It's So Choice

Ferris Bueller hit the nail on the head with a couple of memorable movie lines. The title of this post highlights one of those quotable quotes and is my opening for this Christmas in Camden extravaganza.
Newly released from my 3 day stint at the Betty Crocker clinic which I found quite helpful in detoxing my body of the rich foods I feasted, gorged and just generally went hog wild over; I can only now turn my attention back to the wonder of Christmas 2011.

Christmas Eve we dined at the Hartstone Inn and enjoyed the multi course menu beginning with pre-dinner martini's and ending with a great cup of cappuccino and a wheelbarrow ride back to the Lord Camden Inn.
I will let the pictures do the talking as long as you all understand I need to get better at actually taking pictures of my food in public and shed the embarrassment that comes with whipping out my camera and snapping away while other diners gawk at me for disturbing their ambiance. This was the reason for missing the shot of our first course consisting of 2 scallops dressed in a light citrus sauce and phyllo toast points.
Second course:

Gulf of Maine Shrimp Bisque

Third course was the palate cleanser

Champagne & Lemon Sorbet Shooter

Main Course

Tender Beef, butternut squash, veggies

Dessert

Ginger bread souffle

Fin

Cappuccino

Christmas Night we dined at Natalies Restaurant  at the Camden Harbour Inn. 
Now I will shamelessly quote from Ferris, again, " If you  have the means I highly recommend it."
Appetites grew throughout the day as we hiked in the Camden hills in a lightly falling snow, very Currier and Ives:

Our dining experience began with cocktails at the bar, I enjoyed a Juicy Lucy and James, of course, a Gin Martini.

We were seated in a great spot where we could enjoy the evening snow falling quietly outside and spy on the other couples dining along with us.

Again, I have to let the pictures speak for themselves:

First Course

Winter Tureen of Meat (Turkey, Chicken, Duck)

Second Course

Ricotta Gnocchi with roasted Brussel sprouts, butternut squash and truffle oil cream

I forgot to mention that along with each course came a new wine...and I will admit by this time I was too far gone down the food moment path to take out my notepad and record what nectar we were drinking. Needless to say it was so choice!

Main course:

The main course deserves more than just a mere caption, it deserves some gushing...
Despite the cruddy picture this was a plate of heaven, there were actual angels flying around the plate that magically lifted the napkin up off my lap to dab the drool from my bottom lip. The beef, oh so tender with a wine sauce that was out of this world and the new potatos were wrapped in the thinnest layer of bacon and misted with truffle oil. OK...need I say more?! Oh, and "some root" vegetables appeared as arm candy to the beef and potato masterpiece.
Cheese Course, or what was left of it after I inhaled the plate:

The only wine paring picture I snapped with the Cheese Course:



Warres Tawney Port

Fin

Some form of chocolate and vanilla with raspberries and tiny marshmallows

By the end I seriously couldn't comprehend dessert, but I ate it none-the-less. Before we got our bill I quietly asked the server if there were rooms available,  "if only to take a nap for a few hours?" Sadly there were'nt. So it was with a reluctant heart I pushed my chair away from the table and went out into the white night to walk the dogs and reminice about the experience we just had.

This year it surely felt like Christmas.