Slow Food Summer Solstice
To mark the new season (my favorite season), I hosted a Joyful Dinner party. This fundraiser campaign by Slow Food USA was the perfect excuse to have an intentional gathering with friends and start bringing this brand – goldenco – into the real world.
If you’re not yet familiar, the slow food movement is exactly what it sounds like: the opposite of fast food culture. The Slow Food international org was founded in Italy in the 80’s and their initiatives include advocating for farms, chefs, and restaurants who practice good, clean, and fair food values. I’ve sought out a few Snail of Approval restaurants in Spain but not surprisingly this program is less popular in the U.S.
I was excited to host goldenco’s dinner party with a focus on not only in-season ingredients but also methods that taste better with time.
The “menu” (word used loosely) was prepared for grazing which is my style of eating. At the center of the table I clustered all the herbs like a DIY garnish bar.
Note that goldenco’s thesis is participation is the amenity, with spaces designed for engagement. This create, don’t just consume mindset has been my approach to the many events and brand experiences I’ve produced over the years. Simply put, people have fun when they get to do something instead of just watching.
Lucky for us in Southern California the farmer's market is quite the rainbow.
Some, not all, of the bounty • Shoutout to my friend Annamaria who brews the best tangy, meatless borscht for special occasions – we added Great Northern beans making it hearty.
I tend to choose rich pigmented food for their higher polyphenol content (antioxidants).
Sour Butterfly (full details in the section below)
I fell in love with a panzanella at Felix Trattoria in LA and lately I've been experimenting with adding in cherries, peaches, and nectarines • This nut-based creamy dip is a fan fav whenever I make it for parties.
Coconut whipped cream with pecan cookies and berries 3 ways (fresh, macerated, dehydrated)
For drinks, I had to create my current obsession: the Sour Butterfly. It’s a riff off a Gin Sour but for the n/a crowd I call it a botanical arnold palmer. If you want to nerd out I made a slideshow with all the components:
The gorgeous butterfly pea flowers have color-changing effects once acid is introduced.
Spirit is optional. My go-to citrus mix is half lemon half lime juice.
I use garnishes strategically. Single guests get a blue bachelor's button flower (alchemical wayfinding 😬) and mocktails get marigolds or another bright fun color.
Fresh thyme pairs so well with gin. I like to harvest the sprig from a tabletop plant.
A few drops of Wonderfoam in any liquid creates a frothy concoction, perfect for cocktails. (I make a sweetened water)
They're flowers from a vining legume plant (clitoria ternatea) native to Southeast Asia.
I try to order all my culinary teas, flowers, herbs, spices, and essential oils from mountainroseherbs.com
Wonderfoam is made from tree bark. The Quillaja saponaria aka soapbark tree is native to Chile and has been used for thousands of years for natural cleaning and medicinal properties.
Playing in gardens leads to experimenting with flavors and that’s exactly what happened to the wines.
My favorite result: the 5 cloves infused for an hour in this red blend (Green Fin is an affordable organic napa wine)
I might have discovered a summer mulled wine hack: add a stick of cinnamon into wine then chill.
All chilled wines were equally great as spritzers or tinto de veranos (I used blood orange San Pellegrino)
Lemongrass steeped inside a biodynamic chardonnay and a crisper white blend bottle for almost two weeks • interesting...