An apple crisp a day

It’s apple-pickin’ time! We visited a Maine orchard last weekend and picked about 40 pounds of organic McIntosh, Cortland, Jonagold and Fameuse Snow (an heirloom parent of the McIntosh). I used a mix of Cortland, Macs and Jonagold in this apple crisp. A traditional New England dessert that appeared on every school lunch menu until authorities determined that serving dessert at school is a bad thing, apple crisp is a favorite fall comfort food. It’s easy to prepare but tricky: Apple crisp can be apple soggy if you use the wrong apples or not enough flour in the topping. If you choose McIntosh apples exclusively, the result is likely to be mush because these apples cook down to almost nothing. They are great for applesauce. Cortlands are among the best for cooking because they retain their shape. Jonagolds can be dry. I find a combination of apples works well. However, if I had to pick just one for baking, it would be Cortland.

Apple crisp

Five or six large apples (about 2 pounds)

1 cup flour

½ cup old-fashioned oats

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt (cut in half if using salted butter)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

1 stick cold butter, diced

To make topping: mix flour, oats, sugars, salt and spices. Add butter and cut in with pastry cutter, two knives or fingers. (I start with a pastry cutter and end up using my hands.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using butter wrapper, grease the inside of an 8-inch-square or similar baking dish. Peel and slice apples about a quarter-inch thick. Fill baking dish, leaving some headroom for the topping. Cover apples with topping.

Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, or until topping is browned and apples are bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Serves six.

Capt. Shrimp and rice

Not long after the Pilgrims arrived in the New World in 1620, profligate English lawyer Thomas Morton settled to the north of the Plymouth Colony in a place he called "Merry-mount." Morton and the Pilgrims didn't see eye to eye. Morton viewed the Separatists as a lot of religious fundamentalists. The Pilgrims dubbed the fun-loving Morton the "Lord of Misrule" and attempted to eject him from their New English Canaan, eventually succeeding. Morton referred to Capt. Myles Standish as "Capt. Shrimp" because of his small stature and red hair.  

While this dish incorporates shrimp as its main ingredient, it has little to do with New England cooking. Before returning to my home state of Massachusetts nearly 15 years ago, I lived for four years in the Florida Panhandle, where shrimp and oysters are plentiful. On my way home from work, I would frequently stop at the fish market to buy a pound of freshly caught shrimp for $5.99. And so this pilgrim added a number of shrimp recipes to her file. This is one of my own invention. It’s a relatively quick and easy recipe, especially if you buy the shrimp already cleaned.

Bayou shrimp and rice

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

½ cup uncooked white rice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon paprika

cayenne pepper or hot sauce, to taste

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup water or shrimp broth*

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

In a large skillet with a lid, melt the butter and olive oil. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is lightly browned. Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Add bay leaf, paprika and cayenne pepper and cook for a minute. Then add tomatoes, water or broth and salt. Bring to a simmer and then add shrimp and frozen peas. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Serves four.

*If not in a hurry, I’ll make shrimp broth to use in this dish. It adds more depth of flavor. When cleaning the shrimp, I reserve the shells for the broth. This recipe makes about four cups, so you’ll have some to freeze.

Shrimp broth

shrimp shells

one small whole onion

one garlic clove, lightly crushed

a sprig or two of parsley

Place all ingredients in a stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer, lid tilted, for about 30 minutes. Strain.

Cape scrod

Local waters were teeming with cod when the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. But because they weren’t trained as fishermen, these Englishmen had a hard time catching them, according to historians at Plimoth Plantation. Gradually the early colonists became better at fishing, however, and seafood became a local staple.

In just about every coastal New England restaurant featuring traditional fare, you’ll find “baked stuffed” fish on the menu. It’s basically cod, haddock or scrod (young cod or haddock) baked with crushed Ritz cracker crumbs and butter. Sometimes, a splash of sherry and hint of nutmeg are added. Scallops, shrimp and lobster are also cooked in this manner--with delicious results.

Baked stuffed fish

1-1/2 pounds of cod, haddock or scrod

1 sleeve Ritz cracker crumbs

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Place the Ritz crackers in a plastic bag or on a sheet of waxed paper and crush with a rolling pin. Melt butter in saucepan. Reserve about two tablespoons of melted butter. Add Ritz cracker crumbs to melted butter and stir until crumbs are thoroughly coated. Butter the bottom of a glass baking dish. Place fish in dish. Top with buttered crumbs. Drizzle with remaining butter. Bake in 375-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until fish is opaque and flakes. Serves three to four.

Garden-ends vegetable soup

This hearty soup consists of vegetables harvested from the garden at the end of the growing season. It’s a minestrone, really, containing tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, herbs--whatever vegetables are available. Because it contains tomatoes, this soup has no roots in Early American cooking because, back then, tomatoes were believed to be poisonous. Tomatoes weren’t eaten in North America until the early 1800s, after Europeans had proven the fruit was indeed safe to eat.

The process for making this soup is loose. Like the cook in the "Stone Soup" fable, you can toss ingredients in the pot as you think of them, chopping as you go, and in the end, the soup turns out fine. The bacon adds extra flavor, but it can be omitted; just substitute olive oil for the bacon fat. The simmering time at the end ensures that the potatoes will be tender and the flavors melded.

Garden-ends soup

2 strips bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 rib celery, diced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 to 2 pounds tomatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

small rind of parmesan cheese (optional)

1 large Yukon gold or red bliss potato, diced

6 ounces green beans, chopped

1 small bunch Swiss chard, torn into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup chopped basil

¼ cup chopped parsley

In a stock pot, try out bacon (render fat until bacon is crispy). Drain off all but a tablespoon of bacon fat. Add onions, celery and carrot; sauté until soft. Add garlic and sauté for a minute or two. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, salt and parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and then add potato. Cook for several minutes more and then add green beans, Swiss chard, basil and parsley. Return to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes. Serves four to six.

Cranberry slump

A slump is like clafoutis (cla-foo-TEE), a French country dessert with fruit on the bottom and a pancake batter-like crust on the top. It is often made with apples or pears. This easy recipe highlights one of North America’s native fruits, the cranberry. The Wampanoag natives, who helped the Pilgrims through their first difficult year in the New World, made liberal use of this berry, which is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants and bacteria-fighting proanthocyanidins. Harvested annually from mid-September through early November, these ruby-red orbs keep for a month or more in the refrigerator. They freeze well, too; just be sure the berries are dry when you freeze them.

This dessert recipe calls for a full cup of sugar to offset the extreme tartness of the berries. If you wish to reduce the amount of sugar, use equal amounts of sliced apples and whole cranberries—1 cup each. Reduce the sugar to ¾ cup, using ¼ cup to sprinkle over the fruit and the remaining ½ cup for the batter. Chopped walnuts or pecans may be substituted for the sliced almonds. If you opt for walnuts or pecans, flavor the batter with vanilla extract instead of almond extract. This dessert is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or generous dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Cranberry slump

2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained

1 cup sugar, divided

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg

½ cup flour

¼ cup butter, melted

½ teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate.

2. Place cranberries in pie plate. Sprinkle with ½ cup sugar and nuts.

3. Beat egg well; gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar, beating until foamy. Add flour, melted butter and almond extract. Beat until thoroughly blended. Spread over berries.

4. Bake for 45 minutes or until cranberries are bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Satisfying stew

A New England staple, beef stew is an economical dish, using an inferior cut of meat that’s slowly cooked until it’s tender and flavorful. On a chilly day, beef stew really satisfies. Traditionally, New England beef stew requires dredging the meat in flour before browning. The flour thickens the stew. I am not a fan of meat in wallpaper paste, so I eliminate the flour.

This recipe can be made in a slow cooker, if you prefer. Brown the meat, and cook the onions and carrots. Place them in the slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients. Cook on “low” for six to eight hours. I find the potatoes become desiccated in the slow cooker, so I’ll serve mashed potatoes on the side instead.

Beef stew

2 pounds chuck, cut in chunks

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

A few drops of Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

14-ounce can beef broth

3 to 4 medium potatoes, cut in chunks

In a large pot, sear meat in oil in small batches. Remove to a bowl or dish. Add to the pan chopped onion and the equivalent of one chopped carrot. Cook until vegetables soften, loosening brown bits from bottom of pan. Add thyme and cook for a minute or two. Return browned meat and juices to pan; sprinkle with pepper. Add brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf. Add beef broth just to cover meat. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for at least two hours, until meat is tender. Add potatoes and remaining carrots. Simmer for another 20 minutes or so, until potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Serves four.

Grape day in the morning: wild grape jelly

The heady scent of wild grapes permeates the late summer air. This sends my foraging instincts into high gear. It’s the New England way: If the good Lord puts food in front of you, take it and be grateful. Or, as Yankees are fond of saying, “You can’t beat free.” You can certainly eat these grapes out of hand, but they are not bursts of sweetness. These distant kin to commercially sold grapes have a wine-like taste. I like to make jelly with them.

Making jelly from these grapes offers a less tricky introduction to canning because 1) the grapes contain enough natural pectin that you don’t need to add store-bought pectin, and 2) the processing part takes only five minutes in boiling water. Yet, be forewarned, making preserves is a drawn-out business, one that should be saved for when you have a mind to play in the kitchen for about four hours. It requires a relaxed attitude and abundant patience. It will certainly give you a deep appreciation for your ancestors who canned routinely in the summer and fall to prepare for the long winter.

Wild grape jelly

6 8-ounce canning jars

4 pounds wild grapes

2 cups water

4 cups sugar

Wash jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse well. Sterilize jars by boiling them for 10 minutes. Leave them in the boiling water while you make the jelly. Remove just before you are ready to fill. Do not boil lids; just dip them in the hot water for a few minutes. Place on a clean towel.

Pick over the grapes, remove stems and wash before putting them in a large pot. Add water and heat to the boiling point. Mash the grapes and boil for 30 minutes, covered. Strain through a coarse strainer or cheese cloth. Measure liquid, return to pot and boil 5 minutes more, uncovered. Add 2/3 cup of sugar for every cup of juice. Stir until sugar is dissolved; then boil rapidly, uncovered, to jelly stage. The mixture is at jelly stage when it thickly coats the spoon and two drops hang from it. Skim, fill jars, wipe edges clean, seal, cool, label and store. It’s important to make sure the rims of the jars are clean before you seal them because food residue can affect the seal.

As the jars cool, you should hear the lids popping. This is a good sign. It means you have created a tight seal. Properly sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. If the jars are not sealed tightly, bacteria can grow, spoiling the food. Test the jars after they have cooled completely by pressing a finger on the lid. If the lid buckles, the jar isn’t sealed properly, and you cannot safely store the jelly for long. Refrigerate and eat the jelly within a month.

Cereal for dessert: Grape-nuts pudding

In Britain, the word “pudding” is used to refer to the dessert course of a meal. The British have a long tradition of puddings, both sweet and savory. New Englanders love their pudding, too. Did you know the Pilgrims had no dessert course, per se? All dishes, sweet and savory, were placed on the table at once. That’s right: In the early Plymouth colony, you could eat dessert first!

Grape-nut pudding, made with Post Grape-nuts wheat and barley cereal, is a favorite regional comfort food. Some bake it in the oven, but my mother makes it in a double boiler on the stovetop. Here’s her recipe:

Grape-nut pudding

Two eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup sugar (brown or white)

2/3 cup Grape-nuts

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

In the top of a double boiler, off the heat, mix eggs, sugar and Grape-nuts. Add milk. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring gently on occasion so the cereal won’t sink to the bottom. When thickened, remove the pudding from double boiler and gently stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool and chill. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Serves four.

Baked in a potpie: chicken or turkey

Advisory: this recipe is neither quick nor easy. However, potpies are so much a part of the New England vernacular that I felt I should include a recipe for one. In fact, immigrants who came to Plymouth on later boats often referred to the resident Yankees as “pie eaters.” It is believed that the Pilgrims made pies, both savory and sweet.

New Englanders make potpies using meat or seafood. Because I boiled a whole chicken this week to make chicken stock, I used the white meat to make curried chicken salad and the dark meat to make potpies. Leftover turkey may be substituted. You can simplify this recipe by using store-bought pie crust and a 10-ounce combined package of frozen peas and carrots. While a bit labor-intensive, this is the kind of food that satisfies on a cold, blustery day.

Chicken potpie

Pastry for double-crust pie (recipe below)

1 small package of frozen peas

1 medium onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and diced

¼ cup (a half-stick) butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried sage, marjoram or thyme, crushed

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups chicken broth

¾ cup milk

3 cups cubed chicken (can also use turkey)

¼ cup snipped fresh parsley

In a large pot, cook onion and carrots in two tablespoons of butter until vegetables are tender. Add dried herb of choice, salt and pepper; sauté a minute or two. Add remaining butter. When butter is melted, add flour and cook two to three minutes. Add chicken broth and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add frozen peas, meat and parsley. Cook until bubbly.

Pour mixture into four to six individual casseroles. Roll out pastry. Cut circles to fit casseroles. Place pastry over dishes, pressing gently over edges. Cut slits in top for steam to escape. Brush tops with egg wash, milk or cream, if desired. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Makes four to six servings.

Basic pastry

1-1/2 cups flour

½ cup butter, cubed (or combination of lard/shortening and butter)

½ teaspoon salt

Ice water (about a half-cup)

Add salt to the flour. Work in butter with finger tips, pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles coarse, pea-size crumbs. Gradually moisten with ice water until dough holds together. Form into a disc, wrap in wax paper or plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Curry favor with chicken salad

Sea captains introduced curry to America in the 1800s, according to historical documents. Chicken country captain is an example of an early dish employing this Asian spice. Cape Cod and other coastal New England locations have a rich history of merchant seafarers. Cape Cod's Old King's Highway (Route 6A) is lined with sea captains' homes. 

I grew up eating the traditional chicken salad, made with celery, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and I loved it. But in the 1980s, when all the upscale food stores were carrying it, curried chicken salad became my preference. This is one easy way to use the meat from the chicken used to make stock.

Curried chicken salad

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cooked

¼ cup toasted slivered almonds, or whole walnuts or cashews

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons or more of low-fat plain yogurt or mayonnaise

1 small apple, peeled, cored and diced, or ¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins

¼ cup diced celery

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Dice cooked chicken breast and place in medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. This can be served immediately but tastes best when refrigerated for two hours, allowing flavors to meld. Serves four.

A chicken in every pot

Historians believe the Pilgrims brought animals with them aboard the Mayflower, most likely goats, pigs and chickens. I haven't found anything in the historical record to indicate that the Separatists made chicken soup, but the idea isn't farfetched. Boiling a chicken is easy, and the resulting broth is appetizing.

Most recipes make this endeavor harder than it has to be. Here’s my simple family recipe, passed down through generations. Usually I use chicken necks and/or backs, if I can get them at the store. Often I will accumulate these parts in the freezer until I have enough to make stock. This recipe can be made with turkey parts or the leftover carcass of a roasted turkey, as well. The flavor is in the bones.

Unless I’m planning to use the meat for another dish, such as potpie or chicken salad, I consider it wasteful to use a whole chicken. However, because the grocery store offered a post-hurricane special on whole chickens at 42 cents per pound, I bought two. One I've stored in the freezer to roast at a later date; the other I’ll use to make chicken stock.

Chicken stock

1 rib celery, washed (top can be left intact)

1 carrot, scrubbed, top removed (peeled if you prefer)

1 medium onion (no need to peel if clean)

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon salt

1 whole chicken or 1 package chicken necks and/or backs

Place all ingredients in a 6-quart stock pot. Fill pot 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. After about 30 minutes, skim any scum that has risen to the top. Continue to simmer, half covered (lid tilted), for about two hours. The trick to good stock is long, slow simmering. When done, remove the chicken necks and backs, vegetables and bay leaf; discard. Strain the stock and serve or store in containers in refrigerator for up to three days or freezer for several months.

If you’ve used a whole chicken, refrigerate the meat for use in other dishes, such as chicken salad, chicken potpie, Turkish hash or other. Contrary to what some cooks claim, the boiled meat is delicately flavored and moist. Any self-respecting Yankee would deem it a shameful waste to toss the cooked chicken in the trash.

Setting sail

Children as Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Mass.

On this date in 1620, an intrepid band of 102 religious separatists and others sailed from Plymouth, England aboard the Mayflower, a 100-foot cargo ship. The 66-day voyage would eventually take them to what would be their new home: Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Separatists who began a new colony in America with the help of the native Wampanoags are commonly known as Pilgrims. It’s no accident that I, a native of Plymouth, Mass., have chosen this day to launch a food blog: Cooking Pilgrim. The blog will offer recipes for simple foods common to the region. Many recipes have been passed down through generations. This is my culinary journey of some 40 years.


The Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England