Growing Lavender for Lavender Creme Brulee

While Chef Bill Atwood takes the classics and updates them to keep them fresh and    new, it’s his partner and spouse Denise Atwood who tends the lovely gardens surrounding the Red Pheasant Inn in addition to managing the front of the house.  The gardens produce lots of wonderful greens and many herbs that Chef Atwood uses in his menus.  Denise loves lavender and last week she harvested some for Bill to use in a fabulous Creme Brulee. Chef Atwood was generous enough to share his Lavender Creme Brulee recipe with you.

Chef Atwood feels it is very important to measure precisely when he is baking but, for the home baker, we’ve converted his measurements.

                                                       Lavender Creme Brulee

Makes 10 -11 Brulee depending on your dish size

Ingredients

750 grams of heavy cream (3 1/4 cups & 1 Tablespoon)
250 grams milk (1 cup & 2 Tablespoons)
200 grams sugar (3/4 cup & 2 Tablespoons)
10 egg yolks
1/4 to 1/2 cup lavender flowers (no stems which are bitter) –
use less lavender flowers for dried, more for fresh
Sugar for caramelizing top

Directions

Add the lavender flowers to the cream and milk and scald.

Whip egg yolks with sugar to a soft ribbon.

Temper with cream and milk mixture

Strain through a chinoise (or a fine strainer)

Fill ramekins and bake @ 350 1/2 hour in water bath until set
Make a day ahead of time for best flavor.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Sprinkle with sugar on top.  Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top.  Garnish with a lavender flower.   Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Bon appetit!

 

Cucumber Appetizer

Here’s another summer recipe from Chef Alan Zox.  Chef Zox has recently rolled out a new program called “Cuisine for Seniors”: https://zoxkitchen.com/cuisine-for-seniors/.  The idea is that you can have gourmet quality meals cooked for you in your home for a reasonable cost ($45 for 3 meals).  Meanwhile as the cucumbers come rolling into your garden, how about a nice simple summer appetizer recipe from Chef Zox that is cool and refreshing.

                                                          Cucumber Appetizer
Serves  6

Ingredients
-3 European cucumbers, slice 1/4 inch wide without peeling or deseeding
-1/4 cup champagne vinegar; and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/4 cup sesame seeds
-sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
-red chili flakes served in a small ramekin

Directions
Add the champagne and balsamic vinegar to a medium size (non-metal) bowl
Add the cucumber slices cut 1/4 inch wide
Add sesame seeds, salt and pepper.
Place the seasoned cucumbers, vinegars and seasoning in an attractive bowl with a large spoon and small plates on the side.

Allow your guests to serve themselves with toothpicks, forks or chop sticks. Other spices may be appealing to some guests and not others. For example, serving chili flakes in a small ramekin is appreciated. Eating alone is another time to enjoy this treat.

Enjoy!!!

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Lobster Eggs Benedict

Sometimes you just need to get away for a weekend of chillin’.  One of the best places to do that is in Key West, Florida.  Our favorite restaurant there is Antonia’s; they’ve been around over 30 years and still pack the house.  On a recent Saturday, the menu board out front advertised Bellini’s and Bloody Mary’s, second one free and Lobster Eggs Benedict.  While the chef was too bashful to have his picture included on our blog, here is his fabulous recipe for Lobster Eggs Benedict:

                                                 Lobster Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:  (Serves 1-2)
2 slices ciabatta bread, toasted with a little olive oil
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
2 thin slices prosciutto, gently heated
1/2 cup steamed lobster meat
2 eggs, poached
Hollandaise sauce: Recipe follows
Spinach pesto:  Recipe follows

Directions: Start with a slice of the toasted ciabatta, add a slice of heirloom tomato, then a slice of the proscuitto. Add 1/4 cup of the lobster meat on top, then add a poached egg on top of the lobster.  Drizzle with Hollandaise sauce and top with a dollop of spinach pesto.  Yum, yum, yum. yum, yum!

Easy Hollandaise Sauce:
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, Melted

Put all ingredients except butter in a blender and process for 10-15 seconds.  Slowly add hot melted butter into the top opening of the blender and process for 30 seconds until thickened.  Makes about 1/2 cup.

Spinach Pesto:
6 oz. baby spinach
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended and smooth.  Makes 1 1/2 cups pesto.

Bon Appetit!!!

A delicious gift for any occasion – Anniversaries, Birthdays, Holidays, or just to say Thank You, is a Gift Certificate from these great Cape Cod Restaurants.  https://www.capecodrestaurants.com/info/gift_certificates.php

 

A Special Valentine’s Day Dessert — The Skaket Mess

A Special Valentine’s Day dessert from Chef Bill Conway of the Captain Linnell House in Orleans.

                                                          The Skaket Mess

serves 6 people

Ingredients:

(Seems like a lot of recipes but they are all easy)

Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries

Custard:
2 cups Half & Half
2 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbls. vanilla
8 large egg yolks

Italian Meringue:

8 egg whites (no yolk at all)
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water

Carmel Sauce:

4 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup lite Karo Syrup
Pinch Cream of Tartar
Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbls. vanilla extract
4 Tbls. sugar

Directions:

Custard:  Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow.  Place Half & Half and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Ladle hot cream into egg mixture while whisking.  Return cream and egg mixture to the sauce pan and cook for a few minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Add vanilla extract and chill.  Warning:  if you cook custard too long, the eggs will scramble.

Italian Meringue:  In a saucepan combine sugar and water.  Stir a little at  beginning, then don’t stir after.  Cook to a temperature of 250 degrees or soft ball stage.  Beat egg whites until stiff.  Drizzle hot sugar mixture into egg whites, whisking constantly.  You need to use an electric mixer for this; it makes a very stable meringue.  On a sheet pan lined with parchment, pipe small rosettes with a pastry bag with a fluted tip (or you could get creative and pipe any shape).  Finish the meringues in a 200 degree slow oven for 30-60 minutes or until dry to your touch.  These will store well in an airtight container.

Carmel Sauce: Place sugar, water, lite Karo Syrup and Cream of Tartar in a sauce pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer slowly until you reach a carmel to chestnut color.  Turn heat off and add heavy cream.  It will boil vigorously.  When it calms down, stir until smooth.  You could add vanilla or rum if you choose.  It is a great sauce for ice cream or cake and warms easily in a water bath.

Whipped Cream:  Whisk heavy cream until stiff.  Add sugar at half way point and vanilla at end.

Presentation:  We use a sundae glass for an individual dessert but a glass bowl or trifle dish could also work.  It is a layered dessert:  first spoon a little custard in the bottom of the glass, than meringue rosettes, some berries and arrange so you can see fruit.  Spoon a little more custard, a dollop of whipped cream, more meringue rosettes and finish with a drizzle of carmel sauce and a piece of mint for garnish.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!!

A delicious gift for any occasion – Anniversaries, Birthdays, Holidays, or just to say Thank You, is a Gift Certificate from these great Cape Cod Restaurants.  https://www.capecodrestaurants.com/info/gift_certificates.php

 

Big Game Munchies

Recipes from Ken Granlund of the Mainstay Motor Inn,Wellfleet.

Editorial Comment:  The Big Game Munchies taste better if you use a tray that says “Patriots” especially for the AFC Championship Game!!!!

Sausage Bread

serves 8

Ingredients:

1 green or red pepper
1 onion
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 lb. hot or sweet Italian sausage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 frozen pizza dough, thawed
8 oz. provolone cheese

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. shredded cheese of your choice (I use Mexican mix.)
1/2 cup Frank’s hot sauce
1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Sausage Bread:

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté pepper and onion until softened.  Add garlic and sauté about one minute longer.  Add Italian sausage and cook until browned.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.  Take the thawed pizza dough and shape into an oval on a cookie sheet.  Lay the provolone cheese on the dough.  Add sausage mixture on top of the cheese; spread evenly and roll up the pizza dough.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Cool slightly before you slice and serve it.  You can supplement any pepper you like.  I have done it with habanera peppers which are quite hot.

Buffalo Chicken Dip:

In a glass mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese and the shredded cheese.  Add Frank’s hot sauce and ranch dressing and melt them in the microwave.  Add chicken and mix further, heating as you need to keep the dip easier to mix.

A delicious gift for any occasion – Anniversaries, Birthdays, Holidays, or just to say Thank You, is a Gift Certificate from these great Cape Cod Restaurants.  https://www.capecodrestaurants.com/info/gift_certificates.php

 

 

Chef Kitty Morse’s Cassolita

 A THANKSGIVING TRADITION

A family tradition for Moroccan Chef Kitty Morse dictates that we serve cassolita to accompany our Thanksgiving turkey basted inside and out with preserved lemon pulp! My great-grandmother served this alongside a steaming mound of couscous.

Ingredients:

1 lb Mediterranean or butternut squash
2 large onions, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup raisins, plumped in warm water and drained
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:

Place unpeeled squash in baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F until soft, about 1 hour.  Let cool.  Peel, seed, and cut into serving pieces and place in baking dish.

Heat olive oil over medium heat, and cook the onions with the cinnamon, sugar, salt, and pepper, until very soft, about 15 minutes. Add the raisins and cook 5 minutes longer. Spread the mixture over the squash, sprinkle with almonds, and heat in the oven for 20 minutes.

A delicious gift for any occasion – Anniversaries, Birthdays, Holidays, or just to say Thank You, is a Gift Certificate from these great Cape Cod Restaurants.  https://www.capecodrestaurants.com/info/gift_certificates.php

Baked Crab, Lobster and Artichoke Dip

 

 

                                         Baked Crab, Lobster and Artichoke Dip

A Cape Cod summer recipe, “Baked Crab, Lobster and Artichoke Dip”, from Marconi Beach Executive Chef White and Sous Chef Krum.

This recipe serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

2 8 ounce packages Cream Cheese, softened
4 ounces Lobster Meat, chopped
4 ounces Crab Meat, chopped
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 8 ounce can Artichoke Hearts (NOT Marinated),drained and chopped
1 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
2 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Scallions
Juice of One Lemon

Directions

Place all ingredients in bowl and mix until combined
Spread in 10” oven safe or microwave safe shallow dish or pie pan
Cooking Options:
1. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly
OR
2. Microwave for 2-3 minutes or until bubbly
Garnish with lobster claw and chopped scallions
Serve with toasted pita chips or hearty crackers

Bon Appetit!!

Chef Kitty Morse’s Rose Syrup Lemonade with Rose Scented Ice Cubes

 

 

  A rose-scented recipe
adapted from my book
Edible Flowers: A Kitchen Companion
Rose Syrup Lemonade
with
Rose Scented Ice Cubes
Makes 1 quart

This lemonade is even prettier when served with rose scented ice cubes. For that, double the amount of lemonade, and freeze half of it in ice cube trays.
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Water
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
3 teaspoons rose syrup (or to taste, see Note)
Small rose on a stem, cleaned, for garnish
In a quart jug, mix lemon juice with 4 cups cold water, sugar, and rose syrup.  Stir well. To serve, pour lemonade over rose scented ice cubes and garnish with a small, fresh rose on a stem. Serve with a straw.
Note: Rose syrup is available in Middle Eastern or Indian markets.

 

Bismillah! Bon Appétit!