Saturday, July 21, 2012

Bastille Day Cheese Dinner at the Naked Cow Dairy

The DH and I are townies, so anything beyond city limits is an excursion!

Last week Saturday, we headed out to Waianae, old-school map and GPS, with two lady food writers, @NonStopMari, & @Melissa808. Our destination was Naked Cow Dairy, where Gida Snyder cooked us an amazing dinner. Gida has just been recognized - deservedly so - with an entrepreneurial legacy award by Les Dames d'Escoffier for her locavore activism and mad cheesemaking skills.

Earlier in the week, Gida commented that she'd never cooked for us before. She needn't have worried - we were blown away by the menu she devised, from the champagne/cherry aperitif, to the entree, cheese course and sweet ending!

I can't stop thinking about the first course of red, white & bleu sauce with sweet potatoes, chard and entrecote - that has embedded itself in my taste memories! It is astounding that all the vegetables were so delicious: from the arugula to the Tokyo negi! Here's the rest of the menu from NonStopMari.

I remember we toasted to "local", and that was the most marvelous part of it - that 90+% of what we ate that night was grown or raised in our islands. Butter & cream from the Naked Cow Dairy cows, and other cows. Rabbit from Kapolei, beef from Waianae. Local vegetables, herbs and fruit. All the ladies - NKD and adjuncts - were lovely. Especially Sabrina/Sam and Monique! You must read NonStopMari's account of the evening, including a newborn calf, and fabulous photos from @dallasnagata - she of the "hottest kiss" - and some from @MikeSumida!
The flip side to that story is that most of the time, 90+% of what we eat came from somewhere else! Since I started going to farmers' markets regularly, we eat a lot more fruit and vegetables that were grown here: from the mango and cantaloupe ripening in my baskets to the local eggs, beets and cucumbers.

Here is some of what came to be after this memorable cheese dinner:
I took the leftover butter from my Indiegogo NKD grilled cheese sandwich perk to work, along with artisan bread baked by Christopher Sy. One coworker was hooked on the butter, so I bought her some the next time I was at the farmers' market. Another one loves the bread! Still another asked me what my latest food adventure was, so I'll let her know when the next cheese dinner is scheduled. As a librarian, I never knock people on the head with information, rather, I introduce them gently, with a taste. A taste of change.

No comments:

Post a Comment