I’ve rarely met a potato I didn’t like! This time around, the potato is the center of the dish and not just a lonely little side. The star Have you had enough dinners lately with pasta the center of the plate? I love it when potatoes can be the star of a meal. A stuffed…
Category: Breakfasts
Chickpea Flour and Chive Wraps
Chickpeas are everywhere! We love them stewed, added to soups and casseroles, curried, turned into hummus, tossed in a salad, and toasted for a crispy snack. But the flour also makes a delicious and economical wrap! These delicious wraps use chickpea (also garbanzo bean, basin, gram) flour and little else, a thinned out version of…
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Warm Up Your Morning with Hot Cereal
It looks like a dish of cereal, a pretty one at that with a few little adornments. However, take a bite, and you might forget forever about those packets of instant oatmeal. Hot cereal in the winter When I was a child, winter months usually meant hot cereal in the morning, and that was…
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Chia Seed Virgin Mary Breakfast Pudding
From chia pet to hot nutritional powerhouse in (only) a few decades, these curious little seeds can boost your morning energy with this savory pudding! My first experience of chia seeds was their thick fur on little clay “pets” that were a rage. My mother grew one on her kitchen window sill. That was pretty…
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Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes
Shh, don’t tell the kids they are good for them… Of all the dishes I served up at the inn for 18 years, the most frequently requested meal from repeat guests was blueberry pancakes. People remember them, think about them, desire them, and will eat them with gusto when served. Not only a favorite of…
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Vermont Shepherdess Pie
A vegetarian version of the layered casserole we all grew up on! Hearty enough for everyone. We are no longer under the illusion that summer will last forever. The temperatures have dropped, and so have lots of leaves! But right now, there seems to be just about every vegetable out there one could want, along…
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Blue Cheese Soufflé
On a recent trip to the farmers market, I came upon the most lovely wheel of blue cheese. It was so pretty I got distracted photographing it and missed my chance at a basket of chanterelle mushrooms! When you combine cheese, eggs, and a lot of air, the result is far greater than the sum…
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Crab and Corn Salad on Corn Fritters
Make this salad and fritters, any number of ways, the star is always the corn. It’s corn season! That means corn on the cobb, corn chowder, cornbread, succotash, corn pudding, and corn fritters. At this time of year, it is not unknown in our house to have a supper that consists solely of corn on the…
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Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
A hint of lemon, a tang of buttermilk, and a little extra vanilla, add flavor to these berry season delights! During blueberry season, there will be quite a few special dishes served up. However, blueberry muffins can be made all year long with the local treasures since the fruit freezes so easily. I had a…
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Seductive Strawberry Cream Scones
It’s Impossible to improve on the original old family recipe, unless you add a dab of whipped cream! I was afraid this would be one of those years when the strawberries would taste watery since we’ve had so much rain, but I was wrong! The strawberries have been absolutely delicious this year – sweet, plump,…
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Goat Cheese Frittata
Tangy goat cheese pairs well with sweet red peppers and Vidalia onions. Frittatas are one of my favorite versatile egg dishes that span breakfast to supper, and every snack in between. Hot, cold, or room temperature, these dishes are usually a way to use what is sitting sadly in my refrigerator, those little bits of…
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Grandmother Neill’s Rhubarb Coffee Cake
This recipe is from the grandmother of a friend of a friend! My friend Carolyn and I have worked a local music festival for many years, and catering the green room for the artists has been one of our pleasures. Since the festival is in early June, Carolyn often brought this cake made from fresh…
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Maple Baked Egg Cups
There’s a little sweet, a little savory, and a lot to love in this brunch or breakfast indulgence. We got this year’s batch of dark amber maple syrup this week! Thank you to our friend Greg and his little sugarhouse for the sweet that lasts us all year. With the arrival of the new syrup,…
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Sweet or Savory Buckwheat Crêpes
Naturally gluten-free, these lacy traditional crêpes are perfect for either sweet or savory dishes. Buckwheat crêpes are one of my favorites from the family recipe box. My own family loves them as well. I might make them for a Sunday breakfast, brunch with guests, dessert, or as a well-loved after-school snack for my grandchildren. Everything…
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Dressed Up Green Beans & Tomatoes
One secret ingredient, and a light adornment of Parmesan, transform the humble green bean into the star of the plate. Green beans are handy to have in the refrigerator. They keep for days, and can be cooked in a matter of minutes. There is nothing like fresh green beans from the garden, steamed, bathed with…
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Crispy Saffron Jasmine Rice
A humble cup of white rice can be transformed into an addictively crunchy accent to a weeknight meal! I love rice. I often make a big pot of rice on the weekend and doll it out in various incarnations throughout the week. While my usual house rice is a nutty, brown, jasmine rice, I love…
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A “New” New England Boiled Dinner
New England Boiled Dinner is a classic winter dish, although the protein used is a point of disagreement among many. This version avoids the argument completely. Ask a New Englander what is in a New England boiled dinner, and you will get a wide range of replies, and every one is considered to the THE…
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Eggs in Purgatory
A spicy tomato base with its potato cousin studded throughout. A favorite of family and inn guests as well! You’ll find this dish throughout the mediterranean and mideast, referred to by many names, including “shakshouka” which is lots of fun to pronounce and seems to be on menus everywhere these days. The dishes feature variations…
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Socca with Garlic and Herbs
Quick and easy, this chickpea flatbread tastes like nothing else! This unique, crunchy chickpea pancake, hails from the south of France, a rustic Niçoise street food. Made simply with chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour, water, and olive oil, there are also versions of this dish in Italy. It is perfect in its simplicity, but that doesn’t…
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Salmon Cakes Benedict
Recycle 2018 Leftovers into Dishes for the New Year I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions; it is much too discouraging to find myself breaking vows a thousand times. I’d rather count blessings than resolutions, but as I hang the new calendar, I often find myself taking stock and pondering the possibility of little changes….
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A Special Holiday Dish
I first received this as a gift from my Mother-in-Law and was amazed that this could be accomplished in a home kitchen I remember getting this gift of home-cured gravlax, salmon, every year at Christmastime from my mother-in-law Pat, my husband’s father’s second wife. The first time she gave it to us, I was truly…
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Christmas Morning Breakfast Quiche
A Perfect Make Ahead Breakfast using Sugar Snap Peas and Caramelized Onions! I forget about quiche for long periods of time, or perhaps I make them too often and tire of them. If it’s been a while, perhaps it’s time to revisit. When I would serve this to my guests at the inn, I looked…
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Whole Grain Buttermilk Biscuits with Herbs & Parmesan
Mom’s Weeknight Biscuits with a few Twists Biscuits with baked beans. Biscuits with soup. Biscuits with chicken and gravy, and just about everything else. That is how I grew up. My mom made beautiful yeast breads on the weekends, but weeknight supper was all about the quick biscuit. She didn’t need a recipe; she made…
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A World of Bread in 20-Minutes
Freshly made bread for dinner in minutes? Of course! Nothing could be quicker than this recipe, and you can spin it into countless variations, including gluten free, so everyone in the family can be pleased. My daughter called me one night last week and needed an easy bread recipe that was gluten-free. I knew…
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Seafood Crêpes with Sherry Mushroom Sauce
While the humble crêpe has fallen in and out of fashion, what I have observed is that eyes light up whenever they are served. Be it a simple supper, or elaborate dessert, there is always room for crêpes. When the kids…
