Toot...

I work for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.  Part of my job this summer was to coordinate a huge dinner event showcasing our local farmers' produce.  On July 17th we had "Cuisine in the Country."  We had Mario Batali's Molto Vegas chefs come up from Las Vegas and prepare an amazing meal using fresh lamb, goat, pig and a variety of vegetables.  I'd say about 90-95% was produced by our growers in Lincoln County. 

Before planning this I'd never heard of Mario Batali.  Apparently there are MANY people who know exactly who he is and what he does.  I suppose the lack of regular television in my home has prevented me from gaining this knowledge.  What's important is that I now know who he is and I'm incredibly impressed with the chefs who represented him at the dinner.

We had 150 people attend, many from Las Vegas.  I'm so glad to report that everything went about as smoothly as I expected.  I've been compiling a list of things I would like to do different next year.  Yes, this is going to become a yearly event.  I'm pretty excited about that.  I'm not sure if I'll be involved beyond this year as my job with the extension is set to end December 31st... unless we get another large grant we're trying for.  Then I'll get to stay.

The following are some photos of the amazing food created by some really talented chefs.

This was my favorite... they used baby red potatoes from Dave's Garden.  SO GOOD!

I have to describe these desserts, as if the photos aren't enough.  I coordinated this event with Doug Taylor who is a UNCE employee at the Vegas office.  He is also the Executive Pastry Chef at Molto Vegas.  He's done a lot of work connecting local growers with chefs in Las Vegas.  About a month before the event he told me he was planning on having s'mores as part of the dessert menu.  Not just any s'mores... s'mores made totally from scratch.  The marshmallows (see the white squares?), the chocolate, the graham crackers.  You name it and it was made with loving care from scratch.  They were amazing!  But my absolute favorite part of the entire meal (please remember I was 39 weeks pregnant at this point) was the raspberry tart.  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

I try to keep my posts focused on my family since this is kind of a journal, but I just had to toot my own horn a little...

TOOT!