Farm to Table Dinner Continued

Local writer, Jason Konopinski, wrote a fabulous blog post about our upcoming event! Read his article and learn a little bit more about each of the farmers and purveyors that will be in attendance at the event.

Join Me at the Accomac’s Farm-to-Table Dinner!: Part One

September 7 by Jason

Now I’m sure you’re asking yourself – “why is there a post about sustainable agriculture, local food and the famed Accomac Inn on a blog about new media?”   Well, as much as I am a student and practitioner of the socialization of business,  I’m also an advocate for sustainable agriculture and always strive to educate my friends and colleagues about the importance of complete transparency in matters of food production and knowing who produces and harvests my food.

It’s why I leapt at the opportunity to spend a Friday in the company of good friends Philip Given and Allison Bitzer of The Susquehanna Photographic, winding through the backroads of York County in a Subaru Impreza on what can best be described as a treasure hunt for the senses.  Our aim was simple: visit each of the purveyors participating in the Farm-to-Table event, capture some great photos and quotes and, if we were lucky, sample some of what they were providing to Chef Andre Ebert for the event.   The farms and purveyors are all within twenty miles of the family farm and Accomac Garden in West York, the perfect setting for a dinner a-field.

Stepping onto Codorun Farm on an early Friday morning is a delightful way to start, well, any morning, especially when the hosts are as excited to have you as you are to be there. Charlene and Doug were gracious hosts as always, making preparations for the attendees that will be enjoying cocktails in the stately barn and dining in the pasture. Heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard, peppers and zucchini straight from the garden will be on the menu. It’s been an exceptional year for tomatoes at the farm – 42 plants have yielded in excess of 850 pounds!

Fitzkee’s Candies in York is right at home amidst the hustle and bustle of Eastern Market, and the Friday of our visit was no exception.  Farmer’s markets are among my favorite places on earth and they always kick my senses into overdrive.  In continuous operation since 1934, Fitzkee’s has provided many a family with confectionary delights and remains a family business to this day. And what better way to enjoy chocolate buttons than nestled between graham cracker and marshmallow in a S’more toasted over a bonfire in the company of friends as attendees will enjoy following dinner?

After the din of Eastern Market, our visit to Brogue Hydroponics was nothing short of serene, save the barking of two rather nervous Jack Russell terriers who seemed thoroughly put out by our intrusion.  Established in 1983 by owners Bob & Nancy Kilgore, Brogue Hydroponics has grown from one greenhouse of butterhead lettuce to six-plus greenhouses filled with a wide variety of lettuces, herbs, edible flowers, garnishes, tomatoes, red raspberries, potted plants and hanging baskets.  Just stepping into one of greenhouses is immediately calming and the vibrancy of life unmistakeable.   These are closed systems that take advantage of bioprocesses to recycle and replenish nutrients in an ecologically sustainable manner.

Carl Helrich, head winemaker at Allegro Vineyards, has a no-nonsense and honest approach to his wines, wines that celebrate the spirit of the grape.  Allegro is tucked away in Brogue, but you can toss aside those mental images of a idyllic chateau winery with a world-class view.   Allegro is clearly oriented toward being a production winery.  One of my favorite wines comes from Allegro; Cadenza is an earthy and spicy Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon that personifies the philosophy about winemaking first set forth by Allegro’s founders John and Tim Crouch.  It’s the wine that brought Carl and his wife Kris to Allegro and they’re preserving that heritage with every vintage of Cadenza while continuing to innovate and carry the brand forward.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

Farm to Table Dinner

We will be holding our first Farm to Table Dinner located at our family farm and Accomac Garden on September 11th. This event is truly a celebration of our regional offerings and agriculture! We are so excited to share these wonderful photos of the farms and farmers that will be participating.  The photos were taken by The Susquehanna Photographic based in York, PA. Local writer, Jason Konopinski will be providing profiles that will be included shortly.

Until then, enjoy…

Our very own Charlene, Wade, and Doug at the site of the Farm to Table Dinner. We will be providing tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and swiss chard from our Accomac Garden.

Fitzkee’s Candies in York will be providing the chocolate for s’mores during the bonfire to follow dinner.

Brogue Hydroponics provides us with edible flower garnishes and herbs.

The wine for the evening will be supplied by Allegro Vineyards.

Lehman’s Produce and Roadside Market will be providing cantaloupe, corn, and butternut squash.

Twin Pine Farm will provide the beef for the dinner.

Shaw Orchards will be supplying the pears and apples.

View all of the photos here.

Guests will have a chance to meet these farmers and purveyors at the event!

Today, September 7th, is the last day to purchase your tickets. For more information and to view the menu click here.

Lemon Potato Salad Recipe

In a previous post, we gave a recipe for Lemongrass and Ginger Potato Salad. Here is yet another unique take on a potato salad, perfect for your Labor Day parties!

Lemon Potato Salad – serves 6

2 pounds fingerling potatoes, peeled and cubed

8 teaspoons EVO

1/3 cup chopped shallots

2  tablespoons sherry vinegar

3 teaspoons coarse mustard

1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh lemon rind

1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

¾ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

2 ½ cups arugula

In saucepan, cover the potatoes in cold water and bring to a boil . Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Drain potatoes.

In a small skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil to pan with shallots and sautee for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine sautéed shallots, vinegar, mustard, lemon rind, lemon juice, salt & pepper stirring well with a wire whisk. Gradually add remaining olive oil. Drizzle this mixture over the potatoes and toss gently.

Choosing a Wedding Color Palette

Confused on your color palette? Download the “color expert” for easy to view color charts to help you along. You’ll find the interactive color wheel addicting! Take advantage of the pantone numbers offered up on the site too. You can take the pantone numbers to Home Depot, Lowes or Sherwin Williams to specify paint colors for that perfect hand painted seating chart.

Martha Stewart Weddings also offers a wonderful feature called “Plan your Wedding by Color.” This portal offers tons of inspiration in the form of flowers, decorations, dresses and much more broken out by various colors.

Perfect Wedding Color Palette Example from Martha Stewart: Blue and White

The blog Hot Pink Brides periodically posts Wedding Inspiration boards that feature different colors. This is a great way to get some ideas for new, interesting color palettes. The latest color inspiration is Green. View that post here.

A portion of the Green Wedding Inspiration Board from Hot Pink Brides

I’ll be posting some of my favorite color combos in another post! Until then, what color palettes are you loving right now for fall?

Easy Summer Dessert

starfruit image courtesy of WebMD

Yes, we know it’s the end of August, but hey it’s still hot outside! Plus, we’re trying to hang on to those last dog days of summer as long as we possibly can. It’s not Labor Day yet, right?

So for your last chance at some end-of-summer-get-togethers, here is a nice, easy summer dessert to try!

First, go out and get some pretty raspberry sorbet.

Also, get one kiwi and one star fruit. Thinly slice the fruit into little pinwheels for garnish. The color combo is awesome and makes a nice statement without all the fuss or calories.

How was that for simple?

Farm to Table Dinner Menu

The farm at sunset

Announcing the menu for our Outstanding at the Farm Farm to Table Dinner to be held on September 11th at our family farm!

HORS D’OEUVRES

Thyme Seared Eberly Farm Chicken Breast
Topped with Sauteed Crimini Mushrooms on Bread Rounds

Fresh Beet Tartlet
Candied Walnut, Mandarin Orange Segments, Orange Sauce

MENU

Accomac Inn’s Garden Tomatoes
Grilled Onions, Gorgonzola Cheese, Balsamic vinegar reduction and EVO

Preserved Lemon Risotto and Grilled Local Trout
Accomac Inn’s Garden Tomato & Zucchini Salsa

Grilled Figs
Cantaloupe Melon, Prosciutto, field greens, lime cream, Champagne Vinaigrette

Gnocchi
Grilled Butternut Squash
Frangelica Cream Sauce

Shaw Orchard Apple Sorbet

Twin Pines Rib Eye Steak
Truffled Crushed Local Fingerling Potatoes, Accomac Inn’s Garden Swiss Chard, Sauce Bernaise

Edible Garnish produced by Brogue Hydroponics

DESSERT AND COFFEE

Shaw Orchard Pear Cobbler
Honey & Caramelized Ginger Garnish, Served with Accomac’s House Made Vanilla Ice Cream blended with Maple Syrup and Bacon

Silver Table Service of Freshly Brewed “Café Excellence” Naturally Decaffeinated Coffee
Roasted in Norristown, Pennsylvania

Hot English Tea
Cream, Sugar, & Sweetener

Looking forward to seeing you on the 11th! Tickets must be purchased in advance by Septemeber 7th. 717-252-2288 for reservations.

Meet Charlene, Event Designer

For this Wedding Wednesday post we are pleased to introduce Charlene Calvert-Campbell, Accomac Catering Event Designer. Charlene is the expertise behind our Wedding and Event Planning posts! She will be continuing to offer tips, advice and inspiration through the Culinnovation blog so look  for her future Wedding Wednesday and Event topics.

Charlene comes to us from Baltimore, MD where she was an event designer for one of the premier event design companies in the Baltimore MD-Washington DC area.  Charlene’s skill set as an event designer was taken to a new level when she decided to pursue the catering side of things.  Having this vast knowledge of event production coupled with catering, makes her expertise priceless in each stage of event planning.  Charlene’s artistic eye and creative spark fuels her passion for creating unique events and she now brings that talent and fine attention to detail to Accomac Inn and Catering in Wrightsville, PA.

Some of her High Profile Events include:

Oprah Winfrey /Beth Tfiloh Spotlight Awards at The Meyerhoff,

Donald Trump Coronation Ball for Miss USA, Hippodrome Theater

David Modell (Baltimore Ravens Owner) wedding reception Hippodrome theater

National Democratic Convention – Boston Aquarium w/ Ziggy Marley

Millennium Celebration Washington D.C.

Walden Landing party with singer Martha Washington,

Hairspray Opening Night gala

Brian Billick’s Daughters wedding at Billick Residence

Super bowl Parade/stage production day of for Baltimore Ravens

Cirque Du Soleil Drallion VIP Party – Harbor Point Baltimore

“The Producers” Cast Party (opening night) Hippodrome Theater

Lion King Cast Party (opening night) Hippodrome Theater

Wicked Press Preview Hippodrome Theater

Charles Village Press conference/ ground breaking with Magic Johnson

National Aquarium of Maryland’s Splash

Maryland Zoo Zoomerang

Kennedy Kreiger Festival of Trees: Chairman’s choice award, most creative, and first place.

Stay tuned for more posts by Charlene and please feel free to ask her any questions you would like to see answered on the blog!

Accomac Tomato Jam

tomatoes in the Accomac kitchen

So, if you’ve been keeping up with us on Twitter, you might have noticed we have a ton of tomatoes! The first year of our Accomac Garden has produced an array of wonderful produce, but our tomato yield has been incredible! Just yesterday we picked 104.5 more pounds, bringing our total yeild as of right now to just shy of 800 lbs! This is extremely exciting to us although it did come as a surprise (we had estimated 500 at the beginning of the season).

Since we couldn’t possibly use everything (although our heirloom tomato salad has been a huge hit this summer), Chef Rob has made 9 quarts of Heirloom Jam and plans on making a lot more this week.

Our own Accomac-Grown Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella pesto, marinated olives, balsamic vinegar, evo

We came across this recipe using tomato jam and wanted to share. It sounds fantastic!

Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam, Olives and Feta

(Also great with ground lamb)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

2/3 cup finely chopped red onion

1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese plus additional for topping

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives (about 6)

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus additional for brushing

1 small garlic clove, pressed

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon (generous) coarse kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon (generous) black pepper

4 crusty rolls, halved horizontally

Tomato Jam

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with oil.

Gently mix turkey, onion, 1/3 cup feta, 3 tablespoons chopped olives, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, garlic, rosemary, generous 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and generous1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Form into 4 patties, each about 1 inch thick. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill burgers until charred on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes perside. Grill cut side of rolls until toasted, about 2 minutes. Assemble burgers with Tomato Jam and additional feta and chopped olives.

View original recipe here.

Accomac Tomato Jam

Peach Basil Culinnovation Cocktail

Here is the recipe as promised for Accomac’s Peach Basil Culinnovation Cocktail that appeared as part of Food Fights in Issue 15 of Fine Living Lancaster Magazine. (available now!)

This cocktail is also one of the drink specials at Accomac Inn. Stop by and enjoy one on the porch tonight to get your weekend started. Happy Friday!

Serves 4

1 ¾ cups Peeled and Chopped Ripe Peeled Peaches (We suggest picking some up at your local Farmer’s Market.)

2 Cups of Riesling White Wine

1 ¾ Cups of Water

1 Cup Fresh finely chopped Basil Leaves

2/3 Cups of Clover Honey

½ Teaspoon Fresh Grated Ginger

3/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon juice

Basil leaves for garnish

Fresh Peach Slices for Garnish

1. Run the peeled peaches through a food processor with a chop blade for a chunky result. Place in a bowl and put aside.

2. Combine wine, water, basil and honey in a medium pot and bring to a boil stirring for 5 minutes.

3. Remove the lid and allow to cool.

4. Add ginger and fresh peaches, stirring well.

5. Add lemon juice to taste.

6. Pour over ice with a fresh peach slice and one sprig of basil as a garnish.

Please Be Seated

Today’s Wedding Wednesday post is dedicated to chairs! Who thought you’d have so many choices when it comes to reception or ceremony chairs? Here are just a few options available t o you:

White Samsonite folding chairs are usually the most inexpensive chair out there. It’s an all plastic folding chair with no chair padding on it.

White Samsonite folding chair

Wood Folding chair with padded seat- This option comes in a large variety of colors from the most well known white, natural & cherry, to bright vibrant colors such as red, yellow or blue. These padded folding chairs come in wood and resin.

Chiavari Chairs- Certainly not known for comfort, but big in the looks department. Again, these are available in a variety of covers but the chair pad options are what make the difference. There are dozens of colors out there, plus the chair pads are thicker than the imbedded pad on the folding chairs.

Chiavari Chairs

Ghost Chairs. photo courtesy of Charmed Events Group

Ghost Chairs- This is a clear acrylic chair, meant to be invisible so as not to worry about chair covers or matching colors of chair pads. Plus the look is rather contemporary and chic. These have been out for a few years but they’re still a nice edge to an event. They are a little more expensive, but if you’re considering chair covers and ties for another type of chair, you’ll be paying a labor charge to put the chair covers and ties on, so if you take that into consideration when pricing the ghost chair, you’re not far off your mark.

The Chameleon Chair- This is a very cool chair. These have been available for several years too. They have interchangeable backs on them so you can choose the design that fits your style. They aren’t cheap, but they make the room pop like no other chair.

Chair covers and chair caps- Sometimes a chair cover with a pretty tie is the best option. Make sure you’re chair covers have a rounded top if you have a rounded chair! There’s nothing worse than a square top chair cover on a rounded back chair. You’ll get these little “dog ears” that flop over on the corners and that’s a mess.

Several rental companies out the have pretty little chair cap fabric treatments that are lovely on the top of a chivari chair. They are usually embellished with a beaded fringe.

Chair covers used at an Accomac Catered Event

There’s a spandex chair cover available in many colors too that is sleek. They aren’t meant for chivari chairs but they work great on the plastic folding chairs, transforming them into a nice looking chair.

We do custom chair ties and table runners with your monogram for a nice added touch of elegance.

Words of Advice:

With all of these chair options you may want to find out if your rental company owns the stock or if they’re sub-renting them.  If they are wood chairs, make sure they’re freshly painted on a regular basis. If they are resin or acrylic, go and see the product before renting. If you’re not picky about the condition of your chairs, let it go!

Understand that you’ll be charged a delivery fee with a time window. If you need to specify an exact time for delivery and pick up, there will be an additional “stop time” fee added on to your delivery. This happens if your facility won’t allow the chairs to stay until the next morning, or if there is no one on site to receive them during the standard window of delivery times.