Flavors 518

I was lucky enough to receive a gift certificate to Belhurst Castle in Geneva, NY from my in-laws as a birthday gift! We stayed in the Chambers in the Castle , in which each of the rooms is unique and charming. We stayed in the Garrett Room, which was the only one vacant and not the most luxurious, but still great. It is a completely relaxing place with a really fascinating history. We're talking architectural beauty, pure class, insanity, gambling, and finally tourism and incredible hospitality. Scroll down here for the history - its a great read. There are complimentary chocolate castles, a wine spigot that spits out unlimited red wine free with your room (!), free slippers, a super comfortable bed, and incredible lake views. There's also something about lake front air that has a really fresh taste to it. There's also a great lounge, Stonecutter's , and fabulous restaurant, Edgar's . Oh they also have a spa and sell and offer tastings of their own wine. What more...

I've long wanted to have a fancy brunch party. We've got a lot of cookbooks, and I read about things that sounds fabulous and laborious like stratas, frittatas, and quiches. Are you really going to wake up on the weekend and start rolling out a pie crust? No, no you are not. I have made in the past mushroom ricotta crepes , cinnamon buns with buttermilk icing , and the first thing I ever cooked on my own from scratch was a goat cheese and leek quiche . Well, we all know the best thing to motivate you to cook fancy things is to invite other people over, and what is more fun than a fancy brunch? Here's someone who likes the idea as much as I do . Martha Stewart also has some ideas , and I love them all. My friend Katie and her boyfriend came over, and I set up a spread of things that could easily be made ahead of time. I don't think having people over for brunch would work as well if you were off flipping pancakes and folding omelets while your friend is talking abou...

My friend Elizabeth said twice on Sunday "if you want to be a food blogger then you have to try Jake Moon at least once." It is a ways out from Albany on the way to Thatcher Park. It is a "destination eatery in the Heldebergs" according to their website. For me, this past weekend was really feeling like the end of summer. We were going to head back out to the Finger Lakes for a special event at the vineyard where we joined the wine club in July (it is Damiani and their reds are fabulous), but thunderstorm warnings caused us to change our plans. I started to realize that my wanting to go back to the Finger Lakes was me wanting to revisit summer vacation just a bit more, and with bad weather it wouldn't have been the same at all. So we stayed back, and when we picked up my friend Elizabeth and her fellow for brunch she was dressed like summer was already over (very sharp looking in tights and boots). I, on the other hand, kept the last pretend bit of summe...

 The crack staff at the Capital Region Dining Blog are big fans of The Hungry Fish , Chef Sarah Fish's locavore diner.   So we were pleased to see that they were moving to a slightly more convenient location (for us) in Troy.   We were able to visit this weekend, and can happily report that it's as good as ever.   The new room retains its offbeat charm, although the store portion is a little smaller.    The food remains both terrific and a good value.  I had the breakfast BLT: Very good homemade bread, high-quality bacon, fresh tomato, farm fresh egg -- how can you go wrong?   The home fries were very good too, with crisp exteriors. I'm not, in all candor, a big fan of the homemade ketchup -- it's better than most, but I'm more or less part of the foodie backlash that sees it as better in theory than in practice.  That quibble aside, it's a perfect brunch sandwich.  Ms. Garlic had the Croque Madame: ...

 What a nice weekend! There was beautiful weather. There's Wachusett Summer , and the crazies are on Bridezillas. Also - "Mad Men" finale (What?!).  First off, I decided to take advantage of the skills I learned at my ravioli class . I sauteed some shallots and added mushrooms. Then, I mixed in some salt and pepper, chives, ricotta, a little bit Adams Reserve cheddar and a couple of eggs.  I spotted some Hodgson Mill pasta flour on Friday afternoon, and when I made that into ravioli it really created a different texture than just using regular flour. I think half semolina and half regular flour might give the best texture though. I'll have to do some experimenting. The pasta was great. It felt like a very fancy dinner. Problem was, I totally overestimated the amount of filling I would need, and ended up with a whole big bowl of mushroom filling. I woke up the next day not wanting it to go to waste. I tried my hand at making crepes from the Silver Spoon...