Notes from the Kitchen
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Cocktails from Natalie’s
Tom Laslavic, our award-winning mixologist, is preparing for the Signature Event cocktail competition on February 29 in Portland. He earned the People’s Choice Award in 2010 with his cocktail The Camden Hike and this year he’s competing for People’s Choice and for top honors in a professionally judged cocktail competition.
We thought we’d share a few of the cocktails he created this winter as part of his Maine Made Cocktail Series. He won’t be serving any of these on the 29th, he’s creating something new for that and of course his contest entry is top secret. If you attend the Signature Event be sure to stop by and sample his concoction and hopefully give him your vote!
The first is the Camden Carol
4 tangerine segments, muddled with lime
1 oz Cellardoor Treasure
2 o.z Twenty 2 Vodka from Houlton, Maine
1 barspoon of ginger
4 dashes of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
4 Dashes of Aganostora Bitters
Shake and strain over fresh crushed ice, top with club soda.
The second features products from two local wine makers, Cellardoor Winery’s The Perfect Stranger, (made from the Cayuga white grape, this wine has aromas of beach roses with flavors of juicy pears and a finish that is both spicy and sweet) and Sweet Grass Winery’s “Back River Gin.”
Mountains Meet the Sea
4 kumquats
3 large sage leaves
1/2 lemon
1 1/2 oz Back River Gin
1/2 oz St. Germain Elderberry Liquor
2 oz Cellardoor “The Perfect Stranger”
Splash w/ Prosecco
Muddle Kumquats, sage and lemon, add gin, elderberry liquor and wine.
Shake and double strain into chilled snifter, (no ice) add a splash of Prosecco
Stop in at Natalie’s to sample these soon, and join us in Portland on February 29th!
Comments (0)February Fun at Natalie’s
February at Natalie’s is filled with several special occasions. Of course Valentine’s Day is on everyone’s mind, and we will have a special Romance Menu on Valentine’s Day and the weekend following (and our a la carte menu will also be available), but before we get to that, we’ve got an Ice Bar Dinner planned.
We’re opening our love themed Ice Bar, featuring a martini luge and specialty cocktails, on Thursday, February 9. Beginning that night we will also offer a special three-course dinner, including a cocktail poured down the martini luge, for just $49 per person (tax, tip not included, advance reservations required). We will also be offering our gourmet bar menu and several love-inspired cocktails.
The same weekend, on Friday, February 10, Camden is celebrating 100 Years of Broadway at the Camden Opera House. Join us for dinner before the show, or make an overnight out of it and take advantage of our package offering premium seating at the Opera House, a three-course dinner and of course our Champagne Breakfast.
The weekend of February 9 is also the weekend of the US National Toboggan Championships. Cheer for the Royal Dutch Toboggan Team, and member Oscar Verest, co-owner of Camden Harbour Inn and Natalie’s. It’s a fun weekend, filled with the thrill of fast slides down the toboggan chute, a costume contest and team camaraderie.
Stay in touch on Facebook or through our website to learn more about our special dinner plans.
Comments (0)Our Winter Dinner Menu
We’ve reopened Natalie’s this week with renewed energy and a new menu and are looking forward to sharing these new dishes. Many of the dishes feature wintry ingredients: root vegetables and hearty meats that are roasted and braised, flavors that are familiar to the palate but treated in different ways.
It’s shrimp season in Maine and we are celebrating the arrival of Maine shrimp with two delicious and very different dishes, our popular Maine Shrimp Risotto with Meyer lemons (recipe in our last blog, below), and Gumbo, made with Andouille sausage, Maine shrimp and Lobster Fricasse for a uniquely-Maine approach to this New Orleans specialty.
Other new dishes include first course options of a Winter Fowl Terrine or Beef Ravioli. Both dishes appeal to that wintry craving for robust flavors; the Beef Ravioli is comfort food at its finest.
For salad lovers we have a Beet Salad with Stilton. If you haven’t tried beet with Stilton yet it’s a wonderfully flavorful combination.
For new entrees we have Roasted Maine Lobster with yellow curry and coconut rice, adding a touch of the tropics to the Maine delicacy; Butter Poached Halibut; Seared Duck Breast with crushed Jerusalem Artichokes, Broccoli, Rainbow Potatoes and Kumquat Marmalade; and two new duos - a Duo of Beef featuring Seared Ribeye and Braised Beef Cheeks, and a Local Lamb Duo.
In addition to our a la carte menu we also offer a three course menu for $53 per person. This three course menu features select items from our full dinner menu. In addition, diners are welcome to indulge in the Chef’s Five Course Tasting Menu, available nightly. For this treat, Chef Geoffroy Deconinck prepares a series of dishes with gourmet surprises along the way, making for an unforgettable culinary experience.
To conclude your meal we’re currently offering a daily changing selection of sorbets, Nougat Glace, Warm Chocolate Cake, Traditional Creme Caramel and as always, a selection of International Cheeses.
We hope to welcome you to our restaurant soon.
Bon Appetit!
Comments (0)Meyer Lemon Risotto with Maine Shrimp
Maine shrimp are a little known delicacy - and they are in season now. Here at Natalie’s, Chef Geoffroy Deconinck has been known to make a delicious Maine shrimp risotto. Guests love it, so we’ve asked him to share the recipe.
Meyer Lemon Risotto with Maine Shrimp
(makes approximately 10 first course portions)
1 lb of Maine Sweet Shrimp
4 Meyer lemons
1 lb Arborio rice
6 oz unsalted butter
3 oz diced onion
2 oz lemon juice (Meyer preferably)
3-1/2 cups (or more) of vegetable stock
3 oz of Mascarpone cheese
Zest of 2 whole lemons
Chopped herbs: parsley, dill, chives
Process:
Wash the 4 Meyer Lemons, wrap them individually in tin foil and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees until tender. Strain the whole lemons through a sieve and reserve the obtained puree.
Dice the onion and stir until translucent in 1 oz of melted butter. Add the rice and cook (continue to stir) for about 5 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and reduce it. Add 2 oz of the lemon puree and the vegetable stock 1 cup at the time (every time the rice has absorbed the liquid). Cook on medium heat, stirring continually with a wooden spoon. You want your rice “al dente”
After using all the stock taste the rice, it should be ready or almost done (in this case add more liquid)
Stir in 1 lb of Maine shrimp, the rest of the butter and Mascarpone
Season and add more lemon juice if needed
You want the risotto loose, so check the density before serving
Once the shrimp are cooked, add the lemon zests and the chopped herbs
Serve immediately.
The Maine shrimp season is short and sweet, so get them while you can and take advantage of this cold-water treat.
Comments (0)February Events at Natalie’s
Not all of the ice this February will be on the ponds and lakes - we’re planning an Ice Bar, February 9-11, right here at Natalie’s. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, imagine a bar, carved out of ice. It’s a beautiful, temporary, work of art - yet functional, since it also has a martini luge, making it possible for us to pour your martini right down the luge and into your waiting glass. The Ice Bar is tremendous fun, and just in time for the US National Toboggan Championships down the road at the Camden Snowbowl. Toboggan run in the daytime, party at the Ice Bar at night.
The Ice Bar
February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Every year we celebrate this day of romance with a very special three-course or five-course dinner (a la carte dining is also available). We’ll announce our menu soon, but don’t wait too long to make reservations, we always sell out early. Natalie’s was named New England’s Most Romantic Restaurant. Perhaps it’s the fine wine, or the delicious food, or the cozy red furniture. Whatever it is, we know people like to get engaged - and get married - in our restaurant, so romance is always in the air here.
Natalie's, ready for romance
We hope you’ll join us in February for a romantic dinner or for a drink at the Ice Bar and a fun night out! If you’d like to make a night of it, be sure to check out our variety of packages, we’ve got something for everyone.
Comments (0)Maine Made Cocktails at Natalie’s
Bartender and mixologist Tom Laslavic recently had one of his cocktails included as part of a select number of cocktails that highlighted local ingredients around the country featured on a travel website, called Sharing Travel Experiences. Tom has created an entire series of Maine Made Cocktails and is still adding to the list of delicious concoctions. The website selected his Maine Apple:
Maine Apple
Here is how you can make yours at home:
1 oz Bartlett Apple Brandy
1 oz white cranberry juice
1 oz Fiddlers Reach Honey Wine (from Bath, Maine)
1 1/2 oz Crown royal whiskey
Mix ingredients, shake with ice, strain into chilled martini glass. Simple and delicious.
Another from the series that would be perfect for New Year’s Eve is his cocktail Mountains Meet the Sea:
4 kumquats
3 large sage seaves
1/2 lemon
1 1/2 oz Back River Gin
1/2 oz St. Germain Elderberry Liquor
2 oz Cellardoor “The Perfect Stranger” from Lincolnville’s Cellardoor Winery
Splash of Prosecco
Muddle Kumquats, sage and lemon, add gin, elderberry liquor and wine.
Shake and double strain into chilled snifter, (no ice) splash with Prosecco and enjoy.
Next time you stop in at Natalie’s, ask Tom what’s new from his Made in Maine series.
Comments (0)Dutch Treat at Natalie’s Bar
As many of our guests know, the owners of Natalie’s and the Camden Harbour Inn, Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest, are from the Netherlands. Christmas is celebrated a little differently in the Netherlands, with a visit by St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, on December 5. This is the day that children wake up to find that the hay the left in their wooden shoes for Sinterklaas’ horse has been replaced with sweets and toys. The Dutch begin to decorate their homes and prepare for Christmas Day beginning on December 6. Christmas itself is celebrated over two days, December 25 and 26.
There are many traditional foods eaten during this time and one of the most popular snacks are bitterballen. This bite sized savory treat can be made with a filling of cheese or meat which is then battered and fried and usually served with mustard for dipping. It’s designed to be eaten in one bite of hot deliciousness, with a crisp exterior and flavorful interior.
Bitterballen are not on the menu at Natalie’s, but we are serving them as a bar snack right now. Join us at the bar, let our award winning mixologist Tom Laslavic make you a cocktail and enjoy a Dutch treat, right here in Camden.
Happy Holidays!
Comments (0)New Year’s Eve at Natalie’s
At Natalie’s restaurant we celebrate New Year’s Eve with two festive menus: a five course menu that is available at 5 pm and an 8 course menu at 8 p.m. Both of Chef Geoffroy Deconinck’s menus start with an oyster (we will substitute something equally divine if you don’t like oysters) and include options of House Made Salmon Gravlax served with dill, crushed pepper and horseradish cream or a Cauliflower Veloute with saffron, apple and croutons; pumpkin risotto; and for a main course, Butter Poached Halibut accompanied by spinach puree, a medley of rainbow potatoes and Thumbelina carrots or Pan Seared Beef Ribeye, Braised Cheeks, celery root puree, glazed pearl onions and bordelaise sauce. For dessert, both menus offer a traditional New Year’s Eve dessert of Nougat Glace and Exotic Fruits.
The 8 course menu also offers a third course option of House Made Beef Ravioli Tomato with confit, broccolini and Parmesan foam or Pan Seared Sea Scallop with braised endives and preserved winter black truffle, a sixth course of an international cheese plate and for a seventh course, Chocolate Mousse with a berries coulis.
To add to the festivities, guests who dine at Natalie’s on New Year’s Eve are invited to join in the New Year’s Eve party with live music, dancing and hors d’oeuvres as well as a champagne toast at midnight.
Reservations are accepted through opentable.com or give us a call at 207-236-7008. And if you’d like to spend the night, be sure to take a look at our sumptuous two-night New Year’s Eve package at the Camden Harbour Inn.
We hope you will join us to ring in the New Year!
Comments (0)New Menu at Natalie’s
With winter upon us our thoughts turn to delightful evenings spent indoors, preferably somewhere cosy and warm, with good food and fine wine. A fireplace would be lovely too. Well, at Natalie’s we’ve got all that and more, just waiting for you.
Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck recently introduced a new menu and we’re certain there enough tempting items on it to encourage you to visit us one evening soon.
For appetizers Chef is offering a winter salad of Vegetable Crudités and Citrus Segments in a Grapefruit Vinaigrette; a Butternut Squash Soup; Seared Scallops with Braised Endive and Black Truffle Sauce, and the ultimate winter temptation: Baked Local Apple with Blue Cheese, house made Duck Prosciutto and Candied Walnuts.
The new menu main course options are Butter Poached Lobster with a winter truffle crust, celery root, rutabaga and shellfish foam; Roasted Monkfish with cauliflower, cranberry beans, kale and matelote sauce; Roasted Long Island Duck Breast with wild rice, squash, confit leg and cranberry marmalade, and what has quickly become a signature dish of Chef’s - Beef Duo with seared Rib Eye, Guinness braised short ribs, onion puree, parsnips and jus de braisage.
Natalie’s also offers a 3 course tasting menu and for a very special dinner experience we have a five course Chef’s Tasting Menu with items that are not featured on the a la carte menu.
As always, dinner at Natalie’s begins with a light amuse-bouche and the meal concludes with a mignardise.
If you are in the mood for something a little more casual, we also offer a bar menu, the perfect excuse to enjoy a cocktail from our award-winning (and included in the The American Cocktail) bartender Tom Laslavic and a delicious dish. Bar offerings include oysters, lobster bisque, Guiness braised short ribs, lamb bolognese, our Moroccan lamb burger with frites and spicy aioli and a selection of cheeses.
Bon Appetit!
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Belgian Crepes from Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck
Natalie’s Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck was recently invited to the TV studio at WCSH-TV (our NBC affiliate) to appear on the popular daily show, 207. Chef Deconinck shared a recipe that he felt was perfect for the holidays, something that kids and adults alike love, crepes. The recipe is from his mother and is very similar to a recipe that children learn how to make in Chef’s native country of Belgium.
Chef shared an alternate version with us as well, you can make these crepes with a mix of beer and milk for a more savory crepe. We were lucky enough to sample both and have to agree, the savory one made with beer has a truly intriguing depth of flavor. The crepes made with just milk were delightful, perfect for dessert or snack. Both were impossible to resist.
The best thing about crepes: they are delicious with jam, a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh fruit and whipped cream, nutella, maple syrup, or even chicken, vegetables or leftovers.
We have crepes occasionally on our breakfast menu at the Camden Harbour Inn for our overnight guests, they are always a popular choice.
Here is the TV clip and the recipe.
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