Dinner for a Friend

FHFB and I have been to visit our friend Dave many times at Lindenmere in South Hero, Vermont. Dave is originally from New Jersey, and makes a trip back down here once or twice a year. 

The last time Dave was in New Jersey we hosted a small dinner party for him - and it was warm enough to eat out on the back porch. 

Here's what was on the menu:

If you have the time please check out some older blog posts about our trip to Lindenmere, Vermont.  It's truly a magical place that we love to visit.

http://froghollowfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/flatrocks-at-lindenmere.html

http://froghollowfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/vermont-vacation.html

(this blog post has another menu for you to check out!)

I'm linking in to Yvonne's first On the Menu Monday party at Stone Gable!

Ciao, bella!

xxoo



The October Conservatory

We are so busy here at Frog Hollow Farm!  Bringing geraniums and hibiscus into the house before the frost, getting the gardens ready for winter, putting the finishing touches on our dining room and living room and also thinking about the holidays and the delicious menus we'll be serving. 

Our conservatory is right off of our dining room, and has become a year-round room.  Besides using it for housing herbs...

and entertaining, we love sitting out there in the winter, reading, and watching the snow fall outside while sipping hot chocolate with home-made Frog Hollow Farm marshmallows or drinking a delicious cocktail.

For October we have our pumpkin pine table set with some seasonal pieces of mixed vintage china picked up in a couple of antique shops on our trip to Vermont several years ago.

The napkins are from April Cornell and the tablecloth is from Marshalls.  I love the colors in these vintage pieces.

Two little bears sit in their adorable Halloween costumes, waiting for someone to take them Trick-or-Treating.  We don't get Trick-or-Treaters at our house - we sit down a long tree-lined lane and there are only a few homes on our street. 

Somewhere in my reading and browsing I came across an interesting way to prepare brussel sprouts, if you're a fan that is. 

Sliced and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

Clean the sprouts and slice off the end of each one. 

Place in a food processor with the slicing disc and slice the brussel sprouts .

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan with thinly sliced garlic.  We like garlic so I used 3 cloves, but you can use as much or little as you like.  I suppose you could also use shallots or leeks instead.

Saute the brussel sprouts with the olive oil and garlic until soft - about 15 minutes or so.  While they are cooking, sprinkle on some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

We are driving into the city today to check out the new 'Eataly' - Mario Batali's new gourmet Italian grocery store and restaurants (yes, there are several restaurants in this place).  My daughter has been there twice and has warned us that it's a zoo, but definitely a fantastic place for Italian foodies. 

I'm linked in to Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper!  Please stop by to check out the wonderful blogs and seasonal ideas. 

Ciao, bella!!

The Flatrocks at Lindenmere

As promised I'm posting some photos from the flatrocks on Lake Champlain.  Everyday around 4:45 when we're visiting Lindenmere we all pack a couple of picnic baskets full of delicious Vermont cheddar, whole grain crackers, olives, various spicy Italian salamis, fruit and of course - lots of wine! 

After we're all packed up we take as short walk down a narrow path through the beautiful cedar trees down to the flatrocks, which are these huge flat rocks that hug the perimeter of Lake Champlain on the west side of South Hero Island.  And when we arrive here's what we see:

 This flatrock area is the perfect place to set up several Adirondack chairs and sit back to watch the sunset with friends and loved ones.

 

It's such a gorgeous day here in north western New Jersey.  We're looking forward to a wonderful weekend with friends on the back porch!

Ciao, bella!



Vermont Vacation

I'm finally sitting down to share our wonderful trip up to Vermont in early September. 

Thirty years ago was the first time FHFB and I took the long drive up to South Hero Island in a very large old Cadillac with a 6 month old baby.  Truth be told I was a little nervous, I didn't know our host (he was another weather friend of FHFB's) and I wasn't sure how baby-friendly the house would be. 

We all fell in love with Lindenmere the minute we drove down the narrow tree lined lane to the magical little house overlooking Lake Champlain.

I can't believe I don't have any photos of the house - it's a summer house built in the 1920s with cedar shingle siding and  wooden windows painted with a simple white trim.

Cedar trees surround the house and lean precariously over the rocks into the lake.  The house is up pretty high so there's no danger of any flooding. 

Our host plants the loveliest garden every year, full of colorful annuals and geraniums that he saves year after year in their clay pots.  He really has a green thumb.

Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the lake and flatrocks.  

Our Vermont host is visiting Frog Hollow Farm this weekend  and we're planning to have a wonderful dinner on the porch.  Hopefully the rain and wind will be out of here and we can all sit snuggled in some sweaters and talk the night away. 

Here's our menu chock full of Italian comfort food:

Frog Hollow Farm Sausage and Peppers

(all the peppers are from FHFB's garden!)

Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel Sauce

Crusty warm semolina bread

Arugula salad with toasted walnuts

Ina Garten's Apple Crisp

(I use less of the citrus zest when I make this absolutely delicious recipe)

The first time I ever made this recipe was about 10 years ago.  We were expecting a phenomenal meteor shower that year, I think it was in November, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, we had some friends coming over at 3:00am (yes, I know, a bit crazy) to sit and watch the show with us.  And I say 'show' because I've never seen anything like it.  The meteors were so numerous and so very bright, they were lighting up the whole field.  It was one of the most magical nights that FHFB and I have shared together - and we had our dearest friends with us as well!  Afterwards everyone came into the kitchen and the aroma of the baking apple crisp was still in the air.  With a steaming cup of coffee the apple crisp just hit the spot - we still talk about that meteor shower and when we do our friends always mention the apple crisp. It was truly a memorable evening! 

(He just came into our office told me it was the Leonids meteor shower in November.)

I hope your evening is memorable as well - there are so many memories to make!

Ciao, bella!

Labor Day 2010

Labor Day at Frog Hollow Farm was celebrated in glorious weather on the back porch and in the gardens. 

As always, my specialty cocktail was the hit of the party. 

This particular delicious Sparkling Sangria cocktail, pictured above, is from Michael Chiarello's recipe collection at Food Network.com. 

Our menu was pretty basic - with all that's going on around here lately we didn't have time to try any new recipes, and sometimes going back to basics works best for a barbeque. 

Here's our menu:

Aperitivo

Grilled Shrimp with Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic

Grilled Fontina and Mozzarella Sandwiches

Italian olives, local fresh cheese, and spicy salami

Tomato bruschetta

Spicy wings from Stella G's - a local restaurant

Roasted Red peppers - Rao's recipe

Dinner

Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs

Oven Fried Chicken (Barefoot Contessa Family Style)

Hot Dogs with relish, sauerkraut (my dad's request)

Hamburger sliders

Fresh corn-on-the-cob from a local farmer

Red potato salad (from my sister Colleen)

Caprese Salad (from sister-in-law Jan)

Green Salad with mustard vinaigrette (from sister-in-law Jan)

Delicious cheese and herb quiche (from sister Laurie)

Dessert

Colleen's Famous homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream

Ricotta-Orange pound cake with strawberries

Fruit Strudel (from sister Laurie)

Chocolate Chip Cookies (from nephew Luke) 

Beverages

Ice cold beers:  Stella Artois, Beck's and Corona

Sparkling Sangria

An assortment of soda and sparkling waters

We're heading up to Vermont shortly - I'm hearing that I'll need to pack my sweaters along with summer outfits.  Packing for this trip is getting a bit overwhelming but we're stopping at the Woodbury Commons Outlets on the way up (FHFB wants to check out the Tommy Bahama store) and I'll probably pick something up at the Eileen Fisher store. 

Ciao, bella! 

A Graceful Visitor

Sadly, I have not been paying enough attention to my blog, nor have I taken the time to visit many of your recent posts.  We're in the middle of getting ready to paint our living room and dining room, and also working with a couple of wonderful ladies from Design Works (Susan and Pam) here in Northwest New Jersey to add a couple of new pieces of furniture that will give the rooms a makeover with a little sparkle. 

The space is the original farmhouse room, quite large, with a walk-in fireplace and stone walls that have been plastered and then covered  with a wide beadboard  in the 1940's- which was painted an off-white color.  This room also has five doors, which has made it a challenge with regard to the placement of furniture, etc.  One corner of the room has been dedicated to the dining room, the other larger part a sitting area - considered our living room. 

Here's where we are right now, Monday morning:

I covered one corner wall of the room with sheetrock, which will be wallpapered in a Thibaut wallpaper called 'Straw'. 

You can see the swatch if you look really closely to the left of the window (or click on the link). 

Benjamin Moore paints will be used on the rest of the walls, all wood.  We've chosen another yellow as the main color, also named 'Straw' - 'Filtered Sunlight' for an accent wall going up the stairs and also for some built-in cabinetry to the left of the walk-in fireplace, and 'Vanilla Ice Cream' for all of the moulding,doors and the inside of the two deep-set windows.  Our wonderful contractor Brian is helping us put with the sheetrocking and some other things, and our good friend Steve, who is a phenomenal painter, is doing all of our painting for us - right after his get-away trip with his wife Liz to Newport, Rhode Island. 

I'll post some photos when we're all done. 

In the meantime, I have been spending lots of time outside in this gorgeous weather we've been having here in New Jersey.  Yesterday we had another visit from what I think is a white egret, although I'm not certain. 

Hope you're having a great week.  Besides getting ready for our painter, we're hosting my family, the Irish clan, here at Frog Hollow Farm for a Labor Day barbeque.  It will be simple but fun - my family loves to sit and chat and eat (and drink) for hours so we'll be cooking up a storm. 

The next day we're leaving for South Hero Island in Vermont for a few days, our friend Dave has a wonderful old summer home right on Lake Champlain.  

We changed our plans of staying at The Willard Street Inn - maybe next time!

Ciao, bella!