A Weekend in Rhinebeck

Hello Everyone

This past weekend, a group of friends and I hopped on the Amtrak headed north for a relaxing respite from the city. We ended up in a country cottage in Rhinebeck, a beautiful northeast town on the Hudson River. We rented an inland house right on a lake and spent the weekend playing Scrabble, eating food and touring the countryside.

On Saturday, we visited the Millbrook Winery (1) that is set atop a grouping of beautiful rolling hills. The winery itself is an old, converted barn and featured artwork created by the some of the many artists living in Rhinebeck. We did some tasting also learned that 99 is the best vintage for wines from New York. Our favorites were the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Franc.

After the winery visit, we headed back to the house and prepared a tasty meal of whole chickens cooked on the grill, grilled vegetable salad with balsamic vinaigrette and roasted potatoes. We set the picnic table up with a bunch of candles and ate our awesome meal under the stars.

I hope you enjoy this edition of RecipePhile. Let me know how your meal turns out and if you have any suggestions or recipes to send my way, please do.

Have a great week

Michael
"Always remember that food is about more than eating...it is about thinking, buying, preparing, enjoying and most importantly... sharing."

Whole Chickens on The Grill
These are so easy to make but must be watched regularly as they cook. Since you cannot regulate the temperature of the grill, you have to be careful not to over or undercook your chickens. Make sure you are armed with a meat thermometer when making this dish.

2 3-4 pound whole chickens
1 stick of butter
1 handful of fresh sage
1 lemon
6 cloves of garlic cut in half
1 whole lemon cut in half
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Remove the bag of necks and chicken innards from the cavity of the birds. Using your fingers, separate the skin and the flesh of the birds on the breasts and the underbellies. Do not remove the skin. Cut your butter into quarter inch pats and insert two pieces in between the skin and flesh on each side of the breasts and underbellies. Also include two pieces of garlic and some sage. Squeeze a half lemon on the top of the bird and place the lemon halves inside the cavities. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the birds and place in a metal baking pan that will fit inside of the grill. Let rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Start the grill (this recipe works best on a charcoal grill) and make sure your coals are red hot. Once the coals are ready, move them to the outer portion of the grill creating a well in the center. Take your chicken out of the metal baking pan and place on the grill. Cover and cook on each side for about ten minutes. Take off of the grill, place in the baking pan and set the pan on the grill. Cover and continue to cook for about 30 to 40 minutes. Check the temperature periodically with a meat thermometer as cooking time will vary based on the temperature. Once your chickens reach 150 degrees, take them off of the grill and let sit for 15 minutes. Serve.

Grilled Vegetable Salad
You can use just about any type of vegetable for this recipe, but the collection below is my favorite. This is best when made ahead of time and left to marinate for about 2 or 3 hours. If you really want to add some additional flavor to this dish, you can include some roasted garlic.

1 medium onion cut into one-inch rings
15-20 Crimini (2) mushrooms, medium sized
2 yellow squash cut in half lengthwise
2 zucchini cut in half lengthwise
2 red bell peppers cut in half with seeds and innards removed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill (you can also use a stovetop grill) and grill the vegetables making sure that they are not overdone. If they get a little black and charred, don't worry, this adds to the flavor of the dish. Let the vegetables cool and chop into small to medium sized pieces. Add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, set in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 hours and serve.

Roasted Potatoes
These are so crispy and delicious and just about everyone I know loves this dish. You are going to have to wing it a little with this one, as I have never really measured the amount of oil and other spices I use. I never really know how many pounds of potatoes to get for this dish, so I buy 5 or 6 baby new potatoes per person and cut them in half or quarters depending on the size. Once all of the potatoes are cut into pieces, toss them with some olive oil (not too much but enough so that each potato is lightly covered), fresh rosemary, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes. Half way through, open the oven and using a metal spatula, move the potatoes around on the cookie sheet to keep them from sticking. If they are not toasty brown after 45 minutes leave in until crispy. Serve.

FoodNoteworthies

(1) Millbrook Winery If you are ever visiting the Hudson Valley, you must check out this winery. As far as New York wines go, this is one of the best that I have tried. Not only are the estate and vineyards beautiful, but the wine is also delicious. As I mentioned above, try the 1999 Cabernet Franc and the 1999 Chardonnay. Both of these were wonderfully delicious and affordably priced.

(2) Crimini Mushrooms - You can also call them Italian brown mushrooms or Agaricus bisporus and find them in just about any grocery store. Crimini mushrooms are similar in appearance to the Whites because they come from the same family (Agaricus). Look for a naturally light tan to rich brown cap and a very firm texture. These mushrooms have a deeper, denser, earthier flavor than White mushrooms and can actually replace the whites in just about any recipe.