating atop.
On the table were also canning jars of spiced cashews provided by Good Spice at the market. The bread was provided by Village Baking.
Well, on to the menu.
Amuse Bouche, Bretonne paired with Blue Ostrich Viognier. Very tasty with purple hull peas and microgreens. I buy those same microgreens from Cardo at the market. Very cool to eat a dish and recognize who grew the ingredients!
Smoked pork, cheese, pickled spring vegetables, paired with golden beet citrus ale. The pork cheeks were sourced from Rehoboth Ranch. The salty pork paired beautifully with the Latte Da Dairy manchego cheese and the pickled vegetables. Besides buying meat from Rehoboth Ranch and goat cheese from Latte Da Dairy, we've also toured Latte Da Dairy. Again, it's really fun to eat a dish and recognize that, "Hey, I know what this cheese is and who made it." Chefs Robby and Victoria Hooker created a beautiful dish. Their home brewed golden beet citrus ale was outstanding. Who would think of adding roasted golden beets to beer? Brilliant chefs, that's who!
Cucumbers and Onions, market spring greens, cucumber ribbons. Paired with Blue Ostrich Pinot Grigio. A fresh, crisp, bright salad. I loved the diced cucumbers and cucumber ribbons in the same dish. The dressing was a great, flavorful take on ranch. Rumor has it that the pickled onions were pickled with cucumber vinegar available at the market. You know that vinegar will be coming home with me next Saturday! [Edited to add that it's taken me a while to complete this post and said yummy vinegar has indeed come home with me.]
Sopes with Chicken Tinga, paired with Table One from Blue Ostrich Winery. We would have liked for this dish to have been warmer, but the flavors were fabulous.
Palate cleanser. John's Special Sorbet on a Stick from Pop Star Popsicle. These are mine and Gordon's. Mine was lemon/buttermilk and I think Gordon's was cantaloupe. Neither of us typically eat sweets, but these were too good to skip!
Tender Pork, Sage Potatoes, Spring Vegetable, paired with Cabernet Sauvignon from Blue Ostrich Winery. Again, the tender pork for this dish was sourced from Rehoboth Ranch. It was delicious. The squash in this dish also was sourced from the market, but I'm not sure of the purveyor. The jus was delish!
Lemon Meringue...That's It, paired with Talon from Blue Ostrich Winery. Just yum! Again had to make an exception to the "we don't eat sweets" rule!
I didn't get a pic of the truffles that were available in the lobby as we left this fantastic event, but trust me, they were fab!
It was a tremendous event and I'll be in line at 7:30 a.m. again next spring for tickets. Getting to know our wonderful vendors better, eating their ingredients incorporated into fine chef-prepared dishes, and seeing them receive the appreciation they deserve for their hard work to provide us with quality food made for a perfect evening.
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