This weekend looks to be lovely with sunshine! The Long Beach Peninsula has early morning clam tides Saturday and Sunday so you can limit and be back in time for a warm hot tub and our signature breakfast by the fireplace at 9:30. All of our friends have reported limiting quickly during the last clam dig–so maybe you can too! Of course, you don’t have to dig clams –or else send the sweetheart out to dig clams while you sleep in could be a plan too! Simply languishing in Boreas Inn’s fluffy feather beds in our oceanside Long Beach, WA lodging will make your weekend divine. We will set up dinners out in our favorite haunts. Whether you clam or not, you will dig it at Boreas!
Boreas Inn is all yours, decorated with love for the 2011 Holiday Season! Utilize one room for the ultimate peaceful and romantic time or bring family and friends and fill all five rooms for a flat rate of $595 plus tax per night for two nights minimum. (Ten people maximum–kids over 8 are fine.) This is a $320 per night savings. Arrive on the 23rd, if you would like three nights at this great rate or stay a little later. This ready-made holiday removes the stress and lets you relax and enjoy the season. All you need to do is bring your own gifts for under the tree. The stockings are already hung by the chimney with care–but you can bring your own! Gather your friends and family and enjoy this unique opportunity to rent the entire inn, one room or all five of Boreas’ beautiful guest rooms for your Christmas Holiday. This once-a-year special even includes our signature breakfasts with a Champagne Brunch on Christmas Day! If you would like to arrive on December 23rd, you can extend your special deal to three nights. We will arrange your holiday dinners too! (The Inn is also available for Hannukah starting December 20th–complete with menorah and candles!) You can see lots of pics of our 2011 decorations on www.facebook.com/BoreasInn!
This magical star-lit view can be yours for Christmas!
This is Susie’s favorite side-dish. That’s right….there’s more! We often harvest the Porcini (King Boletus) Mushrooms within feet of the inn. When Bill is not out tromping around in the dunes foraging, we have two professional foragers supplying us with our local wild mushrooms in addition to other bounty from the area. Boreas Inn sits in the primary sand dunes next to the Pacific Ocean in historic Long Beach, Washington. Noted for fine breakfast dining, ocean views, the most luxurious beds for a dreamy nights’ sleep and beautiful surroundings, this Long Beach Washington Bed and Breakfast has class without pretense!
Gravy:
Wild Mushroom and Sausage Gravy
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
3/4 pound wild mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed and coarsely chopped * (see note)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons fresh minced chive
2 cups half-and-half or milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons sherry (optional)
Biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons fresh minced chives
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter (or spray) a heavy baking sheet. For the biscuits, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until it’s finely chopped and mixture has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (You can also cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.). Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the milk and chives and stir until the batter is evenly mixed–or keep the ingredients in the processor and very gently pulse. Don’t over-mix or you will have tough, heavy biscuits!
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a circle about six inches across and one inch thick. Cut the dough into quarters, setting the biscuits on the baking sheet with one inch or so between them. Bake the biscuits until they are puffed and lightly brown on top, 12-15 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool.
Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through and lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Stir often and break up the sausage chunks as they cook. Spoon out and discard excess fat. Add the mushrooms and onion; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and any liquid they give off is evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Add the four and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, stirring so that the flour evenly coats the sausage and mushrooms. Slowly stir in the milk or half and half and cook until the gravy has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the sherry just before serving.
To serve, cut each of the biscuits in half horizontally and set the bottom halves on the individual plates. Generously spoon the mushroom-sausage gravy over, top with the top of the biscuit. Sprinkle with paprika and garnish the plate with fresh herbs or edible flowers. Makes 4 servings.
*I prefer to use 1/2 pound dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted in a cup or so of water. Drain the mushrooms and save the liquid. Make the wild mushroom and sausage gravy the night before and then use the saved liquid to thin the gravy prior to heating and serving. The liquid adds more depth to the wild mushroom flavor of the dish. You can double or triple the recipe and freeze. Freeze extra unbaked biscuits and bake as needed. Delicious!
SandSations, in Long Beach, Washington, was voted #1 Best Sand Castle contest in the USA by Coastal Living Magazine! The sand sculpture weekend is coming right up on July 20th-24th. Boreas still has rooms available if you would like to build castles and sculptures or if you simply enjoy marveling at the artistry of the masters, watching teams working together to achieve a goal and learn how the process works. I used to participate in the Cannon Beach competition for around 12 years and my team used to place #1 in our sand sculpting masters category. We sculpted completely by hand. We were consistently top prize winners–that is, until this group of architects from Seattle were added to our category and used sophisticated forms and packing devices…and we didn’t always place first after that. (Coincidentally, we had one of those Seattle architect/sand sculptors as a guest at the Inn!) But talking about immediate gratification–you take a plot of sand, dig up a pile, decide who on your team does what well (I’m good at packing, making hands and letters) then together, the team works magic and achieves a goal within hours. Nothing artificial…just sand and water. It is wonderful! We used to finish off our plots with perfectly smooth borders and beautifully worked lettering. I haven’t seen anything to match our fine finish work anywhere. We usually constructed the sculpture with a theme that was based upon a pun. We were so good and getting a blue ribbon was the icing on the cake. Our Captain’s mother, Betty Lou Tolan was the founder of the contest in Cannon Beach in the early 60′s. The party to celebrate our achievement afterward was always the best time of the year. Ah… those were the days.
This contest in Long Beach awards cash to the winners. We got only ribbons at Cannon Beach and maybe a printed certificate. It didn’t matter. The intensity of taking on a project with sand and sea water and coming up with a fine sculpture was reward enough. SandSations is a great event here in Long Beach, Washington and it’s growing every year. You can experience the great hospitality at Boreas Inn, dine on our feast at breakfast time, walk our trail to the beach and watch the SandSations competition! So come to the beach for a long weekend, July 21-24!
Odell Hathaway, our guest/friend/budding videographer likes to take pics and video of me doing the “Food Tour” at breakfast time. You might be able to focus on the food in the video while I am focusing on my ever-drooping face! Both are entertaining. In this video, I have prepared breakfast for a small group of returning guests a couple of weekends ago. Bill was in Eugene for the weekend and I had our guests/friends all to myself! The baked apple french toast I am describing is an adapted recipe originally from The Shelburne Inn, our dear friends, David and Laurie. I love making this dish–something you can put together the night before and bake in the morning. Thanks to Odell for posting this video to YouTube! Come to Boreas Inn–we have availability over Memorial Day weekend—which is NEXT weekend. We promise to make you very happy indeed at our Long Beach Washington Bed and Breakfast. Boreas inn is upscale, but never pretentious!
Come to Long Beach this weekend and get the best of both worlds–luxurious B&B, great food and razor clamming–which is getting right down to the real nitty gritty (to coin a phrase from the 70′s)! Crawl out of your beautiful, warm, cushy Boreas bed in the morning an hour or so before low tide on Sunday, then freeze your fannies off in the early morning digs and be back at the Inn with your limit of 15 razor clams, warming up by the fire with our great coffee by 9:30 am breakfast time! The first dig on Saturday is actually a late afternoon dig–so you can work up an appetite for dinner at one of our fine dinner houses! We will make all arrangements!
Long Beach, Washington will open for razor clam digging for FOUR days at noon March 19! Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager, advises prospective diggers to pay particular attention to the shift in digging times during this month’s razor-clam opening. “It gets a little tricky scheduling digs at this time of year, but the goal is to arrange openings during the best clam tides,” Ayres said. “The split schedule also provides an opportunity for back-to-back digs the evening of Saturday, March 19, and the morning of Sunday, March 20.”
Digging days and low tides for March are:
Saturday, March 19, 7:04 p.m. (-0.1 ft); Long Beach
Sunday, March 20, 7:36 a.m. (-0.5 ft); Long Beach
Monday, March 21, 8:23 a.m. (-0.9 ft); Long Beach
· Tuesday March 22, 9:12 a.m. (-1.0 ft); Long Beach So get your clam digging license, required if you are age 15 or older and come down and dig some razor clams. Ayres reminds diggers that WDFW is tentatively planning another razor-clam opening April 7-9 until noon each day at Long Beach and Twin Harbors if marine toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat. Licenses expire on March 31, so you need to make sure, for the April digs coming up, that you get a new license.
It was a beautiful, calm day of razor clamming at Beard's Hollow
We promise you a beautiful, lazy weekend at Boreas if you decide to visit us. We have room for you and would love to cook up a storm in the morning if it’s not stormy enough outside–and even if it is. Don’ t listen to the weather guys–they are usually wrong, unless they tell you it’s going to be wonderful–because sunshine, rain, wind…it’s always wonderful here. The fireplaces beckon and we’re offering our Walk-in Special at our romantic getaway by the sea. $150 a night including our “perfectly plated” 3 course or more breakfast (plus tax of course). We don’t want to be lonely–so come to Long Beach and we will fix you up with two fabulous dinners out at our fine dinner houses and promise you the most relaxing weekend with fireplaces blazing and our new hot tub beckoning. We hope to see you soon!
Do you have three days over New Years’ Eve weekend to stay in the loveliest, most relaxing, and indulgent B&B in the State? Oh come on, pamper yourselves. Start 2011 with three glorious nights in our beautiful beds, eat three of the best breakfasts possible, including attending our 14th Dungeness Crab Cake and Champagne Brunch on New Years’ Day. We include the extra courses as our gift to you on January 1, 2011. (Can you believe it’s 2011?) We will make your dinner reservations for you–including New Years’ Eve! So come stay in luxury, dine in elegance and let us ease you into 2011. $595 includes tax for three nights, three perfectly prepared breakfasts and the best time you’ve had in years!! Invite your best friends and come to Boreas Inn for the celebration! The ocean is calling you….and so are Susie and Bill… “Come to Boreas!”
PS. Our newest restaurant and bar, The Lost Roo, has six large screen TV’s if you would like to watch football on New Years Day. Your innkeepers will go with you!
Boreas Inn’s 14th Annual Crab Cake and Champagne Brunch Weekend!
There is a three-night minimum over New Years Eve weekend, you pick the days and we will provide you with first class service, fine gourmet breakfast cuisine, the most delicious fresh Dungeness Crab Cakes ever and incredible relaxation!
This year’s Wild Mushroom Celebration is October 22th- October 24th. The cost includes a two-night weekend stay with our amazing breakfasts and A 3-course Wild Mushroom and Washington Wine Dinner at The Depot Restaurant.
Our Sunday morning breakfast will be our annual Wild Mushroom Breakfast featuring Veronica Williams, our professional forager, as guest hostess and discussion leader. We will add two extra courses onto the Sunday breakfast to make it even more decadent! As an add-on special, Veronica will take you foraging on Saturday for wild mushrooms for an additional $50 per person. The cost of the package is $550 per couple all inclusive. $595 for the Dunes Suite. Without the wine courses, the cost is $510 per couple all inclusive and $555 for the Dunes Suite.
The menu for The Depot Dinner is, as usual, wonderful. We haven’t selected the wine pairings yet…
Melange of Roasted Wild Mushrooms in a Cream Sauce on Crostini with Fresh Goat Cheese and Shave Pec0rino Romano Cheese
Sherried Chanterelle Mushroom Demi Glace on Wild Mushroom Risotto with Fresh Catch of the Day or 6 oz Filet Mignon
Triple Truffle Chocolate Brownie and Hazlenut Gelato Ice Cream Pie
Wet Winter Plants in the Rain Forest
Event Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010
Start Time: 10 a.m. End Time: Noon Maximum: 15 people
Fee: Free to members of Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge $10 per person for non-members.
Location: Willapa NWR Headquarters, 3888 State Route 101 (Hwy 101 near Milepost 24) Ilwaco, WA 98624
Event description: This is a wet winter walk in coastal temperate rain forest along Headquarters Creek at Willapa NWR Headquarters.
After a brief orientation indoors, we will walk along and over the creek, and through rain forest to look at plants that grow during the wet season. The focus will be on lichens, mosses and liverworts. We may find a few salamanders and frogs, too. This walk is less than a mile long, on a naturally surfaced trail, with moderate slopes in some sections.
This walk will not be canceled due to rain, but it will be canceled due to high wind, if winds above 40 mph arrive along the coast. If you do not receive a message or phone call canceling the walk by 7-8 a.m. on the day of the walk, then it has not been canceled.
Gear & Equipment: Rain gear, including boots, is required. Bring a hand lens or digital camera to see small plants more easily. This will be a good site to take close-up shots of many small plants.
The Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge will be announcing details regarding their 3rd annual photo contest in April, 2010. The winning photos will be included in the 2011 Willapa National Wildlife Refuge calendar.
To sign up: contact Kathleen Sayce, ksayce@willapabay.org (preferred mode) or by phone, 360-665-5292. To register for this walk, you must leave an email address or phone number that you will be able to access the day of the hike, so that if the walk is canceled at the last minute, you can be contacted by 7 a.m. the morning of the walk.
