{"id":12109,"date":"2015-10-29T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T15:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=12109"},"modified":"2015-10-29T00:15:59","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T07:15:59","slug":"what-lies-beyond-the-red-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2015\/10\/29\/what-lies-beyond-the-red-door\/","title":{"rendered":"What Lies Beyond The Red Door"},"content":{"rendered":"

This time of year is about giving thanks. I\u2019m giving thanks that one of my favorite restaurants is providing local brewers great opportunities for showcasing their beers as vehicles for pairing top-level cuisine built on edibles procured from local purveyors. That eatery is Mission Hills\u2019 The Red Door, a cozy, home-style hub for edibles grown and crafted throughout San Diego County. Always rather wine-centric (not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that), I\u2019ve longed for beer dinners to become part of their regiment, and thankfully it has as part of special Farmers, Friends and Fishermen collaboration dinners.<\/p>\n

Count local brewers among the \u201cfriends\u201d in these quarterly feasts. The last one, which took place in summer, incorporated the beers of URBN St. Brewing Co. (which, I hear through the hop bine, will soon change its name to URBN Brewing Co.), which brewmaster Callaway Ryan delivered first-hand in freshly-filled growlers from his El Cajon brewpub. Of his five ales, Jumbo double India pale ale was paired with chilled cucumber-lime gazpacho with uni and shrimp caught fresh by Catalina Offshore Products, and the simply-named St. Brown Ale accompanied roasted pig slow-cooked in URBN St.\u2019s Bravecourt Stout.<\/p>\n

\"reddoor_01\"<\/a>
Fried Cheese-stuffed Squash Blossoms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We started with a light summery dish so we went with the cucumber soup with a hint of spice. The URBN IPA had a lemony aroma, carbonation and hoppiness, perfect to cool down both the spice of the cucumber soup and pair with the shrimp, but not overwhelm the overall delicateness of the dish,\u201d says The Red Door owner Trish Watlington. \u201cWe roasted our pig with traditional flavors and so it paired great with the URBN beer. Its spicy, earthy bitterness was perfect to cut through the fat of the pork.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a highly successful meal served mostly to individuals that had never heard of URBN St. and, for the most part, weren\u2019t big into the local beer scene. Don\u2019t count TheRed Door\u2019s kitchen leader among those unfamiliar with the wealth of ales and lagers in his backyard. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the local beer scene evolve into something great, like a fine wine for San Diego,\u201d says executive chef Miguel Valdez. \u201cEvery day, we have the opportunity to keep pushing the boundaries in what we do and local beer is one of those boundary-pushing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valdez counts URBN St. Saison as one of his favorite local beers. It would appear his palate matches those of judges at the Great American Beer Festival, where that beer took home a medal as one of the top three Belgian-style farmhouse ales in the country. So, you know you can trust his instincts on local beer, but further proof is provided by expert pairings that accentuate the roastiness of a dark beer, grassiness of a hoppy ale or the floral spiciness of the aforementioned saison.<\/p>\n

Valdez sees the almost endless possibilities beer presents for just about anything, food-wise. \u201cBeer is great with beef, pork or poultry as well as a variety of vegetables. I like to slow-cook or braise with it. I also like to use fresh herbs, especially thyme, rosemary and sage with beer. You can make an amazing pork shoulder with a slow cooker, a few herbs and a great stout.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"reddoor_02\"<\/a>While he\u2019s a bit mum on that braised swine recipe, The Red Door is offering up a pair of recipes\u2014some crispy, delicious fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with a mixture of mascarpone and goat cheese, plus a wintry salad incorporating Tuscan kale, butternut squash, quinoa, cranberries and pine nuts.<\/p>\n

The next Farmers, Friends and Fishermen event will take place on November 4 and focus, not on beer, but on mead. Those honey wines will be provided by Oceanside\u2019s Golden Coast Mead and be paired with four courses incorporating ingredients from Be Wise Ranch, Blue Sky Ranch and Pacific Micro Farms, among others. The night will kick off with cocktails and appetizers at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner. Tickets are available on\u00a0brownpapertickets.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love our local organic farmers, ranchers and sustainable fishermen. They work ridiculously hard to barely get by and we firmly believe it\u2019s our obligation to support them and to encourage others to do the same,\u201d says Watlington. \u201cOur vision for these dinners and The Red Door as a restaurant is to create a cuisine that helps guests connect with local, ethical producers, and build sound ecological relationships with the land and sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for fermenter-to-glass relationships, Valdez adds, \u201cI love that we have such an extensive local brewing scene because I have loads of choices for beers to drink, beers to pair and beers to cook with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chefs Tip: Miguel Valdez, The Red Door Restaurant<\/strong><\/em>
\n“Always start with a beer you like. If you don\u2019t want to drink it, you won\u2019t like it in your cooked food.”
\nWinter Kale & Quinoa Salad
\nYield\u20146 to 8 servings
\n2 Tbsp dried cranberries
\n5 Tbsp plus 3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
\n1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
\n1 Tbsp honey
\n1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
\n1 tsp salt
\n2 bunches (about 1 pound) Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, julienne
\n1 cup quinoa, cooked and chilled
\n1 cup butternut squash, cubed and roasted
\n2 Tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
\nParmesano-Reggiano cheese, shaved<\/p>\n

Place the cranberries in a small bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, cover and let soak overnight.<\/p>\n

Drain the cranberries and set aside. Whisk the remaining balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, honey, oil and salt in a large bowl. Add the kale, quinoa, squash, pine nuts and cranberries and toss to coat. Let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with cheese and serve.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

Fried Cheese-stuffed Squash Blossoms
\nYield\u201418 squash blossoms
\n\u00bd cup goat cheese
\n\u00bd cup mascarpone cheese
\n1 clove garlic, finely chopped
\n2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
\n1 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
\n1 tsp olive oil
\n18 large squash blossoms, rinsed with stems and pistols removed
\ncanola oil for frying
\n3 cups breadcrumbs
\nsalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
\n2 eggs, lightly beaten<\/p>\n

In a small bowl, mix the cheeses, garlic, parsley, thyme and olive oil until all of the ingredients are completely incorporated. Transfer the cheese mixture to a pastry bag and use it to fill the squash blossoms. Once stuffed, gently twist the ends of the petals together to keep the stuffing inside.<\/p>\n

Fill a deep skillet with 1 inch of canola oil and heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper together. Place the eggs in a shallow dish. Working in small batches, dredge the squash blossoms in the eggs, followed by the breadcrumbs, then add to the skillet to fry. Fry until golden and crisp, turning over to make sure all sides are cooked equally, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the squash blossoms to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Season with salt and serve immediately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This time of year is about giving thanks. I\u2019m giving thanks that one of my favorite restaurants is providing local brewers great opportunities for showcasing their beers as vehicles for pairing top-level cuisine built on edibles procured from local purveyors. That eatery is Mission Hills\u2019 The Red Door, a cozy, home-style hub for edibles grown […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-39j","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}