Meet the Producer Dinner: 16 October

The fall Meet the Producer Slow Supper features locally raised game birds and exotic mushrooms. Meet the producers; enjoy a great meal prepared by the HACC Culinary Arts Department and drink wines specially prepared for each course. Non-Slow Food members are welcome. Dinner starts at 6:00pm. Cost: $65 members; $75 non-members (inclusive). Reservations: click here Deadline: 9 October.

Adams County Producer Tour & Lunch: 26 Sept.

Stops will include Caprine Delight Dairy, Gettysburg Baking Company, Oyler’s Eden Valley Farm, Hauser Estate Winery and the Round Barn & Farm Market. Mid-day we will enjoy a specially created lunch (optional) using local ingredients by Chef Wolf at Pomona’s Woodfired Bakery Café, Biglerville. The lunch is limited to 25 guests. Meet at Boscov’s parking lot opposite routes 11 and 581 at 8:30am. Tour should end about 4:00pm. Cost: tour is free; lunch is $25 (inclusive); wine tasting is $5. Reservations: Call Jeff Katcher @ 717.545.8182. Deadline is 21 Sept.

Farm to Table Dinner: 19 Sept.

Hosted at The Cellar restaurant in Camp Hill, this dinner focuses on the abundance of the late summer’s harvest gathered by our local producers. The menu consists of five courses, each with several selections, served family style. Savor great food, mingle with the producers and enjoy great slow-fashioned conviviality. Dinner starts at 6:30pm.  Cost: $50 (inclusive; BYOB). Reservations: Call The Cellar @ 717.724.2803. Deadline: 15 Sept.

Lebanon County Producer Tour: Sept 12

Join HACC’s Culinary Arts faculty and students as they tour Lebanon County farms, markets and winery to source produce for the next Meet the Producer slow Supper, October 16. The tour lasts from 8:30 to 3:00pm. The featured locations are Strites Orchard, Palmyra Farmers Market and West Hanover Winery. Cost: free; reservations: contact Chef Miles. Deadline is 10 September.

Ambitious, gratifying & local menu served at author dinner

It’s great to see the young Sous Chef Steve Eckerd pushing the envelope, stretching his skills and trying to create food that carries his signature. This was a really ambitious dinner, combining fresh and local ingredients combined with surprising tastes and textures.

Chef Eckerd set the pace with an array of appetizers- I particularly enjoyed the showcasing of the local chevre in a mousse en croute, and while I’ve never tasted a truffle coulis before but thought it gave a new spin to pork belly which is one of the foods du jour.

My fave of the evening was the soup because it skillfully complemented chilled sweet kohlrabi puree with a sharp vinegary pickled radish and a dash of stinging nettle yogurt. I have to say I wouldn’t have identified the stinging nettle but then stinging nettles are quite bland unless they sting you.  Chef did really well again with the excellent local hybrid bass – which had that clean taste of a freshwater fish and was perfectly cooked, and I thought the two way broccoli was a neat trick, broccoli mousse then the crunch of purple broccoli.  Very bracing red raspberry pop made an excellent palate cleanser.

Roasting the strip steak was a splendid idea, I liked that uniformly pink slice with a roasted new potato, but I think the other accompaniments, the spring onion, organic mushrooms and truffle vinaigrette got a little lost in the mix.

A gratifying finale: ricotta gelato in strawberry soup backed by grilled pound cake and a little dash of techno-emotional cooking with lemon foam.

A fine dinner overall: all Sous Chef Echerd has to do now is to more precisely define the dishes, cut out anything extraneous and  focus on the most important ingredient of the dish.  The roasted steak, for example, could have stood alone with just a roasted potato and a garnish. But this is just a note from a satisfied eater.  Salut Gina

 

Appetizers:
Fried Arancini, Noble Cheddar and Beer Aioli
Camelot Valley Chevre Mousse en Croute
Crispy Pork Belly, Parsley, Truffle Coulis
Poached Octopus, Roasted Beets

Chilled Kohlrabi Soup, Pickled Radish, Stinging Nettle Yogurt
Spring Pea and Mizuna Salad; Camelot Valley Feta; Tahini Vinaigrette; Spiced Pita
Local Hybrid Bass; Broccoli Mousse; Purple Broccoli; Almond & Golden Raisin Gremolata
Red Raspberry Spiced Pop
Roasted New York Strip; Crispy Spring Onion; Organic Mushrooms; Roasted New Potato; Truffle Vinaigrette
Strawberry Soup; Marsala; Grilled Pound Cake; Ricotta Gelato; Lemon Foam

Prize-Winning Food Author Presents Local Lecture

Friday, June 19: Meet internationally renowned epicure/ food activist /author Gina Mallet and learn about the state of food today. What are the trends, the biggest risks to our food supply, and how we can help?  The all-inclusive $50 event includes a special 4-course dinner menu prepared by Executive Chef Hickey of The Cellar, Camp Hill.  The Cellar is a BYOB restaurant. The presentation and dinner costs $50 (including gratuities), payable at the end of dinner to The Cellar. By not charging its own separate fee, Slow Food Harrisburg wants to keep this event moderately priced.  However, please consider a donation to help support Chapter activities.  The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, June 17.

To make a reservation, call The Cellar at 724.2803 (in the evening). Be sure to mention Slow Food Harrisburg event when making your reservation. The event starts at 6 PM with hors d’oeuvres and an informal presentation on The Future of Food. Then at 7 PM Chef Hickey works his culinary magic using fresh, local ingredients. Winner of the 2005 James Beard Award for writing on food, Ms. Mallet is author of Last Chance to Eat. Copies will be available for purchase and signing. She is currently restaurant critic for the National Post of Canada.

 

Bike Tour through Beautiful Cumberland County Farms

Saturday, July 11 Buy Fresh/Buy Local of Central PA has organized a self guided bicycle ride of Cumberland County’s farm stands and preserved farms. Riders of this Buy Fresh/Bike Local event will be provided with a map and queue sheet for two 25-mile rides. The maps highlight farm stands, farmers markets and preserved farm land along the route and give information about the agricultural highlights of the area. Following the ride, sample delicious farm products from area farms including cheeses, fruits, baked goods and ICE CREAM!

Pre-registration by July 9 is required. Register online at www.BuyLocalPA.org/event . For more information, contact Susan Richards at 717.724.0009 or susan.richards@rcdnet.net.