Surprise Date Night #2

Well, I'm happy to report that Surprise Date Night #2 was a success.  Sweet Sarah graded it as an A (...a B- minus for planning.  More on that and my defense, your Honor, later.)

Last night we went to Gourmets in the Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  It was a LOT of fun.  It was part of their Winter Series, where attendees "learn cooking techniques, taste samples of feature fare with a wine paring from the chef and take home recipes" with a local chef.

The local chef last night was Brian Goodman, chef/partner at The Greenhouse Tavern.  He is a strong believer in the farm to table movement.  He studied under Iron Chef Michael Symon.  (And based on what he shared last night seems pretty connected to LOTS of celebrity chefs....a pretty cool perk!)

The event was from 6-8pm, so we quickly inhaled an apple and busted tail from work to get up to the Gardens.  With the arctic freeze weather and three day snow, the roads were quite messy.  It took us a full hour to get there....making us the last to arrive and consequently putting us at the FRONT table!


Nearly as soon as we were seated, the program was started.  Chef Goodman shared his philosphy on farm to table and then introduced what he was making for the evening---Fromage Blanc and Stronglopretti Pasta.  Yeah.  What?  Exactly.  But trust me here.  FAN.AMAZING.TASTIC!  

The Fromage Blanc....homemade white cheese, served over a crostini.  Simple, easy, rich and yummy.  The Chef paired this with a Hard Cider. 

The Stronglopretti?  A fascinating way to use day old bread and butternut squash and make a wonderful dumpling.  Yep, straight from the country o' the boot!  It was SO good!  And rich.  And very melt in your mouth.  This was paired with the chardonnay/pinot grigio. 

Chef Brian Goodman

The real deal....Demo station and all!

Ok, so far I did good, right?  Yep.  An A grade for planning (a fun idea, something we've never done and Sweet Sarah was completely surprised!)  So why the B- for planning?  Well.....we left there STARVING!!!!!  The Fromage Blanc?  One.  one tiny crostini per person.  The stronglopretti that I couldn've eaten a family size serving?  One.  ONE!  ONEFRIGGINGDUMPLINGPERPERSON!  

Shoot.  Sigh.  After the crostini was quickly devoured, I realized I was in trouble.  (In my mind this event was four or five courses.  Or lots of mini samples such that when we left we were full.  You know that feeling, when you've grazed for two hours and can't believe how full you are?).  Yeah, well....not even close!  

In my defense....well, I have witnesses.  Does that count?  I think it does.  The other two women at our table also agreed that they thought it would be LOTS of samples.  And they hadn't eaten dinner either.  Oh, and there's also the TIME of the event.  I mean, anything that's sponsored from 6-8pm should include a substantial enough amount of food.  And, oh yeah!  yeah!  YEAH!  what about the description...."menus are decided by participating chefs".  Ok, the last time I checked, menus gives the connotation that one might actually be offered more than TWO BITES IN TWO HOURS!!! And finally, I redeemed myself by finishing the night with a nice dinner at Fire in Shaker Square, another farm to table joint.  Definitely add this place to your list.

I rest my case.  

And I will gloat in my "A".

Sweet Sarah enjoying our 2nd pairing of wine.  A chardonnay/pinot grigio blend.
(Yes,  I have two glasses of wine at my setting.  Don't judge.)