Submitted by
Lassen Land Trails and Trust
The fourth annual Lassen Land and Trails Trust Farm to Table Dinner will be held Saturday August 17, 2019.
The dinner will be held at the JD Hemphill Ranch with their deep Lassen County Roots. Land and the food will be the focus of the evening as the tables of local delicacies fan out across the landscape of a working alfalfa pivot. Endless views of the horizon of mountains circling Honey Lake Valley will cast sunset shadows on the festive evening. Land that has sustained the Hemphill family for 4 generations and represents the common goal of Lassen Land and Trails Trust supports the efforts to conserve local farms, landscapes, and trails that provide bountiful food, family livelihoods, and beauty to our community.
Jeff, Nancy, Fran and Abbie Hemphill farm beef cattle and alfalfa hay, continuing the legacy of the farming roots of their family. They are civic-minded individuals: Jeff Hemphill representing District 3 as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in his Lassen County community, Nancy is President of the Lassen County Cattlewomen serving the industry she represents, and Fran has been a fixture in the 4-H community, serving as a 4-H leader for 50 years! Their family farm is the focus of their livelihood and life carrying on the purposeful mission their grandfather started here in 1938.
This collaboration of local food, farm, and chef will galvanize a memorable bill of fare for the evening of August 17th. The JD Hemphill ranch will backdrop for a menu of locally sourced, carefully prepared food by local chef Jacob Rule of Lassen Ale Works Pioneer in Uptown Susanville. Jacob hails from Southern California family restaurant roots of Barones’s which started their family business in 1945. Jacob has learned his craft through venturing into many cuisines, finding his passion fusing Asian techniques with home-style Italian food. His quest for the 2019 Lassen Land and Trails Trust farm to table dinner is to prepare the amazing variety of meats, vegetables, fruits and forigables found in Lassen County and its surrounds.
A bread bar with Lassen Ale Works Ancient starter Sourdough Baguettes, plus their spent grain crackers from the brewing process, will be anointed with a decadent array of choices including Dersch Apiary Szechuan Fire Honey, Maple Bacon Bourbon Onion Jam, Hulsman Ranch Douglas Fir Tip Jelly, and Madrone Smoked Eagle Lake Trout Spread. Cooper-Garrod’s Cabernet Franc wine has the strength to meld these amazing flavors on one’s palate.
Deliciousness continues with an appetizer of Hole in One Beef Tarter with Miso Mayonnaise topped with cured, salted egg yolks paired with the Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards Sabre Jet wine which will linger on the epicurean mind. A salad course follows with Roasted Beet and Fennel Salad topped with Sierra Nevada Goat Cheese and Rustic Rancher Mircogreens and finished with a Espresso Balsamic Vinaigrette. This is matched with the citrusy, peach goodness of the 2017 Cooper-Garrod Viognier.
The Farm to Table feast progresses to Spatzle with paprika topped with perfectly prepared Hole in One Ranch Lamb Ragu. Vegetarians will nosh upon a Ratatouille- topped Spatzle mirroring the deep flavors and colors in each dish. Cooper-Garrods Estate Vineyards rises to the occasion with a Thunderbold wine that drives these deep flavors’ intensity.
Lassen Ale Works compliments each course of the evening: Bumpass Helles, a German golden lager for the bread bar; Uptown Brown for the Appetizer; HefWit, an unfiltered hefeweizen for the salad; and Almanor Amber Ale for the Entree.
For those dessert-minded diners, the Burnt Basque Cheesecake, made with Sierra Nevada organic creamed cheese, served in a pond of Patty Davie Raspberry Sauce flocked with Hulsman Ranch Fir Tip Sugar, will be the stunning ending of a perfect evening.
Memories will linger on the melodies that symphony musicians, Tiffany Russell and Amy Holmen, harmonize with the waning moon during the sunset hour.
Lassen Land and Trails Trust will make its mark on the culinary landscape of Lassen County with an unparalleled evening of excellence.
