Hey, sorry for going radio silent faithful readers – I’ll endeavor to post more frequently – or maybe not…

A couple of weeks ago, we found ourselves down in the southeastern corner of Arizona at a winemaker dinner. Aridus Wine Company is putting out some spectacular wines, to be sure, but it’s the dedicated souls who were there that evening focused exclusively on the food being put in front of us that I want to talk about. Cafe Roka partnered with Aridus and the culinary arts staff at Cochise College to come up with a seven – yes seven – course pairing menu.

Appetizer Course
Endive lettuce cup filled with Willcox tomatoes, burrata and a balsamic reduction
Medjool dates stuffed with bacon and Maytag blue cheese
Crostini topped with caramelized onions and an herb goat cheese mousse
1st Course
Pan seared sea scallops with citron beurre blanc
2nd Course
Honey thyme marinated roasted pork loin, charred radicchio and apple pear chutney
3rd Course
Pan seared lump crab cakes served over Arizona roasted corn and arugula salad with roasted tomato vinaigrette
4th Course
Rosewood Ranch Wagyu beef thinly-sliced atop a garlic crostini with Roquefort blue cheese mousse
5th Course
San Ysidro Farms lamb meat balls on a bed of sauteed Brussel sprout leaves with a pomegranate reduction
Dessert Course
French macaroon with a Port wine buttercream

So far this sounds pretty typical for a wine pairing dinner, huh? But wait, there’s more! Chef Kass was holding down the fort, so-to-speak, in Bisbee, so it was only the staff from the culinary school, as well as their students, who pulled this dinner off and they did it without the benefit of a commercial kitchen!  As I savored each bite, I was – quite literally – gobsmacked.

Remember, this dinner was being held at the Aridus custom crush facility just outside of town.  No Garland, Bakers Pride or SunFire gas range lurking in the corner, (I looked).  No Traulsen or True reach-in refrigerator tucked in an alcove, (I looked).  Rather, it was humble ice chests, a modest tabletop gas grill, mounds and mounds of fresh/local ingredients and an absolute metric ton of budding culinary talent that made this a memorable – a most memorable – evening indeed…