New Building!

We just purchased a building downtown Creswell to house my catering company! Finally a kitchen to call my own and a space to actually use all that commercial equipment – which right now is being used as very expensive dish racks!

More to come, I’ll keep you up to date the renovation of the old building and more about what our future plans are for the building/catering company venue.

New Equipment

Finally! The equipment for my new catering kitchen was delivered. It’s been months of back and forth, deciding which building to put it into. To have a restaurant or not, to go downtown Creswell or not, to be on the farm or not…? Well the farm won.

We’ll be starting the construction on a new building that will house the kitchen very shortly…hopefully. Until that time I guess I just have to go out to the barn and drool over the brand new equipment I can’t really use yet. Although, I may plug in the refrigerator and freezer just for the hell of it!

Morning Calm

Sitting on the couch, 6:27am. I’ve been awake now for over an hour, my mind racing. I’ve been doing work, reading blog posts and getting up to date on my food news stories. Pandora is playing my “George Winston” station in my pink earbuds, green tea brewing in the cup beside me. It was just now that I realized the sun is coming out. With its light flooding the room, peaking around tree limbs and casting it’s rays on the side of the hill.

Recently I was reminded of all the old posts on this blog which caused me to go back through and read over again what I had written while living in Indiana. This moment right now is so familiar to me from that time I was in Indiana. Getting up early in the morning to get what little time I could for myself. I would always turn George Winston, brew my first cup of coffee (first of many throughout the day) and sit and write blog posts or dream of being back in Oregon. If I close my eyes right now I could be there, that thought alone makes me shudder.

As I said before in one of my reflective moments flying to NY from Indiana, “life is for watching sunrises and climbing mountains…”. I was only in Indiana for a brief moment but it was long enough. I realized quickly there in that time (luckily) that I wanted to watch sunrises and climb mountains. If I had stayed like I should it would be coming up on one year. I sat in bed last night as I realized that… Wow. How messed up would I be right now? Would I have totally lost it by now? Would I be so out of sync with my thoughts and myself that coming back here to this quiet and peaceful life would be a scary thing?

I remember being on the drive back home wondering if I would ever be able to get back to my old mind set. I wondered if I would ever be able to back to the state of peace and calmness that I had worked so hard to be at before I ever went to Indiana. Well it was this morning that I realized I have. I’ve been back in my calm state for quite sometime now but just now fully realized it.

Sun light peering on the deck where our container garden sits, George Winston playing, my morning cup(s) of green tea (I stopped drinking coffee awhile ago). I’m so glad I saw through that life in Indiana. It really took a lot of guts to go to that place and leave so quickly. Always make sure you’re happy in life. It really is short. You hear that all the time from people but until you do it for yourself you’ll never quite understand why it’s so important.

This year my younger cousin, 18, lost his two-year battle with cancer. That alone is a very powerful motivator to live life, not stress the small stuff and to take time to appreciate beautiful moments like this right now this morning. This is what life is about. It’s not about a job, a house, a fancy car or money. It’s about appreciating what’s around you. What you have, not what you don’t have. That is why Tim and I are moving down to the family farm, building a yurt and we’re gonna raise some food. Live a simple, small, peaceful life.

You hate your job? Think about why you have that job. Is it to pay for your new car, new fangled-latest-greatest cell phone-a-ma-jig, big screen TV, new clothes, fancy-lavish vacations? Get a smaller car (you’ll get better gas mileage too, a double bonus!). And all those other things? They are just a result of your stressful job and they are adding to your stress. Think about it. You wouldn’t need a vacation if your life was free of stress. And, you wouldn’t need the stressful, high-paying job if you didn’t need all those excess things. That’s all they are. Just things. Things that don’t go with you when you die. Things that cost money and stress you out.

Be happy. Everyday. Really, do it. If you’re waking up and dreading work, dreading life. Change. Each day could be your last. Live. Turn off the TV, go for a walk. Take time to enjoy the real beautiful things around you, they don’t cost any money.

Carlton Winemakers Studio, June 11th

This was the second time this year that I have been the guest chef at the Carlton Winemakers Studio in Carlton, OR the winery I was paired this time was Bryce Vineyard. Bryce Vineyard is a small vineyard located in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, in the town of Newberg in the Oregon Willamette Valley wine region. Marcia makes a wonderful Pinot Noir, she focuses all her attention on one grape and makes just one wine per year making her wine a very special, limited wine to be able to enjoy.

Marcia’s 2006 Pinot Noir, which is what we had for the dinner, has a wonderful flavor profile that includes notes of cherries and chocolate. Great. Delicious. Tasty wine. Marcia has just 4 acres of grapes planted and chooses to err on the side of producing less than the Oregon average/acre to preserve quality. She lovingly takes the wines from the field to the pressing room at Carlton Winemakers Studio and ends up with a great Pinot, one that sells out very quickly due to the short supply that she makes each year. I was very lucky to get to work with Marcia and her 2006 Pinot!

Because she only produces one wine we ended up using it to pair the main course and the dessert – a tricky feat – pairing with savory and quickly followed by sweet. For the first course we chose to use the Viognier from fellow winemaker, Patrick Reuter of Dominio IV. He just released this wine in the end of April and what a wonderful wine!

Before I could write the menu for this dinner I had to go and taste Marcia’s and Patrick’s wines since they had both just recently been release and I had not gotten a chance prior. In order to do that I had to make a trip up the Carlton for their annual Memorial Day tasting. The event brought all the winemakers at the Studio, all together there were 48 different wines to taste…not a bad day on the job at Heidi Tunnell Catering Company! And, one great benefit to being a chef at the Studio – we all got into the event for free (entry fee was $20-30/person).

We got the chance to meet all the winemakers and taste *almost* all the wines (think we came pretty close to trying all 48)! I got the chance to talk to some of the winemakers about coming down and being the showcased winery at our Barn Dinners (more on these in another post). It was a very cool experience, getting a chance to really connect with each winemaker there at the event. Just some of the winemakers interested in making the trip down and be showcased at the dinners include: J.Daan, Boedecker, Dominio IV. So exciting!

Back to the menu. So after tasting Marcia’s Pinot and Patrick’s Viognier this is the menu I came up with:

FIRST COURSE
Grilled Asparagus
Paprika Oil, Fleur de Sel, Pecorino

MAIN COURSE
Tuscan Chicken al Mattone
Potatoes, Greens, Grilled Lemon, Olive Persilliade

DESSERT
Goat Cheesecake
Strawberries, Hazelnuts

The menu went over really well. The dinner was oversold! And, everyone seemed to appreciate pairing the Pinot with the main course and then the dessert.

A little detail about the menu:
- Chicken was marinated with paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, red wine vinegar. Then, cooked under a brick on the grill at the Studio for a crispy, delicious skin.
- Potatoes were roasted with Red Pepper Flakes, Paprika, Fennel Seed, Thyme, Garlic and sauteed at the event with lemon juice and parsley.
- Cheesecake was made with hazelnuts in the crust, fresh strawberries picked just the day before and first of the season!

Stag’s Leap Tasting Dinner – December 5th

Restaurant Tallent is teaming with Stag’s Leap to do a tasting of wine and food on December 5th. Anyone interested should contact and sign up, the cost is onlny $80 for a 6 course, wine paired, wonderful dinner. This is the planned menu for the evening.

Restaurant Tallent and
Stag’s Leap Winery Dinner
December 5, 2007

Hors d’ Oeuvres at 6:30
Stag’s Leap Winery Amparo Rose, Napa, 2006

Lemon, Black Pepper, and Peekytoe Crab Risotto
Stag’s Leap Winery Viognier, Napa, 2006

Pancetta Wrapped Rabbit Loin with Truffled Rabbit Cannelloni
and Wild Mushroom Ragout
Stag’s Leap Winery Merlot, Napa, 2004

Pan Roasted Pacific Coast Sturgeon with Braised Pork Belly and
Black Currant Sauce
Stag’s Leap “The Leap” Cabernet, Napa, 2002

Spice Crusted Elk Loin with Braised Elk and Fingerling Potato Hash,
Brussel Sprouts and Chestnuts, Foie Gras Bordelaise
Stag’s Leap Petite Syrah, Napa, 2004

Tarte Tropezienne with Citrus and Vanilla
Beringer “Nightingale”, Napa, 2003

Barton Seaver, Watching Over The Kitchen…

So Barton, in his race for ‘rock and roll’ status, in the food industry is now in Henkel’s adds. The add was brought to my attention by Dave who brought in the magazine it was in. I posted the picture up near Dave’s station for his inspiration (and as a joke). Barton moved his way to the paper towel dispenser where one of the kitchen staff decided to write “He’s Dreamy” and little hearts all around. I couldn’t help taking a picture of the Barton that looks over our kitchen for all of our continued inspiration.

Soup Tasting

Dave was in the Soup Tasting event at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market this weekend. It was an event sponsored by Slow Food, free to those who want to stop and taste some seasonal soups from local restaurant chefs. Our soup was made from local chestnuts, all scored and peeled by our kitchen’s hands. We peeled them all and froze them in anticipation for this event.

Our soup was a Chestnut and Pancetta (House-Made) Soup with Persimmon Bread Croutons

We had so many people asking for the recipe, but we just really have a method of how it was done.

Pancetta – rendered and pulled out for crispy garnish
Onions, Carrots, Parsnips and Chestnuts – cooked in the pancetta fat
Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, Shallot – added for flavor
Apple Cider, Brown Duck Stock, Water – liquid it was cooked in
The soup was then cooked for about 45 minutes, pureed, passed through a fine mesh sieve. Then finished with a little heavy cream.

The croutons were pan fried in local farm butter. The bread was made with local persimmons that we again, passed our selves during the season and froze the puree.

Just so people didn’t think this was in anyway vegetarian Dave wore his “Meat is Neat” shirt.

Daily Specials #7

November 1-2, 2007:

Amuse Bouche:
Beef Carpaccio, Caramelized Onions, Creole Mustard Sauce on a Crostini

Vegetarian Entree:
Saffron Braised Fennel and Leeks (Braised in Veg. Stock and Saffron), White Bean Puree Ravioli, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (braising liquid puree with roasted red peppers)

Fish Entree:
Pan Roasted Barramundi, Rabbit and Black Trumpet Ragu, Bacon Vinaigrette

Daily Specials #3

October 18th, 2007:

Amuse Bouche:
Golden Beet Carpaccio, Red Beet Tartare, Horseradish Creme Fraiche

Vegetarian Entree:
Wild Rice, Buckwheat, Quinoa and Golden Beet Cake
with Fall Vegetable Lentil Ragout

Foie Gras:
Pan Roasted Foie Gras, Apple-Bourbon Gelee, Cornbread Crouton,
25 year Balsamic

This is just a picture of the Taglietelle that we have on the menu, it was for a VIP guest so we shaved White Alba Truffles on top instead of the normal Black
Burgundian Truffles that go on it.

Hungry Yet??

My Date with Krissy Tallent

Last night Krissy and I went on a date to the best restaurant in Bloomington. Yup, Restaurant Tallent. Dave cooked a tasting menu for us and I only remembered to take pictures of the last dish, doh!

Heidi and Krissy’s Tasting Menu

1st
Mussels with Chorizo, Roasted Garlic and Red Wine, Spicy Frites

2nd
Seared Sturgeon, Braised Elk Osso Bucco with Jerusalem
Artichokes, Heirloom Oyster Mushrooms

3rd
Truffled Rabbit Rillette, Truffled White Bean Puree, Braised Collard Greens, Truffle Foam, Shaved White Alba Truffles (….YEAH…)

4th
Cold Smoked Duck Breast, Risotto with Squash and
Shaved Brussel Sprouts, Currant Sauce, Shaved Black Burgundian Truffles

5th
Too full for dessert with split one scoop of:
Malted Brownie Ice Cream

Wine:
Gypsy Dancer Pinot Noir