Stillman Inn Blog

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T20:27:00.001-05:00

Fresh Baked Apple Pie

served this weekend at

Bernadine's Stillman Inn!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Hope your Thanksgiving Holiday was GREAT!

A special Thanks to all of you who have stayed with us! We look forward to seeing you next year!

We are especially thankful this year for our two granddaughters, Cara and Liliana!

They keep us moving and laughing all the time!

Stop in and see us this winter. Returning guests receive a 10% discount and we always have great midweek deals during this time!

Blog Special

Mention you read this blog and receive a complimentary bottle of champagne with your two night midweek stay!

Bernadine and her Mom are back from their "Tampa Tour of Tea Rooms" vacation!

They had a great time and brought home lots of ideas!

2012

We will be adding:

Wine in the Parlor (every evening)

Afternoon Teas on Saturdays and by special request from our guests during your stay

(24 hour notice needed)

2011-09-25T15:36:00.001-04:00

Fall 2011 - It's here at the Stillman Inn located in Beautiful Galena, IL

There is just no denying it, we are into Fall and it is beautiful here! Fall Festivals are beginning, we just had a civil war encampment event here down our hill and I'm taking what will most likely be the last pictures of this years gardens. All that work....!

We've just spotted our second set of baby squirrels for the Spring/Summer. They are just too cute and cause quite a bit of mischief around...not as bad as racoons though. We've taken the bird feeders down and set them on the ground since the squirrels end up getting everything anyway. Fun to watch our granddaughter try to say squirrel at 2 years old!

We'll start making pumpkin and apple pies, cheesecake, hot apple cider and by the way, a lot more people are have a smores fire these days here at the inn! Yummy!

I love the random sunflowers that come up around the garden, particularly under the bird feeder. It's just a pleasant surprise that I didn't have to plant!

Once the sedum blooms you know it's time to get your warm clothes out!

Galena IL has two to three civil war encampments a year. There was one this weekend across from Grant's home. You can see it from the Inn. As a matter of fact, I can hear the cannons going off right now.

Civil war encampments are a great thing for families to do. We used to go to them and was I happy when the guys told my son he couldn't use his phone or any other electronics while there. He loved it. He was usually a water boy during battle.

They regularly go through formations that were typical in the civil war encampments. Guests love to go down and ask questions, see how they make their food, look at antique artifacts from the time like uniforms, guns, old kettles, saddles, etc.

This is always my favorite. When they set up the little log cabin as it would have been in the 1800's. This particular weekend it was Set up especially nice with lots of knitting, quilts and sewing gadgets. I love the simpler arts. I won't say simpler life because it most certainly was not simple or air conditioned for that matter! There are a lot of artists in Galena that like to work with their hands especially in the area of fibers, mending and sewing, knitting, rug making...When I work on my projects I like to think what it would have been like for women in those days. It's kind of a touch stone for me like doing a family tree is to others.

By brother-in-law Donn is going to like this pic!

I had the rare opportunity of being able to leave the inn for a walk Saturday. I sat in Grant Park trying to finish up a knitted scarf when the train came by. Next to the train tack is a bike path. Lots of people riding bikes! And next to that is the Galena River. I was able to watch several canoes and kayaks go by. What a perfect day!

Then I walked to the farmers market. Tried to find "Pink Lady" apples. I've been trying to find them for pies because the description of them is so luscious. I understand they are an Heirloom apple and hard to come by. If you see any, send one this way!

Have a great Fall and stop on in! The colors are going to be spectacular in the next couple of weeks. Next weekend is Oktoberfest complete with wiener dog races and then the following weekend is our busiest weekend - Country Fair Weekend.

Mention this Fall 2011 blog and receive a complimentary bottle of wine with your two night stay!

Bernadine & Dave

Ahhh, September 2011

2011-09-16T16:00:00.002-04:00

Like everyone else, we here at Bernadine's Stillman Inn in Galena Illinois, we are wondering where Summer went. We actually like the cooler evenings. Great for having a fire with the guests and making Smores!

Mom was here this week helping me make more Strawberry Jam and Truffles. We have added the molded chocolates to our "Gift Armoire".

Just made Brownies and a Strawberry Pie for this weekends guests. Hope they love it!

Picked what will probably be the last of the tomatoes, green beans and green onions this year.

Also pictured here is some Pasta from Galena's new Pasta Store downtown. They have everything, even Chocolate Pasta.

Mom and I picked up the "Spinach Basil Garlic Fettuccine". It's a beautiful color and apparently all we have to do is add a little bit of oil or pesto to it for a great taste.

I also liked the pasta shaped like sombreros. You cook them and fill them up as an appetizer. Check it out next time you are in Galena!

Come See Us Soon! 815 777-0557
Dave & Bernadine

Lavender Frosted Cake

2011-09-01T10:21:00.000-04:00

Need a quick and beautiful cake for an event? Here's an idea our guests love.

Lavender Frosted Cake
Simply make two 8" round white cakes from a box mix (I know, but it is quicker)
Level them before stacking (important thing to do and you can find a leveler anywhere they have cake making supplies. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby)
Make your favorite frosting and add 2 teaspoons Lavender Extract (We get our extracts at www.kingarthurflour.com)
And add a touch of purple food coloring and mix well
Spread between layers and just on the top of the cake
Sprinkle with sparkly sprinkles and there you have it!

This weekend our guests will be delighting in our fabulous disappearing oatmeal cookies and a Pineapple upside down cake!

Plan your next visit to Bernadine's Stillman Inn in hitoric Galena and mention this Lavender Frosted Cake and receive a complimentary bottle of wine with your two night stay!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

The Grand Romance Room

This Weekend

2011-08-28T22:19:00.000-04:00

Guests enjoyed Fudge and a white cake with Laender Frosting this weekend.

Lavender Frosting:
Simply make your favorite buttercream frosting recipe and add to it 2 teaspoons Lavender Extract and violet food coloring. After frosting the cake, sprinkle with decorative sprinkles and a pinch of lavendar.

Lavender Extract purchased at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

Other than Almond or vanilla extract, you never hear about all of the other flavors available like orange, blueberry, banana, lavender. Check out King Arthur and be prepared to experiment. I've learned a little bit goes far in flavor, just like vanilla.

The Gardens are beautiful this year. All the hard work has paid off. This is our Zinnia bed and our granddaughter Cara, now 20 months old. She just loves following me around the gardens, watering and picking flowers apart.

We've been collecting rain water in a regular plastic garbage can. Does she love to put her little watering can in there and fill it up. Most of it ends up on her and not the plants but at this point that's okay! She is charming.

LAVENDER FROSTING: This weekend I made the guests chocolate fudge with walnuts AND a double layer white cake with Lavender Frosting! Yummy. All you need to do is add 2 teaspoons Lavender Extract to your favorite frosting along with a bit of lavender food coloring. Sprinkle on some pretty sparkles and edible lavender and you are all set! http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ for the extract and lavender.

We planted our own lavender this year. Thinking of having some garden tours next year. What do you think about that?

Thank you to all of our guests for staying with us!

2011 Flood

2011-08-11T22:57:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we had heavy rains for about 12 hours. Galena received 20" of rain in this amount of time. The Stillman Inn faired well with just a bit of water in the restaurant and in the cellar. No complaints here.

Some downtown restaurants were flooded with up to 6' of water in their kitchens. Guests parked in the lower level of the parking lot at the Desoto Hotel found their cars covered in water. The water did not come from the river. It was all run off water that caused the damage.

The flood gates were closed to downtown and as you can see a couple of the houses entering Main street ended up with water filled garages. It was quite exiciting for about a day. The waters receeded quickly.

East Dubuque was hit the hardest. You can drive around and see the repaired roads that were washed out and railroad tracks. What a mess!

Corn Relish

2011-07-28T15:56:00.000-04:00

This just in...Mom is in town for a visit - Yay!

Carol and Bernadine have been busy making and preserving "Corn Relish" and it is fabulous. Next they're making a strawberry pie for the weekend AND fudge!

More flooding on the Galena River. We had 14" of rain in the past 24 hours and the river has swelled further than we have seen in the 11 years we've been here. Photo ops everywhere! Pictures coming soon!

Did you know that "relish" is the French word for "salsa" which translates to "sauce". That was free!

These are some of the flowers from the Stillman Inn Gardens. Teddy Bear Sunflower and Zinnia's. They are really beautiful - come see!

815 777-0557 Dave & Berandine

Liliana Reyes Anderson

2011-07-23T12:12:00.000-04:00

Well, she is finally here....

Introducing our newest granddaughter "Liliana Rae", excuse me that would be "Princess Liliana Rae"! Born 7/14/11 at 7lbs14oz, isn't that cool!

Thank you to all of our guests who so graciously accommodated our weird schedule during this time. We may have been late for a couple of check-ins but we never missed a breakfast!

To Celebrate her arrival we made Oatmeal Cookies! Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins (or use butterscotch or chocolate chips instead)
1 cup black walnuts, coarsely ground or pecans
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 cups rolled oats

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Sift and add to the egg mixture above. Stir well
Grind the raisins up with 1 tsp of sugar until they are small pieces. Stir in oats, nuts, raising and mix well, drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Cool and remove to wire rack.
When cool, store in airtight container!

White Peach Lavender Jam

2011-07-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

We here at the Stillman Inn have mastered "White Peach Leavender Jam". We put this on everything from toast to pancakes and oatmeal. We've also discovered the huge and great Farmers Market in Dubuque on Saturday Mornings. Lots of great produce, flowers and crafts but nothing can beat the Amish made Pumpkin Bread.

We also dabbled in fudge again this weekend for the guests. It was gone in no time!

White Peach Lavender Jam
2 Tbsp Dried lavender flowers or lavender extract
1/2 cup boiling water
4 cups fine chopped white peaches (8-9 medium)
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
6 cups granulated sugar
1 Pack liquid fruit pectin

Place lavendar flowers in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over flowers and steep 20 minutes. Strain and discard flowers. OR use 1 tsp lavender extract in 1/2 cup water.
Combine lavender water, peaches, lemon juice and sugar in very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat and boil hard for 2 minutes. Stir in liquid pectin and boil 1 more minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam.
Ladle into prepared jars and process for 10 minutes.
Prepared jars means they have been boiled/sterilized. Check out a book on canning for details.

More great news - our second granddaughter is due tomorrow so she will be with us soon. Hopefully we will be free to both be there. If it's in the morning we plan on sending our guests to Otto's for breakfast! Hope they don't mind!

Enjoyed two great Garden Tours this weekend. Saturday was in Galena and Sunday was in Dubuque. Both were fabulous. If you have a GPS it's even more fun!!! Don't miss it next year. Sunday night we enjoyed the Drum & Bugle Corps Competition in Dubuque as well. What a busy weekend!

Two July Specials:

Purchase a 1/2 pint of White Peach Lavender Jam and receive a complimentary hand knit cotton dish cloth
Stay three midweek nights at regular price and receive a bottle of wine for each night you stay!

Neither of these specials can be combined with any other special we may have going on!

Fall is coming so make your reservations soon. This is our busiest time so if you want to stay and in a specific room you can't book too soon now! The colors are wonderful around here and the big Craft Fair is the second weekend in October. This, and all weekends in October require a three night stay. I'm tellin' you it's busy and fun!

Bernadine & Dave

It's Time For Dessert

2011-06-07T17:18:00.000-04:00

We have done so many new projects this Spring!

Look...freshly painted benches!

We have a new "Garden Loom" guests can be creative with. Go for a walk, bring back some special finds and weave them in!

A Cloth Cabana will be going up between the Inn and Wedding Chapel! This is going to be great!

And we have three bird feeding stations on the property. Just spotted a Baltimore Oriole the other day! Lots of yellow finches too! And don't forget the cardinals.

The Square Foot Gardens are Fabulous. Well, let's say one of them is doing really well. The second one, my new baby squirrels are chewing all up. I wonder why they are choosing just that box. Anyway, they are cute as the dickens so it's okay. I just keep replanting!

The Guests enjoyed the following last week:

Homemade Strawberry Jam
Homemade Fudge
and Homemade Lavender Infused Pound Cake

Oh my...I'm so glad they ate as much as they did or I would have eaten it all up myself!

Thinking this week will be Angel Food Cake with mixed fruit topping and perhaps some individual Fritattas for breakfast....yum!

Come join us at the Fabulous, Romantic and Historic Stillman Inn located across from General Grant's home and three blocks from Main Street. The gardens are the best they've ever been, downtwon shopping is great and the Weddings here at the Galena Wedding Chapel are divine! Just had an outdoor wedding in the front courtyards. Simply beautiful.

Strawberry Anyone?

2011-05-29T22:25:00.000-04:00

Bernadine's Stillman Inn - Best Bed and Breakfast in Galena!

We asked a recent guest how he choose the Stillman Inn. He said he googled "Best Bed and Breakfast in Galena" and we came up! Awesome!

This weekend I canned fresh Strawberries and made a Strawberry pie for everyone to enjoy. It was eaten up immediately. We also had fresh baked apple/cream cheese strudels. They were fabulous.

Guests love our "love cakes" (heart shaped pancakes) so I made these individual strudels in the shape of hearts. Wala..."love strudels".

New addition to our gift shop is "Bernadine's Homemade Strawberry Jam".

Last week we served Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Yummy.

Come and stay with us and enjoy the deserts. The pie was topped off with a clipping of mint from our new Kitchen Garden. Now that some wild animal has stopped nibbling at things everything is growing nicely! Come check it out! All sorts of fun things to see and smell in our garden. Ask for the tour!

Bring your friends and family and stay at the beautiful, romantic and historic Stillman Inn. Located across from Grant's home. Beautiful walk to main street. "Best Breakfast" and Best Innkeeper" awards.

Gardens - Spring 2011

2011-05-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, so it doesn't seem like much right now but just wait! This is the beginnings of our new "Kitchen Garden". Located on the lower level courtyard where only guests are allowed to go! We're using the Square Foot Garden method to create this soon to be delicious and good for you garden.

We will be using some of the harvest in our Breakfast Quiche!

Also New This Year is our "Garden Loom" presented here alongside "Mom"! We had fun putting this together. We saw a garden loom in "Backyard Crafts" magazine and decided we needed one. Guests are welcome to take the whole thing apart and weave their own magic or just add to what is there. For a quick fix we collected things from the park and just stuck them in for starters! This is going to be fun!

There are knew statues hidden among the gardens for you to come and find. This little guy is sitting in front of a plant that is grown widely in Galena. I need to find the name of it but it is great for rock gardens and spreads like crazy keeping the weeds down in areas where needed. It is a brilliant yellow in Spring - now- and then it's just a cute tufted plant through the summer. We will be gathering the seeds and packaging them up for guests who are interested in taking some home! Just ask for it!

And this is what I'm talking about when I say it grows easily out of the brick walls around town. Nice!

Let Us Not Forget the Birds! We are planning three bird feeding areas in the gardens this year. Sit on the porch and relax with a glass of wine or a cool iced tea while enjoying our feathered friends coming and going. Spotted a Baltimore Oriole a week ago. I understand they enjoy fruit so I'm trying to figure out how to make that happen for them!

So, Come visit the Stillman Inn in picturesque Galena IL. We specialize in romantic getaways and will help you plan the perfect vacation. Visit museums, art shops, walk the levee or bike the bike path. How about a scooter ride out to the local winery or a hot air balloon ride?

We can make it happen!

815 777-0557

What's Baking At The Stillman Inn - Galena, IL

2011-05-03T21:34:00.000-04:00

Best Bed and Breakfast Lavender Cookies!

These cookies are good any time, any where but they are especially scrumptious with a hot cup of tea and conversation with a friend!

Lavender Cookies
Ingredients:
5/8 cup butter room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg room temp
1 TBLS Lavender flowers from your garden or on line
1/12 cups all purpose flour
Optional Frosting: Mix a bit of water with some powdered sugar, sprinkle with sprinkles or lavender if you'd like.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets
Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat the egg and blend into the butter and sugar. Mix in the laavender flowers and the flour. Roll some dough in your hand and flattend slightly. Place on cookie sheet
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies to a cooling rack. When cool, pour a bit of powdered sugar mix on each one and top off with sprinkles, decorative sugar and/or lavender flowers if desired

Enjoy! These are just great!

Will You Marry Me?!

2011-05-02T00:27:00.000-04:00

Many people get engaged at the Stillman Inn. It is just the most exciting thing to hear about at breakfast! This brave couple, however, invited Dave to capture some photos of "the ask". What a delight they were! Enjoy the pics!

Bernadine's Stillman Inn - not only the perfect romantic and historic spot to get engaged in Galena Il but we also have a beautiful Wedding Chapel to seal the deal!

http://www.galenaweddingchapel.com/

Mississippi River Bald Eagle Watch

2011-04-07T12:40:00.000-04:00

The population of Bald Eagles has grown quite a bit since we first moved to Galena in 2000.

These lovely birds are easy to spot along the Mississippi river especially in the winter when the farm fileds are covered with snow. They are generally near the lock and dam just waiting for a good catch for the day.

Right now there is a family of Bald Eagles being webcamed in Decorah Iowa which is a short distance from the Stillman Inn. But...due to modern technology you can watch Mom, Dad and two babes 24/7 at this location:
http://www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/

So, check it out on the web and then come visit us! If you stay in Winter you can join any number of Eagle tours available nearby and see them souring above you.

Bernadine's Stillman Inn
A Beautiful, Historic and Romantic 1858 Bed and Breakfast Mansion located across from General Grant's home and a few blocks from downtown Galena. 815 777-0557

Seedlings and Soap

2011-03-26T18:14:00.000-04:00

Well, we have some seedlings started for the gardens and who can garden without a soap holder at the faucet?

Things slow down a little in the winter which gave me time to whip up some soap holders for the faucets at the Stillman Inn. Hopefully this will help when I'm gardening and someone walks up for a tour. I'll be able to shake your hand with clean hands!

I know, these beautiful bags will get dirty, but it's just extra yarn laying around and it was awful quick to make. I put in a bar of melt and pour soap from our gift shop. I think this will work nicely.

So, consider staying this Spring, Summer and Fall to monitor the gardens and help keep me focused!

Blog Special: mention "Seedlings and Soap" and receive a complimentary bar of melt and pour soap made by the lily white hands of Bernadine!

Gardening

2011-03-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

A Kitchen Garden - that's right! Going by the suggestions of Mel Bartholomew and his book 'All New Square Foot Gardening' we will be installing a kitchen garden this year. Can't wait to show you around it!

Enjoy these images from past gardens here at the Stillman Inn.

Happy Birthday Dave!

2011-03-05T14:11:00.004-05:00

Yes It Is True...on March 17th, 2011

Dave will be 65 years old!

"Happy Birthday My Sweetheart"

Dave has the Dick Clark thing going on and no one ever believes him when he shares his age.

He is a terrific husband, friend, father, carpenter, innkeeper, Christian, my goodness I could just go on and on about him.

Dave has been successful at many things in his life. He's a hard working and dedicated man. Right now I think his favorite thing is being a Grandpa, "Big Daddy" to Cara Isabella. And we have another granddaughter on the way! One of the things he truly enjoys doing is running the Stillman Inn. If you know Dave, you know he just loves, loves, loves people. His standard greeting is "Hi, I'm Dave, you'll like me, I'm a nice guy" and nothing could be more true. We have met so many interesting and wonderful people and made so many new friends here at the Inn over the past ten years.

Retirement: Yes, it's inevitable. One day I must have Dave all to myself. At some point he must agree to retire but I know he will never leave the inn unless someone else replaces him who is just as genuine as he is. This he would do to honor our repeat guests. We are going to start thinking about selling the place over the next few years. If you know of anyone who is worthy of and interested in taking over the baton, please let us know!

"Where will Dave go" you ask? No problem. We plan on staying in Galena near our grandchildren. The new innkeepers, whoever they end up being, will have our contact information so please, give us a shout and we will be happy to lunch with you! Mind you, we've only just started thinking about it, we aren't going anywhere yet so come see Dave for his Birthday year long celebration!

Proud Wife of Dave Anderson,

Bernadine

Happy Birthday Dave Blog Special: Two night midweek stay in any of our lovely rooms, mention this blog and get a pineapple upside mini cake during your stay. Dave's favorite! Good now through March 17th, 2011

Gifts from Guests

2011-02-22T21:24:00.000-05:00

Not too often but from time to time a guest will bring us a gift. Sometimes it's a gift for our granddaughter. What sweet people to do such a thing. It's not expected and it is a lovely surprise when it happens reminding us of how blessed we are to be in this business!

Thank You Dear Guests!

Last weekend we received a couple of really welcome gifts. A couple from Chicago talked with Dave on the phone long enough to know how we love the Greek lemon soup from Greek town. Wish I knew the proper name for it. And if you know Dave, you know how easy he is to get to know before you ever get here so this wouldn't surprise you!

To our surprise they checked in on Friday with two take-out orders of soup. Oh how we enjoyed that. It was like being in Chicago and brought back sooooo many great memories. Like the first time we met our son. He was 5 weeks premature and in the hospital. We were to adopt him so we went to meet him right away. Afterwards we celebrated in Greek town with our daughter and of course had our favorite soup and flaming cheese!

Saturday we had some new friends stop in with their charming family. They presented us with a lovely and delicious pineapple.

I quickly pulled out one of my favorite books "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket. In it she writes about her first experience with being gifted with this lovely jewel of a fruit. Not only does she discuss the symbolism of "hospitality" that it carries with it but she also discusses it as an art form and how we see it in crochet, prints on fabric, carved on furniture, in architecture, etc. Interesting.

On the web I found this description "The princess of fruits and the symbol of hospitality". I like that.

Dave loves, loves, loves, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and I make it for him every March 17th for his birthday as any smart wife would! Please enjoy this recipe. I bake ours in a round cast iron skillet!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1/4 cup margarine or butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (16 ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
Maraschino cherries,if desired
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granluated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Heat oven to 350. Heat margarine in 10" ovenproof skillet or square pan, 9x9x2 inches, in oven until melted. Sprinkle brown sugar over margarine. Arrange pineapple slices in skillet. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.

Beat remaining ingredients on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour over fruit in skillet. Bake skillet 45 to 50 minutes, square 50 to 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately invert onto heatproof plate. Let skillet ramin over cake a few minutes. Serve warm and, if desired with Whipped Cream.

Blog Special: Come and stay with us 3/17 and have a piece of Dave's fresh baked Upside Down Cake! Just mention the word "Pineapple" when you book your room!

Basil Pesto

2011-02-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

Bernadine in our kitchen downstairs

Frequently a guest will ask Dave, "Dave, what is that great smell coming from downstairs?". Well, it's usually the Pesto that I'm cooking with!

I grow Basil outdoors all summer. I can just clip away at the plant whenever I need some. At the end of the season I harvest all the greens and make one large batch of pesto. Then I freeze it in ice cube trays, separate the cubes into freezer bags (about 6 pesto cubes per bag) and in the winter, if I need some, I just pull a bag out of the freezer and let it thaw.

Here's the recipe I use most often:
4 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted or not
1/2 cup olive oil

Put the basil, cheese, garlic and salt in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped. Add nuts; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. If you need to you can add more oil to make the mixture fluid, like salad dressing.

Ways to use Pesto:
Toss with pasta or roasted vegetables
Spread on toasted baguette slices
Blend with mayo for a sandwich spread
Mix into mashed potatoes, meat loaf, casseroles or salads
Coat your favorite meat or fish with pesto, dip into bread crumbs, and pan fry
Stuff pesto into chicken breasts, steaks or burgers.

At http://www.lostartofdomesticity.blogspot.com/ you can see a blog about my parsley plant and what great success I've had with that. It's a pretty easy thing to grow! It likes shade/sun, mostly indirect sun, so it gets enough in our lower level living quarters from the patio doors all winter long. I snip it up and use it in soups, salads, pasta dishes and more!

Places To Visit In Galena

2011-02-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

Rendezvous Coffe & Tea shop...One of our favorite places to visit downtown Galena. I believe they opened in July 2010 and it's just a quaint, marvelous place to stop for some of the best coffee and/or tea you've ever had.

Say "Hi" to Steve and see if he will play a song for you. He's a great singer and writes his own music!

Mid Winter View

2011-01-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, maybe I was too quick on wanting to wrap winter up. This photo was taken from our lower level living quarters of the back patio. It was taken a couple weeks ago.

Tomorrow we are expecting 6" more of snow. We'll embrace it! Might as well.

The story of this Gazebo:
About 11 years ago about a month before we puchased the Stillman Inn we were in Galena on a brief getaway. We saw this gazebo at a local store, bought it, had it delivered to Galena, IL and needless to say a month later we purchased the Inn and had to move it back to Galena. This is the perfect little "bump out" spot for it. It looks great lit up at night.

This Gazebo is located in our private patio. Guests always want to sit inside of it and watch the world go by but for fear of losing our dogs and the kids wanting privacy we always kept this area fenced off. But NOW, the kids and dogs are gone and we're not as concerned about privacy so generally you will find the gates open and you are more than welcome to "sit in the Gazebo under a star filled sky"!

Dave Ramsey "Good For Your Budget" Special

2011-01-17T12:17:00.003-05:00

Yes, we just completed the "Financial Peace Univeristy" program by Dave Ramsey. Wow, it has changed how we look at money. We'd recommend the program to every one!

www.daveramsey.com

To Celebrate the completion of this goal we are offering you a great savings on our room rates midweek through January and this comng weekend 1/21, 22 & 23.

Stay two nights and get up to 30% off. That's right. You can see more details on our website www.stillmaninn.com under the specials icon. Great savings on midweek stays, just give us a call and say the magic words "Congratulations Dave"!

815 777-0557

Everything Is Sparkling!

2011-01-14T16:54:00.000-05:00

It's time to put the Christmas Decorations away for 2010. But we had to have one last look at the restaurant all lit up!

Did you know that we hold weddings and receptions in our restaurant?

Private Dinner Parties for 20 or more
Luncheons for groups
Birthday Parties
Retirement Parties
Receptions for 25-75 guests!
Baby Showers

Do you have an event coming up that wouldbe just perfect for our historical and romantic venue? Give us a call and let's talk about it! We'd love to help you celebrate.

815 777-0557

Stillman Inn Recipe Collection & IPAD

2011-01-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

Here is a recipe sure to please! It is one of our favorites. It's just a few ingredients and easy to have around for that surprise visitor! Enjoy.

Marty's Quick Fruity Dessert
1 Can of Fruit Pie Filling (like cherry or blueberry....)
1 Package Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix (small cake box, not the normal size cake box)
1/2 Cup melted butter
1/2 Cup chopped nuts - any kind will do

Spray a smallish baking dish (8x10 or slightly smaller, not a larger cake pan) with Pam or equivalent product. Empty Fruit Pie Filling into the pan. Pour Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix (dry) over the fruit pie filling. On top of that pour the melted butter. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour.

We recently purchased an IPAD. I must say it is challenging to learn something new but it has been well worth the effort. Bernadine downloaded a recipe book app and is creating a paperless recipe book. We are hoping it never crashes of course! Could you imagine????

Next step: back up the IPAD regularly!

Here is the next Blog special: Mention Marty's dessert and receive a complimentary bottle of wine with your next stay! Good through 2011.

1/11/11

2011-01-11T19:04:00.002-05:00

Doesn't he just look so cute! Dave is so proud of being a volunteer assistant to the Galena Police Department. Check out that uniform!

Dave, Protecting you and the Community!

He is just so cute! And proud to be a volunteer citizen working with the Galena Police Department. A very proud man indeed!

Things slow down at the Stillman Inn over the winter which gives us a well deserved and needed break from all the hustle and bustle. A chance to reflect on this years acheivements and as you can see, Dave tops the chart again. He just never stops!

Thought our friends and family would enjoy this one.

The "Dave is a volunteer with the Galena Police Department" Blog deal: Stay two midweek nights and get the third night 50% off! Now through the end of January. Does not include Holidays. Call today and mention this blog!

See you soon!

Bernadine

Figgy Pudding at the Stillman Inn

2010-12-30T17:22:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's true...we made Figgy Pudding and so much more here at the Inn for our family Christmas. Wish we had a picture but we had so many people and so much food it just didn't happen.

Basically we went to "You Tube" to see how it was done. Then we went to http://www.allrecipes.com/ to select a Figgy Pudding recipe of which there are many and they are highly varied in what goes in and how to cook it. This is the first time, and we just love first times, we have "steam cooked" something and it was very interesting. You can use the oven or steam the pan in a pot on the stove.

We got lucky. Our bundt pan fit into one of our old cast iron pots. The lid was tight and perfect. We did have to check it regularly and add water to the cast iron pot to keep it steaming. We were brave and used a bundt pan that we put lots of cooking spray and butter on. We had heard it was hard to get the pudding to release once cooked. But that wasn't the case. The only disappointment was when we went twice in the recipe to set a flame to it. It was a very small flame that lasted only seconds. We expected something bigger. Oh well.

It was actually quite good. It didn't take long for us to make an educated guess that "Figgy Pudding" is simply bread pudding. We had fun and it was interesting. Would only do it again for traditions sake...if we decide to make this a tradition!

So come and stay with us next Christmas and sing out "We won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some so bring it right here"!

Mission "Figgy Pudding" Discount: To celebrate our great success we are offering 20% off your midweek two night stay in either of the Fireplace rooms, now through January 2011. (Does not include New Years - Sorry!)

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011

2010-12-15T16:21:00.002-05:00

This has been a great year for meeting even more new people! We have thoroughly enjoyed being innkeepers and look forward to new relationships. We especially love our return guests! Always good to see a familiar face.

Thank you for your business and may you be blessed with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We sure will be...we're expecting our Second Grandchild. How special are Grandkids! Love it!

God Bless you and yours

Dave & Bernadine

Tuckpoint 2010

2010-10-27T22:44:00.008-04:00

**Tuck Pointing Special**

What a wonderful fall we are having...except the past two days have been very windy! Which may take care of the last of the colored leaves. But our pumpkins are out and the marigolds are still blooming. Marigolds, who would of thought they were such a great flower garden plant. They are under rated indeed!

Dave is finishing up his outdoor projects to include the excellent job he and Christian did tuck pointing the brick.

Hey, take advantage of our "Tuck Pointing" special! Stay two midweek nights, "ooh and aah" about the great job they did and receive a complimentary bottle of wine! 815.777.0557

Offer applies now, October 27th, 2010, through March 2011! Yes 2011, can you believe it???

Winner: Talk of the Town

2010-09-23T14:38:00.001-04:00

This just in! We have received the following award!

2010 CMUS Talk of the Town Award for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction

This award was created to showcase companies that excel in serving their customers and getting their high marks.

Congratulations to Bernadine's Stillman Inn and Staff

Fall in Love at Bernadine's Stillman Inn.....

2010-09-18T10:57:00.017-04:00

Fall is one of the most beautiful times in Galena and we are just waiting for the leaves to change and for things to cool down! Perfect time to fall in love with that significant other all over again! Or come by yourself and fall in love with Fall and Galena.

It was a busy summer here at the Stillman Inn. With all the heavy rains we had to re-design some of our garden walls. Sorry to guests who had to witness this mess! But the gardens are back up and running. Can't wait to see how the new plantings look next summer! We're shooting for bigger and better.

Holidays - just around the corner. The only thing better than Fall in Galena is winter. To see the hills covered in white is just breathtaking. The downtown sparkles with excitement when it is draped in snow. Don't worry about driving, they keep Route 20 nice and clean! So sneak away and come join us and receive our lowest rates of the year!

Don't forget to plan for the Spring Daffodil festival. Lats year, the first year, was one weekend oo late as most of the daffodils were already spent. But the City keeps adding more and more daffodils and the event will keep growing and turn into a real car stopper!

Blog Special: November 2010 through February 2011 (not including New Years and Holidays). Stay 3 nights and get the third night at 20% off and a compimentary bottle of house Chardonnay or Merlot! Just mention you saw this Blog!

Make your reservation now by calling 815 777.0557 or visit http://www.stillmaninn.com/

New Year - New Beginnings 2010!

2010-02-06T13:28:00.003-05:00

New Year- New Beginnings 2010!

Welcome 2010! So many things have happend already in the last several months! We welcomed to the world Cara Isabella Anderson on Decemeber, 17 2009. 7 pounds 6 oz, what a great Christmas gift for the whole family! They are doing great as parents and we love our little sweet pea so! Crying is not an issue for this little one, and she makes us all so happy. Dave and I are so proud to be grand-parents and are very proud of Jessy and Phil for being such great parents. Christmas at Crossroads was special, as we all sang and gave praise to the new born king and our new grandchild. It was very special because now we have Jessy's family to be with during the holidays, all the girls are having fun holding Cara.

Dave and I just celebrated our 22 years together, with all the joy going around this holiday we grow stronger as one. Snow is still falling and galena looks so beautiful during these seasons, it is a perfect picture type of town! Bonus is, we live here!

This blogger special:

stay 2 midweek nights

get the 3rd night free

code word: "sweet pea"

Summer 2009

2009-07-01T19:57:00.003-04:00

Everything is growing like crazy out here. I must admit, last years gardens here at the inn were not at their best. I suffered a neck injury which kept me down for about 6 months. BUT I AM BACK and the gardens are lovlier than they have ever been. We have some huge red geraniums in the back, a variety of annuals and new perennials up front and the pond on the side of the mansion is just too cute!

So, come, pull up a lawn chair, open that bottle of wine and enjoy the flowers!

Bloggers Special: Free bottle of house wine with your two night midweek stay! Don't forget to mention it when you make your reservation.

P.S. Most of the weekends in October require a three night stay and they are filling up so think "FALL"!

Bernadine

Come On Spring!

2009-03-14T11:32:00.004-04:00

Wow - what a long winter. We most enjoyed watching the abundance of Bald Eagles over the river. They were everywhere!

We've uncovered some very interesting architecture at the Inn over the winter. How anyone ever decides to cover that stuff up I'll never know!

We are now looking forward to dusting off the porches and setting up the perfect spot on the porch for relaxing. We have some great events coming up soon. One of our favorites is the Grant Birthday weekend. There's nothing like feeling your back in time when you pass by the encampment along the river or enjoy dinner with one of the General's from the Civil War! This picture is of Bernadine and Mayor Brush last year at the unveiling of the Julia Dent Grant Statue (the one everyone very affectionately refers to as Mrs. Buttersworth).

Our Blogger Special through the end of May is "A Complimentary Bottle of House Wine" with a two night stay and the mention of this Blog.

Hope to be hearing from you soon. Now is the time for a scenic drive - don't you think?

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-22T15:57:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our Winter Wonderland!

Galena is never more beautiful than when it is covered with snow! The white rolling landscape is like something out of a romantic novel. Skiing is close by and we are four blocks from some of the best dining you will ever experience.

We are currently working on our little hallway that is loaded with DVD's for your pleasure. We have uncovered one of the original arched entrances to the mansion and it is beautiful. Bring warm clothes, a good book and your skiis.

Our Blogger special is: A Free Bottle of our Red or White House Wine with your two night stay. Just mention that you read our Blog!

Spring Is Finally Here

2008-05-03T09:04:00.004-04:00

Wow - we made it! It's finally Spring and things are turning green all over the place. It's been a busy winter here with various "Inn" projects like painting, rearranging and decorating and the Inn has never been so beautiful.

The fireplace rooms have been redecorated and they turned out better than we could have imagined. We hung on to that old antique wallpaper long enough and by popular demand we decided to paint the rooms - they are stunning!

We've also put a whole new set of fluffy beautiful pillows out on the decks. A bit of paradise right outside the door!

Come and enjoy a relaxing stay with us this Spring and enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine on the porch swing!

See you soon................Dave & Bernadine

Winter Specials

2008-01-03T13:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome Everyone to 2008! Happy New Year!

Well the holidays are finally over and it's time to settle in to the rest of the winter months. We have been very busy around here at the Stillman Inn. Many tavelers braving the storms just to stay with us - how wonderful!

But...now things have slowed down as they always do in January. So we are offering our blogger guests up to 20% off your winter stay (Now through February). This offer applies to all two night stays (excluding Valentines Day and Martin Luther King Day) for the "Royalty II" and "Dreams Of The Past" rooms. Hope you can take advantage of this great savings. We'll even include a bottle of wine!

So - come on out and see us. It is simply beautiful around here with the snow covered hills!

See you soon,
Bernadine

Summer Fun 2007

2007-06-19T23:32:00.000-04:00

You can't believe how beautiful the Inn looks this summer. Fresh coat of paint, beautiful gardens, new patio cushions, exterior lighting, new breakfast items! It's all a bit much but we are having a great time here at the Inn!

The State has just painted the historic home right next to us and it looks fabulous. We've enjoyed the two civil war encampments we've had in Galena and Grant's Park is more beautiful than ever with all the fresh plantings and freshly painted fountain and Gazebo. We also have some new stores downtown including a couple of new antique shops.

Give us a call and make your reservation today for a "Bloggers Special" good now through the end of June. "15% off the Royalty II or Royalty III with your two night midweek stay"

And remember - if you are interested in enjoying the fall colors here in Galena, book your room as soon as possible because they fill up fast!

Dave & Bernadine

Innkeepers Convention

2007-04-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

We just returned from the PAII Innkeepers Convention in Myrtle Beach, SC. How exciting! We have so many new ideas we can't wait to share them with you all!

Anyone who has met Dave knows what a great communicator he is. Well it seems our son, Phil, has inherited that trait. Phil would go to breakfast early and visit with all the innkeepers and pretty much anyone who would listen. He caught the attention of the Keynote Speaker who was there teaching on communication and hospitality and was so taken by Phil's expertise in the area (he's only 16) that he mentioned Phil to the entire 850 guests. Phil was later invited as a special guest to this speakers mini seminar. What a blast!

The beach was beautiful and we had a great time on the ATV's! It's a great place to visit. Next year the PAII convention will be at Disney Land in California!

Here's our special for anyone reading this blog: Mention this blog and get 15% off your next midweek stay from now until April 30, 2007!

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

2007-02-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Wow - what a winter freeze we've been under. But Galena never looks better than when it is coverd in snow! Main street just glows at night with the amber lights bouncing off the snow covered buildings! Our guests have been getting good use out of the down comforters and fireplaces. Looks like the temperatures will be back up in the 30's starting next week!

We hope that you and all of your family and friends made it throught these cold months with no problems! Needless to say things at Chestnut Mountain have turned around and skiiers are all over the place.

Here is our current winter special just for you -
*****Visit us midweek and receive 20% off your stay*****

Come on in for a visit before things get real busy around here!

Dave & Bernadine

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2007-01-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

What a great year 2006 was. We look forward to seeing what 2007 has to bring. Most of the decorations have been taken down. Dave love's them so much I have to wean him from them slowly by leaving some of the lit garland up in the parlor and going up the keyhole staircase in the entryway. We'll leave it up for him another week or so and then we'll move on to Valentine's Day.

Skiing at Chestnut Mountain
Needless to say we have had a shortage of snow which has really hurt our ski lodge - but - the good news is we have had colder weather the past serveral days and that helps the ski resort in making and keeping their own snow. We understand they have the most snow making machines in Northern Illinois and that they will remain open when most other resorts have been closing down until the snow comes. So grab your ski equipment and come stay with us!

Valentine's Day
The perfect holiday for the Stillman Inn since we specialize in "Romantic Getaways"! Call now and reserve a room for the week of Valentine's day and receive a free bottle of Champagne with your stay!

Christmas at the Stillman

2006-12-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

The Inn is all decorated and just waiting for Santa to come! The Parlor is adorned with garland, lights, angels and a huge Christmas tree loaded with angels and burgundy and gold florals. We're keeping up with the bottomless chocolate chip cookie jar as best we can and having a blast with our guests! It's fun to see all those packages come in from purchases made downtown.

We love listening to Christmas music. Our favorite this year is "Music Box Sound of Christmas" by Porter Music Box Company, Inc.

Dave and I are getting excited about spending Christmas in the City and how exciting - our family has grown now that our son Phil has met his birth family! They are just lovely but there are a lot of siblings to think about now - 7! We welcome Victoria, Phil and all of their children into our family.

More good news: Travis has proposed to our daughter Becca. We will be having an engagement party before the New Year rings in. How wonderful. Here's to Becca and Travis this season!

Well, back to cleaning and cooking, shopping and enjoying this Holiday season. We hope you will join us here at the inn and take a moment to reflect on all the good things life has had to offer in the past year! To all who read this blog we'd like to offer a one time special - 20% off your midweek stay in January! Also, a complimentary bottle of champagne for those of you staying with us for three nights over New Years Eve!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

Bernadine & Dave