Join us Sunday, March 16 for our annual Spring Wine Revelry. The evening will include a selection of excellent wines from Washington and California as well as fantastic spread of fine food. Keeping with tradition, instead of a sit-down dinner, the dining room and lounge will be transformed into one big lounge with several food and wine tables throughout. This setup allows guests to talk one-on-one with the vintners, mingle with other guests, enjoy the many sumptuous passed and stationary hors d'oeuvre, and relax on the plush leather couches in front of the fire. Every year we look forward to hosting this fun, entertaining and educational event.

We invite you to sample the various wines, talk to the vintners, and savor passed hors d'oeuvre and other wonderful foods prepared by Chef Donohoe.

Selections from the following wineries will served: Heron Wines, Honig, Whitehall Lane, Walla Walla, Zenaida , Reininger, and Testarossa.

Contact Patrick for more information and reservations.

In 2007 we started work on the latest addition to the -RR, the Outpost Retreat. Resting on the banks of the Gallatin River, the Outpost Retreat will be a place of respite and deep relaxation where your mind and body can unwind and awaken in harmony with the natural surroundings. Following our tradition of building rustic yet comfortable spaces using materials native to the area, this private treatment room will welcome you with its weeping river rock hearth, wood-burning stove, log walls and antique wood floor & ceiling.

As the construction nears completion we'd like to share the full menu of body and facial treatments. Embracing a "back to nature" philosophy, treatments utilize natural ingredients indigenous to the region and each session ends with a Tea Ceremony.

Contact Meghan with any questions or to schedule your treatment.

The soup, sauce, salad dressing... what is it that makes it taste so good? Can I make it at home? This question often comes up with dinner guests-sometimes it is during dinner and other times it is many months later. Regardless of which it is, Chef Donohoe is always willing to share a recipe and thus his passion for preparing good food. The key, he says, is to start with good ingredients-fresh, natural, and, whenever possible, local.

This month Chef Donohoe would like to share the most requested recipe, and a perennial favorite on the menu year after year, the lobster bisque.

-RR Lobster Bisque

1/2 Yellow Onion, Rough Chop
1 Carrot, Rough Chop
1/2 Celery Root, Rough Chop
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
3 Cloves Garlic, Smashed
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Qt. Cream
4 Cups Brandy, Reduced to 3/4 Cup
2 Cups Concentrated Lobster Stock (recipe below)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large, stainless steel sauce pot, over low heat, reduce four cups of brandy to thee-quarters of a cup. Watch the brandy carefully, because if heated too aggressively heated, it may ignite. Should this happen, do not panic, simply cover the pot to extinguish the flames and remove from the heat. Let the pot stand covered for several minutes to ensure that the flames are completely smothered, and then return the brandy to the stove to continue to reduce, this time over even lower heat.

In a large saucepot or stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter and heat it until it begins to froth. Add the carrot, onion, celery root, and garlic, and sauté until the vegetables start to brown lightly, then add the tomato paste and continue to cook for about five minutes. Add the cream and simmer for about twenty-five minutes, until the cream is reduced by one-third. The soup should be a hearty pink color and thickened. Once the soup is thickened sufficiently, add the stock and reduced brandy. Bring the soup back to a simmer for another ten to fifteen minutes and taste for seasoning. When the bisque is reduced to the desired consistency and is seasoned to your liking, puree with a immersion blender or a standing blender and then strain through a fine mesh sieve or chinoix.

Lobster Stock

4 Lobster Bodies
1 Bay Leaf
3 Peppercorns
2 Teaspoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup Onion, Chopped
1/4 Cup Fennel, Chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot and cover with cold water about four inches over the top of the lobster bodies. Simmer for forty-five minutes to an hour, then strain, reserving the liquid in the same pot to return to the stove and reduce over medium heat until the lobster flavor is fairly concentrated. The total volume after reducing should be about two to three cups. Freeze the stock until you are ready to use it, the bisque above is only one of many uses for this stock.