Wine Festival of Colorado Springs

WINE FESTIVAL OF COLORADO SPRINGS

The Colorado Sprins Fine Arts Center is celebrating it's 19th year of the Wine Festival of Colorado Springs, the premier wine festival in the Colorado Front Range.

This weekend, March 5th & 6th, features 300 wines, wonderful food, seminars, wine tastings and pairings, auctions, a wine market, and a gourmet winemaker dinner.

The 2010 theme is "The Wines of South Africa: Old World Meets New".

All proceeds will benefit the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

Reservations are required for all events, except for the Grand Tasting, where walk-ins are welcome. Tickets can be purchased HERE or by calling 719-634-5583.

Combine your time at the Colorado Springs Wine Festival with a stay at the Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins. Enjoy our signature 3-course gourmet breakfast in the morning when staying in our Bed and Breakfast Lodge, or have some private, quiet time when staying in our Cabin or Cottage rentals.

All content in this blog © Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins

Haiti Relief Fundraiser

HAITI RELIEF FUNDRAISER

Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins is one of 10 Bed and Breakfast Inns, Cabins, and Cottages participating in a Haiti Relief Fundraiser.

Member inns will donate 10% of our proceeds to the Red Cross to help benefit the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Stay with us for the next TWO weekends, March 5th thru 7th, and March 12th thru 14th and we will donate 10% of our your stay to help with the Haiti relief efforts.

Visit our website at http://www.rockymountainlodge.com/ and check our all of our facilities... stay in our Colorado Cabin Rental, our Colorado Vacation Cottage, or our Rocky Mountain Bed and Breakfast Lodge, and while enjoying a weekend getaway you'll also be benefiting others in need.

For other participating inns, Cabins and Cottages, see the Authentic Inns and Cottages of Pikes Peak website.

All content in this blog © Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins

Pancakes, How to Make Pancakes

PANCAKES

February 16th is National Pancake Day! Yes, there IS a National Pancake Day, isn't that funny? My family have always loved all kinds of pancakes. And when the kids were little and I didn't have anything ready for dinner, we'd have "breakfast for dinner", and pancakes were always a top option. Over the years we've tried many different types of pancakes. And in my quest for the perfect pancake, I found a recipe that I thought was delicious, and tweaked on it a bit to make it even better, then came up with variations to change it up a bit. Here's our recipe for pancakes and how to make pancakes, along with several variations.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

• 3 cups plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour*
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 3/4 cups buttermilk (or milk)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
• Vegetable or Canola Oil
• Butter
• Syrup

*If you don't have cake flour you can substitute 2 3/4 cups plus 1 1/2 Tbsp. all purpose flour and 1/4 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in large bowl; set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Pour in butter in a stream while whisking.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir gently just until combined. Set aside for a few minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Preheat griddle to 400 degrees. Drizzle with oil and ladle about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto hot oil. Cook about 5 minutes, until batter begins to have air bubbles. Flip and cook on other side 3-4 minutes more.

Serve with butter and syrup.

Makes 6-8 servings.

VARIATIONS:

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES:
Use 3 cups buttermilk and 3/4 cup sourdough starter.

APPLESAUCE PANCAKES:
Use 3 cups buttermilk and 3/4 cups applesauce and add 1 tsp. cinnamon to dry ingredients.

BANANA WALNUT PANCAKES:
Add 1 tsp. nutmeg and 1 cup chopped walnuts to dry ingredients; mash 3 overripe bananas and add to wet ingredients.

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES:
Add 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries to batter. If using frozen blueberries, rinse and drain before adding to batter.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES:
Decrease flour by 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1 cup mini chocolate chips

All content in this blog © Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins

Colorado Springs Chefs' Gala & Silent Auction

COLORADO SPRINGS CHEFS' GALA & SILENT AUCTION

The Colorado Springs Chorale's 25th Annual Chefs' Gala & Silent Auction takes place on Sunday, February 21, 2010.

The "always awesome" granddaddy of the region's culinary competitions has been selected by the Colorado springs Gazette's "GO" Magazine as "Best of the Springs, Best Charity Benefit" and "Best Food-Music Hybrid" by the Colorado Springs Independent magazine.

Attendees feast on the entries prepared for competition by local chefs including appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

The silent auction is open for online bidding from February 8th thru 18th at http://www.biddingforgood.com/cschorale.

Some of the chefs participating include top chefs from the following restaurants:

• The Blue Star
• Nosh
• Briarhurst Manor
• Cheyenne Mountain Resort
• The Cliff House
• Jack Quinn's Irish Pub & Restaurant
• Jake & Telly's Greek Tavern
• Pizzeria Rustica
• The Margarita at Pine Creek
• And many more

Click Here for More Details and to reserve your place.

Need Lodging for the event? Stay at the Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins, just 6 miles west of Colorado Springs IN the mountains. A great way to get away for not just a fun event, but also enjoy some time away, and feast on our gourmet 3-course breakfasts in the morning as well.

All content in this blog © Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins

Chocolate Fudge Cake, Decadent Chocolate Cake

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

Valentine's Day would not be complete without some rich decadent chocolate cake. This cake is one of our absolute favorites and sure to please any chocoholic!

Click here for the recipe