Pumpkin Cranberry Praline Squares

1 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 – 14 oz cans of Pumpkin
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with an electric mixer.

Optional ingredients to add: ½ cup toasted and crushed nuts and/or ½ cup fruit of any kind

Grease a 9 x 13 pan, add batter to pan and bake for 45 – 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool and top with Praline Sauce.

Praline Sauce

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
¾ cup maple sugar
¾ cup whipping cream
½ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup pecans, whole

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Add brown sugar and maple syrup.  When sugar has dissolved, add cream.  Stir in nuts.

Also delicious served with sliced bananas and a dash of cinnamon over French toast or Belgian waffles.

Chef Marc
November 2010

The Last Best Beach Town

 Author: Robert Plunket & Su Byron and Photographer: J.B. McCourtney

[Read the following article on Anna Maria Island that came out in the October 2010 Sarasota Magazine.  And if you click the "Read More" link, you will see the complete article and Click Here  to see the "Rent the Dream" section that features Harrington House's very own Vista Grande luxurious beachfront condo!]

Florida has a short list of beach towns that are world-famous for their fantasy tropical lifestyle. Key West, for instance, symbolizes raffish hedonism. Palm Beach epitomizes the perfection and style that only great wealth can bring. Sarasota represents culture and sophistication co-existing quite nicely with golf and boating.

To get on this list is a rare honor, and to have a newcomer added at this late date is even more unusual. But the tiny town of Anna Maria—population 1,500—is increasingly being mentioned. Anna Maria started life as a modest resort and second-home kind of place for Midwesterners and Canadians. Not exactly the hippest situation. Now things have gone full circle. The town’s peace and quiet have been reconsidered. Suddenly, Anna Maria has been recast as one of the last perfect places in Florida.

Anna Maria’s emergence as the town of the moment has a lot to do with Florida’s economic recession. It’s taken a couple of years, but the fancy gated communities with the enormous Spanish Mediterranean houses are starting to seem dated. They represent a time that has ended—and ended painfully. They’re not what people aspire to anymore. Ostentatious is out. Simplicity is good. Family is crucial.

These are Anna Maria’s values. It has a strong emotional pull, a return to a simpler time and place. This is the town where you vacationed with your grandparents when you were a kid. Those who summered on the Jersey shore back in the 1950s and ’60s will feel right at home. So will those whose vacation was on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. Or the lakes of Wisconsin. All the rituals of summers past are still present—you can walk or bike anywhere, there are plenty of places to buy ice cream, and the long, sunny afternoons mean playing on the beach or fishing in the pond.  Read More of the Sarasota Article…

We have had a number of calls about whether we have seen any impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and are grateful to report:

• Currently, there is no local impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• Our beaches and destination are open for business.
• We are in no imminent danger of being affected.

Here are a couple websites with additional information:

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/

http://www.flra.com/

http://www.manateechamber.com (on the home page there is a link for a live look at the beach on Anna Maria Island)

http://www.mymanatee.org/

We have modified our cancellation policy: You may request a full refund of all monies deposited if the oil reaches Anna Maria Island anytime prior to your arrival date.  Please come and visit us soon!

Also our sister company, Island Real Estate has a blog and recent update with video of the Anna Maria Island beaches:  go to http://blog.islandreal.com/anna-maria-island/june-6th-2010-anna-maria-island-oil-spill-update/

Anna Maria Island Players presents Catch Me if you Can.

Catch Me If You Can by Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert
March 18-April4, 2010

Over flowing with laughs, this whodunit is exciting from beginning to end.
(Comedy/Mystery)

The Island Players, Inc. is a non-profit community theatre housed in the historic Old Community House on Anna Maria Island at the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue.

Click here for Website

The front cover of the Anna Maria Island Chamber 2010 Guidebook and map features our very own Mark and Patti Davis.

The guide book is a must read for all island guests with information on shopping, island weddings, restaurants, events and cultural activities on the island.

Your can read the book online at Anna Maria Island Chamber 2010 Guidebook, or you can order it to be mailed by going to the Chamber website.

Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast was one of the proud sponsors of the 26th Annual “An Affaire to Remember” for  the Anna Maria Island Community Center (www.islandcommunitycenter.com ).  The annual event raises funds to provide quality youth programs.  This year’s special guest was Lee Greenwood (www.leegreenwood.com) , a long-time friend of the Davis family who is country recording artist and is best known for his song “God Bless the USA”.

Islander Article: June 2, 2010

Greenwood helps spur Center success

By Nick Walter
Islander Reporter

Trudy Moon, chair of the Affaire to Remember gala, said at a March 19 meeting at the Anna Maria Island Community Center that the addition of Lee Greenwood to the gala had people talking all the way down in Sarasota.

“I think there are no barriers for this event,” Moon said. “It first started 20 years ago, and we kept the event local, then we built it, and began to bring in Bradenton people, then more people from Longboat Key, and now this is the event to be at.”

She said the 352 people at the gala were particularly pleased with the addition of the country singer and Island property owner.

“That’s a lot of attention we probably wouldn’t have got without his name this year,” Moon said. “Greenwood was one of the kindest, most generous people.”

Moon said the board will consider asking Greenwood to return to next year’s April 2 gala if Greenwood’s schedule is open.

The April 24 gala netted $165,041 for the center. Coupled with $100,000 raised for the Lester Challenge, Center board member Bill Ford said the Center is financially strong heading into the summer.

“We have $285,000 in cash for operating funds going into the summer versus $115,000 last year,” Ford said. “So, this is the first time in three years that we can go into the summer feeling good from an operations standpoint. So, we’ll continue to operate full scale in doing what we do best, which is taking care of our kids.”

Ford said the Center is $10,000 above its budgeted revenues.

Of the Center’s $663,229 expenses this year, $346,596 has gone toward salaries.

The Center has $816,601 in revenues this year, $160,531 of which have come from donations.

The board also announced their summer camp will take place from June 14 to Aug. 18.

The camp will include creativity, Friday field trips, specialty classes such as comics, painting and story writing, and specialty camps such as swimming, basketball, soccer and tennis.