BENEFIT FOR SAUGERTIES FARMERS MARKET

 Harvest Home Dinner Menu

October 2022

Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Shrimp Vinaigrette

Fried Oysters with Remoulade Sauce

Pumpkin Gratin with Leeks and Brie

Puff Pastry Garnish

Crispy Salad of Belgian Endive & Radicchio

with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Poulet au Vinaigre with Red Wine Vinegar,

Capers, and Dijon Mustard

Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts  with Pancetta

Wild Rice Medley with Butter

Wine-poached Pears stuffed with

whipped cream and Mascarpone, Chocolate drizzle,

fresh mint

Pistachio Financier

WOODSTOCK DINNER PARTY

Here is the menu and a few photos, mostly of the preparation, of a dinner party in December 2016 at a rented house in Woodstock. The client was celebrating ten years of their lives together and invited friends to join them for the New Year's weekend. Everything was served in casseroles buffet style except the dessert which was plated.

Thank you sooooo much for making our celebration so special!!!! You Rock!!! xoxo....  from CL

Dinner Menu

December 30, 2016

Me at the stove and my assistant and server working away. 

Pre-dinner

Hot Artichoke &; Dill Dip

with crudités, breadsticks

Red Pepper Tapenade

with crostini

Dinner

Meat:

·      Prime Rib Roast

·      Horseradish Sauce

·      Roasted Chicken with BBQ sauce

The dishes staged but not yet ready to be presented.

Explaining what the various dishes are at the time they are served.

·      Sweet Potatoes with ginger, maple syrup & pecans

·      Macaroni & Four or more cheeses

·      Assorted Roasted Vegetables

with roasted garlic & crispy leeks

·      Roasted Beets with goat cheese & walnuts

·      Upside-down Onion Cornbread

Assorted Breads

Vegetarian:

·      Braised Eggplant: Imam Bayaldi

·      Stuffed Zucchini with couscous, pine nuts & raisins

The roasted potatoes and vegetables ready to return to the oven.

Dessert

·      Poached Bosc Pears stuffed with mascarpone

& drizzled with chocolate

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Pear Dessert

Here is the recipe for the BBQ Sauce that was used on the chicken:

½ onion

6 ounces orange juice

10 roasted garlic cloves

juice 1 lime

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon chile powder

1 tablespoon Tamarind paste

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ up maple syrup

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/8-1/4 cup bourbon

In a blender combine the onion and orange juice and puree. Stir well and pour into a saucepan then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring it to a boil and simmer gently for about 25 minutes until it is slightly thickened and reduced. Stir occasionally. Let cool.

NOVEMBER DINNER PARTY

This past weekend I presented a dinner party for a lovely group of friends, one of whom was going to be married soon. It was a bachelorette party.  The intended's photograph was on the refrigerator door. If one was to judge by pulchritude alone, they both scored high. I wish them all the best.

As for the dinner, after a brief discussion with Esther, who wanted local and organic foods as much as possible, and a light starter and dessert, I decided on what I call a Modern Classic for the entree, the likeable Chicken Marbella.

I always request my clients to have a chat with me on the phone. I need to speak with them to get a sense of what might be the right menu. It might sound silly and mystical but I get an intuitive feeling for the basics. The numerous garnishes come later.

Most often people send me an email that asks about cost alone. This give me very little to go by. Like where, how many people, what type of food, how many courses, and so on. I can't give anyone a price or an estimate until I know all those things at a minimum. And I need to hear their voice. I really only want to cook for people I like. It's what makes the food good.

So that said I'd like to share with you the menu for this particular dinner and a couple of photos. It's very rare, in the midst of cooking and plating that I even remember to take any photos so that is why there are so few on this blog.

Here is the menu:

  

Autumn Salad Greens with pecans, grapes, persimmons

Rusty Plough Farm, Ellenville, NY

Ginger or Citrus Vinaigrette

Breads

Bread Alone, Woodstock, NY

Chicken Marbella with prunes, capers, olives

Creamy Polenta

Butternut Squash Ribbons with garlic & thyme

crispy Brussels Sprouts with balsamic

Fried Leeks garnish

Free Bird Farm, Palentive Bridge, NY

Maynard Farms, Ulster Farms, NY

Wild Hive Community Grain Project, Clinton Corners, NY

Chickens : campenelli’s poultry farm, kenora lake, ny

Milk & cream : ronnybrook farm, amcramdale, ny

Pears poached in white wine, vanilla & cinnamon

Stuffed with Mascarpone,

coated with semi-sweet Chocolate ganache, mint

Homemade langue du chat cookie

Maynard Farms

Assorted Cheeses

Toussaint - Sprout Creek Farm, Poughkeepsie, NY

Chevre - Acorn Hill Farm, Walker Valley, NY

Red Beard - Chaseholm Farm, Pine Plains, NY

Concord Grapes - Tousey Farm, Clermont, NY

Autumn Salad

Chicken on a bed of creamy polenta, butternut squash ribbons,
crispy Brussels sprouts, topped with crispy leeks

Stuffed Poached Pear with Chocolate Sauce

the party

Me in the kitchen

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