We are both on line? We are both women? She likes to cook and I like to eat?
All of the above and one other: We both love Oscar's Smokehouse in Warrensburg, NY. So how did I get involved in this icon of the Adironacks?
I was researching bed and breakfasts in the Adironacks, and noticed where one was bragging of serving breakfasts made with "Oscar's Smokehouse Meats"
A local smokehouse....that's like dangling Godiva in front of a chocoholic. Incidentally, I am a chocoholic too, in case you need hints for a holiday present.
I immediately planned my trip.
We ended up going there twice, and I didn't even know about the Rachael Ray connection. Or about the fire last year that could have put them out of business but made them rebuild bigger and better. All I know is...I walked in and I was in smokehouse heaven. Smoked cheese. Smoked cheese dips. Sausages. Smoked Turkey. Smoked Chicken. Chocolate covered bacon (yes, really). Local bread and chocolate. Landjaeger. Elk sausage. Duck sausage. We had smoked turkey deli for lunch yesterday and smoked turkey breast with veggies for dinner. I snacked on their cheese curd in the car. Not only good local food, but reasonable prices too. Definitely not a tourist trap. I almost could have financed the trip on their food if I had prepared my budget (and my freezer) in advance.
We did treat my mother in law, brother in law and sister in law to lunch from their deli. Yum-O...no, wait, Rachael has that one taken already. Oops, sorry.
And if you do visit Oscar's here's ome of Rachael's recipes to get you started. Too bad I didn't know about them either, because now I can't make them without going back. Darn.
Bowties with Smoked Almond Sauce, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomatoes
Oh P.S. Bobby Flay eats their bacon. Maybe next time I'll buy some.
Showing posts with label Adirondacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adirondacks. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
9/11 in Stillwater, NY
Stillwater, NY doesn't get any respect.
The battle of Saratoga, which many historians believe was the turning point of of the Revolutionary War, was fought close to the village of Stillwater, NY, which back "when" was called.....Saratoga. Not to be confused with the present day Saratoga, this small village is steeped in history and I highly recommend a visit. From the French and Indian War, through the Revolutionary War, to.....9/11?
I have to tell one more 9/11 story. Due to rain making us change our plans, we ended up in Stillwater, NY, visiting a structure called the Blockhouse. We had a wonderful conversation with two women staffing the Blockhouse, one of them being the town historian of Stillwater. The other explained what a Blockhouse was, the historical origins of all the wood used in the structure, and showed us exhibits: on one wall, the French and Indian War, on another war the Revolution, on the third wall the Civil War. But what caught my eye was a large American flag. On the stripes portion, many names were printed.
It was a flag displaying the name of everyone who died on 9/11. Two names were highlighted with a tiny frame. I asked, were these people local?
Yes. One of them was a woman the staffer grew up with. She briefly shared her "9/11" story and told me about the 9/11 commemoration the village had just celebrated., I sometimes wonder that people from all over the country (and, as we know, the world) died on that day. This special village indeed had absorbed the lessons of 9/11/01.
I will have some photos on my computer the next time I post, and will write more about the Saratoga area soon.
The battle of Saratoga, which many historians believe was the turning point of of the Revolutionary War, was fought close to the village of Stillwater, NY, which back "when" was called.....Saratoga. Not to be confused with the present day Saratoga, this small village is steeped in history and I highly recommend a visit. From the French and Indian War, through the Revolutionary War, to.....9/11?
I have to tell one more 9/11 story. Due to rain making us change our plans, we ended up in Stillwater, NY, visiting a structure called the Blockhouse. We had a wonderful conversation with two women staffing the Blockhouse, one of them being the town historian of Stillwater. The other explained what a Blockhouse was, the historical origins of all the wood used in the structure, and showed us exhibits: on one wall, the French and Indian War, on another war the Revolution, on the third wall the Civil War. But what caught my eye was a large American flag. On the stripes portion, many names were printed.
It was a flag displaying the name of everyone who died on 9/11. Two names were highlighted with a tiny frame. I asked, were these people local?
Yes. One of them was a woman the staffer grew up with. She briefly shared her "9/11" story and told me about the 9/11 commemoration the village had just celebrated., I sometimes wonder that people from all over the country (and, as we know, the world) died on that day. This special village indeed had absorbed the lessons of 9/11/01.
I will have some photos on my computer the next time I post, and will write more about the Saratoga area soon.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Damn Good Jerky-Damn Poor Wifi
Just back from a few days in Lake George, which is about a 3 hour drive from Binghamton in the northern part of NY State. I have so much to blog about - I wish it was "on the spot" but the wi fi at my motel (otherwise very nice and a great location) was-like Lake George in the off season-mellow and slow. Especially slow.
I realize a lot of people don't go to Lake George to use wi fi and blog so it was a small inconvenience (except when it interfered with my ability to play FarmVille).
We went for the scenery (not leaf turning time yet, but close) and the history. We weren't disappointed.
We had two major surprises in our trip, both food related.
Going through the small hamlet of Stillwater on the way to the Saratoga battlefield (more on that battle in another post) we passed a small, unassuming storefront with a sign: "Damn Good Jerky". We decided not to stop, but went back a couple of days later.
In the store were a couple of young women, busting their "butts" packaging jerky. Stacks of boxes filled one corner with addresses ranging from Connecticut to various towns in NY. A small display asked customers to buy jerky for the troops, and contained various photos and letters from troops serving overseas. (as I work with two women with brothers serving in Afghanistan, I'll definitely tell them about this store.).
And then there was the wall of jerky. One pound bags for $10 caught our eyes (note, they are a lot more expensive on the web site). We ended up buying several bags as my son and my spouse both love hot and spicy jerky. For me, a smaller bag of teriyaki. I passed on the discounted jerky, which I assumed was older or somehow "off".
I am no jerky connoisseur, so I was surprised to find several websites rating jerky. One gave it a rating of "good", rating it better for sucking than for chewing. The other site had a more favorable rating.
Jerky was the last thing we would have thought of as "local food" but it was a surprising find. Again, I don't know if it is a good value buying it mail order but the prices were certainly right in the tiny storefront.
This jerky company was started by someone who felt he could make the "better jerky". From the busyness of the packing day we stumbled into, I think he succeeded.
I realize a lot of people don't go to Lake George to use wi fi and blog so it was a small inconvenience (except when it interfered with my ability to play FarmVille).
We went for the scenery (not leaf turning time yet, but close) and the history. We weren't disappointed.
We had two major surprises in our trip, both food related.
Going through the small hamlet of Stillwater on the way to the Saratoga battlefield (more on that battle in another post) we passed a small, unassuming storefront with a sign: "Damn Good Jerky". We decided not to stop, but went back a couple of days later.
In the store were a couple of young women, busting their "butts" packaging jerky. Stacks of boxes filled one corner with addresses ranging from Connecticut to various towns in NY. A small display asked customers to buy jerky for the troops, and contained various photos and letters from troops serving overseas. (as I work with two women with brothers serving in Afghanistan, I'll definitely tell them about this store.).
And then there was the wall of jerky. One pound bags for $10 caught our eyes (note, they are a lot more expensive on the web site). We ended up buying several bags as my son and my spouse both love hot and spicy jerky. For me, a smaller bag of teriyaki. I passed on the discounted jerky, which I assumed was older or somehow "off".
I am no jerky connoisseur, so I was surprised to find several websites rating jerky. One gave it a rating of "good", rating it better for sucking than for chewing. The other site had a more favorable rating.
Jerky was the last thing we would have thought of as "local food" but it was a surprising find. Again, I don't know if it is a good value buying it mail order but the prices were certainly right in the tiny storefront.
This jerky company was started by someone who felt he could make the "better jerky". From the busyness of the packing day we stumbled into, I think he succeeded.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Big Moose Country
Here is a guest blog entry by a friend, who took a trip to Watertown yesterday as her sister had some business to attend to there. She did a 418 mile drive in one day and gave me the following: some beautiful pictures too to accompany her narrative. So herewith, my friend.
Blue highways are the best ones, I think. 4-lane are great if you're on a schedule and/or just want to get somewhere, but on the 2-lane, there's always something beautiful and different around the next bend. It's interesting to see the little towns with the lovely old homes and even the not-so-lovely ones--it's how real people live, and that interests me. And, of course, the out-of-door, wilderness, or anything related do, too.
The countryside around Watertown is very pretty--rolling hills and farms. The farms look prosperous instead of run-down like so many are here. We took Rt. 12 to Lowville and were going to take the back road to Big Moose, but decided not to take the time because the road is very bad and, for me, it was a "school night."
There's the Moose River and the tiny rustic town of Big Moose (where Big Moose Lake is, and the river begins), and there were tons of moose around there at one time, but were "hunted out of existence" as one article said. They are slowly being introduced back in the mountains, and traveling over from VT. Here are some shots I took of the river from Moose River Road. I love the boulders--they are everywhere up there. There are rafting trips and other touristy things that take place on it, but I've never done any of them. Have always loved the area so much and wanted to explore it thoroughly, but never seemed to be able to. Maybe it's not too late!
We were hungry and wondered where to eat in Lowville. As I was calling a friend (who had built a cabin for her sister) to see if he knew anywhere, I saw a diner and that was the very place he recommended to eat. Then since we weren't taking the road to Stillwater and Big Moose, he recommended Moose River Road at Port Leyden. We did that, and it ends up on Rt. 28 outside of Old Forge. I picked up an Adirondacks map and a county map, so I could see exactly where we were going. I love county maps because all the back roads are on them, and the little towns are laid out like big cities. I just love maps in general.
Thank you, dear friend, for sharing with us.
Blue highways are the best ones, I think. 4-lane are great if you're on a schedule and/or just want to get somewhere, but on the 2-lane, there's always something beautiful and different around the next bend. It's interesting to see the little towns with the lovely old homes and even the not-so-lovely ones--it's how real people live, and that interests me. And, of course, the out-of-door, wilderness, or anything related do, too.
The countryside around Watertown is very pretty--rolling hills and farms. The farms look prosperous instead of run-down like so many are here. We took Rt. 12 to Lowville and were going to take the back road to Big Moose, but decided not to take the time because the road is very bad and, for me, it was a "school night."
There's the Moose River and the tiny rustic town of Big Moose (where Big Moose Lake is, and the river begins), and there were tons of moose around there at one time, but were "hunted out of existence" as one article said. They are slowly being introduced back in the mountains, and traveling over from VT. Here are some shots I took of the river from Moose River Road. I love the boulders--they are everywhere up there. There are rafting trips and other touristy things that take place on it, but I've never done any of them. Have always loved the area so much and wanted to explore it thoroughly, but never seemed to be able to. Maybe it's not too late!
We were hungry and wondered where to eat in Lowville. As I was calling a friend (who had built a cabin for her sister) to see if he knew anywhere, I saw a diner and that was the very place he recommended to eat. Then since we weren't taking the road to Stillwater and Big Moose, he recommended Moose River Road at Port Leyden. We did that, and it ends up on Rt. 28 outside of Old Forge. I picked up an Adirondacks map and a county map, so I could see exactly where we were going. I love county maps because all the back roads are on them, and the little towns are laid out like big cities. I just love maps in general.
Thank you, dear friend, for sharing with us.
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