Where's the beef?

If you know Main Course, you probably know that we're pretty particular about where our food comes from(local is best), what it has been through before making its way to our plate, and how long that journey took (the shorter the better). So, you might wonder, where does our beef come from?

We get our beef - for our burgers, our steaks, and even our delicious braised short ribs - from Watkins Ranch in Ojai. Owned by John Watkins and his son Shane, this unique little farm produces truly grass fed beef. To be more specific, they are happy cows that roam on land in Piru, Cuyama, and even a bit in Oak View. Since they aren't fed grains or corn, this beef has a different flavor. And this flavor is improved as the beef is aged for 22-23 days before being cut and packaged to be sent out. Some say its a little "gamier" than grain fed beef...we like to say it tastes a hundred times better.

At Watkins Ranch, the herd is still small (only about 56 head we are told). Right now their beef is available at Main Course California, the Ojai Farmers Market, and the Ventura Wednesday Farmers Market.

Stop into our bistro for lunch and try our Watkins Ranch burger - local, grass fed beef full of fresh herbs and seasonings and layered with fresh local lettuce, tomato, homemade pickles and our red onion marmalade.

Pappa al Pomodoro

If you haven't had a chance to attend one of our cooking classes yet, you may not know that in addition to being a great chef, Rachel is also quite the dynamic teacher. Check her out at our most recent class, Italian Al Fresco, preparing this delicious tomato soup. Rachel first had it in a small restaurant beneath a little hotel in Sienna, and it blew her mind! It is intensely flavored, yet so incredibly simple; and a great way to use all your garden-grown tomatoes and basil.


Serves 8

About 1 1/2 pounds ripe cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
A large bunches of basil, picked and stems finely chopped - separated
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
38 oz good quality plum tomatoes
About 1 pounds good quality stale bread
The best extra virgin olive oil you can find (we’re using Ojai Olive Oil)
8 eggs

1. Prick the cherry tomatoes and toss them with two of the sliced clove of garlic and a quarter of the basil leaves. Drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with salt and pepper, put them in a roasting pan, and cook at 3500F for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Heat a couple table spoons of oil in a pot, and add the remaining garlic and the basil stems. Stir gently and fry for a moment until softened. Add the canned tomatoes, then fill the cans with water and add that. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Tear the bread up into thumb sized pieces, and add them to the pan. Mix well and season to taste. Tear the basil leaves and let the soup sit over low heat for about 10-15 minutes. By this time, the roasted tomatoes will be done. Pour the tomatoes and all the juice from the pan into the soup. Add about 6 tablespoons of olive oil, and stir.

4. In another skillet, heat a little more olive oil over medium heat. Add the eggs, cooking 3 or 4 at a time, until they are just over easy – the whites will be set, and the yolk should be runny. Cook the rest of the eggs while you plate the soup. Place an egg in each bowl, and ladle a bit of soup on top. Garnish with basil and another drizzle of olive oil. Repeat with the remaining eggs, and serve.

Moroccan Dinner Menu

When it comes to our catering, we can create a custom menu to fit any theme or budget - whether you want a buffet of light bites, or a high class sit down dinner. Thinking Thai or tri-tip, fried chicken or Sushi? We're your caterer. And while we sure do love our local and organic produce, we do step out of the box and get a little wild and crazy sometimes. Take, for example, this Moroccan themed dinner we did for a client in Montecito in February:

Appetizers

Falafel with Tahini

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Mini B’stilla

“Pigeon Pie” with Cinnamon, Powdered Sugar & Phyllo Dough

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Platter of Dates & Manchego Cheese

Specialty Cocktails

Cinnamon Sangria

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Moroccan Mint Tea

Entrée

Chicken Tagine

Lamb Tagine

With Figs, onions, Carrots & Potatoes

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Carrot “Labna” with Homemade Pita & Hummus

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Seven Vegetable Cous Cous

Dessert

Turkish Coffee with Vodka & Cane Sugar

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Ricotta-Orange cake with Preserved Oranges

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Rosewater Milk Chocolate Cake Truffles

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Honey Ice Cream.

We're helping bring the farm to the table

Main Course is taking part in the Ojai Farm to Table Tour from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 17th. Participants get to visit three local farms and indulge in a a local-foods lunch prepared by six area chefs, including our very own Rachel Main!

Here's a sneak peek at what some of the chefs are mixing up:

• Rachel Main: salad of beets, citrus and walnuts.
• Carrie Clough: carrot and mixed bean salad with dill, toasted almonds and crispy shallots.
• Susan Coulter: curried vegetables with forbidden rice.
• Tim Kilcoyne: thai beef salad.
• Caspar Poyck: quinoa polenta pot pie.
• Jeri Oshima: citrus olive oil cake

The event is a fundraiser in conjunction with the Ojai Music Festival. Guests will visit Earthtrine Farm, Ojai Olive Oil and Friend’s Ranch. The deadline to purchase tickets for the event is April 10. Tickets for the tour and lunch are $60 per person. Call 646-2094, ext. 100.

Locavore Dinner

So, you've probably figured it out by now, but we're really into local food. We think it tastes better, that its better for our bodies, and we like to support our local farmers. And our friends, Kris and Joanne Young of Ojai couldn't agree more. They are the leaders of a cool project called Locavore Lite 2010, where they are calling upon all of us in the Ventura area and beyond to eat more local food this year, grow more food in our backyards, and support our local farmers markets.
So, because we're so excited about what they're doing, we're hosting a completely local dinner at our bistro on April 8th at 6pm. Here's a peek at the menu. Note: each course will be paired with a perfectly delicious wine from Ventura's own "backyard."

Goat cheese, pistachio and tangerine salad with local
greens and a citrus ginger vinaigrette

Grilled Watkins Ranch steak with glazed baby carrots
and roasted beets, shaved radish, and arugula pesto

Avocado semifreddo with roasted strawberries,
walnut tuille, and lime coulis

To further inspire your tastebuds or to get more info, here's the complete menu.

Rachel talks about what makes our product different

Well, our commitment to keeping our food clean is a huge one. Our food is local; I’ve got it coming from an organic farm in Oxnard, an organic rancher in Arroyo Grande, a local lettuce farmer in Carpinteria, and an organic tomato farmer in Santa Paula. We have healthy, free range chickens instead of unhealthy birds that never got to walk around before they were force fed and slaughtered.

We have two owners – Robert and I – who not only are insistent on making a profitable business (and thus create jobs) out of a good, humane idea – to serve healthy food that actually tastes fabulous – but the vision itself is amazing. Think about it: you are what you eat. We take care to make our food delicious, and we are mindful of who raised it and how it was raised. Not only that, we care how it was stored, processed, and how it is treated once it is in our care. Yes, our care.

So, we care. That is the difference.

I was doing some ordering, and I thought I’d share some food costs with you real quick:

Ground Beef:

Feed Lot Corn Fed (cows are allergic to corn. That is why they get fat….and why we get fat when eating them) goes for $2.63 per pound

Our local organic ground beef $4.39

Chicken Breasts:

Tyson cage-raised Chicken Breasts $2.06 per pound

Petaluma Free Range Chicken Breasts $4.49 per pound

So, when people ask what makes our products different, why our food tastes so good, or why I am absolutely insistent that we treat our food with reverence, respect, and integrity, this is why: Everyone else did on it’s way to us. We are creating what our customers will purchase and use to fuel and heal and support their bodies, and it is our hard-earned and well-invested money that is purchasing these amazing products. It’s a business based on HEALTH CARE.

And when you really think about it, it is no more expensive " that burger " you can buy at McDonnalds or Hamburger Habit or In n Out…..you’re going to pay for it one way or another – one day or another.

Enjoy, Rachel

The subject of healthy,green, socially active, local comes up quite a bit in today's press. Bottom line is that Rachel and I are making every effort in staying true to all of the previously mentioned concepts. But what does this mean? How does it manifest in the real world?

One of the most important aspects of trying to serve local organic grass fed beef and free range chicken is their cost. For instance; the price for regular industrial chicken breast is around $2.40 per pound. It is this chicken or worse and cheaper that most fast food chains use for their product. Main Course California pays ca. $4.49 for free range chicken. Yet our final price for a grilled chicken sandwich is not more expensive than you would pay at any fast food place that uses a qualitatively inferior product.

In other words; we take a pay cut so that our clients may enjoy the much better tasting free range chicken and that they do not have to subject their bodies to all the hormones that are found in regular meats. Rachel and I take pride in the fact that not only are the meats we use better and healthier but that they are actually local. This means that most of our produce does not have a high carbon foot print and we support our community in buying only their produce. In my opinion "talking the talk" is just not enough.

We need to prove that we practice what we preach. In many ways our concept is still new and the numbers do reflect that our community still needs time to catch on to the fact that we are actually providing a better product at a better price. All we can do is to encourage everyone who considers themselves a part of this new way of looking at the world to continue supporting us. Bottom line is that we do appreciate your support and we need the volume in order to continue to be able to produce the kind of products that make a difference. So, next time you go to a restaurant or buy meat from a supermarket chain ask yourself or whoever works there; where does this product come from and what is in it?

For example; we guarantee that there's only 1st quality meat from animals that were healthy and hormone free in our hamburgers. This is not the answer you will get anywhere you go. And if you do I encourage you to dig a little deeper. You will be surprised at the results....