Harvest feast…not so much
The harvest feast didn’t turn out as expected…but then what does. The outside temperature was hovering around 90, the farmer was harvesting soy beans in the field next to our house creating a dust storm in the gusting winds. You know, satan’s armpit, harvest from hell kind of weather. I cranked up the AC and hoped to take a nap before dinner but even that didn’t work out. What I really wanted was Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry’s Black and Blue Burger with their incredible fries slathered with some english garlic sauce (aka garlic mayo) and all washed down with a cold pint (or two) of Goose Island IPA. But nooooo, dammit, were having our harvest feast even if it is hotter than hell out there.
So I roasted the squash for the soup, sauteed sage, onions, garlic, and pork cheek, scraped squash flesh from the skin, simmered, pureed, and ended up with a pretty tasteless soup…and that never happens to me. Really, my soups are always good. I think, perhaps the squash was lacking flavor.
The gnocchi…well I was so worried about making them too heavy that I succeeded in making them way too insubstantial and they fell apart. I ended up with maybe 8 complete whole ones and they were light, tasty and good…but by that time I was feeling pretty demoralized…I have a history of defeat at the hands of seemingly simple dumplings and frankly I know I should be able to whip their ass…but they smell my fear.
The hen of the woods mushroom was the star of the meal though. It was the best mushroom I’ve ever eaten. Big clean flavor, great texture, sort of sweet but not really…a full flavor unlike any I’ve ever had. I think maybe this is what is meant my umami. Oh, and it needed hardly any attention, no coddling, I just ripped it into pieces and then sauteed in a hot pan. I want more.
The portobello mushroom with gorgonzola and balsamic reduction was excellent. What a mouthful of flavors…sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and again with the umami. My reduction was too thick and sticky, but it did it’s job and tasted amazing. The steaks apparently turned out well, I didn’t partake because by that time I was drinking a glass of wine and eating a cupcake…the hell with a harvest feast, and who was the silly twit that came up with that idea? Oh, right….nevermind.
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6 Responses to “Harvest feast…not so much”
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Hi,
I think it looks like good feast! What type of squash was that? I like the last shot - fun :)
I love hen of the woods too! I first tried them while working at a fine dining restaurant, and I loved how meaty they tasted (we served them with gnocchi). Good on ya for continuing with the meal…once I saw the cupcakes, I would have given up.
When I think of Kabocha sqaush, only one dish comes to mind, Thai squash curry! I have yet to find a restaurant in this town that consistently makes it well, so I now make it myself. Your soup sounds fantastic though. That’s odd that it was bland. How did you make balsamic reduction? Is it just a matter of simmering balsamic or do you add something else to it?
Holybasil, I thought it was a kabocha squash but it might have been a pumpkin…I know that sounds silly but it looked like a pumpkin but when it wass delivered in the CSA box it said it was kabocha.
Leena…mmmmm, cupcakes.
Jacob, GH says that the soup wasn’t that bad…I’ll have some for lunch and see, it could’ve just been me. The reduction was super easy, just simmer balsamic down until it thickens. I didn’t use the good stuff…I used the Whole Foods bottle.
I laud your bravery, both in completing the Harvest Feast and in publishing your report - a refreshing change from the standard, cookbook-style account of how perfect everything was and how these are the events of which memories are made. I am moved to explore the hen of the woods, as soon as I can find one. Thank you.
I looks just like my pumpkins! The mushrooms sound wonderful! Too bad about the soup and gnocchi - must have been the weather, the mood was all wrong!