Looking for something new to do in the spring?  On Saturday, May 1, 2010 Chester Heights Historical Society will celebrate its first annual Country Fair with fun, food, historical displays, a live auction and much, much more.  There will be local artists, local produce, colonial demonstrations by the Bethel Township Historical Society, and a visit by the Plankhouse Crew Pirates from Marcus Hook.  Chester Heights will be celebrating their rich history  as well as exploring the historical significance of the areas of  Wawa, Logtown, and the surrounding communities of Aston, Bethel, Concord and Marcus Hook. 

The day will kick off at 11:00 am with a live auction by the 4th generation auctioneers, Wilson’s Auctioneers.  Visitors can tour the Chester Heights Camp Meeting grounds, which dates back to 1870 and is on the National Register for Historic Places.   This is a treat because the Campground is only open for during a few times a year.   There will be historical displays featuring Friends of Old Saint Thomas, Pennsylvania’s first parish founded in the 1720s and Logtown Revolutionary War history.  Many other historical sites in Chester Heights will be represented or available for tours.

You can look forward to old fashion food items and local cuisine as well as local artists and artisans.    So much to see and do in such a small burrough.   Rain date is May 8, 2010.  Plan your visit early or if you are local mark your calendar for a fun day.

One of the joys of innkeeping is all the wonderful people we meet that we wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity of meeting.  In our eight years of innkeeping many interesting people have passed through our doors.  We’ve had politicians, foreign dignitaries, and a few celebrities.   Every guest is interesting in their own way.   But none are more interesting than a guest we had last weekend.  Usually I would never use a guest’s name but in this case I have her permission so I can tell you about her and her organization.    This is not my typical blog but I just was so touched I wanted to help get her story out.

MarleneMaxion founded an organization called Kozy Kaps 4 Kids which provides chemo kaps for sick children.  Each Kap is like each child; unique and special in its own way.  The faces of these incredibly brave children, fighting cancer or other serious illnesses, just beam with joy when choosing their own Kozy Kap.  Although their focus is on children, they also create kaps for adults.    Marlene and women across the nation donate their precious time, yarn, and talents to design and create colorful, fun, outstanding hand crafted “chemo caps”.  With their dedicated efforts and generosity Marlene has personally delivered and gifted in excess of 7000 Kozy Kaps since February 2006.  She travels to meet children near and far, from New York to Tennessee.  Kozy Kaps 4 Kids has been grandfathered into The Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. 

This is a 501K organization run on a very short shoestring and it could use help.  If you knit or crochet here is your project for the winter.  If you have yarnleft over from that Christmas sweater you made Uncle Bubba send it to them.  Or if you even have a spare $5-10; it all helps.  For more information, their web site is www.KozyKaps4Kids.org

Hello LOVERS and Fans of Fine Pennsylvania Wine!

Ah, yes… Valentine’s Day. A day celebrating the love and affection of couples everywhere. Looking for a way to really impress that special someone this year? Well, we invite you to join Penns Woods Winery on February 13th and 14th for a special pairing of wine and chocolates. All weekend they will be serving their most sensual wines with inspired chocolate pairings, sure to arouse everyone’s palette. Pairings will be from 11 AM – 6 PM. For $10.00 you will have the pleasure of sampling four pairings, including one with their new wine release (a sweet dessert-style red wine with beautiful aromas and flavors of dark chocolate and cherries) guaranteed to make this Valentine’s Day a memorable one. For more details about their wines and directions to the Tasting Room, check their website at www.pennswoodswinery.com.

All weekend, we will be serving up our most sensual wines with inspired chocolate pairings, sure to arouse everyone’s palette. Pairings will be on the 13th and 14th, from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM. For $10.00, you will have the pleasure of sampling four pairings, including one with our new wine release (a sweet, dessert-style red wine with beautiful aromas and flavors of dark chocolate and cherries) guaranteed to make this Valentine’s Day a memorable one.

“Wild Nights! Wild Nights! Were I with thee Wild Nights would be our luxury”

                                                                                  – Emily Dickinson

 

Warm up your romance with a Valentine’s Day stay at Hamanassett Bed & Breakfast. We’re including special Valentine’s Day delights for our guests to enjoy a memorable romantic weekend. Fancy French Truffles on a silver tray along with a custom long stem wooden rose will greet our couples in their room upon arrival. A special Valentine’s Champagne Brunch will be served on Sunday featuring truly decadent sumptuous cuisine including heart shaped chocolate pancakes with a rapturous raspberry coulis, brandied infused cherries and elegant creamy sherry scrambled eggs with caviar. To continue stimulating our guests passions, all will receive a recipe for edible body paint, compliments of Hamanassett’s Brandywine Country Cooking School, upon departure.

 

“There is no remedy for Love but to Love more”

                           – H.D. Thoreau

It was such fun having the crew from 6abc here.  We are delighted they chose us to profile for their show on romantic getaways and to profile our cooking class.  Needless to say, I was nervous.  However, their producer, Wendy, and cameraman, Dan, couldn’t have been nicer and put us at ease right away.  In fact, I got so comfortable that at one point I forgot Dan was following me and hit his camera with a door.  The morning was devoted to filming our preparing and serving breakfast to 8 wonderful guests.  Wendy then left to pick up the host of FYI, Adam Joseph.  We thought he would be here for a brief time just to get a shot of him working with our chef.  Instead, Adam stayed for the entire class.  What a sweetheart he is!  He pitched right in and really became adept at making the roses out of tomatoes.  By the end of the class he had almost as much food on his apron as on the plate but it was apparent he truly enjoyed the class.

I fared less well when Adam interviewed me.  As soon as I saw the light turn on on the camera I had a brain freeze.  Have no idea what I said to him so I will be looking forward to seeing the show along with everyone else.

For those of you who live on Long Island, Hamanassett is also going to be included in an article on romantic getaways in the Long Island Newsaday paper this Sunday, January 31.

     Channel6/ABC Television is profiling Hamanassett Bed & Breakfast on their FYI Philly show on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 7pm. The show features Hamanassett as a romantic destination for the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebration and includes a segment on the Brandywine Country Cooking School. Host Adam Joseph participated in a demo Romantic Dining Cooking class with Chef Ann-Michelle and became very expert at making lobster filled heart shaped ravioli. The show will also air on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 11:35pm and can be viewed later online at www.FYI.6ABC.com.

Create luxurious and somewhat decadent cuisine to share with that special someone for Valentine’s Day and all year in our hands-on cooking school. “…the act of preparing food for another (or with another) speaks louder and clearer than most words. It says, with no exceptions, I love you. I want you. I care for you. You are worth the effort.” from The New Intercourses, an aphrodisiac cookbook.

The menu will feature unique dishes with ingredients selected for their seductive powers. Strawberry  Avacado salad with a Fresh Orange  and Ginger Infused Honey Vinaigrette: In Aztec culture, avacados were called ahuacatl, or testicle, and deemed so powerful that village maidens were forbidden to set one virginal toe outside the house while the fruit was being gathered; and honey has been connected with love, sex, and sensuality extrodinaire since the beginning of time. In the fifth century B. C., Hippocrates prescribed it for sexual vigor.  Fresh Shucked Oyster with Champagne Miggnonette: Oysters symbolize virility and passion for all who indulge. From Petronius to Casanova, oysters have unleashed their powers of seduction on unwitting prey and restored life to lagging libidos. Roasted Rack of Lamb with a Fig Port Wine Reduction: When eating figs, you are tasting history, Cleopatra, Dionysian orgies, the Roman Saturnalia. Chocalate Lava Souffle: The Marquise of Pompadour, a favored mistress of Louis XV, depended on chocalate to keep him aroused. Sixteenth-century church officials deemed it a sinful indulgence, and Casanova, the insatiable 18th-century lover, ate chocalate to sustain his stamina.

The Package

Participants enjoy two nights’ accommodations (Sunday and Monday) at Hamanassett with breakfast Monday and Tuesday mornings, a welcoming reception Sunday evening, and lunch and dinner on class day that has been prepared by you during the cooking class.  Dinner will be paired with wines from Vala Vineyards, one of the premier wineries in Chester County.  Participants also receive class materials with recipes, tips and techniques along with a Brandywine Country Cooking School apron as well as other appropriate favors. If you would like to extend your visit to tour the Brandywine Valley on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday following the cooking school, we will offer participants a discount off our normal rates.  Space is limited to 10 people and rooms are first come first serve so ensure getting your choice of rooms by booking early.

The Cost
Cost of the school for two people is $700/couple; $625/single plus tax.   This includes your room for Sunday and Monday night, welcome reception Sunday evening, breakfast, lunch and dinner on Monday as well as the class and all hand outs and breakfast Tuesday morning.  Rooms are first come, first serve so book early to get the room of your choice.   Class only (space permitting) is $250.00.