"The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day." —Robert Frost
Hello! We finally have some really nice spring weather, but of course it seems to snow as soon as my peach tree blossoms every year, so, let's just plan for that. The bees are lively and happy, we did lose one hive over the winter but we still have four going pretty strong. In about ten days I will do a deeper inspection to see how many babies are brewing, clear out debris, clean excess wax off but from my initial inspection on April 1st, things are great.
Thank you for all the compliments from Easter, everyone seemed to have a great time-- even the poor young lady who I spilled a drink on. She was so gracious and kind and I really appreciate her and all of you.
Thank you for all who attended Adrian Bolders' meeting last week to discuss the timeline for the closing of the dining rooms. Just a quick recap, we are closing the dining room and bar completely on May the 7th. Just five days later it is Mother's Day, but we are not going to let that stand in the way of a great time. Stay tuned for details but I think that our summer dining will be as much fun as ever and will be a welcome chance to change up our environment as we get ready for the awesome new venues that we will have at the end of August. Expect a huge change in the Hive Market during this time as we adapt and change with our environment.
The Appetizer this week is Baked Brie wrapped in Puff Pastry. We serve this with raspberry sauce and toast. The cheese of the week is one of my Favorites- Sage Derby. I've written about this one before but just picture a marbled white and pale green cheese tasting like Cheddar but with a more herbaceous finish. It would be great with a boldly-flavored beer like our house brewed IPA called "The Bitter End".
Now what is an IPA? Well, back in the days of the British Empire, a ship bound from England to India took about six months and crossed the equator twice on the way. The troops and colonists were very thirsty for good, brewed beer amongst other comforts of home but the barrels of brown ale arrived in pretty poor shape. Now hops have been added to beer at this point for several hundred years as a bittering agent but of course it was noticed that it also extended the life of the brew as a preservative. English brewers got the idea of brewing a lighter colored beer, a bit higher in alcohol and then adding freshly- dried hops to the barrels of finished beer before shipping them off. The result was a flavorful brew that was at the same time considerably more bitter than most other beers but still fresh-tasting. The colonists and soldiers in India didn't care about the bitterness much and developed a taste for this type of beer-- which became known as an India Pale Ale, later known as IPA. Our version is not quite as hoppy or boozy as those fabled brews but does still have a good strong hop flavor that I think you will enjoy. It will be in the Hive Market on Sunday and available next week in the Bar.
Try the Pan-Seared Halibut with Fresh Mango Salsa, we are serving it with roasted asparagus and a purée of roasted beets. Halibut is a great fish both for nutrition and flavor and we are once again getting it fresh. I think this one will go great with an aromatic white wine like Gewurztraminer.
The house-made Country Fried Steak is (of course) beef tenderloin, I think it will be delicious, and yes I did ask the kitchen not to pound it so thin.
The Mediterranean Chicken this week sounds good and healthy. It is a seared breast of chicken simmered in sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives and capers. Sounds like a good time for a good California Chardonnay.
There is a Hawaiian Shrimp Poke bowl this week. Poke (pronounced POH-keh) means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian referring to cubes of marinated seafood tossed over rice and topped with Asian-inspired sauces. Ours also has avocado, carrots, beans and is topped with Sriracha Mayonnaise.
Speaking of shrimp, check out the Shrimp Fra Diavolo this week. No, I promise you shrimp wasn't on sale, we had a resident request this one last-minute and we decided it was ok to have two shrimp dishes. Fra Diavolo means "The Devil's Brother" in Portuguese, and should give you a clue about the flavor. Think of a sauce made from tomatoes and wine, seasoned liberally with crushed pepper and served over pappardelle pasta. Yes it will be a bit spicy, but if you aren't sure ask for a sample of the sauce and we will be happy to bring it out. Your best bet here might be Riesling or a very cold beer.
Also Check out the Carved Bison Strip Loin, Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Blackened Mahi, Beef Wellington, or Pork Osso Bucco at Dinner.
At Lunch try the Burger topped with a Fried Egg, Asada Tacos, Chicken à la King or Lobster Mac and Cheese.
I hope you will all attend the Culinary Corner on Monday at 10 am in the Dad Clark Bar, soon we will need to find a new location, I will ask Angie for a good spot.
