Sunday, September 26, 2010

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival 2010

We just got back from the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties New York and you can probably smell the garlic reeking out of me from a mile away. Garlic everything. I had garlic clams to start, followed by a hot dog with garlic salsa. Next we shared a steak sandwich (not as flavorful as I would have liked) followed by garlic ice cream. That's right, garlic ice cream. What they do is mix roasted garlic into vanilla ice cream. The roasted garlic has a sweet taste made even sweeter by the ice cream. They have garlic gelato which may be better, I'll try that one next year. Oh, I had a garlic and beef empanada at the end. See where the smell is coming from?

In between these delightful things we tasted garlic, had shots of garlic vinegar, and sampled garlic flavored dips, cheese, and all sorts of tasty things. We also saw chef Ric Orlando do a cooking demonstration. He's a champion on the TV show Chopped and he's in the final four for the top chef. I'll post a picture of him cooking after the final airs on Tuesday. He made a risotto and strawberry, chocolate and garlic desert that tasted interesting. Plus, he gave some great cooking tips.

Overall, we had a great time and the weather was perfect. If you've never been, keep it in mind. The Garlic Festival is held on the last full weekend in September and is open from 10:00 to 5:00. Check out the website for more info.