First Wood Fire of the Season

If you can believe it, today we lit our first wood fire in the den's fireplace. On a much needed rainy afternoon, who can resist the smell of wood smoke lofting across the yard? Ginger cookies are fresh out of the oven and the cinnamon granola is cooling in the kitchen. It's beginning to feel a little like Autumn today.

Cheers ~ Rick, Julie & Daisy Dog

Noble House Inn ~ Strawberry & Cream Cheese French Toast Recipe

This has been a guest favorite of ours for quite some time now. The beauty of it is that you can make it the night before and just pop it in the oven to delight your family & guests. Not feeding a crowd?..cut the recipe in half and use an 8x8 dish.

French Toast Ingredients:

12 Slices Texas Toast (separated 6 & 6) and cut into cubes
2 C. Sliced Strawberries (give or take)
1 8 oz. "Brick" of Cream Cheese
12 Eggs
2 C. Half-n-Half
1/3 C. Real Maple Syrup

French Toast Instructions:

1. Grease a 9x13-baking dish & arrange half (6 slices) of the bread cubes in bottom of it.
2. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and arrange on top of bread.
3. Layer the sliced strawberries on top of the cream cheese.
4. Layer the remaining bread (2nd 6 cubed slices) on top of the strawberries.
5. In a blender, mix the eggs, half-n-half and syrup (not too long…maybe 15 seconds), and pour over the French toast.
6. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
7. Remove from refrigerator at least 45 minutes prior to baking.
8. Bake at 375 F degrees for 40 minutes covered w/foil & 20 more without.
9. Ladle strawberry sauce over top (Recipe below) and serve..

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients

1 C. Sugar
2 T. Cornstarch
1 T. Butter
1 C. Water
1 C. Strawberries, Sliced

Strawberry Sauce Instructions

1. Combine water, sugar & cornstarch and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes on the stove in a saucepan. (DO NOT let it come to a Boil)
2. Add sliced strawberries & cook 5 more minutes.
3. Add the butter and it’s ready to serve.

Bon Appetit, Rick & Julie

Breakfast A-Z

Apple Crepes

Blueberries

Coffee-n-Cream

Danish

Eggs

Frittata

Granola

Hash Browned Potatoes

Ice Cream

Jams & Jellies

Kiwi

Lobster Quiche

Maple Syrup

Nutmeg

Oats

Preserves

Quiche

Raisins

Sticky Buns

Tea

Unbelievably Tasty

Vanilla

Waffles

Xtreme Goodness

Yogurt

Zucchini Bread

Foul Ball

Meet the "other" innkeeper. This is our son, Ross, assistant innkeeper extroidinaire! When not "assisting" us here at the inn (i.e. running the place), working 2 other jobs, or going to school, he's just doing what everyone in New England dreams of doing; he's catching foul balls at a Red Sox Game. Thursday night, August 27th, Red Sox v. White Sox. As a Cleveland area native, I can't help but route for former Indian, Jim Thome, but that's neither here nor there because the action on Thursday night was in Pavilion Club, Section 3, Row 1, Seat 10 where Kevin Youkilis hit a first inning floating foul ball right into Ross' lap. Lucky Dog!!! Too bad the Red Sox lost 9-5 :-(

Wine of the Week ~ 2007 Shoofly Chardonnay

With the searing heat and high humidity beginning to slip, we decided that it would be fun to highlight some of the wine we've "refreshed" ourselves with this season. Innkeeping is thirsty business after all.... This week, we've opened a fun summer sipper from the Adelaide Hills area of Australia. The 2007 Shoofly Chooke Raffle Chardonnay has a fresh, crisp style. On the nose, it offers aromas of tropical fruit, peaches and melon. On the pallet, the taste of grapefruit and lemon zest are complimented by zingy acidity. This wine shows Australia at its best and is a fabulous compliment to our Lobster Quiche (post of August 28th) and salad of mixed greens.

Cheers!

Lobster Quiche Recipe

The ubiquitous Maine Lobster has been a symbol of New England summertime dining for generations. Any visit to Maine wouldn't be complete without a Maine Lobster meal. We serve ours up in a classic French-style quiche with heavy cream & Swiss cheese...of course. What would a true quiche be without these rich, classic flavors, right? We make this scrumptious dish with fresh lobster from Ken's Kove, our local fish market just around the corner.

Noble House Inn Lobster Quiche Recipe

• Partially bake a homemade 9" deep-dish Pie Crust.
• Sautee 1/3 C. Vidalia Onions in 3 T. Butter until tender.
• Add 1/2 lb. of sectioned Lobster meat & heat it through.
• Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan Cheese on the bottom of the pie crust & top with the onion-lobster mixture.
• Top with 8 oz. grated Swiss Cheese.
• Whisk together 4 large Eggs, 1 C. Heavy Cream, 1/4 t. Salt & 1/4 t. Cayenne Pepper.
• Pour over the lobster & cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Bon Appetit

By the way, if you need another Lobster fix while visiting us, head back to Ken's Kove for a lunchtime lobster roll or whole lobster dinner. He'll even give you a personal lesson on how to eat a lobster.

4 on the 4th

What could be better than enjoying a wicked-good breakfast on the veranda while watching thousands of runners race past the inn on the 4th of July? Well, nothing beat it yesterday when our dining guests watched our running guests race for the finish. Among this year's 1,920 racers, 6 Noble House Inn guests competed. Congratulations to George & Misty Brown, Kate Seekell and Colin, Caitlin & James Cassidy! We're so proud of you all! If you're interested in joining these racers next year, visit our website to reserve a room for the view or the race.

By the way, the race-day menu included: a Rustic Egg Strata with roasted red peppers, scallions, sharp VA-baked ham, mozzarella & sharp VT cheddar; spiced apple crepes; braised chicken-apple sausage; cherry-almond muffins; fresh fruit, organic yogurt, berries and of course our Noble Granola as well as race day mimosas! Hope to see you next year ~ Bon Appetite.

Best Cookies in The Lakes

Voted "Best Cookie in the Lakes Region", Noble House Inn took the honors last week to claim the top cookie spot. Our guests have always said that our cookies "rock", but now it's official. So, if you can't visit our Famous Bottomless Cookie Jar soon enough, make these wildly delicious Loaded Chocolate-Chip Cookies for yourself and see why they're the Best of the Best!

Beat: 12 T. Butter & 10.5 oz. Brown Sugar

Add: 1 Egg & 1 t. Vanilla, beating slightly

Mix in: 1.25 C. Flour, 3/4 t. Baking Powder, 1/2 t. Baking Soda & 1/2 t. Salt

Mix in: 3.5 oz. Rolled Oats, 4 oz. Toasted Chopped Pecans, 5 0z. Raisins and 4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes. Enjoy!

Playing Hooky

Ever wonder what innkeepers really do with their time? Cook? Of Course! Clean? If we must! Host? Certainly! Play Hooky? We'll never tell, but our hidden camera revealed the secret life of innkeeper Rick Whelchel. Caught playing hooky Monday atop Jockey Cap Mountain, Rick was lured by these amazing views. Erected to memorialize explorer Admiral Robert E. Peary of North Pole fame, this monument identifies all of the peaks viewed from the summit, including Mount Washington, and serves as a tribute to the former Fryeburg Maine resident. Jockey Cap offers just one of about 30 hikes in our region, most of which are just minutes from the inn. In fact, the Jockey Cap Trail was named Editors' Choice by Yankee Magazine. Although it only takes 15 minutes to reach, you may want to pick up a yummy treat at the Jockey Cap Country Store before hitting the trail. So, when you're ready to stretch your legs and check-out one of our local natural treasures, just borrow our hiking guide and we'll help you PLAY HOOKY.

How Does My Garden Grow?..

It's been another gorgeous spring day here at the inn. Snow still covers parts of Mount Washington, which can be seen across the lake, but it was warm enough today that Daisy, our inn dog, decided to go for her first swim of the season. Nonplussed by the cold water, she happily baked dry in the sun throughout the afternoon. She had a great view as we turned under several of the gardens to prep them for planting. The inn's raised kitchen beds hold many of the fresh veggies and herbs we use for breakfast and herbs are peppered throughout our other gardens.

This year, the mint has already returned...great for garnishes and adding to our fresh fruit smoothies. To that we'll add tomatoes, sweet peppers, greens, scallions, cucumbers, summer squash, parsley and green beans. We'll have room this year to add another item or two in the place that housed our cantelope "experiment" last year. I can only remember Rick saying that he's seen moth balls bigger than what those plants produced. C'est la vie!

With that said, we'd love to hear what you think we should plant in that space. Send your ideas along and we'll post pictures of the one we select.