Lunch at historic Hanover Tavern

Lunch at Hanover Tavern is served on the veranda. This is a sunny porch on the rear of the building. It is light and bright and charming. We arrived at about 2:00 p.m. on Halloween and joined the others who were enjoying their meal.

The lunch menu is simple. They offer a soup of the day, a sandwich of the day and a blue plate special. Their menu is available online, other than the soup and the blue plate special you will be able to see what they have to offer. A selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches round out the offerings.

I ordered the Virginia Peanut Chopped Salad with the addition of grilled shrimp, my husband ordered the braised beef Rueben. You have a choice of side one of which is their hand cut fries. We had water to drink which was served immediately. The wait for our meals to arrive was short and even if it had been longer, the food was good enough to warrant the wait.

The chopped salad was romaine lettuce, beets, Virginia peanuts, chopped country ham and of course the grilled jumbo shrimp, all six of them. It was dressed with a creamy bacon dressing. It was, a very good salad and the size was generous but not huge.

The braised beef Rueben was phenomenal. Juicy beef with sauerkraut, dressing, and cheese on very good, thick cut, rye bread. The hand-cut French fries, however, were the star of the show. They really are fresh potatoes and they are seasoned with salt and pepper perfectly. It is worth coming here just to have those fries and had I known how truly good they were, I would have ordered a sandwich instead of the salad. Luckily, my husband likes to share.

For dessert, we shared an orange and pumpkin crème brulee. It was the perfect seasonal dessert. The spicing was subtle but there was no question that it was pumpkin. My guess is that the orange was in the sugar top.

The service was friendly and efficient and this is a restaurant that I would not hesitate to recommend. As a matter of fact, it was recommended to me by a docent at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown and I am very grateful.

If you are looking for a lovely meal in a historic location, Hanover Tavern is the perfect destination for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch.

Slow cooker beef tips and gravy

I wanted to make something a little like a stew but not quite stew. I bought a pound and a half of stew beef and wanted to make something different but delicious. I succeeded. 

Place about half a cup of unbleached flour in a bowl, season with salt, pepper and chili powder and smoked sriracha. I never measure anything so basically enough to flavor the flour. 

Place some olive oil in a frying pan and set it on medium high. Coat the beef cubes with the flour and place in the pan. Keep the leftover flour. Add two medium onions and a cup of butternut squash. Brown the beef and be careful not to burn the onions. 

In the slow cooker place 5 bouillon cubes with 2 cups of water and 1 cup apple cider. Add gravy master for color, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and Worchester sauce. 

Add the meat, onion and butternut squash. Place the cooker on high and cook for 4-5 hours. Take some of the broth and add it to the flour and make a smooth paste. Add to the mixture and let cook another 10 minutes. 

We ate this served over mashed potatoes but it would be just as good over noodles. 

All American snacks: Rice Krispy Treats

Rice Krispies Treats are an all-American dessert. Making Rice Krispie treats requires a minimal amount of work involved in to prepare. It is so easy that the kids can get involved as well. Even the youngest child can help. You can be made  the traditional recipe but there are many variations that can make them a little different every time.

Standard Rice Krispies Treats

• 3 tablespoons of butter (or margarine)
• 4 cups of mini marshmallows
• 6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal

Grease a nine by thirteen pan.

Melt the butter (or margarine) in a large saucepan, add the marshmallows and cook over low heat stirring constantly until it is totally melted. Add the cereal and mix, this can be quite a project, you may have to mix them with your hands. Pour into a 13 by 9 pan and pat it down flat with a spatula. I often grease my hands to press the treats down into the pan, be careful not to burn yourself. Let it cool and cut into twenty-four pieces. At this point, you can throw a little flour on your face like they do in the commercial so your family realizes how hard you have been working.

Now if you want to take it up a notch, here are a few variation: 

Replace the white marshmallows with pastel, this is especially nice in the spring. Add a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips to the mixture just before you press it into the pan.

Place half the mixture into the pan and press it down, melt a cup of semi-sweet chocolate bits in the microwave and spread on the top of the first half of the treats. Then press in the second half for a sandwich effect. Melted chocolate can be placed on top of the bars or the cut bars can be half dipped in the chocolate.

Add 1 cup of M&M's to the treats before pressing into pan.

Use a cookie cutter and cut the treats into fun shapes. Add 2 drops of food coloring to the melted marshmallows and butter. This is great for Halloween pumpkins, Christmas bells or Easter bunnies or chicks. You could cut shapes as well that are not seasonal like pink or light blue for baby shower treats.

These sweetly sticky treats are a favorite with everyone from small children to seniors. If you wrap them in waxpaper they are a portable treat that you can enjoy anywhere, any time of the day. Don't be afraid to experiment with these delicious bars, the more you add the better they get. Rice Krispie Treats, they're a good thing!

Non-Italian style pizza

Pizza has been around almost as long as man has. As soon as man figured out that baking a grain mixture on rocks produced bread he started adding toppings to it, the pizza was born. It may not have been called pizza but it was flatbread upon which a variety of topping were placed.

The Aeneid makes mention of a flat bread that was used as a plate and then eaten and remnants of flat bread were found in the ruins of Pompeii. Pizza is nothing new, it is almost as old as time.

The discovery of the new world brought the tomato and the flatbread together in a marriage that has lasted until the current time. Most people can't imagine the two of them not being together.

Late in the 19th century, Naples became the center of the pizza universe. The Margherita Pizza was named for the Queen of Italy and was served to her by the king of pizza Neapolitan Raffaele Esposito. When Italians emigrated to the U.S. they brought their wonderful recipes with them and they have become part of everyone culinary heritage no matter where you live and what your nationality is.

What are  non-Italian types of pizza? First I think we must define what an Italian pizza is. Neapolitan pizza is very different from Sicilian pizza. Sicilian pizza has a much thicker crust that is not crusty and chewy. The pieces are usually cut in squares, not slices and stand up much better as finger food. Italian pizza can be red but it can also be white, it can have meat or vegetables but it can also be quite plain. Usual meats are meatballs, sausage and pepperoni and vegetables such as onions, peppers and mushrooms are typical.

Go to almost any pizzeria in the United States and you will see many things that are not included in what is a traditional Italian pizza.

A local favorite in Connecticut is a buffalo chicken pizza, not your typical Italian pizza at all. Made with strips of white meat chicken, spicy buffalo sauce and a coating of cheese usually on a thin and chewy crust, very delicious but it is not the least bit Italian. Another favorite that is seen at many restaurants is the Hawaiian pizza. It comes in several variations, the one thing that you are guaranteed to find on the pizza is pineapple, what goes with it can be ham, bacon or Canadian bacon depending on who is offering it. It is a very addictive combination of sweet and salty.

In Quebec they serve pizza on a crust so thin it is best described as a cracker. It is called pizza and it almost looks like pizza but it is as different from the typical Italian pizza as can be. They serve it with such delights as shrimp, a Popeye which is chicken and spinach Parma ham and eggplant and other gourmet toppings. Leave it to the French Canadians to bring pizza to a whole new level.

In the southwestern U.S. you will find Mexican flavorings and in the south pizza is so different from anything that we are used to in the northeast that we find it hard to imagine it is pizza. A rose or a pizza by any other name, however, is a pizza, even in New Haven Connecticut where it is known as apizza.

Pizza comes in a great many varieties. All you need is some sort of flat bread and some toppings and you can create a delicious meal that is portable and can be Italian or not, the choice is totally yours. It will be delicious either way and creativity, it's a good thing.

Farm to table Rockland, Maine

On a recent trip to Rockland, Maine we were lucky enough to be the guests of two local restaurateurs at their gardens as well as their restaurants. It was a unique opportunity to see the farm to table concept in person. Melissa Kelly, the award-winning chef and co-owner of Primo, and Kerry Altieri, the award-winning chef, and owner of Café Miranda, were both willing to offer personal tours of their gardens and farms and introduce us to their dream.

Primo is a Victorian house that is located on 4 acres of land which is used to raise chickens and pigs, grow edible flowers, vegetables and has beehives for honey. As soon as you walk up the hill past the restaurant, you suddenly feel as if you have gone down on the farm. Seedlings are started in the greenhouse and then moved into the fields. Many of the fields for growing and livestock are rotated as often as weekly.

It was amazing to see the little chicks in their cage. Laer in the tour we saw older chickens some for butchering and others for eggs. The chickens only lay for about two years and then they are off to the stock pot. The pigs were adorable and Melissa got right into the pen with them and scratched their backs. They are destined to end up in some really delicious dishes so it is a little difficult to get too attached to them. 

It is eye-opening to get to meet the animals that are going to be slaughtered for food. The circle of life:up-close and personal. With all that is done here, there is a great consideration for the land. Pens are moved at regular intervals to allow the soil to absorb the nutrients and to keep it healthy. It all feels very natural, the way things used to be done and the way it should be done today. You can just tell that the resulting meals that will be produced are going to be amazing. 

After leaving the field we moved inside Primo and saw the meat that was being cured. Pretty much everything they serve is grown or produced right here. It was a once in a lifetime experience tp tour Primo's gardens with the renowned Melissa Kelly, a pioneer in the farm-to-table concept.

Kerry's Headacre Farm for Cafe Miranda is just down the street from Primo. Kerry has a manager, Anne Perkins , who gave us the grand tour. Cafe Miranda's garden was int he early stages when we were there. It is strictly vegetables that are being grown here now for use in the restaurant but there are plans for a lot of expansion. 

When we were at the farm in June, the greens were still quite small but there were many rows of different varieties. What this means to the consumer is that you will be eating the products of the land here and as time goes on, more will be produced on the farm and less will be sourced from the outside. 

Being able to see these two farms and also visit the restaurants was very eye opening and it gives one a great appreciation for the freshness and what goes into the production of the food that we eat without a thought in restaurants.

Delicious slow cooker pork and apples

I saw a recipe for pork loin cooked in the slow cooker with apple slices placed in cuts in the loin. I actually didn't buy a pork loin, they were just too expensive, I bought boneless pork ribs. Of course, I couldn't find the recipe when I decided to make it so I made this up as I went along. 

What you need:

• A slow cooker
• boneless pork ribs (for the two of us I bought about 1 pound)
• 2 small onions
• 6 small potatoes
• 1 cup butternut squash cut up
• 1 cup Brussels sprouts

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 1/2  cup soy sauce
• 1/2 balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Take the pork and brown it in olive oil in a hot pan with the onions and apples. I seasoned it with sea salt, pepper, and garlic. 

Place the potatoes, butternut squash and brussels sprouts in the bottom of the slow cooker, place the potatoes, onions, and apples on top of it. 

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours.  In my crockpot, the meat was falling apart tender at this point. 

Spoon it out and enjoy, it was awesome, the sauce is very delicious. 

Crockpot baked beans

I was raised on great homemade baked beans. My mom cooked them in a pot in the over and they were delicious. I used her recipe to create my version which is a set and forget it way to make baked beans you can be proud of and people will rave about. 

What you need:
16 oz Navy Pea Beans
1 package salt pork
1 large or two small onions
1/3 cup molasses
salt and pepper to taste

#bakedbeans

Soak you dried beans overnight. I soak them right in the crockpot. Empty the water and replace it with fresh. Chop the onion and add to beans, cut the salt pork into pieces, size is irrelevant. Add the molasses and salt and pepper, cover with water. Stir and then turn the crock pot on high. 

After 4 hours I lowered the heat to low and cooked for another 4 hours. I served this with crusty semolina bread and it was delicious. It was husband approved!!

Crockpot lasagna

Time is something that no one has a lot of and finding easy meals that cook without a lot of attention is something all of us can appreciate. Who doesn't love lasagna? It is, however, work-intensive. This recipe is the easiest one I have ever come up with and it tastes delicious. 

What you will need:
1 jar spaghetti sauce
16 oz. ricotta
8 oz mozzarella
1 12 oz jar roasted peppers
1 egg
1 pack no-boil lasagna noodles
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb Italian sausage

Remove the Italian sausage from its casing and fry. Drain the roasted peppers and add to the sausage. 

Place the ricotta cheese in a bowl and beat in the one egg and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Place some sauce on the bottom of the crockpot. Put a layer of lasagna noodles, spread several large scoops of ricotta on the noodles, top with some sausage and peppers, and more sauce. Add a handful of mozzarella. 

Repeat for as many layers as you have noodles for. You will be breaking some noodles to fit them in the pan. The top layer is sauce and mozzarella.

Put the crockpot on high and cook for 4-6 hours. If you are going to be gone longer, put it on low or medium for a longer cook. This may not be your nonnas lasagna but for busy working women this is a delicious family-friendly meal that makes sense. 

Serve with a salad and some garlic bread and enjoy the rave reviews.  

For other suggestions of what to serve with lasagna check this blog. 

Side dishes to serve with lasagna. 

Other crockpot dinner ideas

Tortilla soup

Pork and apples

Crockpot beef stroganoff

 

It's chili weather

It has been chili weather around here lately. When it gets chilly, nothing warms the soul like a steaming bowl of slightly spicy chili. 

I have been thinking about making chili for a few days so I finally decided to see what I had in the house that could go into the crockpot. I had two cans of chili flavored zesty tomatoes, chili con carne spice from Penzey, hamburger, and no kidney beans. I dug around and came up with a can of butter beans. 

I fried the hamburger and placed it in the crockpot along with the two cans of tomatoes and the beans. I chopped up a small onion and added it to the pot. I didn't have more than a teaspoon of the chili con carne spice and it didn't seem spicy enough. I added some sea salt seasoned with garlic and black pepper and added some smoked jalapeno powder and red pepper flakes. 

I cooked it on high for two hours and then when I went to bed I put it on low. I woke up to a delicious smell in the morning. It was a very tasty result. 

Recipe:
1.5 ground beef
2 cans zesty chili spiced tomatoes
1 can butter beans
1 small onion
garlic, pepper. salt, smokey jalapeno powder and red pepper flakes
chili con carne spice

Cook it slow and low and enjoy. 

Stumpknockers On the River Dunnellon, Florida

We have passed by the restaurant many times before we actually decided to give it a try on a Friday during Lent 2015. We knew that it would be a good place to get fish on a Friday and it is not too far from our house, about a 10-minute drive. Who could resist the name, Stumpknockers? 

On our first visit, the weather was conducive to dine out in the open. We did return for a second visit and it was rainy s we had to dine undercover but wee still chose outside, they do offer indoor dining. 

The location is a big part of the attraction, they are right on the Withlacoochee River. You can take a river cruise right from their backyard so if that is something that appeals to you, check out their website and plan your visit accordingly. 

The setting is very pretty and the restaurant is rustic and very popular. Once you taste the food, you will understand why it is so popular. 

Al decided to try the catfish which is what they are best known for, it is one of their specialties. It comes with coleslaw, which is served ahead of the meal, corn on the cob, French fries and hushpuppies in addition to the catfish. It was the first time that Al had ever tried catfish and he was pleased with his meal. It was generous in proportion. 

I ordered the shrimp. I opted for a baked potato and fresh veggies with my hushpuppies. I really loved it, as you can see, my shrimp were large and the garlic butter was delicious. 

We finished up by sharing a piece of delicious Key Lime pie. It was very good. The whole

meal was very good, good enough to get us to return. 

On my second visit, I had the scallops and they were just

as good as I expected. 

If you are going to be in our neck of the Florida woods, I highly recommend Stumpknocker On the River and if you are going, please give us a call and we will meet you there!! 

Everything You Need to Know About Crepes

I grew up on crepes. I never knew there was any other kind of pancake. My mom never made traditional American style pancakes. Her crepes created a love for crepes that has never diminished.

When we travel to Canada or to France, we always indulge ourselves. Crepes are one of the most popular French foods. While these are not the only quintessentially French food, the simple crepe is so versatile that it demands a certain amount of attention. The origin of the crepe is most often thought to be from the French province of Brittany in the northwestern region of the country. It is not uncommon to find creperies where the servers are dressed in traditional Breton garb.



Basically, there are two different types of crepes: sweet and savory. While the filling is important, it is the crepe itself that makes the difference between the two types.

The savory crepe is often referred to as a galette, created with buckwheat flour. In France, it is referred to as ble noir or farine a Sarasin. It is believed that this buckwheat was brought back from the Middle East by the Crusaders, and it adapted well to the soil and weather conditions of Brittany. It makes a heartier crepe which is the perfect base for whatever you would like to fill it with. It also has a different texture, since there is no gluten in buckwheat flour.

In Brittany, the traditional filling is ham and eggs. According to legend, the crepe was the first fast food, and entrepreneurs as early as the 15th century would sell their savory cakes to the happy locals at markets. The color of a buckwheat crepe is not as light as the sweet crepe; it is a nut-like color and has a somewhat nutty taste as well. It is not unusual for creperies to mix wheat flour in as well to get a lighter crepe.

It has the heartiness of the galette, which, according to the same legend, led to the development of the sweet crepe. After eating a hearty savory crepe, diners were looking for a little something to finish their meal, enter the dessert crepe. Sweet crepes are made with wheat flour and because of the gluten, have a lighter texture that lends itself well to being a dessert.

A sweet crepe can be as simple as just a crepe and butter with a little sugar or maple syrup or may include the addition of just about any fruit or liquor. Chocolate is not uncommon as a filling either. Crepes Suzette is what many people think of when they think of a dessert crepe but this is just one of many, many options. I personally prefer fresh berries and homemade whipped cream.

Crepes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes will provide you with some great recipes to use at home. Or you can always pick up the crepe mix from Stonewall Kitchen. Crepes are a perfect base for a great meal. Experiment, make them at home or find a favorite creperie. They can be simple, complex, extravagant or budget friendly; it’s all a matter of what you choose for your filling.

Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant Canton, Ohio

For over 90 years, residents and tourists alike have flocked to this former bike shop to enjoy homemade ice cream specialties and delicious food. The current owner, Ernie Schott, has not changed the recipes that made the restaurant so famous. He has, however, added a second location in Magnolia and added the historic Kennedy’s Barbecue to his restaurant holdings. Taggarts is a real family-run operation, with Ernie, his wife Patti, their children and their children’s spouses all involved in keeping the restaurants running seamlessly.

We stopped in for a late lunch and had a chance to talk to Ernie about what made him leave his former employment and get into the restaurant business. We also had a chance to sample some very tasty food. The first thing we noticed was that, since this is located in a highly populated area, there is not a parking lot. It really is not an issue; there is plenty of on-street parking, and since the restaurant is on a corner, the side street is a good option. You can dine in or out — the choice is yours — at the counter, a table or a booth.

When I asked the waitress what the restaurant’s specialty was, she told me everything is good and that people don’t favor one thing over another. Ernie, however, thought we should taste the homemade soup and he, of course, was right. We tried two kinds, the vegetable and the soup of the day (cabbage) and they were both delicious and obviously homemade. I fell in love with the cabbage and I am ashamed to admit I didn’t share it with my husband; I ate the whole thing myself.

We had burgers for our main course. I had a patty melt, which is always a favorite of mine, and it was a good one. The ground steak patty has both American and Swiss cheese with grilled onions and of course rye bread. It was generous and I couldn’t finish it, especially since there was no way that I was going to deny myself ice cream. I also tried the restaurant’s tangy coleslaw, which was also delicious.

Taggarts serves what can be best described as good old-fashioned comfort food, and it fits right in with the old-fashioned look of the restaurant: original wooden booths, iron ice cream parlor chairs, and a marble countertop. I have to say, prices are old-fashioned as well; you won’t break the bank dining here.

The ice cream is made in-house, which is obvious from just one bite of the fresh peach, which has huge chunks of ripe peach in every bite. Typically they go through 800 to 1,000 pounds of vanilla ice cream a week and 200 pounds of pecans. If you are not visiting during peach season, not to worry — they offer a variety of flavors every day as well as seasonal favorites. Ice cream is made fresh three times a week.



But no visit to Taggarts is complete without a “Bittner.” There are two sizes, so if you don’t think you are up for eating the three-quarters of a pound of ice cream, you can order a smaller version. According to the Taggarts website, “By far, the most famous Taggarts legacy is the Bittner — invented in 1931 and named in honor of a delivery boy. This is a secret mixture of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and pecans from a special supplier in Georgia. The end result is a dessert which has the consistency of a milkshake but is too thick to drink.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I dug my spoon into the “Bittner.” Oh my, it was amazing; I could have eaten myself silly on those wonderful pecans. I now understand why people come from everywhere to eat this ice cream. It’s salty, sweet, amazingly delicious and unlike anything else, I have ever had. As good as the food was I have to recommend that at least once; you just come in and eat as big of a “Bittner” as you can squeeze in. It’s worth it.

My love affair with caramelized onions

Caramelized onions add a wonderful depth of flavor to any dish to which they are added.  There is nothing I love more than a patty melt!! They are perfect on top of a freshly grilled hamburger or hotdog but are equally at home on a more sophisticated dish. They have that amazing golden brown color that can add a great touch to many dishes. Learning how to caramelize onions will add a new dimension to your cooking. 

Onions are filled with wonderful natural sugar. When you are very patient and take the time to cook them slowly and allow the sugars to come out, you will end up with a pan filled with the most delicious slightly brown and sweet onions. The best onions to caramelize are yellow or white onions. These are at their peak in the spring and summer when the skins are thin and the onions are at their sweetest.

The first step in preparing caramelized onions is to peel and slice your onions. One type of onions that are a little easier on your eyes is Vidalia onions. These beauties are sweet and not as strong as other varieties of onions. Remove the outer skin of the onion and then slice with a knife producing thin rings. Then slice the rings in half, break apart so that you have all single pieces.

Place your fry pan on the burner at medium heat and add two tablespoons of virgin olive oil and one tablespoon of butter for the flavor. When the butter has melted, add the onions and toss in the oil butter combination to coat all the pieces.

Using a wooden spoon stir briefly, lower the heat to medium-low and place a cover on the pan. Lift the cover every few minutes and using your wooden spoon, stir the onions. Keep an eye out for any sticking or any pieces that seem to darken too fast. If it is too dark lower the heat, if it is sticking, add a little more olive oil.

Continue to check and stir until your onions reach the correct golden color. At this point, you can add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. If you want to add any additional spices at this point you can do so. Total cook time is 15 to 20 minutes.

Depending on what you are planning for dinner tonight, chances are that caramelized onions will fit into your menu. If you are having pizza, they are a wonderful addition and if it is pasta, you can add them easily to your dish. Be creative, you family will love it.