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April 2008

Local Restaurants Continuing Restaurant Week...

After the success of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, many restaurants have decided to continue to offer special prix fixe menus through the Spring. Sentrista Grille, in Brewster, is offering a special three-course menu Sunday through Thursday, with menus changing weekly. At Harvest-on-Hudson, in Hastings-on-Hudson, the Restaurant Week menu was so popular that they've decided to continue to offer it through May 1st.

Believe it or not, we're already laying the groundwork for Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2009. Restaurants interested in signing up early should contact Anne Dailey at 845.561.2022.  And diners, we'll keep you up to date on which restaurants have signed up! Watch for this newsletter and check back soon on our website - www.hudsonvalleyrestaurantweek.com.

Which restaurants would you like to see participate in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week?  let us know! Email anned@valleytable.com with your suggestions.

Events Around the Valley

April 19 & 20 - Pasta Primo-Vino!
Shawangunk Wine Trail, New Paltz
Celebrate Spring with a tour of local wineries as they pair their wines with delicious pasta recipes.  Some of the wineries will have new releases to taste as well. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, $10 for designated drivers.  Check out www.shawangunkwinetrail.com for more information.

April 22 - Earth Day Dinner
Gigi Market, 227 Pitcher Lane, Red Hook
In the spirit of Earth Day, Gigi Market is hosting a special family-style dinner to celebrate local farmers and local foods. Dishes will include Rotisserie Tuscan Style Berkshire Pork, A Vegetable Tart with Gigi Ricotta and Lacinato Kale, Wiltbank Farm Mushroom Salad with Spring Garlic and Shaved Pecorino, Gigi's Tiramisu, and much more.  6:30pm. $45 per person, not including tax, gratuity and additional beverages (A sparkling currant cocktail (non-alcoholic) will be provided). For reservations, call Derek Lauk at 845-758-8702.

April 26 - Mid Valley Wine & Liquor Spring Grand Tasting
Mid Valley Wine & Liquor, 39 North Plank Road, Newburgh 
Taste over 50 wines from around the world at Mid Valley's Spring Grand Tasting.  All wines poured will be on sale at discounts of 12-25%.  A Mid Valley Customer Card (available free, at the store) is required. 1-6 pm. For more information, call (845) 562-1070, or check out www.midvalleywine.com

April 26 & 27 - Tap New York Brew Festival
Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl, Hunter
A festival of regional gourmet foods and 90New York craft beers.  Local gourmet food will be served. Tickets: $54 for Saturday, $44 for Sunday, $20 for designated drivers. For more information, call (800) 486-8376, or check out www.tapnewyork.com

May 18 - A Taste of Greater Newburgh
Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh
Join the 23 restaurants, wine shops and other vendors participating in the first Taste of Greater Newburgh, for "an extraordinatry assortment of local culinary indulgences".  Sample great food and wine, and help support the scholarship fund of The Newburgh Rotary. Admission $30 per person; advanced tickets are required. 12:30-3:30pm.  For tickets, call (845) 561-1706.

The main growing season won't start for another month or so, but you can get an early taste of Spring at several area farms and markets.

This past weekend at the Beacon Farmers Market, Spring was in full bloom. Madura Farms had a spread that included portbello & oyster mushrooms, arugula, kale, spinach, and several kinds of sprouts.  Market Manager Simone Williams had fresh eggs from Fingar Farms, Pastured lamb, assorted artisan breads, rolls & bialys from Rock N Roll Bakery and a beautiful selection of Sprout Creek Farm Cheeses.  Adair Vineyards was on hand to help round out the shopping experience with a nice bottle of wine. The Beacon Farmers Market is located in the Sloop Clubhouse on the river side of the Beacon Train Station.  Saturdays, 10-4, moving to Sundays in May. 

Other Farm Markets to check out include: 

Blooming Hill Farm: 1251 Rt. 208, Blooming Grove, NY.  Saturdays 10-2, Opening Sundays after May 11.

Rogowski Farm: 327-329 Glenwood Road, Pine Island. Friday-Sunday 9am-5pm.

NOTE:  By the end of the month, we could be seeing our first ramps, a wild plant in the alium (onion) family that is available for only a few weeks each year.  If you're anything like us, you probably buy them by the bunch and eat them like candy for those 3-4 weeks when they're in season. Ramps sell out fast (at Blooming Hill Farm there's a per person quota), so we'll send out a special notice when we spot the first ramps at area markets. 

Have a favorite recipe or tip for preparing ramps?  Share it with us!  We'll include some suggestions in the next e-newsletter.  Email anned@valleytable.com. In the meantime, check out the recipe at the end of this newspaper - a Ramp & Goat Cheese Tart by Locust Tree Chef Barbara Bogart that ran in the March issue of The Valley Table.  You can find other ramp recipes, and read the article Spring's Ephemeral Treasures on our website:  www.valleytable.com.

Wine Shops on the Web

Two local wineshops have launched new interactive websites, making it that much easier, and fun, for consumers to learn about wine.

Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits' new site offers podcasts, food pairing notes, a new Wines of the Month Club, a comprehensive dictionary of wine terminology, and dozens of cocktail recipes, including exotic drinks like a Tangerine-ginger Caipirinha, and classic drinks like a Manhattan, Negroni, or Mint Julep.

The site of Mid Valley Wine & Liquor, contains updated details on weekly tasting events, links to their wine consultants, selected staff favorites, featured wines of the month (on sale), and much more. 

Of course, websites can't compare to the real thing, so be sure to stop in and check out the selection firsthand.

http://www.stoneridgewineandspirits.com/ 

http://www.midvalleywine.com/ 

Mohonk Mountain House Midweek Meal & Massage
Through May 31, 2008*
 
Mohonk Mountain House invites you to indulge in a relaxing midweek retreat on the mountaintop combining a massage (or facial!) and meal.  Choose a 50-minute massage or a 50-minute facial from a remarkable menu of services.  Along with your treatment, enjoy a bountiful breakfast or lunch buffet with Meal & Massage package rates beginning at $165 per person.  Package rates begin at $185 when dinner is included.
 
*Subject to availability. Breakfast or Lunch: Monday through Friday.  Dinner: Sunday through Thursday.  Other restrictions may apply. Each treatment includes use of steam, sauna, and outdoor heated mineral pool.  All rates include taxes and gratuity. Rates are subject to change without notice. 

For reservations, please call The Spa at Mohonk Mountain House at (845) 256-2751

Food Politics on The Big Screen

Two documentaries with a focus on farming and sustainability (or lack thereof) hit the theaters last year, and both are available for viewing locally this month.

King Corn follows two college graduates who, upon having their hair tested and discovering that their bodies are composed of over 50% corn, decide to find out where their food really comes from.  Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney buy an acre of corn in Iowa and trace it from seed to cornstalk, and into the food stream (read corn syrup-laden soda and grainfed beef).  This compelling film about "the subsidized crop that feeds our fast food nation" will make you think twice about what you put on your dinner plate and where it might have come from. The documentary airs on PBS' "Independent Lens"on April 15th.   For more information on the broadcast, click here.

April 26, 7:30pm.

Common Ground Farm is sponsoring a showing of The Real Dirt on Farmer John.  This "epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer" will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for sustainable farming.  As the website proclaims, "The Real Dirt on Farmer John will turn every idea you ever had about what it means to be an American farmer, or an American dreamer, on its head."  Read more about this inspiring movie here.

Following the film, there will be a panel discussion with several local farmers and Valley Table Staff Writer Anne Dailey.

Steven Kolpan on WAMC

Valley Table contributing editor Steven Kolpan was recently featured on  WAMC's The Roundtable, in a special edition broadcast from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where Kolpan is a Professor of Wine Studies. Kolpan conducted a blind tasting of three Chardonnays (including Millbrook Vineyards Chardonnay) and three Merlots.  To listen to a podcast and find out which wines were winners, follow this link.  Kolpan has written our By the Glass column since the magazine's inception.  To read the latest column, "Meritage Heritage", check out www.valleytable.com

Wild Ramp and Goat Cheese Tart
Chef Barbara Bogart, Locust Tree Restaurant
Valley Table Issue 40

Tart Crust Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), cut into cubes
1/2 cup pink peppercorns, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 cup cold water
9 to 10-inch tart pan

Method
1. Mix together the dry ingredients, then cut the butter into the mixture. (You can use a food processor and pulse the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles sand.)
2. Slowly add the water to the dough until it just comes together.
3. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface until about 1/8 inch thick.
5. Grease your tart pan and lay the dough into the pan, pressing down to cover the inside.
6. Chill 15 minutes.

Filling Ingredients
1 pound ramps
2 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
pinch of salt, black pepper
1 11-ounce log of fresh goat cheese

Method
1. Wash the whole ramps, cut off the root tip, toss with a bit of oil and grill until lightly charred, about 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Remove from the grill and cut into large pieces, including tops and bottoms, mixing whites and greens together.
3. In a bowl mix together the eggs, cream and seasonings.

Tart assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Spread the ramp mixture on the bottom of the prepared tart crust, pour the egg mixture over the ramps, and crumble the goat cheese on top.
2. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Serve the tart warm.

This Newsletter is brought to you by The Valley Table, The Magazine of Hudson Valley Farms, Food and Cuisine.  Pick up the latest issue of The Valley Table at a restaurant, wine shop, or gourmet food store near you. 

Need a foodie fix right now? At www.valleytable.com, you can  find a CSA or farm market, check out events, read feature stories, search our extensive recipe archives and much more.