Vine-cation

Rachelle and Brian escape to San Francisco for the weekend and take a road trip up to St. Helena in Napa Valley. Discover this charming town, find out how Glass Mountain Inn got it's name, and take a peak at the wine cave that gave Brian pinot envy.



Julie gave me an awesome recipe for croissant french toast. Check back with Inn The Kitchen to see the recipe and try it at home!

Fall Favorites

It's FALLLLLLL! The inner child in me just looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and fell back into pile of leaves as tall as she is ... creating a huge mess in the yard while smiling ear to ear. :o)

But I live in Florida. There are no leaves changing color and it's still hot and sticky outside. So the only way for me to tune in to my favorite season is to decorate the house, turn up the AC and start baking.

I've been giving my oven a workout ... and ... now I need to give myself a workout to burn off some of these calories I've been earning in the kitchen!

These are just a couple of the Fall Recipes I'll be posting on Inn The Kitchen this season ... and they happen to be my favorites.

Starting with the Autumn Sangria. This concoction for spirited sinfulness was given to me by my dear friend Maranda a couple of years ago when I had a group of girls over for a party. She brought over a big punch bowl of Autumn Sangria and immediately was everyone's favorite person in the room. The dangerous thing about this sangria is that it tastes so sweet and cinnamony (is that a word?) that you forget that it has lots of wine in it. An hour or two later you're all giggly and smiling wondering, "why the heck is everything so funny?!" It's just the merlot talkin.
Autumn Sangria

My next favorite recipe of this season is Christpher's Inn Own Bowl Pumpkin Bread. Although, I can never seem to get it all done in one bowl. But you could if you tried! It has nearly equal parts sugar to the flour ... so as you can imagine you'd probably be wanting to make a date with your dentist after a couple of slices of the moist and decedent pumpkin bread.

One Bowl Pumpkin Bread

And the final fall recipe shout-out for today is the Sweet Potato Muffins. This recipe was sent to me from the Beaufort Inn and is a healthy escape from the norm. They're sweet and every bit as fall flavored as the pumpkin bread with big chunks of orange sweet potato, cranberries and walnuts. But sweetened with honey and filling with fiber from flax seed, they'll be a little nicer to your waistline. It usually takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to whip these up, not including cook time. But I just did it in under 4 minutes on the show Daytime this week. Aaaaah, the magic of TV. Wish I could sprinkle some of that on my normal schedule!

Sweet Potato Muffins

Packin up the kitchen ...

The dust has settled ...

the photos are hung ...

and there is something much more fresh and tasty than cold leftover pizza for breakfast during this move!

My Inn The Kitchen blog has moved to WordPress. While the neighborhood here at Blogger has been warm and friendly, we just needed room to grow.

Check out it's new home at www.InnTheKitchen.com

--Rachelle

Grocery Wars

After a hot cup of coffee and some homemade scones, my friend Jaden shared this with Brian and I this morning. Thank goodness it was after the coffee ... or else I might have stained her rug spewing in laughter.

This is looks like an oldie, but it's new to me so I'll have to share. It combines some clever writing ... with fresh produce and some guys that looked like they had way too much fun in the making of this video.

Behold, Grocery Wars ...

Blueberry Stains and Yearbook Memories

I've been cross-eyed from all the technical jargon of picking up a website and moving it from one server to another, so I needed to take a break. The fun parts of the web stuff have felt a little like high school yearbook class ... photos... layout ... putting things together. But the last two days have been more like highschool trig and algebra. Code. Numbers. Bleh! I'm all hunched over like Quasimodo and my fingers scrunched from being glued to the computer.

So what does a girl do? She bakes. Most people would consider that more work. And maybe it is ... but there is delicious goodness produced at the end. And at least I'm standing at my countertop instead of sitting at my desk so I can give my numb butt a rest.

I have blueberry juice stained fingernails ... flour and sugar all over the floor ... and the jitters from all the coffee I drank this afternoon to wake me out of my computer coma while baking up a storm. Coming right out the oven ... some made-from-scratch blueberry scones with bowl-lickin-good citrus glaze. Photos, recipe and kitchen mess soon to be seen on www.InnTheKitchen.com.

Now, with my sweet tooth satisfied ... back to the code and numbers ...

Summer Warm & Fuzzies

An apple a day keeps the doctor away ... or so they say. But this recipe isn't one of those. Oh no. Loaded with "buttah" and "sugah" this is definitely not doctor's orders. But it is darn good comfort food!

Perhaps its the comfort of the quintessential scent of Fall that makes me all warm and fuzzy. And I know you're thinking, "Rachelle, why on this green earth would I need something warm and fuzzy in the middle of June!?"

Well, the answer to that is this recipe is extremely diverse. Swap out the apples for summer blueberries or peaches and you've got a great 4th of July family brunch or dollop on some vanilla ice cream for a backyard bbq dessert. I just baked it in it's original form, but one could definitely get creative with the fruit.

So turn off the latest news, turn on your oven and create some smiles with this recipe.

Check out the whole recipe and my baking photos here:

Apple Puffed Pancake.

--Rachelle

###

Beer ... with Breakfast ...

So, it's been one of those crazy busy weeks where I just had to pop one open at breakfast.

(Pause)

Crickets ...

Gasps ...

SIKE!

Just kidding!

I had a fun afternoon in the kitchen last week shooting a couple of recipes with my friend Jim Hobart and his fancy schmancy camera. One of those recipes was deliberately paired with beer.

I'm not usually a beer drinker. I'm more of a wine kinda gal.

Specifically red.

Pinot. To be exact.

Anyway. The recipe is an apple and goat cheese omelet paired with a Brooklyner Weisse. I LOVE goat cheese, so I think that's what sold me on it. It was from the Brooklyn Brewery and I was inspired to give it a try after a visit from our friends Tom & Gayle. Read more about their visit here.

Too my shock and surprise ... the omelet was FANTASTIC with beer! Wow.

Try it for yourself. Test out the recipe posted on my other blog, Inn The Kitchen.

--Rachelle

Hungry?

How much do you LOVE breakfast?

I just posted two new recipes on Inn The Kitchen.

Puffed Pastry Egg Bake

Stina's Omelet

Enjoy!

ps ... if you've got a secret to chopping onions without tearing up ... please ... let me know!

Beer with Breakfast

I'm enjoying some leftovers from a foodie shoot yesterday. The Silver Forest Inn Special ... just as good as I remember it. I'll post the recipe soon on Inn The Kitchen.

I've been co-collaborating with a photographer friend of mine to turn my collection of breakfast recipes into tantalizing, mouth watering photos. It's been awhile since we got together, so we had some catching up to do yesterday and there is a TON of food left over.

Thankfully I now remember that I can always bribe a man with food if I need something done ... so we won't get behind again. But next week I'm going to up the ante.

Beer.

Beer ... with breakfast.

Yes-sir-eee. You read that right.

But ... it will be after 12:00 noon ... I promise!

More on pairing breakfast with beer later ...

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

Vanilla Strawberry Bread

We're still smack in the middle of strawberry season here in Florida and berries are fresh, ripe, and in abundance. On the drive I make to Tampa every week I can still see the strawberry picking harvest going on strong.

What do you do with a pallet of fresh strawberries? Share 'em, freeze 'em, jam 'em, chop 'em, eat 'em, blend 'em, or bake 'em. Today, I baked 'em.

I experimented a little by combining about 3 different bread recipes I collected and made a vanilla strawberry loaf. It turned out just perfect. Not too sweet ... more bread-like than cake-like and very melt-in-your-mouth with a dab of real butter spread on a warm slice accompanied by a cup of tea. So, if you want to make this yummy treat for breakfast or an afternoon snack ... here's the recipe!

First ... the ingredients.

2 Cups of Strawberries
2 Packages of Vanilla Pudding
3/4 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup Canola Oil
6 Eggs
3/4 Cup of Milk (I added this later, so it's not pictured above)
4 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

Wash your berries and then chop them into small bits ... try not to eat them all as you go!

Combine your oil, sugar, and vanilla pudding and then blend in eggs until "pudding-like." Should be a little creamy and just a bit lumpy. The pudding adds moisture and gives it the vanilla flavor.



Combine your other dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and baking powder)
in a separate bowl and then slowly blend into wet pudding mixture. Mix thoroughly.



Since I was experimenting with combining a couple of recipes to create this one, I needed some extra "umph" at this point. Despite the pudding, the batter was a little dry, so I added 3/4 cup of milk and then all the berries.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. I used a baking stone, so it took about 10 minutes more.

Let it cool for 15 minutes and then serve! Goes great with some cream cheese or butter. Mmm.


--Rachelle

Cookin up somethin good ...

Lights ... Camera ... Cooking!



I've been working on a special project with a dear college friend of mine for awhile now and we're getting close to completing it! A fellow Travel Channel Academy VJ even came up for a week and gave us a hand. Today we added a few more touches. All I can tell you ... is that we're cookin' up somethin' good.

We still have some work cut out for us ... and while the journey of creating something is long ... it is also fun and rewarding.

A big HUGE thank you to Jonah and Vanessa for their talents and support. Also a big thank you to the Captain's Inn, Adora Inn and Mount Dora Historic Inn letting us take over their kitchens for a day.

Jonah at the helm.

Vanessa adding some energy.

And finally me ... learning to make a sweet breakfast.

--Rachelle

Depression Era Breakfast

The change of seasons always inspires me. Today the temperatures got up to the lower 80s and when I went for my usual jog I really soaked in the warm feeling of the sun on my skin.

The warmer air reminds us that no matter how cold the winter (and it's been COLD this year!) ... it will always be warm again ... no matter how dark or long the night ... the sun will rise. Great reminders in times like these.

A friend of mine forwarded me a video from YouTube. It's a 91 year old woman sharing her story of breakfast during the Great Depression. While I hope our economy doesn't take that turn, this video is a sweet reminder that we sometimes take for granted the simple things. Such as sugar cookies and fresh ground coffee.

As much as I love a gourmet breakfast, sometimes simplicity can be just as enjoyable. Take a look at Clara's simple breakfast below ...

Making Polynesian Pancakes

This has been an unusually chilly winter. I'm looking forward to our Spring days where it's warm enough that I can show my shoulders ... but not so hot that I'm dripping in perspiration.

In the meantime, here's a little luau for you mouth. It's Jim Tuttle's latest creation at the Mount Dora Historic Inn. For the complete recipe, click through to Polynesian Pancakes.

I gave the recipe a try in my own kitchen this past weekend and pretended like summer was already here.

The luau participants ... a little coconut ... a little crushed pineapple ...
a little citrus ... a whole lot of the feeling of sunshine.

If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain ...

Mash up your 'nanners good!

Jim uses some toasted orange zest from Spice Islands.

Aaah ... spice islands. Hmm.

Sorry, had to take a mental moment at the beach. I'm back now. In absence of the toasted orange zest, I just grated some fresh from my fruit bowl.

Mix together all your dry ingredients, then mix together your wet ingredients, then mix them all together. Kind of like a conga line ... once you get started it just keeps getting bigger as more characters are added.

Once you have somewhat of a mixed, but lumpy batter and your kitchen smells like a sweet suntan lotion, you're ready to make some pancakes. Just ladle, pour and bake as you normally would.

When it starts getting a little bubbly, it's time to flip.

Voila! A little drizzled honey, a couple of orange slices ... and you've got your own breakfast beach party in the comfort of your kitchen.



--Rachelle

Making Strawberry Pizza

Strawberries drizzled in almonds and sugar ... could there be anything more perfect? This is a snapshot of my strawberry pizza, a recipe from Arthur at the Adora Inn. His partner, John, told me a very beautiful romanticized version of the history of this recipe and how the crust was Arthur's Italian Grandmother's homemade recipe and how she would make this for him as a snack when he came home from school. The story formed images in my mind of flour dusted aprons blowing in the wind with a round faced, broad smiling older Italian woman in a red checkered dress standing in a Tuscan field greeting her grandson as he ran down the hill into her open arms ... (Did you hear a record scratch?) ... Arthur burst my bubble when he told me it actually was just a recipe from a dear friend of his that simply whipped this up in an instant for a dinner party when she realized she forgot to pick up a pastry. Still a beautiful story ... just not the Worther's-Candy-Commercial-Style-Story I had dreamed up.

Anyhow, this pizza is delicious for breakfast or dessert. The crust is light and flaky and includes an ingredient I've never thought of using in making crust ... ricotta cheese. Not to sweet ... not too heavy ... a slice of this pastry is the perfect compliment to a cup of coffee or tea.

Here are the key players ...


A bowl of fresh picked strawberries, a stick of unsalted sweet cream butter, 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 3/4 cup of ricotta, a bowl of sugar for sprinkling ... and I added a bowl of sliced almonds for some added texture.


Add together all your ingredients to make the crust ... flour, butter, ricotta ... and for me ... a little pinch of sugar. Blending this in a food processor or a deep bowl with a pastry blade works best. Arthur recommends not kneading it too much with your fingers as it makes the doe a little tough and less flaky.

After making your doe, roll it out and place it on a pizza pan and then pinch together the edge of the crust. I actually have a round pizza stone that I use for baking.

It helps to add flour to your hands to prevent the doe from sticking to your fingers ...

Next, slice your strawberries to layer onto your crust. Cutting them lengthwise makes for a prettier, almost heart shape.



Drizzle with sugar, almonds, and any other toppings you like. I made a mental note that adding some chocolate would be absolutely divine. If you are making this pastry just for yourself to enjoy ... feel free to lick your fingers at this point.






After 20 minutes in an oven set at 425 degrees ... you have a slightly sweet and delightful strawberry pizza. Enjoy!





Do you have any other fabulous strawberry recipes? Let us know!

--Rachelle

Last Minute Holiday Kiss

So ... your dog ate the dessert ... or perhaps while carrying a bunch of packages, food, etc. your holiday party dish ended up face down in the driveway. Don't despair! Here's a QUICK and easy recipe idea for you that only involves 3 ingredients that you can buy at any 24 hour large-chain pharmacy or convenience store.

Ingredients ...

1) a bag of square pretzels
2) a bag of Hershey Kisses,
3) a bag of red & green peanut M&Ms (or other hard candy)



The hardest part of this whole recipe will be unwrapping the Hershey kisses ... and not eating them along the way ...


Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the inside of a cookie sheet. Then, place your square pretzels in a row with the Hershey Kiss on top. I used the dark chocolate kisses.


Next, bake at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. This is just long enough to soften the chocolate without melting it into a blob. Let them cool for one minute, and then press your M&M's in the middle of each kiss. The only holiday M&M's that were left at my local grocer were the almond kind. A little big. So, I also used some other red & green candy I found.


After pressing in all the M&Ms ... cool in your refrigerator until the chocolate is hardened. I put some trivets down on a shelf and just placed the entire cookie sheet of treats in the refrigerator. Don't try to pick them up until they're completely cooled. Trust me. You'll get a thumb full of scalding hot chocolate. After about 30 minutes, they'll be ready to go! Enjoy!




--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

Making Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

Nothing like being only 3 days away from Christmas to inspire some late-night baking. Something about stress and chocolate morsels that just really go well together.

Someone had made some chocolate raspberry dessert bars awhile back that were just yummy. I liked the idea of the red raspberry adding a holidayish color to a simple dessert. So I googled "chocolate raspberry crumb bars" and printed a few recipes to take back to my kitchen to experiment with.

Here are the players ...

A little flour, a little sugar, a little butter, and a bag of chocolate.
Everything that is good in the world.

Whoops! I've spilled a few tasty morsels. Well, I can't let good chocolate go to waste!
Guess I'll just have to sample a few while I'm baking.
You'll notice all my photos have a certain "dark" quality to them. Yeah. That's what I get for baking at night and depending on the lights from the Christmas tree in my living room.

Now, the recipe instructions said to let butter soften to room temperature and then blend until creamy. Yup. I was a little impatient with that ... so I melted the butter a tinsy bit on the stove first and then blended the softened bits with the liquid bits.
I now know the true meaning of splatter.

There goes that late-night-orange-colored photo again. I did try the flash. Flash doesn't do well with stainless steel bowls. I blinded myself for a couple of minutes. But I digress ... Anyway ... the next step in the recipe was to blend the dry ingredients into the creamy butter. Flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. (I forgot to include the salt in the family photo above.)

Now it's starting to look like something good!

Powdering up my hands with flower and pressing the crumb mixture into the pan was pure therapy. I doubled up the recipe so I could use a cookie sheet instead of a 13x9 baking pan. What's strange is the original recipe called for one 13x9 baking pan yielding 3 dozen bars ... yeah, I don't think so! Maybe a dozen?! Someone else was doing some late-night recipe writing for sure.

While the crust is baking, I had to put the chocolatey morsels to better use than snacking. Melting them into a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Like my cartoon-dog shaped chocolate blob? The next step in the recipe called for spreading the gooey chocolate mixture "over a hot crust." This is why I disagree ...


Ever worked with hot melted chocolate before? It's sticky! And it was messing up the crust! Here's a recipe modification ... let crust cool and THEN add the chocolate. At least it's a "crumb" bar, so a few crust nibbles on the top will blend in.


After making what looks like a chocolate pizza ... I added the toppings by mixing a 1/2 cup of chopped pecans with the remaining crumb mixture and sprinkling that on top. Then I dolloped on spoonfuls of raspberry jam and popped it into the oven at 350 for 35 minutes. The raspberry jam popped and danced all over the place. Thought it was kind of cool (or at least it was last night) so I experimented with a little point-and-shoot video below.

After letting it cool overnight in the refrigerator, this is what I woke up to in the morning ...

Much better lighting in the daytime, don't you think?

For the complete recipe, click here: Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

--Rachelle
www.TremainStreetCottages.com