"Custard Pie" and "Beautiful Custard Pie"

In a cookbook where two recipes collide....First was the original Custard Pie. Then came the Beautiful Custard Pie. They battled it to the death to become our customer's favorite new pie. Who would ultimately win? We would have to wait and see! 

The original Custard Pie. 

"She was just as widely known for custard pie and it is not unusual to have people say 'just made George's mother's pie today, it's the best!' She gave the recipe in proportions for a 9-inch pie and a 10-inch pie."

George was Marjorie's husband, and this recipe must have been his mother's recipe. It was very popular, and I could hardly keep it on the shelf the day I made it. I will definitely be keeping it on file, as I'll be making it again!  

Next up...Beautiful Custard Pie.
As I was making the original custard pie, I looked down and saw that this recipe followed. I chuckled because it was such a funny name. I decided that I needed to make it right after the other custard pie for comparison sake. Unfortunately, there was no explanation for its unique name, so my assumption is that the name has to do with the recipe's method and ingredients.

The differences between the two:

Custard Pie:                                       Beautiful Custard Pie:
Mix Eggs                                           Beat Egg White
       Sugar                                          Add Sugar
       Cold Milk                                           Spices
       Spices                                         Beat in whole eggs
                                                          Mix in warm milk


The result: the Beautiful Custard Pie was more dense than the Custard Pie. However, both were equally delicious. I made the Beautiful Custard Pie yesterday, and we still have a few slices left. So come in and try some while it lasts!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

http://twitter.com/#!/blueelephant3

Old Fashioned Chicken Casserole

I decided the other day that I wanted to finish the "Poultry" section of this cookbook. I only have a couple more poultry recipes left, but I have been focusing on the desserts recently. I landed on the Old Fashioned Chicken Casserole; it was like nothing I've ever made before. At least as far as methods go.

The directions in this cookbook are a little bit vague to say the least, and I always feel like I'm inferring. The first line of the Old Fashioned Chicken Casserole recipe says, "Prepare chicken or fowl, cook until tender in 1 quart water, adding salt and pepper. Remove chicken. Cool." Well...I assume Marjorie meant to boil the chicken on the stove top in the water and not in the oven in the water. So that's what I did.

After the chicken is done, you make a white sauce of the juice, and pour it over the meat and some bread crumbs in a casserole dish. This is all baked in the oven. It came out like a chicken a la king. We served it over white toast with a side of mixed greens. Delish!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

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

"My Mother's Cream of Tarter Biscuits"

I liked this recipe a lot. The dough was very light and plyable. However after the biscuits baked, they were very dry. I'm not sure why because the dough was so moist, but once you spread some jam on top you could hardly notice!

Do you have experience making biscuits from scratch? What has been your experience with them?

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

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

New Clam Casserole

"Because we have such good canned minced clams, some of our favorite casseroles are made with them rather than fresh clams" Marjorie Standish

The recipes never cease to amaze me, though I was shocked to read this statement because it was sort of like Marjorie felt like she had to explain herself and her ingredient choices. I have to say, though, canned clams is the lesser of all evils compared to some of the ingredients I have come across in this cookbook.

I had fresh clams left over from my clam chowder recipe yesterday, though, so I did not use canned clams. I used fresh ones. The outcome of this recipe is a bit confusing, it looks sort of like an omelet, yet it's baked in a casserole dish so reminiscent of a frittata.

It will be served warm today with a side of greens. It's delicious come on in 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

Maine Clam Chowder

I haven't worked in the soup section of Cooking Down East for quite some time. I think because of all the rain these past two days I was drawn to it as I was flipping through the pages this morning. It is not a difficult soup recipe, and I love the fact that Marjorie seemed to have a lot to say with each step.

It's funny because some of her recipes are simple and to to the point. No stories, no extras. Just plain "this is how you do it" and move on to the next. But then there are these recipes that are mixed with stories and tales of "...back in the day, we used to do it this way..." You can tell which recipes Marjorie was passionate about or had a lot of experience making. I like the stories. They make for interesting reading and a unique cooking experience.

For Maine Clam Chowder the steps involve "trying out" salt pork, then cooking the onions, adding the potatoes and covering with water. Once the potatoes are soft add clams, milk and butter. It's that simple. Of course, season to your liking.

Marjorie's note with this recipe was that the recommendation had always been to let the chowder "ripen" in the refrigerator for several hours or even a day. However, by the time Marjorie was writing this cookbook, the recommended was to omit that step because of the use of homogenized milk. You don't want the chowder to separate and make anyone sick!

She also recommends serving the chowder with crackers, pilot crackers or blueberry muffins. Yum! We will be serving this delicious soup today with oyster crackers. It's the perfect day for soup. Come enjoy a cup or perhaps have a great big bowl for lunch!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

Oven Roasted Peanuts

"This is my favorite way of 'doing peanuts'. Always popular at parties, the next two recipes make fine gifts." Marjorie Standish

I thought I was picking an easy recipe this morning, but boy was I wrong! I guess it wasn't that it was difficult, more that it seemed to take a long time. The most time consuming part of it all was shelling the peanuts. When all is said and done, it is a delicious recipe. Just make sure if you are going to make it that you have some time on your hands.

First place some peanuts in a pan, then cover them with boiling water 

Once they have cooled and you are able to handle the peanuts, the long process begins! 

Start to crack them open and pick out the nuts. 

Allow the peanuts to dry on a paper towel. 

When you are done with picking the nuts out of the shells, and after they have dried,

place the nuts on a sheet pan and cover with oil and butter and roast in the oven. 

When they look good and brown, place in a brown paper bag with salt. Shake to coat, then cut the bag open and allow to cool. Finally you are ready to enjoy! 

Fresh oven roasted peanuts! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/blueelephantevents

Blueberry Glace Pie

Similar to the Fresh Strawberry Pie, the Blueberry Glace Pie recipe involves making a thickened blueberry glaze and then pouring it over fresh blueberries in a baked pie shell. This then gets refrigerated to set. I am amazed at how quick and easy it is to pull together a pie of this kind. 

I think we often overlook the simplest desserts, one of which is pie! I have been on a pie kick this week, and it's a lot of fun. Pie is a dessert that should be made and eaten more often. It's so delicious. Come in and enjoy some today! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Fresh Strawberry Pie

When I first pulled out this recipe, it did nothing but confuse me. I had to read it several times before it started to sink in that this pie was not to be baked in the oven. I have obviously not had much experience with this type of pie! However it is so easy and takes about half the amount of time as a pie that needs to be baked in the oven. 

Simply place freshly washed strawberries in a baked pie shell. Boil together frozen strawberries, sugar, water, and corn starch. Once this mixture has thickened, pour it on top of the fresh strawberries in the pie shell. Set it in the fridge to cool, and you're done! Easy as pie. And delicious too. 

Come in and enjoy this delicious concoction while we still have some left. 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Maine Blueberry Pie

It's officially blueberry season, and I'm ready to cook my way through the blueberry recipes! I had my mom reserve a box of fresh blueberries for me, and I just picked them up this past weekend. They look delicious, and I'm excited to get baking with them. Thanks Mom for reserving those for me!

I was taking a look through the recipes last night, and I didn't see that Marjorie has that many blueberry recipes. This surprises me seeing as blueberries are such a staple ingredient for many Mainers.

I decided there is no better way to start than with Maine Blueberry Pie. After all, it is our state's dessert! All it took was pie crust, blueberries, sugar, flour and a few seasonings. I whipped it up in no time and popped it in the oven.  Within a half an hour I had a delicious Blueberry Pie ready to serve for lunch!

We have a few slices left, so come on in and try it today and let us know what you think! What is the best blueberry pie you have ever had?

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Are you looking for a delicious dessert? And one that's super easy to make? You have got to try Marjorie Standish's Chocolate Sheet Cake and Frosting! I was looking for something to make this morning and landed upon this one. I am so glad I did. The preparation and assembly were not difficult, and it is one of the moistest, most delicious cakes I have ever made!

The only difficulty I had with the recipe was that it called for buttermilk, and I couldn't tell whether or not Marjorie wanted me to use powdered or liquid buttermilk. I decided it would be best to follow the directions on the back of the powdered buttermilk carton - which involved turning it into a liquid. It must have been what Marjorie meant to do, because the cake turned out simply delicious!

I think that the buttermilk, butter and oil are what help to make the cake so moist. The chocolate frosting on top is just thin layer. To make this simply delicious confection take a peek in your copy of Cooking Down East by Marjorie Standish! Or if you want to try it first, then come in to the Blue Elephant today! 

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Delmonico Potatoes

I would consider this recipe for Delmonico Potatoes to be a version of Scalloped Potatoes. It basically has the same method of preparation only with different ingredients.

As with the scalloped potatoes, you slice the potatoes really thin, but then boil them until they are tender. They are then layered in a casserole dish with cheddar cheese, white sauce, pimento salt and pepper. The difference between the two is that the scalloped potatoes have onions and milk instead of white sauce, milk and cheese.

It was an easy dish to make. In fact both dishes are relatively easy. The time consuming part is that they take awhile to prep. Once you have all of your ingredients, you are ready to go... the assembly and baking time is a breeze. The feedback on this dish has been great! Everyone just loves it. If you are looking for an alternative to your same old scalloped potatoes, give the Delmonico a try!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Scalloped Potatoes

 Scalloped potatoes always remind me of Thanksgiving. They are a staple at our family table. I feel like they are labeled as a difficult dish, but this particular version of the recipe was so easy and just smells so delicious!

It simply involves paring the potatoes then slicing the potatoes and onions very thin. The potatoes are then layered with onions, flour, salt and pepper in a casserole dish.

The casserole gets baked in the oven until golden brown and until the potatoes are soft.

Enjoy a dish of the scalloped potatoes by themselves or with a nice side salad. 

Blue Elephant Cafe 

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Franconia Potatoes

With an abundance of potatoes left over from our busy weekend, I figured what better time than now to finish off Marjorie's potato recipes? I started with the Franconia Potatoes, and it was the easiest of potato recipes.

Franconia Potatoes essentially means that the potatoes are roasted in the drippings of a roast or in some fat. So basically the preparation involves paring the potatoes and boiling them for 10 minutes before adding them to a roast in the oven. If your timing works out, you'll turn the potatoes a couple of times, they'll brown up, and in no time at all the roast will be done!

Once the meat and potatoes are done, display them on a platter and make a gravy from the drippings in the pan. Franconia Potatoes will be served today at the Blue Elephant Cafe with sliced roast beef, a bit of gravy and a side of fresh greens. A delicious mid-day meal!

Blue Elephant Cafe

12 Pepperell Square 

Saco, Maine 04072

207-281-3070

www.blueelephantcatering.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Elephant-Events-Catering/19796658177

Soft Molasses Cookies

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? Nobody has yet! They are in the jar waiting to be eaten. Come on in and give them a try.


Soft Molasses Cookies are a two day process yet still very easy! Making these cookies only involves mixing the batter together, then letting it set in the refrigerator overnight.

On the second day when I took the bowl out of the refrigerator, I was a little shocked at how stiff the dough was. I had even let it sit on the counter for a bit before working with it. Once I finally was able to get it out of the bowl and work with it on the counter, it gave way and I was able to mold it into a log.

Then slice it up into pieces... 

Lay the slices out on the cookie sheets.. and put them in the oven 

Once they were golden brown and puffy, out they came and cooled on the counter. 

A jar full of molasses cookies. Mmmmmm mmmmm good! 

This past week the Blue Elephant was super busy catering and, as a result, I fell behind in my Marjorie Standish recipes. I'll be making up for it in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and watch for new posts and updates!