Blueberry Season is upon us and here is the most popular French Toast casserole of the Westby House Inn.

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 loaf brioche or challah bread, sliced 1 1/2 inches thick
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup honey
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. salt
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Confectioners’ sugar
maple syrup(optional)

In a 13X9 inch baking dish, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Arrange bread slices evenly in baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, honey, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Pour over the bread, letting egg mixture soak in. Top evenly with blueberries and pecans. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Let chilled casserole stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover to brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Sift confectioner’s sugar over casserole. Serve hot or warm with maple syrup, if desired.

Mini-kitchenette and Continiental breakfast

Tower Suite offers detail, rest, relaxation and romance!

Looking for a new experience than the cookie cutter hotel?  A short 23 minute drive Southeast of La Crosse sits the Westby House Inn.  A popular Wisconsin bed and breakfast, this hotel alternative lodging offers the right levels of history, comfort and hospitality.  Choose from a wide spectra of room decor and themes from traditional to fly-fishing with all accommodations featuring private baths, a full breakfast in the morning to wireless internet access.  The inn was voted as one of the top 10 Best Inns in the Midwest by BedandBreakfast.com.  Visit the web site and see why many guests return every time their travels bring them to Southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. We will look forward to greeting you!

Chef Monique's Cooking with the Seasons

Chef Monique Hooker Blog Written from her Wisconsin Kitchen

Chef Monique cooks with the seasons in her Southwest Wisconsin kitchen located near the Westby House B&B, which appropriately is the name of  her cookbook.  She invites you to her blogpost where she writes; “Come join me in my kitchen for tips on how to bring seasonal organic foods into your daily life for a healthier earth, body and soul.  Check out the newest winter recipes at www.moniqueskitchen.blogspot.com

Toast in 2010!

Located close to major cities like Madison Wisconsin and Minneapolis the Westby House offers the romantic New Year’s Eve getaway for two that you are looking for.  Toast the new year in by booking  a Jacuzzi Suite in the Guest House or a roomy Suite in the Main Victorian-Style Inn.  Our 2010 New Year’s weekend special is a three-day stay with a 20% room rate discount on the third-day.

Wishing each of our past and furture guests a wonderful new year!

The Westby House can now be followed on Facebook and you can tweet us on Twitter.  Our Wisconsin bed and breakfast looks forward to meeting you on either of these social medias. Entries are made on a regular bases with the latest happenings, promotions and events offered at the inn.  Tweet us or follow us!

Atrium Suite in Guest House at Westby Bed and Breakfast

Westby House in holiday trim

Instead of the same old, same old, give the unique.  Gift certificates from the Wisconsin B&B Association may be used at any of the 200 one-of-a-kind inns.  The Westby House Bed & Breakfast, a unique retreat in itself,  is one of those 200 offering the right levels of history, comfort and hospitality. Certificates can be ordered online at www.WisconsinBandB.com or order a  Westby House certificate on the Westby House web site under the check availability/book online tab.  Ceritficates  are in $100, $150, and $200 denominations. You’re Unique, Give Unique!

Edible Antics – Having Fun with Food in Wisconsin (http://food-fun.wisconsinfood.com) Publisher Cristie Hurd got creative with the Pumpkin Walnut Crisp recipe from the Westby House Victorian Inn by substituting old hubbard squash for the pumpkin. The results were a sweet cinnamon and nutty flavor and healthy with the oats crisp topping.  This recipe is also featured in the just released Wisconsin Bed & Breakfast

Just Released B&B Cookbook

Association Cookbook  which can be purchased through the Associations web site or by calling the Westby House at 608-634-4112.  A bonus in the  cookbook are recipes from the associations annual cook-off,  in which the Westby House placed third. All cook-off entries had to include cranberries and the Waffles with  Cranberry Topping and Cinnamon  Cream Syrup is a wonderful winter breakfast delight. The cookbook is the perfect gift-giving idea for the friend or family member that loves being in the kitchen.  Cost – $21.95

Just released to the Westby House Bed & Breakfast web site is their latest video produced by the WeLoveWisconsin.com  folks  for the Wisconsin inn.  Take a 3 minute tour of the inn and the Westby Wisconsin area. You can view it right now by clicking on the white triangle below the picture!

The Westby House bed and breakfast combines the right levels of  History, Comfort and Hospitality.   Check out the inn’s Spring Solitude with an Attitude Getaway!

Escape from work or play, a quiet weekend, winter recreation or romantic

Parlor Fireplace

Wisconsin getaway, the La Crosse area is the spot!  Enjoy a comfortable  and peaceful stay, a great breakfast, right level of hospitality and  history, and an unforgettable experience, all offered at the Westby House Bed & Breakfast. The historic inn’s accommodations are invitingly decorated with attention to detail and modern convienences that make them a point of difference from the typical ‘cookie-cutter’ hotel. View the online room availability and reservation feature on the Westby House web site.

Make your next Wisconsin weekend vacation at the Westby House, where breakfast is an important part of one’s day.  And where we pride ourselves in doing our best to meet your special dietary needs.

Return to a Simpler Time… as you stroll into the Formal Dining Room for breakfast, you will take in the scents wafting from the kitchen of perhaps cherry sundae french toast, lime-peppered bacon, fresh baked muffins or Victorian House scones. Using the freshest ingredients available to savor your palette, you will experience Marie’s creative culinary talents in her preparation of the gourmet breakfast you will relish.  The table is set to make you feel like Royalty. From the English fine china to the knife rest and silver flatware, from the diamond cut juice glass to the coffee served from a shiny Silver coffee pot, you will feel like you have Returned to a Simpler Time of elegance.  We pride ourselves in doing our best to meet your special dietary needs by taking special time to talk to you one-on-one about those needs.  Another favorite of our guests is sharing recipes!  This baked oatmeal is the perfect winter warmer for any appetite.

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Baked Oatmeal - Visit our web site for more fovorites!

3 cups Oatmeal
1 cup Brown Sugar- packed
2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
1t. Cinnamon
1 cup Milk
1 1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
For variety, add diced apples, bananas, raisins, and/or nuts.
Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Grease a 9′ baking pan with oil or cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes. This bakes like a cake; insert a toothpick to check for doneness. Can be made ahead and held up to one hour in a warm oven.