blue artichoke

Last night, Gentleman Caller and I went to a Slow Foods event, a charcuterie party at a local restaurant. The slow food movement, as described in the paraphernalia I picked up, "is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic organization that supports a biodiverse, sustainable food supply, local producers, heritage foodways, and rediscovery of the pleasures of the table." Lots of those words raise red flags to me, indicating a political agenda and moral crusade. Anything that can be considered a "movement' puts me on guard. I like the idea of Slow Food, and I'm really glad there is a chapter nearby. But in general, I like to keep my food free of ideology. Good food is good; it doesn't matter much to me where it comes from. (I'm totally going to be banned from future events for writing that!) I buy local when I can (and when local produce isn't cost-prohibitive), but I also buy frozen vegetables and meats processed at facilities far away.

That said, I really enjoyed the food at the party. Here's the menu:
Charcuterie platter with buffalo bratwursts & summer sausage, Volpi prosciutto, pickles and relish and assorted breads; spring green salad with arugula and Swiss chard, gorgonzola, pecans, apples and pickled black walnut vinaigrette; stewed buffalo roast with bbq sauce; roasted heritage turkey with wild mushroom risotto, smoked trout crostinis with goat cheese and walnut habanero sauce; a cheese platter; and wines from local wineries. Gentleman Caller and I both really liked the stewed buffalo roast. Gentleman Caller also liked the risotto and the trout crostinis. My other favorites were the charcuterie and cheese platters. It reminded me of the breakfasts I've had when traveling in Europe: good breads with an assortment of meats, sausages, cheeses and fruit. Sometimes I try to recreate such a breakfast at home; I'm going to try again this weekend.* This time, I'm going to make the rolls myself.

Dinner tonight: the chicken/basil lasagna I made yesterday

*An astute reader might wonder how I can put together such a breakfast with a bare pantry. I went wild at the grocery store this morning. Intending to purchase some chicken and orange marmalade for a Chinese chicken salad; tuna and hoisin sauce for an Asian tuna salad (both of these dishes to use up the bottled ginger in my cupboard); crabmeat to make she-crab soup for Gentleman Caller to eat while I'm out of town (to use up a soup mix in the cupboard); and bananas for future banana bread battles, I ended up getting all of the above, plus two kinds of cheese, some pepperoni, strawberries and blackberries. For the breakfast. And right now I'm going to make some bolillos (French rolls).