Mexican Hot Chocolate Creme

Here at the Inn we love breakfast options that can be made the night before.  As assistant Innkeeper the wonderful job of food prep usually falls on me, and this has to be one of my all time favorites.  Because we have a fruit course in the beginning of the meal, we do like to try something creative sans fruit as often as possible for dessert, and this has been one of the biggest hits!  It's a wonderful dish because it can be completely prepared the day before and served chilled, or, during the colder months it can be served warm straight from the pot.  The Abuelita chocolate cakes give the creme a rich spiced flavor, and the home-made whipped cream pulls everything together for the perfect bite!

 Mexican Hot Chocolate Crème

3 Egg Yolks

½ cup sugar

2 Cakes of Ibarra Mexican Chocolate chopped into pieces.

1 Cup of Whipping Cream

1 Cup of Milk

In a medium saucepan whisk together the yolks and sugar.  Add cream and milk and begin cooking over medium low heat whisking constantly.  As the milk begins to warm add in the chopped chocolate and continue cooking and stirring until chocolate has melted and the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick cream.

 Serve warm topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate or cinnamon sugar. 

Serves 8 – 10 (demitasse cups)

Cutting Garden

We love our gardening at the Inn! Bob and Pat have put in tons of loving hours into landscaping, farming, gardening, and creating a pond, and the results are just lovely. As a gardener myself it has been a dream come true to have part of my responsibilities fall to weeding and planting. Our cutting garden is one of my favorite areas, especially during this early summer period. The plants are just starting to get their vigor and grow in bursts during good weather. We can't wait to start reaping some of the rewards from these vegetables and flowers.

Jump for Jam!

Rhubarb is one of my favorite things about summer. My mom makes an amazing rhubarb crisp that I would eat right out of the pan. Around the Inn we have some gorgeous rhubarb plants, and Pat is always trying to find new ways to incorporate it into breakfast.

This freezer jam was featured in the Urban Farming magazine, and we jumped at the chance to combine strawberries and rhubarb in the easiest jam ever.

Start by cooking down the rhubarb to a very soft, almost dissolved consistency

Next you have to dissolve the Pectin in water

Chop the strawberries roughly, using fresh or frozen (thawed) or a combination

Once everything is blended it doesn't look the most appetizing, but let it set in the fridge overnight and you will be licking spoons and dolloping heaps on bread in no time.

Spring for Asparagus!

Having the pride and joy of growing parts of the meals served at the inn is one of the best rewards of this business. To say, these are eggs from our own chickens and this is asparagus cut from our garden this morning is such a special thing! Many people we see have maybe never gardened before in their whole life, or have never seen a chicken without its head cut off and its feathers plucked. this closeness with the land that weaves its way into the business is one of my favorite things, and something that I will definately try to recreate when I open my own Bed and Breakfast.

This is one of our primary springtime breakfasts, highlighting eggs and asparagus, with a side of Bob's famous breakfast potatoes.

Here is the link to the recipe on the Speckled Hen Inn Website:

http://speckledheninn.com/?post_type=recipes&p=697&preview=true

Meet the Speckled Hen Inn

The Speckled Hen Inn, a Wisconsin bed and breakfast in Madison, WI is the manor house for a 50-acre estate located at 5525 Portage Rd., just outside the city of Madison. The B&B is just 7.5 miles from the Capitol Square and the campus of the University of Wisconsin and near the Dane County airport and MATC.

The Inn has five spacious guest rooms, each with a private bath. Guests also enjoy the large gathering room with piano and wood-burning stove, a home theater, library and candle-lit dining room. The bed and breakfast is well known for their outstanding breakfasts that showcase local fruits, vegetables, meats and Wisconsin dairy products.

The 50–acre property features pastures with sheep and llamas, wetland and grassland areas, streams, pine and spruce plantations, orchards, walking trails and gardens. Happy, the innkeeper’s big Golden Doodle-Dog will be happy to take you for a tour.

The Speckled Hen Inn is a proud member of the Travel Green Wisconsin Certification program and is committed to sustaining not only the ecosystem of which it is a part, but also the economy, the culture, and the sense of place that guests enjoy in south-central Wisconsin.

Over the years, we have developed our interests in entertaining, cooking, gardening and wine appreciation. Bob and Patricia Fischbeck are the Innkeepers at the Inn. Pat has been complimented on her creative genes that are best reflected in the decor of the Inn and interesting gourmet breakfasts served at the Inn. The Inn is known for its breakfasts, warm ambiance and genuine hospitality. Many of the breakfast entrées use ingredients produced at the Inn by the Innkeepers. Bob is the assistant chef, head gardner and is responsible for the upkeep of the 50 acre estate. Here are our two dining rooms from which this blogs recipes will be coming from.