Desert to Dish: Supporting Culinary Dreams Reception

November 01, 2015 / Christina Barrueta

The evening of day two of the inaugural Desert to Dish culinary event celebrated the culinary prowess of Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia and local beers, wines and distilled spirits. On a beautiful October night, tasting and pouring stations were scattered about the expansive patio and lawn of the Camelback Presidential Suite at Omni Scottsdale. Many dishes utilized the quality ingredients and farm-fresh vegetables seen on the various F arm Excursions earlier that day. Executive Chef Michael Cairns had once again gathered a crowd to spotlight his hard-working crew, visiting chefs, and some of his favorite Arizona beverage craftsmen.

Omni Scottsdale's culinary team greeted guests with beautiful plates such as romanesco and cheddar cauliflower with caper aioli, curry-glazed vegetable skewers with coconut rice, chimichurri-marinated New York strip steak and boniato puree, ancho-pesto shrimp with pepper jack cheese polenta, empanadas, and tinga and barbacoa tacos. There was also shrimp ceviche cleverly served in avocado cups and creamy cilantro hummus with vibrant heirloom vegetables:

A giant paella pan was filled with saffron-scented rice, peas, roasted peppers, shrimp, squid, fish, mussels, clams and Portuguese sausage:

To accompany the delicious food, our quality Arizona beverage scene was represented by craft breweries such as Mother Road Brewery out of Flagstaff and Four Peaks Brewing Company in Tempe. Four of my favorite Arizona vineyards were pouring their wines: Caduceus Cellars (Jerome) and winemaker Rob Hammelman of Sand Reckoner (Willcox)

Lisa and Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards (Sonoita) and Todd and Kelly Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks (Sonoita):

Pouring their award-winning spirits were Arizona Distilling Company (gin, whiskeys and vodka) based in Tempe, and 3 Amigos (tequila), founded by Arizona resident Santiago Gonzalez and made from agave grown at his family's farm in Jalisco.

Executive Pastry Chef Ben Galang's pistachio sponge cake with frozen tequila zabaglione and braised figs was so good, I went back for seconds.

Steve Kraus, owner of Press Coffee, and Alex Mason, General Manager, were on hand to treat the guests to their fantastic coffee (look for an upcoming interview and feature on Press Coffee this month).

Day two of Desert to Dish - another huge success.

Desert to Dish schedule of events (click for recap and photos):
Thursday, October 22nd: Chef's Kitchen Welcome Reception
Friday, October 23rd: Farm Excursions and Supporting Culinary Dreams Reception
Saturday, October 24th: Master Culinary Classes and Sonoran Showdown finale.

I received a complimentary media invitation to this event.

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tags / Desert to Dish, Omni Scottsdale

Desert to Dish: Farm Excursions

October 31, 2015 / Christina Barrueta

Blue Sky Farms (all photos by Jenelle Bonifield of Food & Lifestyles) — Blue Sky Farms (*all photos by Jenelle Bonifield of Food & Lifestyles)*

On day two of the Omni Scottsdale's Desert to Dish culinary event (for the previous evening's Welcome Reception, see this recap), five groups were invited to accompany each of the visiting chefs on a Farm Excursion to tour local purveyors from which Executive Chef Cairns sources. We would "explore Arizona’s diverse agriculture landscape...with a unique selection of the finest farms and local purveyors in the area, for an all-day outing which will include tastings and private tours developed exclusively for this weekend." Our group of food and travel writers and photographers were joined by Dallas Chef Brian Luscher, and our itinerary included Arizona Micro Greens, Blue Sky Organic Farms, and the Arizona Cheese Company (other tours included visits to Queen Creek Olive Mill, Crows Dairy, Hayden Flour Mill, True Garden, and more).

Chef Brian Luscher listening to Joseph Martinez

Arizona Micro Greens in Phoenix was founded by brothers Joseph Martinez and David Redwood and operates out of the greenhouse at the George B. Brooks Sr. Community School. They focus on sustainable practices and as we snacked on fresh sunflower, mustard, radish, arugula, onion, and cilantro micro greens, we learned that they supply many restaurants and can be found at local farmers markets. We were all impressed with the varieties grown, and the intense, pure flavor found in these delicate greens.

Our second stop was Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield, where 100% of their produce is certified organic. RJ Johnson led our tour of David Vose's 35-acre family farm, whose quality produce is enjoyed not only locally, but in Boston, New York, and San Francisco.

Blue Sky Farms isn't limited to crops. You'll find 1000 chickens, 250 ducks, 10 goats, and bees (ask RJ about his plans for flavored honey).

Currently, Blue Sky Farms is growing kale, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, fennel, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, beets, herbs, strawberries and more.

As RJ (a former chef) stressed to us the importance of organic gardening for both flavor and health, we enjoyed an amazing farm-fresh feast:

Tartines on spent grain Noble Bread with Abby Lee Farms tomatoes, Urban Table pimento cheese, and AZ Micro Greens.
Kale, carrots, Willcox apple, and cucumber salad with a creamy roasted shallot-parsley dressing
Arugula salad with Crow's Dairy goat cheese, cashews, and dried sour cherries tossed with an apple cider vinaigrette
Jacques Pepin-inspired deviled duck eggs finished in brown butter with an herb pesto.

Each of us were generously gifted a loaf of the delicious Noble Bread. On our way out, we also visited the Blue Sky Farms store, open Tuesday through Saturday, 12-5 pm.

Our last stop was at the Arizona Cheese Company in Tempe. All their cheese is made from fresh Grade A Arizona milk from local dairies, and they're the producers of the popular cheese curds seen at farmers markets and on menus around the Valley.

Due to proprietary information within the facility, we weren't able to take photos on our factory tour, but learned a lot about the scope of their cheese production. In addition to cheese curds, they also produce cheddar cheese, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, blue cheese, and gorgonzola. Our tour ended with samples of Danzeisen Dairy eggnog, mocha and rootbeer-flavored milks, and AZ Cheese Company cheese and crackers.

We were also sent home with gift boxes. Thank you Arizona Cheese Company!

We ended our day with a deeper appreciation for the hard-working farmers, growers, and cheese-makers in Arizona. We also looked forward to the menu for the finale dinner as each visiting chef was tasked to use ingredients found along his Farm Excursion for a special dish.

This was a complimentary media invitation.

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tags / Desert to Dish, Omni Scottsdale, Montelucia

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Desert to Dish: Supporting Culinary Dreams Reception

Desert to Dish: Farm Excursions