Sunday Supper is almost here!

Still on the fence? You can always make a spontaneous decision to attend. Tickets for both the Supper and the reception will be available online until Saturday evening at 5:00 pm and also at the door. The reception starts at 6:00 pm and the Supper at 7:30 pm. We hope to see you there!

Last week to buy Year of Dining Out raffle tickets

Stop by the CUESA office or the market information booth to pick up one or more $10 raffle tickets. Each ticket gives you a shot at one of four packages of twelve dinners for two at the some of Bay Area's finest restaurants. See a list of participating restaurants here >

Live auction sneak peek ~ get ready to bid!

This is the first year CUESA will include a live auction as part of the Sunday Supper festivities. Below is a sampling of the delightful, food-centric experiential packages we've put together.

• A weekend in San Francisco including a stay at the Four Seasons Hotel, tickets to the San Francisco Opera, and fantastic dinners for two at both Perbacco and Jardinière
• A hands-on cooking party up to 20 of your friends at Tante Marie’s Cooking School
• A private dinner for ten with acclaimed author Michael Pollan as your special guest at Boulettes Larder in the Ferry Building

Are you participating in the Eat Local Challenge?

How are you celebrating Eat Local Month? We want to hear about it! What are you eating? Cooking? Where do you turn when you're out with friends? Let us know if you'd like to be interviewed or write about your experiences as a locavore in an upcoming e-letter. Learn about Eat Local Month events here >

Asian food beyond borders ~ October 10-12

There are a limited number of spots left for the Asian Culinary Forum’s weekend of terrific taste workshops, cooking classes, panel discussions and a full-day symposium celebrating Asian cuisines. Most events take place at the Ferry Building, including the "Six Asian Flavors” tasting ($20), where participants will have the opportunity to chat with experts and sample foods representing all six flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami and spicy. Whether you are a chef, farmer, writer, artist, entrepreneur, researcher or avid cookbook reader, share your passion in this creative and thought-provoking environment. Learn more or buy tickets >

Parking hours expanded on a trial basis

As of last week, the Golden Gateway Garage is now open at 7:00 am on Saturdays. The rate is $3 for the day with validation from the information booth, as long as you leave by 10 pm. Note: This is a test to determine whether or not there is sufficient demand to open at 7:00 am, so take advantage of this option if you can! See a map of the best parking options here >

Waste Wise volunteers are needed every Tuesday and Saturday at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. E-mail ashleigh@cuesa.org for details.

Saturday, October 4 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Meet the roaster
James Freeman, Blue Bottle Coffee Company, interviewed by CUESA volunteer Matthew Runeare

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Laura Stec, Innovative Cuisine and author of Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming

Sunday, October 5 ~ CUESA's annual Sunday Supper

Learn more here >

 

Saturday, October 11 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Meet the producer

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Jill Nussinow, author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment

All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side, except as noted.

When it came time to formulate an appetizer made with at least one Ferry Plaza Farmers Market ingredient for this year’s Sunday Supper reception, Chef Annie Somerville of Greens Restaurant took the task to heart. In fact, she’ll be stuffing Knoll Farms figs with Andante Dairy goat cheese and Lagier Ranches almonds roasted in Allstar Organics lavender salt.

“Our menus [at Greens] are based on buying direct from farms,” says Somerville. She can be spotted at the market just about every Tuesday and Saturday, but she has the majority of the restaurant's produce delivered directly. “What I do at the market is buy from people who don’t deliver to me," she adds, "as well as farmers I’ve just come to have a really great relationship with and feel personally very connected to.” Like John Lagier, for example.

“I have a personal addiction to his almonds,” says Somerville. “I also like to support him. He’s covering a lot of bases with his farming enterprises, so I make my pilgrimage to his stand probably every other week.”

Picking a farmer to partner with for the reception appetizer wasn’t hard for Danny Guerrini either. This is the eighth year the Executive Chef at EOS Restaurant and Wine Bar has been buying produce from Ed George at The Peach Farm. EOS is just outside The Peach Farm's delivery area, so, like Somerville, Guerrini treks to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market most Saturdays to buy from George and other farmers―a routine he enjoys.

“I’ll usually stay and talk with Ed for half an hour or so,” says Guerrini. On occasion, when George needs to step away from the stand, he’ll ask Guerrini to cover for him. In return for being a trustworthy stand-in, Guerrini gets to hand-pick the highest quality heirloom tomatoes, peppers and melons from George’s farm to use for the week. So it's only natural that Guerrini’s contribution to the Sunday Supper will highlight George’s peppers―in a relish with roasted eggplant, served on a cumin and lemon zest-scented Sardinian flatbread.

Many of the hors d'oeuvres and entrees that will be served next Sunday are born out of these kinds of lasting relationships. Alex Ong, of Betelnut, has been using asparagus from Zuckerman’s Farm for years in his restaurant, and when he chose to make Fijian Ceviche with Crispy Potato for the reception, Zuckerman’s potatoes were a natural fit.

Daniel Clayton of the Pleasant Hill-based Nibblers’ Eatery and Wine Bar is another good example. The farmer he’ll be partnering with for his supper contribution, a squash blossom frittata, is David Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms. He’s been basing menu items around Winsberg’s produce for years and says that building relationships with farmers is crucial to his peace of mind; he likes knowing that he can ask questions about the sustainability of their practices. He can also count on consistently high-quality, flavorful ingredients from farmers like Winsberg.

On the flip side, a face-to-face relationship with a chef can be good for farmers, too. Most farmers are much more likely to grow a diverse array of crops when they work with chefs who are willing to experiment. “Knowing that one of their chef partners will be able to take their recommendation on a new item is important,” adds Clayton.

To taste the products of these unique alliances and support CUESA, buy a ticket to this year’s Sunday Supper >

Pictured above, from top to bottom: Annie Somerville, with Sara Tashker of Green Gulch Farm; Ed George of The Peach Farm; David Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms.

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, October 4

In/returning: Bernard Ranches, Glashoff Farms, Knoll Farms
Out: G&S Corn, Prather Ranch Meat Company, Woodleaf Farm

Tuesday, October 7

In: McEvoy Ranch
Last Tuesday for the season: Frog Hollow Farm

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing): Mushrooms, almonds, persimmons, pomegranates, jujubes, pears, dates, apples, squash, artichokes, carrots, frisée, lemongrass, walnuts, Valencia oranges, radishes, muscat grapes, strawberries, pumpkins, broccoli, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, romanesco, cucumbers, peppers, wheat, onions, lettuces, pastured pork, tomatoes, marigolds, potatoes, wax, shelling and Romano beans, radicchio, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, root vegetables, celery, kale, sunchokes, cabbage

Winding down/limited supply: Cucumbers, peas, nectarines, peaches, pluots, plums, figs, quince, okra, corn, eggplant, blackberries, melons, basil

Seasonal vendor items not to be missed: Sour cherries in Kirsch syrup from June Taylor, Chorizo sausage from Fatted Calf, cilantro chutney from Sukhi’s, spelt and corn meal pizza shells from Viccolo Pizza, dry-farmed tomatoes packed with basil and peppercorns from Happy Girl Kitchen

Please note that Saturday October 4th, will be the last day to get your hands on Happy Girl bloody Mary mix!

Featured Recipes for October:

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote
from Sondra Bernstein, The Girl & The Fig

Milk Braised Marin Sun Pork Shoulder with Cabbage and Polenta
from Staffan Terje, Perbacco Ristorante and Bar

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Cocktail ~ Apples to Oranges
from Lou Bustamante, Hangar One Vodka