Fall Firsts

Today we had 2 firsts -- a corporate retreat and a huge bonfire!  Both were great!

"Welcome Oktoberfest" Beer-Pairing Dinner was a great success!

Chef John Richardson, Guest Chef Patrick Peterson, and Ferguson Brewing Company Brewmaster, Ryan Landolt create a winning combination for a culinary feast!

An intimate, sixteen person beer-pairing event, was held in the Gallery of the Inn to welcome Oktoberfest.   The inaugural event sold out in a little over a week's time, featuring five hand-crafted beers paired with five delicious courses.

A big thanks to Ferguson Brewing Company, as well as Ryan Landolt, Chefs John Richardson and Patrick Peterson, as well as Virginia Harold Photography for documenting the event.

Below are highlights from the dinner.  To view more, go to:
Virginia Harold Photography

 

 

 

 

A big thanks, too, to the following purveyors of wonderful foods --
Salume Beddu, Cottonwood River, The Chef's Garden, and Dan's Country Meats.

Our next event is scheduled for Tuesday, October 28th, a wine-pairing dinner in collaboration with Sugar Creek Winery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look What's Cooking....

Chef John Richardson serves up more fresh, organic meals from local farm produce making guests rethink "what's cooking" for breakfast

This summer has had an abundance of amazing produce and Chef John has been "on his toes" creating our breakfasts.

Each week when we pick up our share from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at Greene's Country Store, John is put to the task of creating breakfast items from what he has been given.  In a way it's a very intricate puzzle that needs to be solved.  Watching him work each week is so interesting as he develops his menu items.

This particular week was very interesting and the guests absolutely loved every morsel!
 

 



Of course everyone loves getting to eat fresh Missouri tomatoes ripe off of the vine.  John took some delicious Heirloom Tomatoes and made them into a wonderful first course.

 

Many people might be puzzled about having a salad as a starter for breakfast.  But the fact is having fresh vegetables is always a great way to start your day.  The first course was a big hit.

 

 

The next course was not your normal "taters and eggs" for breakfast either.  John took grilled corn, red potatoes, green peppers, dill, beet aioli and 7-minute eggs to serve up the creation below.  Yum...
Last up was Cinnamon Chip French Toast topped with a Crème Anglaise and Toasted Almonds.

The kitchen was SO quiet while everyone savored breakfast.  We love it when people find out they love "what's cooking" here -- not your average breakfast!

We can't wait to see what he has in store for guests next!

Uptown Magazine features the Inn in their September/October issue

The Inn goes Uptown!

Susan Ashton, publisher of Uptown Magazine, visited the Inn one day earlier this summer.  The end result was a beautiful two-page spread piece on the Inn, written by writer and friend, Wendy Schlesinger (see online September/October issue, pages 40 & 41).

Take a look while this current issue is still available online:

http://issuu.com/erikbuschardt/docs/uptown_sept_oct_2014_v3/41?e=6613737/9007282

Thanks for the wonderful article!

We've joined as a member of Historic Missouri Wine Country!

Historic Missouri Wine Region

Mention going to a winery or a wine region to the majority of people, and the first thing they seem to think of is Napa.  But what most people aren't aware of is that Missouri was the first federally-approved American Viticultural Area in the country (AVA).  This happened a full eight months before Napa became the second approved viticultural area.

So what's so special about Missouri's wine region?  Plenty.  The new Historic Missouri Wine Country organization exists to tell what's special and let people know what they've been missing.  Defiance, Missouri is at the gateway to Missouri's Historic Wine Region. 

Businesses who are part of this association are recognizable by special signs posted outside their business like ours below.

 

For more information on Historic Missouri Wine Country, go to their site:
Historic Missouri Wine Country

To read more about our local Defiance Wineries, visit:
The Inn at Defiance - Wineries

Guest Chef -- Jeff stands in for John and has a successful debut!

Chef John went out of town for the weekend and Jeff needed to fill in.  Jeff is truly a good cook in his own right, and cooking up breakfast is something he really enjoys doing (just ask any of his tailgate friends or people who have gone to the cabin at the river).  John prepped and prepared some wonderful menus before he left, and Jeff jumped right in and did a great job.

 

We had picked up a really good "bumper crop" of food from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group at Greene's Country Store in Lake St. Louis and had some wonderful sausage from the Bavarian Smoke Haus in New Melle.  Everyone loved the food, and Jeff was happy being "Chef for the Day!"

The sorbet is topped off with Missouri peaches

Summer's Bounty -- a bumper crop of goodness

Chef John keeps things fresh by canning today's harvest for tomorrow's table

This summer has had an abundance of "goodies" from our garden and from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program through Greene's Country Store in Lake St. Louis.  Our herb garden has really loved the weather, and all of our varieties of basil have been "basking in the sun" prior to settling in a delightful morning breakfast recipe.

Our tomato plants have become gargantuan towers, overflowing with "just-about-ripe" beauties.  We've never met a tomato we didn't like :-)

Chef John has been busy taking items from our CSA as well as the garden and canning them so that our guests can enjoy this goodness all year long.

We're looking forward to trying all of the varieties of foods he has canned so far!