Rye Cooks

Top Chefs of Westchester at Mt. Kisco Country Club

The United Way of Westchester and Putnam Counties hosted their third annual Top Chef evening this past Tuesday night and we were invited to take part in a culinary whirlwind.

Participating restaurants included 42 at the Ritz-Carlton, Benjamin Steakhouse, Crabtree's Kittle House, Bellizi, Cafe of Love, Le Chateau, Lexington Square Cafe, Mt. Kisco Seafood, Myong Gourmet, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company and Hilltop Wines & Spirits.

The raw bar offered by Mt. Kisco Seafood was festive and the perfect way to start the evening. We stocked up immediately and found a lovely table outside overlooking the golf course.

Happiness Is...conveniently located (for me) in Greenwich went all out with a menu of five tasting items. My favorite was the beef quesadilla triangles drizzled with sour cream and salsa. The bite sized desserts were amazing, the black-eyed-susan mini cupcakes were so pretty, and the brownies were simply, but deeply, delicious.

Lexington Square Cafe also made a splash with the Robiola with Mushroom Strudel and White Truffle oil.  I didn't know what "robiola" was, and just looked it up and although I am still not clear, it was a wonderful appetizer and we went back for seconds.

The proceeds went to United Way's Teach Me to Fish..Work Skills for Life initiative.  This initiave offers free training for unemployed people to become NYS licensed home health care aides, offers mentoring for towards teaching careers, and other job skills and job placement opportunities.

The evening was lighthearted and fun, perhaps easy to do when the food sparkles and the wine and beer flow.  It was exciting to be a part of it all.

Tag Sale for New Sails

This past weekend my family and I ran a tag sale to raise money for the new Rye High School Sailing Team, which does not receive school funding.

A sailing team is a long time coming, in my opinion, since we are a community surrounded by the Long Island Sound.  Having a team allows any student to learn to sail, even if they are completely new to the sport. This season, there were some novices who are now very enthusiastic sailors.  It is not an inexpensive sport, however.

The team purchased a fleet of boats from a nearby school whose team was trading up.  The boats, known as "420's" will need new racing sails for next season, and we worked up different fundraising ideas.

The season finale was the tag sale, raising almost $1,000.  It is a beautiful thing when people donate stuff they no longer want and it turns out that's the exact stuff other people do want. Well, they want it for very little money, so it's best to have a big collection of things because $2.00 was the going rate, whether it was for a salad spinner, a garden accessory, or a formal dress.

I love the idea of making money without spending money, and a tag sale is recycling at its very best.

Dinner at the Square House

Arranging a meal prepared almost entirely in a 1700s fireplace in Wilton, Connecticut.  Paula will probably use a Viking stove.  ©Suzy Allman/New York Times

If you are going to the Rye Historical Society's celebration of 350 years in Rye -- it's tonight -- we hope you'll at least pause by Paula's offering in the silent auction: a fully-catered meal at the Square House for you and your friends and family.  And if you pause, you might as well bid!  Paula is inviting guest chefs to make the meal and dessert.  It will be served in the dining room of the 1730 landmark tavern (how special is that?).

The dinner will take place in autumn, when the fireplace is put to good use.

Fireplace cooking, left; twin apple pies, right.  ©Suzy Allman/New York Times