In a World of My Own

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Dining at the River Tavern and the Theater

Dining out, while taking in a night at the theater will give anyone a thrill if you are a person of culture. I can hop on a train, go into Manhattan, and head straight to Broadway and Restaurant Row. Living and growing up in a quaint small New England town, I can tell you that you can summer on the coast of Connecticut and enjoy these same joys, and not have to hop a train or travel to the city.

My Mother and I were ushering at the Ivoryton Playhouse, but before that, dinner at the River Tavern in Chester, was definitely going to be a treat. My sister-in-law recently celebrated her birthday there. It is her favorite place to eat.

River Tavern
23 Main St
Chester, CT 06412
(860) 526-9417
www.rivertavernrestaurant.com

The River Tavern is part of the Farm to Chef Program. Jonathan Rapp is Chef and owner.

The restaurant gets local produce from Four Mile River Farm in Lyme, White Gate Farm in East Lyme, Old Maids Farm in S. Glastonbury, Stanton-Davis Farm in Pawcatuck, Barberry Hill Farm in Madison, Scott’s Orchard in Deep River, Soeltl Farm, in Salem, and Hay House in Old Saybrook.

The table is very simple. The little bowl of coarse salt, and pepper mill is actually quite cute on the table.

We were the first to arrive at the start of dinner which is 5pm.

Chris Flahaven is Executive Chef, and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute.

Here are the menus for the evening we dined. The menus change daily.
We decided to dine from both menus.

From the Bar menu:

Local ricotta with heirloom tomatoes, fried parsley, croutons, pine nuts & balsamic reductions

Salad of local greens, apples, feta cheese, walnuts & poppy seed-buttermilk dressing

The salads were light. I had never tasted ricotta cheese that tasted so fresh. The Balsamic reduction and tomatoes had the perfect blend of flavors, and the pine nuts were not to missed. The apple salad was just as heavenly with the walnuts. Perfect for autumn.

From the Dinner menu:

Seafood stew with monkfish, scallops, calamari & mussels with confit tomatoes, fregula, saffron & grilled bread
Note: This seafood dinner was split into two meals.

We loved stew. The scallops and mussels were excellent. I loved it, although my mother did not care for the monkfish.

No time for dessert, time to rush off to the theater. What is playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse?

I Love You, You’re Perfect Now Change

Image Courtesy of the Ivoryton Playhouse

The show runs through October 13th. It is pure fun, with lots of love.

Plenty to do on the shoreline.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Butternut Acorn Squash Bisque

I couldn't resist visiting this favorite. Butternut Squash soup is truly one of my favorites. In passing I came across a recipe that mixed acorn squash and butternut squash. Who can resist the flavors of autumn. This soup I put bought all the ingredients and literally just put the soup together. Although, after I made the soup I listened to The Splendid Table and heard more scrumptious items to put into the bisque. My soup was very thick and creamy.

Butternut Acorn Squash Bisque
About 1 2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
About 1 3/4 lb acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 cups chicken stock
1 white onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped with leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 teaspoons curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup almond milk
Place sauce pot on heat to warm over medium heat, and add olive oil to heat. Add celery, carrots, and white onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and brown slightly. then add the chicken stock and squash. Add the curry. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 minutes or until heated through. Once heated through, process the soup in a food processor until blended smooth, or blender, or with a hand blender.

I headed back to school like many of kids. I headed off to school online with Quinnipiac University. This is my first time heading to school online and I can say it is quite an adventure.

Quinnipiac University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Enjoy the soup,

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

It is Time to Get Artistic in the Bakery ... How about a Zebra Cake

Here is the Zebra Cake that was made for my Grandma's birthday.

Here is the zebra cake inside. Definitely an artistic delight. The icing gave it that extra dark chocolate fudge goodness.

This is the cake mix I used, although it should be noted to make a two layer cake, you need two boxes of cake mix. The cake mix is Chef Duff Goldman's from Charm City Cakes in Baltimore.

Chef Duff and Michael's (Photo credit: Stacie Joy for CTTC)

Here is Chef Duff if you haven't seen him before. He is not your average cake baker. His friends who help him decorate the cake aren't your average cake decorators, but I think most people have heard the story. He has personality.

Here is a layer...