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Showing posts from 2011

New Year's Eve at the Rogues' Harbor Inn

The Rogues' Harbor Inn has celebrated 181 New Year's Eves and the tradition continues this year as always. It's awe inspiring to think how many folks have rung in the new year in this very spot. If these wall could talk, they would have many tales to tell. But, what happens at Rogues' stays at Rogues'- an excellent tradition to continue. The magical evening is just a day away and it's a celebration we look forward to every year. The Inn is all decked out for Christmas. Everyone is smiling and relaxed. The staff is all dressed up. Lots of folks have family visiting and the guests rooms are filled with friends and relatives from all over the globe. It's all warm and fuzzy, peace on earth, love and happiness. The chefs go all out with celebratory specials. This year we are having Chef Luke's seafood chowder, thick rich New England style with clams, crab and fresh fish. For an appetizer, he's making shrimp and Parmesan stuffed artichoke hearts. They are

Brewer's Choice Holiday Craft Brew at Rogues'

Several weeks ago we were in the brewery, working on our Scottish Winter ale. It was one of those brew sessions where a bunch of little thing conspired to make it a longer night than it needed to be. Then we looked outside to see the first snow of the season slowly coming down. Something seemed right about that and it lifted our spirits to continue brewing and get the beer in the fermenter. The brewhouse smelled of holiday spices by the time we were cleaning up and we were eagerly anticipating when the brew would be ready! So now you may be wondering what exactly is a winter or holiday ale? While there are no hard and fast rules about what makes up this type of beer, they are generally of an amber color or darker, higher in alcohol, and with some variety of spice. They are a beer meant to flush the face and warm the spirit on the cold winter nights. Brewing with spices is certainly nothing new. Before hops became a standard part of beer many varieties of spices were used for flavor

Continued Cranberry Obsession- Cranberry Sangria Recipe

We love cranberries. It's a fact. There is no better time of year than the holidays to fully indulge our craving for cranberries. The fall-winter dinner menu has a few cranberry inspired dishes. Our new Empire State Flat bread is glazed with an Empire apple & cranberry reduction then topped with melted NYS cheddar. The Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin is served over the apple cranberry reduction as well. This very evening our Seasonal Wonton Ravioli is duck breast with caramelized onion & fresh cranberry. It's to die for. Even our overnight guests in the Bed & Breakfast are enjoying the colorful native fruit with which we are so obsessed. We make a multi-grain French toast with a cranberry maple compote. The entire building smells like Christmas bread. Breakfast service ends at 10:30 am and I'm standing by promptly begging for leftovers. It's as beautiful as it is flavorful. The contrast of the bright red berries in the rich, dark maple compote reminds me of b

Writing about Rogues'

We blog. We tweet. We facebook. It's big fun. However, when the on line writing began, I (that would be E, owner, operator, occasional writer) made a promise to self not to post anything negative, or any personal political or religious views. Writing is personal for me no matter the subject and sometimes this is not any easy promise to keep. Sarcastic thoughts creep in. I could have some fun with a Bourdainesque witty blog or espouse my views on the global economic plague, but no. No bitter rants here. The hardest to resist is writing about people. There's an abundance inappropriate material, yet I manage to keep my word. The very best and the very worst aspect of operating a restaurant, microbrewery and inn is the people. Staff and customers alike are 99.9% wonderful and .01% ...well you know, difficult. Our staff is a tight knit group of hard working team players that generally love one another, but occasionally feel like killing each other, kind of like an actual family. Th

Oktoberfest Comes to Rogues Harbor!

The German Oktoberfest may have officially ended October 3rd, but at Rogues we're just gearing up for some Fest spirit of our own. Sometime this week we will begin pouring our next Brewers Choice beer, an Oktoberfest inspired ale! While a traditional German Oktoberfest beer is of the lager variety and spend a good deal of time lagering before being served we're making use of an ale yeast that was more comfortable fermenting in our current climate. We've used much the same malt and hops that you'll find in a German beer, and we think you're going to really like the result. So what exactly is Oktoberfest all about? The festival began as a wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen(say that one three times fast.. Or try saying it even just once!). A few years later they moved the date from the middle of October to the beginning of September to have a chance at better weather for the festival. They also incorporated a cel

Rogues' Autumn Finger Lakes Dinner Menu

Nights are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, school is back in session & the leaves are beginning to change. It must be time for our fall menu. The end of summer is a bit sad, and I dread taking some summery offerings off the menu. Summer will be back and so will some of those warm weather dinners. Until then, I do love fall, rich savory flavors, hearty stews & comfort foods. I have to admit I've missed my sweaters. It's time to bundle up, wrap your hands around a steaming cup of hot cider and try a few new Finger Lakes offerings at Rogues'. We, E & Chef Luke, have discovered a few more local ingredients recently which inspired us this fall. When we offered food pairings with our last Brewer's Choice, Farmhouse Ale, we tried a free range, organic Cornish game hen from Shannon Brook Farm in Watkins Glen, NY. Chef Luke roasted it with fresh rosemary & sea salt, maybe a touch of butter, too. It was a little gamey, as the name suggests, sort lik

Locavore Drink Specials in the Heart of the Finger Lakes

Rogues' Harbor Inn has always been a devotee of all things local: NY wines, NY craft brews, Cortland apples, Finger Lakes cheeses, Finger Lakes beef, fresh corn, tomatoes, herbs, berries, squash... all from right down the road. We love it all. What's not to love about fresh produce grown nearby by folks in your own community who care about what they're growing & selling to their neighbors. A fresh locally sourced meal complimented by a local beverage is the epitome of just being where you are, and the Finger Lakes is a lush & delicious place to be. Beverages are important here at Rogues', aka the Harbor. We've always been proud of serving only New York State wines, expanding into New York State craft brews, then our own brews, and now we've found a number of local distillers. Jack pot. Finger Lakes Distilling in Watkins Glen distills all their spirits from Finger Lakes grapes. Seneca Drums gin is very junipery & cucumbery, uber refreshing. I also lo

Cranberry Obsession at the Rogues' Harbor Inn

The anticipation of crisp mornings and fall colors make me crave cranberries. I love cranberries- cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, cranberry bread, cranberry relish.... The list goes on and apparently the cranberry has been beloved in North America since long before the circa 1830's National Historic Landmark, Rogues' Harbor Inn was even an idea. Native Americans have been using cranberries in cooking and for dyeing fabric since at least the 1550's. Today there are over a million barrels of cranberries harvested each autumn. The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, founded in 1888, is oldest farming association in the U.S. They have a great web site, www.cranberries.org, and the following brief history is theirs. "The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America's three native fruits that are commercially grown. Cranberries were first used by Native Americans, who discovered the wild berry's versatility as a fo

Farmhouse Ales

Those astute readers who recently noticed our list of upcoming Brewer's Choice beer styles knows that the next one up is a Saison (French for "season"), also known as a Farmhouse Ale. Your first reaction might have been, "Cool!" shortly followed by "What's a saison?" Saison's originated in France and Belgium, and were made popular in the Flemmish region. They were the origianl working class beer - made on farms so that the workers would have beer to drink after long days of toiling in the fields. Every farm brewed it's own and it was made from seasonally available ingredients (hence the name). While saisons were originated in Europe, their popularity there has waned over the years as stronger Abbey style ales have become the popular drink of the region. It's the American craft brewer that has been instrumental in reviving the styles. It's becoming more common, especially on the East Coast, to have a couple of these beers in your lin

Eat Dessert First!

I drove past Purity ice cream not too long ago and their sign read, "Eat dessert first, life is short." I couldn't agree with them more. Many folks, including myself, plan ahead and have half of their dinner boxed to take home in order to save room for dessert. Planning ahead a little is wise, especially here at Rogues' Harbor where the portions are generous and the desserts are made right here. One of the hall marks of Finger Lakes cooking is fresh, local, gardeny ingredients like herbs, greens, berries, apples... We love it all and a couple of our country inn desserts feature wild berries, apples and local ice cream. Our wild berry cobbler is a big summer seller. It has strawberries, black berries & blueberries with a shortbread biscuit. In the fall, our apple crisp takes over as the most popular dessert. It has a touch of maple and a brown sugar crumbled topping. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream melting over the top is too wonderful to resist. Our richer dess

Finger Lakes Fresh Breakfasts at the Rogues' Harbor Inn

Bed and Breakfasts have two components, beds and breakfasts. It seems obvious, but not everyone gets it. It's a simple concept, and simple is good. Inns, B&Bs and smaller lodging establishments specialize in unique decor, cushy beds, personal service and yummy hot breakfasts. We place comment cards in all our rooms to be sure our guests love everything, see if they have ideas, concerns or God forbid complaints. We read them all. We get high marks generally, especially for decor, room size, comfy beds, nice flat screen TVs, Wifi,... A few comment cards have yielded some needed amenities like: room darkening shades, bath salts, full length mirrors, more hooks in the bathrooms,... We appreciate the ideas. Breakfast, however, doesn't always receive high marks- just good or OK. We aim much higher than that. So, this week our historic ballroom where we serve breakfast to our B&B guests got a make over. We put in smaller individual tables instead large family style tables (a

Beer 101: Yeast

The third post in our look at the brewing ingredients takes a look at yeast. I saved yeast for last as it is the most important ingredient in the brewing process. It is said as brewers our chief job is making a happy and comfortable environment for the yeast, and that it is the yeast that does all the hard work. That's not all that far off. The process of fermentation does more than just convert sugars in to alcohols. Yeast can contribute to the flavor of the beer, it can make a beer light and dry, or heavy, or even a touch of sweetness. If the environment isn't right for the beer it can cause bad flavors, or even halt the fermentation entirely. There are many different types of yeast. The yeast used in beer, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, isn't simply the bread yeast that you grab on the shelf of your local grocery store. It's a yeast that is well suited to tolerate continued fermentation in the presence of alcohol, and provides a range of complimentary flavors for the be

TOP TEN Things I Love about the East Shore of Cayuga

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Sunset on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, Lansing, NY (on my  iPhone)  I don't think my Top Ten is in any special order. In fact, the order could change nearly everyday depending on my outlook. 1. Wildly Colorful Sunsets every night You can drive Route 13/34 North up from Ithaca towards Aurora; East Shore Drive offers some spectacular views or you can stop at Meyers Park or Long Point Park to view the stunning exit of the sun's last rays. 2. The Lake , Cayuga that is Swim, boat, walk the shore, soak up some sun, go fishing, hunt for fossils... It's all good. 3. Wine We are right ON the Cayuga Wine Trail. Just 10- 15 minutes from the Rogues' Harbor Inn: King Ferry (Treleaven) Winery, Long Point Winery, Bet the Farm, Heart & Hands Winery... There is never a shortage of Finger Lakes Riesling or any other wine in these parts. 4. Good Food But not just good food, interesting places to kick back and soak up some atmosphere. From formal to s

Finger Lakes Summer Recipe

Some dishes just say summer. A group of us (managers, chef & owner) from the Rogues' Harbor Inn took a summer wine tour by boat last week. We had an entire day of sun, wine, and creative food pairings all around Cayuga Lake. It was the perfect summer day for a pack of foodies. First stop was Long Point Winery in Aurora. They served us outside over looking the water. It was like sipping wine at a hilltop chateau- they have one of the best winery lake views on Cayuga. We had 6 or 7 courses with wine pairings. All were just amazing, but three stood out for me. We sampled aged cheddar with their Reserve Chardonnay, BBQ beef with their Syrah and my personal favorite blueberry cheesecake with their Vidal Blanc. It was paradise. Second stop was Sheldrake Point in Ovid. We've all been there many times, but couldn't pass by without stopping. I tried their Late Harvest Riesling and the staff tried a few of their reserves. As always, we were not disappointed. Last stop was Butt

Brewing 101: Malt

In what seems like forever now (apologies for the long absence) we took a look at what role hops played in the brewing process. This time around we're going to take a good look at what malt brings to the concoction that is beer. The majority of malt used in brewing is a malted barley. The short form of how it's created is that the barley is wetted and allowed to germinate before being dried. The drying process used, and varying degrees of heat will help to create malt ranging from light, grainy malt, to deeply roasted bitter malts. While barley isn't the only malted grain used in brewing (malted wheat and rye are also used in some brews), it is the most prominent one. Malt is the backbone of beer, it contributes to flavor, color, and the body of the beer. The base malt, that is the malt that makes up the bulk of the malt used in your beer, is going to help you get the bulk of your fermentables. Most base malts are lighter in color as the more deeply you roast your grain

Fun, Fun, Fun

We had a boisterous crowd at the Rogues' Harbor Inn restaurant tonight and we liked it. It always makes us happy to know for certain that everyone is enjoying themselves- smiling faces, uproarious laughter, plates licked clean, more drinks for everyone...In the Bed & Breakfast we had a big family here for a reunion, a few other guests here for high school reunions and some wedding revelers. Really nice folks enjoying each other's company, a generous dinner, a few drinks and some well told stories. The stories are a bonus for us. We love meeting everyone, making sure they're well fed and watered, and catching a few tales of big fun. Over the years, listening to deeds of misadventure, a scale has evolved in my mind. The "fun" scale reveals the level of planning required for the Rogues' happy hour, dinner, Finger Lakes wine tour, microbrewery visit, pub crawl, concert weekend, canoe trip... and the craziness of the antics anticipated. There are always those

Independence Day in the Heart of the Finger Lakes

I've always been a big fan of the 4th of July. What's not to like about celebrating our nation's independence with beer, BBQ  and fire works. It's hard to come to the Finger Lakes and the Rogues' Harbor Inn and not reflect on history and maybe what or who makes us the most proud. Independence- the individuals right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is worth celebrating. I think part of that celebration should acknowledge the free thinkers and brave souls who risked all to allow us the freedom we enjoy everyday. There are so many important historic figures and sites in the Finger Lakes that it's hard to choose which make the top of my list. The Rogues' Harbor Inn and the Finger Lakes region have much to celebrate and many to acknowledge, but here are my top picks. General Daniel D. Minier built the inn and I owe him much for that. It took him 12 years to complete and was his greatest achievement. But greater to me was his willingness to risk it a

Beer 101: The Hops

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Hops growing Hops just before harvest While most people have enjoyed a beer or two in their lives, there is still some mystery as to the various ingredients in beer and how exactly they make up the different flavors. Some seem fairly straight forward, a hoppy beer, one can deduce, uses a larger quantity of hops to achieve its flavor. Though darker beers, or chocolaty beers, or some of the dry Belgian style of beer have characteristics which might not be as obvious to someone who hasn't spent a good deal of time learning about beer. I thought that maybe a little beer education 101 was in ordering and that over a few posts we'd look at some of the various ingredients of beer and take a look at exactly how they influence the shaping of the final product. First up, the hops! I'd like to start with hops because not only are they a key component of many styles of beer, but they are also a part of New York State history. Right up until the start of the 1900'

Father's Day Dinner at the Rogues' Harbor Inn

Father's Day is a bitter sweet holiday for me. I lost my Dad several years before I rescued the Inn, or before it rescued me. The Rogues' Harbor Inn was in rough shape, but I liked the old place and the location- Ithaca, the Heart of the Finger Lakes, Cornell University, Cayuga Wine Trail, gorges & water falls,...and over the past 15 years with much love and many renovations the Inn has come back to life. But, my father was on my mind when I opened the Inn, especially the pub. The pub encompasses his three favorite things in life. 1. wine (beer in his case), women & song, 2. steak, and 3. history. Rogues' is really my Dad's kind of place. He loved American history; he taught it for 30 years. He would have thought that the Rogues' Harbor Inn receiving National Landmark status was best thing to happen since my birth. He would still be researching the Inn's involvement in the Underground Railroad if he were here- while drinking a pint. On second thought,

Rogues' Harbor Inn at Taste of the Nation, Tuesday, June 14

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We love Taste of the Nation. We look forward to participating every year and even more so this year. This year we will be pouring our own craft brew at the event as well as serving some restaurant favorites. It's always a win win to serve some dishes (and now beer) to folks that have maybe never been to our national historic landmark inn before and to raise money to fight childhood hunger. Our Brew Guru, Chris, has decided to pour our first brew, Cayuga Cream Ale, at the event. We like food friendly brews and Cayuga Cream Ale is a good summer time, nicely hopped, straw colored ale which compliments the dishes we will be serving beautifully, if we do say so ourselves. We launched our new venture, the Rogues' Harbor Brewing Company, this past March and we've been very pleased to see lots of smiling faces enjoying our craft brews since then. Our Head Chef, Luke, will be preparing our Beer Steamed Mussels as our first course. They're Prince Edward Island mussels steamed in

We Love New York State Apples, Applesauce Cake Recipe

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Cornell Orchards I was just out enjoying the well deserved sunshine and looking over my apple trees. I noticed that it looks like a good year for apples so far. The trees are covered with hundreds of gumball sized apples. It's a sure sign of good things to come. In an area known for apples, inspiration and good apples are pretty easy to come by. The Rogues' Harbor Inn loves apples. It's obvious when you look at our menu offerings. We have the Big Apple Salad which has fresh greens topped with Empire Apples, Bleu cheese, celery, walnuts & our own house soy ginger dressing. There's the popular Finger Lakes Harvest appetizer which offers a sampling of local fare: NY Natural Chevon summer sausage, Finger Lakes Farmstead Bier Meck cheese, homemade crostini & fresh Empire apple slices. I like both of those with Bellwether Hard Cider on draught or Treleaven Chardonnay. In the fall we offer Apple Onion Chicken with pan seared chicken tossed in a ginger brandied appl

A Reminder

Poetry is important. That's all there is to it. Sometimes we just need to be reminded. I was reminded yesterday by a book I'm reading by Stephanie Saldana, "The Bread of Angels." "Now I take my seat beside him and he offers me a cigarette. After he lights it, we begin to speak about poetry. "Do you know what I have decided Stephanie? There are two kinds of poets. The good poet is able to put beautiful words on paper. But the great poet doesn't need words, and he doesn't need paper. The great poet sees that there is poetry in everything." He steps out of the store and begins pacing back and forth in the alley. "I've decided that poetry is best considered as a science. So, just as hydrogen and oxygen are bound together to create water, the force that binds them can be compared to poetry. Poetry is an invisible energy that exists between everything, holding it together, giving it meaning. The job of every human being is to search for t

Ithaca College & Cornell University Graduation Dinners

The month of May is a busy one for all the restaurants in the Ithaca area. It is a month that is looked forward to with high expectations and some trepidation. It's a profitable time, but not without stress. The transition from a sleepy Ithaca winter slow season to the busiest month of year is more than a little challenging. Hiring & training new staff, ordering extra dishes and silverware, developing new spring menu offerings, servicing equipment, email confirming hundreds of reservations, ordering enough produce & beef...not that we are complaining. We love to be busy. Busy is good. Busy, busy, busy. Staff wise, the seasoned veterans help out the newbies and management plugs away at their endless list of tasks to be completed before kick off. Mother's Day is the kick off for the month of May restaurant super bowl. Hundreds of friends & neighbors bring Mom out for dinner. Everyone in the restaurant seems to know each other; it feels like home. Then the last two we

The Typical Brew Day

We've loved the warm reception that both Cayuga Cream Ale and Rt. 34 Red hace received. We appreciate all the wonderful feedback that has been given, and of course it brings a big smile to our faces to see you coming back to enjoy more. Many people have asked about the process of making the beer, and exactly what goes in to it. It seems for all the beer that people enjoy they actually don't have much of an idea what goes on behind the scenes. Well today we're going to lay it out for you, dispel any myths about the brewing process, and give you a glimpse in to what the typical brew day looks like at Rogue's Harbor. First off there is the plan. The plan covers the setup, the brewing, and the clean up at the end of the brew. Before we get underway the first thing we need to do is get hot water ready as it's used not only for brewing, but for cleaning as well so we like to make sure that we have plenty on hand. We fill up our hot liquor tank (simply a large vessel wher

Beer to Go at the Rogues' Harbor Inn, Ithaca NY

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It's true. Beer to go is legal, and alive & well at the 'Harbor. You can take fresh draught beer home with you. A growler is a beautiful thing. In case you don't know about about growlers, here's the Reader's Digest version of their being. Apparently, drinking on the job preceded the 2 martini business lunch. Long before a can that could withstand the carbonated pressure of beer, beer was transported in covered pails. Prior to WWII kids used to lug these covered pails to their parents at work to have with their lunch. There are a few theories as to how they came to be known as growlers. One, is that their parents growled at them for spillage of their liquid lunch nourishment. Another is that the lid made a growling noise as CO2 escaped from the pail. My favorite is that the awaiting consumer's bellies growled because they were hungry at lunch time. No matter how the glorious glass container got it's name, it's utility remains the same. In the 1980&