Outstanding in the Field: The Dinner

I got sidetracked with some printing projects the last few days, but I wanted to make sure that I told you about the Outstanding in the Field dinner we went to the other week.



The infamous Outstanding in the Field bus.

The weather was stormy and we had a few sprinkles, so rather than the tables being set up in the field, they were set up inside the "shed" where the farm stores their balers and tractors. Let me say that those are the luckiest tractors in the world. The shed was GORGEOUS! Beautifully constructed with attention to every detail, large windows, and not a spider web or speck of dust in the joint!



The tables were set up in two rows, and each table sat 8 people. Dinners are served family style, so each table of 8 was served one dish with eight portions, and we helped ourselves. Each course was paired with a wine from a local biodynamic vineyard. The servers did an amazing job of describing each wine and each course, including the source of the local produce and meat.



I'm at my parents' house in NM now and I forgot to bring the menu with me. But I can tell you that everything was amazing. Out-of-this-world kind of amazing! After each course they also introduced the farmer or rancher who was responsible for the items of that course. The guy from the farm that supplied the green beans practically got a standing ovation. It wasn't just the husband and I; we overheard a lot of other people there who were in AWE over how good the green beans were. I had no idea that a vegetable could be that good. They were cooked to perfection (if even cooked at all?) and tossed in creme fraiche and something else (none of us could quite put our finger on it, but we guessed lemon and dill might be in there) and then topped with fried shallots. Definitely not your grandma's green bean casserole!

The highlight of the night was that both the farmer, Clara, and Jim, the founder of Outstanding in the Field, sat at our table. That's them on the left of the photo. I was like a star-struck royal watcher sitting at the table with Will and Kate!



What I would have given to pick Clara's brain all night. I did happen to get some info from her about her carrots, which I'll share with you in another post.

Before the dessert course, there was a break in the clouds so we moved the tables out into the field.



We had just enough time to eat dessert and enjoy a last glass of wine as we watched the clouds of the next storm rolling down the hillside in the distance, heading straight for us.



After dessert we got to meet the chef and his team who put together such an amazing dinner. More on them--and their amazing creations--in a later post.



We wrapped things up and were back in the car on the way home just as the rain hit. A perfect end to a perfect night!

When I'm back at home with the menu handy I'll tell you a bit more about each course and what I loved about it, as well as my thoughts on seeing GOAT on the menu!