Birchwood Inn » Food

Yummy April Fool – No Joke!

innkeeper — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:20:48 +0000

I’ll admit it — for me, food is fun! And as the first of April is nearly here, it’s time for one of my favorite — and easiest — Afternoon Tea recipes at our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast. April Strawberry Fool.

A fool is an old English dessert made by mixing pureed fruit, whipped cream, and sugar. Traditionally rose water or another flavoring agent is added.

According to Joy of Cooking, long ago the word “fool” was “a term of endearment,” and the dessert (or foole in its original spelling) dates back at least to 1598 and possibly to the 15th century. It’s not clear why the dessert is called a “fool,” although some think it may be from the French verb fouler, to crush or press.

Gooseberries were originally the most common fruit fool. Although today fools incorporate any seasonal fruit, in the UK gooseberry fool remains the perennial favorite.

APRIL FOOL

Wash and cut two cups of luscious strawberries. Add two tablespoons of granulated sugar and mix. Let the berries macerate for 10-15 minutes. Whip two cups of heavy cream and fold the cream into the strawberries. For a bit of a “kick,” you may wish to add a couple of tablespoons of kirsch, brandy, or port. Chill well.

What can be easier and more delicious! No joke!

I haven’t seen gooseberries at the green grocer, but here at Birchwood Inn, our favorite is strawberry or raspberry fruit fool.

Our Inn in Lenox, MA offers 12 accommodations enjoy Berkshires, Bed & Breakfast,Inn in Lenox MA featuring private baths, cozy fireplaces and more. You can read the original blog post here Yummy April Fool – No Joke!.

Raves for Eggnog Croissant French Toast Panini

innkeeper — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:14:38 +0000

Birchwood Inn in Lenox, MA, guests loved the Eggnog Croissant French Toast Paninis we served on Christmas Day. But why wait for Christmas?

Recipe serves 8

Ingredients

8 large croissants
4 cups eggnog
1/4 cup bourbon
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
10 large strawberries plus 10 for garnish
Whipped cream
Maple syrup with a shot of bourbon, heated

For the batter, whisk the eggnog, bourbon, eggs, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Slice the croissants in half horizontally. Spread the cream cheese on the middle. Slice strawberries and place on the cream cheese. Close the croissants and set aside.

Preheat the panini press.

When the press is hot, dunk two croissants in the batter and cook for approximately 4 minutes.
Top with whipped cream, a fanned strawberry, and powdered sugar and served immediately with the maple-bourbon syrup.

Enjoy this incredible eggnog French toast recipe.

Savor a Sweet Harvest Summer Salad Recipe!

innkeeper — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:01:29 +0000

There’s still time to enjoy the flavors of summer with our Sweet Harvest Summer Salad Recipe! I was walking through Guido’s, our incomparable local marketplace last week and saw Guido’s Kitchen making a salad that caught my eye: Vegetable confetti. Our Labor Day Weekend guests at our Berkshires bed and breakfast chomped it up, and you will too!

Sweet Summer Corn, Beet, Tomato, and Basil Salad

3 ears of corn, husked

1 1/2 lbs. beets, trimmed and scrubbed

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium size pot, cover the beets completely with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and the beets until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel and cut the beets into small cubes.

To cut kernels from the cob, stand an ear in a large wide bowl, and with a sharp knife, carefully slice downward to release the kernels.

Add the tomatoes to the corn. Drizzle with the olive oil. Stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beets just before serving so that each ingredient maintains its color.

Enjoy!

Chilling Out at our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast

innkeeper — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:18:20 +0000

Chilled soups soothe on the hottest days of summer.

At our Berkshires bed and breakfast, we serve a fruit course to begin our award-winning breakfasts. One of the joys of the season is Honeydew Gazpacho, borrowed from my friend Lynnette Scofield at The William Henry Miller Inn in Ithaca, NY. Hot outside? This chilled soup is so cool!

One ripe honeydew
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
The juice and zest of two limes
Small cubes of watermelon and/or cantaloupe
Lemon croutons (we toast cubes from our Lemon Yogurt Bread)
More lemon zest

In a food processor, blend the honeydew, sugar, lime juice and zest. Pour this mixture into a blender to completely puree the fruit. Chill overnight.
We serve the “Gazpacho” in martini glasses, added the small melon cubes, croutons, and the extra lime zest.
If you are lucky, you’ll have some soup leftover. Add tequila and voila, Honeydew Margarita!

For more chilled fruit soup recipes, check out our Eight Broads
in the Kitchen blog!

Eight Broads in the Kitchen

innkeeper — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:43:15 +0000

Nothing brings people together at our Berkshires B&B like food! Have I ever told you about the Eight Broads? If not, I have been remiss. Very much so.
Several years ago, eight innkeepers from across the US who share a passion for food – creating and eating – got together and created a food blog. They call themselves Eight Broads in the Kitchen – I am a Broad ex officio – and they put their best recipes, hints, and cooking/baking insights on this now very popular blog, www.eightbroadsinthekitchen.com.
In addition to the food blog, the Broads give food workshops at innkeeping conferences and write a food column for the International innkeepers’ magazine. A cookbook, of course, is in progress.
Despite their divergent backgrounds and personalities and the miles that separate them, over time the Broads have found that not only do they share this love for food but even more importantly they share a solid friendship. They form a support group for each other, sharing the ups and downs of life as well as innkeeping and even guests. No matter what life throws them, they offer Broad shoulders to each other. And they share a lot of laughs.
And they’ll share them with you at our Berkshires Inn!

It's food, fun, and friendship for the Eight Broads in the Kitchen!

Candy Cane Cookies

innkeeper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:50:27 +0000

Christmas would not be Christmas at our Lenox Bed and Breakfast or in my family without Candy Cane Cookies. I started making them when my boys were small. They are now adults are making them themselves. Because it’s so much fun to make these with children, I draft the little girls next door. And the tradition continues…

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red food coloring (more if needed)

1/4 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candy

1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix the butter, sugar, egg and extracts thoroughly.
Mix the flour and salt, and stir into the butter mixture.
Divide the dough in half.
Blend the food coloring into one half.
Mix the sugar and crushed candy together.

Roll 2 tsp. of each color into 2 5-inch “snakes,” rolling each “snake” back and forth on a lightly floured board. Place the two “snakes” next to each other, press together lightly and twist like a rope (so it looks like a barber’s pole).
Make the cookies one at a time.
Curve the top to make the handle of the candy cane.
Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until just lightly brown on the bottom. Remove the cookies immediately and sprinkle with the sugar-candy mixture.

Makes approximately 3 dozen candy canes.

Hot Time in the Old Lenox December 9, 10 & 11

innkeeper — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:52:29 +0000

Quinn says: Lenox, MA, in the heart of The Berkshires, has been

compared to a Currier and Ives sketch. This is especially true during

the December holiday period. And there’s nothing that says New

England better than Lenox village dressed in holiday-style.

Catch the spirit on the weekend of December 10 when the village hosts

the Lenox Caroling Festival. The festival is a gala weekend, a

Christmas stocking filled with holiday events. The celebration

of seasonal songs begins on Saturday, December 10. Thirty or more

of the Northeast’s finest choirs and choral groups have been invited

to lift their voices in a day-long songfest and competition, 10 am to

noon and 1:30 pm to 4 pm throughout the village (in case of

inclement weather, the festival will move to indoor venues).

During the weekend you can also tour many of the village’s renown

bed and breakfast inns, including Birchwood Inn (Our Lenox Bed and Breakfast is

offering holiday special rates this weekend — and throughout most

of November and December as well) and sample holiday treats from

our special local restaurants (Quinn notes that this is her favorite event,

ever optimistic that there will be some cookies that drop on the floor!)

Lenox’s unique shops and restaurants will also be featuring festival specials.

On Saturday, from 6 pm to 7 pm, enjoy the Carolers’ Reception,

award presentations, and sing-a-long at Shakespeare & Co. For a

great feel-good experience, moreover, see David Sedaris’ “Santaland

Diaries” 7:30 pm on Saturday as well as two matinee performances,

Friday and Saturday at 2 pm.

Trinity Church invites everyone to its Holiday Fair and Silver Tea

on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm.

And what are the holidays without a gingerbread house? The Lenox

Library hosts the annual Gingerbread Contest on Sunday, 10 am to

3 pm.

This is a most special weekend, for sure, but everyday is special

in Lenox during the holidays. Come and celebrate the season of

lights with us at our Lenox MA Inn!

It Was the Best of Times

innkeeper — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:19:14 +0000

Says Quinn: Despite Irene’s unwelcome end-of-summer visit, this was one of the best of my 12 summers at Birchwood Inn.

Ellen and I have created a Top Ten Best of Summer 2011 list:

# 10 -Best play we missed: “Sylvia” — about a dog of course — at the Berkshire Theatre Festival

# 9 -Best Tanglewood Concert we missed: “Porgy and Bess”

# 8 -Best book read this summer: “The Greater Journey”

# 7 -Best exhibit: Pissarro at The Clark Art Institute (until Oct. 6)

# 6 -Best new Lenox food experience: Berkshire Gelato next door to Prime

# 5 -Best new breakfast recipe: Peach Croissant French Toast Panini

# 4 -Best breakfast fruit course: Honeydew “Gazpacho” and Bircher Muesli

# 3 -Best food blog: Eight Broads in the Kitchen at Bed and Breakfast Foodies

8 Broads... and a Dog

# 2 -Best park for hiking or walking a dog: Kennedy Park

# 1 -Best summer weekend: James Taylor and the annual 4th of July Party Time at our Lenox MA Bed and Breakfast!

Puppy Love

innkeeper — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:20:31 +0000

It’s February! For you two-legged creatures, that mean it’s Chocolate Passion Month at Birchwood Inn, with something chocolate on every menu.

Sweetheart Chocolate French Toast

For you four-legged waggy creatures, it’s Puppy Love Month at the inn. My fellow canines stay free at the inn this month!

Quinn and Friend Phoebe

Our Inn in Lenox, MA offers 12 accommodations enjoy Berkshires, Bed & Breakfast,Inn in Lenox MA featuring private baths, cozy fireplaces and more. You can read the original blog post here Puppy Love.

Quinn Is Thankful for Thanksgiving Turkey

innkeeper — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:12:03 +0000

Thanksgiving goes to the dogs.

Of course, says Quinn, I have a whole cookie jar of things for which I am thankful, but at this time of year, I am especially thankful to those who carve the turkey each year and share!