Outstanding in the Field

An intimate table for 150.

We were lucky enough to be part of a special event recently: a farm dinner in upstate New York.  It was an event by Outstanding in the Field, a traveling food circus of sorts, and we had the honor of being the first riverside dinner they'd done.  It was three hours of food- and atmosphere-induced merriment, with some outrageous laughs and a few people in the water (yep, including my hubby!).  (And okay, the copious amounts of wine might have influenced the merriment, too.)  What a gloriously memorable way to spend an evening.

Although the whole shebang was supposed to start with a tour of the farm and a talk by the farmer, we missed that part of it as the farmer never showed.  (Odd, the whole farm-dinner-without-the-farmer.  But we had a great time all the same!)

Part of the tradition: each guest brings his or her own plate.  Look at the wonderful variety...

but I bet you didn't expect that pattern.

Jim Lahey from the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC served as our fabulously talented and friendly chef and baker, and he started us off with hors d'oeuvres, addictive strawberry/coriander/champagne cocktails, and a mouth-watering view of a simply elegant table for 150 along the banks of a river running through Roscoe, NY.

Mountain Sweet Berry Farm - Roscoe, NY

Some highlights from the dinner were the Windfall Farms green salad with fresh farm vegetables, herbs, and gorgeous, richly-colored flowers, perfect roasted potatoes that I so wish I could make, and a delicious panzanella with heirloom tomatoes.  Everything was paired with local wines - all from Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in the Finger Lakes region of NY.  But it was the juicy-ripe peaches and cream crumble with honey and Early Bird Cookery homemade blueberry ice cream that I could have eaten for the rest of the week.

Left: Jim Denevan (OITF founder) entertaining the crowd.
Right: the results of a little wine!

Thanks to our super-fun tablemates for a hoot of an evening, to Steve for taking good care of our table, and to Grace Bonney at Design*Sponge for telling her loyal readers (yep, I'm one!) about it.  Check out Grace's post about it for better photos (I blame all that wine for our clunkers  :)  ).   We loved it and can't wait for the next one!

P.S.  Their events book up crazily quickly and they're quite a splurge, but it was so unique and special that we thought it was well worth it.

Loved the Mason jar lanterns - great atmosphere to end the evening!