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

Healthy To Go Food For When You Shout, “I Don’t Want To Cook!”

Phoenicia based children’s music artist, Robert Burke Warren, aka Uncle Rock, wrote a brilliant song for kids entitled, Shop at a Mom N’ Pop, which he performs  to help raise a young audience's awareness of local Mom and Pop stores. He and his family lived in NYC and were weekend commuters to this area for many years, until the loss of their St. Mark’s Place apartment jump started them to relocate full-time to the Hudson Valley. Robert is passionate about supporting local businesses and has tried to pass that on to his many fans - so that they grow up appreciating the wonderful relationships that can flourish when you connect one to one with the proprietors of a neighborhood shop, restaurant or business.  In an age where mall stores hire employees with very little expertise in their specific departments, there is a new desire for shopping local, as well as the

enjoyment of discovery when we find that new place-to-go.

The Kingston Daily Freeman Agrees

Our local newspaper recently gave some local love to us – and that is so much appreciated! Thank you, Daily Freeman for the recent wonderful article on our Blue Mountain Bistro. Front of house manager and co-owner Mary Anne Erickson is quoted as saying, “We are, in the best sense, a Mom and Pop operation, where people can pop in, any day or every day, and feel welcome.” It’s easy and convenient to pop into this Mom & Pop because it’s right on the way up the line from NYC. In your Woodstock travel, Phoenicia travel, Hudson Valley travel – you can discover your new favorite place-to-be. Just come on in and get your food!

I Don’t Want To Cook

Another musician associated with this area, Todd Rundgren, wrote a song called Bang The Drum All Day, and the chorus starts with the simple, pertinent phrase “I don’t want to work!”

Sometimes when you’re on the go, rushing home after a long day doing your thing, or anxious to get to your upstate weekend digs: cooking = work!!! Remember the old advertising phrase from the 60’s – “Don’t cook tonight – call Chicken Delight!” Well, decades have now passed, and though a ‘don’t cook’ premise is still appropriate, people are actively seeking HEALTHY food on the go. The mega-supermarts have their pre-packaged and deli selections – but that is not an alternative for delicious home cooked to go food. We derive great joy and satisfaction from knowing that many of you consider our kitchen an extension of your own – because we cook the way you cook – when you have all day, when you feel creative, when your cupboard and fridge are stocked with the freshest, best quality, and healthiest ingredients. So please check out this article on what we do. Our cherished regular customers will enjoy reading about their local home base for good food to go. For those who have never stopped in, please discover us. When you come to this beautiful area of the world, country living and small town life slow the pace down. Simplify your life today and let us do the cooking.

Everyone is always looking for the best chicken salad recipe. One of our favorites is this healthy chicken salad recipe that has its roots in the savory flavors of Morocco.

We thought you'd like to learn some of the secrets to our famous, ever popular Moroccan chicken salad. We do it as a wrap or put a big dollop of it on a salad, AND we also chop it finer and spoon it into phyllo cups for a tasty and satisfying party appetizer. Here are some of Richard's thoughts:

As long as I've been a chef I've been a strong proponent of the Mediterranean style of eating: which includes lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lesser amounts of fish, meat and wine. When I was designing a luncheon menu for Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go in the weeks before we opened, I wanted to emphasize that by taking some classic deli favorites and giving them a Mediterranean twist.  The Moroccan chicken salad was quickly a big hit. Visually it is striking from the bright colors in our homemade spice blend, ie. turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, nutmeg and more (called ‘ras al hanout’ in Morocco, literally translated as "top of the shop").

For this easy chicken salad recipe, we start by roasting Murray's free range chicken breasts rubbed with our spice blend (mentioned above), then mix the diced chicken with dried currants, red grapes, red onion, scallion, celery and cilantro. Finish the mix with mayonnaise (to taste), a splash of lemon juice and fresh ginger juice. Take this wonderful chicken salad to your next summer picnic or neighborhood BBQ and be prepared for many compliments. Enjoy this slide show of how it all comes together.[slideshow]

Today was a classic hot and sunny July day in the Hudson Valley! What a perfect day for a brunch in a barn!! Especially if you got married yesterday and wanted to give your guests a taste of rural life AND delicious food from Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go!

Here is the menu we featured at this gorgeous old barn in Kerhonksen, New York:

Fresh squeezed orange juice and Mimosas
Frittatas with Gill Farms patty pan squash and Asiago cheese
Italian sausage, fennel, and sage frittata
Banana walnut and fresh blueberry muffins
Melinda's homemade streusel coffee cake
Bridor French croissants and chocolate croissants
Bagels with cream cheese and scallion cream cheese
Catsmo locally smoked salmon
Smoked trout rillettes on endive spears
Fresh fruit salad
Catskill Mountain organic coffee service

And then of course, when you're a caterer, you walk into a raw space (an old barn) and go about creating magic! It helps to have a great crew who work at lightning speed to turn a rustic environment into a lovely dining room. Enjoy the slideshow: