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The Hampton Classic 2013 and The 5 Cookies that made the cut

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Sophia Vergara at The Hampton Classic Sept. 1 2013

The Hampton Classic Horse Show punctuates the end of summer, coming as it does every Labor Day Weekend.  This year the punctuation mark was unquestionably an exclamation point.  The celebrity quotient was through the roof.  Sighted by us were Matt Lauer, Christie Brinkley, Martha Stewart, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Kelly Bensimon, Kathy Hilton, Jon Bon Jovi, Jerry Seinfeld and, lastly Sophia Margarita Vergara Vergara. (Yes, two Vergaras according to her on-line bio.) 

I hate to be blasé about the other bold-faced names but Ms. Vergara was the stand-out. She’s absolutely stunning and much tinier than I ever expected.  As Gloria on Modern Family, she looks voluptuous as all get out.  In real life, Andrew thinks she’s likely a size 4.  With her fiancé Nick Loeb, she rocked the event. That’s saying something because in terms of spectacle the Classic is hard to beat.  Now I know this is a blog about food, and we’ll get to the array of intensely delicious cookies Andrew provided but first, let’s take a look at the Event.

         Our hosts, Michael and Jim, co-owners of the Bridgehampton Florist, are responsible for table décor for everyone from Mayor Bloomberg to their own spectacular effort which featured a blue and periwinkle theme.  This year their efforts were especially stunning since their long-time client Aerin Lauder supplied all the tabletop items from glassware to china. Aerin’s eponymous shop opened this year in Southampton and it’s pretty well taken the town by storm.  Here are some of the tables they did and a couple that they didn’t. 
 
Mayor Bloomberg’s Table.
His daughter, Georgina took 2nd place at the Grand Prix
Marder’s Table…the Bergdorf Goodman
of Nurseries is not to be outdone.
And last, but certainly not least, our table!
The clothing worn at the Classic defies any possible definition. You simply cannot believe the array of outfits ranging from unbelievably chic to unbelievably awful.  Some people look like they’ve put on the first thing that fell out of their closets.  And some people go to tremendous effort.  It would not be the Classic without the likes of Joy Marks.  Ms. Marks is one of our all-time favorites.  It’s not just her sense of style that’s extraordinary.  It’s the fact that, again this year, she wore not one but two outfits.  A pale pink ensemble greeted us as we walked in.  But not very long after that, there she was in shocking pink.  This begs the question “where does she change?”  All I can say is that if she can pull this off in a Portalette, she deserves a medal.
        

Page Patterson of Marder’s Live Orchid and
Paper Butterfly

The hats come out in great profusion and they’re so much fun to see.  Here’s a sample of what we saw. 

         Lunch at our table was catered by Loaves and Fishes, the take-out shop that’s a Sagaponack landmark owned by Michael and Jim’s great friend, Anna Pump.  This year both lobster and chicken salads were on offer along with petits pois and a Yukon gold potato salad.  Our fellow guests provided the wines, all of which come from our pre-eminent vineyard, Wolffer Estate in Sagaponack.  But I have to say the piece de resistance was Andrew’s cookie platter.  This

year, he went all out once again.  5 types of cookies and bars were arrayed on a large white platter.  There were Lemon Bars, a recipe from Southampton’s Tate’s Bakery, Hungarian Apricot Bars from Nick Maglieri’s “Cookies Unlimited (Harper Collins 2000), Macadamia Butterscotch Bars from John Barricelli’s “The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter 2010) and two recipes from Alice

Cookies from Left to Right: Chocolate Chip, Hungarian Apricot Bars, Macadamia Butterscotch Bars, Chocolate Chip, Bittersweet Decadence, Lemon Bars, Chocolate Chip

Medrich’s “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies” (Artisan Books 2010): Bittersweet Decadence and Chocolate Chip.  As friends passed by the table, and stopped to chat, these cookies proved an irresistible draw. So even if you could make the Classic this year, you can still make the cookies!  Here are the recipes:

 
 


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