SXSW Field & Fire Dinner with Barebones
In March, we rose to the occasion of a unique opportunity to travel to Austin, Texas and cook up a feast for SXSW’s SouthBites dinner series. It was an unforgettable collaboration, and we’re deeply grateful to our friends, the visionaries at Barebones, who not only supplied the bones of our outdoor fire kitchen but orchestrated the whole beautiful dream. We’re also indebted to Graham and Karen at Ardor Wood Farm in Red Rock, who graciously opened their home to our staff and guests.
We drew inspiration from the Lone Star state as a rich borderlands of cuisine and culture where, for centuries, traditions from the heart of Mexico, the native peoples of the prairie, and settlers from across the world have been in lively conversation. Letting the twin pillars of Tex-Mex and BBQ guide us, we crafted our reimagining of the plate of brisket and sides that may as well be on the state flag, giving it the Tournant treatment in our fire kitchen under that big Texas sky.
Country roads led our company to Ardor Wood Farm and Graham’s beautifully appointed outdoor kitchen. Awaiting them were nibbles of Texas caviar on toast points, and wood-fired flatbreads smeared with melty triple-cream cheese flambéd in mezcal and drizzled with salsa macha. Ryan Manning shook up original cocktails with espadin mezcal and a tonic of Mexican botanicals, while an Australian shepherd named Finn stole the hearts of all in attendance.
Mezcal cocktails in hand, guests wandered down a lantern-lit forest path into a meadow hemmed in by wildflowers, the air hazy and sweet with the fragrance of burning sandalwood and oak.
The tables were set with hand-thrown red earth pottery, formed on the fire by a collective of Zapotec women in San Marcos Tlapazola, a village outside of Oaxaca. We felt a kinship with these artisans, their dances with fire and clay, and hoped to honor their work with our own.
Cauldrons of barbacoa simmered on the coals while we served a soigné slaw of purple cabbage and jicama, with mint crema, charred and pickled carrots, serrano-honey citronette and toasted pepitas. Fire-roasted fingerlings arrived in a smoky piñon and peanut mole, wreathed in celery-herb salad and sprinkled with cured egg yolk and purple potato chips.
The smoke that saturated the barbacoa after a full day in the flames was balanced with the brightness of pickled red onion, radish, cilantro and burnt lime, and accompanied by blue corn hominy grits with queso fresco, crunchy fried hominy and corn shoots. Dessert was a Texas pecan skillet cake with caramelized sweet plantains and piloncillo syrup infused with Mexican canela.
The stars were bright as embers, and the night soon became legend. When we think of Texas, we’ll always remember the afterglow of that table shared in Red Rock, strewn with treasures from a borderless earth.
Photos by Caroline Hargraves
Cast iron and event design by Barebones Living
