Basque-ing in Local Artistry: Cheese, Meat and a Kitchen to "Live" For

Any chef would have traded places with me yesterday. I drove out to the historical Barinaga Ranch http://www.barinagaranch.com/, deep in the heart of West Marin, one of the world's most exciting agricultural regions for a 'kitchen warming event"…of course, it was a magnificent Standards of Excellence kitchen. I have been in some amazing kitchens, but this one was incredibly special. In true West Marin style, nearly everything for the home came from within a few miles distance. From the architect and tile makers to the reclaimed wood for the house all was locally procured. This is how they live and how I cooked for the evening, using luscious, sustainable foods from the ranch itself. 

This sheep dog has never lost a sheep,
deep in coyote and mountain lion country!

Owners, Marsha and Corey, have crafted a home as thoughtfully as they craft their artisan cheeses made from the sheep's milk, a Basque style Basserri and a smaller version, Txiki. Marsha builds on her family's Basque and Spanish heritage as a third generation rancher on this precious, lush land that overlooks Tomales Bay by producing organic cheese, milk and meats served by legendary San Francisco restaurants such as Quince, Zuni and beyond.

The Basserri is in the center

My SOE colleagues, Ann Wilson and Brian Lima, joined forces with me to bring this kitchen to life.

Me, Ann and Brian, loving the kitchen!

We showed off the remarkable features of the Wolf Double Ovens, such as the probe feature. We placed a boneless pork loin fresh from the ranch, stuffed with roasted chilies and crusted with spices on a foil lined broiling pan with a rack into the cold oven, one end of the probe plugged into the wall and the other one deep down into the center of the meat. We set the oven to "Convection Roast" ( bottom heat with extra top heat and fans on for additional browning and moisture). We set the probe temperature to 153 degrees F (after a 10 minute rest after cooking, it reached a perfect 160 F) and shut the door. In about one and a half hours, a sumptuously crusted, seared and moist roast was ready without checking the temperature even once, we could see the internal temperature on the outside of the oven! The convection allowed us to evenly roast tender delicata squash on the rack below and crisp up par-cooked Brussels sprouts. No more stove top searing or opening the oven time and again to take a temperature read, yeah!

Ann shows off the roast feature

Meanwhile, I whipped out some hand made flatbreads, with lamb sausage from... oh, you know!

Dinner was "Chile Stuffed, Spice Crusted Barinaga Ranch Organic Pork Loin over Red Wine Braised Red Cabbage with Apples & Currants and Convection Roasted Delicata Squash & Brussels Sprouts topped with Balsamic Glaze & Pomegranate Seeds." It was sensational.

"Being Green" and "Buying Local". This family and region prove that it is no compromise, but an exciting way to live. Each and every woodworker, cabinet maker, stone mason and landscaper left a gift of their artistry upon this home, each detail revealing itself as the night went on. The home even smelled of sun warmed wood, not of paint or chemicals.

I am proud of bringing tremendous cooking technology to this culinary mecca and showing it in it's full glory. I left with nothing but memories of a fabulous evening and delicious local food smells left behind.

more than "just" appliances, a lifetime a great food awaits!

Driving home carefully, socked in by cotton thick fog,  we were but a small fuzzy glow of light passing through the majesty of this region, already anticipating our next trip back to the ranch above the bay.