[Austin] Outstanding in the Field

[yimay]

A friend treated me to a wonderful meal at Boggy Creek Farm hosted by Outstanding in the Field. Jim Denevan, founder of Outstanding in the Field, and his team tour the country sourcing ingredients from local farms and food artisans and cook next to the soil that grew the ingredients in your dinner. After a tour of Boggy Creek Farm (in gorgeous weather), we sat down to a menu designed and prepared by Terry Conlan from Lake Austin Spa & Resort. We had the pleasure of dining next to Carol Ann of Boggy Creek Farm and got to hear her stories of the history of her home, the farm, the great chicken massacre from a neighborhood pit bull (and a dachsund!), and her thoughts on the future of organic farming and produce. Between courses, the actual farmers, winemaker, and food artisans that provided the ingredients gave a brief presentation on their respective businesses and the products they make. It was a great showcase of what the Texas Hill Country has to offer.

Here are a few photos. An entire photo set can be found here.

Jim Denevan and his fake cowboy hat

The tour bus

Larry Butler and Carol Ann Sayle give us a tour of Boggy Creek Farm

the dinner table

Chenin Blanc from Fall Creek Vineyards

Beet Napoleon

Pure Luck Dairy chevre

Berdoll Pecan Farm pecans

Stonewall, Texas jams

Watermelon Gazpacho

Texas watermelon

Boggy Creek Farm cucumbers and peppers

Tecolote Farm peppers and garlic

Bella Vista Ranch olive oil

Wine: Fall Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc

Shrimp Totopos

Local organice blue corn tortillas

Texas Gulf shrimp

Hairston Farm tomatoes

Sgt. Pepper's habanero salsa

Texas cabbage

Wine: Fall Creek Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

Salad

Amador Farms lettuce

Pederson Farm bacon

Pure Luck Dairyblue cheese

Boggy Creek Farm okra

Lamb's Texas cornmeal

Hairston Farm tomatoes

Wine: Fall Creek Vineyards Chardonnay

Squash Casserole and Blackeyed Peas

Boggy Creek Farm summer squash

Gonzales, Texas oyster mushrooms

Falfurrias Creamery butter

Full Quiver Farm raw cheddar

McKenzie homegrown blackeyed peas

Tecolote Farm peppers

Hairston Farm shallots

Bella Vista Ranch olive oil

BBQ (this is Texas after all)

Loncito's Texas lamb

Thunder Head bison*

Broken Arrow Ranch venison sausage

New Canaan blackberry preserves

Stubb's barbecue sauce

Tecolote Farm garlic

Wine: Fall Creek Vineyards Granite Reserve

*The menu said Thunder Head Bison, but I think they meant Thunder Heart Bison

Pear Crisp

Lightsey Farms pears

Berdoll Pecan Farm pecans

Falfurrias butter

Amy's Mexican Vanilla ice cream

Wine: Fall Creek Vineyards Twin Springs Sweet White

Edited September 26, 2006 by yimay (log)

[Kent Wang]

Absolutely astounding! This really showcases the strength of Texas arigiculture. Few other states (probably only California) can produce such a diverse array of quality ingredients.

I hope the use of Texas ingredients catches on more. T'afia is another example of success with using only local products. If they can do it, and Outstanding in the Field can do it, there is no reason why more local restaurants can't.

What cut of lamb and bison was it? Did you feel that the bison was very from different from beef?

[yimay]

What cut of lamb and bison was it? Did you feel that the bison was very from different from beef?

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I want to say the bison cut was the tenderloin. I could be wrong though. I was pretty wasted by the 3rd course b/c i think i had 5 glasses of wine by then. It took me a long time to research the wines and the food artisans that spoke for towards the end of the meal because at some point i just forgot to pay attention. Thank goodness my friends remembered most of it. Anyways, I've had bison before, but never as bbq. this was very smokey and it was very very lean. It was a bit overdone for my tastes, but I could taste a bit of sweetness to it that beef lacks but overall very similar to beef. It was not gamey or heavy at all which i think most people would expect. I personally prefer more fat on my meat if i'm going to go that route, so i don't know if i would choose it over beef. i love me some charred fat on a grilled rib eye. the lamb were ribs. those were mighty tasty, and fatty.

Edited September 26, 2006 by yimay (log)

[Jaymes]

More, including behind the scenes photos and inside info about how it got put together here.

[MissAmy]

Thanks for sharing those pics. I externed under Chef Conlan, and this brought back great memories. The menu was very "Conlan."

By the way, how were you invited to this event?

[yimay]

By the way, how were you invited to this event?

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it's open to the public. my friend made reservations for us last month.

[jess mebane]

just bumped this to ask if anyone attended Boggy Creek's green corn project last Sunday? Was it full swing even with the rain?

Thanks for the great pix, yimay. Listening to Carol Ann wax eloquent on the virtue and majesty of her chickens is worth the price of admission on any day. I think if more folks turned off and tuned in to listen to people like her and the other B.C. denizens, the world would go 'round a little better.

[ariggsby]

just bumped this to ask if anyone attended Boggy Creek's green corn project last Sunday?  Was it full swing even with the rain?

Yes. There were only a few minutes of rain while I was there, and they didn't seem to cause much of a problem. I heard that there was also some problem with the health department, but that didn't seem to dampen the proceedings either. I think the food was the best I've had in several trips to this event. The presenters had a little less star power than in past years, which might be a good or a bad think depending on your point of view. The Soup Peddler was certainly entertaining.

Andrew