Posted By admin on August 29, 2010

I would eat them here or there, I would eat them anywhere! 

Chef Kris’ most recent special treat at The Chestnut Grille is “Green Eggs and Ham”, a twist on Deviled Eggs, and quite frankly, it is our new obsession.  Whether you love eggs or hate them, you will not want to pass on this delicious appetizer. 

After the eggs have been hard boiled, he peels them, halves them and takes the yolks out for later use.  In a medium sized bowl he combines salt, pepper, scallions, and cilantro to the yolks to make the filling.  After the eggs are filled with the delicious mix, he tops it with parma prosciutto and his special green hot sauce made from our fresh garden picked chiles. 

This season we have been extra lucky with our chile pepper selection, we love our vegetable garden!  So of course the kitchen has been enjoying making hot sauce and trying new recipes, but Chef Kris’ has hit the nail on the head with his special green hot sauce. 

Unfortunately we will not be giving away his green hot sauce recipe, sorry, we can’t give away all of our secrets!  But we figured it would be enough to tell you what he includes in the filling, and this will just tempt everyone that much more to come dine with us and try it for yourselves.  We have also posted pictures on this post to make your mouths water!  Enjoy!

Category: Recipes, The Chestnut Grille | No Comments »
Tags: Appetizer, Chef Kris, Chile Peppers, Eggs, Green Hot Sauce, Recipe, Secret, Special, The Chestnut Grille

Posted By admin on August 22, 2010

Last Monday David and Linnea were able to take some time out of their busy schedules to go see their good friend, Fern Berman’s, inspiring photography at the Good News Cafe.  They knew that the long haul to Woodbury would be well worth it to see Fern’s work, but there lunch ended up being worth it as well.  Below you will see pictures of the delicious dishes that they ate at the cafe, which were unbelievable, thanks to Chef Carole!

But it was hard for them to fully concentrate on the food since all of Fern’s photography was surrounding them!  At first glance her work appears to be paintings, but in fact, they are photographs.  There have been plenty of positive reviews about this incredible artwork, and her show at the Good News Cafe, but Linnea and David did not need any reviews to tell them that this show would be incredible.  They have been touched by Fern’s artwork for quite some time now.  In fact, one of her pieces was graciously given to Linnea, which can now be seen at the Bee & Thistle.  If your life has not been changed by this woman’s incredible photography then take some time out of your busy schedules as well to see her show.

Below you will see a little tease of the food and artwork that is being offered at the Good News Cafe.  Also, you will see a picture of the beautiful photograph that now can be seen at the Bee & Thistle.  Thank you Fern, we love you!

 

Category: Connecticut, Special Events, The Arts | No Comments »
Tags: Artwork, Bee & Thistle, David, Fern Berman, Food, Good News Cafe, inspiring, Linnea, paintings, Photography

Posted By admin on August 15, 2010

This past Saturday a few of us from the Bee & Thistle Inn and Spa took a trip to visit our good friends, Ashlawn Farm.  The delicious coffee you taste at breakfast in the morning when you stay at the Inn or at dinner at night at The Chestnut Grille comes from this inspiring farm that has more than just great coffee.  Whether you head to Lyme to see the animals and incredible gardens at Ashlawn Farm or go to visit the Lyme Farmer’s Market on Friday and Saturday you will have a good time no matter what. 

In fact, on Saturday morning we decided to visit the Farmer’s Market and to set up a booth of our own.  We set up a ”Bee and Boules Booth” where we taught visitors about the sport of Petanque and gave them a little information about our menu, our weekday events and what is in store for them when they come to see us!  Honestly though, I do not know of a better way to have spent our Saturday morning.  We were surrounded by fresh produce, fresh fish, fresh baked breads, handmade jewelry and even homemade dog treats…and these were just a few of the vendors! 

Of course, we could not miss out on an iced coffee from their cafe where we sat on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful weather we were having.  The iced coffees we decided to try was their version of a Vanilla Latte and their ”Captiain-Cino” which was only 80 calories (but tasted like much more).  This description even appeared on their chalk boards, describing how the drink was a mere 80 calories but tasted like 300, and they were right!  After guzzling down our delicious drinks, we walked around the market and then tended to our own booth.  Here are some pictures from our delightful morning!

Category: Connecticut, Petanque, Special Events, The Chestnut Grille, The Inn | No Comments »
Tags: animals, Ashlawn Farm, Bee & Thistle Inn and Spa, bread, Coffee, fish, gardens, Iced Coffee, Jewelry, Lyme Farmer's Market, produce, The Chestnut Grille, vendors

Posted By admin on August 5, 2010

Instead of eating squash in a more traditional way, here at The Chestnut Grille we like to spice them up a bit.  In fact, our Tempura Squash Blossoms are gifts from the vegetable gods.  They will excite your taste buds and leave you wanting more.  Because of our admiration for these delicious treat, we have decided to share our fabulous recipe with you as well as include some pictures that will make your mouth water!

Tempura Squash Blossoms Recipe

 

Oil:

Use ¾ cup very light vegetable oil to ¼ light sesame oil, fill the pan about 1/2 full. Heat the oil to approximately 350º. This temperature must be maintained throughout cooking, so it is important not to cook more than 3 or 4 squash blossoms at one time.

Batter:

1 yolk of large egg

1 ½ cups very cold water

1-cup cake or pastry flour

Ice Cubes (add to batter right before coating blooms)

Mix yolk with water using fat wooden chopsticks. Add the flour all at once and mix just slightly. There should be large lumps of flour and a rim of flour dust around the bowl. Do not over mix the batter. It is best to mix the batter in this amount, and repeat as necessary. Prepare ingredients, dry them, and dredge lightly in flour before dipping in batter. After cooking, put the blossoms on paper towels.

Dipping Sauce:

1-Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/3-cup light soy sauce

1/3-cup mirin (Japanese heavy sweetened rice wine)

1 or 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

Mix sauce ingredients together.

Category: Recipes, The Chestnut Grille | 5 Comments »
Tags: Recipe, Spice, Tempura Squash Blossoms, The Chestnut Grille

Posted By admin on August 1, 2010

Even though our photos are not nearly as wonderful as those taken by the photographers that stopped by last week, we still wanted to give our public something to look at.  Last Wednesday Kate Parker from Kate Parker Weddings took over the Bee and Thistle Inn and Spa for a photo shoot.  The Inn and grounds were covered with event planners, florists, models, makeup artists, photographers and other various vendors.  It was a fabulous day and we were very excited to host this event.  The Bee and Thistle even took part in this photo shoot!  The vendors were allowed to set up a table, the way they would create one for a wedding, and we created one as well.  So take a look at some of the pictures we shot and we will post more once we get the real photographs from the professionals!  Thank you to Kate, Jerome Braga from Studio 1923 who was our assigned photographer and all of the incredible people who made this photo shoot possible!

Category: Special Events, The Arts, The Inn | No Comments »
Tags: Bee and Thistle, event planners, florists, Kate Parker, makeup, models, photographers, photos