Birchwood Inn » Recipes

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!.

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.

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!