Christmas Epicurean Delight...

Took a break from the rush to finish up Primary things and have it ready for 2015, begin Institute preparations, prepare the lesson for Countryside Homemakers, do my visiting teaching, etc., etc., etc.  All good things, but time to focus on Claude and my tradition.

The last two years we have gone to the Inn at Shaker Village.  This year Claude had a meal at Holly Hill Inn in Midway, Kentucky.  He suggested we try it for our Christmas feast together.  I agreed.  Claude made the reservations.  Tonight we went and had an absolutely delightful meal.  


The menu is like being on a cruise ship.  You are given a menu with four possible courses.  You pick the items you want in each of the four courses. Claude and I actually chose the same items with the exception of our main course.

We were surprised when they started us off with this little delight.  It is a mini Kentucky Hot Brown.  This is a true Kentucky food.  First served at the Brown Hotel in Louisville.  Some guests returned late from a play and wanted something to eat.  The chef in the kitchen took what he had and created the Kentucky Hot Brown and it has been a favorite for many every since.  This tiny version was delicious.

The first course we ordered was a crab meat and avocado cocktail.  Very, very good but it has some peppers that gave it a little punch.

The second course we ordered was borscht.  It was a 'winter' version with an elegant name which I cannot remember.  Claude nor I had ever eaten borscht.  It is made with beets.  I love pickled beets.  But I always envisioned borscht as being red and having a red watery broth with veggies in it.  This was like a brownish gravy and had a light flavor.  The top was garnished with little croutons.  The nice surprise was pieces of bacon in the soup.  Man it was good.

The main dish portion of our meal is where we differed.  Claude had a steak.  The sides were creamed spinach and some fancy type of twice baked potatoes.  I had the salmon served over some type of rice and I can't even remember what the sauce was to the side.  It sure tasted good with the salmon.

We chose Kentucky Jam Cake for dessert with a caramel icing.  It reminded us of a recipe I have called "Old Fruit Cake".  You make a cake with a quart jar of old home bottle fruit, any kind, that you blend.  The Old Fruit Cake tastes like a fruit cake without all the dried fruit in it.  This cake was like that.  Such a nice treat at the endof a meal. 

We pronounced this meal a winner in every way.  It was fun to have a very nice quiet dinner together.