Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Food and wine festival debuts in Sun Valley

It was a sup ?n? sip weekend


By SABINA DANA PLASSE
Express Staff Writer

Festival keynote speaker and celebrated author Jim Harrison at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum answered questions and signed books from his admirers. Photo by Willy Cook

The first Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival, at Ketchum locales and restaurants, featured cooking demonstrations by nationally known and local chefs, exclusive vintner dinners and a grand tasting event at the Elkhorn Golf Club.

The festival kicked off on Friday, June 8, with keynote speaker Jim Harrison at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum and a well-attended reception catered by Ketchum's Ric Lum at 6 p.m..

In Harrison style, laid back and comfortable in his oversized chair, the acclaimed writer enlightened the audience to a few of his favorite and memorable dining moments, such as eating a 37-course meal in France. The feast included King Louis XV's favorite dish--an omelet with sea urchins.

Harrison said he writes about food because he cannot separate it from life. Having been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, he claimed he could not be the pig he used to be.

"A true gourmand does not have to be hungry to eat," Harrison said.

However, he said, that attitude has become increasingly difficult to maintain in the United States.

"The last 30 years of American food has been a complete disaster," he said. "You have to pay attention to eat well."

Friday evening give way to a full day of culinary activities, including the Farmers' market in Giacobbi Square, where Chef Scott Mason brought his demonstration attendees to pick out fresh Idaho products, which he prepared moments later back at the Ketchum Grill.

Mason made Morocco-style leg of lamb with fresh morel mushrooms along with a mesculin salad mix with pea tendrils and fresh watercress. He finished with a dessert of Idaho cherries and raspberries doused in a Port Wine Sabayon.

"Cooking should not be all about following a recipe," Mason said. "It should be innovated."

The Food Network's acclaimed Cat Cora led two demonstrations at CIRO's for a packed room of over 30 people. Without a flaw or a break, Cora cooked, answered questions and presented food tips, dazzling her audience with her passion and expertise.

"You need to let people know the tricks of the trade," Cora said. "Always use a functional garnish. (My book) 'Cooking from the Hip' is all about what you've got on hand."

Her choice to make a Basque-style chimichurri green sauce was most appropriate on her first visit to the Wood River Valley.

Katie Chin's demonstration on dumplings, also at CIRO's, not only made Chinese cooking look easy, but provided an opportunity to learn about being the daughter of an immigrant from China, where families in the culinary business start the children working in the kitchen as young as four or five.

"It's pot stickers for dummies," Chin said. "You don't need to use a cleaver unless you are hacking up a duck."

Teaching the audience about wraps and fresh ingredients, Chin's Dim Sum demo had plenty of samples to go around of tasty firecracker shrimp, sundried tomato, olive dumplings and Siu mai (another dumpling).

Beyond the food, a late afternoon wine tasting at Baci with Winebow wines was a descriptive and informational chat about the history of Italian wines and the winemaking process, which was a natural lead-in to the evening's vintner dinners.

A variety of Ketchum restaurants presented multi-course dinners paired with a selection of wines for tasting. On the rooftop of the Roosevelt, Tom Nickel hosted a five-course dinner with wines from Phantom Hill Vineyards. Winemaker Anthony Maratea educated diners to his variety of wines and his processes.

"It's my original hobby," Maratea said.

It was a tough choice between rack of spring lamb and grilled filet of wild salmon, which was accompanied by two Pinot Noirs, a 2005 Idaho wine and a 2004 Dundee Hills wine from Oregon.

The festival closed with a successful grand tasting event at the Elkhorn Golf Club--a selection of game meats and seafood specialties by Chef Paul Dean complemented by an array of wines from Idaho and New Zealand. Ketchum wine distributors were also in attendance, providing generous tastings from their favorite and most popular wines.

Representatives from the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau, which organized the festival, said they were pleased with the inaugural event. They said they have already begun planning for next year, and hope to expand the festival into Sun Valley, which did not take part this year.




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