Blog — Salty Grl

Well, it finally happened! I got through my first supper club and it went off without a hitch. It was a beautiful night and I think getting folks out of their houses to visit with a few new people or friends they hadn’t seen in a while, in a setting where everyone felt safe to have fun, aided me as much as the food and wine did. I am so grateful to all who came and for Grace and Ernie Collins for opening their ridiculously beautiful home for the event.

Flowers by Bandit Blooms. Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

So before I blather on too much, let’s talk turkey…or in this case, a nice, slightly boozy drink that helped all the guests relax and get over any “stranger danger” - (though most of the crowd knew each other).

Pemberton Raspberry Jam “Let’s Get Loose” Cocktail

1 1/2 oz tequila

3/4 oz raspberry jam, diluted with water

1/2 oz orange liquor (I used triple sec)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

splash of club soda

We sadly didn’t get a photo of the cocktail (they went too fast!) but they went fast because we pre-mixed them before anyone got there, skipped the ice and poured into small mason jars with lids that I then placed in a large ice/water-filled champagne bucket. This way, as folks arrived, they could just grab a mason jar, shake it themselves, then enjoy (allowing me to focus on the first course). I also like doing this sometimes instead of a nice cocktail glass because it sets a more casual vibe…or hillbilly vibe, however you see it.

FIRST COURSE: Poached shrimp, tomato water, basil oil.

My amazing photographers, Anastasia and Chad Chomlack, had an issue with the B.C. Ferries so missed the first course (hence the not so great photo of this dish - which doesn’t even come CLOSE to doing it justice since this wasn’t even the final dish - it was taken mid-plating). Which is why I am adding a photo of the beauties this dish came from. Some were from my garden and some from Sam Rahn’s. But the bigger thing, TOMATO WATER. It’s AMAZING, so pure, so simple and so EASY to make (as long as you plan in advance). You can click on the image above for the recipe, but it’s tomatoes, a bit of salt, cheesecloth, and a night in the refrigerator.

WINE PAIRING: Gassier ‘Sables d’Azur’ Rose, Cotes de Provence, France 2018. Sam did a great job pairing on this one. Simple and pure rosé - rose water, wild strawberry and nice minerality.

SECOND COURSE: Sockeye salmon sashimi, peach, fried kale, ponzu

Click on image for recipe. Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

Any of my old friends from the Uchi family will know this dish was “inspired” by Paul Qui’s yokai berry - main two similarities are the salmon and fried kale (his with blueberry and candied quinoa) but this local B.C. sockeye salmon sashimi with the fresh Okanagan peaches (that I got from an egg trade!) was beautiful. Like the other composed sashimi dishes I like to do (all inspired by my time with Uchi), if you have good ingredients, these plates seem so “fancy” for lack of a better word but they are easy and just let the food sing. Just like the White Stripes were amazing with just two instruments —- and how “Imagine” by John Lennon is one of the easiest songs to play (but is still one of the most famous and treasured songs of all time) so is what you can do with these dishes. Get some good sashimi (lead singer - maybe Joey Ramone) and a few fun, fresh, seasonal ingredients to compliment it (Johnny on guitar, Dee Dee on bass and Tommy on drums) and you got a platinum record - or at least a gold one.

WINE PAIRING: Chateau Mont-Perat, Bordeaux Blanc, France 2016 - This was a beautiful wine and great value as well. If you see it, BUY IT. It’s worth it. Or contact Sam Rahn to purchase direct if you live in the Sea to Sky Corridor. (Email me for her contact information, lisa@saltygrl.com). Of course, had some stone fruit on the nose and palate so went perfect with the peaches….then the light oak added a creaminess which I also associate with even a lean salmon. This was probably my favourite wine of the night.

Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

THIRD COURSE: Pesto alla trapanese, chicken & cured pork ravioli

Hot damn, this dish turned out good…but this coming from a true pasta prostitute. I pretty much updated the dish from the “rough draft” dinner party I had with Michelle and Sam, replacing the garlic scape pesto with a fresh tomato pesto using stuff from the garden…parsley, garlic, basil, mint, arugula flowers (just to be pretty - or as we say in the south, “PURDY”) and of course those fresh tomatoes. I guess the parmesan I bought on Granville Island is not “local” but everything else was. :)

WINE PAIRING: Travaglini, Coste della Sesia Nebbiolo, Piedmont, Italy 2018. I love a good nebbiolo and this young one, with smoother tannin (no involuntary, saliva depleted duck face here - it ain’t Barolo) bright cherry, blackberry going on plus that nebbiolo spice, was great with the parmesan and salami I stuffed into the ravioli. Sam did it again!

Samantha Rahn, doing her wine thing. Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

FOURTH COURSE: Pork loin, carrot puree, chimichurri, cornbread

Once again, this dish is a seasonally updated version of the dish from my “rough draft” dinner. Cauliflower was no longer in the gardens of Pemberton but fresh carrots were and you can’t get any better than the carrots from Hellevang Farms down the road. (Check out these beauties!)

Scratch your screen and see if you can smell them. They smell SOOO good.

Next time, I’ll get a picture of Heather Hellevang with her wares. I need to get that girl a cape because she can do pretty much anything (amazing farmer, GREAT cook, builds furniture, competitive rower I think?, funny, pretty, hornet nest remover - ugh - WTF!) Thank y’all for these! And I’ll be hitting them up for more for the next supper club. Honestly, I never thought I’d get so excited about carrots until I moved here. I have always assumed I was part rabbit with these giant teeth of mine.

Click on image for recipe for carrot puree (other elements under recipe tab). Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

And for the cornbread, honestly, I used a recipe from the New York Times (Melissa Clark) for Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread. I did add fresh Pemby corn to it, from the Ryan Creek Farm Stand (possibly one of the cutest farm stands ever, complete with tractors in the background.) I LOVE THIS TOWN!

Ryan Creek Farm Stand - filled with fresh corn from Pemberton, BC, located on the Pemberton Meadows Road.

WINE PAIRING: Portia, Prima ‘La Encina’, Ribera del Duero, Spain. My husband was calling this a “REEAHKA”, which seems to be how the Welsh pronounce Rioja but alas, it was not a REEAHKA. I would love to see how they’d pronounce “Ribera del Duero”…..I mean, Spanish is a phonetic language so no idea where they get these things. Anyways, shit was good and complimented my food. Only complaint is the guests drank it all so no partial bottles left for me to take home. Bastards…. Oh, some tasting notes! Black fruit, vanilla, cocoa, warm.

Lindsey Craig, owner of Mountain Rose Parlour in Pemberton gets cutest photo award of night. Plus she can make you look extra pretty like her if you visit her salon. :). Photograph courtesy of Anastasia Chomlack

FIFTH COURSE: Blueberry cobbler, goat’s milk cinnamon bourbon ice cream.

We didn’t provide a pairing for the dessert because I put a decent amount of uncooked Basil Hayden in the ice cream. I feel like the ice cream, which had alot of personality, was lost against the blueberries. Maybe just make it plain vanilla with the blueberry cobbler and serve the bourbon ice cream with peaches or on its own. :)

Once again, I appreciate everyone who helped and attended this first one so much and I can’t wait for the next one which we should be announcing shortly! Save the date of Friday, October 23, 2020! Since it will be less of a “covid pod” group, seating will be further spaced with additional two-top tables. Safety first!

In an effort to get Sam on board with the Supper Club concept, Michelle and I wooed her with food. I’d normally dance to some Outkast, maybe “Pony” by Ginuwine, but pulled a hamstring recently.

My friend Michelle Leroux, PR goddess of the Sea to Sky and Flower Farmer (Bandit Blooms), among many other talents and tricks and I had talked a few times now, over drinks, about doing a supper club that would feature our amazing local farmers here, what we can grow, breed, etc. I’ve always wanted to do this with wine pairings to introduce fun, lesser-known wines to folks and how they complement the food. In comes Samatha Rahn, former Wine Director at Araxi, VIWF Somm of the Year, overall fancy pants in wine world up here. Sam’s s good friend of my good friend Dom (it’s who you know) so this was the perfect opportunity to invite her over and see if we could work together on this.

I gave Sam the menu in advance, Michelle donated some product from Bandit Farms (chicken, cauliflower, etc) and I supplemented from my garden and refrigerator full of our own meat. Voila! Instant party and of course, my husband Chris showed up just as we were sitting down. By the end of it (and getting her sufficiently buzzed I think) Sam was in. Off we go!

First Course: Hamachi sashimi, nectarine, marcona almond, jalapeño

Click HERE for hamachi recipe. — Click image for recipe.

I learned about “composed” sashimi dishes back when I worked with the Uchi group in Austin. They are an easy way for you to make something DELICIOUS that seems difficult but is super easy. You will need to find a reputable fish monger to buy sashimi grade fish, but after that, you just come up with flavour combinations that results in a “wow” moment that didn’t take you any time at all. I normally try to include the following: 1) The fish (sharpen your knife before you slice); 2) fruit or some fresh but sweet element - think orange, raspberry, apple…whatever is in season; 3) crunch (to break up the texture) so a nut of some kind, maybe a seed or fish roe; and 4) the basics (olive oil, sea salt and a ponzu or soy of some kind).

PAIRING: Sam paired this with the Clos du Soleil, Fumé Blanc. They are a small artisan winery on the Upper Bench of the South Simikameen Valley here in B.C. It was a beautiful pairing. With this specific dish, you could also do a German riesling (since this is on the spicy side with the pepper). One of my favourite producers is Egon Muller. Sake of course, would be GREAT. Konteki “Tears of Dawn” as some tropical fruit with a clean finish or my STRONG recommendation if you can find it is Toko Ginga Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo “Divine Droplets”. It’s made in an igloo on Japan’s northern most island! I don’t need to drop tasting notes here, just drink it. It’s all in the name.

Second Course: Stuffed Squash Blossom with mozzarella & anchovy.

Full disclosure, the picture above is not from this dinner but from a batch I made in 2016 at my sister’s in Arkansas. It’s just a better photo and let’s be honest, I am just trying to get this blog ball rollin’. :) If you grow squash in the summer, please, I beg you, USE THE SQUASH BLOSSOMS! They are so much fun. Fry them as I have done, sauté them, throw them in a quiche or pasta dish. Whatever…”Nose to tail” even for plants - as long as they are edible. These are beautiful and tasty.

PAIRING: We kept rolling with the Fumé Blanc but you can always do a champagne or some good bubbles with fried foods. Plus it will classy up your dish. Even Nicki Minaj looks a bit more…um, sophisticated standing next to Ben Kingsley - by way of example.

Third Course: Chicken & Salami Agnolotti, Garlic Scape Pesto, Crispy Chicken Skin.

This was as good as it sounds like it should have been. My first foray into stuffed pasta and it was totally worth it (as long as you aren’t cooking for too many people with no helpers). If you don’t want to make your own pasta or don’t want to individually create these precious little pain in the asses, you can just use store bought linguine and skip the step where I drop the chicken in the food processor. As for the crispy chicken skin, it was so easy to do and I got the recipe from Bon Appétit HERE. Once again, nose to tail veggies as well….if you grow garlic (and if you can in your environment, you should) USE YOUR GARLIC SCAPES! They make amazing pesto, and you can pickle them for fancy bloody marys (or Caesars as they have here in B.C.).

PAIRING: Sam brought the Brancaia 2019 Rosé for this one. Tuscany, 100% merlot. Just like this dish, the wine was summer in a bottle with notes of strawberry and even some grassy notes to go with the scapes.

Fourth Course: Pork loin, cheddar cauliflower purée, chimichurri.

Do yourself a favour. Buy a sous vide machine, especially if you make a decent amount of meat but for veggies too. It will make your life easier, while making you look like a genius. As the millennials say “ Work smarter, not harder”. I have an anova and it’s not expensive. DO IT. Then you can cook pork loin medium rare, as it should be, safely. Completely pasteurized. And you never have to worry about overcooking anything as long as you follow temperature and time suggestions. Then what can I say for chimichurri? I managed an Argentine band for 8 years. They were amazing musicians, songwriters, performers. I totally adopted their Buenos Aires via LA culture and one of the best souvenirs they gave me was this. You can make it in 5 minutes, keep in refrigerator for a month and it makes everything but ice cream taste better. Plus it’s healthy - just parsley, oregano, garlic, red pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil. There you have the recipe. ;)

PAIRING: Bodega LANZAGA Rioja 2012 (I believe). The spice and cherry of the wine went great with the pork and garlic in the chimi. You could also do a younger, fruity Burgundy, cru Beaujolais or a good, new world Pinot Noir. Littorai (Ted and Heidi Lemon) is my only true love Producer in California from the Sonoma Coast. They don’t have large releases but the price is worth it if you come across any of their stuff.

And the finale: Strawberry spoon cake with goat’s milk ice cream.

Some friends of ours had “too many strawberry plants”. WHO SAYS THAT? HOW CAN YOU HAVE TOO MANY STRAWBERRIES”? Anyways, beyond me considering them slightly mental, they generously let us pick some plants up. We put them in the ground a few years ago and they FINALLY came through for us and then some. So beyond freezing them daily, as I continue to stockpile for the apocalypse (meaning incase a certain unnamed, demented orange man stays around - I know I technically no longer live in this unnamed country but technically the mist of that spray tan makes it’s way all over the world). I digress….. So I decided to try this recipe I saw in the NYT. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but it’s also how to develop your own ideas (HELLO! Picasso mastered all styles of painting before he came up with cubism). I digress again…and definitely am no Picasso, but if we keep aiming for the stars, maybe we make it to the moon. :) This was delicious. And again, EASY. The ice cream recipe here is my own. I always use goat’s milk for ice cream for two reasons: #1 It gives your ice cream an earthier flavour that I find wonderful but that most folks will not pinpoint and #2 I’m lactose intolerant and goat’s milk is much easier for humans to digest that cow’s milk. MIND BLOW.

PAIRING: I was pretty buzzed at this point so we abandoned a pairing (or I don’t remember it! YIKES if that is the case). But on a normal day, I’d say sauternes. If you don’t know it, don’t read up on it. Drink it first. The mold part might confuse you. :)

Launch! "Hold on to your knickers!" End of summer supper club.

Let's test this thing out......Supper club concept