Project Fruit Tree & Adventures in an Urban Garden of Eden

Sous Vide striploin, served on a bed of fresh tomatoes, plums and garnished with puffed wild rice.

Last weekend marked the third year that my husband, my friend DB and I cooked for a party of 40 to help benefit the Portland Fruit Tree Project. The PFTP does a series of “Orchard Banquets” every summer to raise money and for the past three years they’ve asked my husband to donate his time by heading one of the dinners.

This year, like last year, we lucked out and had the honor of cooking our dinner at Tabor Tilth, a crazy, magical dream in urban gardening. (If you want your mind blown, click this link to watch a video about the garden, hosted by the woman who owns it.)

My husband, because he is constantly ambitious with his cooking, always dreams up amazing menus for this dinner, which has become the event that DB and I look forward to helping him with the most.

And clearly other people look forward to it too. Many people from last year’s dinner attended this one and we heard from staff that our series sold out a month in advance. I guess the word has gotten out that my husband throws down when it comes to food!

Here’s some pictures from last Sunday’s soiree…It should also be mentioned that many of the produce used came from Tabor Tilth, some of which we foraged for the day of the dinner. Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked fruits and veggies!

First course, passed hors d’oeuvres during the garden tour:

Lamb tartare w/ pickled mustard seeds

(Sadly my camera ate many of the pictures so you’ll just have to believe me when I say the foie gras-stuffed prunes and goat cheese & plum preserve gougeres were equally gorgeous and delicious).

Up next was the “salad” course — if you can call fat wedges of decadent homemade terrine a salad!:

Rabbit, foie gras and pork terrine (made with rabbits raised on Tabor Tilth)

Rabbit, foie gras and pork terrine w/ homemade plum mostarda, baby carrots and roasted beets

Terrine from the top — a bounty of goodness!

Next we moved onto the third course, which was a wild boar ragu with homemade pappardelle, sautéed cherry tomatoes and lots of Parmesan. Sadly I was too busy plating to get a shot of this one but I can assure you it was divine. We made the noodles that morning which was an adventure in itself.

Homemade pappardelle pasta

Course number four was all about the beef:

Striploin, fresh tomatoes, plums and elderberries and garnished with puffed wild rice and a plum-beef reduction.

I love elderberry flowers almost as much as I love Instagram!

Puffed Wild Rice — this stuff will most definitely be featured in its own post very soon. It was like crunchy, spicy crack and I never wanted to stop eating it!

We did have a few vegetarians, so they got something a little different to dine on:

Brown butter and thyme roasted pears, goat cheese-stuffed nasturtium and seared panisse

The last course was dessert — but it gets a post of its own so you’ll have to wait!

Elberberry flowers — perhaps the most adorable garnish ever.