How much does a wedding cost?

The Village TeaRoom Restaurant & Bake Shop has been catering weddings for over 8 years. Many couples who choose the Hudson Valley for their wedding do so because they are drawn to the beauty of our area and the abundance of farm fresh, local and seasonal food. Our food philosophy of carefully prepared, sophisticated comfort food using local and organic ingredients is a great fit for a Hudson Valley wedding and many of the weddings we cater are located in barns, on farms or... Read More

Eggs & Chickens & Friends

  Recently we paid a visit to our friend Heidi Gogins and her husband Mike at their farmhouse in Delaware County. Heidi brings us many dozen of her gorgeous eggs weekly. If you've eaten a Madeleine, a Cream Puff or a slice of Honey Bee cake you've experienced Heidi's extraordinary eggs.                 Her home is a sweetly situated farmhouse, down a hill and over a bridge at the end of a road.               Heidi... Read More

Blueberry Muffins

A muffin is a type of quick bread that uses baking powder (or soda) for leavening. Its charms are a delicate texture and open even crumb. With less fat than cake they dry out quickly and are best eaten the day they are baked. This recipe ended my search for the perfect blueberry muffin. It uses sour cream which I use in baking frequently. Many muffins are just overly sweet and the personality of the fresh fruit is beaten into submission by a whole lot of sugar. I’m not one... Read More

Beet Gazpacho

My only experience of beets growing up was pickled beets in a jar which tasted like textured vinegar to my childish palate. In France when I was sent to do the intimidating task of the weekly family marketing at the Marché I found beets sold in vacu-sealed pouches fully cooked and ready to be tossed in a vinaigrette for a quick and lovely salad. I loved their unique sweet earthiness. They are particularly good served with goat cheese and walnuts. Orange zest is a lovely... Read More

Dingle Pies

Barner Books is a treasure of a second hand book store in New Paltz with a large selection of cook books. Many of them seem to have been written by Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet and the editors at Better Homes & Garden. Hidden among them  is an occasional winner and so it was that I found one day a first edition of Myrtle Allen’s Cooking at Ballymaloe House, published in 1990. Full of recipes like Hot Buttered Oysters, Ballymaloe Brown Bread and Lettuce and Mint Soup,... Read More

Rhubarb Chutney

Rhubarb Chutney is a spring time staple here at the restaurant. Because Rhubarb is in season weeks before strawberries I look for other uses for this fantastically assertive and beautiful vegetable. Rhubarb Collins is a pretty pink gin drink we make yearly around Mother’s Day and Rhubarb Chutney accompanies the Cheese Board and our Roast Chicken. Unlike some chutney that needs to cook for hours to meld the vinegar and sugar and fruit flavours, this is a quick recipe.... Read More

Madeleines

I lived in Paris for two years in the 1980’s, a “jeune fille au-pair”, completely smitten by every Pattisserie I encountered. Oddly I don’t ever remember eating a Madeleine in Paris. Back then my obsession was Macarons au Chocolat. Not the dainty ones that are now fashionable, but big hefty chewy versions. Madeleines I discovered at Marquet patisserie on 12th street in Manhattan. Just off Fifth Avenue, it had a wonderful European feel. After lunch when I paid at the... Read More

Mashed Potatoes

Being Irish I feel a particular pride in making really fabulous mashed potatoes. I’ve had mashed potatoes in fancy restaurants that were made with such a high ratio of butter to potato that I feel they cannot be truly called mashed potatoes.  The richness of that rendition sends the dish to a rarified place.  And of course I’ve had those gluey versions that are prevalent in diners. It’s another one of those so-called humble ingredients that frequently gets treated like... Read More

Roast Chicken

Roasted Chicken has been on the menu almost since the restaurant opened. In September 2004 we opened with the idea of serving a three course prix fixe supper every evening with a vegetarian option for $25. I had visions of a European style country supper, the kind where you happen upon a small country place and sit down to whatever the host is serving for the evening. How wonderful it was going to be to sit down and be presented a carefully balanced and thoughtful procession... Read More