Langdon Center
- Partners for Enrichment
- Cultural Events
- Community Education
- Past Events
- Press Releases
- Founder
- Granbury Links
- Portland Trip
Langdon Center Portland Trip
Tarleton State University’s
Dora Lee Langdon Cultural & Educational Center
And
the Pan Handle
a gourmet tool shop
present
A Taste of Portland
Travel Study Program
September 30, October 1, 2, 3 & 4 2009
Leaders
Heather Cleveland, Proprietor of the Pan Handle
Betsy Ball, College of Business Instructor - Tarleton State University
Joel Back, Langdon Center Program Specialist - Tarleton State University
DAY 1: Wednesday, September 30
Tour Columbia River Gorge
Wine & Food Pairing at Hotel Vintage Plaza
DAY 2: Thursday, October 1
Epicurean Walking Tour of Downtown Portland
Cooking Class at The Meadow
Free Time in the Pearl District & Downtown Portland
Day 3: Friday, October 2
Dundee Area Vineyards Tour
Lunch at Dundee Bistro
Dinner and Culinary Demonstration at Caprial and John’s Kitchen
Day 4: Saturday, October 3
A Day with a Chef
Day 5: Sunday, October 4
Portland Marathon
Tarleton’s Langdon Center Taste of Portland Tour – Journal
Wednesday
It rains in Portland, you know. But it doesn’t dampen the spirit and heart of this amazing city. I have never been to Portland. This is my very first time to come to this beautiful part of the world. I do expect it will not be my last. This is a special place – with heart and soul and surprises that I did not anticipate.
Janice and I arrived last night around 10:30. We flew direct from DFW – there were 2 beverage services on the flight, so it was longer than many flights I have taken of late. The airport is quite beautiful – carpet vs. linoleum…very welcoming. We boarded the MAX. I just love mass transit. I love it for its easy, for its community service, for its friendliness to the environment, to its people watching. And there was some people watching, to be sure. I did not understand there were so many homeless people in Portland. There are many – and some ride the trains in the evenings. We rode with a man who spoke to himself. Fortunately, he was having a nice conversation, but it wasn’t with anyone else in the train car.
The MAX was perfect. It took about 30 minutes to get downtown from the airport and we walked straight to our hotel. The Hotel Vintage Plaza is fabulous. I love the cut off wine bottles that decorate the wall behind the front desk. This is a wine tour, after all – at least in part – and this is the perfect hotel for our group.
I woke up around 7:00, which is really sleeping in as that would be 9:00 at home in Texas. I never sleep that late at home. I asked at the front desk about a good place to walk and they directed me to the river. It was amazing! He said I wouldn’t need a map, but I’m glad I took one. I was too excited and headed off without really paying attention to the advice he gave me – and of course, I didn’t follow his directions. So I headed off into the heart of the city. I realized that I wasn’t exactly on the right road and made some drastic changes in my direction. I walked past the Rescue Mission, the Catholic Mission, The Salvation Army. I was so surprised by the number of homeless people in this city. I didn’t anticipate seeing any – and there are lots. I am reminded of Buenos Aires. People sleep where they land and that is often in the street. They sleep under sleeping bags, blankets, quilts, paint drop clothes – anything they can find. And I walked past a lot of them. I walked along the river and it was fabulous. There are more bikers and joggers and walkers than I ever expected. I crossed the river on one bridge and walked down the other side of the Willamette River. I actually saw a fish jump – a big fish – and it was so cool!
I made it back to the hotel and we anxiously awaited the arrival of our travel companions. Breakfast was delicious with a lemon mascarpone scone, orange juice, coffee and fresh fruit. Janice and I went to the MAX stop to see them and we walked them to our hotel. They seemed genuinely pleased with our home away from home and I do hope they enjoy it. It’s been fun to see some of the other hotels we considered in our quest and they all look wonderful – but I’m very glad with our choice. I hope everyone likes it.
We headed off in different directions but most of us wound up at the Flying Elephants delicatessen for lunch – and it was so great! I had a terrific lentil soup but I absolutely loved Janice’s tomato orange soup. It was fabulous! We walked around town for a while and just explored. Portland is a fabulous city.
We met in the lobby and waited for our bus – and then our Party Bus arrived. It’s crazy! Black seating all around the perimeter of the bus. What fun! We went to McMenamins – a winery, brewery, hotel, restaurant…everything you could want…and it used to be an asylum. It fit us perfectly! Many of us wound up in the pub and enjoyed a tasting of several different brews and ales. Delicious. Leftovers were taken on the bus in to go cups.
The bus has everything we need to be comfortable and entertained…as if the scenery weren’t enough already. There’s flat screen TVs, music, water….and a luxurious bathroom. Yes, luxurious. On a bus. I didn’t know it was possible. A glass vessel sink no less – quite delightful when there’s no rest stop in sight.
We drove along and enjoyed the rainbows, Vista House with spectacular views and then came to the waterfalls. They are absolutely amazing. Such beauty is surpassed in few other places. We hiked to the bridge for a better view and of course it rained on the return, but our guide came with an umbrella to rescue us. Portland is rainy – we would expect nothing else. It’s beautiful – I didn’t know how beautiful it would be.
The camaraderie is so much fun. This is an amazing group of people. So kind, so smart, so appreciative. Kathy Smith, Janice’s sister, even helped my David, a freshman, with his math, over the phone. How kind is that? And David said she helped! Now that’s a great teacher!
We arrived back at the Vintage Plaza and had a fabulous wine tasting with Pheasant Valley in the wine cellar here at the hotel. It was terrific – with cheese and cured meats and olives and crab cakes and truffles to die for….all paired with lovely wine. The chardonnay was smooth and light and the cabernet was fabulous. We had such a great evening, such a great day. This will not be my last time in Portland. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures.
Thursday
Well, today was a very fun day. We had such a good time! This truly is a Taste of Portland – our trip was well named. But before we started tasting all the good things Portland has to offer, I did take a walk. I got to see crew teams practicing on the river with a coach in a motorboat shouting instructions at those in the boats. I am impressed with the teamwork – everyone working together to reach their goal. I also saw homeless people with a touch screen cell phone and a laptop computer. I guess they are well connected. It did surprise me. The slogan on the city vehicles is “The City That Works.” I like the play on words – but it doesn’t seem to correspond directly with the number of homeless people I see. Apparently there are lots of services here, so homeless people come here to utilize those services. It seems to increase the number of homeless people who live in Portland.
Bob was our guide for our Epicurean Walking Tour. He’s a tall, curly headed red-head. He was on the phone while we gathered in the lobby and the jury was out on what he might be like. But we were enamored with him as soon as he started to talk. He’s a laid back guy, knowledgeable, interesting. Good grief, he has a master’s degree in Japanese History. He’s a smart guy. He seems to love what he does. And we loved having him take us around to some of the very best places to enjoy the unique cuisine of Portland.
Our first stop was Voodoo Donuts, an Anthony Bordain favorite. There was a bumper sticker there that said “I got VD in Portland.” Pretty funny, relating to Voodoo Donuts (VD). They had crazy donuts, I must say – Oreos, M&Ms, Coco Puffs and everything under the sun. They had a Boston Cream Pie donut, with eyes. That’s because Portland has vision, and Boston doesn’t. There was a butterfinger donut….yummy. There was a donut in the shape of a person with a spear (a pretzel) through its heart – and blood (red filling) comes out. It’s so you can do your voodoo on someone, with your donut. The maple bacon donut was really quite fabulous. The sweetness of the maple is cut with the saltiness of the bacon. Yummy. Now, if they only had peanut butter bacon….now, that would be a great donut!
Bob took great care of us and was quiet and dry but funny and smart. He was just great for our group. Our next stop was for European style drinking chocolate and it was absolutely devine. 72% Cacao – Ecuadorian chocolate, melted with whipping cream, half and half and milk – allowed to sit overnight and then warmed up before serving in espresso sized cups. ½ chocolate, ½ liquid. Heaven in a glass, to be sure. Not too sweet. No sugar beyond the chocolate bar. The perfect pick me up. The beautiful young women working in the shop had no right to be so thin. One said she has no car and walks everywhere. Perhaps that is the secret. Perhaps the chocolate has no calories….a girl can dream, anyway….
We went back to the Flying Elephant and had a taste of the tomato orange soup, which was perfect after the sweetness of the chocolate. Bob said we could find the recipe on Oregonian.com. It’s a fabulous comfort food.
ELEPHANT’S TOMATO-ORANGE SOUP
Serves 4.
1/2 cup butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans unsalted diced tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon regular salt)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
1/2 cup whipping cream
In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add onion, and sauté until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda, and thyme. Bring to a boil,
reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Puree in a food processor or use a hand blender. Strain through a sieve. Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice. Also add cream, but you might
want to diminish amount of cream to taste after adding 1/4 cup before adding more cream. Bring to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve hot.
— Adapted from a version of the recipe found on www.techsoup.org
We saw some cart areas. I’d love to try every one of these carts. We went to the Aybla Grill Mediterranean and had Falafel with tahini sauce. Yum! Next up was Stumptown for coffee. These are local coffee roasters and they use direct trade coffee – a step up from free trade coffee. It’s all purchased directly from the growers. We tried two types of coffee. I like the one from Ethiopia made with heirloom varietals. The second coffee we tried was from Hondurus. These are lighter roasts. Apparently Portlanders call Starbucks Saint Arbucks or Charbucks because they over roast their coffee. The coffee has flavor notes “as wonky as wine.” – wonky meaning “food nerd.”
The Yoga Pearl was next. They had vegan food and it was surprisingly delicious. We tried Raw hummus made with cashews, spread on raw flaxseed crackers, bound together with dates and “cooked” in a food dehydrator. The yoga studio had a quiet zone. The crackers can be purchased at BLPDX.com – they are blossoming lotus crackers. Excellent.
We kept getting to taste more and more and each spot was different and interesting and delicious. Hot Lips Pizza is in a building dedicated to sustainability. We enjoyed Blackberry Soda there that was not too sweet and oh so delicious, as was the pizza. We had seasonal pizza – a white pizza with ricotta cheese and local heirloom tomatoes. All the ingredients come from local farmers. The flour came from a collective. They use local cheese, meats. Sometimes they even have brie and apple pizza. I guess I’ll have to come back.
Beer tasting – hurray! And we went to a different McMinnamins brewery than where we went yesterday. Ringlers has a dance academy upstairs with a crystal ballroom with a floating floor. They building used to be an auto shop and it has an eclectic McMinemins style. They have artists on staff to make these spectacular buildings that are incredibly unique. We had some more IPA. There’s lots of hops grown around Portland, so it is used a great deal in making the locals brews. It’s a local ingredient. There are 3 levels of smaller breweries – nano brewery, micro brewery and craft brewery. This one is a craft brewery.
Sweet Masterpiece – Explorations in Chocolate introduced us to a wine/chocolate pairing – fantastic. They both have “notes” and depend on terroir for their tastes. She told us to start with the sweeter chocolate and move to less sweet – it tastes better that way. The most wonderful flavors were generated through infused chocolate, especially the chocolate infused with Ylang Ylang, which was very aromatic. She also had chocolate infused with Thai spices – lemongrass, cashews, peppers, etc. The instructor is self taught and wants us to taste real food. She’s passionate about what she does and talked about how food is multisensory. She was delightful and obviously loves what she does for a living. Who wouldn’t love working with chocolate? And why are these people so thin?
Ah – gelato. Mio Gelato was our last stop. It was divine. I mean, I’d rather have my gelato in Italy, but if I’m going to be stateside, this was some FINE gelato to enjoy and a great ending to a terrific tour. We had cherry, imported chocolate and pistachio. I also tasted lime, honeydew, which was surprisingly delicious, and carmelized milk. Wow.
After all this eating I went with Janice, Kathy and Anna to Lucy, an aerobics clothing store. I had fun trying on some things. It’s a great store. Then we saw Bob as we were walking, in Sushi World – and we couldn’t pass up the chance to try it….little plates of sushi on a conveyer belt….we enjoyed it thoroughly and it was fun to chat it up with Bob! He is just one great guy.
There was a wine tasting in the lobby of the hotel when we returned – how convenient! We all enjoyed a glass and rested a bit before heading off to our experience at The Meadow. Joel did a great job figuring out the bus schedules and we caught a bus to take us to The Meadow.
We LOVED the Meadow!! It is in a revitalized neighborhood in a tiny shop – and I mean tiny. And the emphasis in this great spot includes salt, wine, chocolate and flowers. One of the owners was our instructor. I do believe his wife was home with their children. The common thread among all these people is their passion for what they do. And these folks have passion. Passion for salt. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it is well deserved.
The salt he presented and cooked on is 600 million years old. Jennifer and Mark, the owners traveled the world and brought back their favorite things, which included salt…Himalayan salt blocks, from Pakistan. Mark put a tart green apple on the salt block with wonderful mozzarella. The salt flavored the food in a unique and special way. Then he heated a salt block and cooked flank steak, but on the grain – and an egg! The salt holds the heat for 15 minutes and flavors the food in an incredible way.
He had us try 6 different salts on cucumbers and on buttered bread. He said to never have salted butter in the house. He said to make toast in the morning and salt the toast. He also said “Kosher salt is just fine for people who think Velveeta is cheese.” I thought that was a great, bold statement.
The first salt was Fleur du Sel. Lovely. Salt #2 he said to use on steak – it layers flavors and is a chunky salt. Salt #3 – put on salads…don’t use bottled salad dressing and don’t add salt to a dressing you make….salt the salad. It’s transformative on a salad. The next salt was Turkish and would be great on a baked potato or pasta. It had activated charcoal added to the salt. Then we had salt that was alive with volcanic ash, blended with clay – it was pink in color. It would be great with prosciutto and melon. Then we had smoked salt, a Hawaiian salt, smoked with guava wood. We enjoyed wine with all our salt treats and he finished our experience by serving chocolate on a salt block. I’ve never had anything like it before. It was a terrific, special evening, made for culinary lovers like us.
We took the bus back to the hotel. Kathy, Janice and I went to Bailey’s Taproom and had a beer taster and played scrabble. What an incredible day.
Friday
I’m stuffed. We ate so well today – extraordinarily well. I’m glad I Kathy and I walked this morning. We got up and walked along the river. It was a very nice walk. It’s nice to watch the city wake up in the morning.
Today we went to wine country – Willamette Valley. Our rock star bus picked us up this morning and we had Graham for our guide – from England. I love to hear an English accent. He’s an interesting guy. This is the third year they’ve had the bus business and it’s been going well, but has had its ups and downs – just like any good entrepreneur.
We went to Anne Amie first. A beautiful spot – just gorgeous, high on a hill with vineyards spread out along the hills and mountains in the background. We tried 6 different wines, both whites and reds. The young man pouring looked as though he’s about 17 years old but is extremely knowledgeable about his wine. He’s really in his mid 20’s. Ahh, if we could all be so well preserved, it would be nice.
We went to the Dundee Bistro for lunch. I had the smoked chicken and sweet pepper piperade soup and the spaghetti with house smoked salmon. There was also a choice of romaine salad with oak smoked salmon pastrami with breast of draper valley chicken or porchetta pizza. It was all fabulous, paired with a white and a red wine. Delicious. The former mayor of Dundee, Roger Worrell and his wife Judi joined us for lunch! They are snowbirds and come to Granbury in the winter. It is such a small world. They’ve been coming to Granbury since January 2000. What great connections we have all over the country!
We followed up lunch with a visit to Sokol Blosser. This is a wonderful spot and our tour took us into the cellar, filled with barrels. There’s something about being in the place where the wine is becoming what it is meant to be that is very special. The wines were all lovely – smooth and delicious. Certainly the pinot noir is king in this part of the country, but the whites are particularly smooth, I find – crisp and lovely. Our party bus took us to Erath Vineyards afterward and there, since Tarleton’s home campus is situated in Erath County and today is Dr. Dottavio’s inauguration day, we toasted our 15th president of Tarleton State University. Congratulations, Dr. Dottavio! (See our toast to Dr. Dottavio from Erath Vineyards HERE)
Many of us took a little nap on the way back to Portland. Others watched the cooking channel on the flat screen TVs in the bus. We had a little mix up with the address for Caprial’s but it all worked out just fine and we found the kitchen where we would watch the progression of our dinner. Jennifer Rittenour’s sister and her husband (Richard Denning’s sister and brother in law) joined us and that was so much fun! They are terrific and it was great to make this connection. They are Portlanders through and through – born and raised – and they live right downtown in the Pearl District. What a fabulous place to live.
Dinner was outstanding and it was so much fun to listen to Caprial and John talk about what they do so well. They have run a restaurant for 20 years and are now branching out and hosting demonstration cooking dinners. It was absolutely fabulous. They were both trained at the Culinary Institute of America and they’ve had a cooking show on PBS. I’ll have to watch for it! Dinner was spectacular corn chowder, roasted tomato tarts with gorgonzola and balsamic caramel, bread salad topped with Carnitas and fromage blanc cheese and baked peaches stuffed with Almonds served with mascarpone. We had both white and red wine with dinner and the institutional style kitchen had great ambiance when the lights were turned off and the candles were lit. It was a delightful meal, and delicious. I’m excited to have the recipes. I do believe I can recreate these dishes at home. Now, finding the right ingredients may be a little tough, but I think I can manage.
Tomorrow we have a hands on cooking class. I hope to go to the downtown farmers market before going to the Lake Oswego farmers market with the chef. We’ll see how things go. I certainly have a greater appreciation for Oregon wine, especially pinot noir, than before we came here. I had no idea how appealing this part of the country would be. I can see why people flock here – and stay.
I’m stuffed. We ate so well today – extraordinarily well. I’m glad I Kathy and I walked this morning. We got up and walked along the river. It was a very nice walk. It’s nice to watch the city wake up in the morning.
Today we went to wine country – Willamette Valley. Our rock star bus picked us up this morning and we had Graham for our guide – from England. I love to hear an English accent. He’s an interesting guy. This is the third year they’ve had the bus business and it’s been going well, but has had its ups and downs – just like any good entrepreneur.
We went to Anne Amie first. A beautiful spot – just gorgeous, high on a hill with vineyards spread out along the hills and mountains in the background. We tried 6 different wines, both whites and reds. The young man pouring looked as though he’s about 17 years old but is extremely knowledgeable about his wine. He’s really in his mid 20’s. Ahh, if we could all be so well preserved, it would be nice.
We went to the Dundee Bistro for lunch. I had the smoked chicken and sweet pepper piperade soup and the spaghetti with house smoked salmon. There was also a choice of romaine salad with oak smoked salmon pastrami with breast of draper valley chicken or porchetta pizza. It was all fabulous, paired with a white and a red wine. Delicious. The former mayor of Dundee, Roger Worrell and his wife Judi joined us for lunch! They are snowbirds and come to Granbury in the winter. It is such a small world. They’ve been coming to Granbury since January 2000. What great connections we have all over the country!
We followed up lunch with a visit to Sokol Blosser. This is a wonderful spot and our tour took us into the cellar, filled with barrels. There’s something about being in the place where the wine is becoming what it is meant to be that is very special. The wines were all lovely – smooth and delicious. Certainly the pinot noir is king in this part of the country, but the whites are particularly smooth, I find – crisp and lovely. Our party bus took us to Erath Vineyards afterward and there, since Tarleton’s home campus is situated in Erath County and today is Dr. Dottavio’s inauguration day, we toasted our 15th president of Tarleton State University. Congratulations, Dr. Dottavio! (See our toast to Dr. Dottavio from Erath Vineyards HERE)
Many of us took a little nap on the way back to Portland. Others watched the cooking channel on the flat screen TVs in the bus. We had a little mix up with the address for Caprial’s but it all worked out just fine and we found the kitchen where we would watch the progression of our dinner. Jennifer Rittenour’s sister and her husband (Richard Denning’s sister and brother in law) joined us and that was so much fun! They are terrific and it was great to make this connection. They are Portlanders through and through – born and raised – and they live right downtown in the Pearl District. What a fabulous place to live.
Dinner was outstanding and it was so much fun to listen to Caprial and John talk about what they do so well. They have run a restaurant for 20 years and are now branching out and hosting demonstration cooking dinners. It was absolutely fabulous. They were both trained at the Culinary Institute of America and they’ve had a cooking show on PBS. I’ll have to watch for it! Dinner was spectacular corn chowder, roasted tomato tarts with gorgonzola and balsamic caramel, bread salad topped with Carnitas and fromage blanc cheese and baked peaches stuffed with Almonds served with mascarpone. We had both white and red wine with dinner and the institutional style kitchen had great ambiance when the lights were turned off and the candles were lit. It was a delightful meal, and delicious. I’m excited to have the recipes. I do believe I can recreate these dishes at home. Now, finding the right ingredients may be a little tough, but I think I can manage.
Tomorrow we have a hands on cooking class. I hope to go to the downtown farmers market before going to the Lake Oswego farmers market with the chef. We’ll see how things go. I certainly have a greater appreciation for Oregon wine, especially pinot noir, than before we came here. I had no idea how appealing this part of the country would be. I can see why people flock here – and stay.
Saturday
This is our last day together here in Portland. We have had a quick but incredible culinary tour of this exciting city, a sister city to Austin. You even see “Keep Portland Weird” bumper stickers here occasionally, similar to what you see in Austin. Part of what is so special about this place IS the food – the focus on local ingredients, support of nearby farmers and fresh, wholesome products that are true to their nature, not processed, made close to home.
I went to the downtown farmer’s market this morning and it was so much fun. I wish Chelsea could have been here. They had a biscuits and gravy stand. She would have loved it. David would have loved the musicians. Greg would have been enamored with the mushrooms. The food stalls were spectacular – everything from incredible breads and pastries to dairies with handcrafted cheeses to produce of every imaginable kind, fresh and colorful.
There was a pepper roaster – a cage, sort of like the kind you would see for a raffle ticket drawing…but with a fire underneath it and peppers inside. These peppers were being roasted and the black char on the outside fell off. The roasted peppers were put in bags for sale. They smelled spectacular. Everything was farm to market fresh. You could speak to the owners at many of the stands. I spoke to a butcher who got tired of being a cook. He simply got burnt out and decided to try something different. So he started making sausage. He likes it because he is still close to the food but it’s closer to a 9-5 job than being in a kitchen.
There were mushrooms everywhere and it made me want to go mushroom hunting! Chanterelle mushrooms were about $10-$12 a pound. We get them for free in Canada, out in the woods, and we get a side of joy in the picking! But these were plentiful and gorgeous. I’d love to be here in morel season.
There was music in the farmers market – local musicians hired to entertain us as we looked at all the goodies. There was even a “chef in the market” who would give a demonstration and be available for questions. They seem to have thought of everything!
The baked goods looked absolutely amazing. I just don’t know how people stay thin in the midst of all this glorious food. I guess the biking and the hiking help but it would be tough to stay fit in this epicurean atmosphere.
As we gathered in the lobby we sang Happy Birthday to Heather. We needed Janice to lead our singing but hopefully she felt the good wishes, even with our modest voices. She and Kelly are running the Portland Marathon tomorrow. I know they’ll do a great. What an accomplishment to run a marathon. I’ll applaud from afar and wish them all the best.
We took the party bus to Lake Oswego and they dropped us off at the farmer’s market where we met our chef for the day. Chef Pascal is the owner and chef at Fenouil, an Urban French Brasserie in Portland’s Pearl District and he was our chef and instructor for the day at In Good Taste. He is cute…..very cute, and absolutely delightful. He is smart, confident, yet modest and has a love for what he does. He’s married and has an 18 month old daughter. He runs marathons. Oh yes, and he cooks….extremely well. He was a delightful host.
We stared our time with him in the Lake Oswego farmer’s market where he showed us how to pick out fresh produce in season. He bought chanterelle mushrooms (yea!), gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, fennel, thyme and some small artichokes. He was looking for leeks but decided to go with fennel instead, as “fenouil” is the name of his restaurant and is “fennel” in French.
So his menu was planned, but he added spontaneity by changing his mind on the spot. He thought about having the chanterelle with risotto but then changed to wanting it to be served with his main course, duck. He saw the little artichokes and decided on the spot to get them. It was fun to see his creative mind at work.
In buying mushrooms he said that you don’t want them to be too wet as then you’re paying for water, not mushrooms. Also, if they are a bit dry, they caramelize better in the skillet. We talked about mushrooms and he said that King Boleta=Porcini (Italian)=Cepes (French). I’ve always wondered what kind of mushroom a cepes is and now I know it’s one of the mushrooms we pick in Canada. I had no idea they were the same thing!
The tomatoes he bought really were gorgeous – the colors were amazing – red, yellow, green, light purple. So pretty, and pretty on a plate.
Mushrooms shouldn’t be kept in plastic. It’s OK to transport them in a plastic bag if necessary but when he gets his mushrooms he puts them in a sheet pan with a towel on the bottom and a towel on the top, to absorb moisture. He puts them in the refrigerator then and keeps them cool.
We had some free time in the market and I tried every peach I could find. They are in season right now and are absolutely delicious. I wish I could find a way to take some home!
After the farmer’s market we went to In Good Taste for a light lunch. Chef Shelly made a wonderful lunch for us: roasted pumpkin apple bisque, wild salmon nicoise salad and Russian teacake cookies sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar. Lunch was served with a nice rose wine, Les Janelles Cinsault 2007. Everything was truly delicious and the salmon was a nice switch from the tuna that is more typical in a salad nicoise. The nicoise olives were tiny and delicious, served with their pits.
Shelly said that the secret to being a good chef is to like to eat, to have a good palate.
We had a break and then enjoyed a wine tasting comparing Oregon and French wines. We tried both Willamette Pinot Noir and French Burgundy and compared the two. The Oregon wines stood up well! It was a neat comparison.
And then we started our lessons with Chef Pascal. We broke up into stations and he let us do some of the prep work.
First we prepped the duck. We took the duck breast, flattened it out on the cutting board and trimmed the fat off the duck with the knife at an angle. You want the fat to shrink in good proportion to the rest of the breast and cutting it correctly makes this work. You want the fat because it tastes wonderful and it keeps protects the meat from getting dry. Then we scored the fat and cut the breast in half. You don’t want to go all the way to the meat when you score the fat. Salt and pepper was added to both sides and then we sautéed it so the fat was crispy. Use a hot pan, put in a little oil and put the duck breast in with the fat side down. The fat renders quickly and you have plenty of fat in the skillet soon. Pour some of this off if there is too much. Don’t turn over the duck breast. Finish it in the oven later. You can leave the duck out of the fridge for 2 hours or so safely, before putting it in the oven. The pepper should not be too fine and powdery – freshly ground, course pepper is best. All the fat should be saved – use it for eggs, soup, etc. Don’t throw this away – it is special! Put the fat through a coffee filter and you have good clean duck fat to use in another dish.
So, you want the duck to be crispy and don’t flip it – that would dry it out. Put it in the oven at 450 degrees for about 6 minutes before plating.
No water is used on the chanterelle or on any mushrooms except morel. You want the mushrooms to look like mushrooms, so they shouldn’t be chopped up in little pieces. We cut the stem, the dirtiest part, and brushed the dirt off with a brush or a towel and then broke them apart into long pieces in a way that we could tell they were chanterelles. We did not cut them. Chef Pascal said not to do this too far ahead of time or they would dry out.
Chef showed us how to mash garlic and make it into a paste but adding salt and smashing it with the knife on the cutting board again and again until a paste is formed.
We tore off the bottom leaves of the artichokes, then trimmed off the bottom stem and the top leaves to leave just the heart, and then cut that into quarters. All the dark leaves were gone as these are bitter. If they are not cooked right away they should be put in water with lemon to keep them from turning brown. Then chef fried the artichoke hearts and added salt and pepper. Yum!! These were tender and delicious.
Saute the chanterelle with ½ butter and ½ oil. Always add salt last with mushrooms as salt draws out the moisture and you end up stewing your mushrooms instead of sautéing them.
Risotto takes patience. Saute the thinly cut fennel in ½ butter and ½ oil, add the rice and then add chicken stock a ladle or two at a time for 20-25 minutes until it is cooked and creamy and smooth. Add aged gouda cheese, grated – spectacular.
We also made a wonderful dressing for our tomatoes. It was a fabulous vinaigrette. Salt dissolves in acid so 1st, before adding oil to the dressing, taste it to see if it is salty enough. Put mustard in a bowl. Add salted garlic, pepper, fresh chopped oregano, 2 tblsp good, expensive sherry vinegar (the one we used was from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain), 4 tblsp white wine vinegar, ½ and egg yolk. Whisk it all together with olive oil until it tastes right – about ½ cup oil or more oil than vinegar, but to taste.
Chef Pascal took some spec (smoked prosciutto) and wrapped it around some of the heirloom tomatoes for a quick appetizer – yum…it was delicious, even without a dressing!
Chef made a sauce with the juice left over after straining the mushrooms, butter and veal stock. If you don’t have veal stock, you can use another kind of stock.
So our menu was:
*Roasted Duck with chanterelles, shredded spec and veal sauce
*Risotto with fennel and aged gouda
*Fresh heirloom tomatoes with a light mustard vinaigrette
*Crème Brulee with Grand Marnier
It was all served with a chardonnay and a pinot noir
To plate, Chef first put the risotto on the plate, then placed the duck, piled the mushrooms with spec on top and drizzled the sauce over it all. Tomatoes were served on the side.
We enjoyed our dinner thoroughly and Chef Pascal was a charming, delightful and knowledgeable instructor. Terry joined us today for our cooking school and Janice and Kathy’s sister joined us during some parts of our day too, so there were lots of wonderful connections and altogether it was a great day.
We’ve made new friends, enjoyed long time relationships, learned about an exciting part of our world, and shared fabulous meals and great travel experiences together here in Portland. It has been a great trip and it comes to an end too quickly as most travel adventures do. But we are richer for our experiences and ready to venture off again on the next journey at our earliest opportunity.