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I love the name they’ve coined for their new spa treatment room. It’s both a retreat for a full range of spa treatments including couples massages and a place to come for complete relaxation. The Relaxing Room creates the space where your body can regain inner quietude. Essential oils and creams of the highest and purest quality developed by a local green company are used by Francisco and Stacy, certified therapeutic massage therapists with many years of experience.
If your plan is to visit a DINE member inn a little closer to your home, don’t worry. Relaxation along with spa treatments are available at every DINE member inn. The Inn at Thorn Hill and Manor on Golden Pond offer full service in-house spa facilities, while other DINE inns offer massage or spa services either at the inn or nearby at local day spas.
Give your tension some attention this spring and refresh the body, mind and spirit with a relaxing escape. Where ever you choose to go, we wish you a restful getaway.
A Rabbit Hill Inn guest prepares to enjoy his Hazelnut Waffles. Rabbit Hill Inn photo.
Leslie Mulcahy at the Rabbit Hill Inn clued me in via Facebook that today (March 25) celebrates International Waffle Day. This illustrious day is not the day to make important decisions. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Today is the one day of the year you’re allowed to waffle on decisions and eat one too!
According to Holidayinsights.com, International Waffle Day originated in Sweden and is called Våffeldagen. International Waffle Day coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation. The day was generally considered the first day of spring in Sweden and Europe too. Somewhere along the way it became a custom for Swedish families to celebrate the two events by making waffles on this day, thus giving the holiday its name.
For serious International Waffle Day revelers, this day is not to be confused with National Waffle Day, which celebrates the patenting of the waffle iron by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York on August 24, 1869.
The waffle dates back to the 1300s in Greece. Greeks cooked flat cakes between two metal pans. At the time, they topped it with cheeses and herbs. Waffles evolved considerably since then. According to a brief history of waffles in TIME Magazine the Pilgrims discovered waffles in Holland where they spent time prior to arriving in the United States and brought the recipe with them. Legend has it that Thomas Jefferson bought a waffle iron in France as a sort of culinary souvenir and began serving waffles in the White House, helping spark a fad for “waffle parties” nationwide. Belgian waffles were supposedly first introduced to the United States at the 1964 World’s Fair. There you have it…all the waffle trivia you need for watercooler chat on International Waffle Day!
If you’re waffling about which waffles to make, put the cookbooks aside and plan a visit to any of the Distinctive Inns of New England. Here you’ll find a wide variety of creative waffles from fruit-topped to sweet potato, pecan and hazlenut served with creative sides and none of the mess to clean up afterward. No waffling on this – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why not enjoy it at a distinctive country inn? It’s not too late to make plans to visit your favorite inn this weekend or next.
Here is the last of the chocolate recipes to celebrate American Chocolate Week. It’s been fun gathering and sharing these recipes. We’d love to hear about your favorites. To top off American Chocolate Week we present Mocha Muffins from the Chesterfield Inn. Enjoy!
Chesterfield Inn Mocha Muffins
Ingredients:
3 Large eggs
1 c. buttermilk
¾ c. safflower or canola oil
½ c strong black coffee, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 c. light brown sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 c. semisweet and/or white chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non-stick cooking spray 12 muffin cups. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, coffee and vanilla.
In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips. With a spatchula fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 – 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.
Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.
Tea time is a special occasion at the Captain’s House Inn. Served daily, guests look forward to this afternoon tradition at the Captain’s House. Thus, it’s no surprise that their featured recipes would include a favorite tea. Try it and let us know how you like it!
Heat oven to 350° F. Coat an 8-cup fluted tube pan with cooking spray.
Brew the tea in the water 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags or strain the leaves and set the brewed tea aside.
Using a mixer, beat the butter, eggs, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Blend in the chocolate. Beat in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, yogurt, and brewed tea. Pour into pan.
Bake 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
We’re nearing the end of American Chocolate Week, but we still have a few days of recipes to go! As if Grand Marnier Chocolate Cobbler from Rabbit Hill Inn doesn’t sound wonderful enough; these intrepid innkeepers have provided a step-by-step video guide for creating this fab choco-concoction. With a tenacious dedication to all-things-fresh-and-good, the Rabbit Hill Inn offers this recipe with instruction on how to make it perfectly each time. I’m going to try it tonight!
Want a step-by-step video guide for the creation of Grand Marnier Chocolate Cobbler?
In honor of American Chocolate Week, today’s recipe comes from the Inn at Thorn Hill in Jackson, NH. Gluten-free, these chewy cookies are great for people with celiac disease or a wheat allergy and yet according to Inn at Thorn Hill co-owner, Ibby Cooper, they are one of her favorite cookies and a favorite of many inn guests with or without allergies. They are sinfully delicious and a great treat for those who have to go without wheat. Make a batch for your favorite chocolate lover(s) and see what you think!.
Gluten free double chocolate pecan cookies from the Inn at Thorn Hill make the ideal treat for American Chocolate Week.
Flourless Double-chocolate Pecan Cookies from Inn at Thorn Hill
Ingredients: 3 cup confections’ sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocao powder( spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
5oz. bittersweet chocalate, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans( or other type of nut)
4 large eggswhites, room temp.
Method: Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa,and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated. ( do not over mix)
Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 3 inches apart, on to two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake until cookie tops are dry and cracked, about 25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days. Makes 12.
Recipe submitted by Ibby Cooper, Inn at Thorn Hill, Jackson, NH
We’re celebrating Day #2 of American Chocolate Week with two recipes that’re not only delicious but beautiful too. Today we present Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding from the Cheterfield Inn and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from the Deerfield Inn. Wow! What a line up of fabulously decadent desserts to celebrate the week. Just to make you feel better, we’ll remind you that chocolate helps you lower blood pressure and live longer too. So bake to your heart’s content and celebrate American Chocolate Week with recipes from DINE member inns.
Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding is a favorite during Chocolate Week at Chesterfield Inn.
Chesterfield Inn Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
1 c dried cherries, coarse chopped
2 c heavy cream
1 ½ c milk
1c brown sugar
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 T vanilla extract
½ c bourbon whiskey
8 ea large eggs
2 t unsalted butter
1ea 13″X9″X2″ baking pan
Method:
Combine milk, cream and sugar in a heavy saucepot and cook over med-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture nears a boil. Remove from heat; add chocolate, stir until smooth. Beat eggs, vanilla and bourbon together to combine. SLOWLY whisk in chocolate into mixture in increments (to temper). Toss the bread and cherries in this mixture and let stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease the baking pan generously with butter. Add bread pudding mixture and cover with foil. Bake 35 minutes in a hot water bath.
Remove foil. Continue baking another 10-20 minutes until set in center and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool thoroughly on a rack.
Introducing the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie from Deerfield Inn, Penny Leveritt Photo.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from Deerfield Inn
Ingredients:
2 tsp cocoa
2 ounces red food color
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
¾ cup Crisco
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Method:
Mix cocoa and food color and set aside. Mix baking soda and vinegar: set aside.
Combine Crisco, sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Mix in cocoa and food coloring.
Blend in flour and buttermilk.
Add baking soda and vinegar.
Drop on cookie sheet and make them the size of small cookies.
Bake 325 degrees for 8 to 10 mins.
Filling:
1 16 oz tub of vanilla frosting.
1 16 oz of marshmellow fluff
3 cups powdered sugar
Mix together the filling ingredients and sandwich in between the Whoopie pies.
Recipe from Kim & Tim Steffens, Chefs
Champney’s Restaurant & Tavern at the Deerfield Inn
Welcome to American Chocolate Week! I hope you are celebrating by offering one of the fabulous recipes created at DINE member inns and featured last week. If you have not yet found a recipe that’s perfect for you and your chocolate-loving loved ones, fear not. We will continue to post recipes through the week. We’ve even got a “how-to” video coming up, so stay tuned throughout the week!
Chef Rosemary, talented chef and co-owner of the Gateways Inn and La Terrazza Restaurant. Photo by Lucio Rossi.
Today we’ll feature an age-old favorite, and a recipe that’s sure to please any chocolate-fan from young to old! Chef Rosemary Chiariello from the Gateways Inn and La Terrazza Restaurant has shared her fabulous recipe for Chocolate Sauce. The Gateways Inn is celebrating American Chocolate Week with a full line-up of cocoa concoctions ranging from decadant drinks to bountiful biscotti and brownies. Here’s what’s in store…
The Gateways Inn & La Terrazza Restaurant will be celebrating American Chocolate Week with the following events and delicious offerings:
Monday, March 14
….Wake to the smell of Hot Chocolate & Coffee…At Breakfast our sinfully delicious Chocolate Chunk French Toast will be served.
Our signature Chocolate Chip Biscotti will be the day’s afternoon treat.
Tuesday, March 15
….White Hot Chocolate with Mocha Whipped Cream is offered as today’s hot Breakfast Beverage. Chocolate Pound Cake is served on our Breakfast Buffet.
Afternoon treat will be our rich & fudge-like Walnut Brownies.
Wednesday, March 16
….Cappuccino with Chocolate Crème is the day’s Breakfast Beverage.
Crispy Bacon is dipped in bittersweet dark chocolate, for a delicious salty/sweet contrast to the taste buds!
Afternoon treat will be our Chocolate Roll Cake with Fresh Berries & Cream.
Thursday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day!
….Bailey’s Irish Coffee with Chocolate Whipped Cream is the Breakfast Beverage, combining both Holidays! Chocolate Chip Waffles with Mocha Crème is the Breakfast offering.
Afternoon treat will be our Jamison Whiskey Cake with Chocolate Crème.
Friday, March 18
….Breakfast Beverage is White Hot Chocolate.
For Breakfast our Chocolate-Chunk French Toast will be served.
Afternoon treat will be our Chocolate Meringues.
Saturday, March 19
….Breakfast Beverages will be White and Dark Hot Chocolates & Mocha Coffee.
For Breakfast the offering will be Chocolate-Chestnut Crème Crepes.
Afternoon Treat will be Queen Mother’s Cake, a classic recipe learned from Maida Heatter.
Sunday, March 20
….Cappuccino & Espresso with Chocolate Coated Espresso Beans For Breakfast we return to our classic Chocolate Chunk French Toast.
Afternoon treats will be our Chocolate Truffles & Baci Chocolates.
And here is the recipe of the day from the Gateways Inn and Terrazza Restaurant:
CHOCOLATE SAUCE - Gateways Inn
( Yield: About 4 ½ Cups)
Ingredients:
½ Cup Heavy Cream
½ Cup Granulated Sugar
¼ Cup Canola Oil
1 lb. Extra-Bittersweet Chocolate, such as Valrhona, finely chopped
½ Cup Milk
Method:
1). In a medium saucepan combine ¼ Cup of the cream, the sugar & oil. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2). Put the chocolate into a bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth and thoroughly blended.
3). Combine the remaining cup of cream and milk. Slowly pour into the chocolate, Whisking well. Serve warm.
4). Can be stored in refrigerator for a week. Reheat for serving.
Just two more days to the outset of American Chocolate Week (March 14-20, 2011). If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve undoubtedly been collecting recipes all week. If you’re just discovering it now, be sure to scroll down and gather some fabulous chocolate recipes to celebrate American Chocolate Week. We’ve clued our readers in about how eating chocolate will make one live longer, and shared recipes like Baked Fudge Cake from Camden Maine Stay Inn, Chocolate Tissimo Cake from Chesterfield Inn and French Silk from the Rabbit Hill Inn.
Today, we’re featuring the Deerfield Inn’s Chocolate Lavender Truffles. With a focus on natural and fresh all year long, the Deerfield Inn makes these truffles in-house to order for guests. Pair them with one of the 101 martini choices from Champney’s Tavern, and you have one decadent treat.
Deerfield Inn combines lavender with chocolate for to make one powerful antioxidant treat.
Dark Chocolate Lavender Truffles from the Deerfield Inn
Ingredients:
2 tsp lavender flowers – be sure not to use lavender that has been sprayed
1 cup heavy cream
14 oz fine chocolate (60-80% cocoa solids)
About ½ cup cocoa powder for dusting
Method:
Put the lavender in a small saucepan with the cream over a moderate heat. As it approaches boiling point, switch off the heat and let it sit for 20-30 minutes while the lavender scents the cream.
Chop the chocolate into pea-sized pieces and melt them by putting them in a bowl set over boiling water.
Pour the cream through a sieve into the melted chocolate, folding it in with a wooden spoon. Let it set by putting it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes. Using two teaspoons, scoop out balls of truffle mi and drop them into the cocoa powder. Shape them into balls or leave them as rough tetured lumps. Roll them in the cocoa, then leave in a cool place for an hour or so to set.
Other flavorings can be substituted – a drop or two of mint or almond extract instead of the lavender. If you like your truffles light and airy, beat the cooled mixture with an electric mixer.
As we count down to American Chocolate Week, launching on Monday, March 14th, we bring another mouth watering chocolate dessert, this time from the Camden Maine Stay Inn in Camden, ME. It’s not too late to make your reservation and enjoy this wonderful dessert over the weekend. The Baked Fudge Cake is one of the many complimentary afternoon treats offered at Camden Maine Stay.
Enjoy Baked Fudge Cake at the Camden Maine Stay Inn during American Chocolate Week.
Baked Fudge Cake from Camden Maine Stay
Ingredients:
2 2/3 c semisweet chocolate chips
10 Tb unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 cup heavy cream, whipped for garnish
Method:
Preheat oven to 425°. Butter and line a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. In a medium pan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together till smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Beat eggs until light, thick and tripled in volume. Beat in flour and espresso powder. Gently fold in chocolate mixture by hand. Pour in pan and bake 17 minutes. May be served warm, room temp or chilled. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
Recipe compliments of Claudio Latanza, innkeeper and co-owner
Yummm...an easy recipe and a gourmet treat.
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