jonny's blog

Everyone has made it back from brooklyn now and we are still trying to get our heads around a really wonderful week out in New York. We sold out all three dinners and had a wonderful response. We keep meeting more cool people each time we go out and keep enjoying the trips even more. Our friend Mark Dohm was able to come out and shoot the final dinner at The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs. His photos and other press are listed below. A huge thanks to The Meat Hook, The Brooklyn Kitchen and Sweet Deliverance.

http://photos.infomad.com/4540860_4994180#imageID=91750024

Reviews of our dinner -

http://www.sheepless.org/drupal/magazine/shorts/madison-manhattan-underg...

http://www.kthread.com/kthread/2010/01/18/cassoulet-brunch-and-the-under...

press leading up to the dinners

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/around-town/food-drink/Private-Dinner-Party-An...

http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/the-feed-blog/restaurants-bars/2010/01...

Underground Food Collective, Sweet Deliverance, the Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, and the Meat Hook bring you a series of dinners celebrating Winter - focusing on the under-appreciated bounty of the season as well as diverse methods of preservation. House raised, slaughtered and butchered meats, pickles and preserves, homebrew and the heartiest of hearty vegetables will make up these multi-course meals.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot today for one of three dinners January 14, 15 or 17, starting at 7:30pm. All dinners will be held in Brooklyn. Ticket holders will be emailed the locations of the dinners a week prior to the date.

Tickets are $65 and include a sampling of local and homebrewed beverages, but diners are encouraged to bring a bottle of wine or other spirits to share.

Tickets available at

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/92904

Learn More:

• www.undergroundfoodcollective.org
• www.sweetdeliverancenyc.com
• http://www.thebrooklynkitchen.com/the-brooklyn-kitchen-labs
• www.the-meathook.com

Notes

Dinner locations will be emailed prior to event. PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR ORDER!

Tickets include beverage sampling, but diners are advised to bring additional drinks to share.

A Fall themed dinner and craft beer pairing prepared by the Underground Food Collective and ironworks cafe will set the mood for the fall hunting season as author and wildlife biologist Robert Willging takes us on a deer-hunting odyssey from prehistoric times to today. Registration deadline is 11/11/2009.

The event is Wednesday, November 18th. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets on Sale here

On the Hunt is the story of deer-hunting in Wisconsin, from the spear-throwing Paleo-Indians to the sportsmen of today. Meticulously researched by one of the state’s most prolific outdoor writers, On the Hunt covers subsistence and sport hunting, deer camps, changing deer management policies, and recent developments and controversies.

http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=26990

Kyle Nabilcy of the Isthmus did a cover piece about Ben and I. It was a really nice piece and we are honored. The most frequent question that we have received since the article came out is when is the next pig dinner going to happen. I can't give a definitive answer to when exactly it will happen but it will happen later this fall most likely in November.

While it is really nice to have some press focused on yourself i would like to mention that Kris Noren and Jon Atwell are both full members of Underground Food Collective. Ben and I have been around the longest but the work we do day in and day out involves these two in every aspect. As we finish up what was a very transitional year for UFC we are looking forward to a lot of new beginnings for UFC in 2010. We have ten pigs coming to us this year, some are already processed and some are still grazing on pasture and eating from the orchard at morren family farm. We will be doing at least 4 dinners in madison based off of these pigs and then we will take the dinners on the road again. We are most likely headed back to NYC in January and would like to do dinners in Milwaukee, Ann Arbor and Detroit. If everything goes according to plans we will start processing and butchering pigs and have an artisan line of salamis, pâté and cured hams that we sell under our own label. Stay tuned for more info.

This year the University of Wisconsin Humanities council featured the writer Michael Pollan. Underground Food Collective was asked to prepare a dinner on friday night (sept. 25th) for him and a few guests. Michael Pollan is such an important figure in changing the food system that the chance to make dinner for him was an honor. We really enjoyed making the meal and then after it was over we had the chance to chat with him for about an hour. I was really amazed by the humble and at ease he was talking to us and he was very funny. I've posted the menu below.

standing appetizers.

french breakfast radishes with rabbit liver pate

cheddar cracker (provided by host)

antipasta.

white anchovies with potters rye crackers

slow roasted heirloom tomatoes with fresh thyme and garlic fried croutons

fennel and sprouted lentils with wild hen of the woods mushrooms

fountain prairie farm veal tartare with cress spring swiss rye bread

soup.

consomme of celeriac, parsnip, parley root and shallots with sprouting acres marrow fat beans, served with fried croutons topped with veal marrow and parsley or mascarpone and roasted garlic compote

main.

whole standing veal rib roast with roasted balsamic grapes

roasted radicchio with aged balsamic vinegar

caramelized kabocha squash with garlic and marjoram roasted cress spring country bread

dry chenin blanc braised leeks and fennel

salad and cheese.

salad of curly endive with a champagne vinaigrette

dessert.

apple tartlets with cinnamon frozen custard and reduced apple cider caramel

bandaged cheddar 29 mo

japanese siphon coffee ( 100% fair trade )

shortbread cookies with plum preserves

dark chocolate

This years bike the barns was the most successful ride that has happened yet. Underground was really excited to help out and we had a great time being part of this event. There were over 700 participants. Underground was involved in every aspect of the ride, from the planning, to support and we provided food at three of the stops this year.

MACSAC presents
3RDANNUAL BIKE THE BARNS
in partnership with Underground Food Collective
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Bike the Barns for fresh food for all!
Bike the Barns is a spectacular fundraising bicycle ride through the countryside southwest of Madison, Wisconsin. Online registration opens on July 7, 2009 at 10am, and closes on Tuesday, September 8 or when the ride is full. We are not able to offer ride-day registrations. This year's 52-mile ride highlights three local CSA and direct market farms and, once again, features gourmet local food presented by Underground Food Collective. This ride is a bit hilly, but all levels of cyclists are welcome and encouraged to be part of a wonderful day that benefits an important and meaningful cause.

This ride is our major fundraising event, and each year more participants help raise money for families and individuals improve nutrition by having access to fresh, organic vegetables from local farms. All proceeds, including pledges collected by bike riders, will support Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition's Partner Shares Program. Since Partner Shares’ inception in 1997, over 2,300 underserved and low-income households have received fresh local food.

Fabulous prizes will be announced and given to the top fundraisers at the Finale Celebration at Elver Park. We hope that you'll join us for a closing celebration with Bike the Barns volunteers, MACSAC farmers and staff at Elver Park from 4-7:30pm. Tickets to the Finale Celebration only are $20, and include a beverage and grilled pizza.

We had a really great time in New York. Made so many really wonderful friends. I will post a more about the trip in a few days but I wanted to say thanks to a few folks who really helped us out. I want to thank all the people who helped make this dinner happen.

Again, big big thanks to the crew from Added Value for hosting us and providing such a beautiful venue for the Red Hook dinner. Also many thanks to Ommegang for the beer, both delicious and plentiful. Thank you to Les Hook and Nova Kim, our wild-crafting foragers (www.wildorganicfoods.com). A huge thank you too Kelly from Sweet Deliverance who let us use her kitchen all week and hosted the final dinner. And finally a great big thanks to Lee Davenport from Pamplemousse who did desserts for us all week and took dozens of photos.

Check out the write up from Serious Eats

Photos from lee http://www.flickr.com/photos/leedav/sets/72157612767974760/