Fun in Saratoga

Maestro's extends the popular $5.00 early special for four extra days

$5 Entree Extended for 4 more days!!!!! Sunday Nov. 29th thru Tuesday December 2nd

Maestro's "A Fine American Bistro"    $5 Dollar Five O'clock Entree    Dates are selling out!!!!!! Call Now!!!!! Reservations are Highly Suggested!!!   Your ENTIRE! party MUST be seated by 5pm!   $5 Five O'clock Entree The doors will open at 4:45 PM each night. Your entire party must be seated by 5 PM....NOT ONE MINUTE LATER!   You will then be treated to a menu featuring four entree selections for just $5 each.   The menu will change each week!   No coupons needed, no limit on the size of your group.....no other rules!   Just a great entree and our full level of hospitality for just $5    REMEMBER..... We have 40 seats...Reservations are highly suggested! Once they are full that days special is over! Nov 1st-7th Menu      Grilled Pork Flatiron Cheddar grits, blackened string beans, garlic jus   Baked Atlantic Haddock   Root vegetable risotto, wilted spinach   Spinach Gnocchi  Sundried tomato sausage, garlic cream, broccoli rabe   Grilled Chicken Risotto Tomato mushroom risotto, Grana Padano         Maestro's "A Fine American Bistro" 371 Broadway Saratoga Springs, New York 12866 518.580.0312

Putnam Market newsletter and fresh fish offerings

Putnam Market has a weekly newsletter (copied below) which, among other things, lists the fresh fish they will be getting each Friday.  If you make an email order by noon on Tuesday, you can pick up your fresh fish on Friday.  I've ordered their fish before and of course it is of high quality - I like the fact that I can get wild salmon from Putnam Market at least some of the time. You can sometimes get wild salmon from Price Chopper, but the labeling is sometimes vague and I am not confident that I'm getting accurate answers from the employees.  Putnam Market, as you will see below, gives you very specific information before you order.  Price Chopper/Golub is a good company and it's essentially local, being right down Route 50 in nearby Schenectady, but being a large chain they can't get everything right, which is why Putnam Market is worth a weekly visit. 

Gift Baskets

Sandwich  Menu

Catering Menu

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Contact Putnam Wine

			FOLEY FISH ORDER Arrives Friday, December 4, 2009     please place your order by noon on Tuesday

FRESH THIS WEEK please click here to e-mail us your order   The best seasonal prices this week:   Foley Farm-Raised Salmon   $11.99 lb   Grey Sole     $17.99 lb   Nantucket Scallops   $28.99 lb   Prince Edward Island Mussels $ 7.75 ea   (2 pound bag)    Having a party?  If your order meets the minimum, we can bring in for you any week: Fish/ 6 pounds: Sword, Yellowfin Tuna, Halibut, Sea Bass, Trout, Catfish, Sole... Clams & Oysters/ 50 count: Wellfleet or Littleneck Clams, Oysters from New England PEI Cultured Mussels/ 2 lb (serves 3-4)   I will e-mail you a confirmation that I have your order by the end of the day on Tuesday.    If you placed an order, and don't get acknowledgment from me, call!    -Cathy    You are invited to our Holiday Open House on Wednesday, December 9 from 5-8 pm.  We'll have lots to taste and sip, and special discounts across the stores.  Join us!

Seared Salmon with Bacon I found this Nigella Lawson recipe a few years ago.  I've cooked salmon many ways, but it is this recipe I come back to.  The smoky bacon complements the rich salmon perfectly.  Serves 2. Ingredients 2 slices bacon or pancetta, chopped fairly small 2 (6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet     (about 1 inch thick) with skin Salad Mix 1 scallion, sliced thinly crosswise ½ lemon   Method of preparation Sprinkle a frying pan with a little oil, heat it and fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove to a paper towel.   Immediately put the salmon in the hot pan, sear on each side, then cook for a minute or two, depending on the thickness of the fillet, at a lower heat until cooked through.   Put together the salad mix in a bowl.   Plate the grilled salmon.  Squeeze some lemon juice into the frying pan and pour the juices over the waiting undressed salad.  Toss the salad, add the bacon bits and toss again.  Add to the plate with the salmon, and garnish with the scallion slices.

ORDERING SPECIFICS From Foley Fish We must buy a minimum of 6 pounds per type of fish, so we need orders for at least that much to bring it in.   Please order at least 1 pound per type.  Foley Fish freezes well.     We need your order by noon on Tuesday, 12/1, and it will be available for pick up after 10 am on Friday, 12/4.

PUTNAM MARKET the best food and wine store between manhattan & montreal

call: 518.587.3663 www.putnammarket.com

Local photographer Barbara Livingston will be at Impressions of Saratoga on Sunday November 29, 2009

The Impressions of Saratoga Blog has more information about Barbara Livingston's 1PM visit and the opportunity to get her to autograph one of her new or old books.  She will also be at Impressions of Saratoga on December 11th as well. 

Saratoga Springs city tax bills due

Heyyyyy nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a reminder that your tax bill is due, but don't blame me - I'm just the messenger.  If you pay your Saratoga Springs city taxes in quarterly installments, don't forget to drop your fourth quarter payment off to city hall or get the envelope postmarked (not a meter mark) by December 1, 2009 to avoid late fees.  Click here  for the tax payment page on the Saratoga Springs city web site.

Tax payments may be mailed to the Commissioner of Finance, PO Box 328, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-0328 or hand delivered to City Hall at 474 Broadway. The tax office is located on the first floor of City Hall, first door on the left when entering from Broadway. The office hours are Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All checks should be made payable to COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE.

News from Saratoga Farmers Market

I received this information below and am passing it along:

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Saratoga Springs Farmers' Market

November 27, 2009                                
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Market News:  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Saturday our market will abound with local bounty.  Check out our new vendors: Zorbas Natural's Gar La La (nondairy, gluten free, soy free dips); Saratoga Salsa Potato Chips (made from Sheldon Farms's Adirondak Potatoes); Mrs. London's (organic coffee and pastries).  Note: Holiday greens are now being sold at the market.    Missing this Saturday will be Effie's Bakery and Bridge to Health--both will be back on December 5th! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Parking will be on the both sides of the school.  Please keep the front lane open for safe pedestrian travel.  Thank you. Note: Dogs are not allowed inside the school building.  School rules. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MARKET SHED has been converted to the Market Table  at the winter market and will continue to provide "market money" (tokens) for those short on cash, but are carrying credit cards or EBT cards.   We also have the great gift ideas: market tote bags (canvas and insulated),  t-shirts and gift certificates!    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thanksgiving Raffle Will Be Awarded Tomorrow! proceeds from the winter market basket raffles will be going to offset the extra expense of our beautiful new location at the gym of Division St Elem School. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enter now at the market table: THANKSGIVING BASKET WILL BE GIVEN OUT  NOVEMBER 28th, 11 am at the market *Our monthly raffle basket will have a Thanksgiving theme.  Ticket prices  are $2 each or 3 for $5.  This basket is worth over $125!!!

News from our Vendors and Black Friday Saturday Specials In keeping with the season, some of our vendors will have special offerings at our November 28 Market day, two days after Thanksgiving. Others will debut a new product, or bid good bye to one of your favorites.  ¹      As their supply of natural greenhouse cucumbers declines, Shushan Valley Hydro (Phyllis Underwood) will soon reintroduce the green beans, just in time for the December season. Take notice that they're running a special on Saturday: Buy two greens and treat yourself to the third at no cost. ¹      Elihu Farm (Mary & Bob Pratt) have become goose herders in addition to being sheep herders. For a special holiday dinner for a few or a crowd consider one of their heritage breed geese for your table. Their Black Friday Saturday sale item will be small boneless lamb sirloin roasts for $12 per pound, regularly $13.50. A perfect dinner for two. ¹      Continuing the 'green theme', buy any two greens from Kilpatrick Family Farm (Michael Kilpatrick) and get the third for 50 percent off. ¹      For oh so delicious braised or roasted joints (to use a British term), Homestead Artisans (Liza and Dave Porter) will have goat leg and breast quarters for 50 percent off. "Come 'n get it," Liza writes. ¹      Add flavor to your applesauce, holiday breads, or roasted winter squash with cider from Saratoga Apple (Christine Gaud and Nate Darrow). Their cooking quality pints of cider will be on sale for $1.00 per pint. That's half off the regular price of $2.00 per pint. Pick up some apples along with the cider. ¹      Frenchy Loeb Jewelry is offering Gift Layaway Service on all of her beautiful gemstone inventory for the Holidays. For a non-refundable $5.00 deposit, she'll hold your purchase. *** For this Saturday only, make your jewelry and gift orders, pay in full, and receive 20% off. *** This is Frenchy's final sale of 2009. Give your loved one, or yourself, a gift for Chaunukuh (December 11 through 19) or for Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECIPE OF THE WEEK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Citrus Winter Squash Casserole with Apples Note: This recipe lends itself to using leftover squash from your Thanksgiving table.  Citrus Winter Squash Casserole with Apples  2 lbs winter squash (I like to mix medium butternut, acorn and delicata) 1-2 apples, cored, skinned and thinly sliced 2 tbsp butter 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup orange juice Prepare squash by cutting in 1/2's or 1/4's, deseeding and baking covered by aluminum foil at 375 in a shallow baking pan with 1-2 inches of water.  Bake until meat is tender (30 minutes).  Remove from oven, but leave oven on.  Slice out squash meat at mashed gently together and put into a generously buttered 9x 13 baking dish.  Add apple slices throughout.  Pour over maple syrup and orange juice.  Bake for 30 minutes in oven or until apples are tender and casserole is heated through. Note: this recipe can be made more robust and appealing to meat lovers by adding sliced sausage to the dish.  (An addition my carnivorous husband insists I mention here).

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The Saratoga Farmers' Market is open for its winter season, Nov.-April, Saturdays 9a-1p at the Division Street School in Saratoga Springs, NY. (go to our website for a map to our winter location.)

For more info go to www.saratogafarmersmarket.org

Friday night in Saratoga

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  If you're looking for something to do tonight in Saratoga Springs, George Fletcher and Pete Pashoukos (aka Tequila Mockingbirds) are playing at Johnny Luc's (formerly The Clubhouse) at about 9pm, and of course Thursdays at Cantina.  I am out of town for the holiday so I won't be out this weekend but I am sure there is other live music downtown so check it out. 

 

 

Scallions visit

I took my girlfriend to Scallions Restaurant last week, located at the corner of Lake and Henry Streets, and we had a real nice dinner there.  It was a Monday night and there was only one other table (with three customers) occupied when we got there at 7:45PM.  I realize Monday nights are often slow for restaurants, but I hate to see our local businesses obviously suffering from the economy. 

  

We often share dishes, which allows us to enjoy both an appetizer and an entree, and sometimes even dessert, without getting too full.  We shared the pierogies appetizer, which was served with carmelized onions and sour cream.  Pierogies, which are potatoes and cheese (or sometimes sauerkraut) wrapped in dough and then fried, is a mainstay in many of the markets offering Polish cuisine in my hometown of Buffalo so I certainly enjoyed them.  We then had the pesto chicken entree, which included penne pasta, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts in a creamy pesto sauce.  That also was very good and we appreciated the chef taking the time to divide them onto plates for us right in the kitchen.  He obviously didn't have too much to do back there considering how empty the place was, but it was still a nice touch.  They had an interesting dessert menu but we are trying to stay healthy so we passed.  Our walk through the gallery and gift shop was a nice ending to a good dinner and we plan on going back there for lunch or dinner soon. 

 

Virgil's House newsletter

I receieved this email from Virgil's House, the very comfortable coffee house on Henry Street which doesn't allow laptops, cell phone usage, or other electronic annoyances.  They have art, puzzles, chess, checkers, books (!), and more.  It's a very comfortable and relaxing place. 

HOLIDAY NEWS   Pick up something special from us for Thanksgiving Bakery~Soup~Quiche~Latkes~Scones Order by Monday, November 23rd     We will be closed Thanksgiving Day    We wish you all a happy holiday!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW HOMEMADE MENU ITEMS ALL AVAILABLE IN PLATTERS FOR PARTIES OR GIFT GIVING Grandma Ida's Potato Latkes-- Made from hand grated potatoes, homemade and to die for!   Fat Free Homemade Banana Bread-- Delicious, healthy, made with all natural organic ingredients.  Chicken & Matzo Ball Soup Homemade soup made with free range chicken and fresh vegatables.   Fresh Homemade Biscuits Try them with our homemade jam for a fresh down-home snack, Or try an asiago biscuit warmed with butter or cream cheese.   We have made the leap. Ask us about ~Customized Catering~ At Virgil's House,at your house or at The Apple Tree Victorian Inn in Ballston Spa Catering Menus Available Now  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   START YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING EARLY HERE AT VIRGIL'S UNIQUE, GREEN, LOCAL, AND CONSUMABLE GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL EVENTS Give the gift of Virgil's Coffee ~ Our Coffee Club for $139.00~ Unlimited coffee in any travel mug or in house for the entire year! Buy it now, and get the remainder of 2009 included.    Gift Baskets Put together your favorite goodies! Bakery, teas, Mate, coffee and gift cards   The Gift of Gab Our kids have some pretty amazing and often entertaining ideas and viewpoints. Virgil's has 3 packages designed to detail and chronicle your childs interpretations, thoughts and perceptions.  As if a piece of their childhood has been magically frozen for you to keep forever or give as an unforgettable gift.   30 minutes with your child is all it takes. You choose your format and I will create a unique and lifelong memory, packaged and ready to give. Great for parents, spouses, grandparents~ anyone who would like a keepsake of your child's imagination and impressions. All ages!   Fund Raising Made to Order Ask us about our fund raising program. We have several packages available, Tickets $10-$50 We will take care of tickets, coordinating and hosting the event, You simply sell tickets. 25-50 people   A great way to raise extra money for your group. We'll send an email notification on your behalf and list it on our Facebook page. Call Kathleen for details or email her at kathleen@virgilshouse.com   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday Morning Crossword Challenge has begun!  Enter by 8am Sunday. First to complete the puzzle of our choice wins a $5.00 Gift Card. Don't forget to look for our weekly email specials in your inbox!

NYRA on Youtube and Flickr

NYRA has done a nice (read: professional) job posting videos to Youtube and pictures on Flickr via what is apparently a new endeavor for it called "NYRA Spotlight".  Watching the videos and viewing the pictures makes me nod in approval that NYRA apparently hired a firm well versed in new media products and techniques to ensure the utilization of professional videographers, photographers, editors, and more to ensure a quality and modern looking product. 

The photos and video are more than just quality products.  The video is produced with the appropriate background music, MTV style angles, pacing, and cuts, and all that cool stuff that makes you realize that it's professional and, more importantly, designed to catch the interest of the younger generations.  The younger fans would normally bore quickly on a four plus minute piece about the NYRA Clerk of Scales (Embedded below), but the modern production techniques, along with candid snippets of star jockeys Kent Desormeaux, Alan Garcia, and Ramon Dominguez, makes the final product enjoyable to watch.  Those Gen X and Y kids and young adults get bored quickly, but NYRA obviously realizes that they are needed to keep both NYRA and the sport viable into the future. 

The photographs (A few are posted below but the entire collection can be linked here) are from Adam Coglianese, who I don't know but I am sure many of you do because by all indications he's an accomplished equine photographer. 

 

 

 

Well congratulations to NYRA for starting this endeavor off quite well.  I've said it many times before that what's good for NYRA is good for Saratoga Springs and the entire region, so I was pleased when I viewed theire excellent work on the video and Flickr photographs.

Saratoga Seen visited Bettie's Cakes on the grand opening

Christen Gowan from the Times Union had a Tony the Tiger kind of review  on Bettie's Cakes.  Her conclusion:  They're Grrrrreat!  Read Christen's entry on the T-U's Saratoga Seen here.