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A ‘Taste’ for Adventure – Freefall Tuesdays at the Horse!

Chef Kathleen — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:15:09 +0000

Freefall Tuesday’s at the Horse

This summer our popular Chef’s Tasting and Wine Dinners become Freefall Tuesdays, where you put your taste for adventure into the capable hands of Chef Kate and her creative kitchen staff. Freefall is a five course tasting experience loosely inspired by a specific region of the world, with each course paired with wine selected by the chef and a local wine expert. Using only the freshest ingredients available from local farm-to-market growers, organic meats and wild fish, each menu is sure to stimulate and please the most discerning of foodies.

Freefall is limited to 24 guests with secured reservations required. Freefall is $129 per couple with wine, ($34 per person without wine).

Last summer’s series was a sell-out, so reserve early!

Our epicurean explorations:

June 14 – Polynesia

June 28 – Portugal

July 12 – Tasmania

July 26 – Afghanistan

August 9 – Sri Lanka

August 23 – Guadalajara

September 13 Freefall End of the Season Missoula Farmer’s Market Menu with Guest Chef

For reservations: email Kate at laughinghorselodge@gmail.com

Pesce in Acqua Pazza – From the sea to the plate in minutes

Chef Kathleen — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 09:23:12 +0000

“Cuando los ingredientes son óptimas, la cocina puede ser simple.”

“When the ingredients are optimum, the cooking can be simple”.

No truer words have been written, especially when it comes to fresh -beautifully fresh - fish still redolent of brine, eyes bright, firm fleshed and loaded with culinary possibilities. Last evening four Americans showed up at the dock, a stringer of corvina (sea bass) in hand, and a request for dinner. The menu was already set for the Cala Mia dining room, and with only 30 minutes before the hotel’s guests would be arriving, an uncomplicated dish was required.

I remembered reading David Shalleck’s Mediterranean Summer, a biographical journal of his first year’s as Chef on a luxury sailing yacht in the Med, and how he was challenged to create new dishes every day using only the freshest of ingredients for his discerning and demanding owners. Cheffing at an isolated island resort is similar to cooking on a yacht…you just can’t make a quick run to the market when the whim hits you. So you get creative and simplify, simplify, simplify…and use what your location offers up…in this case fresh fish.

One of Shalleck’s ‘go to’ recipes was Pesce in Acqua Pazza (Fish in Crazy Water), a traditional Neapolitan dish that exemplifies simplicity. With Cala Mia’s ‘go to’ guy, Beto, cleaning the sea bass, I began to assemble the dish. Thirty minutes later, as our four fishermen finished their first course of organic gazpacho with Feta and virgin olive oil, their pesce was served. After the ‘oohs and aahhs’, silence reigned as they quite obviously enjoyed their dish. (Although I would like to take full credit for its success, the kudos go to the Neapolitans who for centuries have mastered the art of simple, yet elegant dishes; and of course, the tasty corvina.)

Pesce in Acqua Pazza (Cala Mia Style)

Ingredients:

Fresh fish…the best is flaky fish like halibut, snapper, bass or grouper.

Garlic

Firm, ripe tomatoes

Italian Parsley

Zucchini

Capers

Kalamata Olives (optional)

Leeks

Virgin Olive Oil

Sea salt and white pepper

[Although this recipe is designed for cooking whole fish, I have adjusted it to individual-serving stoneware oven-to-table dishes.]

Brush the ramekins with olive oil.

Cut fish into 1″ chunks and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Layer the ramekins with thinly sliced leeks, zucchini and a touch of minced garlic.

Place the fish chunks on top of the vegetables.

Place thinly sliced tomatoes over the fish.

Sprinkle with minced parsley, a bit of diced kalamata olives and capers (rinse both well to remove excess brine).

Drizzle with olive oil and cover for the oven.

Note: The dish will appear somewhat dry, however, after 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, the fish will be simmering in a lovely bath of ‘crazy water’. Do not overcook!

Bon appetit! Chef Kate

Fat Trout Force the Horse to Change Dining Room Hours

Chef Kathleen — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:26:27 +0000

It’s fall…arriving a bit early this year, but this is Montana and the weather is fickle as a teenager’s heart. But with the cooling weather comes one of the best times of the year in the Rockies…crisp days, clear nights, the aroma of wood fires floating on the evening air, and, most important, fat and sassy trout!

One such trout – a particularly rotund specimen of approximately 20 inches – has forced me to alter my dining room schedule for the fall allowing me one more evening to try to land ‘her holiness’. There are many great reasons to live in Montana, fall trout fishing is one of the best…and spending a stolen evening on the river with a 5 wt in my hand beats standing over a hot stove, even if I’m cooking up some special fare for great friends and visitors. So please forgive me, but I’ve changed my dining room hours to Thursday – Sunday, 5pm – 9pm for dinner and Sunday Brunch, 9am – 2pm…on the flip side, I have extended my season through the holidays.

The lodge dining room is available Monday – Wednesday for private dinners and events for 12 to 56 persons. So if you are planning a holiday party, special family get-together or just a night with good friends, include the Horse in your plans. We’d love to host your event here or help you give a stellar performance in your home.

So here’s to a great fall, brilliant fishing and a delicious dinner at the Horse..see you soon. Kathleen

Exceptional “Date Night” at the Horse with our second Chef’s Tasting and Wine Dinner!

Chef Kathleen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:45:23 +0000

Join us Tuesday, July 13th, 6:30pm for our Chef’s Eastern Mediterranean Tasting and Wine Dinner. Last month’s event sold out and everyone had a brilliant time with some fab food and unique wine discoveries. This month we’re featuring the cuisine of Turkey, Cyprus and the Eastern Med. Check out the menu and the wine pours and give us a call. Limited seating!

Our Menu

Borek with Ezme – Delicate phyllo rolls filled with organic spinach and Feta floating in a chunky roasted tomato and bell pepper sauce. The Pour: Lachini Rose of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Salad of Watermelon, Chevre, and Organic Blueberries in Kafir Lime and Mint Vinaigrette. The Pour: Domaine de La Greffiere Macon Charnay, France

Roasted Baby Eggplant with Lebni – Organic eggplant stuffed with charred vegetable salad drizzled with a yogurt, garlic and walnut sauce. The Pour: St. Innocent “Zenith” Pinot Noir, Mark Vlossak, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Veal Manti – tender veal dumplings in roasted garlic and butter sauce. The Pour: Domaine DuSeigneur Lirac “Antares”, France

Char grilled Minted Lamb Kebab with Cypriot Rice Pilaf. The Pour: Carlisle “Pelkan Ranch” Syrah, Mike Officer, Sonoma, California

Traditional Baklava and Almonde Chocolate Pistache with Chilled Honey Pistachio Soup. The Pour: Turkish Coffee

$109 per couple, Limited Seating, Secured Reservations Call Kathleen 406-886-2080 x 3 Laughing Horse Lodge, MM 71.5 Hwy 83, Swan Lake

Al Fresco Dining in the Horse’s Spectacular Garden!

Chef Kathleen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:08:08 +0000

The Garden is open for your sipping pleasure!

And what a garden it is this year…so leave your daily stress at the door

and enjoy a delicious glass of wine and an al fresco meal while you bask in

the golden silence of a lovely Swan Lake evening.

To celebrate the arrival (finally!) of summer, this weekend we’re presenting a refreshing Mediterranean Antipasti Plate for two

with two glasses of Gain Bay Cabernet (a Stag’s Leap appellation) for $25. You’ll enjoy freshly char grilled and marinated

vegetables bursting with the flavors of Sardinia, an assortment of Greek olives, hard Italian meats, and yeasty French artisan

bread with rosemary olive oil perfect for dipping.

Reservations: 406-886-2080

PS. Thanks to our many swallows and brown bats, the garden is mostly mosquito-free!

What to do on a rainy afternoon in June….Drink Beer!

Chef Kathleen — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:02:18 +0000

Our second annual World Tour of Beer at the Horse was another resounding success, albeit, a more subdued and dignified affair this year with the soothing guitar of local NPR celeb John Floridis and 26 true beer afficianados huddled over their note cards and Angus Sliders. The pros from Rocky Mountain Wine Distributors pulled out some exquisite and hard to find beers from Europe, California, Pennsylvania and South America – 14 in all were served along with a table laden with the efforts of our new “Kitchen Slave”, Andrea Wight.

(Andrea doesn’t like the term chef or cook so we are calling her KS as

This horse loves the Belgian Duvel!

she has been slaving away in the kitchen learning our menu and creating some wonderful new dishes drawing on her recent experiences at Caneel Bay in St. John and Zola’s in State College PA.)

Andrea spent the afternoon turning out an array of canapes that would make any beer drinker salivate…Beer Battered Mushrooms with Chipotle Dipping Sauce, Angus Sliders with Arugula and Horseradish Cream, Poached Shrimp, Smoked Salmon and Dill Cucumbers, Classic BBQ Wings, Ahi Sashime with Wasabi Ginger Sauce and the piece de resistance…bittersweet chocolate and raspberry truffle squares to accompany the Lindeman’s Frambois (a Belgian raspberry beer that is the nectar of the gods!).

The highlight of the evening was Xingu, a black Brazilian beer that to my pallet tasted like roasted figs…and I love figs.

The Horse added a few of the more popular finds to our Beer Menu for the summer including Victory Prima Pils, Einbecker Pils, Duvel Belgian Golden Ale, Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and Ayinger Brau-Weisse. On tap for the season are three local beers – Great Northern Brewery’s Wheatfish and Kettlehouse’s Cold Smoke and Double Haul IPA.

If you’re looking for a relaxing escape for a few hours or an evening, take a drive over to the Horse, grab a cold one and set yourself down in our glorious garden…heaven is that close.

Down Island Cuisine Menu for Chef’s Tasting June 22nd

Chef Kathleen — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:26:41 +0000

Tuesday’s Tantalizing Travel Tastings At The Horse Join Chef Kate and crew as we explore various culinary regions of the world. You’ll enjoy a tempting six course tasting menu complete with unique beer and wine pairings in the intimate and fun atmosphere of Horse’s dining room or garden.

Each evening commences at 6:30pm with a casual presentation by a local travel professional, and an offering of tasty morsels and conversation regarding the region being explored. Bring your travel adventure stories!

Dinner begins at 7pm. One seating only, limited to 24. Secured reservations required. $69 per person, $109 per couple.

Down Island Cuisine Menu – June 22nd

Carrot Coconut Bisque with Candied Ginger Tuile

Curried Chicken Roti with Cilantro Crème Fraiche

Golden Beets, Fennel & Bahamian Conch Salad with Lemongrass Aioli

Jerked Mahi Mahi with Grilled Mango and Chile Relish Served with Miso Sweet Potato Puree

Saban Spiced Goat Stew with Cruzan Rum Fruit Bread

Burro Banana Tart with Tropical Fruit Salsa

July 13th, 6:30pm – Cuisine of Turkey

July 27th, 6:30pm Cuisine of Argentina

August 10th, 6:30pm Cuisine of Morocco

August 24th, 6:30pm Cuisine of India

406-886-2080 www.laughinghorselodge.com

A Heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to Old and New Friends from the Horse on Finishing Our 10th Year

Chef Kathleen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:22:29 +0000

As the snow begins to sugar the mountain tops here in Swan Lake, I begin the task of closing the Horse for the long winter. First the gardens, so lush and beautiful this year, are cut back and a few tears fall as the last of those glorious hollyhocks are stuffed into the mulch bag – their seed pods carefully saved for gorilla gardening around the neighborhood. Those monstrous hanging baskets of sunrise pink petunias are delivered back to the nursery and the drip systems are drained. The herb garden – so prolific this summer – gives up the last sprigs of lovage, savory and tarragon to flavor the fall stew bubbling on the back burner.

The highway is quiet, the lake even more so. No jet skis, boats or swimmers – just flocks of migrants heading south stopping in for a quick bite and respite. This is my favorite time of year – full of gold light and the smell of winter on the air. The few visitors coming through the door are a hardy breed seeking stillness and ready for any weather Nature may send their way.

It has been an amazing season thanks to the many returning guests who over the years have become good friends. And so many new faces that portend an even rosier future for the Horse. It has been 10 years since the doors opened and what a wonderful ride it has been…fascinating visitors and guests, exciting stories of traveling adventures, quiet moments on sunset contemplations and the absolutely wonderful gratification of knowing that my staff and I have contributed in some small way to making special memories for you and your families.

Although the lodge will be closed November 1 thru April 30, we won’t be idle…upgrades and improvements will take place over the winter to make your 2010 stay even more comfortable. On behalf of Nikki, Cooper, Sampson and Juliet – thank you – for the hikes, the cookies and the new vocabulary (Sampson has incorporated a distinct New Jersey accent and now knows the main theme to Encounters of the Third Kind!)

For all our new and old friends – have a safe and exceptional winter. We’ll be looking forward to welcoming you back to the Horse next year. Kathleen

It’s Lobster Ravioli Week at Laughing Horse Lodge!

Chef Kathleen — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:05:04 +0000

A hot summer evening in Bigfork cries out for a light and delectable dinner down the lake. Stop in this week for our cool organic lodge salad followed by Grilled Lobster Ravioli topped with Langostinos and herbed butter. Add a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and heaven is almost achieved. Oh heck, let’s go for the pearly gates!…and end the evening with a piece of warm-from-the-oven huckleberry peach pie topped with Tillamook Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Reservations are a definite must for this dish, so call today. 406-886-2080.

Not into the delectable crustacean? More of a meat and potatoes type? No worries. Kate’s menu features aged prime cuts of beef that will melt in your mouth. So avoid the theater crush in Bigfork and travel a few minutes down Hwy 83 to the village of Swan Lake and enjoy a dining experience ranked #1 on tripadvisor.com!

There’s A Bull Trout with Your Name On It In Swan Lake!

Chef Kathleen — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:32:00 +0000

The pike and bull trout will be waiting for you in the ice-free waters of Swan Lake this May. Swan Lake is the only body of water in the US where it is legal to catch and keep one Bull Trout per day, and there’s a monster lurking in the depths just waiting for your line! And when you’re fished out for the day,

Catch and Release

mosey on back to the Horse for a cold brew and a hot meal in front of a roaring fire. Join us in May for our Fisherman’s Special and receive a welcome glass of draft micro brew or wine; two nights lodging for two in one of our cozy queen cabin rooms; four gourmet dinners; two brown-bag lunches & four delicious breakfasts; boat parking and freezer space for your catch. Make your reservations on line today!

Package: $259 per couple.