Salmon Chowder

"Salmon chowder is a traditional chowder in Maine. It harks back to days when meat was not always on hand and fresh fish not available. This recipe has filled a need in Maine since olden days. It might be a good idea for you to have a can of salmon in your cupboard, just for an emergency." Marjorie Standish


Salmon Chowder... I've never heard of this until reading this book. In fact I've never worked with canned salmon until I started cooking my way through this cookbook. The recipe was simple and came together like all of the other chowder recipes.

I'm told it's delicious and a hearty winter soup. You will definitely want to come in to the Blue Elephant and give this one a try!

Do you have an experience with Salmon Chowder? Or perhaps canned salmon? Is it a part of your childhood? Let me know I'm very curious!

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Custard Sauce

What an easy custard recipe. I remember when I was in baking class at school and we had to make custard for eclairs and pies and many other baked goods. It was fun but it was a longer, more difficult process than this custard was. This was simply mixing two dry ingredients, adding a couple mixed wet ingredients then stirring over a double boiler until thickened.


My biggest dilemma with this was how to serve it. Marjorie suggested mixed berries. Which sounded great, but I didn't have time to run to the store this morning so that was out of the question. I decided maybe popovers would be good so that is what I made.

We will be serving this delicious custard sauce over fresh homemade popovers. 1.75 each. You don't want to miss this so come in and give it a try!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

Lemon Delicacy

Lemon Delicacy... a light and fluffy dessert; simply described as a cake batter with egg whites folded into it. I followed this recipe to the "T" as per usual. It is delicious in its basic form, and when it is done baking it has the texture similar to that of a custard or meringue.  If I were to make this recipe again I would be sure to add more lemon for a stronger flavor.

It has more steps in it than some of the other desserts. Still very simple and only takes about 20 minutes to pull together and then 45 minutes in the oven. Come in to the Blue Elephant Cafe today to give this recipe a try. You might just like it!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

Favorite Chicken Casserole

"This recipe happens to be my favorite chicken casserole. It has a special sort of flavor and is easily prepared, even a day or so ahead, if you wish." Marjorie Standish

I have conquered two major hurdles in the last couple of weeks. First and foremost, it has officially been one year since starting to cook my way through the Cooking Down East cook book. While I had hopes of wrapping the project up in a year it wasn't necessarily a goal. I'm still chipping away at it, and by my calculations I have less than 100 recipes to go!

The second hurdle is that, as of today, I have completed another section in the cook book. The poultry section is now... finis! Looking back, this was a good section. A lot of delicious recipes came out of it. If I had to choose a favorite I think I would have to go with the Imperial Chicken. Not only is it easy to pull together but it is also versatile. It can be served as a sandwich or stand alone with some sides. It is a recipe that has not let me down! Perhaps the worst recipe so far, though, has also come out of this section! Does anyone remember the Pressed Chicken Salad?! This is definitely one that I will not be revisiting (unless a practical joke is needed!)

Today's dish completes "Poultry," and by a stroke of luck it happened to be Marjorie's favorite chicken casserole. Which is probably where it got its title: Favorite Chicken Casserole. It reminds me a lot of Chicken a la King. The casserole consists of layers of rice, chicken, and gravy all topped with delicious buttered crumbs.

We will be serving Favorite Chicken Casserole today with a side of greens and toast. You won't want to miss this yummy dish, so come on in to the Blue Elephant Cafe and give it a try!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Easiest Chicken Casserole

I thoroughly enjoyed making this recipe. Every time I read this recipe it makes me smile. It goes a little something like this: 5oz jar chicken, 1 NO. 2 can Chinese noodles, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can chicken and rice soup, and 1 cup diced celery.

No wonder this is the easiest chicken casserole! Everything is in a can! I have never heard of jarred chicken, though, and I was unable to find it at the store. Also I was unable to find the can of Chinese noodles. Therefore I had to cook some chicken and boil some noodles. Because of this I'm sure I put more effort into this recipe than Marjorie Standish did.

Everything is mixed together and baked in the oven. Today it will be served warm with a delicious side salad for 4.99.

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Oatmeal Muffins

I needed an easy recipe this morning, and then I came across this one. The only thing I wasn't sure of was the length of time that it was going to take for the oats to soak in the milk - 2 hours. In the end, though, it ended up not being that bad, because I was able to prepare the other ingredients. At the end of the 2 hours I was able to whip everything together and pour it in the muffin tins. 

It took a mere 20 minutes in the oven, and I had a couple dozen delicious oatmeal muffins. They were not your typical muffin. They were not sweet but rather savory. I would recommend this muffin for a brunch or a tea. They were surprisingly delicious! 

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Bean Pot Chicken Breasts

Every time I turn to the "poultry" section of this cook book I think, "There can't possibly be any more in this section to do!" I have marked off dates next to almost all of the recipes. However, they must multiply while I sleep, because I always seem to have two left to do.

I decided to make Bean Pot Chicken Breasts last week. I can officially say that I only have two more recipes in the poultry section! I've checked, and double checked, and yes - only two more, and I'll have a whole section down!

But back to the Bean Pot Chicken Breasts. I really liked this recipe. It was sooo easy! The bean pot is kind of like an old fashioned version of a crockpot. Simply place butter, onions and chicken breasts into a bean pot, and place the pot in the oven to bake. Marjorie suggests serving the dish with rice. I decided salad would be a good option for serving it here at the cafe.

It only took about an hour and a half in the oven (which is a much shorter cooking time than Marjorie suggests). Every time I lifted the lid and smelled the dish, memories of childhood dinners at my Grandmother's house flooded back. It was very cool.

Give this recipe a try sometime if you're in a time crunch and looking for something delicious for dinner. You won't be disappointed!

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Banana Cream Pie

Sadly I have to say that before this banana cream pie I had never made one before. It was effortless and reminded me a lot of my days at school in baking class. We used to have to make a lot of custard based pies for dining room service. In fact, not just pies but we were always making custard! It's an easy thing to make, versatile and lasts for a while too.

This recipe involved layering a baked pie crust with bananas, making a custard and filling the aforementioned pie shell with the custard. Adding another layer of bananas then topping it all with a meringue. Once all assembled the pie is placed in the oven, just to brown the meringue.

It was creamy and delicious. Though some customers said they wanted to taste more banana... others thought it had just enough banana and they liked the fact that it wasn't overwhelming. As far as I'm concerned this is a recipe to hang on to. It will reappear at the Blue Elephant you can be sure!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Lemon Sponge Pie

Lemon Sponge Pie. This is a fabulous recipe, so delicious and so easy to make! It is very similar to a lemon meringue pie but similar to the other "sponge pie" I made not to long ago it had egg whites folded into the batter. 

The consistency of the pie was light and fluffy. I will most definitely be making the pie again! And if you too are looking for an easy and delicious dessert for your family or perhaps some company, give this one a try! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Province Pudding

Pudding? Not so much. I had a really difficult time describing this one to our customers because it wasn't anything like pudding! It was more like a cake with a caramel sauce underneath. I am told it was yummy and fairly sweet. 

Has anyone out there made this recipe before? I'm still stumped with this one and I don't really get it. 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Baked Halibut

My apologies, it has been a while since my last posting. I now have a few moments and will catch up on the recipes that I've been creating from Mrs. Marjorie Standish's Cooking Down East Cook Book!


When I was growing up a dinner my mom used to make all the time was baked haddock. Her method was always to top the fish with breadcrumbs and lemon juice. It was one of our favorite meals, and if we were lucky she would make the egg sauce that Marjorie mentions frequently!

I decided earlier this month to make Baked Halibut and was expecting the recipes to be quite similar. I wasn't let down. In addition to the bread crumbs and fish though Marjorie had me prepare a delicious mustard and butter sauce that gets poured over the fish. The bread crumbs are added on top of this and the fish is baked in the oven.

One little note... Marjorie says bake in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes. I have never cooked fish for 40 minutes. It would most likely kill it... again. It's funny, her cooking times are often much longer than they actually need to be. Most likely a sign of the times, as back in the day everybody was very worried about food poisoning and food borne illness. So they cooked everything until it couldn't be cooked anymore. As evidence by most of these recipes!

The Baked Halibut was delicious, the added flavor of the mustard was a great idea. The dish was served warm with a side of fresh greens. I will definitely be keeping this one in the repertoire!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Shrimp Stew

All of Marjorie's stews are interesting; how they are made and their ingredients. I was taught the difference between a soup and a stew is that a stew has potatoes in it. So far all of Marjorie's Stews have not had potatoes and have been a very thin broth.

In addition to this, the fish stews have but two ingredients in them: the fish, sauteed in some butter, and milk poured over the fish. The milk is brought to a boiling point and then kept warm. The stews are seasoned with salt and pepper.

Of course for this project I need to make and experience all of the recipes, but I find that these soups are bland and not very interesting. The Shrimp Stew was no exception. Simply saute shrimp with butter and add milk. I would have liked to have added potatoes or some vegetables. Once done with this particular project I will have to experiment with this kind of soup again!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Plum Baby Food Cake

This is one of the recipes that I have passed by, just chuckled at, and avoided. The name itself is a turn off and has made me stay far away for a long time! However on the day that I made this cake, I guess my curiosity was piqued enough! There weren't many ingredients, and it didn't take much time to prepare. The strangest part of it was that fact that it had plum baby food in it. 

Despite its name it was still a hit, and most of it sold without much hesitation! Though I can't say I will keep it in my repertoire, it was definitely worth a try! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Cranberry Crunch

This recipe reminded me a lot of any crisp or crunch recipe. It started with a can of cranberry sauce and ended with some sugar and oats. After being baked in the oven for a bit, it gets served in a dish with some whipped cream or ice cream. If you are a purist, then you will take it plain. Any way you eat this dish it is delicious! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Brambles

What are brambles you might ask?! Well they are a delicious cookie made by rolling out a pie crust, filling it with a sugar, raisin, and butter mixture, then topping it all with another rolled out pie crust. The edges are folded over and marks are made on the top so that once it is baked you can go back over and cut the pieces easily.

The finished product reminded me a lot of fig newtons. Only instead of fig filling, it was a raisin filling. They were easy to make and quite delicious. I would certainly make them again especially as a holiday cookie.

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Seven Layer Dinner

Seven Layer Dinner. Talk about a funky recipe! Filled with layers and layers of different textures and types of foods. Start with a layer of potatoes in a casserole dish, then add some thinly sliced onions, cover with raw hamburg, salt and pepper. Next cover with a little raw rice, canned tomatoes, green pepper, celery, mushrooms and raw bacon. Finally the whole dish gets covered with water and then baked in the oven at 350 degrees!

It was actually quite delicious and a very popular dish. Not to mention easy to pull together!

Give it a try sometime and let me know what you think!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Appetizer Loaf

I flew by this recipe one day and just had to stop and read it. The shear amount of ingredients in this recipe is amazing. It just made me chuckle! To mention a few, onion, olives, cracker crumbs, green pepper, pickles, hard boiled egg, salad dressing and old English cheese. All of this gets mixed together in a food processor and rolled into a log in wax paper.

It is chilled in the fridge. When it is unrolled this is what you get:

Served as samples on that day with crackers. It was an interesting combination, though the general consensus was that it was quite good! Have you ever seen anything like it?

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Famous Webster Squash Pie

I can't say that I loved this recipe and I'm still not sure why it is famous. The way I would describe it would be a pumpkin pie, except remove the pumpkin and add in squash. Delicious, though nothing to write home about. 

Does anyone out there know where the name comes from?

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Lamb Stew with Dumplings

It has been a long time since I've worked with lamb! This lamb stew was really nice. It was simple too. It reminded me of beef stew, the browned meat with cut vegetables and spices.

The dumplings dough was made then dropped in the soup at the last minute. The puffed right up with the steam and were a delicious addition to the soup!

Lamb is a funny creature, people love it or hate it. Do you like lamb? Would you have enjoyed this lamb stew?

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie was so easy to make!!!! Simply cooked pumpkin, spices, milk, sugar and eggs mixed all together and poured into the pie crust. Baked in the oven it was so light and fluffy. One of the best pie recipes I've made in a while!

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Parsley Butter

Now this was an interesting recipe! I actually have been reading a lot about flavored butters in food magazines recently! its quite a trend right now. Simply parsley and butter blended together with a little lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Now had it been a nice catered affair I would have taken the butter and molded it or piped it out into a pretty shape. It would have been placed over a nice piece of steak or with delicious crusty bread. However, the way Marjorie had me serve it was on white bread. Parsley Butter Sandwiches. Mmmmmm mmmmm good!

I beefed it up a bit and served the parsley butter sandwiches on white bread with lettuce and tomato and a cup of soup. A huge seller???? I think they were a bit foreign but very creative!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Spicy Meatballs

Looking for something a little different I decided to make this recipe next. What makes them spicy you might ask? Black pepper and horseraddish! They had quite a kick to them thats for sure! I tossed some spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and olive oil marinade then topped with the meatballs.

What an easy supper and delicious dish! definitely give this one a try!

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

www.blueelephantcatering.com

Frosted Molasses Squares

I have passed by this recipe so many times on this day I finally said, "I'm just going to make it!" It was not the best recipe ever. It was a very dense bar with a sweet confectioner sugar icing. Give it a try sometime and let me know what you think!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

http://twitter.com/#!/BlueElephant3

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

Lacy Cookies

It's been a while sine I've posted. The Blue Elephant has been mighty busy these past few weeks! I will try to be brief to catch up on all the food I have made from Cooking Down East with Marjorie Standish!

Right after the Baked Stuffed Shrimp I set out to Make Lacy Cookies which were not only delicious but really pretty cookies! A simple combination of sugar, oatmeal, eggs and spices. when they bake they flatten and look a bit like a piece of lace. if feeling very creative one could take them directly out of the oven and mold them into a dish or cone for ice cream or other treat!

So delicious!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/