Our best desserts of 2011

Fabulous desserts are a hit all year round, especially here at Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go! We are so proud of our fabulous baker, Melinda Champagne for her heroic efforts in putting out desserts of the highest quality! Enjoy these images from the sweetest year on record! (and thanks to Roy Gumpel for the first two images).

Opera! Jazz! R&B! Classical! Choral! World! Childrens! Gospel! : It’s a World Class Opera Festival / Music Festival – in Upstate New York!!!

Live From (Phoenicia) New York – It’s Saturday Night (Live) Opera in the Park!!!!

It’s almost here! One of the Ulster County region’s most awaited summer event – the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice.

At Blue Mountain Bistro, if we have a day off, our favorite thing to do is to go to an outside event.  This summer is so full of concerts, festivals and theater – from Woodstock’s Bird-On A- Cliff Shakespeare outdoor productions, to the Belleayre Music Festival, to the second season of Phoenicia’s 4-day town wide International Festival of the Voice – and it is inspiring to be able to enjoy art and music in the Catskills.  All these events create delicious opportunities to bring along a gourmet al fresco picnic!

Since Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go is located on the way to the fun on Route 28 in Kingston, it’s easy to phone ahead and order a delicious entrée, drink and yummy dessert to take with you. The Bistro-to-Go is the Go-To place for take away!

For a relaxing time wherever your day takes you – Woodstock’s beautiful Comeau property or Opus 40, Phoenicia’s Parish Field or kid-time at the Empire Train Museum – we have created a variety of box lunches and dinners that will be freshly made and ready to eat under the twilight stars or sparkling sun.

Made Especially For the Phoenicia Voice Fest – Your ‘Opera Box’ Dinner To-Go

On August 4^th, Thursday evening, consider a concert by R & B and gospel artist Roz Morehead along with a picnic of steak kabobs, Israeli couscous salad roasted patty pan squash, a giant gourmet cupcake and refreshing drink.

Or on August 6^th, a night at the opera underneath the shooting stars of summer, listening to Mozart’s Don Giovanni or the voice of Lauren Flanigan echo off the encircling Catskill Mountains while dining on grilled salmon with summer salsa, bistro potato salad, green beans vinaigrette, delicious dessert and a beverage.

Kids have concerts to go to as well – Ralph and Ralph August 5^th & 6^th @11:30am & Uncle Rock August 6^th @4:00pm – and if you are in a rush to get there, you will want to order a few boxed lunches to bring before they get on the Esopus stream side train that follows the shows!

We have a breaded chicken cutlet (or grilled tofu), pasta salad with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella and a huge cookie along with a bottled drink all ready for when hunger strikes!

Don’t forget the day concerts with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Choir, Mid-eastern ‘oud master Simon Shaheen and concert pianist Justin Kolb!

For a hot day, we have created a cold plein air dish of cold sesame noodles, spicy Asian slaw, grilled tofu, choice of Melinda’s giant cupcake and bottled water, ice tea or lemonade.

How Do I Get My Food?

Your orders need to be placed early enough so we have time to prepare them just for you – It’s easy and convenient – pick out your delicious ‘Opera Box’ take away choices (below) and phone us at:

845-340-9800

Please order by 4:00 pm the DAY BEFORE the event you are picnicking at!

Put your portable gourmet dinner order in – then swing by on your way from the NYS Thruway to Phoenicia – and pick up.  It will be like having a personal restaurant cater your outdoor summer concert fun! (The folks sitting next to you will be really jealous!)

Here is a complete list of our offerings:

Box #1
Grilled salmon with summer salsa
Bistro potato salad
Green beans vinaigrette
Choice of Melinda’s giant cupcake
Bottled water, ice tea or lemonade
$18

Box #2
Steak kebobs
Israeli couscous salad
Roasted Gill Farms patty pan squash
Choice of Melinda’s giant cupcake
Bottled water, ice tea or lemonade
$18

Box #3 (Vegetarian)
Cold sesame noodles
Spicy Asian slaw
Grilled tofu
Choice of Melinda’s giant cupcake
Bottled water, ice tea or lemonade
$16

Box #4 (kids)
Breaded chicken cutlet (or grilled tofu)
Pasta salad with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella
Cookie
Bottled water, ice tea or lemonade
$8.95

…and for tickets and concert schedule, please go to Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice

Plum Delicious Pie

It’s mid-August and lately I’ve been aware of that familiar late summer feeling when the light begins to change and a tugging happens in my heart: summer’s almost over! We’ve had an abundance of delicious fruit and vegetables this year however the early fruits are now gone, blueberries are fading from the scene, peaches have been stars and are now beginning to wane. So what a treat to get our delivery from Red Jacket Farms and see and taste their stunning Vanier speckled plums. We put them in the case for all to enjoy and Melinda had a heyday making pies which just came out of the oven.

Come on in and enjoy the samples she put out of the plum filling. Absolutely divine! or buy a pie to take home.

Cupcake Decadence

The 4th of July weekend is upon us and we’ve had great fun in the past with stars and stripes cakes and fruit tarts. But another great dessert for any occasion is the great American Cupcake! And we are so lucky to have the ever-popular cupcakes that Melinda whips up on a daily basis here at Bistro-to-Go! This new variety is a chocolate cupcake and features a whipped chocolate ganache filling with chocolate buttercream frosting. If you’re looking to serve them to your guests this weekend, call soon as they go fast! Also available are her yummy lemon coconut cupcakes with lemon curd filling, carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and her version of the old Hostess classic with whipped marshmallow filling.

I thought it would be fun to share a couple of snaps of how she makes the design on top – perfect for Halloween actually!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

This is the time of year when friends and sometimes even customers bring us goodies from their gardens when they have an abundance. Our bookkeeper Bonni brought us rhubarb and today Melinda whipped up some divine strawberry-rhubarb pies. She said, “we’re going to keep one of these for ourselves” and after letting them cool for about 20 minutes we cut into the one “damaged” pie!! What a treat! The essence of early summer in the northeast! The only thing missing was the vanilla ice cream – oh well – we suffered through.

And another one of her amazing creations picked up for a Sweet 16 Party tonight – Happy Birthday Kelley!