Arts and Crafts Come to Orange County

Summertime brings out the creativity in all of us. We plant and design gardens. We do home improvements to make our houses more appealing. And some of us become the artist that dwells deep in our very being.

Every summer, local artists display their talents and sometimes even share their skills during the Warwick Studio Tour. Artist’s studios are open around the Warwick and Florida areas and can accommodate visitors during regularly scheduled days.

For instance, Amity Arts Pottery in Florida, NY is a great mix of pottery and people.
It's run by Judy Duboff who teaches pottery for people of all ages. There is also a retail store for those who would rather just admire her wares.

In Warwick, there is a plethera of galleries and classes. Daniel Mack Rustic Furnishings Studio is in a 1906 carriage house filled with beautiful and exotic natural materials that Dan uses to make furniture, architectural elements, and sculptural objects.

Warwick Pottery Studio, run by Marilyn Dale displays creative and expertly made clay art for your home. There are beautiful pottery, dishes, mugs and bowls that will compliment your dining experience, as well as tiles, vases, sinks, and backsplashes.
Marilyn conducts classes mid week second Sunday studio tour most months.

Now schedules can change and it’s best to call before you go to confirm that a studio is open. You can get more info on the website, www.warwickstudiostour.info.

Bill and I have been busy being creative ourselves with the addition and the landscaping around the Inn. Sort of doing our creative part in beautifying Warwick. So don't forget to stop and see us when you are visiting the area.

See you all soon and keep cool this August.

Blossoms on the Menu?

Happy belated Independence Day to you all. Hope your weekend was wonderful. Bill and I had a great weekend. My son, Zack graduated last weekend and we had a small family party to celebrate. And we are also celebrating a visit from my mom from Florida who hasn't been up to New York in 7 years.

In the past few posts I have been bragging about our vegetable garden as well as our new Serenity Rose garden. Well, I am happy to report that the rose garden has a multitude of buds and we are expecting a floral explosion within the next week.
The veggie garden has been showing signs of all kinds of produce. Our tomato plants are bursting with fruit and our peppers are getting huge. What a great omelet that is going to make. Our lettuce is sweet and tender. But our pride and joy are our zucchini and squash plants. The plants produce two kinds of blossoms before they bear fruit. The female blossom produces the squash and zucchini and those should not be disturbed. But the male blossoms produce a large orange/yellow blossom that is most definitely edible and very delicious. Bill takes the blossoms and after cleaning them thoroughly, he dips them in a tempura batter and fries them. We serve them at breakfast with maple syrup and the guests love them. They can also be served as an appetizer with a honey mustard or mango sauce. Yummmmmmmmy.

The garden, however, does come with its share of headaches. We thought at first that we would just be battling weeds. We didn't realize how hard it would be to keep the critters like rabbits and groundhogs away from our labors. We have tried everything. We have a 6 ft. fence around the whole perimeter with chicken wire at the base. But we have a ground hog that is intent on digging his way in from under the adjoining shed. If you have any ideas, please share them with us.

Well, summer is in full swing and vacation time is here. Warwick and the surrounding Orange County have lots to offer in the way of sightseeing, wine tasting, great restaurants and history, history and more history. So if you have a mind to be up in this area, come see us at the Inn at Stony Creek. We would love to see you.

Bye until next time

Scones Anyone?

Hi everyone. Can you believe it? June is almost over and what seems like the mid-point of the summer, the 4th of July, is right around the corner. We had a busy June here at the Inn. The rose garden is coming along beautifully and the veggie garden is bursting with greenery. We hosted two wedding parties this month and it was so exciting to see the preparations and the last minute nerves and of course the beautiful brides.

For their wedding breakfast we served them our famous Egg Souffle' with a cheddar dill sauce, grilled potatoes, bacon, a fruit floret and my now very popular "Inn at Stony Creek Scones". I thought that I would like to share my recipe with you and hope you enjoy it.

The Inn at Stony Creek Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Measure and mix
2 cups unbleached flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
currants or blueberries or chopped strawberries or even chocolate chips
(If you prefer no fruit, leave it out, but at the last step, sprinkle with a mix
of cinnamon and sugar).

Stir in
1 1/3 cup of heavy cream

Mix until all ingredients come together.
Turn onto a floured surface.
Knead quickly 2 or 3 times.
Pat into an 8" to 10" circle.
Cut into 6-8 wedges amd place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Brush each wedge with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar (or sugar and cinnamon if not using fruit).
Bake 17 to 18 minutes.......NO LONGER.

Now an added recipe to serve with the scones!

Devonshire Cream

1/2 cup of heavy cream
2 tblsp confectionary sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

In chilled bowl, whip cream and sugar until peaked. Fold in the sour cream.
Serve with the scone recipe.

Absolutely delicious!

If you would like to share some of your breakfast recipes with us, we would love to hear from you. Meanwhile, enjoy the scones and hope to see you at the Inn sometime soon. Happy Summer everyone!

A Rose by any other Name

Hi folks. Joe here. Well, Bill and I finally finished establishing our gardens for the 2009 season. Our vegetable garden is abound with all kinds of plants. Tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, beans and all kinds of herbs are just some of the things that we have incorporated in the garden. Our guests are in for quite a treat during harvest season when we will be including these veggies in our morning meals. Whether it be a strata or a frittata or just a vegetable omelette, our guests will be sure to enjoy our bounty. One of our specialties will be zucchini blossoms in a tempura batter with maple syrup. Yum, makes me hungry just thinking about it.

But, vegetables and herbs aren't the only thing we planted this year. We have established our new Serenity Garden complete with a natural stone bench and an umbrella covered table for those quiet mornings where a guest or two might want to be served breakfast amidst our beautiful array of roses. Of course the roses aren't in bloom yet, but they soon will be and what a variety we planted. We have the lovely Elegant Lady rose. This is a orange tinged pink rose that is aromatic as well as beautiful to look at. We also planted the Memorial Day Rose which honors the men and women who served to protect our great nation. A special specimen, the Pope John Paul II Rose is a pure white rose that definitely lives up to its namesake's purity. There are a variety of others that just have to be seen to be appreciated.

You can see that Bill and I have been quite busy this season and we hope you will come see us soon. Have a wonderful late spring season and don't forget to visit the farmer's market in Warwick to sample some of the Hudson Valley's wonderful produce.

Fine Dining in Warwick

Here at the Inn at Stony Creek we are always trying new recipes for breakfast. Put Bill or I in the kitchen and we are in our glory. We are like scientists experimenting with new culinary delights to please and titillate our guests during our morning meals. And like any good cooks we also enjoy eating and are forever trying out new restaurants to satisfy our demanding palates. We literally prowl the areas around the Inn trying to find new and interesting places to eat so we can also recommend them to our guests.

Well, eureka. We have found two very exceptional places to eat which we now offer as recommendations to the folks that stay at our Inn.

The first one we tried was Conquito. This was originally The Backyard Grill. It was sold a couple of years back and then bought back by the original owner, but this time with a new name and a decidedly authentic Latin flair. Bill had a pork dish and I had the Pollo con arroz. Both were terrific and well portioned. But the things that really turned me into a fan were the "empanadas" for the appetizer and the salad. The dressing was absolutely incredible. Great place to visit for both lunch and dinner. And Saturday evenings at 9pm, there is a Salsa band with dancing.

The second place we tried was Grappa's. Italian, but real Italian. The appetizers included Tuna Tartare with avocado and caviar, baked oysters and portobello mushrooms with a balsamic vinagrette glaze and walnuts. I had as my main course the ravioli duet. A plate full of porcini mushroom raviolis and lobster raviolis with a shrimp sauce. Wow, is all I can say. And the desserts.....well let me say that they are definitely worth going off your diet for.

Now I am getting hungry all over again, so I will sign off until next time. Come up to Warwick and see us at the Inn and then visit one of these two restaurants. You won't be sorry.

Spring Fest comes to Warwick

As innkeepers, we are always concerned with the comfort and well being of our guests. Well, this past weekend the innkeepers became the guests of the guests.

On Saturday evening, Bill and I (and by "I", I mean Joe, Bill's partner and assistant) were treated to a wonderful dinner by two of our regular guests, Nora and Lucy. Nora is a great cook and in our kitchen made a delicious shrimp and clam fra diavolo over spaghetti and tilapia pinwheels stuffed with lobster. Yum, it was a terrific dinner. We finished it off with coffee and a scandinavian almond cake baked by yours truly. It was a fun evening and gave us a chance to sit back and get "waited" on. The conversation and company was a great way to spend a mild spring evening.

One of the things we talked about was the upcoming Spring Fest in downtown Warwick. It has been around for about 10 years and has become as anticipated an event as the Fall Apple Fest in October. The event which is taking place on Saturday, April 25th from 10am to 5pm is a home and garden expo with vendors lining the streets of Warwick. You will find all sorts of entertainment and dancing also. And of course don't forget to visit the food stands and sample all the delicious food that the Hudson Valley has to offer.

The other thing that you will want to visit is the farmer's market set up at the Spring Fest. This is the first farmer's market of the season. Here you will find fruits and vegetables and all sorts of food grown right here in the Hudson Valley. After this, the market will be set up every Sunday morning beginning on the first Sunday in May.

Well, enough for now. Check back soon for more of whats going on at the Inn at Stony Creek and the town of Warwick. Have a great week.

Guests for Breakfast

When I was a little boy, my favorite meal was always lunch, especially on school days. My mom or my grandma used to pack me my favorite sandwich, a piece of fruit and at the bottom of the bag, a surprise treat. And there was always that little note that said, "I love you" or "Be a good boy". But now that I am all grown up and have been with the Inn at Stony Creek for the last 5 years, my favorite meal has become breakfast.

Now, you might think it's because of the breakfast foods we prepare or the great smell of fresh roasted coffee that we brew. But it might surprise you to know that my favorite part of breakfast at the Inn are the guests. Its a wonderful experience every morning to meet the different people that come to stay with us. They come with a variety of backgrounds and stories and more important, a wealth of diverse culture.

Whether they are from Europe, Asia, Scandinavia, or even right here in the good old USA, they come to us with stories and experiences from all aspects of their lives. Our relaxed atmosphere allows them to feel comfortable in sharing things about their homeland, their reason for coming to the Inn, or even stories about their families.

We have one family from Ireland who have become friends to us. They come a couple of times a year with their empty suitcases joking that they've "come to shop". After breakfast, they head to Woodbury Commons and shop until they have filled their bags. And the next morning, with that wonderful Irish brogue, they regale us with tales of their shopping adventure over a hot cup of coffee.

But its not just the international guests that provide so much color to the Inn. It's also the folks who come from all parts of the United States. They come from parts of the country that might as well be a foreign country. Their backgrounds and experiences are just as diverse as if they had come from overseas.

So, you can see why I love breakfast at the Inn at Stony Creek. It's a wonderful, friendly, international experience for all our guests to enjoy. Hope to see you all sometime soon. Spring is here and we have lots of things to do here in Warwick.

Oh, and by the way, if you are coming to take advantage of our Shop and Stay package, be sure to ask for our certificate, good for a coupon book at Woodbury Commons.