We kicked the weekend off with dinner at Restaurant Eugene and the tasting menu. The menu was a number of small courses which included a grouper dish with a smoked coffee glaze and an iron skilled ribeye served with swiss chard and a butter bean puree. Dessert was chocolate cake with pickled strawberries. I have never had a pickled strawberry before but it was awesome! I would definitely recommend this restaurant, everything was perfect. The restaurant even sent us a handwritten note after dining with them...this pick is top notch.
The next morning we started the seminars which ranged from a beef grilling demo by Texan chef Tim Love to a how to make your own grits demo by the Lee Brothers out of Charleston. For lunch, we attended a bluegrass, bourbon, and BBQ Luncheon. The highlight was an orange glazed BBQ slider with a fried pickle and coleslaw.
That afternoon we had our first experience with the tasting tents and all I can say is wow! These tents had it all. We sampled everything from head cheese sandwiches to rhubarb tarts with a few beer, wine, and bourbons in between! We even were able to talk with Hugh Acheson of Five and Ten and the current season of Top Chef Masters. If you do just one event at next year's festival...this should be it.
We then hit up the late night street carts and had an unbelievable dish of a tater tot with thinly sliced tuna, Japanese mayo, chives, and a sweet Asian sauce. I know what you are thinking...how were they still eating? I can't really answer that question but I will say that the tater tot was the best thing we had all day.
The next day we had more cooking demos and wine tasting seminars. We even were able to meet one of my favorite chefs...Kevin Gillespie. Some of you may remember him from Top Chef.
The afternoon consisted of a moonshine tasting (White Lightnin' - the legal kind) and more of the tasting tents. We also had seminars on Sunday morning before heading home.
The festival was so well done and I can't wait until next year. If you are a foodie like I am, this is the event to attend. I was so inspired after the festival that I came home and cooked a meal from the book the very next night.
The crab cake was similar to many crab cake recipes in that it contained sauteed onions and peppers, egg, and of course crab meat. The coating was panko bread crumbs.
After cooking the crab cakes, they were served with the Piquillo Pepper Vinaigrette which is a roasted pepper dressing.
I almost forgot to mention that the crab cakes also called for the homemade mayonnaise recipe from the book. This is the second time I have tried this recipe and also the second time the liquid just seeped out of the food processor and made a big mess! So, while I haven't actually tasted the finished mayo, I am a little put out with this one so I am taking credit for it as completed!
The finished crab cake was light and delicate and the roasted pepper vinaigrette was the perfect finishing sauce that wasn't too heavy. I also really liked the brocoli dish, the subtle heat was the perfect seasoning for the veggie. The finished plate...
97 of 251 recipes...154 to go!
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