Surprise Birthday Party @ Rauch Planetarium, a Yoga Retreat at Foxhollow, and an Icelandic Horse Competition

It was a marathon weekend of feeding many a fine folk local food. Here's how it went down:

Friday @ the planetarium. Full bar and passed appetizers of Bourbon Smoked Salmon on Endive, BBQ Shrimp on Grits Cracker, and good ole Country Ham with Blackberry Jam and Sherry Whole Grain Mustard on Yeast Rolls. Plated salad of Argyll Acres Buttercrunch Lettuce, Kenny's KY Bleu Cheese, Huber's Fried Winesap Apples, and Toasted Walnuts with Champagne Vinaigrette. The birthday guest, friends, and family enjoyed an elegant dinner buffet of Foxhollow Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin, Barr Farms Chicken Roasted with Mustard White Wine Sauce, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (taters courtesy of Nick Posante @ Finger Pickin' Farms), Roasted Butternut Squash and Root Veggies from Foxhollow, Charles Hambley's Green Beans with Kenny's Asiago and Lemon. Justin, Lena, and Shelly rocked as the killer (and very attractive) staff. Only regrets...no time to take pictures.

Saturday was an outdoor adventure as the sole vendor (fancy for concessions stand) at an Icelandic Horse Competition in Prospect. Cold, windy, and muddy, Samantha served up homemade breakfast items of country ham and biscuits, apple coffeecake, and quiche. And coffee...lots of coffee. Vegetarian and Foxhollow Beef Chili were sold out in 30 minutes at lunch (we made double batches for the next day). F2F's famous chicken salad was a hit as usual...what makes it so good? Adam Barr's chicken, dried cherries, and toasted pecans. Jenny, an intern at Foxhollow, was a great help with prep and dishes both days.

Doing double duty, I also prepared dinner for a yoga retreat at the farm center. After 7 hours of yoga, retreatants were rewarded with a nourishing meal of lemon, ginger chicken (Barr Farms of course), brown rice, red quinoa, fresh herb pilaf, roasted root vegetables (from Foxhollow), local salad greens, along with a simple, but delicious apple crisp.

Sunday started out cold at 32 degrees, but the sun quickly warmed up the temperature to 60 and eventually, Sam and I enjoyed a blue, cloudless sky while watching the lovely horses and their riders cantor around the gravel, outdoor track. But first, I had one more meal to get out...lunch for the yoga folks. Simple and sustaining, lunch was black-eyed peas and sauteed local greens, multi-grain pilaf, cornbread with Weisenberger Mill cornmeal and flour, and apple/ginger/cabbage slaw.

Wired after all the events ended, I finished up the dishes and re-organized the kitchen equipment rack. Home after 7 PM, I relaxed with my honey and the dogs over a glass of red wine and the next to the last episode of Mad Men.

And now it's Monday and I feel strangely let down. The part(ies) are over, but I bet there will be more to come...