A Trunk Full of Recipes

Monday, December 5, 2011

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

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

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

Friday, December 2, 2011

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

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

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