Eat Real Festival – Jack London Square, Oakland, CA – 2016
On Friday, September 23rd, 2016, I presented at the Eat Real Festival, in Oakland, CA, at Jack London Square. The Eat Real Festival is a unique event, that celebrates local, regionally grown and produced food (products | artisans companies | small scale operations) with great craft beers and wines that are presented in a food truck meets street fair format.
For me, California’s Indian Summer (September – October) creates a sense of transition from summer to fall with warm days and cool evenings. The season inspired my desire to present a really tasty dish that would welcome fall flavors, but still have a touch of the end of summer essences, while not being too heavy or rich. As I thought what to share with attendees, what came to mind was my Wit Braised Chicken. This recipe well represents the time of year and has the key flavors from Belgium, the sophistication of a dish from its neighboring France, while embracing the comfort found in German cuisine. The recipe highlights a Belgian Witbier style of beer from Lagunitas Brewing Co. called Stoopid Wit. This style of ale is made with malted barley, some unmalted white wheat, Belgian brewers yeast, while taking a twist from the classic brew, by dry hopping this beer with heavily citrus flavored hops, omitting the traditional addition of orange peel and coriander. These flavors mixed with sautéed leeks, shallots, thyme, chicken stock and pancetta infuse together to make a delicious sauce.
Using the same recipe and features on my site, you can scale and make this recipe for any size crowd. I complimented the dish with Mashed Purple Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, Garlic and Herbs. Another side dish option is my Potato Celery Root Purée. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as the Eat Real Festival audience did! Cheers!
