Last evening we went to a little swing dance in Bath. On our way we decided to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at Solo Bistro in Bath (Maine of course). Michele served us delicious cocktails that the bartender and owner Will Neilson had created. The chef Esau Crosby was busy in the open kitchen. We enjoyed a wonderful meal that included a luscious grilled chicken risotto and hand cut cilantro noodles with sweet potatoes, tomatoes and a vegetable broth. I thought the menu was simple and innovative. It was one of the first times in recent memory that I would have ordered (and enjoyed) anything on the menu. That seldom happens for me. It was refreshing to see a chef who so carefully utilized local ingredients and incorporated them into dishes that virtually sang their names off the menu. The meal was finished with an espresso cake and an upside down lemon and cranberry cake with orange curd and whipped cream. SO Amazing! Chef Crosby may share a recipe with us later this week. Solo Bistro is worth the trip!
The upside down cake made me think of blueberry sauce. Here is a recipe for you to serve over your favorite dessert or some home made vanilla ice cream.
BLUEBERRY SAUCE
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup cold water
2 cups (frozen this time of year or fresh in the summer) Maine blueberries
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is slightly thickened and clear, stirring constantly. Gently stir in blueberries, lemon zest and juice. Use immediately or chill for later.
Showing posts with label cake. maine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. maine. Show all posts
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Blueberry Bran Muffins
This is the best muffin recipe I know. Enjoy the beautiful bursts of flavor as the blueberries explode in your mouth. Delicious!
These muffins are a delightful treat on a summer morning. They are scrumptious hot out of the oven. If you and your family can’t eat them all- they freeze well. Just place them into a plastic zip bag and toss them in the deep freeze for later.
3c. Bran (All Bran Cereal works well here)
1c. Boiling water
1/2c. melted butter or oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t cinnamon
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c. fresh Maine blueberries- washed, with any stems removed
Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. melted butter
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a dozen large muffin cups with papers.
Place Bran in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the melted butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well for three minutes.
Add the softened bran mixture. Stir until well incorporated.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon gently fill the muffin cups to 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
Place the 1 t. cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar into a shallow bowl and mix together. In another bowl place the 1/2 c. melted butter. When the muffins are still warm dip the tops lightly in the melted butter then into the cinnamon sugar. This will form a most delicious crust.
You can also make this recipe using mini muffin tins or a 9 x 11 pan- adjust the baking time to be sure the centers are done and the edges not too brown.
These muffins are a delightful treat on a summer morning. They are scrumptious hot out of the oven. If you and your family can’t eat them all- they freeze well. Just place them into a plastic zip bag and toss them in the deep freeze for later.
3c. Bran (All Bran Cereal works well here)
1c. Boiling water
1/2c. melted butter or oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t cinnamon
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c. fresh Maine blueberries- washed, with any stems removed
Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. melted butter
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a dozen large muffin cups with papers.
Place Bran in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the melted butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well for three minutes.
Add the softened bran mixture. Stir until well incorporated.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon gently fill the muffin cups to 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
Place the 1 t. cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar into a shallow bowl and mix together. In another bowl place the 1/2 c. melted butter. When the muffins are still warm dip the tops lightly in the melted butter then into the cinnamon sugar. This will form a most delicious crust.
You can also make this recipe using mini muffin tins or a 9 x 11 pan- adjust the baking time to be sure the centers are done and the edges not too brown.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Warm Wilted Greens with Pears, Pecans and Goat Cheese
Tonight is a night for homework and dress rehearsal for the play. Here is a recipe from my files to keep you going until I have time to write more. This is an elegant and Very Simple salad for entertaining or dinner anytime. It's an excerpt from Fresh Maine Salads...
Warm wilted greens with pears, pecans and goat cheese
Many fancy restaurants have a version of this recipe. This one is simple and delicious. Add vegetables, as you like to give it your own special flare. Appleton Creamery has wonderful chevre- they have several flavors- all of which are scrumptious.
For the salad:
2 ripe Anjou pears
1 T lemon juice
1 c pecans
6 c baby greens
6 to 8 oz chevre
3 baby Vidalia onions
For the dressing:
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T balsamic vinegar
4 T olive oil
1⁄2 t salt
1⁄2 t fresh ground pepper
1 t sugar or splenda
For the salad:
Wash and dry the greens. Place in a large bowl. Wash, trim and slice the baby Vidalias. Add to greens. Add pecans.
Rinse and core the pears. Coarsely chop. Toss with 1 T lemon juice. Add pears to the greens.
Crumble the chevre into 1⁄2 inch chunks toss with the vegetables.
In a small sauce pan heat the dressing ingredients. When warm pour over the salad and toss. The greens will wilt and the chevre will begin to soften. Serve immediately.
Warm wilted greens with pears, pecans and goat cheese
Many fancy restaurants have a version of this recipe. This one is simple and delicious. Add vegetables, as you like to give it your own special flare. Appleton Creamery has wonderful chevre- they have several flavors- all of which are scrumptious.
For the salad:
2 ripe Anjou pears
1 T lemon juice
1 c pecans
6 c baby greens
6 to 8 oz chevre
3 baby Vidalia onions
For the dressing:
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T balsamic vinegar
4 T olive oil
1⁄2 t salt
1⁄2 t fresh ground pepper
1 t sugar or splenda
For the salad:
Wash and dry the greens. Place in a large bowl. Wash, trim and slice the baby Vidalias. Add to greens. Add pecans.
Rinse and core the pears. Coarsely chop. Toss with 1 T lemon juice. Add pears to the greens.
Crumble the chevre into 1⁄2 inch chunks toss with the vegetables.
In a small sauce pan heat the dressing ingredients. When warm pour over the salad and toss. The greens will wilt and the chevre will begin to soften. Serve immediately.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Quickie Weeknight Nachos
Tonight was a night for food fast. This is a great example of how to make things work without going the "fastfood" route. Here is my slow food version of a quickie meal. You can choose to serve up the meat and toppings in a soft tortilla instead of over chips for tacos or roll up the meat, with a layer of refried beans, top with the cheese and bake a while for another burrito style version. Pickled jalapenos are a great addition. Here, as always, adapt the recipe to your taste- add a little more of this, a little less of that. Whatever tastes good to you and your family. Keep in mind that you want your dinner to be healthy...then go for the gusto!
Quickie Weeknight Nachos
You can have your dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 sweet onion- sliced or minced
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic- minced
3/4 c salsa- we used black bean and corn
1 t or more chili powder
juice of half a lime
Tortilla chips
shredded cheese
avocado- peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped or sliced- spritzed with the juice of half a lime
lettuce- chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
1 fresh tomato- chopped
more salsa
crushed red pepper flakes
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onions and turkey. Cook until the turkey is completely done, breaking up the meat with your spatula into smaller than bite sized pieces. Add the garlic, salsa, chili powder and lime juice. If you like your nachos spicy- add more chili powder or red pepper flakes. We placed our chips on a sheet pan and heated them in a 300 degree oven while the meat was cooking. Pile the chips onto an individual or serving plate. Top with the meat and shredded cheese. At this point you can heat them again in the oven to melt the cheese or you can just let the heat from the meat and chips melt the cheese. Just before serving top with slices or chunks of fresh avocado, lettuce, more salsa and whatever else you like on your Nachos. We sometimes sprinkle the top with cooked black beans, adzuki beans or add a dollop of sour cream. Mmmm! Soo gooood!
Quickie Weeknight Nachos
You can have your dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 sweet onion- sliced or minced
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic- minced
3/4 c salsa- we used black bean and corn
1 t or more chili powder
juice of half a lime
Tortilla chips
shredded cheese
avocado- peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped or sliced- spritzed with the juice of half a lime
lettuce- chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
1 fresh tomato- chopped
more salsa
crushed red pepper flakes
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onions and turkey. Cook until the turkey is completely done, breaking up the meat with your spatula into smaller than bite sized pieces. Add the garlic, salsa, chili powder and lime juice. If you like your nachos spicy- add more chili powder or red pepper flakes. We placed our chips on a sheet pan and heated them in a 300 degree oven while the meat was cooking. Pile the chips onto an individual or serving plate. Top with the meat and shredded cheese. At this point you can heat them again in the oven to melt the cheese or you can just let the heat from the meat and chips melt the cheese. Just before serving top with slices or chunks of fresh avocado, lettuce, more salsa and whatever else you like on your Nachos. We sometimes sprinkle the top with cooked black beans, adzuki beans or add a dollop of sour cream. Mmmm! Soo gooood!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Applesauce Spice Cake with a Cream Cheese Basket Weave Frosting
Elizabeth did it! We tried the fantastic Pastor Chuck Orchard applesauce and she couldn't get enough. It's a dark, sweet, spicy applesauce cooked up here in Maine. We used it to make our family's famous Applesauce Spice Cake. It is always a favorite. We baked it last night and divided the batter to make four 9-inch round layers. It was so irresistable that we frosted and ate a layer last night. The remaining three layers were saved for today. Elizabeth used our deluxe cream cheese frosting recipe and created a beautiful design. She had seen an episode of some food network show that depicted a basket weave frosting design. The only direction she had was how to fill the pastry bag. Her first attempt was a fantastic success. I think it was a combination of her creativity and some sort of predisposed I-Love-to-make-the-fussiest-cake-designs-I-can-think-of gene. She started with an idea and made it into a wonderful cake. I'm so proud of her! Here is the recipe for our moist, delicious family recipe!
One Bowl Applesauce Spice Cake
3 3/4 cup King Argthur all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
2 t cardamom
1 t freshly grated nutmeg
6 eggs
3 cups Pastor Chuck Orchard Applesauce (or your favorite applesauce)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg together into a large bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, applesauce and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir gently until completely combined.
Grease four 9" round cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Set two pans each on separate cookie sheets- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely. Frost and chill or serve right away- you might have to defend the cake if hungry mouths are waiting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 lb bag confectioners sugar
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 t salt
2 T pure vanilla extract
2-4 T cream
Cream the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer. Add salt. Slowly add the confectioners sugar a couple of Tablespoons at a time until it is all incorporated- scraping down the bowl often. Add 2 to 4 Tablespoons cream to give the frosting the consistency you like.
One Bowl Applesauce Spice Cake
3 3/4 cup King Argthur all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
2 t cardamom
1 t freshly grated nutmeg
6 eggs
3 cups Pastor Chuck Orchard Applesauce (or your favorite applesauce)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg together into a large bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, applesauce and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir gently until completely combined.
Grease four 9" round cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Set two pans each on separate cookie sheets- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely. Frost and chill or serve right away- you might have to defend the cake if hungry mouths are waiting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 lb bag confectioners sugar
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 t salt
2 T pure vanilla extract
2-4 T cream
Cream the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer. Add salt. Slowly add the confectioners sugar a couple of Tablespoons at a time until it is all incorporated- scraping down the bowl often. Add 2 to 4 Tablespoons cream to give the frosting the consistency you like.
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