stone-brewing-FRESH-farm-to-table-dinner-chef-alex-carballo-preps-salad

If a morning filled with gallivanting through the farms of San Diego county doesn’t exhaust you, then surely cooking a dinner for over 50 people would, right? Not so for Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Executive Chef Alex Carballo. After a long and early morning of collecting fresh and local corn, duck, finger limes, mushrooms and more from five different destinations, Chef Alex whipped up a seven course meal for the quarterly FRESH! Dinner.

Starting Things Off Right

Before being seated, guests were invited to enjoy the Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA straight from the fermenter inside the brewery. Though the beer is not completely complete, it was completely delicious. The full-bodied brew (no surprise here, as it is a Stone Brewing Co. creation) had not yet reached it’s full ABV of 10.8%, but it drank just like a perfectly tasty and well-balanced Imperial black IPA should — hoppy, heavy, roasty, dare I say, majestic? Maybe we’re biased since it’s one of our favorite styles, but we know a handful of bottles will be in our possession one way or another come August 15.

It just so happened the day of the FRESH! Dinner was also the official anniversary date of Stone Brewing Co. The company’s CEO & Co-founder Greg Koch and President & Brewmaster Steve Wagner toasted their 15 years together with a fresh pour of their anniversary ale.

Let the Feast Begin

The farm to table dinner came into existence several years ago. As an “ethicurean,” Greg is a cosumer of sustainable, organic, local and/or ethical food. The food programs at the many Stone entities abide by these same guidelines. In case you had forgotten or it wasn’t obvious by now, Stone Brewing Co. is about a heck of a lot more than just brewing. If you want to learn more about better eating, Greg gently reminded us that Stone fans can expand their knowledge by checking out the carefully selected books in the Stone Brewing Co. store.

One of the highlights of the dinner was Chef Alex’s presentation of finger limes. These little vienna sausage sized citrus fruits are native to Australia but may or may not really come from outer space. Inside finger limes you won’t find the skinny, pulpy juice vesicles found in other citrus. Instead, the finger lime contains tiny spherical juice vesicles of similar appearance and consistency to caviar, hence the nickname “citrus caviar“.

The Final Destination

Here’s the full FRESH! Dinner Menu from July 26, 2011. For all the pictures and details from the dinner, scroll through the photo gallery above.

panzanella-salad-at-stone-fresh-dinnerMix & Mingle Panzanella Salad
Heirloom Tomatoes, Winged Beans, Fresh Baked Bread, Bella Vado Splendid Oils
Crows Pass Farm, Chino Farms

stone-farm-to-table-dinner-amuse-bouche-zucchini-fritterAmuse-Bouche Zucchini Fritter
Herbed Crème Fraîche, Caramelized Sweet Onion Shooters
Stone Farms

stone-fresh-dinner-appetizer-shiso-wrapped-duck-and-mushroom-crepinettesAppetizer Duck Crépinette or Vegetarian Option Marinated Blazei Mushroom Crépinette
Rolled in Estate Shiso
Wing Lee Poultry & Meats, Mountain Meadow Mushroom Farms & Stone Estate

stone-fresh-dinner-farm-to-table-heirloom-water-melon-green-tomato-saladSalad Course Heirloom Melon and Green Tomato
Crows Pass Farm, Connelly Gardens & Chino Farms

stone-fresh-dinner-seafood-trio-oyster-abalone-musselSeafood Trio Lemongrass-Poached Abalone, Citrus Caviar & Armenian Cucumber Relish; Steamed and Chilled Mussels, Chili Crème Fraîche; Oyster Shooter, Apple and Ballast Point Sculpin IPA Mignonette
Stone Farms & Carlsbad Aqua Farm

stone-fresh-dinner-seabass-entreeEntrée Pan-Roasted White Sea Bass
Corn Succotash
Catalina Offshore, Stone Farms, Chino Farms, Crows Pass Farm & Stone Estate

peach-melba-dessert-stone-fresh-dinnerDessert Peach Melba Station
Raspberry Granita & Fresh Chantilly Cream
Connelly Gardens

Celebrate Good Times, Come On

Be sure to stay up to date with Stone Brewing Co. to catch the next FRESH! Dinner in the fall, before it sells out. Again. Check out last week’s story about following Chef Alex as he prepared for this dinner in Gardening and Gallivanting with Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Executive Chef Alex Carballo. We saw everything from giant piles of poo and compost to fresh produce growing outside the brewery.

stone-brewing-co-fresh-dinner-farm-to-table-with-fresh-beerOther upcoming events at Stone Brewing Co. include Meet the Brewers: Evil Twin Brewing and Stillwater Artisanal Ales on August 11, 5 – 6:30 PM and the Stone 15th Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Festival on August 19 & 20.

Additional information:
http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/fresh/
Stone Brewing Co. | Twitter | Facebook
Stone Farms Twitter
Buy Stone 15th Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Festival tickets