Chef Jason Dady Cooks at My House! Really!

Recently, Chef Jason Dady (www.twitter.com/chefjasondady) tweeted about "Dady's Underground Kitchen," whereby he comes to your house to cook for five couples. I quickly found four other interested couples and booked a date.

I just about drove Bruce bananas with preparations. "I haven't seen this level of cleaning since the Corps," he moaned. I might not have the snazziest kitchen, but I was gonna have the cleanest one, by golly. Let me tell you....it gleamed.

Chef Jason arrived at the house about 4:00 pm on the appointed day, with helper Josh. They quickly unloaded all the supplies. (He brought food and wine glasses, couples brought wine, and he used our plates/silver/pots-and-pans.) The only equipment he brought (other than his knives, of course) was a sous vide rig. (Post a comment if you want to know more about this.)

He didn't fully develop the menu until he visited Central Market that morning to see what was fresh. Our menu:

• Hors d'oeuvres: Foie gras terrine mousse with sea salt; "smoked" popcorn; grilled chevre sandwich with cherry tomato jam; Thai crab salad
• First course: Fresh seasonal figs with basil goat cheese mousse, saba, honey, and proscuitto de parma
• Second course: Butter poached scallop with house-cured guanciale, fresh Texas peas, white polenta, and lemon beurre blanc
• Third course: Sous vide pork tenderloin with oca potato, summer asparagus, dijon emulsion and "sauce"
• Fourth course: Brioche french toast, brandied peaches, and vanilla bean chantilly

And yes, it tasted just as good as you think it would.

By the time our friends arrived at 6:00 pm (each with two bottles of wine), he had an hors d'oeuvre ready, with Josh bringing out the other three as we gathered and chatted. He encouraged us to come into the kitchen, watch him cook, and ask questions. He is very personable and very willing to share hints, tips, and an occasional secret. In addition to a fabulous meal, we all learned a lot.

The foie gras just melted in your mouth, and the popcorn was simple but delicious. We both very much enjoy his scallops and were not disappointed this time. The whole meal was an incredible journey. Best piece of advice he shared: "Cooking is all about balancing salts and acids, temperature control, and time management."

And Josh did the dishes!

We all hope he continues this, as he has time (opening a new restaurant downtown this fall!). It was a very great pleasure to not only eat a fabulous meal, but to meet and get to know this incredible local chef.

Up Into the Mountains We Go/Final Comments

Today we planned a day-trip to Cloudcroft, about an hour and a half east of Las Cruces. After going up and over the mountains to the east of Cruces, we were down in the valley and quickly into the White Sands Missle Range.

The range still shuts down once or twice a week for an hour or two for missile tests. Fortunately, we missed that part. We did, however, get stopped at yet another border patrol checkpoint, where they just waved us through.

We had visited White Sands National Monument before, but it was worth a quick stop for facilities, a new pin for my collection, and fabulous photos.

After passing through (unremarkable) Alamogordo, we visited a winery we'd met the day before. Not only did Heart of the Desert have great wines (including a pistachio rose!), their large pistachio grove out back (the oldest and largest in NM) produces a huge crop of nuts. I forgot our notes on which wines we liked, so we were obliged to taste again.....darn. :-) Also found a fabulous new chile shirt.

Next we headed up the road to Cloudcroft. A sign at the beginning of the drive warned that we would gain 4,315 feet in 16 miles. Wow. The above photo is just outside the one tunnel. Look closely and you'll see White Sands in the background.

A nice drive up with many scenic vistas. The village is quite small, and we quickly found the best place in town to eat lunch....Rebecca's at The Lodge.

The Lodge was originally built in the late 1800s and rebuilt after a fire in 1909. The railroad owned the lodge; they had a line up here to transport timber. Rebecca's boasts fabulous views and terrific food. My blue corn chile rellenos with red chile hominy was delicious! Poor Bruce though...the altitude (about 9,000 feet) was really tearing him up.

We wanted to take advantage of the many surrounding hiking trails, but lightning moved in, and neither one of us wanted to be hiking on a mountain in lightning. So we headed back to Las Cruces.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and I hope you have enjoyed the travelogue. My favorite part is the bounty we're bringing back to share with friends:

• Roswell Alien Amber Ale
• >12 bottles of wine
• Chiles (yes more)
• Chile powder
• Hatch sweet onions
• Pistachios
• Cookies

The drive back is long and warrants an entry only the first time through, so I'll see you again soon with a post on a different topic.

Today's New Mexico Bounty

By happenstance, we discovered a Labor Day weekend wine festival just outside of town. We enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning (no alcohol sales before noon, don't you know) before sallying forth.

Had an unexpectedly difficult time finding somewhere for an early lunch. Those who know and love me understand that I am worse than a four-year-old when my tummy is grumbling and we can't find food. Bruce was ready to go into the fields to harvest anything he could find. Fortunately, we landed at El Comedor for a nice New Mexican repast.

The Southern New Mexico Wine Festival is held every Labor Day weekend at the Southern New Mexico Fairgrounds just outside of town. Surprisingly, no charge for parking and only $13/each for admission. We were surprised to find 13 southern NM vineyards represented. And all very reasonably priced. The most we paid for a bottle was $21.Our favorites:

• St. Clair's Mimosa: a Mimosa already in the champagne bottle. Tasty as well as pretty.
• DH Lescombes Royal Kir: flavors of black currant. Yum!
• Luna Rossa's Nini: a nice medium-bodied red

We first did a "circuit" tasting and made notes of the wines we wanted to come back for. Interspersed were food and craft (needed more) vendors, including a hat maker where I purchased a fabulous new shady hat. Sounds odd, but it's like wearing a parasol on my head....terrific for hot sunny days.

Three discoveries:

• New Mexico has a state cookie: Biscochitos. Really. Melt in your mouth yummy.
• Who knew New Mexico had so many good wines?
• Near-miss rain in SA just steams things up. Near-miss rain here cools things off quite nicely, thank you.

Overall, we found this festival much better organized than the Hatch one, and very laid back and enjoyable. Great salsa music, too. Lots of people, but all polite and just enjoying the wine. This plus Hatch makes for a good southern-NM destination weekend.