Cass House Food & Wine Blog

GINGERBREAD HOUSE CONTEST 2011

Our 2nd annual gingerbread house contest was a huge success!! We had 12 incredible entries this year (up from 4 last year), and we hope that number will triple again next year. The judges were impressed with all of the gingerbread houses, but to their dismay they had to pick 3 winners in both the 'adult' and 'children' categories. Judging was based on originality, adherance to theme (which was 'wild west' this year) and overall appearance (handmade decor carried more weight than prefabricated, no inedible items were allowed). Prizes included dinner for two at the Cass House, a $100 gift certificate to Schooner's, a $50 gift certificate to the Sea Shanty, and gift baskets from the Brown Butter Cookie Company, the Cayucos Candy C0unter, and the Full Moon Wine Bar. Our judges this year were Teri Bayus (food writer for the Tolosa Press), Glynnis Chaffin Tinglof (a magnificently talented local artist), and our very own chef Jensen Lorenzen.

First Place went to Carolyn Tran and the girls at the Brown Butter Cookie Company (of course!):

 

Second Place went to Jeanette and Mika from the Full Moon Wine Bar:

 

Third Place went to the girls at Schooner's Wharf:

 

The 'People's Choice' award went to Terri Minetti from Old Creek Ranch:

 

With the 'Cass House' by Sara Stanger in a near tie, it is a perfectly delicious replica of the Cass House (we will be displaying this masterpiece in our lobby until December 23rd for those of you who weren't able to see it in person, she would have won 1st or 2nd place but she didn't get the memo on the theme and 'no edible items allowed'):

 

Western storefronts by Kerry Friend:

 

'Hotel' by Dezarae Germond from the On the Beach Hotel (this house was very impressively tall, the picture does't do it justice, I can't imagine how she got all of those walls to stay together!)

 

'Feliz Navidad' by Tracy Taylor (this house was Teri's favorite, it was definitely the most detailed and fun, a beautiful piece of gingerbread art by a very talented local artist!)

 

And last but not least our four children's entries, all equally as impressive as the adult's:

'General Store' by Lani Krossa

 

'Library' by the Cayucos Library Children's Art Workshop

 

'The Wild West' by Genevieve Dandurand

 

A little holiday cheer from Madison Neville

 

Great job everyone!! I hope to see you all again next year!

-Grace

 

 

Father's Day Beer Tasting Menu

 

A clip from The Circus to entice you...

 

Come One, Come All! To the Greatest Dinner Party on Earth!

Our Circus Menu is complete! Here is a little sneak peek:

 

truffled popcorn, soft pretzels, spiced peanuts

amazingly tiny cotechino corn dogs

brilliant baby potato salad
roasted corn, grilled asparagus, arugula, hard boiled farm egg

an extravagant feast of wood fired dungeness crab
artichokes, grilled radicchio panzanella salad, clarified rosemary butter,     

dazzling meyer lemon panna cotta
strawberry compote, whipped cream, funnel cake

glorious lavender cotton candy & bewitching bubblegum pate de fruit

a selection of wines from the magnificent tablas creek winery
(rose, patelin blanc, cotes de tablas rouge, esprit de beaucastel rouge)

 

as always, all ingredients are sourced locally and everything is made in house. for those of you who aren't able to attend the dinner, we will be posting plenty of pictures, so stay tuned!

For tickets go to BrownPaperTickets.com, or call 805.995.3669

Cass House 3 Year Anniversary Celebration, May 14th 2011

(Click on the image for a larger view, use arrow keys to scroll up and down)

Click here for tickets and more information, or call us at 805.995.3669

 

 

With the exception of a champagne toast and a couple high-fives among the staff, we have never really celebrated an anniversary at the Cass House. After 3 years of being open I decided it was time, not to mention I have been itching for a fun event to plan. I'm not sure how I first got the idea for the theme in my head, but once I did I couldn't let it go: vintage circus. Everything from the poster design to the costumes to the stories lured me in and, after researching for a couple of days, I have discovered an infinite amount of inspiration:

 

Vintage Circus Posters

I have always loved vintage circus posters, now I am obsessed. The colors, the hand drawn text and illustrations, the exaggerated claims of brilliance. Circus marketing campaigns were incredible, I wish I could travel around the country with Jensen and send someone a day ahead to plaster the town we are visiting with gorgeous illustrations of food to pique interest and pack the house for our (one night only!) restaurant ... For now I think we'll stick to our own backyard.

We decided to hire a local graphic designer (Jeremy Limpic from 805 Collective) to create a poster for our event, and I couldn't be happier with the results. My favorite part is the hand drawn 'Cass House' title (a little nod to the Ringling Brother's).

 

 

 

Circus Costumes & Swanky Accessories

A couple of months ago a woman named Kat Swank asked if she could use our grounds and a couple of our rooms for a photo shoot. We had empty rooms and no one on our grounds so I said "why not?" When she arrived with a pile of gorgeous women, cameras, costumes, and elaborate headpieces I thought "what have I gotten myself into?" They fluttered about for a couple of hours, respectfully taking pictures here and there, and to be honest I was very intrigued but too busy to pay attention. Kat handed me a business card on her way out and that was the last I thought about her, until I started researching accessories for the girls to wear to the circus. I poured over the internet, visited vintage shops and costume stores and still I found nothing to inspire me. Then I decided to clean out my business cards (it was a slow day), and I came across Kat's. I looked up her site and I was blown away, not only were her headbands and accessories gorgeous, they were exactly what I was looking for! She graciously offered to let us borrow a couple of her pieces for the dinner and I can't tell you how excited I am to wear one. Check out her full line up here on etsy.

 

  

 The Circus, 1870-1950 (a book by Taschen)

The internet never ceases to amaze me. I spend far too much time getting lost in the abyss that is the world wide web, however I still prefer a little tangible inspiration, and this book has provided me just that and more.

 

Decor

I have found quite a few vintage circus themed weddings, baby showers, birthday parties and photo shoots on wedding and event design blogs since I began my search. This wedding in particular was just what I had in mind for our event, stylish and classy yet fun and a little wild, it is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to get together with Nikki from Fluid Bloom to start talking flowers (and feathers!).

A Silent Film (put on by Cinema et VIno)

Charlie Chaplin was a true genius, and his film The Circus is one of the best I have seen in a long time. Not only did Chaplin write, produce, direct, and star in the film, he also sang the opening song. It is hilarious, wholesome, sweetly romantic, at times a little sad and above all highly entertaining. I hope that you will all enjoy it as much as I did at our dinner on May 14th!

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." -Charlie Chaplin

  

 

Brunch Update

Here are some pictures to follow up on our first brunch last Sunday, if you missed it you still have time to join us on Easter or Mother's Day from 10:30 to 2:30-

 

Ivory Salmon Gravlax with Caraway Seed Flatbread, Cucumber, and Dill Creme Fraiche

 

Pork Shoulder Hash with Butternut Squash, House Cured Bacon, and Farm Poached Egg

 

Wagyu Steak and Egg

 

Cowgirl Creamery Wagon Wheel Cheese with Meyer Lemon Fennel Jam

 

Mexican Chocolate Beignets with Cocoa Nibs

Meyer Lemon Pound Cakes with Candied Kumquates and Citron Curd (complimentary petite fours)

Spring Sunday Brunch Series

The number one request we have from our customers is for a Sunday brunch, so instead of hosting a themed dinner this month we decided to go with a brunch instead. You can join us for mimosas, wagyu steak and eggs, and mexican chocolate beignets on 3 occasions this year:

First Day of Spring: March 20th
Easter: April 24th
Mother’s Day: May 8th

10:30-2:30
4 courses, 45.00

Download Brunch image

Breakfast and brunch are my favorite meals of the day, so I take them very seriously. We squeeze our own orange and grapefruit juice, we cure our own bacon, we use local farm fresh eggs, our coffee (the most important part of the meal) is delivered to us the same day it is roasted, and everyone will get a taste of our house made cinnamon raisin bread with honey butter and jam, because nothing is better than bread the day it is baked (except bread the day it is baked by Chris McMains served in the morning at the Cass House).

We hope to see you all there!

(Call us at 805.995.3669 if you would like to make a reservation)

That'll do Pig...

 

Alright folks, 50 pounds of freshly smoked bacon this week. Get it quick. After the response we received from our last batch of belly, we decided to source and smoke a bit more this time.  I just fried some up this morning and I can honestly tell you that unless you have a crazy uncle who recently slaughtered a 650 pound Berkshire, has a secret family cure recipe, and is pretty darn savvy with a smoker, you will not taste better bacon. So give us a call, pick up a pound or two, send some to your old man in Oregon and your sister in Alaska, they will thank you I promise.

What to look for in quality bacon:

Look for unsliced if possible. The longer the meat is whole the better the flavor will develop and this will keep the meat from oxidizing.

Uniform smoke lacquering. You want an even golden brown sheen to cover the entire piece of meat. Good color is a sign of proper brining and smoking technique. The color will lighten after packaging, but should still be evident.

Intramuscular fat distribution. You want fat, meat with fat, and meat! Not all fat and not all meat (check out the cut below to see what I'm talking about).

For a lesson in what you don't want and how not to make bacon, pull up "Bacon: How it's made" on You Tube...that ain't bacon.

Our belly came from a sow we sourced from Templeton. It was raised on natural feed, compost, and whey. Our methods are basic, but concise: sourcing is the utmost priority, house recipe brine, applewood/alder smoke, rest period to develop flavor, package. That's all. 

 

We will be packing the belly in one pound increments, unsliced, but if you prefer we can hand slice it for you at your desired thickness (as long as your desired thickness is thick).

 

The above picture is smoked loin from our pig raised on the Rinconada Dairy property by our friends Christine and Jim Maguire, hands down the best canadian bacon I've ever tried.

 

The Cass House Charcutier Chris McMains and I look forward to seeing you all and are proud to be your local source for artisan bacon and cured meats. Come in for dinner sometime and check out the rest of our products on our Charcutiers board like the Cotechino, Lardo, Porcetta di Testa, Mortadella, Guanciale, Culatello, or local Black Cod Brandade. All of our cured products are made in house and I personally source from local ranchers who I know and respect.  Hope to see you all again soon.

-Jensen 

$12 per pound, call 805.995.3669 to place your order, all orders must be picked up at the Cass House, we will deliver 5 pounds or more (ask for details).

Want to be the coolest kid at the party and unload a two pound Pate Grandmere on your winetasting guests? If you are interested in any of our other products, or would like to place a custom order, call or email us. 

Coppa from our pig, Mishima ranch Bresaola, Spanish Chorizo, and Hearst Ranch Bresaola.

Seaside Gingerbread House Contest

We had a great turnout for the gingerbread house contest, 150 people voted! The winner was Melody from the On the Beach hotel, our dinner for two raffle winner was Darlene Kelly from Cayucos. Next year we hope that you will all join in and enter your gingerbread houses, if you have any ideas for a creative theme let us know!

 

4th Place: A tug boat trailing a Christmas tree in a sea of blue fondant

 

3rd Place: A beach cottage with Mr. and Mrs. Snowman, a whale, surfboards, and a bonfire

 

 

2nd Place: A tasty Schooner's replica with a view of the Cayucos pier

 

 

1st Place: Santa stranded on a tropical island in his igloo home

Fall Harvest Dinner