At Kendall-Jackson, not only are we known for our amazing wines, we are also known for our heirloom tomatoes.  We have been saving heirloom tomato seeds for the past 15 years and now have over 400 varieties of seeds saved.  Each year, we plant approximately 175 heirloom varieties in our culinary gardens and invite chefs from all over to come and cook tomato-inspired dishes to pair with our wines at the annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival.

It is an awesome event that usually attracts 2,500 guests who love heirloom tomatoes and wine.  And the best thing is, it’s not just a fun day of eating tomatoes and wine tasting, the event also benefits a wonderful charity, The School Garden Network.

The Tomato Festival is always fabulous and this year promises to be better than ever.  Some of this year’s highlights include:

• Tomato-inspired tastings from over 50 gourmet food purveyors
• Educational seminars on organic gardening, growing tomatoes and wine & food pairings
• Live music by the Carlos Herrera Band
• Chef’s competition featuring celebrity chefs from the popular television show, Top Chef
• Tasting of 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes
• Tomato growing contest – Bring in your home-grown heirloom tomatoes to be judged by professional tomato growers.

We would love to see you at this year’s festival.  Be sure to purchase your tickets as soon as possible as this event sells out every year.

We’ve been so excited about the Tomato Festival this year that we couldn’t wait for the tomatoes to get ripe, so we just added fried green tomatoes to our Wine & Food Pairing.  We serve them with the new Avant Chardonnay and the pairing is exceptional.  The green, sour flavor of the early tomatoes and the refreshing acidity and long, fruit finish of the Avant Chardonnay makes an incredible pairing.  Below is our recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Buttermilk Ranch.  Enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Buttermilk Ranch
Serve with Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay
Serves 4

For the fried green tomatoes:
Ingredients

• 2 large unripe green tomatoes, sliced ½ -inch thick
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup neutral flavored oil
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. good sea salt, for plating

Method

1. In a medium sized bowl, soak the tomatoes in the buttermilk and set aside.
2. Heat a 12-inch cast skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.
3. In a large bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients, except for the sea salt.  Using tongs or a fork, remove the tomato slices from the buttermilk and coat with the cornmeal-flour mixture.  Place the tomato slices in the cast iron skillet with the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.
4. Place the fried tomatoes on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with finishing salt.  Serve immediately with Tarragon Buttermilk Ranch on the side.

For the Tarragon Buttermilk Ranch:
Ingredients

• ¼ cup buttermilk
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. chives, minced
• 2 Tbsp. parsley, minced
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp. granulated garlic
• ¼ tsp. celery salt
• ¼ tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. tarragon, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Method

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  This dressing can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Recently I was turned on to Rutiz Family Farms, a local Arroyo Grande sustainable ranch and market stand that I am practically giddy over. One of the coolest things about the Rutiz program is that you do not need to prepay a subscription. An email is sent out each Tuesday listing what will be in the box that week (plus cooking suggestions, announcements, and prices of other stand produce). You simply need to decide by Thursday evening whether or not your fridge needs stocking, email in the affirmative, and pick up on Friday.

Local family farming

Although I am itching for tomatoes, cool season crops have been treating me well. Sugar snap peas are lucky if they make it into a pan before they are all consumed raw, fresh spearmint made lovely tea, spinach always goes to good use, baby artichokes may be a new house favorite, “Italian sprouting” baby broccoli is fine fare, and my forced variety: radishes.

Each Tuesday evening you will find me with an ear aimed at my smart phone, waiting to hear the notification that says, “yes, the Rutiz weekly e-newsletter has arrived!” I look forward to more Tuesdays, pick up Fridays, and seasonal produce all year long.

Fall Veggies

September seems like an interesting time in the world of agriculture, especially on the Central Coast where the lines between seasons are often blurred. On this late September day it feels like summer but there are signs of fall in the air. (The weather on this day can fluctuate easily between the two seasons. Record high for September 21st: 106 degrees, record low: 38 degrees.) So, I decided to head to the Paso Robles Farmers’ Market, held each Tuesday in the City Park downtown from 3-6pm to see what is being grown locally this time of year.

Gourds

At the market, the types of produce offered turned out to be just as mixed as the day’s weather. The stands lining the sunny park under the slowly-turning trees offered everything from summer berries and watermelons to fall squashes. And, this sampling of the Central Coast has everything in-between.

Lemongrass

One friendly local farmer posed with lemongrass, and another explained the process of turning squashes into hardened gourds: let the squash sit until it gets moldy, scrape the mold off, let it sit until dried then scrape skins off and let it dry some more. Each gourd is finished with a coating of polyurethane and some shoe polish to bring out the color.

A quick inventory of the fruits and vegetables available at the market would put most grocery stores to shame:

melons
dry farmed watermelons
lemongrass
beets
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes (red, yellow)
lettuce
carrots
lemons
limes
prickly pears
asian pears
avocados
squash
zucchini
strawberries
raspberries
walnuts
almonds
grapes
onions
greens
cabbage
bell peppers
peppers
plums
peaches
eggplant
sweet potatoes
garlic
winegrapes

Winegrapes

Looks like the Central Coast is the place to shop for produce in September.

This week I was feeling the fall air so I threw together a meal for the season: Chicken Breasts with Mushroom-Artichoke Ragout, Mashed Potatoes, and Apple Calfouti “Pie”. And the best part? I had it the leftovers lunch the next day!

Chicken Breasts with Mushroom-Artichoke Ragout
3  cups baby bella mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
2 Tbsp. olive oil divided
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. flour
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
Salt and pepper

Saute mushrooms in 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Cook until browned, 5-7 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add leeks and cook until wilted, 3 minutes. Remove mixture and wipe out skillet.

Sear chicken in remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in thepan until brown on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken over and sear it 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine and broth; cover and simmer 8-10 minutes.

Blend butter and flour. Transfer chicken to cutting board, cover, and keep warm. Bring wine mixture to a simmer over high heat; whisk in about 2 tsp. of the butter-flour mixture. Use more is needed. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Add reserved mushroom mixture, artichoke hearts, tarragon, salt and pepper to sauce.

Serve with chicken and mashed potatoes (We should all have a recipe for mashed potatoes under our hats. I like sour cream in mine!)

Tasty local white wine for deglazing and, of course, sipping

In the begining there was a knife, leeks and mushrooms.

Saute away!

Scrumptious

Dessert. This is what I really care about. The Apple Calfouti (pronounced kal-foo-TEE) was a breeze to make and so tasty it is officially gone in less than 24 hours.

Apple Calfouti “Pie”

The Filling
1/2 dried cherries
1/2 cup brandy
5 small Fuji apples, cored and sliced
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the Batter
4 Tbsp. butter, melted (plus one for brushing the pie plate)
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
Ground cinnamon and sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine cherries and liquor in a small bowl; set aside to plump, 15-30 minutes. Strain cherries, reserving liquid; set both aside.

Cook apples, brown sugar, 3 Tbsp. butter, lemon juice, vanilla seeds, and reserved liquor in a skillet over medium heat, until apples soften, 7-10 minutes.

Grease pie plate with 1 Tbsp. butter and heat in oven.

Blend first 7 ingredients for batter until smooth and frothy; set aside.

Pour half the batter into heated pie plate. Layer the apples (reserving juices) and cherries on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar; bake until golden and set in the center, 25-30 minutes.

Simmer reserved juices in a skillet until reduced by a third. Serve calfouti drizzled with warm juices. (I would double this next go around!)

If only my photography was as good as this dish!

A great finish.

Here are some SIP wine tasting highlights …

Ancient Peaks: ’09 Sauvignon Blanc (which just won Best of Sauvignon Blanc at the Mid State Wine Competition) had honeydew notes with crisp acidity, definitely a good summer wine, $12. ’07 Oyster Ridge Cab-based blend showed wafts of violet and dark fruit with elegant tannins and balance, a beautiful wine, $50.

Pomar Junction: ’08 Viognier had nice honey and pear aromas, soft mouthfeel but enough acid to balance it, $25.

Saucelito Canyon: this pre-release showing of the bright ’09 Sauvignon Blanc (a gold medal winner at the Mid State Fair competition) offered crisp, citrusy flavors – made in all-stainless, it’s a wine that fans of New Zealand Sauv Blancs will love, $17. The ’08 Backroads Zinfandel and ’08 Estate Zinfandel were very different wines, with the Backroads showing a softer style and bright red fruit and the Estate true to form as Saucelito’s bold flagship Zin. Drink the Backroads with apps or on its own, $19, but the Estate really begs for an equally bold food pairing like grilled steak, $30. Add some chimichurri sauce to that steak, however, and you might want to reach for the ’08 Tempranillo, a beautifully balanced spicy interpretation of this increasing popular varietal, $28.

Among the wineries pouring was SIP-certified Baileyana/Tangent, matching their 2008 Tangent Albariño with seared ahi. The 2007 Baileyana Grand Firepeak Cuvée Reserve Pinot Noir was also available, but the staff (rightly) recommended the Albariño as the best pairing with the ahi. This was the only fish dish served, so it stood out nicely, especially with the accompanying wasabi drizzle and picked ginger that pleasantly woke up your taste buds without trashing your palate, and Baileyana/Tangent tied for third place with the judges (disclaimer – I was one of them).

The Albariño had very crisp, balanced acid which really showcased the fish, plus there was just enough sweetness to stand up to the wasabi. The Pinot showed beautiful dark cherry notes and hints of smoke – a good wine to pair with other grilled items such as lamb, and Pinot is always a good bet with paella!

Keynote speaker was Deborah Lyons, an environmental sustainability specialist for Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, the largest information technology company in the country and recently named as the greenest company in America by Newsweek magazine.

According to The Tribune’s Biz Buzz Report on November 11, 2009, “Lyons’ message was that saving the planet is good for businesses — and the bottom line. She came to San Luis Obispo hoping to inspire local enterprises to measure their energy usage and waste, be efficient with their resources and find new ways to save costs. But after listening to what county businesses were doing to reduce their carbon footprint, she said, ‘I’m the one who’s inspired’.”

Of course, the Seafood and Sushi Watch pocket guides were everywhere (The aquarium estimates that they’ve distributed more than 32 million of them since 1999), but there were also several exhibits speaking directly to the issue of ocean health, all of them age specific – not easy to do for little ones – and informative. One in particular was an interactive experience enacting a visit to a restaurant. (Apologies for the photo quality below, but you’ll get the idea.) “Patrons” took their seat and not only responded to choices on the “menu” screens, but also watched videos from three “chefs” explaining their choices, or lack thereof, regarding sustainable seafood. Yeah, maybe a bit schlocky for anyone who already had a fair amount of information on the subject, but there were sure a lot of people sitting down and experiencing the entire presentation!

Interactive "restaurant" exhibit about sustainable seafood choices

In other news, the Monterey Bay Aquarium was a significant force behind California Assemblymember Bill Monning’s (D-Carmel) recent efforts to get a Sustainable Seafood Bill passed through the state legislation and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Policy wonks can link to the bill’s full text or summary, but in short it establishes an Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to develop and implement a voluntary sustainable seafood promotion program, including support for developing a standardized protocol for labeling sustainable seafood, as well as marketing support, and loan possibilities for fisheries wishing to become certified.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium also just released some good news about the state of our oceans in Turning the Tide, which was summarized thusly: “Our oceans are increasingly affected by human activities—primarily the ways we catch and farm seafood. Today, fish and other populations of ocean wildlife, from turtles to seabirds, are imperiled. Yet we appear to have reached a turning point, with many signs of hope for the future. Fishermen and consumers, businesses and governments recognize the threats. They are charting a new course, and cooperating in new ways.”

Finally … think you know your sustainable seafood? Test your smarts with this quiz! Also, the Seafood/Sushi Pocket Guides are downloadable in .pdf format (some also in Spanish) and now there’s an iPhone app available as well.

The couple launched Joebella Coffee, a combination of their names that also connotes “beautiful cup of coffee,” shortly after moving to the Central Coast in 2003. From the outset, they have made the commitment to be small batch roasters of fairly traded and naturally grown coffees, and they are also staunch supporters of local sustainability efforts.
At the anniversary party, we were treated to an array of beautiful shrimp from Pier 46 Seafood in Templeton, rustic sandwiches and a cheese plate from 15 Degrees C Wine Shop & Bar in Templeton, baked goods from Colby Jack Café & Bakery in Atascadero, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates in San Luis Obispo (also committed to fair trade policies), letter “J” adorned tiramisu from Artisan Restaurant in Paso Robles (which showcases locally grown and sustainable foods), and Central Coast Brewing’s Double Dark Espresso Porter made with Joebella coffee.