Glamping with al fresco®
Can someone tell me where summer went? This summer flew by and in less than a week my kiddos start kindergarten!
This has been the busiest summer. For most of the summer we have been living at our camp about an hour away from where we live while our house was being remodeled. We just moved back in our home last week. Although the kids loved being at camp and making new friends it’s nice to be home and to get settled back into a routine.
a morning view of Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca
Last month I spent a few days “glamping” with my friends from al fresco®. I along with nine other amazing bloggers spent two nights glamping at Firelight Camps owned by Emma Frisch, a finalist from season ten of Food Network Star in Ithaca, New York.
This was not your ordinary campground camping in a tent with a sleeping bag. We glamped in our own large private tents furnished with large comfy beds and private decks, definitely my kind of camping! It was so peaceful! At night our tents were lit only by lanterns so it was a great way to disconnect and enjoy the great outdoors.
al fresco® Iron Chef Competition
The highlight of the trip was the al fresco® Iron Chef competition. We were each paired up with another blogger to compete in a fun competition to create two dishes that incorporated al fresco chicken sausage. I was paired up the super talented Tracie from Penny Pinchin’ Mom. We instantly connected and I knew we were going to be the winning Iron Chef team from the moment we met.
Grilled Stuffed California Breakfast Burritos
photo credit – Gary Tardiff culinaryphotos.com
I love al fresco® products and I had so many ideas for this competition since I use these products often at home. Not only do they have yummy sausages in a variety of flavors like Buffalo Style and Roasted Garlic but they also carry other products like chicken burgers and even chicken meatballs too.
For the first round of the Iron Chef competition we needed to create a breakfast dish that included al fresco® chicken sausage. Tracie and I wanted to create simple and easy family friendly dishes so we created a Grilled Stuffed California Breakfast Burrito that was loaded with eggs, cheese, peppers, chopped al fresco® Country Breakfast Chicken Sausage and avocado. These tasty burritos are so good and freezer friendly too!
For the second round of competition each team was given a basket of ingredients just like the Food Network show Chopped that we had to use in our dinner recipe. We created a delicious penne pasta dish tossed with summer fresh veggies, al fresco® chicken Sundried Tomato Sausage in a yummy butter, garlic and rosemary sauce.
photo credit – Gary Tardiff of culinaryphotos.com
Both dishes turned out amazing, so amazing that we won the competition! We had some stiff competition from the other teams that I was so excited when they announced we won (yes, I jumped up and down like I was on the Price Is Right.)
After the excitement of winning the Iron Chef competition it was nice to relax and enjoy a food and wine pairing with wine sommelier and President and Co-Owner of Experience the Finger Lakes Laura Winter Falk. She paired local Finger Lake region wines with al fresco® all natural products. It was interesting to try each wine along with the food. One of my favorites was the al fresco® Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage paired with a dry riesling. I couldn’t resist tasting it a few times because it was such a great pairing!
Penne Pasta with Summer Veggies in a Rosemary-Garlic Butter Sauce
photo credit – Gary Tardiff of culinaryphotos.com
Not only did al fresco® host an amazing trip filled with good eats, wine and fun but they pampered all of us with a visit to the spa. After the summer I had I soaked up every minute of relaxation!
To top off the evenings everyone sat around a cozy campfire toasting homemade marshmallows and making s’mores. It was the perfect end to each day. What would camping or glamping be without s’mores, right?
I had a blast and met so many wonderful people. Thanks to my friends at al fresco® for inviting me on this fabulous getaway!
Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. Travel and accommodations were arranged and sponsored by al fresco®. All opinions are 100% mine.
Congrats on winning again! I had so much fun getting to know you! 🙂