Featured
Mint & More
Springtime in Kentucky comes in many shades of green. One of our favorites is mint!
Hidden Blessings
We went looking for one thing and found another. And were reminded of how often blessings are hiding in plain sight. And how the land, and hands of others, continue to nourish us even as we brace for winter's chill.
Bourbon White Cheddar Cheese Ball
Here's a party treat as easy as it is tasty! It's a family favorite from Chef Ouita's holiday menu and will surely make your crew happy too. Make two and double the deliciousness.
Harvest of Riches
Food has the power to bring us together. It works its magic in all kinds of ways and through all kinds of people. Kentucky's story belongs to all of us and we're glad you're here for the telling.
Woodford Salad
This bright and festive salad brings the party to any meal with friends and family. Created by Chef Ouita while she was chef-in-residence at a well-known Woodford County distillery, it marries local sorghum and Kentucky bourbon in a lively vinaigrette you'll want to put on everything.
A Respectable (and Tasty!) Bird
Benjamin Franklin called the American turkey a respectable bird, a bird of courage. We ventured out to Elmwood Stock Farm in nearby Scott County, Ky., to talk turkey with Mac Stone who raises heritage Narragansetts on a sixth-generation organic family farm.
Wines for Fall
We asked three of our resident wine enthusiasts to weigh in on their favorite wines for autumn and got some surprisingly different responses, along with a universal fave.
Roast Squash with Porcini Cream
Foraging for fall flavors, we were inspired by this simple yet sublime dish of squash roasted with dried porcini and heavy cream. It's perfect for an autumn side or vegetarian main.
Our Home Place Pastitsio
Tootsie Nelson’s It’s All Greek to Me cooking class left us hungry for more flavors from Greece! Our pastitsio recipe, named for Our Home Place Meats, was inspired by one from Ronald Johnson, the late American poet and cookbook author. Back in the 1960s, Ronald Johnson briefly taught a creative writing class at the University of Kentucky while Wendell Berry was on leave.
Art on the Plate
As lovers of art and lovers of food, we look for beauty in many places and myriad forms. And just as artists rely on color, texture and form to create a compelling composition, our chefs compose dishes that might combine sweet and savory elements, crispy and tender, even hot and cold. Join us as we revisit a few of our favorite examples of artistry on the plate. And magic on the palate.
Nose to Tail
There’s a new presence on the front lawn at the Holly Hill Inn, gifted from the adjacent venerable walnut tree, one of many on the grounds still standing tall despite a trunk-splitting lightning strike some years ago.
Hecker Family German Potato Salad
Hecker family cookouts always included three non-negotiable dishes – metts and brats and German potato salad. No steaks or chops or boneless chicken breasts for us. Just these and a few equally non-negotiable garnishes – sauerkraut, mustard, dill pickles and Swiss cheese.
Goetta Taste of Covington
Covington and the towns in Cincinnati’s southern shadow have a flavor all their own. The vibrant communities known collectively as Northern Kentucky are like nowhere else in the state. Generations of German and Italian immigrants have been joined by newcomers who bring foods like arepas, mochi and mochiko chicken to the table. It’s a delicious smorgasbord of flavor.
Corn Makes (Bourbon) Whiskey
Before there's whiskey, there's corn. We all know that rain makes corn but how does corn get from the field to the still? Nat Henton, one of our former Holly Hill chefs, now grows corn for bourbon on his family farm.
Cheesy Grits Frits
Whether you're working from leftover grits or making a batch fresh, these bites are always a good idea. Cheese grits just got even better.
Ten Years of Smithtown
Learn what makes Smithtown Seafood so special as we celebrate ten years of great food, good neighbors, rewarding partnerships — and you!
Plotting a New Path
Just north of Lexington is a new kind of farm, and a new kind of Kentucky farming. Brandon and Hanna Barnett and Brandon's sister Ally Vallandingham of Stepping Stone Farm are building on the legacy of eight generations.
Apple Chutney
Savor our sweet and tangy chutney on a cheese or charcuterie board, with a grilled cheese sandwich, and alongside baked ham or roast pork, chicken or winter squash. We even snuck a spoonful onto our apple cornmeal crepe and approved.
Dried Apple Peels
Easy oven-dried apple peels let you get one more treat out of an ingredient that would otherwise be discarded. They’re great for topping cereal, yogurt or a salad; or eating au naturel.
Apple Cornmeal Crepe
This apple cornmeal crepe makes an excellent base for a green salad dressed with a punchy vinaigrette. It’s neither completely savory nor completely sweet, but always completely right when made with local apples on a crisp autumn day.
La Pitchoune
Julia Child’s husband Paul was famous for concocting fanciful cocktails. We created La Pitchoune in homage to Paul and Julia and their home in Provence where they spent many happy holidays and where Julia taught her cooking classes.