1859 & Dine: Oregon Seafood
1859 anonymously reviews Oregon seafood restaurants Local Ocean Seafoods, Cabezon, Baked Alaska and Montage.
Food+Drink
An Apple Refined
Kevin Zielinski’s eyes light up as he names the apple varieties he tends at his Willamette Valley orchard, just outside of Salem. Champagne Rienette. Douce Moën. Muscadet de Lense. St. Martine. The sinuous vowels and soft consonants even sound delicious. Eventually, they become fluid when Zielinski transforms these French heirloom apples into a traditional sparkling hard cider that leaves many searching for words.
Wild Mushroom Risotto with Oregon White Truffle Oil
Serves 10 as a starter or 4 for a main course Ingredients: ½ ounce dried porcini 1 quart water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon soy sauce ¼ pound unsalted butter 1 cup long grain rice ½ ounce dried onion Grated Parmesan cheese 2 ounces Joel Palmer House Oregon White Truffle Oil Directions: In uncovered saucepan, bring water, dried mushrooms, sugar, salt and soy sauce to boil then add rice and reduce heat to simmer. Strain out the liquid and reserve. Chop the mushrooms finely. In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter and add the dried onion and rice. Stir for one minute then add the reserved mushroom liquid. Cook uncovered and stir gently until water is absorbed and evaporated, about fifteen to twenty minutes. Portion rice, drizzle lightly with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil and serve.
The Oregon Cherry
Bailey’s family has been growing cherries in these hills for more than eighty years, when his grandparents made their first investment in a piece of farmland. Since then, Orchard View Farms has grown to include 2,050 acres in four counties. The orchard is home to twelve types of sweet cherries, from perennial favorites Bing and Rainier to more unusual choices, such as Sweetheart and Skeena.
Bike-to-Brew Guide
Without question, Oregon has earned a worldwide reputation for its craft brewing industry and craft beers. What started with a few Portland area brewers has spread to include more than one hundred microbreweries in a state many now lovingly call “Beervana.” Integral to Beervana are its many public houses, where ales and lagers find good company with comfort food.
Wine Across Oregon
Wine consumers and wine tourists can raise their glasses in a toast to the times. Prices have dropped, and wineries are courting tourists through their tasting rooms and wine clubs. The industry is in the hands of hundreds of small, family-owned wineries where visitors can often meet and talk with the people who craft the wine. The state’s wild, scenic beauty, its reputation as a foodie culture and a genuine place to taste wine attract many out-of-state tourists. And instead of all roads leading to Newberg or Dundee as they did in the ’80s and ’90s, wine lovers can get their fix in tasting rooms from Hood River to Ashland.
Oregon Grass-Fed Beef
Jill McClaran wears her blonde hair to her waist and spurs on her cowboy boots. The 27-year-old spends her days in the saddle herding cattle along the basalt rims and airy benches of Hell’s Canyon. Out of cell phone range and hours from the nearest town, this University of Idaho graduate looks over a thousand McClaran Ranch cattle as they graze the rugged and wild eastern Oregon grasslands.
Roasted Squash and Potato Gnocchi with Goat Cheese
4 servings Top this gnocchi with your favorite local cheese (aged goat cheese works great). Sautéed mushrooms & truffle oil can be a nice addition, or top with olive oil-scented micro greens. Wine Pairing Willakenzie Pinot Meunier, 2007, $33.00. A perfect foil for the simple flavor profiles of the gnocchi with spinach and goat cheese. This elegant, medium-bodied Pinot Meunier with flavors of fresh red fruits, delivers. Ingredients: 1 cup russet potatoes (roasted) 1 cup kabocha squash (roasted) 4 ounces of Oregon aged goat cheese 2 egg yolks 2 cups flour (may need more or less) 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 1 tablespoon fresh thyme ½ tablespoon rubbed sage Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Rub squash and potatoes with olive oil and roast until tender. While hot, cut potatoes and squash lengthwise and scoop out middle, measure a cup of each and put through a china cap with plastic spatula. Place mixture onto a…
Mushroom and Blue Cheese Strudel
4 servings Once strudel has cooled, cut horizontally and serve with whatever side you prefer (sautéed white beans, blackeyed peas). Wine Pairing Del Rio Vineyards Syrah, 2008, $28.00 This strudel’s bold flavors call for a wine with an equally bold, smoky stroke of fruit with an edge of pepper. Ingredients: 1 sweet onion ¼ stick butter 1 roasted red bell pepper 3 cloves garlic (chopped) 4 cups wild mushrooms (sliced) 2 cups spinach 4 ounces Crater Lake Bleu Cheese ¼ cup sherry wine Salt and pepper to taste 1 full sheet puff pastry Directions: Caramelize onions in butter, set aside. Julienne roasted bell peppers, set aside. Sauté mushrooms and garlic untill soft. Deglaze with sherry. Add spinach and cook until liquid is evaporated. Set aside and cool. Mix onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, blue cheese, salt and pepper. Lay puff pastry on cutting board, put filling in middle of…
