Their activities were right in line with how to do Bayfield in the winter. Arrival at Pinehurst to order a pizza from Maggies and sit in the parlor by the fire talk, laughing and just kicking back. Saturday morning shopping. finding great opportunities to get to know Bayfield through the eyes of a couple of fun business owners. A Wolfsong Dog Sledding adventure that they will remember for a lifetime. And a catered dinner served by Molly Lewis Siegler where great food provided more opportunity to celebrate.

It isn’t about programming every minute. It’s about truly experiencing the place for what it has to offer. This group will remember the weekend for years to come. And they truly made connecting adventure, environment and personal rejuvenation their goal. All to the backdrop of Pinehurst Inn and this small community of Bayfield, Wisconsin. And as innkeepers, we watch this and it really makes our day. Thank you!

Pinehurst Inn is seeking your help in expanding our breakfast offerings. We work hard to offer our guests wonderful breakfasts each morning with recipes that honor our local produce and products, provides options for various dietary needs and is simply good food. But it’s time for some fresh (no pun intended) recipes!

Send us your best recipe that might work for breakfast by January 15, 2011. We will select the top 5. These recipes will then be offered for breakfast to our guests through February 28, 2011 with the guests rating the recipes on a “1-5 muffin scale.” These overall ratings will be used to determine the winner.

The winner will receive three of the best Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast cookbooks along with a $50 Pinehurst Inn Gift Certificate.

Some suggested parameters:
• The recipe should be able to be prepared the night before or prepared in the morning with no more than a 20 minute prep time.
• Creatively make use of ingredients that we might be able to source locally or regionally (not mandatory, but helpful

Send your recipe along with name, address, phone and email to: innkeeper@pinehurstinn.com with the subject line: “Pinehurst Recipe Contest.” We look forward to seeing what you have to offer!

While there may not be as many water activities to participate in at this time of year, there is still plenty to keep one occupied. There are still plenty of shops open, restaurants to dine at and of course trails to hike. Please contact us if you’d like more information on things to do at this time of year. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that we have some great specials running right now! If you stay with us during the midweek (Sun-Thur) you can get as much as 25% off your third night, or come in November and don’t miss out on the “Two for $222″ special.

Finally, this is a particularly nice time of year for baking! There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh bakery warming you after a long cool hike. We have been sampling some newer recipes this year, and I think that this is one of our bigger successes:

Caramelized Apple Bread Pudding
Serves 8

Ingredients:
Apple filling:
4 Dudley apples, cubed (or any firm, tart baking apple)
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Bread Pudding:
1 tsp nutmeg
1 loaf french bread (or any bread you prefer)
8 large eggs
1 cup half-n-half
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash salt

Topping:
about 1 cup rolled oats
about 1 cup pecans (or nuts of  your choice) chopped
left over liquids from apples

1. Slice and cube bread and place in 9×13″ baking dish (spray pan, or use parchment paper)
2. Melt butter in large frying pan, add brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg – add apples to mixture and saute for a couple of minutes – careful not to over cook the apples (keep them firm)
3. Using a slotted spoon spread the apples over the bread cubes. Reserve butter mixture.
4. In a large bowl mix the eggs, milks, sugar, extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt – whisk well and pour evenly over bread and apples. There should be enough liquid to almost cover the bread.
5. Cover with foil and let rest in the fridge overnight.
6. Take the reserved butter & brown sugar mixture and mix with rolled oats and pecans – you’re looking for a pretty “goopy” consistency here.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
8. Before putting in the oven, spread the topping over the bread and apples, and bake for 45-60 minutes.
9. Let rest for 10 minutes or so before serving to let the custard set.

Serve & Enjoy!

Of course the Chequamegon Bay area is proud to have the northern-most brewery recognized: South Shore Brewery which is connected with Deep Water Grille located in Ashland, just 25 miles south of Bayfield.

South Shore is known for their flavorful and innovative products. On tap, there’s usually always a Cream Ale, Honey Pils, Nut Brown Ale and Stout. Seasonal beers rotate between
Red Lager, Mai Bock, Bavarian Wheat, Applefest Ale, Bracket
and Porter.

Word has it that the Applefest Brew went into the fermenter about a week ago! This annual favorite is anticipated by locals and visitors.

It is also great to share that South Shore Brewery and their affiliate restaurant Deep Water Grille are actively involved as a local “Green Team” working to create more sustainable and green operations within their business.

So enjoy the microbreweries all around this great state – but be sure to come north! We look forward to seeing you.

Weather like this may be dreary to some, but it is lovely to me. I see this as an opportunity to settle down with a great book and enjoy the sounds of the wind and the company of good words. If you’re in town, you should stop by the Apostle Islands Booksellers – Bayfield’s new independent bookseller. They have created a truly charming space with a variety of both local, regional authors, bestsellers and a little bit of everything else.

Finally, today is a day for baking! With the harvest season upon up, I love playing with new recipes with the local apples. Here is a recipe that I have been playing with lately, using the apples in a more savory way rather than sweet:

Buttermilk Apple-Parmesan Muffins

Makes 12 standard muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup corn oil

1 egg

1 small apple (preferably Dudley apples from one of Bayfield‘s orchards)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray muffin tins

In a medium bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set Aside. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, oil and egg until smooth. Note: these will bake far more evenly if you have ALL ingredients at room temperature before putting in the oven. Add the combined dry ingredients, along with the finely chopped apple and the parmesan cheese. Stir until just blended.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick or knife comes out clean – about 20 minutes. Cool before removing from tins.

Enjoy these delicious muffins anytime, but on a cool blustery day like today they are perfect!

One of our more popular fall dishes is our Apple Cheddar Muffins, and of course we use apples from one of Bayfield’s many orchards. These muffins go very well both with an omelet at breakfast or with chicken or pork as a side dish.

We encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful time of year in Bayfield by taking advantage of the different fall promotions happening both at Pinehurst Inn, but throughout Bayfield. We are happy to be participating in the Bayfield Fall Harvest Lodging package. If you book 3 nights (Sun.-Thursday), you will receive 25% off of your third night AND a $25 Bayfield Gift Certificate good at any Bayfield Chamber member business.

So, while you enjoy your Labor Day holiday this weekend, don’t forget to make your fall plans and be sure to include Bayfield and the Pinehurst Inn.

The gardens are lush this year. And the produce baskets are overflowing. Yes, zuchinni, carrots, greens, beets (ah, beet greens!), peppers, and more. So the idea of World Kitchen Garden Day really struck us – a wonderful way to celebrate this time of year when we are blessed with this fantastic array of food.

World Kitchen Garden Day is an opportunity to
celebrate the multiple pleasures and benefits of home-grown, locally grown foods.

• celebrate the positive role of organic kitchen gardening (good health, good community, and it taste’s so good!)
• To raise awareness about the benefits of eating local and to encourage people to explore local food options in their areas
• To build community spirit, at local and international levels, around the universal experiences of gardening, cooking, and eating (think Farmers Markets, community gardens, and more)

The concepts and ideas of this “celebration” are so important – and should be considered every day of the year. But today, look around your own community and get to know your local farmers and growers.

At Pinehurst Inn in Bayfield, we are thrilled to build our breakfast using not only our own produce, but numerous delicious veggies and fruits from our area orchards and farms. This morning we serve our very popular Pinehurst Blueberry Oven French Toast (using wonderful blueberries from Highland Valley Farm in Bayfield). And tomorrow we will be doing something wonderful with those fresh beet greens – stay tuned! We might even share another recipe.

Happy harvesting!

But then comes summer! The Bayfield Orchards provide a wonderful variety of fruits and berries. Local growers and smaller farms are great sources of vegetables, dairy and cheeses. When unable to source items locally, we work to identify food purveyors that provide organic and/or Midwest grown options.

Today we received a wonderful order of organic vegetables. The quantities are large enough to both use now and cut and freeze for those cooler months. The smells, the colors, the fresh taste – a little bit of heaven. These are the ingredients that come together to provide a delicious breakfast to start the day for our guests.

Life is good.

Apple Hill Orchard has a bumper crop this year, following two years of absence of strong cherry crops. We picked up our first order of these incredible cherries and immediately came home to have Kristen prepare a sweet cherry bread with almonds to serve for our breakfast tomorrow.

Can I describe how the kitchen smells right now??

Just one more step in supporting our local growers who provide such amazing produce and products.

Learn more about Bayfield Orchard Schedule.

Pinehurst Inn is no exception as we provide simple strawberry parfaits or strawberry rhubarb muffins. And what is left after our own snacking is quickly frozen for enjoyment during the winter season.

Bayfield orchards provide not only great fruit, but also a wonderful biking or driving destination. The rolling hills high above Bayfield have magnificent views of Lake Superior, Madeline Island and beyond. A little bit of heaven.

Here’s a great and easy recipe for a Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast that our guests love!

What do you do with your strawberries? Share a recipe!