the beauty, and deliciousness, of fall

Ah, October! At last leaves are crimsoning up and drifting down.

The Blue Hill Inn is bursting with events this month.

First, Chef Devin Finigan and I invite you to a European wine dinner. Chef Devin has crafted a five-course dinner, with each course inviting diners to visit a different country in Europe.

We'll head to France for oysters and an Domaine Duseigneur Lirac 2010 rosé (The color alone of this rosé will dazzle.),
to Greece for Mediterranean flounder and Assyrtiko Santorini 2008,

to Spain for duck breast confit with peach and pepper sauce paired with Old Hands 2006 Monastrell,

and then on to Italy for peppercorn-crusted tenderloin paired with Riparosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Illuminati 2009.

We'll end our European tour with a German apple strudel and Dr F Weins-Prum Estate Riesling, Mosel, 2008.

Information about each wine poured and the pairing will be included. For reservations or more information, call 374-2844. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 6 and 7, 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is $80 per person (dinner, wine, tax, and gratuity included).

Then, we are hosting a reception for George Stevens Academy alumni and friends after a a New Surry Theatre presentation of songs and scenes from their production of Wizard of Oz on Sun., Oct. 9.

Then we move into Foliage, Food, and Wine Festival mode! This year again, we partner with El El Frijoles for two nights of their supper club here at the inn. Maxx from the Blue Hill Wine Shop will be on hand to wax poetic on wine pairings, with Michele from El El Frijoles doing her best to challenge his wine expertise.

We've had a bumper crop of hen of the woods mushrooms
this year. As I type this Chef Devin is creating ravioli with the mushroom, caramelized onions, fresh parsley and toasted walnuts. Again, she makes being vegetarian so much fun! Her soups have been very popular. This week she's making a native fall corn soup with peeky toe crabmeat--the absolute best this area has to offer. She's grilling quail and serving it with a fig demiglaze and polenta--so delicious. Her grilled steak is finished with gorgonzola butter and has farm carrots and crispy kale.

I, always testing the waters on your behalf, had oysters at Arborvine recently. The Hikades do it all right at Arborvine--the setting, the service, the food. Dining there, right around the corner from the inn, is always pleasant.

So many inn guests, as they head out for the day to kayak, hike, shop, and explore, wonder if I get time off. I recently was invited to an island to play pétanque with Tony from the Pilgrim's Inn, among other aficionados. When you're here next, I can steer you to the various courts we have in the area, including the one at the Pilgrim's Inn.

If your fall isn't this much fun, come share with us! But call ahead, our fun events sell out and we're all booked up in the inn certain nights this month.