Rings and shiny things

I have been meaning to write about the Hidalgo jewelry line since I saw it last winter at Zimmer Brothers during a photo shoot of Rolex watches for Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine. Hidalgo creates stackable and mix-and-matchable fine enameled jewelry made of precious metals and set with precious and semiprecious stones. The really neat part is that you create the design – so every one will be different.

There are rings, bracelets, earrings – even watches and pens! I fell for the ladybug design, which I think would look super in yellow gold with diamonds. I couldn’t find a photo of the ladybugs but this image will give you an idea of the possibilities. If I am not mistaken, there are 5 rings stacked in this photo. (They are very thin so you can wear several at one time.)

According to the company, the Hidalgo collection is designed by Silvio Hidalgo in the Virgin Islands. All 18K gold is manufactured in Miami, Florida and all watches are Swiss made. Mr. Hidalgo was born in Cuba and came to the US as a child. As an adult he worked as an electrical engineer for IBM, later started a computer company and while living in Monte Carlo, found his passion for jewelry.

You can see a great collection of Hidalgo pieces at Zimmer Brothers Jewelers, 39 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie.

Photo provided by Hidalgo collection

Warning: Big hair ahead

Did you see this article in the Poughkeepsie Journal today?
1980s fashion rollback -- Rejoice retro dudes & divas: Roller boogie is resurrected

Darn. I just got rid of my ‘80s clothes. (I haven't been wearing them. I was storing them. But I’m in the middle of a 3-step program to curb my packrat tendencies. That would be: step up to the closet/dresser/attic/box/pile on the floor, step away with item, step over to big plastic garbage bag, repeat …) So if you're into cutting-edge, visit my town’s recycling center, which is where all my apparently-trendy-again clothes went.

I wouldn’t want to revisit the fashion trends of my youth (although the decade itself was loads of fun and full of firsts: living on my own in Europe, first job, first new car, first apartment ...) I think retro fashions mainly have appeal if you weren't born before the first time they came around. I read this in the article and my initial reaction was ick: "We're definitely seeing '80s as the latest retro influence, from high-waisted jeans to super bright neon colors to big hair and the return of perms - spotted on both males and females," said Carla Avruch, director of consumer insights and trends at market research firm The Zandl Group. Uggg. I’ve spent the past few decades fighting my hair's natural tendency towards bigness.

And as they say, you can’t go home again.

A dog's life

There are few things more fun than spending the day hiking with the dog at Minnewaska State Park Preserve.

I took this photo of my dog, at left, playing king of the cliff.

What would make a good day even better is finding a restaurant where we could sit outside with the dog and eat a nice meal after hiking. Anyone have suggestions for restaurants in the valley where we could do this?

Jump to it

See great clothes. Have a nosh. For free -- tonight in Saugerties, starting at 6 p.m.

The inaugural HITS Saugerties Fashion Show presented by DIG (a popular boutique located in the Village of Saugerties), will take place at the HITS-on-the-Hudson Food Pavilion. That’s at the HITS showgrounds in Saugerties, where for the past month, nationally ranked riders and horses have been competing in hunter/jumper events. Tonight’s fashion show will feature fine equestrian apparel from the vendors at HITS Saugerties, as well as some high-end clothes from DIG, Woodstock Trading Post and Woodstock Design. Food for the fashion show is from Catskill Point and Mirabella's restaurant.

The Fashion Show is open to the public and admission is free; however, donations to Family of Woodstock, Inc. are encouraged and always welcome

The $22,500 Children's/Adult Championship and the $40,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship this weekend close out the spring shows, which culminate on Sunday with the $75,000 Footings Unlimited Grand Prix.

After this weekend, HITS Saugerties takes a five-week hiatus before returning on July 25 for three more weeks of world-class show jumping. The summer series concludes with one final week of show jumping beginning on September 5, followed by the Marshall & Sterling League Finals, September 13-16 when singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega will be performing for the Year-End High Point Awards Celebration.

More info and directions are at the Web site.

Strawberries!

Yum. Fresh strawberries. Pair that with several good chefs who will teach you what they know about cooking with strawberries. Adds up to one great evening.

I just received this e-mail from Gigi Trattoria (one of my favorite Rhinebeck restaurants), Gigi Market at Grieg Farm in Red Hook (my newest fave place to shop for food) and Jessica Bard (a chef and writer who is a frequent freelance contributor to Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine.) It takes place tonight -- so hurry if you want to make reservations!

Thursday, June 14
Gigi Market and Warren Kitchen & Cutlery present a cooking class to herald the first of the Hudson Valley's summer fruits: Strawberries!

Join this special collaboration of Gigi Trattoria Executive Chef Jesse Frederick and Pastry Chef Madolyn Noll along with Warren Kitchen's Jessica Bard.

The Gigi Market retail and dining areas will be transformed into a theater-style cooking demonstration classroom complete with a suspended mirror. Every guest will have a clear view of the chefs as they prepare sweet and savory strawberry delights and share special tips and techniques. Recipe tasting and light refreshments will be served.

6:30 - 8:30 pm
$20 per person, payable in advance or at the door.
Reservations suggested.
Call Gigi Market to reserve your spot!
845.758.1999

Gigi Market is located at Grieg Farms on Pitcher Lane in Red Hook, NY 12571

PS -- you'll find a GREAT recipe for Mixed Berry & Chocolate Crisp (it uses strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, dark chocolate, and Grand Marnier) in the June-July issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur. It was created by our food columnist, Certified Master Chef Tom Griffiths, who is an expert at creating nutritional and delicious food! (There's a list of places that sell the magazine at the Web site.)

La Dolce Vita

We celebrated limoncello in our first issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur. Now that June has returned, it’s time to revisit this elegant summer cordial. It’s one of my favorites.

Here’s an excerpt of the article we published in June 2006:

For an elegant taste of summer, Italian-style, serve limoncello. This traditional sunny yellow drink of the Amalfi Coast is a delicious way to beat the Hudson Valley heat or relax after a strenuous game of bocce. Authentic limoncello (sometimes called limoncino – or lemoncello in the United States—limone is lemon in Italian) is made from Sorrento lemons infused in alcohol. Limoncello can be enjoyed straight up as an after-dinner drink or used in a variety of cocktail recipes. It also can be drizzled over ice cream, fruit or simple baked desserts.

For the best taste, store the bottle in the freezer. Do as they do in Sorrento and serve it the traditional way—icy cold in ceramic cups (to better hold its chill) or use your favorite cordial glasses.

Eduardo Lauria, who owns Aroma Osteria in Wappingers Falls and Il Barilotto in Fishkill, is a native of Italy. ”I am from Napoli, and there everyone makes limoncello. It’s like pasta in Italy," he says. "It’s only become trendy here in the past 10 years. I was one of the first who was serving limoncello here in the Hudson Valley. I make it homemade up here, and I serve it in both of my restaurants. We disclose that it is homemade. We’ve shared the recipe with the CIA (Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park).”

Many of the Hudson Valley’s quality wine and spirits shops carry limoncello. I've seen it's at Rick’s Wine & Spirits, 12 Gay St, Sharon, Connecticut, 860-364-5768 and Sipperley's Grog Shoppe, Inc., 7510 North Broadway, Red Hook, 845-758-9421.

Salute!

Thank the oyster

My first piece of good jewelry was pearl earrings, a gift from my mother when I was in college. Actually, I already was in possession of a simple 22-inch strand necklace of cultured pearls that I’d borrowed from my mom and conveniently brought back to school with me, where I wore it quite often. (We’re going back more than 25 years here, when pearls were still de rigueur for some social events, at least at my school.) By the way, my very generous mother let me keep the necklace too.

In the latest issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine, we take a photographic peek at a few wonderful pieces of pearl jewelry sold locally, and share tips on how to care for pearls. Did you know that naturally occurring pearls are found in only about one of every 10,000 mollusks? (That tidbit is courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, which hosted a comprehensive exhibit on pearls.)

For women of my age, I think pearls remain a classic and elegant daytime accessory. I have a wonderful cultured pearl choker I bought for my daughter when she was younger, with the intention of giving it to her on her 12th birthday (more than three years still to wait.) But do young women in their teens and early 20s appreciate and wear pearl jewelry?

UPDATE: the photo above was sent to me from an Ulster County woman after she read this post. Judy wrote in response: Traditional cultured pearls are always beautiful and timeless. But for those who want a unique (and less expensive) look should consider designer jewelry featuring pearls. I make handwoven beaded jewelry featuring among many things, pearls. My website doesn't at the minute feature any of these pieces, but take a look anyway!
http://home.earthlink.net/~judy-carl/
Judy

Horse Power

Horse Power. That’s what we called the June-July issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur (on sale at local Barnes & Noble stores) because we take a look at our region’s equestrian events and “horse people.” I love horses. Our article about area Pony Clubs and the young people who are part of them was especially close to my heart. When I was a child growing up in the Hudson Valley (a long long time ago), I was lucky enough to own a horse and belong to a club. Although I didn’t really distinguish myself when competing in events, I did learn a lot from the experience.

These days I no longer own a horse – despite my daughter’s perennial pleas that we need to have one. But I can bring her to the wonderful equestrian events we have in this area. If you’re looking for something “horsey” to do this weekend – and for a chance to sample fine food from some of our local restaurants – you’re in luck. Saturday is Taste of HITS-on-the-Hudson, when from noon to 2 p.m. area restaurants (see the list below) will offer samples from their menus at the show grounds in Saugerties. Admission is $5 for adults and free for kids, with all admission proceeds going directly to Family of Woodstock, Inc.

Of course, don’t go just for the food – stick around and watch the nationally ranked riders and horses compete in jumping competitions that take place in multiple rings throughout the day. (There are also more than 30 vendor stores that form the HITS Saugerties Mall, such as clothing, tack, fine jewelry, custom footwear, art, photography, souvenirs and an ice cream parlor complete with wireless Internet access.) More info is at the Web site.

Restaurants taking part in Taste of HITS-on-the-Hudson include:

From Saugerties:
Main Street Bar & Grill
New World Home Cooking
Town & Country Liquors (Wine)
Village Pizza
The Dutch Ale House
The Dam Café
Café Mezelluna
Gisiano's Family Restaurant

From Kingston:
Le Canard Restaurant
Hickory BBQ Smokehouse
Keegan Ales
Edible Arrangements

From Woodstock:
Marion's Country Kitchen
The Emerson at Woodstock

From Rhinebeck:
Terrapin Restaurant

From Mount Tremper:
The Catamount

From Athens:
The Stewart House Restaurant

Local, sustainable, organic ... and delicious

Despite some of the hardest rain I’ve ever experienced, I had a wonderful visit on Sunday to Herondale Farm, a certified organic, environmentally friendly livestock farm on Wiltsie Bridge Road in Ancramdale (it’s in a scenic area close to Pine Plains and Millerton). Herondale is a fascinating place. The farm’s electricity is produced by solar panels on farm buildings and its machinery runs on biofuel made on site from local restaurants’ waste oil. In a postcard-perfect setting, the owners raise grass-fed heritage livestock breeds -- British White and Murray Grey cattle, Berkshire and Berkshire cross pigs and Cornish cross rock chickens -- which they sell to a few select restaurants (including The Stissing House in Pine Plains and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the acclaimed restaurant at the Rockefellers’ Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County.)

Sunday’s tour was a Slow Food Hudson Valley-sponsored event, so of course it included a meal. And what a meal! After touring the farm, our group of foodies (some from as far away as Westchester County and southern Connecticut) settled in at the home of our host (that's one of their cows in this photo I took), one of the farm’s neighbors. The wonderful meal featured Herondale grilled lemon herbed chicken and artisanal hot and sweet Italian, Andouille, and Chorizo sausages as well as our host’s special slow-smoked brisket. Dessert included strawberries -- the first of the season -- from a nearby organic UPick berry farm. (Ask Herondale for directions there.) Lucky for me, Herondale also sells its products right at the farm and there’s more info on the farm’s Web site about how to order. I’m going to recreate the experience at home (well, at least part of Sunday’s menu). Very very soon.