The Lied Lodge & Arbor Day Farm Blog

Here at Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm, we make eco-conscious choices all around the property. It only seems natural that we'd serve up organic drinks in the lounge, too. Watch as I shake up an organic double chocolate martini for you:

 The recipe:
  1.5 ounces 360 Double Chocolate Organic Vodka
  1.5 ounces Godiva® chocolate liqueur
  1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
  2 oz. half and half

Cheers!
Mitch

Mitch Chapin is a bartender at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, NE. Stop and see him in the lounge on your next visit.

 

The act of "planning" is a multi-billion dollar industry in America. Think about all the tools, the apps, the devices, and even the professionals that define a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished.

If you've ever coordinated a meeting, a special event, a wedding, anything, really... then you know that planning is an essential part of the process. Winston Churchill's old saying, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail," couldn't be more accurate.

I've been in the planning business -- planning meetings, specifically -- for the past nine years. I enjoy helping individuals and companies work through the dozens of details and pull off successful, stress-free conferences.

I'll share two tried-and-true tips with you in the hopes of making your next meeting planning process easy:

• Get to know your Conference Planning Manager. This person may also be known as the catering manager, the meeting manager, the event manager, or something similar, depending on the venue. No matter what his or her title, this person is your closest ally in the meeting planning process. He or she will see to it that your every detail is carried out. Exchange emails, talk on the phone, and better yet, meet in person if logistics allow. You want to be very comfortable with the person with whom you'll be working closely during the weeks ahead. The better you feel about the relationship you have with your conference planner, the more confident you'll be that your details are covered and your meeting is bound for success. Not to mention, the more relaxed you will be before, during and after your event.

 

• Develop the Agenda. Having your meeting agenda ready to present can save you a lot of time and a lot of back-and-forth discussions with your planning manager. At the time of reserving the meeting space, having the basic agenda with session start and end times, a head count of attendees, your preference for seating arrangements, etc., can be so helpful for both you and your conference planner. It helps you sort through the pertinent information, and it helps your conference planner ensure that the meeting space you've reserved is the best fit for your group. Then as you continue the process of working through the details (menu choices, audio-visual needs, exact number of attendees for each part of your event, etc...) with your conference planner, an exact and detailed meeting agenda is crucial. Of course, we all know that last-minute changes happen. I've learned to expect them! Usually they're based upon something out of your control, but being armed with an agenda from the very beginning will make the planning discussions go smoother and faster for everyone involved. 

I'm with Winston Churchill on this one: a successful meeting is one that is well planned.

Tracy Neumeister is a Conference Planning Manager at IACC-certified Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, NE. She has helped plan hundreds of meetings and builds lasting relationships with her clients. Contact Tracy and let her help you with the details of your next meeting.

 

These long, cold winter days call for comfort food, and today I'm sharing a recipe for a spectacular warm dessert: hot toffee pudding cake. We served this rich dessert at Lied Lodge on Valentine's weekend. It's easily prepared in two parts, and the end result is decadence in every bite.

Hot Toffee Pudding Cake

Part one:
1 pound butter croissants, torn into small pieces
½ cup toffee pieces
½ cup dark chocolate chips or shavings
¼ cup toasted, chopped pecans
¼ cup toasted almonds, sliced or slivered

Combine all ingredients in a 9"x13" greased baking dish and set aside.

Part two:
½ cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
16 egg yolks

In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and egg yolks.
In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream until it just begins to simmer, then remove from heat. 

Slowly pour (temper) the cream into the egg and sugar mixture.  After combining, place mixture back in the sauce pan and cook on low heat for 3 minutes, constantly stirring with a heat-proof plastic spatula. 

Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish (from Part 1) and bake, covered, at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. You want the cake to slightly jiggle in the center. 

Serve warm with ice cream and caramel sauce for a dessert that your friends will rave about.

Until next time,
Chef Nick 

Nick Maloney is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he also offers cooking classes for groups of all sizes. Have recipe questions? Contact Chef Nick. 

 

So Valentine's Day is this weekend. Millions of people all over the world use February 14^th to find a meaningful, heartfelt way to say "I Love You" to that special someone.

With all that love in the air, it's no surprise that wedding proposals are particularly popular this time of year. Right now, countless people are feverishly putting the finishing touches on a perfected, rehearsed plan to propose this Valentine's Day, with every last detail thought out and orchestrated. Maybe even a few women are breaking with tradition and proposing marriage to their beau. Good for you.

If popping the question is in your near future, maybe even this weekend, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1) Be yourself. No matter how you ask for one's hand in marriage, it should be genuine and real. Don't try to be someone you're not.

2) Keep it manageable. If you're trying to coordinate a Blue Angels fly-over timed perfectly to her favorite song while you ride a unicycle with a single red rose clenched in your teeth, you are trying too hard. Something is bound to go wrong, and you probably don't want to mess this up. There's something to be said for simplicity.

3) But don't skimp. You've no doubt heard all about the fairytale weddings and the expectations that go along with proposals and weddings, and they are true - to an extent. Many women have clear cut ideas about how a proposal should go, from where and when and how. If you know that your partner has something specific in mind, do what you can to make it happen. You'll be pleased with the answer.

I'm eager to hear how your Valentines proposal works out. Drop me a line and let me know what creative ideas you came up with to make it memorable. Good luck! Oh, and after you get the "yes," I know a great place in Nebraska you should consider for your wedding. :)

Adessa Grundman is the Wedding Specialist at Lied Lodge & Conference Center, Nebraska City, Nebraska. In her 5+ years in the wedding industry, she's helped more than 200 couples say "I Do" with style.

 

For many of us, the hazelnut is a delicious snack, or maybe a favorite flavoring for a morning latte. But here at the Arbor Day Foundation, hazelnuts represent a sustainable crop with the potential to change the world.

A number of years ago, the Arbor Day Foundation wanted to produce a sustainable crop that would not only be a bio-fuel and a food source, but also an economical, high-yielding, widely-adaptable species that required relatively low input. That's a pretty tall order, but after years of research, testing, and collaboration with invaluable partners, the Arbor Day Foundation established a nine-acre hazelnut orchard at Arbor Day Farm. What has grown out of this original planting in 1996 is a fascinating example of how a small idea can become reality and how that reality will continue to evolve into a sustainable program.

Currently, the Arbor Day Foundation's hazelnut program grows more than 100,000 plug seedlings annually (like the ones shown at left) in the greenhouse operations at Arbor Day Farm. The hazelnut is a finicky species and one that requires lots of conditioning. Seed is harvested in late August and is immediately put into a moist stratification.  Through a series of warm and cold stratification cycles, the seed begins to swell and emerge. These are the seeds we use for our plantings. This process ensures that each planting has a higher likelihood of producing a viable seedling. Here at Arbor Day Farm, we plant in the winter and summer months with shipping seasons being spring and fall. All seedlings are shipped to our current hazelnut members across the United States.

I invite you to learn more about the continuing research into this fascinating species. Learn more about the members of the hazelnut consortium and also learn how you can help with hazelnut research, right in your own backyard.

Adam Howard is the Manager of Nursery Operations at Arbor Day Farm and a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters. He has been in the forest industry for 11 years and contributes regularly to this blog. Contact Adam with your greenhouse questions.

 

Reason #32 to come to Arbor Day Farm in early- to mid-August: the one acre sunflower patch is in glorious full bloom.

Granted, there's no shortage of beautiful landscapes and interesting things to photograph across these 260 acres in any season. But this sunny patch along the Discovery Ride path is simply magnificent.

The sunflowers are new this year, courtesy of Arbor Day Farm's landscaping department. Visitors who climb aboard the Discovery Ride -- the guided tram-like ride that winds over the river and through the woods -- journey right through the middle of the patch, where they can snap their own photos of these symbols of summer.

You can view a few more photos of Arbor Day Farm's sunflower patch here, but you really owe it to yourself to come see it in person. Don't forget your camera!

Amy Stouffer is a marketing coordinator at Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, where free-range creativity is encouraged. See how you can be part of the Arbor Day team, too.

 

For those of us in the Midwest, the month of August typically holds some of the hottest days of the entire summer. I'm not a huge fan of sweltering heat, but I do enjoy a cool dessert... and they taste even better on hot summer days.

Here's a refreshing recipe for a summertime classic: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Simply toss in any fruit from your garden or your local farmer's market, and you've got the perfect remedy for the dog days of summer.

• 4 eggs
• 3 cups white sugar, divided
• 2 cups your choice of fresh fruit - peaches, raspberries, strawberries, or any combination
• 2-12 oz. cans evaporated milk
• 1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 T pure vanilla extract
• Approx. 1 gallon whole milk

Cream the eggs and 2 cups of sugar with an electric mixer. Add the evaporated milk, condensed milk and vanilla. Beat well. Add the fruit, covered with 1 cup of sugar. Pour into electric ice cream machine. Add whole milk to the fill line. Insert the dasher. Pack the machine's cooler 1/3 full of ice. Add a layer of rock salt. Repeat layering with ice and salt until full. When machine starts to labor or shut off, remove the dasher and drain the water. Fill with more ice and salt. Cover with a towel and let harden. Tastes best when shared with family and friends. Enjoy!

Phil Bilek has been in the hospitality business for nearly 20 years and is the Banquet Manager at Lied Lodge & Conference Center, Nebraska City. He enjoys taking care of guests' needs and creating a fun work environment for his crew -- oh, and making ice cream.

 

The hot days of summer call for a cool, refreshing drink. This simple recipe for Watermelon Sangria is a great way to use up one of summer's signature fruits and keep your thirst quenched. It's perfect for a summer barbecue or backyard party.

Watermelon Sangria
2 lbs seedless watermelon, peeled and cubed
½ pound watermelon cut into balls with a melon baller (for garnish)
1 bottle dry white wine (Arbor Day Farm's Porter's Pride is an excellent choice)
6 oz vodka
4 oz Grand Marnier
2 oz Midori
2 oz simple syrup
Ice

Puree the cubed watermelon in a blender. Strain through a fine strainer into a pitcher. Add all other ingredients, stir well, and pour over ice. Garnish with skewered watermelon balls.

Cheers to summer!
Until next time,
Chef Nick

Nick Maloney is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Catch his cooking demonstration at the Wine Under the Pines festival on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard, Nebraska City.

 

Summer's in full swing, and with it comes an abundance of gorgeous, juicy vegetables fresh for the picking in your garden or at the farmer's market. I like to incorporate all those fresh veggies into a colorful sweet corn and black bean relish. Serve it on top of fresh greens for a healthy salad or as a zesty dip with tortilla chips.

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Relish

• 6 ears sweet corn
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 5 green onions, sliced thin
• 2 jalapenos, fine diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 5 large basil leaves, chopped
• 2T chopped fresh oregano
• 2c black beans, drained
• The juice of 2 limes
• 1T cumin
• 2t chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Roast the sweet corn in its husks in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Refrigerate until cool, then slice kernels off the cob. Combine corn with all other ingredients and refrigerate well prior to serving. Enjoy!

Until next time,
Chef Nick

Nick Maloney is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Catch his cooking demonstration at the Wine Under the Pines festival on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard, Nebraska City.

 

Keeping meeting attendees focused is one of your top priorities, right?  Here are just a few suggestions that will help make your next meeting effective:

• Start off with an icebreaker or welcome - although there will be some meeting attendees groaning, it really does get the brain juices flowing.  "What's in the bag" or "Who's my neighbor" are a couple of great choices.
• At lunch time, make sure you give them time to eat and digest their food.  Suggest a quick walk to rejuvenate themselves - don't rush if you don't have to.
• During meeting breaks, stretches, mini-massages, and some healthy snacks will keep them awake.
• Before dinner - add a social hour.  Wine tastings are on of my favorites!  This networking time is invaluable and can be just as important as the meeting.  Some of the best ideas are born during this time.
• After dinner is a perfect time for a little fun.  Tours, bonfires, games (either physical or mental, but my preference is competitive especially after sitting in a meeting all day).  But one word of caution, if you want your meeting to be productive the next day...choose your activity and ending time carefully.

So, whether you are planning a corporate meeting or just looking for some ideas, I hope these have helped.  Have you experienced an activity at a meeting that kept you engaged?  Share a great activity and you might just make the next meeting planner's day.

Denise Munderloh is a hospitality industry veteran with 19 years of experience at hotels, resorts, and conference centers across the U.S. Denise has been the Director of Sales & Marketing for Lied Lodge & Conference Center at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City, NE, since 2004.