Ahoy! Saturday Night on the Sloop

I'm going to go all "hippie" today and blog about an enviro charity and an event that I really want to attend.
First, thanks to Michelle Hines Abrams, who runs a marketing and PR firm dedicated to promoting restaurants and hospitality events, I am now abreast of the latest and greatest eatery info in the Capital Region. Gourmands can follow Michelle's new blog, Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Do Good, and follow her on Twitter @MHAInnovations for foodie news and mouth watering visuals of what she's cooking up in the kitchen.

Through her work with local chefs, Michelle promoted the Wine & Dine Farm-to-Table Dinner on the Clearwater Sloop, which takes place tonight. Doesn't this sound like the perfect way to spend a Saturday night?

"A sailing adventure along the Hudson River. Picture the Summer sun setting behind the Catskill Mountains. You sip on a fine New York Chardonnay. Taste the mouth-watering aromas of chef prepared farm-to-table cuisine. Locally sourced ingredients so fresh and flavorful. All the while the smooth vocals and instrumentals of Valerie June fill the Clearwater’s sails above. A Summer evening sail on Pete Seger’s sloop Clearwater. Featuring a 5-Course farm-to-table menu prepared by Chef Consortium chefs." ~Hudson River Towns

I'd be excited to go meet Ric Orlando, one of the Clearwater Chefs, owner of New World Bistro AND former Chopped contestant. On Chopped, Ric prepared a rum raisin jerk chicken (Hello?! How creative in the short amount of time they're given to cook an entree!), and he said his love of Rock and Roll inspires lots of his dishes. Willing to bet he's pretty cool in person.

And here's the five course menu they're serving tonight:

1. Seasonal gazpacho with feta from Four Brothers Goat Farm™ prepared by Bob Turner of Omega Institute.
2. Chilled citrus poached Local Ocean™ Bronzini, South River Miso  scallion aoili, with Maine Coast Sea Vegetable™ salad prepared by Noel Conklin.
3. Local Strawberry and Nettle Meadows™ Chevre Bruschetta prepared by Ric Orlando of New World Bistro of Albany, New York.
4. Plowman’s platter – local greens from Little Seed Gardens™, sausage from Northwind Farm™ and Holiday Farm™, Cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm™, fruit preserves from Beth’s Farm Kitchen™ prepared by Rebecca Joyner of Darrow School.
5. Seasonal fruit sorbets (fruit from Love Apple Farm™, Samascott Orchards™ and Migliorelli Farm™), chocolate assortment, chocolate tarts, Clinton Vineyards™ cassis dessert wine (only black currant wine made in the United States) prepared by Josh Needleman of Chocolate Springs in Lenox Massachusetts.

And, for the Sailor, who better still be reading...here's the scoop on the sloop. Clearwater, built in 1966, is a replica of a cargo ship from the 1800's.

The lowdown on the organization: 

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental organization founded by folk singer and activist Pete Seeger over forty years ago, is making history again with its Next Generation Legacy Project, an ambitious educational initiative that is dedicated toward creating new leaders for tomorrow’s green world.

For more information, check out Clearwater's site: http://www.clearwater.org/ Or see the sloop for yourself on an evening sail in New York Harbor on the 4th of July. What a way to view the fireworks!

It's Saturday, so go splice the mainbrace! 

(Have a drink in Sailor speak)