Avanti Cafe Musings: produce

Friday, November 20, 2015

Manassero Farms :: Breakfast In The Barn

Manassero Farms

We've loved Manassero Farms for years, growing goodness next to Irvine Valley College off of Jeffery & at several other OC locations. And when Phyllis Ann Marshall of FoodPower invited us to enjoy Breakfast in the Barn w/ "The Farmer's Wife & The French Chef" we jumped in w/ verve.

And Invitation to beauty in the barn

Anne Manassero & Chef Pascal Olhats created a Saturday morning dining event that delivered both flavor and ambiance, with farmer Dan Manassero manning the BBQ. The barn is a charmingly executed puzzle of vintage doors and windows (and even a giant working fan), arranged to take advantage of the morning sun and cool breezes as well as protecting from the heat of the day and renegade winds.

The barn all ready for guests

We learned that the barn came together in its autumnal glory just the day before and that we were among the first group to dine al fresco-ish in the expanded & artfully appointed space.

Chef Pascal & Anne Manaserro enlightening the crowd

As we chose our seats and met our new neighbors in an impromptu barn meet and greet we treated ourselves to sweet pound cakes, hot coffee & Anne's butternut squash butter. We watched as the first course was plated & garnished w/ its fine French finishing touches and Anne & Pascal began to give us a tutorial of the entire menu prepared for us that morning.

Light & rich salmon terrine

And then w/ warm hearted precision meal service began.

A perfectly paired entree of gentle crustless quiche, mushrooms, watercress & farm sausage

Flavors, colors & textures, Oh My! We knew room must be saved for dessert.

Wee sugar pumpkins filled w/ sweet creme brulee, cranberry compote &

crisp cookie & crumbs

All eyes twinkled as we lingered over dessert, looked out onto the farm on that perfect So Cal autumn Saturday morning and counted our blessings. A beautiful breakfast, out of doors, at a farm, are among the sublime pleasures of life.

Chef Pascal Olhats shows Chef Mark Cleveland the bounty in his

heirloom vegetable jardin

But there was more to come, Phyllis, always the conversationalist encouraged Anne to catch us up on the upcoming holiday events at Manaserro Farms and Pascal took us on a tour of Pascal's Jardin, a collaborative garden where much of the produce served at his restaurants is grown.

Sweet, savory, charming and fresh in the gift shop & farm stand

We made sure to tour the farm stand and gift shop too. They have an eye for charming decor.

The vegetable bounty of Manassero Farms

And we took advantage of the 10% discount on our farm purchases that came w/ our ticket to The Breakfast In The Barn. Avanti salutes The Farmer's Wife & The French Chef. There is an amazing community of environmentalists, real food foodies & folks that value a great clean & welcoming outdoors for us to enjoy and preserve.

Fun under the So Cali autumn sun w/ Phyllis, Mark, Nollie, Anne, Pascal &

all the other guests & visitors

Make sure to visit Manassero Farms soon, shop for produce & gifts and make a reservation for an upcoming breakfast or lunch. You can also book the entire tent for your private events & make a date to have Pascal & Anne come to your house and cook up a French affair in your own kitchen. C'est un fete incroyable!

He's not the only one crowing w/ delight at Manassero Farms

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

Meaning 'forward' in Italian, Avanti Natural is a culinary philosophy that integrates the best of traditional European and Asian healthful eating with the latest nutritional information for optimum health.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy. You can Eat Well & Live Well. Follow us on social media to see what Avanti is up to now. We are Whole Foods Experts. Post photos of your versions of Avanti Natural recipes on our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram pages. Check our blog on the website for how to recipe blogs. We’re excited to see and share your culinary creativity!

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Thursday, September 3, 2015

Avanti Summer Gardener's Salsa :: Do It All In The Food Processor ::

In the heat of the summer every year we find out which of our crops are producers and which are duds. This year I had to hand pollinate all of my eggplants, and the tomatoes, exotic heirloom varieties were dismal, yielding not much more than a crop of leaves and fungus. The chili peppers, on the other hand, are fully cooperative. I choose ‘prolific’ varietals which are mostly late season, so it’s gonna be HOT for the holidays in my kitchen. This salsa responds to what ever is going gangbusters in your garden and can be fleshed out at the farmer’s market w/ those items that aren’t producing for you. And if you’re not a gardener, no worries, the recipe is scaled to the way you find fresh organic summer produce at the green grocer or farm stand

Here's the completed Avanti Gardener's Salsa served w/ roasted multigrain polenta nuggets w/ quinoa, millet & amaranth, fresh arugula & oregano & Meyer lemon garlic rouille

All ya need for this garden gem is a food processor. Follow the steps below. Adding the ingredients in the proper order is the key to texture success.