"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