Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines + Oysters and Vichyssoise

Is it really already only two weeks until Christmas?! Time is a flying!

Just like last year (and which I also highlighted in a post last year, along with providing a free printable wine tasting placemat for you to create for a wine tasting party), Whole Foods has picked out some wines that you can find in their stores to highlight for the holidays.
Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines

Some of the Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 wines are quite a value, meaning you can easily buy quite a few bottles in order to make sure everyone’s thirst is sufficiently quenched during a holiday party. Others are great options as a gift when you are attending someone else’s holiday get together, or to pair with a family dinner night.
Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines - very affordable so you can buy several bottles for your holiday party Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines

Let’s take a look at some example food and wine pairings with the 2014 list of Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines! Which apparently are really 11, with 5 white wines and 6 red wines.

White Wines

Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines - Sea Pines Russian River Valley Chardonnay Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines - Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier

  • Gaston Chiquet Champagne – because we should all drink sparkling bubbly wine the whole holiday month
  • Pizzolato Pinot Grigio – mineral tones makes this organically grown wine very refreshing
  • Globerati Sauvignon Blanc – lemon and green apple brightness
  • Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier – round soft wine that has somehow a bit of earthiness
  • Sea Pines Russian River Chardonnay – balanced to have a little bit of vanilla but not too much oak

Always fun to start with sparkling for any event, such as this Gaston Chiquet Champagne, a Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines "Sea
So Whole Foods suggested a very easy way to pair any of those 5 white wines at your party or to take to someone else’s party (or to keep for yourselves for a very sexy holiday date night at home)… Oysters! You don’t even need to cook them- AND you don’t have to shuck them!

Did you know that when you buy your oysters from Whole Foods, you can have the Fishmongers there shuck them all for you? After they are shucked, make sure you keep your oysters cold, so go home and refrigerate them right away, and ideally you will eat them that day. Supposedly you can also choose to wait up to 7 days, or freeze them, but it’s best as soon as possible.

At the pairing event I attended at Whole Foods Pearl, they let me try a few different types of oysters with a few different simple preparations. You can see the pairings below – the number of the wine and the oyster is a pairing I tried.
Pairing oysters and white wines from the Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines 2014 list

It was fun to see, feel, and taste the difference in flavor between the various types of oysters you can purchase, as well as the different garnish preparations used to highlight them. They came in a variety of salty/briny level and textures and I could admire the differences in shells and textures. At this event I was able to try five oyster types of a Sun Hollow oyster (paired with Globerati Sauvignon Blanc), Malaspina oysters (paired with a Pizzolato Pinot Grigio), Fanny Bay oyster (paired with Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier), Miyagi Oysters (paired with Sea Pines Russian River Chardonnay), and Penn Cove Select oysters (paired with Gaston Chiquet Champagne).
Globerati Sauvignon Blanc with a Sun Hollow oyster Pizzolato Pinot Grigio paired with Malaspina oysters Fanny Bay oyster (paired with Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier) Miyagi Oysters (paired with Sea Pines Russian River Chardonnay) Penn Cove Select oysters (paired with Gaston Chiquet Champagne)

Here are my favorite ways to do a little preparation for the oyster when you serve them (the photos are from the event and not the actual recipe shared):

  • Hot Sauce. The simplest no muss way. With a little bit of Marshall’s Haute Sauce like the Red Chili Lime, Serrano Ginger Lemongrass, or some of their limited edition sauces like their Gin Roasted Pepper. For your get together, maybe get a few different sauces and let your guests add the dash of whichever sauce they want to try themselves!
    Penn Cove Select oysters (paired with Gaston Chiquet Champagne) 
  • Mignonette Sauce, which is essentially a vinegary sauce. Since you are already pairing this with wine, make it even a smoother pairing by using some of that wine in the mignonette itself by preparing 1/2 cup of a dry white wine with a tablespoon of sherry vinegar in a saucepan and reducing it to half. Now take off the heat and add 1 finely chopped shallot and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste, and maybe a tiny pinch of an herb
  • Fresh Lemon and Horseradish sauce. I like the way these flavor and zing in a way that lets the natural flavors of Oyster shine by letting Oyster flavor be in the forefront. Get a fresh horseradish root, clean and then peel the outside, grate the root until you get 3 ounces (Be prepared to cry a little from the fumes just like an onion. Console yourself with wine.) to every teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and a little bit of water until it suits your taste. Instead of water, you can also use cocktail sauce for a horseradish lemon cocktail sauce topping.
    Fanny Bay oyster (paired with Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier)
  • This is the one that is inspired from what I had at this Whole Foods event: a Jalapeno Ponzu sauce with a little 1/2 Teaspoon of caviar! For the sauce, this recipe is enough for two dozen oysters so you can use all the jalapeno. Mix together 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon water, 2 Tablespoons yuzu, or you can use fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of yuzu, 1 Teaspoon sugar, 1 small jalapeño, minced and 2 Tablespoons minced shallot. Then if you can, add the caviar using a mother of pearl spoon/wooden spoon (don’t use metal as it oxidizes the caviar). How fancy is that!
    Miyagi Oysters (paired with Sea Pines Russian River Chardonnay)

The Duet Chardonnay-Viognier and Vichyssoise

I also happened to purchase the Louis Latour Duet Chardonnay-Viognier and took it to a dinner party with a French theme. I paired this round, soft and earthy wine with a cold soup I made for the dinner called Vichyssoise. If you haven’t had Vichyssoise before, it’s a potato leek soup that is creamy yet light. This is a great option to bring to a party because you can prepare the recipe the night before- in fact you’ll want to because if you let the flavors sit together overnight it will taste better!

The vichyssoise also can be served warm or chilled, again making it ideal for transporting to share with others. By the way, it’s pronounced Vi-chy-swahze, where Vi-chy is sort of like fishy but use the V sound and sounds heck o impressive.

Recipe for Vegetarian Vichyssoise, a potato leek soup that is creamy yet light. This is a great option to bring to a party because you can prepare the recipe the night before- in fact you'll want to because if you let the flavors sit together overnight it will taste better!

This recipe makes 8 servings, and it tasted great with the Duet wine because the earthyness of the wine went well with the potato leek and watercress flavors of the soup. This version of vichyssoise is lightened up considerably by using vegetable broth instead of chicken stock and also by using half and half instead of cream. It also has a bit more earthiness and bite by using watercress.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (2 tablespoons will be used to cook the leek, 1 tablespoon to top the soup during serving)
  • 4 leeks, well washed and coarsely chopped
  • 2 pounds potatoes, coarsely chopped (I used Yukon Gold and did not peel them)
  • 2 bunches watercress, divided (half will be used in the soup, the other half later when you serve)
  • 2 1/4 quarts (9 cups) of vegetable broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ground white pepper to taste
  • 1 cup half and half or cream – I went with using half and half
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 in preparing the soup and the rest you may add to taste later when serving.
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh chives

Directions:

  1. Place a large soup pot over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chopped leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes.
    Recipe for Vichyssoise- the softened leeks Recipe for Vichyssoise- the softened leeks Recipe for Vichyssoise- the softened leeks
  2. Now add your chopped potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes more. You don’t need everything to fully cook and nothing should be browned as you it will cook in the broth shortly. Add 1 bunch of the watercress and stir until the watercress is wilted, probably another 5 minutes.
    Vichyssoise- leeks plus potatoes
  3. Add the vegetable broth, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes.
  4. Remove the soup from the heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes so that you can put it in the food processor. I put my pot in the kitchen sink partially immersed in cold water and some ice cubes to cool it down. In batches, process the soup in a food processor until smooth. After each batch, pour the processed soup into another larger pot. As you probably know, when processing the soup in your food processor or blender, make sure you are careful to press the lid on as you are blending and never fill your machine too high, getting a burn from processing hot liquids is an accident you don’t want to experience!
  5. In the large pot with your processed soup, stir in the half-and-half and 1/2 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, best would be to let chill overnight).
  6. Before serving, taste the soup for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, and lemon juice as necessary. After placing it in your soup vessels (such as chilled soup bowls), add a little swirl of remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice remaining tablespoon of olive oil amongst all the bowls. Finally, add to each bowl a small bunch of the watercress, a pinch of the finely snipped fresh chives, and and grate a little pinch of the lemon zest on top.

Vichyssoise- a vegetarian recipe for this potato leek soup that is creamy yet light. This is a great option to bring to a party because you can prepare the recipe the night before- in fact you'll want to because if you let the flavors sit together overnight it will taste better!

Red Wines

I didn’t have a chance to try any of the red wines, but wanted to still share them in case you prefer reds to whites, along with the descriptions from Whole Foods. Although I didn’t get to taste them, I trust their choices based on tasting their holiday wine selections last year.
Red Wine

  • Coppola Sonoma County Pinot Noir – Fruit forward ruby red with a tartness of dried cherry and strawberry and subtle floral jasmine notes
  • Bodegas Belgrano Malbec – Aromas of warm spices and stewed blueberry flavors that mingle with woodsy hints of smoke
  • Leyenda del Castillo Rioja – Mineral, earthy aromas are found in this deep garnet Spanish red
  • Bubo Cabernet Sauvignon – Surprisingly fruity, pleasant and approachable with a touch of green pepper aroma
  • H&G Priorat – Earthy, herbaceous aromas in this brick red wine lead to a refined minerality and complex dark fruit flavors
  • Charles and Charles Merlot – Attractive baked biscuit aroma in this inky, hearty red

Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines - Coppola Sonoma County Pinot Noir Whole Foods Holiday Top 10 Wines - H&G Priorat
You might also consider adding a dessert wine to your holidays, such as a port. And think about pairing it with a little buffet of tiny dessert snacks (all that you conveniently purchase at Whole Foods) such as the Belgian Chocolates, Milk Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Bar, or Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Creme Cookies!
Dessert pairing with port thanks to Whole Foods

For another easy way to get food to pair with your wine, whether it be red or white wines… I also heh heh like to browse the prepared foods section of Whole Foods and grab things from there, and if I have any doubt I will ask someone at Whole Foods to help me pick a dish to go with the wine. Then I go home and put them on a nice platter and take them to the party. What! I especially can’t resist when I see signs like this to advertise their holiday side dishes!
Whole Foods New Traditions with their prepared Holiday Side Dishes

Are you doing any holiday dinner or party at home with wines, and if so are you pairing anything and what are you pairing? Have you ever served raw oysters before? Or had Vichyssoise?

Disclosure: I was invited to attend a complimentary event at Whole Foods Pearl that included tasting 5 of the Holiday Wines paired with oysters, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own

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Feast 2014 Recap of Tillamook Brunch Village

This is my final Feast 2014 recap. This year, Feast Portland  added a new Main event, which in retrospect to me seems so obvious: Tillamook Brunch Village! Portland does love brunch!
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village

Despite being four hours long, I definitely felt the 4 days of eating catching up to me, and I knew there was no way I was going to make it to visit all 12 chefs who were brunching it up for us during this event, even with its reasonable start of of basically lunch time (11 AM – 2 PM). I took a very leisurely approach. Also, because I was moving slower, though still taking mental notes for my recap of Tillamook Brunch Village that I knew I would be writing…

One thing I’ve learned from food festivals is that things that are popular are going to have a line, and if you think you can wait until there’s no line, you can take that risk… but you also risk that the chef will run out. I knew right away I needed to hit Aaron Franklin. But, there’s no reason to just go directly in line without some nourishment first! I went to the first chef I saw that had no line. and I added the additional filter that I wanted it to be someone who was not a Portland chef, which happened as it turned out, happened to be Butcher & Bee.

Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee, traveling in from Charleston, SC brought some southern hug for your tummy via Smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee brought smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee brought smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee brought smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee brought smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Greg Marks and Chelsey Conrad of Butcher & Bee brought smoked lamb neck, Geechie Boy grits, okra and harissa jus

I was tempted by some cold brewed Stumptown coffee but worried it might ruin my palate, I decided I was ready to wait in line for you Aaron.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Stumptown bringing the cold brewed coffee Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Stumptown bringing the cold brewed coffee

And, the wait was soooo worth it for the Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina’s Tex Mex tortillas!
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

And the brisket was hand sliced for you by Aaron himself. SQQQQUEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee…..
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

Yes, I’ve judged BBQ about 10 times or so for PNWBA and I can without a doubt say this was the best brisket I have ever had. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from Aaron and look at the brisket and tried not to take too blurry of a picture as I shook with excitement at looking at all the juicyness. Seriously,  I was wigging out.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

I was reluctant to ruin the brisket with the sauce and avocado because I wanted to just taste it on its own, but this was Aaron’s vision so I accepted it.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

I’m pretty sure I might have just disappeared on Spicy Bee and Ktams mid-conversation… I’m sorry! It was a lifetime food memory that needed to be captured immediately! Foodportunity called! I did go back looking for you… and then directly proceeded to the Bloody Mary Bar. I’m a terrible person.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

Ha ha you can’t tell as you are reading this when I’m done, but I totally had to take a break after writing about this brisket and continue writing on another day.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas! Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue miracle from Austin, TX of Brisket! Breakfast Taco! With charred salsa and Valentina's Tex Mex tortillas!

I knew I couldn’t eat another bite so soon after that heavenly experience, so I decided to go for a drink. I climbed up the steps to the Whole Foods tent where Derek Johnson of Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar

Then it was off to the Whole Foods Bloody Mary Garnish Bar that included 25 some hot sauces including Marshalls Haute Sauce‘s Serrano Ginger Lemongrass and Red Chili Lime, half a dozen pickled items including the pickled Beatnik Beets from Unbound Pickling that are pickled with pomegranate and chai spice, smoked chicken wings and mini drumsticks, smoked oysters, various charcuterie from Olympic Provisions (I eat it so much that I can identify OP charcuterie almost immediately), Firefly kimchee, several Tillamook cheeses, bacon, and more various veggies for your skewer or directly into your glass…
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar that included Marshall's Haute SauceFeast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar

The result:
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Urban Farmer provided the Bloody Mary base and Whole Foods provided an amazeballs Bloody Mary Garnish Bar

I returned to the big tent, where I was shocked at the generous bite / whole breakfast that Black Seed Bagels had brought all the way from New York and freshly made in the oven of Duane Sorenson at Roman Candle. The Black Seed Bagel is a famous mash up of both a New York bagel and a Montreal bagel. Having been to both those cities in the past 6 months, I appreciated that the Black Seed bagel is soft like a New York style bagel but had the sweet melt in your mouth insides like a Montreal bagel.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Black Seed Bagels brings a mashup of a New York Style and Montreal bagel Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Black Seed Bagels brings a mashup of a New York Style and Montreal bagel Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Black Seed Bagels brings a mashup of a New York Style and Montreal bagel Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Black Seed Bagels brings a mashup of a New York Style and Montreal bagel Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Black Seed Bagels brings a mashup of a New York Style and Montreal bagel

Walt Alexander, Kevin Atchley, and Brian Snyder from Pine State Biscuits pleased the crowds with their classic Chatham biscuit sandwich with fried chicken, bacon and cheese topped with apple butter. I photographed but did not partake myself since I’ve enjoyed Pine State Biscuits for years, and didn’t want to take one of those biscuit sandwiches away from others who have not previously enjoyed.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Walt Alexander, Kevin Atchley, and Brian Snyder, Pine State Biscuits (Portland, OR) pleased the crowds with their classic Chatham biscuit sandwich with Fried chicken, bacon and cheese topped with apple butter

The same with another local favorite Lisa Schroeder of Mother’s Bistro & Bar who was the consummate professional and mother who never ran out and was superfast at doling out her delicious buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy to nourish the hungry masses. Also, was it me or did she look even younger than when I saw her just in June…
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Lisa Shroeder of Mother's Bistro was the consumate professional and mother who never ran out and was superfast at doling out her delicious buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Lisa Shroeder of Mother's Bistro was the consumate professional and mother who never ran out and was superfast at doling out her delicious buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy

The other big line besides that for Aaron Franklin was for Alvin Cailan of Eggslut from Los Angeles, CA. Eggslut impressed with both taste, presentation, and threw in a little audience interaction with Kimchee fried rice with Coddled Egg served in a silver tin that you would cover and shake up to break the egg and mix it in with the rice. I feel no shame at all that after a few bites I took my tin AND my friend’s tin home so I could eat it later for dinner.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Alvin Cailan of Eggslut from Los Angeles, CA who impressed with both taste, presentation, and threw in a little audience interaction with Kimchee fried rice with Coddled Egg served in a silver tin that you would cover and shake up to break the egg and mix it in with the rice Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Alvin Cailan of Eggslut from Los Angeles, CA who impressed with both taste, presentation, and threw in a little audience interaction with Kimchee fried rice with Coddled Egg served in a silver tin that you would cover and shake up to break the egg and mix it in with the rice Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Alvin Cailan of Eggslut from Los Angeles, CA who impressed with both taste, presentation, and threw in a little audience interaction with Kimchee fried rice with Coddled Egg served in a silver tin that you would cover and shake up to break the egg and mix it in with the rice Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Alvin Cailan of Eggslut from Los Angeles, CA who impressed with both taste, presentation, and threw in a little audience interaction with Kimchee fried rice with Coddled Egg served in a silver tin that you would cover and shake up to break the egg and mix it in with the rice

As the line for Eggslut wound around 1/3 of the tent, you couldn’t help but go by the Rosé Garden where 3 wineries offered tastes of their Rosé wine, including as pictured here Columbia Winery and not pictured Hawks View.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Columbia Winery at the Rosé Garden Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Columbia Winery at the Rosé Garden

After that delicious Eggslut dish, the beverage from Widmer Brothers Brewing and King Estate Wines who came together for the Hefemosa with Widmer Brothers Hefe, Orange Juice, and King Estate 2008 Blanc de Gris really hit the spot.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participants Widmer Brothers Brewing and King Estate Wines come together for the Hefemosa with Widmer Brothers Hefe, Orange Juice, and King Estate 2008 Blanc de Gris Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participants Widmer Brothers Brewing and King Estate Wines come together for the Hefemosa with Widmer Brothers Hefe, Orange Juice, and King Estate 2008 Blanc de Gris Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participants Widmer Brothers Brewing and King Estate Wines come together for the Hefemosa with Widmer Brothers Hefe, Orange Juice, and King Estate 2008 Blanc de Gris

And it worked well with the offering of Ethan Powell from The Parish who had a take on a fried ball of Shrimp and Grits and Quail Egg.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Ethan Powell from The Parish had a take on a fried ball of Shrimp and Grits and quail egg Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Ethan Powell from The Parish had a take on a fried ball of Shrimp and Grits and quail egg

Umm… I don’t know where this came from. I swear it was also from The Parish. Does anyone know?
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village berry snack

Then it was time to go sweet, starting with Teresa Sasse, Puddin’ River Chocolates & Wine Bar commuted in from Canby with her Salted Caramel Apple Bread Puddin’
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Teresa Sasse, Puddin' River Chocolates & Wine Bar (Canby, OR) and Salted Caramel Apple Bread Puddin Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Teresa Sasse, Puddin' River Chocolates & Wine Bar (Canby, OR) and Salted Caramel Apple Bread Puddin

A palate cleanser as Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante cocktail to help show off their spicy Crater Lake pepper vodka. And spicy things help kick up your metabolism right?!
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante using Crater Lake Pepper vodka Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante using Crater Lake Pepper vodka Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante using Crater Lake Pepper vodka Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante using Crater Lake Pepper vodka Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Bendistillery brought a Pina Picante using Crater Lake Pepper vodka

Josh Gregory, of Maggie’s on the Prom from Seaside, OR represented the Oregon Coast with Razor claim ceviche with huckleberries and hazelnuts and housemade kale chip
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Maggie's on the Prom from Seaside who represented the Oregon Coast with Razor claim ceviche with huckleberries and hazelnuts and housemade kale chip Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Maggie's on the Prom from Seaside who represented the Oregon Coast with Razor claim ceviche with huckleberries and hazelnuts and housemade kale chip

Mark Linebarger from Baldwin Saloon in The Dalles impressed with a Castle of Gorge nut bars filled with truffles and other sweet pastries in a beautiful presentation.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Mark Linebarger from Baldwin Saloon of The Dalles impressed with a Castle of Gorge nut bars filled with truffles Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Mark Linebarger from Baldwin Saloon of The Dalles impressed with a Castle of Gorge nut bars filled with truffles Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Mark Linebarger from Baldwin Saloon of The Dalles impressed with a Castle of Gorge nut bars filled with truffles

Tillamook, the awesome named sponsor of Brunch Village, gave everyone both the healthy and unhealthy options of yogurt with berries and granola or a sour cream and cheddar biscuit with a big smear of Tillamook compound butter (choice of fresh basil, garlic herb, or brown sugar masala). Guess what I went with.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village gave you both the healthy and unhealthy options of yogurt with berries and granola or a sour cream and cheddar biscuit with a big smear of Tillamook compound butter (choice of fresh basil, garlic herb, or brown sugar masala) Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village gave you both the healthy and unhealthy options of yogurt with berries and granola or a sour cream and cheddar biscuit with a big smear of Tillamook compound butter (choice of fresh basil, garlic herb, or brown sugar masala) Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village gave you both the healthy and unhealthy options of yogurt with berries and granola or a sour cream and cheddar biscuit with a big smear of Tillamook compound butter (choice of fresh basil, garlic herb, or brown sugar masala)

I washed down my butter and biscuit with Deschutes and a pour of beer Cultivateur, a collaboration between the Bend and Portland brewers of a saison aged in Pinot Casks with Brett.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Deschutes shared a pour of beer Cultivateur, a collaboration between the Bend and Portland brewers of a saisaon aged in Pinot Casks with Brett

I didn’t try this myself as I was waddling at this point, but Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes West brought Gingerbread Waffle with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Candied Pecans from Los Angeles.
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes West offered Gingerbread Waffle with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Candied Pecans

I never made it to visit Aaron Silverman and Mark Cockcroft of Tails & Trotters, and by the time I got to Adam Sappington of The Country Cat he had run out of his cinnamon buns topped with bacon pieces. Oh well. I also never had a single Bon Apetit cocktail! Time just flew by! At least Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte helped me finish with happy bubbles thanks to their Brut Rose
Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, (Chouilly, France) helped me finish with happy bubbles thanks to their Brut Rose Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, (Chouilly, France) helped me finish with happy bubbles thanks to their Brut Rose

One of the new sponsors this year, Dave’s Killer Bread, killed it by presenting every day new ideas on how to enjoy their bread. I had shared 2 chef recipes they had from Jenn Louis (with Hazel on a Mission with ricotta, fig, hazelnut and salt on Sprouted Wheat) and BJ Smith (with a Yellow Submarine with deviled egg salad, smoked tuna, and pickled mustard on 21 Whole Grains) at my Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting on Friday and Saturday Recap.

They were at it again at the Brunch Village where they presented both a sweet and savory recipe from their own in house chef! The Pesto-Change-o is simple basil pesto with heirloom tomatoes and an extra touch of capers to make this fancy enough to serve at your next wine party, while the Rad-berry Cocoa-nut is a dessert option with nutella, fresh berries, and coconut flake. For more recipes check out the recipes and interviews with the chefs at Dave’s Killer Bread Feast!

More coffee? Grab some Sorbenots Coffee and it’s time to go after a 4 hour brunch.
More coffee? Feast 2014, Tillamook Brunch Village participant Sorbenots Coffee

Like all of the Feast events, the net proceeds of the dinner went towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength.

This is my fourth recap of my adventures at Feast: my first was for the Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting on Friday and Saturday and my second was for the Sandwich Invitational, and then I did one for the State of the Art dinner.

For more recaps of the Brunch Village, check out some of my fellow bloggers’ posts like Ladies in Navy and Salt. Water. Coffee. and Cooking with B.S. and Love Rachel and In the Pink and Green!

Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2014 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

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Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner

Earlier this month, I wrote about the series of brewery dinners that Whole Foods is doing at their Pearl District location. Each ticketed dinner event involves working with a brewery every month while Whole Foods prepares food to pair with a beer for four courses for $25 or less.

Last week, I attended the one for August, which was a Whole Foods and Hopworks Urban Brewery Beer Dinner. This one also had a good cause in mind: all proceeds benefit The Whole Kids Foundation, an organization devoted to improving children’s nutrition and wellness with the goal of ending the childhood obesity epidemic. As before, the dinner was held in their Salud Room and beautifully set up.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB)
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

I am going to recap the dinner for the rest of the post, but I wanted to let you know there is no dinner for September because Whole Foods is going to be pretty busy with Feast!! The next dinner they are thinking of will be October 3, so pretty early in the month, and may be partnering with Merchant du Vin, who imports some pretty fabulous beers. The menu will be Oktoberfest themed, so it all sounds pretty damn exciting! Be sure to keep checking their Events Page to see when it is up!

Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner Recap

It was such a thrill to get to sit and chat with Owner and Brewmaster Christian Ettinger and his wife as they told us what it was like to at the same time found Hopworks while also having their first child. It is also very clear how extremely proud and dedicated Chris is in truly being an Eco-Brewpub. It started with how they took an existing building and then carefully deconstructed and then reconstructed it to be as green and efficient as possible, including sorting and reclaiming everything they can and using recycled materials. Then, add to that beers and a food menu that leverage organic and fresh, local ingredients and even after you’re done, HUB recycles food waste for animal feed and composting to strive for zero waste.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and here is founder of HUB himself, Christian Ettinger

HUB has big plans in its future- Chris is working with New Deal, which means soon they will be experimenting with oak and whiskey barrels. As a barrel aged beer lover, this is sooooo cool to hear, I can’t wait to see what HUB does!

Also, Chris hopes a wine license will allow him more freedom in using more fruit so he can push even more the levels of flavor that he went right up to the limit for the Organic Belgian Apple Ale. Because these Washington apples for the juice used are sourced locally, Chris admits the beer flavor may vary from year to year- but it is honest and reflects the origin of the ingredients and of that time. The Belgian Apple beer was paired with a Cheese Course by Benjamin which I was delighted I brought F because he turned over his prosciutto and blue cheese to me!
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

The Belgian Apple beer was a great pairing, as its balance of wheat malt with slight tart fruit flavor line throughout from the apple and effervescence was reminiscent of a sparkling wine. It did a great job of balancing the fat of the cheese and the prosciutto and was fun to contrast the kinds of tartness when biting into one of those little grapes and then a little sip of the beer.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

Next course was a refreshing reflection of the current bounty of the Oregon summer with a salad of beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale

This was paired with HUB’s DOA American Style Strong Ale, one of my favorites of the evening with its balance and caramel finish. No wonder it’s the house beer at esteemed Northwest cuisine restaurant Higgins.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale <a href= Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale

Next up, this main course was an amazeballs grilled flank steak with potatoes, arugula and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA. Even for F, who is vegetarian, they swapped out the flank steak for portabella mushrooms so he had a wonderful main as well. So if you are vegetarian, you can ask for the menu to accommodate you!
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was an amazeballs griled flank steak with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was an amazeballs griled flank steak with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was a vegetarian version of the entree that used portabella mushrooms instead with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA

Hopworks IPA is the HUB best-selling beer and takes the West Coast approach of dry and citrus (versus the East Coast IPA that leans more towards sweet and herbaceous)
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Hopworks IPA, which is their bestselling beer and takes the West Coast approach of dry and citrus (versus the East Coast IPA that leans more towards sweet and herbaceous)

Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavender, sage, rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs partially dipped in chocolate.  Oh yes. This was then paired with Hopworks’ Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig

See how the berries make a happy face in the reflection of the Notorious Fig? That is how I felt at the end of this marvelous Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner.

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2014 Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown

Here is my recap of the 2014 Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown. This was my second time attending the event- I also attended the 2013 event and did a blog recap so visit there for more. This event took place at Castaway Portland and is sponsored by Portland Monthly Magazine, and one of the things that was really great was there was never really a line of a handful of people to get food or drink and there was plenty of seating so everyone was able to sit to enjoy their tastes!

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

This year, six chefs prepared bites of their favorite brunch fare while six contenders vied for “Best Dressed Bloody Mary” (either or both Judge’s and People’s Choice) in the third-annual Portland Monthly Bloody Mary Smackdown!
Brunch Bite Bonanza at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm, Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose

100% of net proceeds of this event benefit Zenger Farms new Urban Grange. Urban Grange is an 8,960-square-foot facility that will support the Zenger Farm ongoing efforts to connect Portland communities to fresh-grown food by being a space for Zenger youth field trips, summer camps, healthy eating workshops, and farmer training programs, opportunities for emerging businesses in the commercial kitchen, etc.
Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

Brunch Bite Bonanza by:

  • Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula which was a nice refreshing dish with all the other richness and spiciness of the other samples that brunch for me.
    Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula boldy presented a cold tapas breakfast dish of Mojama-cured Albacore Tuna sandwich on coca bread with dill mustard mayo, mango, and arugula at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer who provided Bohemian, a stroopwaffle with bacon jam and eggs and bourbon maple
    Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer who provided Bohemian, a stroopwaffle with bacon jam and eggs and bourbon maple at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer who provided Bohemian, a stroopwaffle with bacon jam and eggs and bourbon maple at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares brought one of my favorite Asian breakfast dishes, Breakfast congee with Chinese Sausage, egg, scallion, granola and maple ponzu. I could have had a whole bowl of this.
    Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares brought one of my favorite Asian breakfast dishes, Breakfast congee with Chinese Sausage, egg, scallion, granola and maple ponzu at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares brought one of my favorite Asian breakfast dishes, Breakfast congee with Chinese Sausage, egg, scallion, granola and maple ponzu at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares brought one of my favorite Asian breakfast dishes, Breakfast congee with Chinese Sausage, egg, scallion, granola and maple ponzu at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow presented Mercy Blues, a bed of spinach topped with garlic herb polenta, stewed black beans and corn, slow-roasted tomatoes, smoky tempeh, chipotle cashew hollandaise and scallions. I thought it had a lot of flavor and unlike all the other brunch bites, is vegan and vegetarian.
    Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow presented Mercy Blues, a bed of spinach topped with garlic herb polenta, stewed black beans and corn, slow-roasted tomatoes, smoky tempeh, chipotle cashew hollandaise and scallions at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow presented Mercy Blues, a bed of spinach topped with garlic herb polenta, stewed black beans and corn, slow-roasted tomatoes, smoky tempeh, chipotle cashew hollandaise and scallions at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm alt="Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow presented Mercy Blues, a bed of spinach topped with garlic herb polenta, stewed black beans and corn, slow-roasted tomatoes, smoky tempeh, chipotle cashew hollandaise and scallions at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm" Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow presented Mercy Blues, a bed of spinach topped with garlic herb polenta, stewed black beans and corn, slow-roasted tomatoes, smoky tempeh, chipotle cashew hollandaise and scallions at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank’s hollandaise. I had to admire the Lardo team as they efficiently were putting out those plates, including frying those little pork bellies and quail eggs.
    Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank's hollandaise. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank's hollandaise. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank's hollandaise. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank's hollandaise. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop did a unique take with their Miso Soy Ginger Bagel with bulgogi beef, kimchee schmear, and cured egg yolk. You can see Chef Michael below adding the egg in the little bagel hole.
    Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop did a unique take with their Miso Soy Ginger Bagel with bulgogi beef, kimchee schmear, and cured egg yolk at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop did a unique take with their Miso Soy Ginger Bagel with bulgogi beef, kimchee schmear, and cured egg yolk at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop did a unique take with their Miso Soy Ginger Bagel with bulgogi beef, kimchee schmear, and cured egg yolk at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose:

  • Irving Street Kitchen (2012 People’s & Judges’ Choice Champion, 2013 People’s Choice Champ)’s Irving Street Bloody Mary by Pete Koptiuch was as spicy as ever, combining “all of the ingredients you’ve come to hold so dear in those early morning recoveries and mixed them with a few we thought you deserved”
    Irving Street Kitchen (2012 People’s & Judges’ Choice Champion, 2013 People’s Choice Champ)'s Irving Street Bloody Mary by Pete Koptiuch was as spicy as ever, combining all of the ingredients you've come to hold so dear in those early morning recoveries and mixsed them with a few we thought you deserved Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Irving Street Kitchen (2012 People’s & Judges’ Choice Champion, 2013 People’s Choice Champ)'s Irving Street Bloody Mary by Pete Koptiuch was as spicy as ever, combining all of the ingredients you've come to hold so dear in those early morning recoveries and mixsed them with a few we thought you deserved Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Le Bistro Montage (2013 Judges’ Choice Champion) Steve Dodge brought their Bloody Mary Lou Retton, a cajun bloody mary with beef bouillon and Spam garnish
    Le Bistro Montage (2013 Judges’ Choice Champion) Steve Dodge brought their Bloody Mary Lou Retton, a cajun bloody mary with beef bouillon and Spam garnish at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Le Bistro Montage (2013 Judges’ Choice Champion) Steve Dodge brought their Bloody Mary Lou Retton, a cajun bloody mary with beef bouillon and Spam garnish at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Broder man Chad Hinman brought a Broder Danish Mary that included a blend of citrus, spice, horseradish layered with curry, cumin, fresh dill, toated fennel, cumin seed, dill seed, celery seed, and fresh cut dill and more left under Danish secret.
    Broder man Chad Hinman brought a Broder Danish Mary that included a blend of citrus, spice, horseradish layered with curry, cumin, fresh dill, toated fennel, cumin seed, dill seed, celery seed, and fresh cut dill and more left under Danish secret. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Broder man Chad Hinman brought a Broder Danish Mary that included a blend of citrus, spice, horseradish layered with curry, cumin, fresh dill, toated fennel, cumin seed, dill seed, celery seed, and fresh cut dill and more left under Danish secret. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Broder man Chad Hinman brought a Broder Danish Mary that included a blend of citrus, spice, horseradish layered with curry, cumin, fresh dill, toated fennel, cumin seed, dill seed, celery seed, and fresh cut dill and more left under Danish secret. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Radar Lily Tollefsen and Jonathan Berube brought a Voddie Mary that had tomato, roasted garlic, peppercorn, tapatio, lemon, lime, vodka secrets with Rainier-Celery Soda shot to follow.
    Radar Lily Tollefsen and Jonathan Berube brought a Voddie Mary that had tomato, roasted garlic, peppercorn, tapatio, lemon, lime, vodka secrets with Rainier-Celery Soda shot to follow. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Radar Lily Tollefsen and Jonathan Berube brought a Voddie Mary that had tomato, roasted garlic, peppercorn, tapatio, lemon, lime, vodka secrets with Rainier-Celery Soda shot to follow. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Radar Lily Tollefsen and Jonathan Berube brought a Voddie Mary that had tomato, roasted garlic, peppercorn, tapatio, lemon, lime, vodka secrets with Rainier-Celery Soda shot to follow. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Doug Fir ended up winning both People and Judge’s Choice for 2014 with their spicy, smoky, sweet and tart flavors, including candied bacon garnish and apparently Guinness and brown sugar as some of their ingredients of their concoction Joshua Merrion calls The Antidote
    Doug Fir ended up winning both People and Judge's Choice for 2014 with their spicy, smoky, sweet and tart flavors, including candied bacon garnish and apparently Guinness is one of their ingredients of their concoction Joshua Merrion calls The Antidote at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Doug Fir ended up winning both People and Judge's Choice for 2014 with their spicy, smoky, sweet and tart flavors, including candied bacon garnish and apparently Guinness is one of their ingredients of their concoction Joshua Merrion calls The Antidote at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Doug Fir ended up winning both People and Judge's Choice for 2014 with their spicy, smoky, sweet and tart flavors, including candied bacon garnish and apparently Guinness is one of their ingredients of their concoction Joshua Merrion calls The Antidote at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm
  • Imperial‘s Brandon Wise was on hand mixing a Smoked Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary with sponsor Grey Goose vodka, smoked heirloom tomatoes, barrel-aged fresno pepper hot sauce, Imperial spice blend, fresh horseradish, sherry vinegar, fish sauce, and house pickled giardiniera.
    Imperial's Brandon Wise was on hand mixing a Smoked Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary with sponsor Grey Goose vodka, smoked heirloom tomatoes, barrel-aged fresno pepper hot sauce, Imperial spice blend, fresh horseradish, sherry vinegar, fish sauce, and house pickled giardiniera. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Imperial's Brandon Wise was on hand mixing a Smoked Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary with sponsor Grey Goose vodka, smoked heirloom tomatoes, barrel-aged fresno pepper hot sauce, Imperial spice blend, fresh horseradish, sherry vinegar, fish sauce, and house pickled giardiniera. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

In addition to brunch, a pushcart would come by offering bottomless Manmosas (beer +orange juice) by Miller Highlife and Crispin Cider. Also, New Seasons Market had several booths with fresh organic juices and local hot sauce condiments as well as an extra bite of Oregon Bounty Quiche with Ruby Hill Farm eggs, Olympic Provisions ham, spring onions from Gathering Together Farm, and Portland Creamery herbed goat cheese.. Boyd’s Coffee Company, which I did not partake of since I was already full of way too much liquid, was also present keeping everyone caffeinated with their fresh brew.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm, New Seasons Market provided an extra brunch bite of Oregon Bounty Quiche with Ruby Hill Farm eggs, Olympic Provisions ham, spring onions from Gathering Together Farm, and Portland Creamery herbed goat cheese.

And oh yeah, there was just the The Bloody Mary Garnish Bar courtesy of Whole Foods that included sweet beet pickled egg, saffron soaked mozzarella, Olympic Provisions salami ribbon, Unbound Pickling Asparagus, and Spicy Green Bean. Have to appreciate both New Seasons and Whole Foods highlighting local artisan vendors and farmers!
Oh, just the bloody mary garnish station courtesy of Whole Foods at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm. The Bloody Mary Garnish Bar included sweet beet pickled egg, saffron soaked mozzarella, Olympic Provisions salami ribbon, Unbound Pickling Asparagus, and Spicy Green Bean
Oh, just the bloody mary garnish station courtesy of Whole Foods at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm. The Bloody Mary Garnish Bar included sweet beet pickled egg, saffron soaked mozzarella, Olympic Provisions salami ribbon, Unbound Pickling Asparagus, and Spicy Green Bean Oh, just the bloody mary garnish station courtesy of Whole Foods at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm. The Bloody Mary Garnish Bar included sweet beet pickled egg, saffron soaked mozzarella, Olympic Provisions salami ribbon, Unbound Pickling Asparagus, and Spicy Green Bean Oh, just the bloody mary garnish station courtesy of Whole Foods at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm. The Bloody Mary Garnish Bar included sweet beet pickled egg, saffron soaked mozzarella, Olympic Provisions salami ribbon, Unbound Pickling Asparagus, and Spicy Green Bean

Special entertainment by Master of Ceremonies for #CountryBrunch Poison Waters and great country music by Foghorn Stringband. And, there were special guests, the Belmont Goats!
Poison Waters was on hand to MC the Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Poison Waters was on hand to MC the Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm great country music by Foghorn Stringband Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm great country music by Foghorn Stringband Belmont Goats were a special guest at the Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Belmont Goats were a special guest at the Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

Keep an eye out for when I give you the warning next year that the tickets are on sale- it has been selling out every year, it’s a really great event for a wonderful cause. Please check out the Zenger Farm website to learn more about how you can help.

Many of the bloody mary drinks are available at the originating restaurant bars (including the winning Antidote at Doug Fir) , and I believe the TenTen bagel sandwich is appearing at Bowery Bagels this coming weekend and us available Friday Saturday Sunday! It’s listed as the MSG (Miso Soy and Ginger) bagel sandwich with bulgogi beef with kimchee schmear.

Which of these descriptions of brunch bites or bloody mary concoction intrigued you? Do you feel an urge to go to brunch this Sunday?

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Whole Foods Top 10 Holiday Wines + Free Wine Tasting Placemat Printable

Disclosure: This wine and cheese tasting event was complimentary, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

Last week I attended a Whole Foods Twitter tasting event (#wfmwine). I and a few other bloggers and media had the opportunity to taste four of the Top Ten selection of the Whole Foods 2013 top holiday wines, paired with cheese. Being as delicious as the Holiday Wines were, even better is what an incredible value they are – every wine on the list is under $25 –  so I wanted to share in case you are looking for some Holiday Wine picks to host or bring to a holiday get together.
Whole Foods Holiday 2013 Top 10 Wines

Not only that, but if you happen to be putting together a cheese plate, well these four are already wonderfully matched and ready for you to pick up at your local Whole Foods! This is great because even though I attended the event here in Portland, when I return to Chicago for the holidays I know I will be able to acquire all of these wines instead of worrying about finding equivalents when I travel there (or lugging it with me in checked baggage)- this Twitter tasting event was nationwide.
Whole Foods Twitter tasting event (#wfmwine) where I and a few other bloggers and media had the opportunity to taste a four of the Top Ten selection of the Whole Foods 2013 top holiday wines, paired with cheese Whole Foods Twitter tasting event (#wfmwine) where I and a few other bloggers and media had the opportunity to taste a four of the Top Ten selection of the Whole Foods 2013 top holiday wines, paired with cheese

One of the advantages of going to Whole Foods for your holiday wine selection is that besides being able to get other gourmet treats for your party (also just grabbing something from the deli to put in servingware for  party is acceptable too!) is what a great wine and cheese selection they have so it’s one stop shopping. They have lots of unique wine and cheeses that they offer. Many times I have visited where a helpful cheesemonger is present to help recommend cheese pairings to go with wines, and vice versa.

At the Twitter tasting event, the group was able to taste the cheese pairings with four of the Top Ten wines. Also very cool was the fact that some of the group members are vegan, and Whole Foods was able to easily accommodate them- and if you also need to account for gluten free they can also help you out. As beautiful as this cheese plate for us normal eaters were, when I looked at the vegan cheese platter, it looked equally as beautiful.
Whole Foods Pearl District in Portland offers wine friend Erin here to help us learn about the wine and cheese pairings Cheese Plate by Whole Foods to pair with four of the Top 10 Holiday Wines... they can also help you put together a vegan an/or gluten free cheese plate as well

The Whole Foods Blog listing of the Holiday 2013 Top 10 Wines not only includes tasting notes and pairing recommendations, but also each wine has a link to a recommended recipe. As a teaser, I’ve only shared the 4 I experienced at the Twitter tasting below… but there are 8 more! 8? Well, that’s because apparently they couldn’t only recommend 10, so the Top 10 Wines list actually includes 12 wines. There are also specific details on each cheese they recommend as well.

Whole Foods Top 10 Holiday Wines

WF WINE NOTES PECH’S EXPERIENCE TASTING PEEK
Roger d’Anoia Cava

Roger d’Anoia Cava

Whole Foods Tasting Note: Lively effervescence, bright notes of green apple and pear. Ripe and round, a touch of sweetness in the well-balanced finish. This Spanish sparkler pairs well with everything! Recommended pairings include Uniekaas Parrano cheese, cocktail shrimp, eggs Benedict, sweet savory Chinese food Recipe: Shrimp Cocktail with Creamy-Spicy Green Onion Dipping Sauce

This Brut provides some toasty flavors to help balance out the creamy richness of the cheese we paired with it, a Mt. Townsend Creamery Cirrus which is a Camembert style cheese from Mt. Townsend, WA. The Roger d’Anoia Cava got second (and third) pours at the tasting because we all loved it, and is a very affordable pick for a New Year’s Eve at less than $10 so you can keep the bubbling flowing all night long, and save a bottle or two for mimosas and brunch while watching the Rose Parade the next morning. Effervescent, easy pleasing Roger d'Anoia Cava Brut paired with a creamy Mt Townsend Cirrus, a camembert style cheese, this pairing was a big pleaser at the Whole Foods #wfmwine event

Skouras Anássa

Whole Foods Tasting Note: Moscofilero, the main grape used in this wine, is unique to Greece, thriving on the mountainous coastlines of the Peloponnese peninsula. Opulent aromas of ripe apricot and orange peel in this crisp, Greek White. Brisk fruit with a fresh clean finish. Recommended pairings include Red Leaf aged Cheddar, roasted chicken or salmon, roasted acorn squash, Greek salad Recipe: Roasted Salmon Stuffed with Spinach, Feta and Ricotta

In Portland we paired this with a Uniekaas 18 month Reserve Gouda, which made for an interesting experience as these are “fighting friends”. That is, this is a wine and cheese pairing that relies on contrast, rather than being complimentary. The Skouras is very clean, bright, and refreshing, while the Reserve Gouda has a crystalline crunch that is a bit salty, nutty, and leans towards dry but thanks to the Skouras this dryness is filled in The Greek White Skouras Anassa is very crisp and refreshing and clean, a fighting friend for the crystally bite of the Uniekaas 18 mo Reserve Gouda. In this case, the contrast is used instead of complimentary to pair these two at the Whole Foods #wfmwine event

Santa Julia Innovación Bonarda-Cabernet

This wonderful Argentine Red is a fantastic party wine and comes in a 1-liter bottle–a great value at more than 6 glasses per bottle. Deeply complex and full-bodied. Forward notes of plum and cigar box, and then jammy flavors of dark ripe berries. Smoky savory notes show in the luscious finish. Recommended Pairings include Borough Market Cheddar, BBQ ribs, lamb chops, sausage-stuffed mushrooms, classic Swiss fondue Recipe: Apple, Sausage and Sage Sourdough Stuffing

This Santa Julia Innovacion Bonarda-Cabernet is a 2013 vintage but already is ready to drink, and a huge deal at its $9.99 price for the 1 liter bottle. If you are hosting a party where you want the wine to flow freely, this is a great value, and the profile is flexible enough to please any palate. Although this wine is young, it stood up admirably to the strong flavors of the Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Flagship cheddar paired with it at this event. This Santa Julia Innovacion Bonarda-Cabernet is a 2013 vintage but already is ready to drink, and a huge deal at its $9.99 price for the 1 liter bottle. If you are hosting a party where you want the wine to flow freely, this is a great value, and the profile is flexible enough to please any palate

Mat Kearney Verse & Chorus Napa Valley Red Wine

Nashville-based musician Mat Kearney teamed up with the winemakers at Peju Winery of Napa Valley to create this wonderfully complex Red. Intense notes of black currant, plum and cocoa lead to rich juicy dark berry flavors. Toasty hazelnut and roasted coffee in the very long finish. Recommended Pairings include Emmi Le Gruyère cheese, beef tenderloin medallions, prime rib, lamb stew, marinated and grilled portobellos Recipe: Slow Cooker Lentil Stew with Polenta

The Mat Kearney Verse & Chorus was my favorite of the four wines I tried because of it’s roasty coffee flavors with hints of chocolate that made me think this was a wine version of a beer stout! This wine was the only one of the four that was more than $15, but at $25 this wine tastes like something 2 or 3x as much. It does have a unique and bold flavor profile, so needs a pretty bold pairing so that its flavors don’t overwhelm, or enjoy its complex layering of flavors on its own. At the PDX event this was matched with L’Or des Domes Fourme d’Ambert. The Mat Kearney Verse & Chorus was my favorite of the four wines I tried because of it's roasty coffee flavors that made me think this was a wine version of a beer stout at this Whole Foods #wfmwine event!

Free Wine Tasting Placemat Printable

Did you think the placemat you saw up there for this event was adorable? So did I. In case you want to host a wine tasting party, or a wine/cheese pairing party, how useful would it be to have a placemat like that for each person that identifies the wine and cheese that you can take notes on? I could also imagine that if you wanted to compare a flight having a little place for each wine glass to go helps you remember which is which. So I’ve made a free wine tasting placemat printable for you!

Free Printable- Wine Tasting Placemat to track your wines when having a wine flight

It’s a Wine Tasting Placemat in powerpoint which I’ve placed here in Google Drive, so you can go in after you save it and edit whether you want to actually write the name of the wine and tasting notes, or perhaps you want to do a blind tasting and/or just bare-bones like a style and region write numbers and leave a place for notes. Update the graphics as desired to match your theme and other printables. The top reminds you of various things to look for in tasting wine, such as looking for the color and body (thin? sticky?), to swirl and smell, and in terms of taste to break it down into the initial flavors, the mouthfeel, the length, and the finish. Meanwhile, there are some example adjectives to help you think of what you might be experiencing in your taste- obviously not an all encompassing list but might inspire more descriptors.

Thanks Whole Foods for the learning experience with the wine and cheese tasting – I’m ready for more schooling anytime! If you’re in Portland, check out the Whole Foods PDX Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on events and sales at the various local stores- and if you’re not from Portland look up what your local Whole Foods media is.

Disclosure: This wine and cheese tasting event was complimentary, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

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