When Phil and I purchased the Inn in July of 1987, we “inherited” an employee who is still with us, 21 years later! Ruth VanHouten has worked in almost all of the jobs that need to be done here at the Inn, from front desk to housekeeping to breakfast chef. A summer resident turned permanent resident, Ruth and her husband moved to Chesterfield in 1973 and raised their 3 children here, opting for the rural lifestyle over life in suburban New Jersey. Ruth has been active in the community and the schools, and has a keen memory for facts and details. She is the quintessential volunteer, and her latest volunteer job as Emergency Management Director for the town is practically full time.

When Phil and I were new innkeepers, Ruth was working as head housekeeper and filling in at whatever job needed doing. Ruth and I were always rearranging the furniture in the guest rooms, carrying things up and down the stairs until we got it “just right”. Ruth is very good with draperies and has a flair for decorating, so we spent hours fine tuning the look of each room.

When Ruth is welcoming guests at the front desk, we tease her about “interviewing” them. She has a knack with people, getting even the most reticent person to open up and share details of their life with her. Her problem solving skills are excellent, finely honed after years of working on “Destination Imagination” in the schools. She goes to great lengths to meet the needs of our guests, even to the point of lending her car to a gentleman who was stranded at the inn without a vehicle. Ruth knows everyone in town, and a common phrase at the front desk at the inn is: “let me ask Ruth, she’ll know the answer to that question! ”

When our first child was born in August of 1990, Phil gave me the gift of two months of maternity leave and Phil and Ruth worked together cleaning rooms, cooking breakfast, and running the inn. With the birth of our two children, Ruth became an honorary grandmother, staying with the kids when we were away, and occasionally picking the kids up or feeding them dinner when we were working. Even now, as high school students, the kids look forward to having Ruth stay at our home with them.

Ruth is an excellent cook, and her sour cream coffee cake is always a hit when we serve it for breakfast. Here’s the recipe:

Ruth’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Butter and flour a tube pan, Bundt or otherwise. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/4 pound butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Combine dry ingredients, add to above with sour cream. The batter will be quite thick.

Filling: 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Put half of the batter in the pan, sprinkle filling over the batter. Put remaining batter onto the filling. Bake

40 -50 minutes at 350. Let cool in pan, then remove to serve.

Autumn has officially arrived in the kitchen at the Chesterfield Inn. Chef Bob Nabstedt has created the Autumn menu; we can tell by the enticing aromas wafting our way from the kitchen.

A few of the highlights of the new menu are: the wild game sausages served on balsamic braised cabbage with ale mustard sauce, the roasted butternut squash ravioli with sun-dried cranberry butter sauce and the pan seared scallops served over fresh rosemary papardelle with the tomato, saffron, and fennel broth. To see the Autumn menu in its entirety, click here.

Seared Scallops on Fresh Rosemary Papardelle with Tomato Saffron and Fennel Broth

The food is a bit heartier, and the flavors more pronounced, to go with the crisp air and brilliant colors of the maple leaves. The sun is setting a bit earlier every day and we are lighting the fireplaces earlier against the late afternoon chill.

These crisp clear days are what New Englanders dream about as the warm days of summer pass and we prepare for winter. The garden’s bounty is harvested and the foods that we eat are a bit heavier to keep us warm. Rather than fresh vegetable salads, we’ll look for roasted squashes or root vegetables for dinner.

The desserts that we offer after dinner reflect the season too: warm apple cranberry crisp, pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce are a couple of the newest offerings. We’re experimenting with a pecan crusted pumpkin tart, trying to get it just right before it gets added to the dessert menu.

Even what we choose to drink changes at this time of year. Red wines seem to compliment the heartier foods, and we are featuring some delicious Italian reds at the mnoment. The one that I’m most taken with at the moment is an Anglianico from Campania. It’s full bodied, fruit-forward flavors compliment the savory essence of the Autumn menu perfectly.