Hello! Hope your week is going great!
On Friday we welcome our New Residents with two events and all are invited. First at 3:30 pm in the Centennial Room we will be having a cocktail party with Italian Themed Hors d'Ouvres , Chianti and Pinot Grigio for all. At 4:30 the party moves upstairs and we are having a full Italian Buffet with a live pasta station and plenty of delicious offerings. I hope you come and join us for one or both of these events and I know it will be a great time. Special thanks to Susan Jackson and Judy Kautz for helping to organize this event.
In the Hive Market this week, Come and try the Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice that Josh and all the crew have been making for us daily. I have to tell you it is really really good, and worth the time spent squeezing. While you're there, check out the Meatloaf with Mushroom gravy. No fancy ingredients, probably not too different from your own recipe. There is a nice Salmon and Quinoa bowl, a Muffuletta sandwich by request, Creamy Tuscan Chicken and for the first time in a while we are serving an American classic;
Brunswick Stew. Now this stew is a very old Recipe from Germany, or Virginia or Georgia , depending on who you ask. In Her 1942 book Cross Creek Cookery Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings says that the stew's origins are German and that the dish hails from the Duchy of Brunswick-Luneberg. I hate to dispute the great food author from my own neck of the woods, but in Virginia they think that this is preposterous, and claim that the dish was created in 1828 by a cook named Jimmy Mathews on a hunting trip in Brunswick County. Georgia vociferously claims to not only have invented the stew but to still have the original pot it was cooked in. The problem is that there are two different pots honored in that state as being the first and there is no record of it before 1898. My feeling is that if Georgia can't get their story straight I am going with Virginia's claim. I hope this does not cause controversy here. Originally this stew of tomatoes, corn, and lima beans contained squirrel and rabbit but I think we will go with chicken instead.
In the Mt Rosa Dining room, check out the Zucchini and Avocado griddle cake. Jesus made this for me last week and I knew it just had to be on the menu. Zucchini is shredded and mixed with egg and a little flour, then cooked on the griddle like a pancake. while still hot it is folded around sliced avocado-sort of like a mini taco and served with lime wedges and cilantro. Seriously, this is really tasty.
The cheese is an Bourbon Cheddar that is from our friends at Beehive cheese in Utah, and I love the name-"Pour me a slice". It's really nice, made with Basil Hayden whiskey and we are serving it with sliced apples. Obviously bourbon would be great with this but if that's not your thing try the Maui Sauvignon blanc.
At Dinner, try the Pan Seared Chilean Seabass with picatta sauce, mashed cauliflower and Roasted sweet peppers. Now, this fish always makes me feel guilty because it is so good but had been overfished for so long. Now almost all Sea Bass is certified as sustainably harvested and I can feel better. More and more, we are taking a stand on the ethical harvesting of our seafood and hopefully soon we will be able to state with confidence that we will only serve approved seafoods.
Try the Grilled Ribeye Steak, with Red wine sauce, Hassleback potatoes and buttered peas. Not complicated and would be great with a glass of Josh Cabernet.
The Margherita Chicken sounds really nice. Basically this is chicken breast topped with cheese and fresh tomatoes, drizzled with pesto and served over Gnocchi thathas ebeen tossed with Butter and cheese. Yes, I know we are mixing Italian regional cuisines here but I think it will be delicious and I hope you try the Pinot Grigio with it.
As a light special try the Charred Sweet Potato topped with pear-thyme chutney. We are serving roasted Asparagus and a roasted lobster and corn salad on the side. If you've never had Lobster and sweet potato together, I think you will really like the combination.
The Pasta This week is Sockeye Salmon served with Delicata Squash and Kale over Fettuccini with a nice creamy sun dried tomato sauce. Sockeye is of five varieties of Pacific Salmon. Also Called Red salmon, they are sustainably harvested-depending on the source. Ours comes from our partners at Seattle Fish and is sustainably harvested. The flavor is much like the Atlantic Salmon we regularly serve but the texture is finer and more delicate.
For specials try Honey Garlic Sliced pork, the seared Trout, Chicken Fra Diavolo, Jumbo Shrimp, Pork ribs and Broiled Halibut.
At lunch try the Denver Steak, Midwest Booya Stew, Shrimp Quesadilla, Pulled pork or even the Bone in Braised Short ribs that I have been looking forward to.
Keep in mind we are just about a week away from the first Food and Beverage Forum on January 29, followed the next day by the Sip and Savor event that week. More details to come.
