And of all the video I took, who lands on the front? That’s Jeff Larson from the Landmark Resort... damn!

Door County is full to the brim right now, but come Monday… mass exodus.  The weather will be awesome next week, so a trip to Door County may be in order for those of you who could use a little mini vacation.

We are going to hang out at Egg Harbor Lodge tonight and then head to a friend’s to watch the fireworks.  Tomorrow, the “building of the float” begins.  Every year we think we can’t finish in time, but every year we do.  Watch for my parade pics next week.

Happy 4th of July !

Lisa Van Laanen, who owns Sommer Stad in Egg Harbor has opened a new boutique just south of Shipwrecked on Hwy G. It is in an old blacksmith shop and is fittingly called Blacksmith Clothing Company. I have yet to check it out, but it is supposed to be a bit more upscale and young… I’m young, right?  Young or not I,  can’t wait to see it.

Ann Marie Kafka (John Henry’s sister… he owns John Henry’s) opened a sandwich shop in the Chocolate Chicken building called Whatcha Have?.  There are a couple of tables, but mostly it is a to-go restaurant with hot dogs, hot and cold sandwiches, Gyros, salads… you name it.  And the best part?  Cheap, cheap, cheap!  Her Miller Meal is a Chicago dog w/ choice of fries or chips & a Miller beer for 7.50.  Take it to-go and eat it in the park next door… perfect.

Liberty Square has completely remodeled their interior… not that it needed it.  It is really beautiful and the Bistro Bar and Grill offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and beginning Memorial weekend will serve until 10pm nightly.  PS… Their caramel apple scones are to die for. They also have their Gourmet Grab-N-Go Deli- the name speaks for itself.

This weekend, I plan on taking a little tour of the village to be sure I am not missing something!  Tonight though, Joe, our youngest scored some morels so I am going home to deep fry them.  When I asked where he found them, he was like Facebook…ignore.  My own son, keeping secrets from his mom!

Shopping – Egg Harbor shops are offering a variety of special
activities and sales. Everything from food demos, live music
and trunk shows to tours, wine tasting, and factory reps.

Tent Sale – Great deals on last year’s merchandise … 50% off
and more. Check out the big white tent at Something Fishy.  (My girls and I have the Egg Harbor Girl necklaces… too cute.

Trunk Show – Patricia Shoppe’s Troll Beads trunk show,
Friday-Sunday. Buy two beads and receive a third for free!
Troll Beads representative on-site all weekend.

Demos – Stop by A Decorators Gallery for a variety of
demonstrations. See custom matting and framing. Turn your
digital photo into fine art.

Segway Test Drive – take a demo ride on the Segway.
Call for full-blown tours of Peninsula State Park: 920-376-0256

On Saturday, there will even more to do…

SATURDAY, MAY 15TH
• 7 – 8 AM
Enjoy a nature hike – Birds and Blooms – with naturalist Kathleen Harris. Peninsula State Park – meet at park headquarters.

• 9:30 – 11 AM
Fashion Show Breakfast – Landmark Resort (Egg Harbor Room) Emcee Cami   Rapson – from WBAY-TV Channel 2 in Green Bay.   For this I will channel my inner Tyra and model for the Patricia Shoppe… hope I don’t break a heel.

• 8 – 10 PM
Pub Crawl - Door County Trolley pick-up at Carrington Pub & Grill ($10)
Board games/play time – Regatta Meeting Room

• 9 PM – 1 AM
Karaoke. Hosted by Cheryl Simon. Carrington Pub & Grill

SUNDAY, MAY 16TH
• 7 – 8 AM
Village Walk – Led by Karen Peterson (Maxwells House) – meet at Harborview Park

What are we doing at Egg Harbor Lodge you ask?  Well, margaritas and snacks of course…  either on our terrace or in the office if it gets too chilly-   Friday and Saturday afternoon from 4-6 pm.  I might possibly make  Jalapeno Poppers… yum.

I don’t have activities planned for the weekend at Egg Harbor Lodge but if you are looking for R&R, great sunsets from your private balcony and maybe a cocktail or two… we have it!  And remember, we are an equal opportunity resort… men are welcome this weekend too.

Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

2 cans canned green beans drained  (yes, canned green beans!)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 bottle Catalina Dressing (personally, I had never tried this type of dressing before)

One pound thick cut bacon.  I used Nueske Applewood Smoked Bacon which made these super good, but took about and hour to cook.

Mix the dressing and brown sugar.  Cut the bacon strips in half and bundle about 6 beans with the bacon.  Secure with a toothpick and pour the dressing on top.  Candy cooked hers at 350 for a half hour, with the Nueske bacon I raised the temp to 400 and cooked them for about an hour.  They smell amazing!  Try it… you’ll like it!

Bruce and Gail Hill from the Lull-Abi Inn of Egg Harbor are coming tonight for dinner so I am going to see how they like my new fav.  Speaking of Bruce and Gail, they ate breakfast at the Rusty Tractor just north of Carlsville over the weekend and they loved it.  Lots of food, good prices and a bonus… they now serve on real plates and have  coffee mugs instead of Styrofoam.  We’ll have to check it out.  Darn, I am a huge fan of paper plates.

Nancy Nevins and her husband Jim Logerquist are here from Portland, Oregon.  Nancy’s parents owned the Mariner Resort and Nancy’s mom Pat died last year so they were trying to get things organized.  The Mariner’s cottages, Captains Quarters and houses will be open this summer, but the motel will not.  We have a lot of nice memories hanging out at the Mariner.  Back in the day, on the Fourth of July, Nancy’s dad would make a huge brisket on the grill and at night Nanc and I would shoot bottle rockets off their pier.  We would tool around on the golf cart around the property and hang out with her parent’s friends.  Those were the days!  Nancy gave me some old records from the Village of Egg Harbor when her dad was president of the village.  I am reading them now and then I will pass them on to Egg Harbor’s current president Nancy Fisher who coincidentally is on Egg Harbor’s newly formed Historical Society.  Most of the information is on the dock that Nancy’s dad Gordon Nevins help bring to Egg Harbor.   Nancy Fisher will probably find it interesting as she was  instrumental in Egg Harbor’s  brand new marina that is being built as we speak.

We had a burger at John Henry’s last night and afterward there was an Egg Harbor Men’s Club Meeting.  I decided not to stick around for it so I started walking t0 my friend Bernadette’s house when it started to drizzle.  No problem… Polly and Don Helm and daughter Hanna from Door County Nature Works drove by and gave me a ride.  Thanks Polly and Don!

Well, I had better get something done… we open April 30!

The Sawyer Family

I haven’t blogged in awhile… we were in Florida with our family.  All four of our kids and our two grandkids were able to come as well as the “significant others”  so we really had a special vacation.  Nellie and I drove down and spent a day with her friend Chris Saladin who was in Clearwater, Florida at the time.  He works for comedian Craig Ferguson’s stand up show so we got to meet Craig and see the show.  Chris was in the show as well so it was really a treat to watch it.  We then headed to our friend Ruth’s house in Lakeland for a couple days where she treated us like royalty.  After that we drove down to the gulf coast were we had rented a house and the rest of the family flew in.  Our friends Paula and Lou Osadjan who have a beautiful summer home in Egg Harbor and own a condo on Longboat Key had us over for cocktails and took us out for dinner which was fun.   The weather was great and the we all had fun in the pool.  It was relaxing to get away but it is always nice to get home.

Adi and Jaden

There have been a few new doings in Door County over the fall and winter… For instance,  when you go down the Fish Creek hill there are those cedars that line the road on the right.  Well, they cut a big chunk of those out which left a beautiful view going down the hill.  Our Egg Harbor Marina has had some setbacks (like a tug sunk!) but is progressing nicely.  The ice is out so when we begin our spring cleaning we won’t have a cold breeze blowing up the bluff at us.  On a controversial note, a developer has plans to build a Subway restaurant in Sister Bay and it is leaving a very bitter taste with many who live there.  There really isn’t an ordinance that says “no chains” as many of us always believed. We’ll see what happens.  Chef Andrew Mueller who was the head chef at Glidden Lodge for many years then bought The Nautical Inn Restaurant in Sturgeon Bay, has purchased the Hillside Inn in Ellison Bay which can only mean good things for Ellison Bay.  I love the Nautical’s food so I am sure the Hillside will be equally as popular.  Our friend and neighbor Bob Erickson of Door County Realty was named Realtor of the Year… congrats Bob!

Egg Harbor will host the YMCA’s Blossom Run May 8 and Egg Harbor will have its Girlfriends Great Eggscape weekend May 13- 15.  My friend Jeff Larsen from the Landmark Resort has tons of chick activities planned for the weekend.  Most of the festivities will be a the Landmark Resort although the boutiques in Egg Harbor will be having sales and there should be some restaurant specials as well as kayaking and a pub crawl.   Last year at Egg Harbor Lodge, we had Mexican food and drink at cocktail hour for our guests that Friday night so I am sure we will be doing something like that this year as well.  My margaritas were a hit and we have guys that also come that weekend so of course we had Mexican beer and snacks.

If you didn’t catch us on Living with Amy in the fall we posted the video on our video page… check it out.  Amy emailed me while I was in Florida to come cook on her show again, but obviously I couldn’t.  Hopefully a different time.

I am going to be blogging about some of Egg Harbor’s different boutiques and restaurants this spring so check back and see what’s new in the village.

After all,  Egg Harbor hosts the famous Door County Triathlon… and we have our own baseball team!

DC Triathlon

Egg Harbor Indians...2009 Champs!

Egg Harbor is also the home of Door County’s largest festival… Pumpkin Patch!

Egg Harbor's Pumpkin Patch Festival

Egg Harbor has great boutiques and restaurants…

Egg Harbor is a great place for couples…

for families…

and Egg Harbor has it’s very own girls getaway weekend in May…

Egg Harbor boasts two beaches, a beautiul marina, the best grocery store in Door County, cherry orchards and farms…

Egg Harbor is well known for it’s love of music too…

Egg Harbor's Peg Egan Pavillion

And don’t forget, we Egg Harborites LOVE a Parade!!!

Egg Harbor's New Years Day Parade

Egg Harbor's July 4th Parade

But most of all, it is the people who live here that make Egg Harbor truly the Coolest Small Town in America!

Yes, Egg Harbor is definitely a pretty cool small town…

The Landmark in Egg Harbor is offering specials for the weekend (including Karaoke!) as are other lodging places and restaurants.  Mike’s Port Pub and Innlet Motel in Jacksonport is offering a nice special which includes lodging, dinner and drinks on New Years Eve for $175.00 (and no driving!).  Jacksonsport is also serving up a New Years Day breakfast at the fire station before the famous Polar Bear Plunge at noon.  Our friend, JR Jarosh of Jacksonport is the founder and along with his family, has turned the “plunge”  into an annual event that attracts thousands of people each year either as participants or spectators.  It really is a fun Door County event that shouldn’t be missed.  Trust me… we have done the plunge as well as witnessed it and there really is no equal. If you have never done the plunge, it is an invigorating way to start the year… especially after the crazy year we had this past year.

At 1:00 in Egg Harbor, is the Annual New Year’s Day Parade.  I  believe it is the only parade in Wisconsin on New Year’s Day.  It is a fun, quirky parade that is pretty much thrown together in the morning.  We (meaning my family) are in it every year… usually with the same float.  We aren’t original, but we are consistent. Here we are last year in our hot tub float…yes, there is really water in the cherry pallet we are riding in.

Sawyer chicks

Almost all the boutiques and restaurants are open in Egg Harbor for post-holiday sales.  After the parade,  we head to Mojo Rosa’s where Kimmy has complementary hors d’ oeuvres and music.  Our friend and neighbor, Bob Erickson (Door County Realty) celebrates his birthday on January 1 and we help him celebrate at Mojo’s each year.  The day isn’t complete without checking out Egg Harbor’s other haunts, John Henry’s, Casey’s and Shipwrecked.  PS… the new C & C in Fish Creek has reopened under the new name Cooper’s Corner (same owners as Shipwrecked and Peninsula Winery).  More on that later after I scope it out.

My niece Jennifer will turn 21 on New Year’s Day as well. Happy Birthday Jen!

Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone and we look forward to a fantastic 2010 in  beautiful Door County!

Here is the recipe…

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider (just the regular grocery store stuff)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

2 pieces stick cinnamon

1 orange

Directions:

Cut the orange in half, slice one half into rounds.  Pour the cider into the bottom of a percolator and add the rest of the ingredients to the basket.  Squeeze the other half of the orange into the basket and throw the rind in as well.  Perk.

The cider may be made on the stove, just put the spices in a tea ball or cheese cloth.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 1/2 hour.  Put in a coffee make with a glass pot to keep warm.

For those of us not in the Black Friday state of mind, Egg Harbor is the perfect place to be.  No lines or huge crowds, no malls, just quaint boutiques, nice restaurants and plenty of things for the children to do… Breakfast with Santa, Elf Hunt , caroling and best of all, a tree lighting.  There really isn’t a nicer place to be than Door County during the holidays.

We are looking forward to a safe and fun hunting season.  Good Luck to all our fellow Door County hunters… note to all you people who think hunting is not a good thing.  My family has hit 7, yes 7 deer with our cars.  Luckily, no one was seriously injured.   The Department of Natural Resources are in charge of the hunt in order to “harvest” deer so they don’t starve or cross the path of too many cars.  So basically, it is a good thing even though it may seem otherwise.

People (mostly guys) brought desserts, cherry bounce and even pickled eggs… my favorite.   It was a lot of fun and I think the stew turned out pretty good.  This week I will plan on menus for the nine day hunt.  I have a little kitchen set up in our barn, the boys sleep out there (that’s where I draw the line) and we eat out there and most nights other hunters come by to share stories or have a bite to eat.  All of our kids are usually here and it is really nice family time for us.  Hunting has been a really great way for me to spend time with my boys.

Don’t forget, the Landmark Resort has their Comedy Club night (the second Thursday of the month)  buffet and show for just 20.99 per person tomorrow night.  I would love to go (it is a lot of fun) but I am making my venison stew for our annual pre-hunting bash Friday night.  I’ll have to video the party… then again, maybe not.

I played tourist a couple of weeks ago.  My friend Kelly, a close friend I have known since I was 11 years old, stayed at Egg Harbor Lodge along with her parents.  One of the days they were here, we took a ride up to Northport using most of the back roads.  We stopped at Bayside and the Oilerie in Fish Creek with our final stop being at Orchard Country Winery where we did a little wine tasting.

Playing tourist...

Kelly and her husband Tom were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.  We had a blast…I hope they are able to come next year too.

Speaking of anniversaries, Mark and I celebrated our 30th on Tuesday.  We decided to go to Green Bay for the night.  We ended up staying at the Radisson at the Oneida Bingo and Casino.  Not much of a gambler, it took me awhile to figure out the slots.  You know the arm that you pull… well it doesn’t pull (you press a button instead)  and did you also know videoing is not allowed?  Apparently, I am the only one who didn’t know that.  Anyway, I got in a bit of trouble.  I want to post the video cause it’s kind of funny but I don’t want any more T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  Los Lonely Boys were playing there that night so we got to see them in concert as well.  Oh well, I’ll take my chances… here’s the video…

Right after I stopped at the craps table is when I got busted with “SECURITY”!  There was no way I was letting them have my FLIP however.  After that, the security guards were very attentive to me and I don’t think it was because they liked my sweater.

Today is our last day open until May 1, 2010.   I want to send out a sincere thank you to all of our guests for staying with us this year and every year.  We had a really great season and we look forward to  next year and many more years.   We start taking reservations in January for next year.  Stay tuned for winter in Door County through my blog… winter isn’t super exciting but it is really beautiful… even in November.  We have our annual Deer Hunters Venison Stew in a couple of weeks in anticipation of the deer hunt which is the one of our absolute favorite times of year.

Don’t forget Egg Harbor’s Holly Days is November 27 & 28… more on that later!

All this cool weather makes me want to cook and last night I made my famous “big chicken”.  We get theses huge chickens from our friends Patti and Billy Bley who raise them.  They are around 8 lbs. each which is enough to feed even my whole family.  I usually make mashed potatoes and pan gravy out of the drippings but last night I decided on just scattering the potatoes, onions and carrots around the chicken which makes for an easy supper.  Here is the result…

The "Big Chicken" before...

The "Big Chicken" after

This recipe is fool proof… I also make it on a charcoal grill but it takes a lot longer to cook but the smokey taste is worth it.

THE BIG CHICKEN

1 Large whole chicken

1 head of garlic

1 lemon

1 thyme bundle

Salt & Pepper

1 Large Spanish or sweet onion

1 Cup Chicken stock or broth

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Liberally season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper or any seasoning of your choice… I use Rotisserie Chicken seasoning  that I picked up at Fleet Farm.  Oil the outside the chicken with vegetable oil and/or butter and liberally season the outside as well.

Cut the lemon and garlic in half and stuff the cavity with the 1/2 lemon, the 1/2 garlic, the thyme bundle, and then the other halves of the garlic and lemon.   Tie the legs and tuck the wings.

Cut up small Yukon Gold potatoes in half, cut up the peeled carrots, and slice the onions into rounds and spread all around the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Add about a cup of chicken stock (so the vegetables don’t burn before the chicken gives off its juices) and cook for and hour and a half or so or until a meat thermometer is at 165 degrees.  During cooking, cover with foil when it gets nice and brown and periodically stir the veggies and baste the bird.  Let sit for at least 15 minutes before carving.  If I make mashed potatoes, I will substitute rutabaga for the Yukon Golds and make a pan gravy (there is no equal to roast chicken pan gravy).  Place the vegetables in a serving dish, carve the bird and serve.  This recipe is easy and once you do all the prep work (particularly if you don’t make the mashed potatoes) once it is in the oven you’re done.  Perfect for guests… everyone loves chicken!

Anyway, watch for my video of Downtown Egg Harbor all dressed up for fall this week.  My granddaughter Adi and I are taking a walk this week to film the decorations and fall colors.  We aren’t near peak yet, so there is a lot of time to see the fall colors in Door County.

Greens ‘N Grains is in the big purple building in downtown Egg Harbor.

Sue Moneypenny manages the gourmet deli

Recently, we dined in the Board Room for their Paris Nights which was really lovely.  Our four course Julia Childs inspired meal was paired with four different wines.  The main course was Osso Bucco… one of my absolute favs.  The dining room is very warm and tastefully decorated.  We were at kind of a communal table I guess you would call it and at first I was like whoa… wait a minute but it was actually really fun as everyone got to know each other and discussed each course.    Paris Nights is offered again on August 20 and again October 17.  It made for a really fun and different evening and the food was great.

The Board Room at Liberty Square

Liberty Square should definitely be on everyone’s to-do list when visiting  Door County.  In fact, I am heading in there today to buy  new patio table umbrella… they have lots of different colors.  I hope they have red.

We not only have the “Best Water View in Door County!” we also have the Best Guests in Door County!

Don’t forget the Door County Triathlon and Half Iron man will be held this weekend… sadly we will not be participating this year but my niece Annie is and I am going to film some of the race tomorrow morning.  I know Annie is going to do great… can’t wait!  Here is a picture of Nellie, Emilie and I last year…

DC Triathlon

Wait till next year baby… we will kick some ***!

"Have the Girls Gone Wild at Egg Harbor Lodge? We plead the Fourth!

There will be food and drink at Harbor View Park in downtown Egg Harbor beginning at 3:00 on July 3 with a free concert by the Mango Brothers beginning at 5:00.  The fireworks begin at dusk which is probably around 9:45 p.m.  I still have a couple of units available…  Don’t miss out on the fun!

Door County Cherry Trees in Blossom

The cherry trees in Door County are in  full splendor… the blossoms popped out yesterday.  Traditionally, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend was dubbed “Cherry Blossom Sunday” but many times the blossoms were already spent.  Not this year… we have a couple of vacancies for Sunday and Door County is a short drive… come and see how pretty the countryside is.

This is my BFF Nancy Anderson who was visiting from Cary, Illinois this weekend with some of her girlfriends.  We ate at Casey’s Smokehouse Friday night, but not before riding their mascot who beckons people inside to try their barbecue.  Usually what happens in Door County stays in Door County but not this time.

Sarah and Nancy riding the pig

We had a ton of fun incidently…