This weekend marks the official beginning of cheese making workshops at Lonesome Hollow. Today we set up the workshop in preparation for 26 workshop attendees who will begin learning the art of cheese making tomorrow morning.

workshop set up for cheesemaking

 Steve the Cheesemaker, from Cedarburg, WI teaches the class. In 2009 Steve conducted four workshops at Lonesome Hollow, and this year he has signed on for another four. The 2009 workshop attendees came from as far away as Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, California, Virginia and Texas. The class will make its own soft cheeses overnight and will go home with some cheese that they helped to make. 

November Cheesemaking Graduates

Other cheese making workshops at Lonesome Hollow are scheduled for the weekends of May 22/23, July 10/11 (already sold out), and Nov 13/14. Call Steve at414 -745 -5483   to reserve a place in the workshop, and call Pete or Nora at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow for your lodging.

The world is a better place because of cheese!

The Inn at Lonesome Hollow is delighted to announce three culinary workshops this year featuring  chef Monique Jamet Hooker.  Participants in any of the 3 culinary workshops staying  2 nights at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow will get a $50 discount on their stay.  The first workshop this year is April 17th and 18th, and will be “Pates and Sausages”.  Learn how to make Pate de Campagne, garlic sausage, onion brats and more!

 Culinary workshop attendants can choose several ways to participate: from a full weekend, starting Friday night through Sunday, which includes 2 dinners, lunch, and Sunday brunch, to a shortened workshop on Saturday, which includes lunch.  The workshop will be located at Monique’s kitchen at her log home, which is nestled in the woods on a bluff above the Mississippi River.  Included with the workshop will be Monique’s award winning book,  Cooking with the Seasons, which introduces readers to over 200 recipes that emphasize seasonal distinctions of taste, texture, and color.

Monique Presents her Delicious Fare

Acclaimed chef Monique  came to the US from France in the sixties and took a position in her brother’s restaurant in New York state before moving to Chicago where she made a name for herself as a food stylist and caterer.  She also began teaching classes for people eager to recreate her art in their own kitchen. In 1983 she opened Monique’s Cafe’ in Chicago’s North River district which has since become the premier dining area in the city.

Since Monique has “retired” to the hills of Southwest Wisconsin,  she has been a spokesperson and chef with Organic Valley Cooperative, and is a frequent guest on “WPR’s “Here on Earth” and continues to teach, lecture and demonstrate the “art of seasonal cooking”.

Additional Lonesome Hollow workshops with Chef Monique Hooker will be November 5th-7th:  “All About Duck”-Roasted, Confit, Foie Gras, and more;  December 3rd-5th: “Chocolate and More Chocolate”-Cake, Truffles, Glaze, Dipping and more.

Photo by Jerry Quebe

In southwest Wisconsin, in the heart of the Kickapoo Valley, in the heart Wisconsin’s famed Driftless Area – lies a wonderfully rural and elegant bed and breakfast – the Inn at Lonesome Hollow. Lonesome Hollow is 160 mostly forested acres; it is one of the quietest and most peaceful settings you will ever find; it is a place of rugged landscape and abundant wildlife; it is the perfect setting for a romantic getaway.

We have put together a special winter romantic getaway for the months of January through March, 2010. Enjoy our newest, most spacious, and most private suite, the Upper Homestead Suite. This suite is located in the back of our private valley, out of view of any other building. The views are spectacular, with 300 ft high hills surrounding the Homestead house on three sides. The winter landscape is gorgeous. This suite offers a king bed, a large living room with fireplace, a spacious bath with separate whirlpool room, and a full kitchen. The living room’s floor-to-ceiling picture window looks out over the wooded, winter hillsides. 

Built in 2005, The Homestead Offers Deluxe Accomodations

This special package includes: a dozen red roses, full country breakfasts served either at the main Inn or at your suite; one wine and cheese appetizer;  one catered dinner – your choice of six entree items from a great local restaurant – served in your suite; and complimentary use of snow shoes for those winter days when snow conditions allow.

Enjoy Breakfast and Dinner in Your Suite

If you so desire, you never have to leave the suite for your stay. Celebrate your special day – birthday, anniversary, engagement, …  and stay warm and cozy in magnificent surroundings. The price for this special romantic stay is $349 for a one night stay or $499 for a very relaxed two night stay. 

We will do everything possible to make this an unforgettable time of peace and love.

Pete and Nora

Chicago area photographer, Bob Denny, will be hosting another of his digital photography workshops on Oct.31 – Nov.1 at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com) located in rural, scenic Southwest Wisconsin.  The workshop will include: classroom instruction on basic digital SLR camera controls; outdoor shooting of late fall colors in the beautiful Kickapoo Valley and Driftless Area that surround the Inn at Lonesome Hollow; indoor shooting utilizing artificial lights and backgrounds; and photoshop image manipulation and printing.

Bob has offered his photography workshops at several different locations in Wisconsin over the past four years. Several of the workshop attendees regularly come back for more learning experience at subsequent workshops. His workshops are noted for the teaching of manual control of SLR digital cameras, artistic photo composition, and the production of quality prints.

To sign up for the course, contact Bob at www.bobdennyphoto.com. Space is still available. The Inn at Lonesome Hollow is offering special lodging pricing for this workshop – save $50 on a two night reservation. Lodging availability is shown at www.lonesomehollow.com, or call Pete and Nora at 608-624-3429.

A very good apple harvest is underway in the famed apple growing area surrounding Gays Mills, Wisconsin. Last week the orchards brought in the highly desired Honeycrisp apples, so a good supply of these sweet, crisp apples is readily available right now. Other late maturing apples will continue to be harvested for a while. Several of the orchards have very neat gift shops associated with their businesses and it’s a blast to browse the shelves for eclectic soup mixes, locally made maple syrup and honey, pumpkins, and of course for specialty Wisconsin cheeses.

Our favorite set of orchards, four in all, lie on Wisconsin Hwy 171 between the village of Gays Mills on the west and US Hwy 61 on the east. Sunrise, Kickapoo, Fleming and Hillcrest orchards have all been in business for many years. Some of these orchards have their own bakeries, and there is a separate bakery – Apple-icious Pie Depot. Apple pies, apple pizzas, apple donuts and way more are produced in their ovens daily.

Sept 26 and 27 are the dates of the annual Gays Mills Apple Fest. Festivities will include a flea market, arts and crafts show, live music, parade, and great food. Beyond apple fest weekend some of the orchards will stay open into December, making them a prefect spot to continue making apple and specialty gift purchases. The Inn at Lonesome Hollow - www.lonesomehollow.com – is located only a few miles from the orchards. Stay for a night or two, visit the orchards, and take in the spectacular fall colors while in the area.

On Friday and Saturday nights, July 24 and 25, the Inn at Lonesome Hollow (www.lonesomehollow.com) hosted a group of eleven friends from the Milwaukee area. Lonesome Hollow hosts many family get togethers and group outings, but this one was very special – the group drove here from Milwaukee in six vintage MG-B convertibles. Tim and Kathy Bradley organized this outing for the group.

On Friday evening the group enjoyed dinner at Country Gardens restaurant in Soldiers Grove, only a five mile drive from the Inn. On Saturday the group visited Vernon Vineyards and tasted the wine out on the scenic vineyard grounds near Chaseburg. Dinner on Saturday was cooked at the Homestead suites of Lonesome Hollow and included steaks purchased from Kickapoo Locker in Gays Mills. A Saturday night campfire capped the day for this fun group.