View from the Innside

Chocolatesmith in Santa Fe

What could be more wonderful than a chocolatier who uses only luscious dark chocolate? The Chocolatesmith is a required stop every time we visit Santa Fe. The aroma alone when I walk in the door is enough to make me swoon with delight.

Chocolatesmith has everything you want, like chocolate barks, chocolate-dipped apricots, and chocolate caramels, but so much more, including green chili pistachio bark with cranberries or white chocolate lemon lavender bark.  Even the names are whimsical, for instance, Don Juan pecan, Pecos peanut butter bars, and Mucho Ancho petite pate. And just for fun, you can get chocolates that look like chilies or cactus and Day of the Dead chocolates.

ChocolateSmith
851A Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, NM 87505
www.chocolatesmith.com
(505) 473 2111
Hours:
10—5:30 Monday thru Saturday
12—5 Sunday

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe

We recently visited the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe to see their exhibit for the centennial, which has photos and artifacts from the 100 years of New Mexico statehood. The exhibit starts with statehood itself, including photos of the constitutional convention representatives and the unofficial 47-star United States flag, and progresses through the railroad and Fred Harvey memorabilia, the Great Depression and public art projects; World War II, the Code Talkers, the Bataan Death March; the atomic bomb and its impact on history since; transportation--railroads, highways, and plane travel; and life-giving water, with its battles over water rights and the development of the land. The end of the exhibit is a wonderful room full of a collage of free-standing photos depicting New Mexico today, its people, arts, lifestyles and culture.

Of course, the New Mexico History Museum has a whole building full of other exhibits, and it's worth your while to visit again and again. Current exhibits include Illuminating the Word--the Saint John's Bible, Telling New Mexico--Stories from Then and Now, Tesoros de Devocion (Treasures of Devotion), and Santa Fe Found--Fragments of Time.

New Mexico Museum of History
113 Lincoln Street
Santa Fe, New Mexico
www.nmhistorymuseum.org
10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
visit website for admission and additional hours

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Croissant French Toast a l'Orange recipe

Croissant French Toast is really special, and we served it at the Bottger Mansion of Old Town for breakfast on New Year's Day.  For a printer-friendly full-size pdf page, click here.

Croissant French Toast à l’Orange

adapted from Arroyo Village Inn
Arroyo Grande, California
6 servings

6 large croissants or 12 cocktail-size croissants, cut horizontally into top and bottom halves
9-oz. orange marmalade
3 oz. orange juice
5 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract

Place the bottom halves of croissants on a half-sheet pan or jelly-roll pan (pack them as tightly as possible).  In a small bowl, combine the marmalade with the orange juice; mix completely.  Spoon thinned marmalade over each croissant bottom half, saving a little to be used as a glaze for the tops of the croissants.  Place the croissant tops over the croissant bottom halves.  In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk and almond extract.  Pour this mixture over the croissants.  Spoon the remaining marmalade over the top of each croissant as a glaze.  Cover the baking sheet and refrigerate 8-10 hours, allowing the croissants to soak in the egg mixture. 

When ready to bake, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature for 45-60 minutes before baking.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray half-sheet pan with vegetable spray.  Using a spatula, remove the croissants out of the cream mixture to the greased baking sheet.  Leave space between the croissants.  Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.  For a nicer presentation, take a small knife and cut around the croissants before removing to plates—this will get rid of excess custard around the croissants.  Serve the croissants hot, garnished with strawberries and mandarin orange sections.  Offer syrup on the side.

Optional: strawberries, whole or sliced, for garnish fresh mandarin orange sections for garnish (or clementine, dancy, satsuma, or tangerine) syrup of choice

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook

 

pop-up Christmas card from Old Town Albuquerque 2011

Merry Christmas and best wishes from the Bottger Mansion of Old Town Bed & Breakfast. Here's this year's card, a pop-up photo collage of our favorite places around Old Town. (All of the photos were taken by Kathy except the lovely photo of the Sandias with snow, which we found on the web.)

If you'd like to try making your own Old Town pop-up card, click here for the pdf file of the photo page and click here for the instructions. When uncertain, refer to the photo of the finished card.

A healthy and prosperous New Year to all.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook

 

 

Christmas lights and luminarias in Albuquerque 2011

Looking for a little holiday activity to get you into the spirit? There's still time to take in some Christmas light displays and activities in Albuquerque. Or, if you're a last-minute kind of person, you can see thousands of luminarias on Christmas Eve. Here's some information on light displays and luminarias (click on the link for more info).

LIGHT DISPLAYS

• Bugg Lights at Menaul School on Fri. and Sat., then Dec 17-Christmas Eve (6-9 pm), free

• River of Lights at BioPark—nightly through Dec. 30 (6-10 pm), admission

• Holiday Light Show and entertainment at Expo New Mexico—through Dec. 24 (Fri, Sat and Sun), admission

If you can't go to any of these, here's a link to a video of a house in Albuquerque with a fabulous light display synchonized to music.

LUMINARIA TOURS

The luminaria bus tours on Christmas Eve are already sold out, but here are some tips:  here's a link to a map of neighborhoods in Albuquerque that usually have a lot of luminarias, not necessarily on the bus tour. And this is a link to the route the city bus tour is taking in 2011, if you'd like to take the same path (use the size bar at the upper left to enlarge the map so you can see the street names and which way to turn).

My tip for viewing luminarias on Christmas Eve:  GO LATE IN THE EVENING. It's a very popular thing to do, and traffic can be extremely  heavy. If there's no wind or rain, the luminaria candles burn until the wee hours of the morning. We went at midnight one year--it was quiet, peaceful and lovely. The traffic is gone and you can park and walk around in the stillness of the night.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Dec. 10, 2011--Holiday Strings concert at San Felipe Church in Old Town Albuquerque

Enjoy a free concert of the Holiday Strings at San Felipe Church in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday, December 10, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.

The string quartet features Guillermo Figueroa and Valerie Turner on violin, Cherokee Randolph on viola and David Schepps on cello, and will perform light classical, popular and holiday music. The program will include:

Mozart's String Quartet in B flat, K. 458, The Hunt 
Barber's Adagio for Strings
Schubert's Ave Maria
a selection of popular and holiday classics announced from the stage

San Felipe Church is worth a visit, having undergone recent renovation, and the accoustics are marvelous!

San Felipe Church is located in Old Town, just east of Rio Grande Blvd. and north of Central Avenue. Seating is limited and will begin at approximately 6:30 after the Saturday evening Mass.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Chile-Lime Turkey Patties

Looking for ways to use up that leftover turkey? Now is the time--either use it or cut it up, package it and put it in the freezer. This recipe was in the November 2011 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. It's quite good, and don't skip the Lime Butter Sauce. It also says it serves eight people, but I made four generous patties instead! Click here for a printer-friendly pdf version.

Chile-Lime Turkey Patties 

Joyce Van Meter in Better Homes and Gardens, Nov 2011

Serves 8

Turkey Patties
2 cups cut-up leftover cooked turkey
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 T. sliced celery
2 T. sliced green onion
1 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 T. lime juice
1 tsp. red chile paste *
1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. butter

        In a food processor, process turkey until just ground; transfer to a bowl. Process parsley, celery and onion until finely chopped; add to bowl. Add half the panko, the mayonnaise, egg, lime juice, chile paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Form eight 3-inch patties; coat with remaining panko.

        In a 12-inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Cook patties, half at a time, 5 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Repeat with remaining patties. Serve with Lime Butter Sauce and lime wedges, if desired.

Lime Butter Sauce
1/3 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 T. lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. whipping or heavy cream
1/3 cup butter, cut into small chunks
1 T. Asian sweet chili sauce *

In a small saucepan, combine wine or broth, lime juice and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in whipping cream. Gradually whisk in butter until melted. Stir in Asian sweet chili sauce. Serve warm over turkey patties. (Note: this refrigerates and reheats well.)

* NOTES: I found the red chile paste and Asian sweet chili sauce at an Asian market. Check the Oriental foods section of your grocery store.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook

 

 

 

Molasses Sugar Cookies

I've had this recipe for Molasses Sugar Cookies for over 25 years but can't remember the name of the co-worker who gave it to me! It's perfect when you're in the mood for gingersnap flavor cookie that is crispy on the outside and chewy inside. Click here for a printer-friendly pdf page.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
Albuquerque, New Mexico
4 dozen cookies

1 1/2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar (15 oz.)
1/2 c. molasses (6 oz.)
2 eggs
4 tsp. baking soda
4 c. flour (21 oz.)
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

Melt and cool shortening.  Add sugar, molasses and eggs; beat well.  Sift together remaining ingredients; add slowly and mix well.  Roll into 1-inch balls (use a #40 portion scoop); place extra sugar in a shallow bowl; roll the cookie balls in sugar.  Bake on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet 2” apart at 375F for 8-10 minutes.

To make ahead and freeze:  place cookie balls close together on a cookie sheet and flatten; freeze in freezer bags.  Bake for slightly longer.

Note:  Doubling this recipe is too much to fit into a standard mixing bowl.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook

 

Old Town Diner in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Old Town Diner has been open in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a couple of months, and I have to confess I've been there about a dozen times already--it's my new favorite place!

Mike and his crew completely renovated the space, updating it to a Route 66/1950's kind of theme, complete with record album covers and retro-look funny signs. It evokes lots of great memories as those tunes play in the background. Everyone in my family had Elvis Presley's Christmas album--didn't yours?

The food is outrageously good. The Old Town Diner is open for breakfast through very late lunch, and their breakfast menu items are served all day.  Besides great burgers, sandwiches, endless fries, and the breakfast menu (I love the Chuckwagon Benedict!), they also have a good selection of New Mexican food, and all of it is great. As much as I want to try every item on the menu, I find myself going back to my favorites, like the chicken quesadillas and the Romero Street Burger.

Give it a try, and you'll find you have another great reason to keep returning to Old Town.

Old Town Diner
301 Romero Street NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104
open Tuesday through Sunday

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook

 

original Bottger Mansion of Old Town mugs are now available for purchase

The original "dusty pink" Bottger Mansion of Old Town mugs made by Deneen Pottery are now collectors' items! They're also for sale. All of our original mugs have been much-loved and tested by thousands of our guests. They're guaranteed to serve up a great cup of coffee, provided you put great coffee in them.

The cost is $16.00 per mug and includes shipping. We also have six matching lids available for the first six people who request them. The lid keeps your coffee or tea hot much longer. (My coffee doesn't last long enough to get cold.)

If you'd like one of our original mugs, please send us some email and we'll send one to you.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook