This past Valentine’s Day Holiday we had a great event that we proudly put on for our residents.  I am a strong believer that we have very talented and proud people in this building living here, willing to share their skills.  One of our first residents was the new Executive head chef of the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing.  After he first moved in, we worked together on my own private cooking lessons.  At one point, I said, why should I be the one who only gets these lessons, lets give this to all of my residents.  So after polling who would attend, we sent out this invitation, receiving over 50% of the building RSVPing.  Great turnout!

The night was started with various appetizers, sautéed duck, select olives and a variety of cheeses.  We also provided a range of wines from whites like, Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, a sweet German Riesling, along with a red French Maid Cabernet.   A great start to the evening.

The event started off with an introduction of the Chef himself discussing the variety restaurants he has worked at, along with the basic premise of fine cooking, keep it simple, clean, and healthy.  Our menu included oil and sea salted asparagus with roasted chicken.  We discussed the best technique to cook chicken, keeping it moist yet cooked safely.  We used watermelon radish, along with quite vibrant pesto.  The surprise of the night was a whipped cauliflower, which had the taste quality of the best mashed potatoes, without the carbohydrates and starches.  Our dessert that night included a molten lava chocolate cake along with vanilla bean ice cream.

Our event served in three ways.  We taught our residents a new way to cook, a new way to think.  We served a phenomenal meal that was a great replacement for a Saturday night out on the town meal.  And most importantly we provided our residents a gift, along with allowing them to meet their neighbors, discuss where they come from, what they do.  It creates a community here, a place where you want to be, a place you want to call home.

Question for the Spring?  Would you take advantage of the best dry cleaning service in town providing service for the building, especially at a discounted price?  Same for one of the Northeast’s best dairy farms, providing a delivery of organic local milk and cheese?  Let us know and be on the look out for our next event!