In punch bowl combine berries, sugar and wine. Let stand for 30 minutes. To serve, add lemonade concentrate and pineapple juice and soda. Serve over ice. Enjoy!

Pink Lemonade
4 oz. Mount Hope Pink Catawba
2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
2 oz. Orange Juice
2 oz. Simple Syrup
Lemon Slice
Cherry

Serve over ice in goblet. Garnish with lemon slice and cherry. Enjoy!

Mount Hope Sangria Wine Punch
1 Bottle Mount Hope Sangria
1 Quart grape juice
1 Quart pineapple juice
1 Quart cranberry juice
1 Can Lemon/Lime Soda
Splash Vanilla Extract
Orange, lemon and lime wedges

Combine all ingredients. Serve over ice. Garnish with fruit. Enjoy!

Sample some great wine and experience the PA Renaissance Faire when you book the PA Ren Faire package at the Country Inn & Suites Manheim.  Package includes hotel accommodations, deluxe continental breakfast, 2 adult tickets to the Faire, $10 gift card for the Mount Hope Wine & Gift Shop, and $20 in Coins of the Realm to be redeemed on the faire grounds.  Contact us at 717-665-5440, toll free at 1-877-720-1202, or online at www.countryinns.com/manheimpa.  Long live the Queen!

PA Renaissance Faire

Anytime you’re in Lancaster, take a peak back in time at the early, rural PA German culture at the Landis Valley Museum.  There is something for everyone, including hands-on activities for the kids, and it can be enjoyed in all seasons.  Regular hours are Monday – Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday 12N-5pm.  Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $8 for youth (3-11).  For more information, visit www.landisvalleymuseum.org

To complete your Lancaster County experience, book your hotel stay at the Manheim Country Inn & Suites, surrounded by beautiful farmland, just a few miles north of downtown Lancaster.  Call 717-665-5440 or 877-720-1202, or go online at www.countryinns.com/manheimpa

Landis Valley Village & Museum

8 eggs
2 (15 ounce) cans whole pickled beets, juice reserved
1 onion, chopped
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
12 whole cloves

Place eggs in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, and peel.
Place beets, onion, and peeled eggs in a non-reactive glass or plastic container. Set aside.
In a medium-size, non-reactive saucepan, combine sugar, 1 cup reserved beet juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and cloves. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
Pour hot liquid over beets and eggs. Cover, and refrigerate 48 hours before using.

This recipe for Coconut Easter Eggs makes a great take-home treat for guests and coworkers:

3/4 cup  Mashed potatoes; unsalted
2 cups  Flaked coconut; fresh or dried
1/2 teasoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups  Confectioner’s sugar
8 ounces Semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil

In mixing bowl, mix potato, coconut, salt and vanilla. Gradually mix in sugar. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Shape into 1/2 tablespoon-sized eggs. Heat chocolate and oil until chocolate melts. Dip eggs into chocolate oil mixture. Set aside on wax paper in refrigerator to harden. Makes about 60.

If you’re celebrating Passover or just looking for something different, here’s a recipe for a twist on the traditional Haroset:

2 Granny Smith apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup fresh mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Port or sweet wine

Peel, core, and dice the apples and sprinkle with the lemon juice.  Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse once or twice just to break up. Let sit for the flavors to meld.

Those who plan to wear a kilt this Celtic Fling and PA Renaissance Faire season should recognize that a kilted man inevitably attracts admiring spectators drawn like moths to the flame, or termites to a caber.  These admirers, who are often given to calling out such endearments as “Kiltie, kiltie, cauld bum, cannae keep a warm one!” or “Donald! Where’s your troosers?” see a kilted Scot as an adventurer who walks the thin line between Presbyterian and prurient, between bard and barbarian, between tradition and tramp.  However, to avoid inadvertently offending the delicate sensibilities of spectators, men should observe the following rules of kilt etiquette:

1. Walk, do not run, when heading for an ale at O’Malley’s or to claim a front row seat at a Wailing Bansheee performance.  If you must walk quickly, keep both hands on your sporran.  If your sporran is up around your neck, you’re walking much too fast.
2. Do not walk up the Globe stairs for an autographed CD.
3. Do not stoop, crouch, or squat to pick up anything from the floor.  Have a friend pick up the object for you.  If your friend will not oblige, kick the object to a secluded place before you retrieve it.  If you have no friends, then stooping, crouching or squatting in a kilt may only worsen your lonely condition.
4. Do not wear shiny new shoes.  Dull them a little (perhaps with mud or mince) or wear spats and establish your credentials as the fashion trend setter that you are.
5. Do not stand at the edge of reflective fountains, or any mirror-like puddles.  On those formal events where you must wear silver buckles on your shoes, do not stand still for longer than five seconds at a time.  Dance instead.
6. However, dance nothing more boisterous than a slow waltz.  Reserve wild reels, jigs, and flings for family gatherings where your identity requires no further elaboration, or for those occasions when your anonymity is assured.  Limbo dancing in a kilt at any time definitely breaches kilt etiquette.
7. Respond only with an enigmatic smile to any questions about what is worn under your kilt.  Avoid responding with the tired cliché “Nothing is worn under my kilt, everything is in fine working order.”  Similarly, do not offer any demonstrations of what is worn under your kilt.  An offer such as “I’ll show your mine if you show me yours” can be misconstrued as the opening salvo in an ever escalating series of challenges and exhibitions which might be illegal in public places, even between consenting adults.
8. Shaving of one’s legs is unnecessary.  However, hirsute highlanders who elect to wax the hair from their legs should wax the whole leg and not just the knee area displayed between kilt and hose.  Such false economies only contribute to the myth of the cheap Scot.  Also, it is considered in poor taste to suggest private viewings of your “kilt-line”.
9. Do not sit with one leg crossed over the other.  This position requires you to un-cross your legs later, a tricky maneuver mastered by only a select few after years of training.  Always sit with your knees no more than six inches apart, thus creating enough shadow for mystery and discretion.  Avoid soft recliners, swings or rocking chairs where the sitter’s knees may move above shoulder level.
10. Be sure of the context of the conversation before making comments about global warming, air conditioning, or the ozone layer; none of these topics necessarily pertains to the creature comforts of a kiltie.

Observance of these simple guidelines allows one to wear the kilt with panache and ensures your own confident decorum, all while providing your adoring audience with a stirring but not unsettling spectacle.

Kilts

Saurkraut Ball Mixture:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can Spam, finely chopped (any flavor but I find hickory adds a special something)
1 TBP dried parsley
1/4 cup flour
1 qt saurkraut

Breading:
1 bowl of flour
1 bowl of egg and milk mixture
1 bowl of breading

1.) Melt butter in pan. Add onions and garlic and brown, stirring occasionally.
2.) Once onion is golden, stir in Spam pieces and cook until browned.
3.) Add parsley and stir into mix.
4.) Stir in flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
5.) Pour in saurkraut and stir until well blended. Cook on medium until mixture is heated through completely. Mixture should be thick and cohesive. If too thin, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thickness.
6.) Place mixture in a bowl and cover with wax paper or plastic wrap. Put bowl in the refrigerator overnight, preferably up to 24 hours.
7.) After resting overnight, remove mixture from refrigerator. Using a teaspoon to scoop out mixture, roll it into approx. 1 inch balls.
8.) Heat oil in deep fryer. Roll balls in the flour, then in the egg/milk, then in the breading. Place breaded balls in deep fryer until they float or about 5 minutes. Timing will change as you work on the batch. Balls should be a golden brown when removed from the oil.
9.) Place balls on cookie sheets lined with newspaper covered by paper towels to catch excess oil. Once the balls have cooled slightly, transfer to plate. Or simply eat from the cookie sheet. Most of all, ENJOY!

1. National Christmas Center, Lincoln Highway, Paradise
          Experience the memories of Christmases past and present in 20,000 square feet of life-sized, walk-through, indoor exhibits.  Open daily in December, except Christmas Day.

2. A Dickens of a Christmas, Mount Hope Estate & Winery, Manheim
          Experience the songs, stories, and traditions of a Victorian Christmas in this interactive theater production.  December 3-6, 9-13, 16-23, 26-27.

3. Christmas Show, American Music Theater, Lincoln Highway, Lancaster
          A huge holiday production show featuring singing and dancing to traditional favorites and contemporary hits.  On stage most days through January 3.

4. Hersheypark Candylane and Sweet Lights, Hershey
Winter Wonderland at Dutch Wonderland, Lincoln Highway, Lancaster
          Candylane features lights, music shows, Santa, real reindeer, Hershey’s hot chocolate, family rides, and holiday shopping at the park.  Sweet Lights is a drive-through winter wonderland of over 600 illuminated, animated displays along wooded trails.  Candylane open most days in December, Sweet Lights open every day in December.  Winter Wonderland features lights, themed rides, games, holiday entertainment, outdoors and indoors.  Open weekends in December and December 28-30.

5. Sight & Sound Theaters’ Miracle of Christmas and Voices of Christmas, Strasburg
          Miracle of Christmas at the Millennium Theatre tells the true story of Christmas in a multi-sensory, interactive experience.  Voices of Christmas at the Living Waters Theater is an inspirational holiday showcase of Christmas traditions, past and present.  Miracle of Christmas and Voices of Christmas are on stage most Tuesdays through Saturdays in December and Monday, December 28.

6. Santa’s Paradise Express, Strasburg Railroad, Strasburg
          Travel with Santa on an old-fashioned train warmed with potbelly stoves, and sing along with live musicians at the station.  Open December 11-13 and 18-20.

7. Holly Jolly Christmas, Dutch Apple Dinner Theater, Centerville Rd., Lancaster
          Experience the joys of Christmas with singing and dancing on stage and a traditional holiday feast including over 15 desserts.  Open Tuesdays through Sundays through December 23.

8. Ice Skating, Clipper Stadium, Lancaster
          Clipper Stadium, home of local baseball team, the Lancaster Barnstormers, turns into an ice rink for public skating December through February.  Look for special events such as Toys for Tots drives, Kid’s Skate Half Price, and Skate with Cylo, the Barnstormer’s loveable and entertaining mascot.  Open Thursdays and Fridays 6-10pm, Saturdays 12-10pm, and Sundays 12-6pm starting December 12.

9. Santa’s Workshop, Hands on House Children’s Museum, by the Landis Valley Museum, Lancaster
          Kids 2-10 and their parents can enjoy the special Christmas workshops at the Hands on House in addition to the museums other educational exhibits.  Open every day in December except Christmas Day and New Years Day.

10. Longwood Gardens, Rte. 1, Kennett Square
          Enter a Christmas wonderland with indoor and outdoor gardens featuring floral displays, ornaments, trees, lights, fountains, ice skaters, and live music.  Look for special events such as the Yuletide Buffet and New Year’s Eve celebration.  Open daily 9am-9pm.

Come visit us at the Manheim Country Inn & Suites and be close to all of these activities, while staying in a peaceful, country setting with views of Lancaster County farmland.  Call 877-720-1202 or visit www.countryinns.com/manheimpa to reserve your room or suite today!