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.

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!

Solitude on the Washington Coast

Ah, winter on the Washington coast. There are many reasons why this is the ideal time to stay at a coastal bed and breakfast Washington: the quintessential Pacific Northwest experience, the solitude, the cleansing winds. These come together to create something special.

For starters, let’s talk about the weather. When there is no expectation that the the sun will shine, there can be no disappointment if the clouds remain. You’ll arrive prepared – with woolens and gortex in hand – ready to celebrate the misty beauty of Pacific Northwest beaches. And if it does turn out to be sunny, think how delighted you’ll be.

Then there is the food. Winter is the perfect time to stay at our bed and breakfast Washington because it is always more satisfying to eat in the winter. We crave comfort food. We dream of drinking buckets of hot coffee. We are willing to loosen our pants just the teensiest bit. Our inn offers a unique dining experience, with food like no other inn we know. We use all the fresh and local ingredients we can find, including wild mushrooms, oysters from Willapa and Shoalwater Bays, and wild Pacific fish caught by local fisherman.

Go for a pre-breakfast walk on the beach to stimulate the appetite, or sleep in and spend the afternoon walking off your feast. Or forget the walk and curl up with a book and a view to the sea. The important thing is that you allow yourself to indulge in the fresh baked breads, Susie’s fruit entrees, and Bill’s egg extravaganzas.

The incredible beauty of the Long Beach Peninsula is present no matter what the season or the weather. Bring your walking shoes and explore Cape Disappointment State Park. Or stay close to the inn and visit the Long Beach Boardwalk and Discovery Trail. If you can travel mid-week, you may find you have these spots to yourself. Even during winter weekends, you’re sure to find few crowds and ample solitude.

So come experience the winter coast at our bed and breakfast Washington.

Photo credit: Colby Perry

Let me share with you some of the things that our Washington Bed and Breakfast does to stay Green:

• We use environmentally sensitive amenities (shampoo, conditioner, soap etc.)
• Our Bed and Breakfast Washington is very diligent about recycling everything we can. We also use biodegradable trash bags whenever possible.
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• Boreas sometimes offers “Voluntourism” or eco-tourism specials such as a wine package deal when guests volunteer to pick up trash off the beach during our Grass Roots Garbage Gang Beach Clean-ups that are quarterly.  These big clean-ups are attended by hundreds of volunteers who clean up TONS of trash along 28 miles of beach on the Long Beach Peninsula. Check out Boreas Inn’s newest “Voluntourism” Special on our Package page.  Guests can come anytime and participate!
• Boreas prides itself on unique dining, and as part of that we use as much organic produce & ingredients as we can.
• We ask our Bed and Breakfast Washington guests to hold on to whatever linens or towels they will use again to cut down on laundry water & detergent use. We do use environmentally sensitive laundry detergents and fabric softeners.

As you can see, we are committed to preserving not only our strip of coast but doing our part to spread the seed of conservation and sustainability to all those that cross our doorway. We hope to see you in Long Beach Washington soon!

One of the best reasons to get out of bed at our Washington State Bed and Breakfast is the breakfast! We present a multi-course meal using local and creative ingredients. Bill’s egg entrees highlight our local chanterelle, lobster, hedgehog, oyster or porcini mushrooms. We serve over 20 varieties of local, wild mushrooms each year.  We use smoked salmon, sturgeon and albacore caught by local fishermen from the Pacific and oysters from local Willapa and Shoalwater Bays. The homefries are seasoned with herbs from our garden.

We have sweet and savory dishes every morning, including pancakes with triple ginger and pumpkin, baked french toast with blueberries and waffles with lemon chiffon.

We start our unique dining experience every morning with fresh fruit entrees. It is a refreshing way to start the meal, as well as your whole day! An example of how you might start breakfast while in Long Beach Washington: a chilled four-berry soup topped with folded cream and chocolate mint from the garden. Wow! This Washington Bed and Breakfast also bakes their own pastries in the morning, using delicious and gourmet ingredients like pecans, macadamia nuts, and local cranberries.

Of course, no breakfast is complete without fresh, smooth and organic coffee. We also have lots of teas and hot cocoa!

We hope we will see you soon for some of our unique dining. Come for a Washington Coast Romantic Getaway!