They’re here!  I have five great-grandchildren!  Less than two years ago I had none.  Kitchen Kettle’s family continues to grow and my role continues to evolve.

As most of you know my husband Bob Burnley and I started this little jelly business in our back yard in 1954.  Although it was Bob’s idea mostly, our children took his idea of expanding the “jelly factory” into a village of shops and ran with it.  By the 1970′s we  had 5 or 6 shops and now we’ve grown to 45 shops, restaurants and lodging rooms. About 10 years ago my granddaughter  decided to try her hand at running a business and she has become a full-fledged member of the executive team.  And now my grandson  is cutting his management teeth on the Inn at Kitchen Kettle learning all he can about the hospitality industry from an overnight perspective.  We’re still very much a family business.

With all this help my full-time job has happily dwindled to two days a week.  I still love to greet our guests, whether it’s in the Jam & Relish Kitchen or the Information Gazebo.  I still want to sit in on management meetings and huddles – it’s wonderful to watch those “kids” I knew take on daunting tasks of real estate development, sales budgets and future plans.

Lately I’ve been packing up what I still enjoy from my three-story condo and readying it for a lovely one-story retirement apartment next to my church.  I guess I’m finally ready for retirement – at least my definition of it.  The government says retirement happens at 65.  Well, that was 21 years ago for me.  I recommend putting off retirement as long as you can.  Anyway, I’ve taken the leap.  Please pray for me as I take in the fact that except for two days a week  my children and grandchildren can run Kitchen Kettle Village  without me.

So, about those five great grandchildren.  The triplets have arrived!  Thankfully everyone is doing fine, including Mama.  Sure wish I could be more help in taking care of them.  But I’m retired.  Like Kitchen Kettle Village, there are younger people out there who have more energy, more skills and more inclination.  They have no more love to give however.  There’s nothing like it – great-grandmothering.  If you just wait long enough…

Now it may be the winter time and I’ve traded my “front desk” clothes for painter’s pants but I’m still on the internet. A lot.

Sites like Trip Advisor, Bedandbreakfast.com, or our own booking engine for lodging rooms here are just a few examples.  They take up a lot of my time. A guest in Switzerland contacts me about a notebook they left behind. A guest from Spain wants eight consecutive nights and dinner recommendations. Even travel agents from Australia email me because their neighbor read a review somewhere that mentioned our property.

This kind of thing baffles me, but I often wonder about how such technology and flow of information sits next to the simplicity of the Amish and our surrounding culture. People are dying to come here, year after year. Maybe it’s the contrast of a smart phone in your pocket next to the growth of a seasonal crop; your vehicle next to a hand-made carriage; your values of life that are so wildly different from that of an Amish man. In society we gravitate to those that share our values but there is something in us that draws us to that which is so completely different as well.

From a lodging perspective, people want to escape; I get that. They want to get away from their work grind and to be somewhere else, there’s not much deeper than that desire. But this article that I read recently  in the New York Times seemed to hint at a deeper desire; for that of sincerity. The author argues that the internet allows us to escape responsibility and accept the virtual rather than the actual. It’s easier to be ironic in a facebook comment for example than to call up someone and ask how their day is. The article is mainly about irony, and as a former English major and somewhat persnickity, linguistic critic, I was excited to read this:

What would it take to overcome the cultural pull of irony? Moving away from the ironic involves saying what you mean, meaning what you say and considering seriousness and forthrightness as expressive possibilities, despite the inherent risks. It means undertaking the cultivation of sincerity, humility and self-effacement, and demoting the frivolous and the kitschy on our collective scale of values. It might also consist of an honest self-inventory.

. . . Robert Pogue Harrison put it this way in a recent conversation: “Wherever the real imposes itself, it tends to dissipate the fogs of irony.”

The Amish really come to mind with all these sentiments. They don’t hang clothes out to dry because it looks cool. They don’t get together for church on Sundays at someones house so they can take an Instagram photo and check-in online. They’re real and so irony disappears. Even Weird Al and his song “Amish Paradise” tried to the irony game here and all it is now is a cultural relic, not even a respectable legacy.

As someone who has worn costumes for the sake of a photo, made a couple too-many pop culture references and feigned indifference at the sign of one person’s enthusiasm, I find probably too much common ground with irony at times, but the article helps give me perspective.

The ending has a bit of a step by step guide, but it’s more of a reminder that sincerity is a good thing……..and that the Amish really aren’t that weird. They’re preserving a way of life that says what it means, and means what it does. There’s great value in such transparency and it starts to explain why folks come to stay with us here at Kitchen Kettle.

Don’t be like this guy, we’re so much more than a darn rap song!

The big kick off is happening February 3^rd folks and around our home that means it’s time to prepare. Prepare for what you might ask? THE FOOD. Because really that’s the best part about the Superbowl right? Maybe I’m just saying that because appetizer foods interest me more than the game (yes I know, call me crazy) who doesn’t like a spread of appetizer/tailgating themed foods?

Below I am going to list the recipes, where I found them and some tips. Sports themed parties are a chance to have fun with not only the food but the décor and unique accents that make it fun for you and your guests!

Buffalo Chicken Dip: Allrecipes.com

The description from the website fits it best- “This tangy, creamy dip tastes just like Buffalo chicken wings. It’s best served hot with crackers and celery sticks. Everyone loves the results”! This is a family favorite of mine. It might not be the most exciting and innovative recipe but it tastes delicious and always seems to be a crowd pleaser!

2 (10 oz) cans chunk chicken, drained

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup Ranch dressing

3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot)

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces

1 (8 oz) box chicken-flavored crackers

Directions:
Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

*I will not be serving this in a slow-cooker. From my experience just serving it in a casserole dish works out just fine! I will be saving my slow-cooker for the recipe below.

Photo Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Sassy Cocktail Meatballs: Kitchen Kettle Village, Kristine Grego

This next recipe was given to me from a dear fellow co-worker, Kristine Grego, who is our food specialist here at Kitchen Kettle. She always puts together such delicious and refreshing versions of some ordinary recipes. It takes a total of 3 ingredients…my kind of recipe!

1 (10 oz) jar Kitchen Kettle Hot Pepper Jelly

3 tablespoons apple juice concentrate

Cooked mini meatballs

Mix together the Hot Pepper Jelly and the apple juice concentrate. Place meatballs in a greased 9″x13″x2″ pan. Place in 350F oven until warm. If using raw meatballs, bake in oven until done, approximately 15 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs. Pour sauce over meatballs, and heat another 5-10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

*Costco has fantastic pre-cooked meatballs, highly reccomend.

*Serve these in your slow-cooker on low so they stay hot throughout the game.

*Have a small dish of tooth picks besides the dish of meatballs. If you’re feeling crafty cut out mini triangles (to represent a flag) out of construction or card stock paper with your favorite teams colors and attach with glue to the top of the tooth picks.

Photo Courtesy of kidoindo.com

Southwestern Layered Bean Dip 

I found this refreshing recipe from Eating Well. Not only is it tasty, but it also has a few health benefits. Eating Well describes the recipe as follows. “Plenty of black beans, salsa and chopped fresh vegetables mean a healthy amount of dietary fiber in this Tex-Mex layered dip. We use reduced-fat sour cream along with full-fat (and full-flavored) cheese to make the dip lighter without compromising great taste. Be sure to have lots of baked tortilla chips on hand when you serve it.”

1 16-ounce can nonfat refried beans, preferably “spicy”

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed

4 scallions, sliced

1/2 cup prepared salsa

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices, chopped

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack, or Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 medium avocado, chopped

1/4 cup canned sliced black olives, (optional)

Directions:

Combine refried beans, black beans, scallions, salsa, cumin, chili powder and jalapeños in a medium bowl. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish; sprinkle with cheese. Microwave on high until the cheese is melted and the beans are hot, 3 to 5 minutes. Spread sour cream evenly over the hot bean mixture, then scatter with lettuce, tomato, avocado and olives (if using).

*This is a great recipe to prepare ahead of time. Also because there is a lot to chop and slice, you will save yourself some time on game day!

*Place your tortilla chips in the oven for a few minuets to warm them up. The combination is AMAZING.

Photo Courtesy of eatingwell.com

Stout Brownie Pretzel Bars

Directions for the Brownies: 

4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate

8 oz Butter

1 Egg

3/4 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Cocoa

1 1/4 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Guinness

8 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1.    Melt 4 oz bittersweet chocolate & butter (in microwave or double boiler)
2.    Beat egg, sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes
3.    While eggs & sugar are mixing, mix dry ingredients: cocoa, flour, salt
4.    Add melted chocolate to egg mixture
5.    Mix in dry ingredients
6.    Add vanilla and beer until incorporated
7.    Pour into pan, then sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate on top of the batter
8.    Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until knife comes out clean

Directions for the Butterscotch Ganache: 

3.5 oz Butterscotch

2.5 oz White Chocolate Chips

1.4 oz Heavy Cream

1.    Combine butterscotch, white chocolate and heavy cream in a small bowl
2.    Microwave in 30 second increments, stir until melted and smooth

Directions for the Topping:

1/3 cup Crushed Pretzels

Flaky Sea Salt  (maldon salt works well)

1.    Top baked stout brownies with ganache
2.    Refrigerate until firm, cut and serve
3.    Top each piece with crushed pretzels and flakey sea salt

*I can’t have several savory appitizers at my party without a splash of sweetness to top it all off. Many people might not associate appetizer foods with a dessert but including a dessert will tie together your spread and create a well rounded selection!

*Cut these brownies in shapes of footballs, a cute detail that go great with a Superbowl themed party.

Photo Courtesy of blogger Hostess with the Mostess 

I hope you have as much fun as I did gathering recipes together for my Superbowl bash! Check out Kitchen Kettle Village’s Tailgating Pinterest Board to get some inspiration for your party ! (http://pinterest.com/kitchenkettle/tailgating-foods/)

My name is Brooke Lantz and I am the Sales Manager at Kitchen Kettle Village. I have been working here for almost six years, and my position has changed multiple times throughout years. The opportunities are endless here and I have done my share of jobs at the Village. It is hard to call Kitchen Kettle a job due to how much enjoyment I get coming to work every day. The words “I love my job,” still run through my head every day. It is hard to find a place to work where the owners keep a personal relationship with all of their employees. The Burnley Family does a wonderful job of catching up with all of the employees here and always knowing what is going on in our lives. Some places you go people won’t even remember your name, but with over 200 employees they are still wonderful at maintaining their reputation as amazing bosses!

I started working here when I was in high school and I worked at the Kling House Restaurant. That place left me with many memories. The crew of waitresses, chefs, managers, and server assistants were the best group of people to work with. The positive energy made for an optimistic work place. I made so many friends working there as well as many memories. The current manager, TJ Quinn, is one man I really learned to look up to. He is so skilled at what he does and he knows how to handle any obstacle that comes his way. He has a stressful job, as many managers do, but he knows how to keep calm and keep everyone happy. While serving one day at the Kling House, I waited on someone from Fox News. He was a producer there and did not inform me of his occupation. About a week later I received a letter addressed to me that arrived at the Kling House. I saw that it was from Fox News. I was confused as I opened the letter. When I started reading it, I was in shock. He had invited me to tour Fox News as well as offered me a position if I was ever interested. In the letter he stated that my personality was just what Fox News is looking for and that I resemble some of his co-workers. I was delighted at the opportunity, so my family went to NYC for one day. We were invited to watch the production of a show as well as sit in on The Huckabee show. It was such a great experience and I was honored by the invitation.

During my time at the Kling House I also would go to the Kettle Café and help out when needed. My sister Brittany, who is 14 months older than I, worked by my side at the Kling House and the Kettle Café.  We had a blast and loved the time that we spent together at work. The Café always had a positive atmosphere and was very fast paced. We often found ourselves joking and laughing with our guests which made a personal relationship with all of the customers.

Being “Simply.. World Famous”, our saying here around the Village is not a hard thing to be when you have such fun people to work with and such wonderful guests! Once March 2012 hit, I was offered a job at the front desk in the office. I was a little nervous moving out of foodservice but was excited to try something new. I quickly caught on in the office and loved serving as the “Director of First Impressions.” Answering phones and working in customer service are right up my alley.  I instantly enjoyed the office atmosphere and really began to get involved in the office. All the teams in the office made me feel right at home and were so encouraging. I was then offered my current position which is the Off-site Sales Manager. I take care of the mail order, shipping, and wholesale departments. In the beginning it was a challenge, but it taught me so much and I am growing every day from it. It has stretched me in every way and I am very grateful for that! I am loving the position and I am excited to share my new ideas and thoughts with the team!

Born and raised in Lancaster County I have been surrounded by the Amish my entire life. I grew up with an Amish School House in my back yard, a blacksmith to the left and dairy and tobacco farmers to the right. One of my old neighbors ironically even had a canning kitchen in her basement which I thoroughly enjoyed helping out with over the years. Needless to say I have  become immune to the Amish, their culture and the way they live their life. AAA Buggy Rides offers a chance to experience the feeling of being integrated with the Amish culture. I got a chance to take a ride with AAA Buggy Rides and was surprised as to how informative and breathtaking the ride was.

It was a sunny warm Tuesday in November and I was asked to ride along with some guests on a buggy ride to experience what a local might call a “touristy thing” but here at Kitchen Kettle Village is recognized as one of our popular experiences. When arriving at the front of the Village to meet our driver Katy and I, the photographer who took these beautiful shots, were anxious to get out and enjoy fresh air and get a change of scenery from the office.

Our driver Ben was a local Amish man who is full of knowledge and insight regarding different farms we passed by, the Amish community and the part they played in preserving local farms surrounding Kitchen Kettle Village. The stunning horses pulling our ride were originally race horses and a cross between a Dutch Harness and Standard. They are retired and now enjoy pulling guests around and making sure they see the beautiful scenes around the area. AAA Buggy rides can get extremely busy during the warmer months. At times Ben said that “we can have 10 buggies out giving rides all at once”. They offer 3 levels of rides varying from 30 min to 1 hour. They include a ride through a covered bridge and a stop at a local working Amish farm!

The guides, horses and carriages at AAA Buggy Rides display a unique experience that will capture you even if you are from the area. You will learn history that you might not find in books and enjoy sights that will take your breath away! Below enjoy just a taste of what my experience consisted of…

The Christmas season is upon us and as I promised in my last post here are a few shots of my home decked out for this magical time of the year!

Work shows up in different forms for us here at Kitchen Kettle. We’ve all heard tales of “our first job” here in the village and how we all wear “many hats” within our departments but defining our WORK always seems like it merits a longer discussion. I think if you ask Ross in the Maintenance Department what he did before his current duties of checking sewer pumps, orchestrating cleaning schedules for every inch of our grounds, he’ll tell you about his five-star ability to make beds and clean lodging rooms. If you ask me, I think I baked pretzels in some back room when I wasn’t jumping around in a rather primitively designed gingerbread man costume. It never felt like work, so I kept showing up (I was also probably only 14). Anyway the point of all that is to say we keep things interesting here at the village for guests as well as employees. The philosophy we take is ‘how can we make a difference for others visiting if we aren’t happy ourselves?’.

One thing we do to shake up our work day at this time of year is get together as a village to give back. You’ve probably heard how families come on the last Friday before christmas to get their “Christmas Dinner in a box” and how they also get toiletries and toys and how great of a feeling it is for everyone involved.

What may NOT get mentioned is how much fun we have putting this all together! Tuesday and Thursday of this week we’ll gather in the warehouse throughout the day and setup what on the surface, appears to be a rather ramshackle assembly line. There are boxes flying, bags passing from hand to hand, often times demands shouted and repeated. To a newcomer, it’s rather intimidating and disorienting. The best way to describe it would be like trying to get in on a round of “double dutch” jump roping at recess. If you don’t know what you’re doing, those ropes get tangled and now everyones laughing at you! Got the visual? Good.

Anyway, village employees drop in throughout the day to get this done but we can’t do it alone. Last year was the first year we got some outside help from a group called United Support Group from Lancaster City. They’re a non-profit that helps individuals with mental and intellectual disabilities find volunteer placements in the community. Well that crowd went through some rebranding and company changes through the year and we thought we lost them. But wouldn’t you know it, they called us up dying to help again this year!

“Some of the volunteers we brought last year, Kitchen Kettle was their first work assignment,” said Volunteer Coordinator Heidi Ludwick. “So for those guys, they knew exactly what it was when we mentioned we were going back and they were so excited to come back!”

Who knew having a warehouse full of soaps, toothpastes, Hello Kitty jewelry bags, and nerf footballs could help spread the sprit of Giving Back this much! Keep checking the Kitchen Kettle Facebook page for pictures and updates about the progress of Giving Back for 2012.

This is the first Thanksgiving I haven’t personally been at Kitchen Kettle Village in all the years since we opened in 1954.  I’m saving my old energy for the 9:00 closing time tomorrow night and a busy weekend.  For the last few years my granddaughter Michelle has hosted the family after work for dinner but she’s home in bed waiting for her triplets to arrive in the next couple of weeks so she has important things to tend to.  My son Jim and his wife will join me with my daughter Joanne and her son and fiance at the Belvedere Restaurant in downtown Lancaster.  They asked me for funny stories about past Thanksgivings so I meant to oblige.

In spite of reams of typewritten pages that will help jog my memory about Thanksgiving past, I choose to tell you about a recent movie I saw.  Ten years ago someone gave me a book called The Life of Pi.  It quickly became one of my favorite books – an allegory I think they call it – and I immediately bought copies for every individual in my extended family.  I was amazed to find the story so factual on the silver screen.  It should be subtitled “Survival” for the capable star of the show who demonstrates how knowledge, faith and perseverence can abide.

The movie reminded of my dear sister, Marty, who survived 90 years of physical problems and many disappointments to use her musical talents to teach all ages to perform well, to inspire her church in so many ways, and to bring joy and satisfaction to those less fortunate.  Marty died the week before Thanksgiving.  I will miss her.  In spite of my loss of Marty, I am thankful for having had two loving sisters who shared many happy days with me.  To this day when I share a meal in the Kling House Restaurant the memories of three small girls growing up in that house flood with me joy.

I hope you found that same  joy during this Thanksgiving holiday and the glorious season ahead brings God’s peace and contentment to all.

Although bus drivers and tour guides may head straight for the bathroom or simply a quiet corner away from all the noise, the cookie counter in the Bake Shop is a close 2nd. They need their free stuff and we’re happy to provide it for them if they continue to introduce new people to our simple way of life here in Lancaster.

When they’re here, they always check for friendly and familiar faces; one of them is Ruth Lapp. Coming into her 20th year with us here in the village, she often can’t believe it herself. “These people walk up and they say ‘You’re still here! That’s great!’ and I almost start to blush,” she says as she moves around the chocolate chip and the soft molasses cookies. “It’s like seeing old friends”.

Ruth, along with Marcia who’s been here since ’76, Phyllis since ’74, Gladys since ’86, and Martha since ’97, has racked up quite the years here slingin’ dough. For Ruth, it’s the stories that keep her coming back. “I love seeing the repeat guests; the ones that remember me. I had a lady today say she keeps trying to make her own soft molasses cookie but just can’t come close to the way ours taste.”

The view from a cubicle or a desk chair can often get a little monotonous and Ruth’s view has definitely not been that. With the Bake Shop changing ovens and adding space, the Jelly Room always adding new goodies like bacon pickles, it’s long-time employees like Ruth that help us remember our roots. She gazed across the sales floor and reflected on where the registers used to be, and how it was she and Grammy who rang up the jars and packed ‘em into shopping bags.

Times are a changin’ that’s for sure……..they even have two “panic” buttons at the cookie counter nowadays!  I didn’t believe her when she told me so to prove it, she pressed it and wouldn’t you know it, here came Phyllis with a little jog in her step.  “Well now we can’t just press it because we want to, you have to buy something now!”

You can’t fault us for our precision. “The worst is that on Saturday, the batteries were going dead so it went off three separate times and I never even touched it!” said Ruth. “I guess that’s a way we have fun down here in the Bake Shop”.

As a lodging guest, you can get your own box of a dozen cookies on Saturday nights. As a guest to the village, your cookie choices never go out of style! Stop by and say hi to Ruth, Marcia or Phyllis some day when you come to visit

Experiencing my first Christmas as a married woman fills my heart with excitement and makes me get all giddy inside! The Christmas season has always been my favorite time of the year growing up. Decorating the house and tree, cookie baking, spending time with family and friends, enjoying scents and smells of the season and watching traditions play out year after year are just a few of the reasons I will always cherish this time of the year.

One of my favorite traditions growing up was getting our Christmas tree. Every year my Mom’s entire side of the family (all 25 of us) travels to a cabin in the mountains around 3 hours away from home to celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s been a tradition ever since my mom and her 3 sisters all got married which is over 30 years ago! The last day that we are at the cabin all the men leave to hunt for the week and the women pack up the cabin and head to a Christmas Tree Farm out in the boondocks. The tree farm is situated on a beautiful mountain. It looks like a scene straight out of a movie! It’s then time to hunt down the perfect tree. After picking out a tree we get some help to cut them down and tie them onto the roof of our vehicles and off we go! The caravan of vehicles traveling 3 hours back home all with Christmas trees on the top was quite a sight, but a sight that I will always remember and reminisce over.

This year my goal for our first Christmas is to establish new traditions, ones that will stick with Dustin and I throughout the years. Whether its a fun breakfast Christmas morning or a unique memory that we can establish. If you happen to have a special tradition you would like to share please pass it on! I am open for ideas!

Below is a picture of a craft I will be doing this week after the hubby and I get our tree! How unique is this!? And simple. Just cut off a sliver of the bottom of your first Christmas tree, place a hole on the top of the ornament, string a pretty ribbon through and write “Our First Christmas Tree-2012″ voila!!

(Found this craft on Pinterest!)

My next post which will be published the week of Christmas will feature my holiday decorations. They are still under way and have much to be desired at the moment but give me a week or two and I’m hoping to have my ducks in a row!  In the meantime if anyone has inspirational ideas for decorating for the holidays please pass them on!

* send comments and ideas to cgiffing@kitchenkettle.com*

I have some exciting news i would love to share with you all! Last week Dustin and I added a member to your family! Meet Bailey! She is a female Labradoodle who is FULL of energy. Besides a chewed computer charger cord we are loving the experience. She is keeping us on our toes and forcing us to get up early and get our day started. She enjoys playing outside, chewing our shoes and taking naps