English teas will be featured as well as a tasteful sampling of savories and sweets reminiscent of holiday teas in the 19th century. The food will be prepared by Yours Truly, The Bluegrass Peasant, and entertainment will be provided by harpist, Nancy Stagner. Savory items will be pecan chicken salad canapés, benedictine finger sandwiches, and pimento cheese toasts; for sweets we’ll have bourbon chocolate gingerbread, blackberry jam cakes and chess tartlets. The price is $15.00 and all proceeds go to Kosair Children’s Hospital.

In addition, a special silent auction to benefit the Old Louisville Information Center in Central Park will feature gingerbread houses created by the culinary students from The Bakery at Sullivan University. When you’re done, you can go across the street to the DuPont Mansion B & B at 1317 South Fourth Street for a wonderful holiday recitation of the Ogden Nash classic, Jabez Dawes, The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus. For the popular 10-minute performance, veteran actor Ron Harris of Happy Balls fame revives the Christmas spirit of Alfred Victor DuPont at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on the dot in the front parlor of the DuPont Mansion, so make sure you get there in time to enjoy it all.

And if you’ve never done the Old Louisville House Tour before, make sure you get down there and enjoy all the great architecture on display. This year’s tour is sponsored by Don Driskell and Catalyst Realty and features seven Old Louisville homes, and the Carrigan House and Central Park Bed & Breakfast, in addition to the two bed & breakfasts I already mentioned. As always, the beautiful 1895 Conrad-Caldwell House on St. James Court will be featured as a star attraction where Christmas and Hanukkah shoppers will find great holiday gift ideas in the basement gift shop.

Victorian Tea tickets are available in advance and may also be purchased during the tour at the Conrad Caldwell House Museum or at the Inn at the Park. Tour tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of tour and can be purchased at the Old Louisville Visitor Center or by calling 502.635.5244.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

For the remainder of the year Holly Hill Inn will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. In addition, on Saturdays and Sundays a three-course brunch menu featuring free-range eggs from Waterworks Farm in Shelbyville and homemade corn muffins and buttermilk biscuits with local sorghum, jams and jellies will be available from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. for $15. Call (859) 846-4732 for more information.

The new lunch menu is as follows:

First Courses & Small Plates

• Newfangled Tomato Dumpling $8
• Summer tomato stuffed with creamy spinach wrapped in crisp filo pastry with sweet pepper gastrique
• Jumbo Lump Crab Salad $9
• Gelled tomato consommé, with lemon basil pistou and pickled vegetables
• Water Works Farm Salad $8
• Woodford County Lettuces with soft-boiled Waterworks egg, house cured bacon lardons, crumbled Barren County Blue Cheese and a punchy sherry vinaigrette
• Holly Hill Inn House Salad $7
• Woodford County lettuces tossed with lemon herb vinaigrette and crumbled Capriole goat cheese
• Late Summer Red Pepper Bisque $5
• Crème fraiche, chive and tiny croutons
• A Selection of Three Mattingly Farmhouse Cheeses $5
• Sugared Walnuts, roasted grapes and water crackers

Read the rest after the jump…

Entrees

• Quiche of the day with a Holly Hill Inn Salad or Soup $10
• Brochette of Beef Tenderloin Tips with Provencal Butter $13
• Richard’s baby roasted potatoes and our farm vegetable of the day
• Kentucky Poussin $13 for a half bird
• Pan roasted with lavender salt, Kentucky grapes, Richard’s baby roasted potatoes and our farm vegetable of the day
• Cast Iron Pecan Crusted Trout Meunier $10
• Richard’s baby roasted potatoes, and our farm vegetable of the day
• Fresh Tuna Nicoise $12
• Roast fresh ahi tuna with little green beans, roasted red peppers, tomato confit, kalamata olive, baby potatoes and aioli
• Traditional Kentucky Hot Brown $9
• Hand cut roast turkey with white cheddar Mornay and bacon over toast points with Parmesan and marinated tomatoes

Desserts

• Lisa’s Famous Jameson’s Chocolate Bread Pudding $4 with Whiskey Sauce
• Mike Wright’s Woodford County Logan Berry Pie $4; A la mode $5
• Laura’s Famous Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie $4; A la mode $5
• Evan’s Orchard Apple Crisp $4

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

A new cookbook touting the culinary delights of many of the state’s best bed-and-breakfast establishments recently hit the shelves. Room at the Table showcases signature recipes from more than 30 inns around the commonwealth with appealing color photography and easy recipes that will tempt you to make reservations for a relaxing – and appetizing – weekend getaway.

Although the cover of the book from the Bed and Breakfast Association of Kentucky features a formal table set against the backdrop of an elegant room, the dishes inside come from a wide array of comfortable and informal establishments. Readers will discover recipes from Victorian mansions and country cabins, Federal estates and remote farmhouses. B&Bs include the ­Doctor’s Inn in Berea, Frankfort’s Gothic Revival Meek House, the Lyndon House and the Swann’s Nest in Lexington, Louisville’s DuPont Mansion, and the 1872 House on Belmont in Winchester. McClanahan Publishing House of Kuttawa published the hardcover, which lists for $24.95.