Friday, July 16, 2010

It’s hard to believe that it’s already the middle of July as I’m sitting here writing this. Already in the middle of summer and I’ve yet to post about everything that’s going on at the restaurant!

So what have I been up to since February? Lots of planning to create lots of fun for you!

First I’ll mention our newest dinner series, which I’m sure some of you are already familiar with – the Hudson Valley Farm & New York State Beer Dinner series! We’ve done wine pairing dinners and other similar events in the past… but for me this dinner series is especially exciting because it focuses on LOCAL ingredients. Local products to create a delicious menu paired with only the best of New York State Craft beers by the Bev Man himself, Chris Carbone. The inaugural dinner planned for July 22 sold out within a few days, but not to worry, an August dinner is in the works. The July dinner is featuring a lot of great farmers who we work with on a regular basis – Migliorelli Farms (http://www.migliorelli.com/) will provide many of the vegetables or fruits, including peaches, arugula, squash blossoms and cherries; Old Chatham Sheep Herding Company (http://www.blacksheepcheese.com/) for camembert; Sprout Creek Farm (http://www.sproutcreekfarm.org/) for Toussant Cheese; Northwind Farms Chicken (http://northwindfarmsallnatural.com/); and Hudson Valley Fresh (http://hudsonvalleyfresh.com/) dairy products. I really support these local farmers and their products, and even if you can’t make it to our farm dinner, I’d encourage you to try their products. Farm to Table can happen in your kitchen too! And don’t forget to grab a great New York State beer - that’s half the fun!

Keeping with the theme of local goodness – the Hudson Valley Green Festival on September 4th that I mentioned back in February is in full swing! You can get your tickets now through the website, www.hudsonvalleygreenfestival.com. We were able to get a great line up of bands including Blues Traveler, Donna the Buffalo and Amos Lee, as well as some local stars (Voodelic, the Lindsey Rakers Band… check the website for a full list). More than just a music fest though, the festival will have a full farmer’s market featuring all local products on site, as well as over 20 vendors with Hudson Valley products. There will even be a pavilion for Hudson Valley companies who work with alternative energy. So bring the family, come to eat, drink and have fun, but don’t forget to take a minute and check out some of the local resources we have to live a little bit greener and support the well being of the Hudson Valley.

And that’s just some of what’s been happening at Terrapin, but I’ll save more for another post soon.

Chef Kroner