To celebrate our 21st year of Innkeeping here at Castle in the Country Bed and Breakfast Inn and the renovation makeover we completed, we’re re-naming all of the rooms/suites in the Castle. We’ve given them a name that suits their new decor and hints at the ambiance we think you’ll connect with when you stay…
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Year-Round Seasonal Adventures
Top Things to do in West Michigan
Chicken and White Wine Pub Pie
The addition of white wine adds a nice dimension of flavor to the sauce, use whatever you like:sweet, dry, sherry, whatever. The parsley and green beans can be substituted with what is available and in season. Ingredients: 1C Chicken Broth 2.5 lbs Chicken, cubed (Or 6-7 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves) 4T Butter 1 Onion,…
Steak and Guinness Pub Pie
This hearty pub pie is made with beef tenderloin, enhanced with Guinness stout and thickened with sharp white cheddar cheese. The vegetables included are optional and can be varied based on seasonal availability: for example, I use frozen peas instead of beans in the winter/spring months. Just take the amount of cooking time each vegetable…
Cherry Cobbler
I lucked out at the Holland Farmers Market Wednesday and found some pie cherries. While sweet cherries are plentiful and available many places, consider yourself fortunate when you see these, at least in West Michigan. The season for pie cherries, also called “sour” or “tart” cherries, is short-just a few weeks. Most of the crop…
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
We take our cues from the local seasonality for this excellent dessert. Here in our corner of West Michigan we are in that special time when the rhubarb is winding down and the strawberries are just beginning. The combination of rhubarb’s tart, almost astringent, flavor with the natural sweetness of strawberries is magical. Especially when…
Sourdough Bread
We make sourdough bread multiple times per week here at Castle in the Country from a starter that began life on April 15, 2005. It is used here for french toast, croutons, picnic baskets, dinners, breadcrumbs…very little goes to waste. I like the simplicity of ingredients: Flour, water, salt. I like the complexity of the…
Nature Experiences for Couples in Allegan, MI
Every day we help our adventurous guests enjoy their visit to our own “little piece of heaven”, our Castle Kingdom. At first, most of our guests choose to visit us because we’re near the popular resort towns of Saugatuck & Douglas or South Haven or because we’re within an easy driving distance to the wonderful…
Brownies with Bacon
There seems to be an increasing use of bacon in sweet dessert items like chocolate brownies. The combination of smokey, salty bacon with sweet, rich chocolate is better than it may sound at first. So, we thought it would be fun to try this pairing as part of our in room dinner . Pretty easy…