Upcoming Valley Chili Cookoff and My Chili Recipe!

Come stay at The Buttonwood Inn and sample our local restaurants' chili and judge for yourself which one is the best!  Check out our special Chilly Chili Cookoff deal located on The Buttonwood Inn home page. 

For Super Bowl fare, I made a delicious beef and bean chili that incorporated a complexity of flavors and spices.  After researching several chili recipes on-line, I modified one substituting ingredients from another recipe to produce the best chili.

If you read through the recipe, gather your ingredients for food preparation, and follow the cooking instructions exactly, you'll impress your family and friends with a rich, thick, and comforting chili.  ENJOY!

Beef and Bean Chili


3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
3 pounds 85% lean ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of chipotle peppers in Adobo, pureed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced scallions, and/or diced avocado, for topping

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown about 4 minutes, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate; then brown the second batch and remove from pot. Discard leftover oil from the pot.

Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Then add minced garlic for 1 minute. Add pureed chilis in Adobo, oregano, and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 30 seconds.

Return the meat to the pot and stir in the tomatoes with their juices, broth, espresso, and pinto beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chili is thickened about 2 hours.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and cook 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Divide among bowls. Top with cheese, sour cream, scallions, and/or avocado.

Chocolate Festival Weekend at The Buttonwood

The Buttonwood Inn was full last weekend during the Chocolate Festival held annually on the last Sunday of February.  Ten of our guests toured various inns and businesses sampling chocolatey treats of all kinds. 

As a non-recovering chocoholic, I decided to bake chocolate treats all weekend for the afternoon tea service.  On Friday, I baked my all-time favorite cookies, Chocolate Chippers.  Not only are they easy to make, but I enjoy the buttery and vanilla flavor of the moist and tender cookies loaded with semisweet chocolate chips.

My second favorite treat is Chocolate Malted Cupcakes topped with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting that I served for the Saturday tea service.  Again, a simple recipe which yields a moist, tender, and chocolatey cupcake with a light and sweet vanilla flavored frosting.  Check out my recipe below.

For the Chocolate Festival tour on Sunday, I baked a Texas Sheet Cake which is a thin layer of chocolate cake iced with a chocolate ganache topped with chopped pecans.  It's similar to an iced brownie and very chocolatey. 

If you enjoy chocolate treats as much as I do, consider coming to The Buttonwood Inn next February for three days of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!  Call us at 1-800-258-2625 to reserve your Chocolate Festival Tour or book on-line.



CHOCOLATE MALTED CUPCAKES
Yield: About 28 cupcakes


Cupcakes

2-1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1-1/4 cups malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, both sugars, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until dissolved.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat flour mixture, milk mixture, and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each two-thirds. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of the bowl. After all the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla is added, continue beating for 5 minutes to aerate the frosting making it very pale and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles, if desired.

The snowshoes are lined up on the front porch...

...waiting to be strapped onto your boots to hike the Mount Surprise and Buttonwood Inn trails on Bartlett Mountain in Merriman State Forest.  Our guests hike and snowshoe these trails by heading out our back yard through the field to the trails.  You can hike for 30 minutes or for hours on the many intersecting trails. 

The trail to the Bartlett Ledges can be reached in the warmer months because there is a steep trail towards the top and not easily accessible through snow and ice.   The Ledges is a wide rock outcropping affording views of the Moats, Cathedral Ledge, and The Presidentials.  You can also see the back of the Buttonwood Inn, Route 16/302, and the properties along it in North Conway.

Though we had two 50 degree days with rain one night this week that melted some of the snow, we are back to frigid temperatures due to a cold front yesterday.  Snow is also forecasted this weekend through next Tuesday, YES!  Mother Nature played a trick on us at the end of January, but it's back to wearing silk underwear and fleece to brace against the wintry weather.

So come on up and strap on our snow shoes to play in the snow, or check out our ski packages.  Book online or call us at 1-800-258-2625.

Last Polar Express Weekend at The Buttonwood Inn…

Beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving, we’ve had many families stay at The Buttonwood Inn for five weekends, ending just before Christmas. Bill and I had so much fun observing the delight in the children’s faces as they expressed that they were going on the Polar Express to visit the big guy in red, Santa!  One family, in particular, kept it as a surprise until the children dressed in their pajamas as they headed out the door to the train station beginning their magical journey to the North Pole.

The Christmas lights and decorations beckon the families who merrily enter our check-in area where their eyes are drawn to dozens of ornaments hanging in the window and the twin polar bear cubs staring outside. Bill proceeds with a tour of the inn first to the Mount Surprise Room where the Polar Express movie is playing on the big screen TV.  The families pass by the small lighted Christmas tree with wooden ornaments, fireplace mantle displaying lights and holiday figures, and a New England village display.  The cupboards are packed with games and books for all ages, including many other holiday movies.

In our Dining Room, the children immediately ask to take one of the mini cupcakes decorated in colored frosting with sprinkles that I baked for the afternoon tea and hot chocolate service. The mothers usually notice the many whimsical Christmas ornaments watching everyone from their perches on the windows and window sills.

The Living Room has a large Christmas tree decorated with ceramic ornaments that I painted when our children were babies. There are whimsical mice, a children’s nativity creche, and Sesame Street characters. Does anyone remember Strawberry Shortcake? That was a favorite of our 30+ daughter, Alexandra. Our son, Tom’s, favorite was Oscar the Grouch. Three decades ago seems like yesterday when you recall the fond memories of raising your children.

After breakfast on Saturday mornings, I bake and decorate the sugar cookies of holly leaves, candy canes, and snow flakes for the children to eat either before or after the Polar Express train adventure. I pipe various colored icings on each cookie sprinkled with a variety of crystallized sugars and holiday-inspired sprinkles. I also make the “big kid” Triple Chocolate cookies that their parents and grandparents cannot resist.

While we serve our guests a savory gourmet breakfast, I also make Buttermilk Pancakes with or without chocolate chips for the children. Sunday morning breakfast consists of fresh fruit salad followed by Yeasted Belgian Waffles with warm award-winning Maple Syrup from Fullers Sugarhouse and thick-sliced bacon. For the very young children with smaller appetities, I plate half of the waffle as angel wings dusted with powdered sugar  topped with a butter flower.  When Bill serves breakfast to the families, he derives real pleasure from seeing the children sitting at the tables and asks them about their experience seeing Santa the previous evening. 

When it’s time for the families to depart, we often bring our two dogs, Britt and Clyde, outside to meet them. Some children have been reluctant to leave which tickles us pink. So Bill usually gets a parting photo of them with the dogs and we give them a hug goodbye.

Here’s what one family wrote in our guest room booklet:

“Thank you so much for your wonderful hospitality. We had a magical Polar Express experience. The inn is so charming and the room worked amazingly well for our family of five. The food was delicious and I loved all the homey touches such as water pitchers in the room and tea and cookies in the evening. We hope to be back next Year!” – North Reading, MA

We are now accepting reservations for the 2013 Pola Express.  If you are interested in reserving your families' magical adventure, please call us at 1-800-258-2625.

March Winter Morning 2012

Well March has started out as a snowfilled month with two substantial snowfalls already and it is only the 3rd of the month.  This morning's view from the Inn's dining room was nothing less than magical (if I do say so myself). I could not resist snapping a few pictures of the unusual icicle formation on one of the bird feeders our guests can see as they enjoy one of Paula's tantalizing breakfasts.

 It looks like an icy little birdcage prison according to our guests this morning. Fortunately, the other birdfeeders were clear for the group of Dark-eyed Juncos . A whole group of them left tiny little 'footprints' in the snow on the front porch. It looks as if a miniature ballet took place while everyone was asleep.

From time to time, if we are lucky, we will see a Barred Owl fly from tree stand to tree stand behind the Inn and the sight is breathtaking, especially when snow is falling. The Barred Owl is familiar for its distinctive "who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" hooting. Check out this YouTube video:

Winter certainly brings some amazing things and as we approach Spring at the Buttonwood Inn on the top of Mount Surprise, we'll be looking forward to seeing a whole host of local hawks, deer, moose, bear, not to mention the migratory hummingbirds that love our homemade hummingbird nectar. 

North Conway Named 1 of 25 World's Best Ski Towns by National Geographic

Folks in the Northeast U.S. do not have to travel far to stay and ski in 1 of 25 world's best ski towns recently named by National Geographic.  They can visit North Conway, NH in the heart of The Presidential Range of the White Mountains.  Mt. Washington is the highest peak at 6,288 feet on the East Coast.  There are seven alpine ski mountains in Mt. Washington Valley and six cross-country ski trails all within a half-hour of North Conway.  The first purpose-cut ski runs and ski schools in North America were established here in the 1930s.

Cranmore Mountain Resort located just outside of the village attracts families because of its excellent ski school.  It also has non-skiing attractions like snow tubing, a mountain coaster, climbing walls, and indoor tennis.

We're hoping that March will go out like a LION with more snow accumulation for skiing and snowshoeing opportunities for everyone. 

The Buttonwood Inn has a lot to offer everyone and we're just 5 mintues from the village.  We also have access to snowshoe trails out our back door.

We also have discounted ski tickets for our guests.  So check out our ski packages and book on-line or call us at 1-800-258-2625 today!

Mount Willard Trail from The Buttonwood Inn on Mount Surprise

Weather is perfect this morning as our guests stir from their slumber. Coffee and tea are served and the oven and stove are fired up as Paula prepares another memorable breakfast.

The snowfall which started last night continues as we look to be headed towards at least another 8 inches. The trails out back of the Inn will be in great shape for snowshoeing and the local cross-country trails are all groomed and ready to go.

The photo above is from two of our guests who snowshoed up Mount Willard after I had suggested it to them during breakfast. They were definitely happy to have been able to see the beautiful panoramic views especially looking south straight down the Valley towards the towns of Bartlett, Glen, and North Conway.

What’s in the Mount Willard Area: 
•Crawford Notch, one of the best examples of a glacially carved U-shaped valley anywhere in the world
•Evidence of rock slides on Mount Webster and Mount Willey
•Peregrine falcons occasionally nest in the area


The trailhead for Mount Willard is located at the Gateway of Crawford Notch behind the Crawford Depot Information Center off US 302.

•From the Jackson-North Conway area, follow US 302 west at Glen where it splits from NH 16. US 302 passes through Bartlett, then heads north through Crawford Notch. At the top of the Notch, roughly 20 miles from the junction of NH 16 and US 302, the road goes through a narrow pass between two cliffs. The parking area for Crawford Depot, is a few hundred yards up the road on the left.

•From Twin Mountain, take US 302 east. Crawford Depot is on the right just beyond the turnoff for the AMC’s Highland Center, about eight miles south of the junction of US 302 and US 3.


Happy Trails!

Valentine's Lover Package Special Deal!

Treat your sweetie to our Valentine's Lover Package from February 10-14.  Book a 2-night stay or longer and receive a complimentary bottle of bubbly and New Hampshire made chocolates!

Call us at 1-800-258-2625 or reserve on-line today.

If you can't join us this holiday, check out our recipe for Red Velvet Cake Roll.

22nd Annual Chocolate Festival Was a Success!

Our 22nd Annual Chocolate Festival was very successful this year with over 700 folks going to the various inn and business stops in North Conway enjoying chocolate treats of all varieties!  Our guests very much enjoyed the event because they cross-country skied the Mt. Washington Valley Ski Touring and Snowshoe Foundation trails, which allowed them to enjoy the guilty pleasures of chocolate while burning off the calories.

At The Buttonwood Inn, participants sampled a dark chocolatey Texas Sheet Cake iced with chocolate ganache and topped with toasted pecans. 

If you enjoy chocolate, book on-line or call us at 1-800-258-2625 now to reserve a two or three-night package for the 23rd Annual Chocolate Festival on February 26, 2012!

RECIPE FOR TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Cake

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache Icing

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

For the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease with butter an 18 by 12-inch rimmed baking pan. 

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk the eggs, yolks, vanilla, and sour cream in another bowl until smooth.  Heat the chocolate, butter, oil, water, and cocoa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.  Whisk the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until combined.  Then whisk the egg mixture into the batter and pour into the baking pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack.

For the Icing

About 5 minutes before the cake is done, heat the butter, cream, cocoa, and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove from the stove and whisk in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.  Spread the icing over the hot cake and sprinkle the pecans over it.  Let the cake cool about 1 hour, then refrigerate for 1 hour until the icing is set.  Cut into 3-inch squares.

Valentine's Special Dessert - Which one would you like me to serve?

For Valentine's Weekend (February 11-14. 2011), everyone enjoys some type of dessert with chocolate in it!  I have several in mind and would like your input as to which one I should make at The Buttonwood Inn and serve to our guests.

1)  Turtle Brownies - dark chocolate brownies with caramel swirling through them and glazed on top with a whole pecan decorating each square.

2)  Texas Sheet Cake - a thin, moist cake (the height of a brownie) containing two kinds of chocolate (making it almost black since it's so chocolatey) covered with a chocolate ganache icing and chopped pecans.

3)  Chocolate Cupcakes - a chocolate cupcake (with three times the chocolate) that is baked with a chocolate ganache filling on top, then iced with a creamy chocolate frosting (not too much chocolate, in my opinion).

4)  Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies - a double cookie sandwich with a malt flavored chocolate filling in the center.

You tell me...hard choices, I know.  Email us at innkeeper@buttonwoodinn.com with your Number 1-4 choices in order of preference.  The second place winner will be made for the Chocolate Festival during February 25-27, 2011.  First and second place winning recipes to follow!

March Maple Madness - Buttonwood Delectable Ice Cream Treat & Recipe!

Come join us and stay at The Buttonwood Inn March 25-27, 2011 for March Maple Madness touring various inns sampling maple-inspired treats.  We will make homemade ice cream this year for participants who will also have a chance to win a stay at any one of these inns as just one of the prizes.

Please check out our March Maple Madness package and book on-line or call us at 1-800-258-2625 to reserve.

Here's our recipe for Maple Pecan Ginger Ice Cream--enjoy!

MAPLE PECAN GINGER ICE CREAM

Yield: About 4 cups


3/4 cup pure maple syrup


2 cups half and half


5 egg yolks


3 tablespoons granulated sugar


1/2 cup heavy cream


1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped


½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped


In a saucepan, heat the maple syrup and half-and-half until scalding. Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is starting to foam, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the scalded cream mixture while whipping rapidly. Place the combined mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in heavy cream. Let the custard cool, stirring every 5 minutes, to prevent a skin from forming. After slightly cooled, cover with plastic wrap setting it directly on the custard and up the sides of the bowl to prevent the skin from forming. Allow the custard to chill in the refrigerator for several hours. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Towards the end of freezing, stir in the pecans and crystallized ginger. Store covered in the freezer.

New Year's Eve Celebration - 2010

For the past several years, we've had guests stay at The Buttonwood Inn on our New Year's Eve package, which includes New Hampshire made chocolates on arrival. 


On New Year's Eve, champagne (or sparkling cider) and appetizers made by Paula are served in our Living Room by the fire followed by a 5-course dinner at the Thompson House Eatery.  At breakfast the next morning, our guests raved about the 5-course dinner because they were able to order from a variety of appetizers, entrees, and desserts and the servers were friendly and attentive.  The majority also exclaimed it was possibly the best meal they've ever enjoyed!


When our guests arrived back at the inn, if they were still in the celebrating mood, they could have watched the ball drop at midnight in NYC Times Square on our big screen TV in the Mt. Surprise Room by a toasty fire.


Here's a recipe for the crab strudel appetizer that was a big hit, among the other tasty appetizers:


CRAB STRUDEL


Ingredients




12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided


3 scallions, chopped


2 garlic cloves, minced


1 teaspoon curry powder


1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and picked to remove shells


2 teaspoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped


1 lime, juiced


Kosher salt


1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


10 sheets phyllo dough (such as Pepperidge Farm)


1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs


Directions


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saute pan, add the scallions and garlic and cook over medium-low heat until the scallions are soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and stir.


Shred the crabmeat into a bowl and mix with the parsley, lime juice, salt, to taste, and pepper. Add the crabmeat to the scallion mixture.


Melt 10 tablespoons of butter in a small pan and set aside.


Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs until 5 sheets have been used. Spoon a 1-inch wide row of the crab mixture along 1 edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and set aside. Repeat the entire process using the all the phyllo dough and crab filling.


Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper. Score the crab strudel diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces and bake for 12 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Slice and serve.

Polar Express Families - 2010

As I take down the Christmas tree, I'm reminded of the weekends that we had families stay at The Buttonwood Inn for the Polar Express event.  After returning from our vacation visiting our children in NYC and NJ, we quickly erected the Christmas tree and decorated the inn inside and out for the first arrival of children and their parents the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I decorated the tree with hand-painted ceramic Christmas ornaments of mice in holiday attire, Peanuts, and Sesame Street characters that I made for our own children's tree when they were babies.  

On the first day of the family's arrival, I baked mini cupcakes decorated with light-green frosting sprinkled with shiny clear sprinkles, resembling freshly fallen snow.  After searching through my huge tin container for the Christmas cookie cutters, I made hand-rolled sugar cookies decorated with Royal icing in seasonal colors, sprinkles, and piped designs.  These cookies were served as a special treat for the children to enjoy dressed in their pajamas in the Mt. Surprise Room watching the Polar Express movie before they boarded train that evening.

Though all of the families expressed that they had a wonderful experience on the Polar Express and visiting Santa at the North Pole, there is one family that made it a complete surprise for their two young children.  Thus, the parents and grandparents were able to observe the surprise and merriment of the children when they finally met Santa Claus.

Another family on the last weekend comprised two mothers with four older children who simply wanted to experience the "magic" of riding the Polar Express, drinking hot chocolate, and singing songs on the way to meet Santa.   After the last family left The Buttonwood Inn, we read their comments in our room guest books writing that they not only felt the majic of visiting Santa at the North Pole, but also felt the majic of The Buttonwood Inn.

This is why Bill and I work very hard to make each families experience memorable and enjoyable allowing us to experience the true spirit of Christmas.                            

Chocolate Lovers Festival Weekend

If you enjoy chocolate as much as I do and most of our guests who stayed with us for the 21st Annual Chocolate Festival on February 28, 2010, you may want to plan ahead and come for the last Sunday in February 2011.  Aside from the delectable chocolate goodies provided by various inns and retail stores, the Mt. Washington Valley Ski Touring & Snowshoe Foundation added an additional incentive for participants--a chance to win a $200 gift certificate good towars a stay at any one of the participating inns or towards a purchase at any of the participating stores.  When you book this Chocolate Festival package at The Buttonwood, it also includes your event passes.

My chocolate treat was a Triple Chocolate Cookie--recipe follows:

Recipe: TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES Yield: 2 dozen


Ingredients:


¼ cup butter, softened


½ cup dark brown sugar


¼ cup granulated sugar


¼ cup canola oil


1 egg


1 teaspoon vanilla


½ cup all-purpose flour


½ cup whole wheat flour


¼ cup cocoa powder


¼ teaspoon salt


1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate


1/3 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate


2/3 cup chopped pecans


Baking Process:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy; then mix in the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the dark and milk chocolates and pecans, mixing well. Scoop a tablespoon of the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

HAPPY BAKING!--  Paula

Calling All Chocoholics for the Chocolate Festival 2-28-10!

If you like chocolate as much as I do, you'll love cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or driving to various inns and businesses to be rewarded with a myriad of chocolate goodies!  

The Buttonwood Inn already booked guests for this popular annual event on Sunday, February 28, 2010.  You can click on the following link or visit our website under Winter Packages - 20th Annual Chocolate Festival:  http://www.buttonwoodinn.com/chocolate-festival-lodging-package.html 

Christmas

Christmas Day may be behind us but the Inn is as 'Chistmassy' as ever with the smell of Paula's freshly baked scones and her baked cheddar cheese omelette. Our skiers today are headed to Wildcat and Bretton Woods for some downhill and cross-country skiing, respectively. The newest picture album addition on Facebook is chock full of Chritmas shots of the Inn taken yesterday. Hope you like them!!

Paula and I were able to connect with our family's annual Christmas get-together in New Jersey via Webcam and it was so wonderful to be able to participate in the blessing before dinner even if we were not there physically.

Have a Cranapalooza New Year's Holiday

Cranapalooza - It's a Festival!

When the sun goes down in North Conway and the lights illuminate the trails of Cranmore, the festivities begin. Saturday nights from Dec. 26, 2009 to March 13, 2010, guests will enjoy a variety of events throughout the resort in addition to top-to-bottom night skiing and tubing. Returning for its sixth season, Cranapalooza is a festival of music, entertainment and games with North Conway's favorite penguin, C-More. Additional Cranapalooza dates include a special New Year's Eve edition on Thurs., Dec. 31, 2009 and Wed., February 17, 2010. the Buttonwood is right down the street from the Cranmore Ski Resort. Still time to reserve for our extra Special New Year's Eve Package so don't delay.

Cranapalooza kicks off the season on December 26, 2009. As guests finish up a day of skiing and riding or arrive for the nighttime festivities, they can enjoy activities beginning at 2 p.m. Activities change weekly and include fireworks on select dates, games with C-More, magicians and puppets, fireworks, face painting, hypnotists, live entertainment, hot chocolate and s'mores around the fire pit and Après Ski with live music in Zip's Pub.

Another popular activity coming back for this winter is the spectacular fireworks display set off over the slopes. Fireworks will light the skies at 7:30pm on the following dates: Dec. 31, Jan. 16, Jan. 30, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, and Mar. 6th. Our guests can even view them from our front porch or out our dining room window along with the lights on the Cranmore Ski slopes.

Cranapalooza lift tickets are just $29 and are valid for night skiing for all ages from 2 - 8p.m. Night skiing is offered on 11 trails and 3 lifts for all ability levels, including the Darkside and Other Side Terrain Parks, Beginner Basin, South Slope, North Slope, Hurricane and more. Cranmore's top rated Arctic Blast Tubing Park is also open Saturday and holiday evenings until 9pm. The Buttonwood has discounted tubing tickets for our guests too!

Want the best value for night time activities? Buy the new Super Slider ticket. This all-inclusive ticket covers night skiing (2-8pm), two hours of snow tubing (anytime between 2-9pm), and two hours of Fun Zone admission (between 3-8pm). Tickets are valid for all ages and must be used by one individual on one date. The Super Slider ticket is only for sale on Cranapalooza dates.

Want to know what's going on at the next Cranapalooza? It's all listed here on their events calendar.

Santa's Village north of the Buttonwood

There's is a lot going on in the Valley and here abouts over the Christmas and New Year's Holidays. Besides the obvious skiing you can visit Santa's reindeer at Santa's Village north of the Buttonwood and have a holly Jolly old time with the big bearded guy in the red suit!

Just an hour from North Conway you can experience a day filled with wonderfully themed rides, great shows, Santa and his reindeer. Oh What Fun!
One low admission includes unlimited use of all the rides and shows for the entire day and if you come in within 3 hours of closing and you can return another day free of charge.
With all there is to see and do at Santa's Village, who wouldn't go!
Santa's Village is open from Memorial Day weekend through the summer and over the fall and holidays too!

Starry Starry Night at the Buttonwood

Beautiful night with a crescent moon and the constellation Orion is lookiing crisp in the southeastern sky. The telescope is set up on the back porch pointing towards the big dipper. Cold as it is outside there is something about trying to find a heavenly object that we haven't seen before that just seems to negate the cold. Of course this picture of us with the telescope was taken in the spring but it's the same scope that we use to peruse the heavens.

Christmas and New Years Specials at The Buttonwood Inn

Prepping for the Christmas and New Year's Eve visitors now that Polar Express is over. Our guests are going to have a great time with special treats and offerings here and in the Mount Washington Valley. There are still fireplace rooms and a double jacuzzi room available for the Christmas weekend and http://www.buttonwoodinn.com/New-Years-Eve-Lodging-Package.html. We are ...even running a special discount on the Chamber of Commerce's website so there are many reasonable options for those who haven't firmed up their plans yet. Take a look at our New Year's Eve package. It's sure to please!