The Puff Pastry Tart recipe I use at Boreas is derived from the KCTS Cooks Breakfast cookbook compiled from the kitchens of viewers of Public Station KCTS in Seattle. We have contributed to this cookbook.  This is, by far, one of my favorite breakfast cookbooks and contributing towards viewer supported public television is something we love to do!  This recipe was originally contributed by Kim Walton of Seattle.  Thank you, Kim!!  And our guests thank you also!  There are three parts to this surprisingly easy recipe.  It can be adapted in many ways by cutting the puff pastry into four pieces and making a savory filling or even a larger version of this lovely tart.  I also have made these tarts in mini-muffin tins for just a bite for our “second” pastries at our three and four-course breakfasts at Boreas Inn.  I will add an image when I remember to take a picture next time I bake them! (Sorry!) Enjoy the recipe!

Puff Pastry Cheesecake Tarts

Cheese Filling

2              tablespoons butter at room temp

1              8 oz. package cream cheese at room temp

1              egg

1 ½        teaspoons vanilla

4             tablespoons brown sugar

3             teaspoons lemon juice

½-1       teaspoon lemon zest

1             teaspoon orange liqueur (optional)

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and set aside.

Blueberry Filling (or any other berry of your choice)

2          tablespoons water (less if using frozen berries)

1          tablespoon cornstarch

1-3       tablespoons white sugar (depending upon sweetness of berries)

1           tablespoon lemon juice

1           teaspoon lemon zest

1           cup berries

2           teaspoons orange liqueur (optional)

Pastry Shells

1          package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1          egg beaten to brush on pastry

Preheat oven to 400 and spray regular size muffin tins with cooking spray. Open up the puff pastry sheets and cut the pastry into three long rectangles along the folds.  Cut each rectangle into three squares so you have nine squares per sheet. Press each square completely into the muffin tins so that the edges show above the top of each tin opening.

Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of the cheese filling on the center of each puff pastry. The cheese mixture will puff up during the baking process.  Place a dollop of the fruit filling on top of the cheese filling. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and bake approximately 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Note: You can use a canned peach or apricot cut side down over the cheese filling instead of the berries.  If you’d like to be able to use only a few puff pastry tarts at a time, after composing the tarts (don’t bake!) wrap tightly in plastic, place muffin tins in the freezer and once frozen, gently pop each tart out of the tin, place in a zip lock freezer bag and put back in the freezer.  Place the frozen pastries into muffin tins in desired numbers, brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

The Goonies All Grown Up

The Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration will take place across the River in Astoria from June 4-7, 2010.   The Goonies was filmed locally in Astoria, OR and was originally released on June 7, 1985.  But did you know that the Goonie’s director,  Richard Donner, also directed Superman and The Lethal Weapon series and that it was a Steven Spielberg (E.T., Jaws, Schindler’s List) presentation? The Goonies screenplay was by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter series, Mrs. Doubtfire)  from a story by Spielberg.  Richard Donner produced the movie with Harvey Bernhard (The Lost Boys) and Spielberg executive produced with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy (Indiana Jones series, Back to the Future, Curious Case of Benjamin Button).   Clearly, The Goonies had a group of young geniuses masterminding a movie that has stood the test of time and is much beloved by fans around the world.

“In 1985 when The Goonies was filmed, we knew the movie would create a lasting impact in Astoria, and its legacy continues 25 years later,” stated Willis Van Dusen, Mayor of Astoria, Oregon.  “This celebration is dedicated to the amazing Goonies fans and to the film itself, both of which have become an integral part of the cultural fabric of Astoria.”   Well–that can’t be a bad thing, after all, The Goonies has given us pleasure, excitement and giggles for 25 years!

The Goonies is an adventure-comedy film set in Astoria about a group of kids from the “Goon Docks” neighborhood of Astoria (hence the nickname “Goonies) who band together hoping to save their homes from foreclosure and demolition due to the expansion of  the Astoria Country Club.  The group embarks on an adventure to find the buried treasure of a legendary 17th century pirate, One-Eyed Willy.  The kids have an exciting time on their coastal antics featuring spooky caves,  old lighthouses, treacherous traps, pirate maps and skeletons, clever script and much beloved characters– Mikey, Chunk, Data, Mouth (Corey Feldman), Brandon (Josh Brolin!) Rosalita and the rest of the nasty Fratelli’s.  The ending of The Goonies is classic, perfect and predictable with  the jewels from the pirate ship providing more than enough to save everyone’s homes from foreclosure and demolition.  The story and its ending could also ring true for homeowners battling their individual crises during our nation’s current “Great Recession”!  If only we could plunder a pirate ship and bail out everyone losing their homes–or better yet, bail out those of us running small businesses!  Let’s all go search for treasure!

The Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration has a schedule of events in Astoria and a very cool website.  The Astoria-Warrenton Chamber, of which we are proud members, is partnering with Warner Brothers on the event who are assisting in marketing and licensing Goonies souvenirs, which will be sold at the “Goon Docks”, the center of all the Goonies Celebration events.  Boreas has rooms available for the celebration weekend so you can be at the beach but be within a half- hour of all the events.  Watch a video clip of The Goonies and come to Boreas for the Goonie’s celebration!

I'm trying a new recipe--Pineapple Toasted Macadamia Bundt Cake!

The mini-daffodils are blooming and the banners flying on a sunny day!

The thermometers have been reading in the 70’s in the sun and in the 60’s in the shade and we are ever so grateful to celebrate this precious sunshine in our mild winter season.  If we say this too loudly, winter will return, as gentle as it has been this season. So shhhhhh!  It has snowed in March the last two years;  just when we thought we had sailed through winter into springtime. Long Beach, Washington weather is tough to predict–and always a surprise–but thinking back the 15 seasons we’ve been here, this isn’t all that unusual for February!

I baked a Pineapple Toasted Macadamia Nut coffee cake for one of the pastry courses for our guests for tomorrow’s breakfast.  Fine breakfast cuisine is our tradition at Boreas Inn and we hope that we rank with the best in the west at our romantic beach getaway in Long Beach, Washington!  I will post the recipe on our website when I get a chance.

The mini-daffodils are so bright and hopeful on the front deck of the inn and the banners are bright against our residence.  I have been fighting the urge to buy more spring plants–but know if I do, we will have a freeze.  Guests are walking on the beach, exploring the lighthouses and dining at The Depot, Pelicano Restaurant and Jimella’s tonight for dinner.  The best dining in the state of Washington is right here on the Peninsula. Lucky us!

The Dunes Suite awaits you!

We have rooms available for next weekend, the 26th and 27th of February–and even the Dunes Suite awaits your escape to the beach.   The gray whales are cruising by and the North Head Lighthouse and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is a great place for spotting them!  On occasion, they approach the jetty and scrape off their barnacles.  Next weekend at the World Kite Museum, the Asian New Year Celebration continues with the spectacular kites of Malaysia and Singapore.  The Kite Museum has the largest private collection of kites in the entire world and is well worth a visit–walking distance from Boreas!

So come dine at the source, sleep in the lap of luxury and play at the prettiest beach in the Northwest.  Make each day a cause for celebration and we will be your co-conspirators in planning a quick getaway to Long Beach!

Our favorite shot of the Dec. 19, 2008 snowfall from the Garden Suite.

Kitties are Angels with Attitude is our favorite decorating party gift given by Cindy (Zikes) and Robert Davis.

The Boreas Hearth glows with warmth and holiday lights!

We have hosted over a dozen holiday open houses for our locals each year.

We will be having a full house at Boreas Inn this weekend.  The inn will be bustling full of Santa’s helpers!  Each year, our loyal guests come to Boreas on the first weekend of December to work and eat (and get a free night!) and make the Inn beautiful for the holidays. We drag out the decorations and make the tree (this year a perfect Noble Fir) beautiful.  We call it a Hanukkah Bush/Christmas Tree to be inclusive!  We will not be holding our traditional Open House on the second weekend of the year, but will be open for informal tours and will hopefully be finding a time when the Long Beach Peninsula Visitor’s Bureau volunteers can come to Boreas for a Open House to thank them for  their work!  Cindy and Robert Davis, Walter and Tracey Voll, Fred Humphrey, Odell Hathaway, Su and Ray Benson are among long-time Boreas friends and loved ones. Jessica and Chris Miller will also be helping out.  Chris is the new school district psychologist and Jessica is a teacher who helped us out over the summertime.  They moved here in June from Colorado and we have adopted them.  We are looking forward to the decorating, the potluck and the company.  So come see Boreas  Inn decorated for the holidays. We have rooms open for Christmas and for our New Years three day holiday weekend.  Take advantage of our “Walk-in” Special rate for all of December and January, except for one night over New Years’ when you will pay our regular price for that night.  We have included our Annual Dungeness Crab Cake and Champagne Breakfast for New Years’ Day! Make your reservations now!  We would love to see you!

World Kite Museum—
Originally uploaded by Bee Ah See

This weekend promises to be another fine World Kite Museum event in Long Beach, Washington! To honor Chinese New Year,  “China Then and Now” is a celebration taking place on February 7th and 8th from 10 am-4 pm at the World Kite Museum, right down the street from Boreas Inn. There will be exhibits including Chinese kites, puppets, stamps, hand painted silk and bamboo kites and photographs. You will be able to participate in cultural and artistic events. There will be Mah Jong games with demonstrations and “Make it and Take It” Projects with some of our finest local artists. You can learn to make Asian Greeting Cards with Annie Unwin, discover Sumic Painting with Chris Goodwin and the Kite Museum staff and volunteers will guide you in Chinese lantern making, Chinese knotting and Red Paper Cutting. So if you would like to see, experience and even take home a project that you have made, this event promises to be not only visually beautiful, but a fun and interesting experience in making your own souvenirs! It’s been warm and beautiful at the beach, so come experience a unique mid-winter weekend in Long Beach. We have a couple of openings at the inn and will set up your dinners at our local favorite spots. This will be a glorious weekend! (There is also a clam dig this weekend!)

Through the ornaments to the west gardens and ocean beyond.

The Garden Suite gardens blanketed in snow.

I think images will say much more than words.  We have had a series of spectacular storms–most unusual for this part of the Pacific Northwest.

Normal if You Live In Alaska!