Tag: Romesco Sauce

Feast 2014 Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting

Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust

Please tell me you’ve heard of Feast. The three-year-old food festival that now takes over Portland for a weekend in late September? The one with so many incredibly opportunities to eat, drink, and be merry? The one where you can easily spot your 5 favorite foodie celebrities in a single day?

This was my first year attending Feast, and I was (unfortunately) only able to hit up one event due to some scheduling conflicts with the band. But the event I did get to go to, the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, was 5 hours of tastebud extravaganza, meeting lots of people, and watching cooking demos. My dad and Darla came down for the weekend (they drove out to our gig with us over the weekend), and the three of us went to Pioneer Square to enjoy all that Oregon has to offer.

We made it to the tents in time to grab a couple wine pours and food samples before sitting down to watch Chef Naomi Pomeroy whip up a pork loin with romesco sauce (which, after sampling, inspired me to finally make some romesco sauce of my own). Afterwards, as we moved from some pâté panna cotta with Oregon berries and a parmesan tuile from Uptown Billiards Club, to Eliot’s Adult Nut Butters, to kale salad with smoked salmon (from I’m not every sure who), to crazy delicious bites from Three Little Figs, to some awesome bloody mary shooters from Face Rock Creamery, to tomatoes sprinkled with varied salts from Jacobsen Salt, to of course incredible ice cream from Salt & Straw (served by the one and only Jon Wash), and possibly my favorite dessert: Salt & Straw Olive Oil ice cream topped with Cacao drinking chocolate and candied cocoa nibs. I realized something. I am so unvelievably lucky to live in a city that not only has food like this at every turn, but to live in a city that creates a festival like this, that brings all these artisans and chefs and wineries and breweries together, and has this community around food. I think it’s pretty cool, don’t you?

Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust
Feast 2014 Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting // Serious Crust

Let it be known that we also enjoyed some beautiful wines poured by some beautiful people. The wineries that were pouring were some of the best in Oregon, and they were pouring wines that range from $20-70 a bottle. It was a chance for me to try some wines that, let’s face it, I would otherwise not have been able to. Some favorite wineries included Elk CoveAdelsheim VineyardsChehalem, and Penner-Ash Wine Cellars.

Overall, it was a beautiful day spent eating and drinking with some of my favorite people. I met some new friends (like Ian and Mike from Pfriem Brewery), bumped into some old ones (Erin from Bakery Bingo, Rachel from Love, Rachel, and, from afar, Bee from The Spicy Bee), and truly enjoyed discovering all the wonderful food and drink coming from the wonderful Pacific Northwest. Lucky girl, indeed.

Weekend Finds 6:15:14

My summer craziness has begun! How about yours? Hopefully these weekend finds can help us slow down a bit and remember to enjoy the summer season.

1. Romesco Sauce

Romesco Sauce // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Romesco is made with roasted bell peppers, toasted almonds, tomato paste, garlic, oil, and spices.

I’ve had romesco sauce plenty of times, but it was really last summer when my dad put it over some roasted cauliflower that it won my heart. I think grilling season is a perfect time of year to keep a batch of the stuff in your fridge, as it makes a really flavor packed topping for those lightly charred vegetables.

2. PedalPalooza 2014

PedalPalooza 2014, PDX // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Get your pedal on!

So Portland, being the bike-centric city we are, has this month-long event called Pedalpalooza, with all these themed bike rides around the city. Jonah’s co-worker even led a Beyoncé themed ride last week! But there are a few rides for foodies: today there’s a homebrews and community gardens ride, tomorrow there’s a food cart ride, on Wednesday there’s a bees vs. Monsanto ride (yes, you dress up as bees and farmers and stop at the offices of food influencers in the city), and on Friday there’s both a coffee and carousing ride as well as breakfast on bridges (a stand set up with coffee and donuts where you can stop on your way to work). And of course, Friday night, there’s a champagne ride. So what else do you need? Get riding!

3. Warm-weather Whiskey Drinks

Warm Weather Whiskey Drinks // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Whiskey in the morning, whiskey in the evening, whiskey at bath too! (Ok, maybe not in the morning or at bath time.)

I’ll be honest, when I think of whiskey, I often think of being in a cozy bar on a cold night. But that shouldn’t really be the case. You can drink whiskey year round, and Saveur is going to give you a little help. Check out these refreshing whiskey cocktails, perfect for a hot day.

4. Time Magazine says “Eat Butter.”

Time: Eat Butter // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Let’s learn about fats!

Have you seen the new Time Magazine cover? I’m glad my roommate subscribes, because I’ll admit I’m looking forward to reading this article about how fat isn’t really the bad guy everyone thinks it is.

5. Jamaica

Jamaica // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
I love the ruby hue of this cold refreshing hibiscus tea!

I gotta say, if you’ve never had jamaica, you’re missing out. It’s a refreshing, tart, fruity drink, a la lemonade, and is perfect for summer time. I love hibiscus tea, and this is really just a cold version of that. I found bulk hibiscus at my grocery store, but you can usually find bags of the petals in the latin foods section. In case you needed another reason to make this beverage, it’s also a great mixer for cocktails.