Food+Drink

2010-Autumn-Oregon-Food-Recipe-Pheasant-Ham-and-Black-Truffle-Croquette-eat-cook-chef

Pheasant, Ham and Black Truffle Croquette

Makes 36 croquettes Ingredients: 8 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup onions chopped finely 2½ cups all-purpose flour 2 cups whole milk 2 cups pheasant stock ½ cup finely chopped, Serrano ham or Prosciutto 6 ounces pheasant meat, shredded Salt and pepper 1 pinch nutmeg 1 pound chopped frozen Oregon black truffles 2 cups breadcrumbs Olive oil for frying   Directions: Heat the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they are translucent, five minutes. Add 1 ½ cups flour and mix thoroughly. Cook for five minutes to make sure the flour is cooked through; it should start to take on a golden color. Pour the milk and stock into the flour mixture and cook, stirring continuously for about two minutes, until you have a thick béchamel. Add the ham and pheasant, and sprinkle in salt and nutmeg. Cook another two minutes. You should…

2010-Autumn-Oregon-Food-Recipe-Roasted-Butternut-Squash-Soup-with-Truffle-Oil-eat-cook-chef

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 large onion, thinly sliced 5 cups chicken stock (or water) Salt and freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup crème fraîche 1 small white Oregon truffle Truffle oil The roasting of the squash intensifies its sweetness, which pairs perfectly with the pungent earthiness of the truffle.   Directions: Preheat oven to 425°F. Salt and pepper the inside of the squash halves. Brush a little olive oil on a baking sheet and place the squash cut-side down. Bake until tender, about forty-five minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop the pulp out of the shell. You will have about four cups of pulp. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until soft, about ten minutes. Add the squash pulp and the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil,…

2010-Autumn-Oregon-Food-Recipe-Individual-Pizzas-with-Truffle-Oil-eat-cook-chef

Pizzas with Truffle Oil

In the culinary world, there are few ingredients that are as coveted and distinct as the white truffle. Words like ‘earthy’ and ‘pungent’ are often used to describe the flavor of white truffle. Once you taste it, however, you know that if Mother Nature had made anything better, she would have kept it for herself.

2010-Autumn-Oregon-Travel-Wine-Willamette-Valley-Kevin-Max-horse

The Pinot Wilderness

By summer, I had settled on the most ambitious of all fantasies—to take trail horses on a two-day binge in wine country. In Oregon’s famed Pinot noir region lay a vast wilderness for exploration. Surprising chapters of a bigger story would emerge from that wilderness.

13.05_HGCMayblog_strawberries_wb

The Oregon Strawberry

Most mornings in June, starting at about 5:30, Chris Christensen is out in the strawberry fields of her 250-acre farm in Albany, picking the perfectly ripe fruit. “I’d rather sit and pick than do anything else” says Christensen, a third-generation strawberry grower. “There’s that quiet moment when the crew gets down to do it, and the birds are going, and you’re in your own thoughts. I’m giddy.”   As she deftly plucks the berries from the plants, she’ll pop a few into her mouth, savoring the natural sugar and juice that combines in an intense flavor found only in an Oregon strawberry. From farm-stand shoppers to food scientists and high-profile chefs, people with discriminating taste buds agree that this state produces the most intensely sweet, red and juicy strawberries. Even the world’s strawberry cognoscenti, mostly food professionals, know this. Yet, the berries are still relatively obscure, in part because production…

Ceviche

The Oregon Strawberry Recipes from Chef Leif Eric Benson

Fresh Driver Scallops and Oregon Strawberry Ceviche (serves 4-6 as an appetizer) Basil ½ cup olive oil ½ cup fresh basil leaves ½ cup fresh spinach leaves Scallops 8 ounces fresh scallops, trimmed and diced (1 cup) 4 ounces Oregon strawberries, washed and diced (1/2 cup) 3 tablespoons basil oil (recipe above)    juice from one lime 1 tablespoon minced chives    salt, to season Oregon Strawberry Vinaigrette 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons Dijon or stone-ground mustard 3 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar    juice from ½ a lime 1/3 cup olive oil 2 cups fresh, ripe Oregon strawberries, washed    salt and pepper to taste For Scallops Combine ingredients and reserve. Serve chilled with Oregon strawberry vinaigrette, basil oil and, if desired, micro greens and crostini. For Basil Oil Purée in blender until smooth For Vinaigrette Place egg yolks, mustard, lime juice, water and vinegar in a…

2010-Spring-Oregon-Recipe-Willamette-Valley-Eyrie-Vineyards-Chocolate-Hazelnut-Torte-eat-food-chef-cook

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Pinot Gris

Serves 4-6 Ingredients: ½ pound butter ½ pound Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate, or other fine chocolate 2 eggs 6 tablespoons sugar ½ cup pinot gris  or good brandy ½ pound wheatmeal biscuits, coarsely crushed Slightly sweetened whipped cream, for garnish ½ cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted hazelnuts, for garnish Directions: A day ahead butter, the sides of an eight-inch springform pan, and line the bottom with buttered wax paper. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler. Beat the eggs and sugar together until foamy, and add the melted butter and chocolate. Add the brandy and crushed biscuits. Stir together gently, and pour into the paper-lined pan. Refrigerate overnight. Day of Unmold, peel off the paper, and slice into servings. Garnish each serving with a generous dollop of slightly sweetened whipped cream. Sprinkle with the chopped roasted hazelnuts or shaved chocolate, if desired.

2010-Spring-Oregon-Wine-Travel-Gaston-Big-Table-Farm-vineyard

Oregon Winemaking

At the northern edge of Oregon’s winemaking region, a Napa Valley couple staked a claim and began a new life of biodynamic farming and making wine with a big table at its center.

2010-Spring-Oregon-Recipe-Willamette-Valley-Dundee-The-Dundee-Bistro-Wine-Country-Manila-Clams-eat-food-chef-cook

Wine Country Manila Clams

 
Take a tour of Oregon’s famed wine country in the  Willamette Valley to get your hands on the perfect Pinot for your next meal.