Maternity Department

I am thrilled to share with you Rosario Resort's Maternity Department - from left to right, Ioulia Yerly, hostess in the Mansion Dining Room (due April 14), Camille Donaghue, Restaurant Manager (due April 7) and Danielle Sigler from the Front Desk (due April 14). Missing from the photo (yes, there are four!) is Cristal Carreon from Housekeeping. They are all expecting girls! I don't remember any Orcas Island power outages last July... there must be something in the Orcas Island water!
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Aloha

Speaking of dockhands, many of you who that have visited the Rosario Resort Marina know my daughters Jenole and Cara. They have worked the last two years on the docks and wanted to send their "aloha" to everyone at Rosario on our recent trip to visit family in Hawaii.



The next photo from Hawaii is me (Christopher Peacock) and speaks for itself!



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Happy Easter

I’d like to share with you photos from today’s Easter Brunch at Rosario Resort & Spa. Executive Chef Lutz and his staff put on quite a feast! First, let me say the Easter Bunny really does exist, as evidenced by this first photo. For those of you that boat to Orcas Island and the Rosario Marina, you may recognize our dockhand Erik Hansen!


Erik was joining his family, hosted by former Rosario owner Sarah Geiser (center back), and Rosario’s next door neighbor Kay Whiting (foreground, left).


The Tapa and Starter table was elegant!


The highlight was the incredible Poached Salmon.


Chef Lutz presents the Salmon on Saffron Cream.


It’s always nice to see so many Orcas Island residents (“locals”) enjoying the brunch, including Rosario founder Robert Moran’s great granddaughter Patty Moran-Hodge (with husband Terry) and their children Winslow and Melissa (Robert Moran’s great, great grandchildren!!!).


Banquet Chef Greg Naylor mans the carving and omelet station.


Finally, Pastry Chef Felicity Milne once again outdid herself with a huge chocolate Easter Sculpture featuring the Easter Bunny (with carrots in the garden) and a newly hatch Easter Chick! As I was playing the piano a few feet away, I can attest that the dessert table was always crowded!




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Daffodils

My very first post on this blog was of our first snow in December. It is now officially spring and a beautiful spring day indeed on Orcas Island. I watched a wonderful independent British film last night called "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" (highly recommended), in which the characters where quoting William Wordsworth. As I walked up to the Moran Mansion at Rosario Resort this morning, the setting was a vortex of spring, daffodils and William Wordsworth!

Daffodils
by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A oet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.


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Beaujolais Poached Pear Dessert Recipe

In the early 1900's, fruit farming had become one of the main commercial enterprises on Orcas Island. Pictured on the left is Jimmy Geoghegan picking a pear from the family orchard in 1919 (photo courtesy of the Orcas Island Historical Museum). Fruit orchards were being planting all over the island as it was soon discovered that the island climate and soil were perfect for fruit trees. Soon, steamships leaving Orcas Island were loaded with wooden barrels and boxes of fruit on their way to market. The photo below shows an early orchard in the heart of Eastsound in 1900.

Old fruit trees and apple barns from this early Orcas Island industry are still visible around the island today. In honor of this early industry, Rosario's Pastry Chef Felicity Milne is sharing her "Beaujolais Poached Pear" dessert recipe... thanks Felicity!



BEAUJOLAIS POACHED PEARS

6 servings

Poached Pears
1 LT. bottle Beaujolais wine
4 cups basic red table wine
4 cups sugar
4 oranges, zest and then juice
½ TB whole peppercorns
1 tsp whole cloves
6 pears, peeled with stems left on

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the peeled pears.
Lay a piece of parchment paper over the pears, weigh it down with something light to help keep pears below the surface.
Reduce heat to just below a simmer and poach for about 45 minutes -1 hr or until tender. (It depends on the ripeness of the pears.)
Remove pears, stand upright so that they settle and flatten on the bottom. Chill.
Return the poaching liquid to the heat and simmer until reduced by half and thickened.
Chill the sauce. (It can be kept chilled for up to 2 weeks)

Pistachio Gorgonzola Wafers
4 oz. butter, room temperature
8 oz. Gorgonzola, crumbled
1 cup flour
¾ cup pistachio nuts
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375’
Combine butter and cheese in a food processor and blend until creamy. Add flour, nuts and salt. Process until the nuts are chopped and dough comes together.
Form into cylinders, wrap in plastic wrap and chill. When firm, cut or slice into desired shape and bake on parchment lined sheet pan until golden brown and crisp.
Wrap remaining dough and chill or freeze for future use.

To Serve:
Place a poached pear in the center of each plate, pour a bit of the reduced Beaujolais sauce over the pear.
Lay the pistachio gorgonzola wafer next to it.
Sprinkle dessert with chopped pistachios.




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Plan Easter Brunch at Rosario

Easter is a week away and so is Rosario Resort's fabulous Easter Brunch!



Rosario Easter Brunch Buffet
Serving 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
$36 adults
$12 for children 11 and under
5 and under eat free
Reservations, please - 360-376-2222

Salads and Starters
Asian Grilled Chicken Wonton
Classic Caesar and Garden Greens
Pacific Ceviche
Grilled Vegetable Antipasti
Whole Poached King Salmon and Smoked Salmon
Gravlax
Assorted Tapas
Country Mousse Pate
Cambozola and Brie En Croute
Maple-Acorn Bisque

From The Mansion Chefs
Pasta Station
“Eggceptional Omelets”
Honey Glazed Country Ham
Beef Wellington, Sauce Bearnaise

The Main Fare
Chicken Picatta
Salmon on Saffron Cream
Herb Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Demi
Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Felicity’s Easter Treats

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February Employee of the Month

Deena Stitt of Engineering is Rosario Resort's Employee of the Month. Congratulating Deena are Director of Engineering Kirk Troutman (left) and General Manager Dan Dohner (right). As mentioned in a previous post, we refer to Deena as our “Director of Paint." After being a dental assistant and 20 years in construction around Tacoma, Deena moved to Orcas Island last July and has had a paint brush in her hand ever since. She says coming to Orcas Island “was the best move of my life.” Congratulations Deena, we are lucky to have you here at Rosario!
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Trumpeter Swans

350 ft. above Cascade Bay and Rosario Resort's marina sits Cascade Lake in Moran State Park. A beautiful 3 mile hike around the lake is just steps away from our guest rooms. As a bonus, the lake has been home to trumpeter swans the past few winters. Here are some beautiful photos of the swans taken by Rosario's Phillip Bose:







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Moran State Park Trail Clean-Up

Over a year ago, Orcas Island looked like it was hit by a major windstorm, trees down and branches everywhere. But the damage was not done by high winds, but heavy snow. Many of Moran State Park's trails were impassable and camp sites were in ruins. At the same time, many travel publications were writing articles about "voluntourism," vacations coupled with volunteering. This gave birth to Rosario Resort's "Take a Hike, Clear a Trail, Enjoy a Vacation" Package. Rosario Resort partnered with Moran State Park to offer guests a chance to volunteer in trail cleanup efforts while vacationing at our historic resort at a discounted rate. A year later, this program has garnered national awards, including the Gold Award in the Aaron D.Cushman/Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Travel Public Relations awards for “Best Overall Marketing Campaign" and a Bronze Adrian Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. Recent articles in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Sunset Magazine have sold out our April and May Park Clean-up weekends!


"Voluntourist" Linda Meriwood, from Gig Harbor, helps widen a trail on the Cascade Lake Loop in Moran State Park on Orcas Island.


March 1st Park Clean-up participants meet in the lobby to gather gloves and refreshments before hitting the trails. Even though April and May Park Clean-up weekends are sold out, sign up early for their return the first Friday/Saturday of October, November and December. Everyone feels great after a morning of doing community work in beautiful Moran State Park!

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A Vacation Paradise

I have not posted for a few weeks due to taking a vacation. You might be wondering where someone from Orcas Island goes on vacation to relax… the city, of course! Actually, I was in Honolulu visiting my in-laws and although the warm weather and beaches were nice, the crowds and traffic of the city were far from relaxing. When we drove back on to Orcas Island, my wife exclaimed, “now this is what I like!”

The day I arrived back at Rosario Resort I met our new Banquet Chef Greg Naylor, who had just arrived from San Diego. He was running around taking pictures and telling everyone how beautiful it is here. His excitement was infectious and made me realize that if I truly want to relax on vacation, I should just stay here on Orcas Island!

I hope to see you all relaxing here soon. Below are a few of Greg’s photographs. Thanks for sharing them Greg and welcome to Rosario!

Christopher







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