Fresh sourdough baguette straight from a wood fired oven? Sure! Off the coast of Maine on an historic sail boat? Even better.
Gourmet cooking cruises, culinary travel, or Maine Food Cruises, no matter what you call them, they all have the same thing in common – local Maine food, grown sustainably, and served with care and attention on the deck of the Schooner J. & E. Riggin. We serve what I call swanky comfort food all summer long, but our special Cooking with Annie trips have an additional element – a bit of education.
Kalamata Olive and Black Pepper Bread. Yum.
We aren't "in class" all day long, so if you have a spouse or friends that are just interested in eating well while you learn a few more tips and techniques to add to your culinary arsenal, this is perfectly planned.
That said, anyone who wants to spend all day in the galley with me, watching and learning, absolutely can. From 6am to 7pm, I'm in the galley making breakfast, lunch and dinner, so there are plenty of chances to get your hands doughy or dirty, so to speak.
The first in the series of topics that we talk about during the trip is bread.
Breads – to knead or not to knead, sourdough or quick breads, baguette or stirata, the world of bread is big and the options are many.
Bread Tip: Did you know that there are two ways to encourage the formation of gluten (what gives a loaf it's loft and structure) in bread? Kneading is one and more moisture is another. So to achieve a similar result, you can either spend 5 to 10 minutes kneading your bread or you can add more liquid to your dough and let time do the work.
Gourmet cooking cruises? Who doesn't want to eat well on vacation? July 6 to 9th is our next Maine Gourmet Food Cruise.
There's a new sandwich gig in Rocklandtown and it's delightful. Malcom and Jillian Bedell, of From Away fame, have joined the corps of high-caliber restaurants in town with their food truck, Wich, Please. This tiny kitchen, serving breakfast and lunch sandwiches such as a swanky BLT built on sourdough bread, with frisee, confited tomatoes and crispy bacon, began with a Kickstarter campaign and the faith of several hundred fans and supporters.
That belief has paid off and the food truck is open for business beginning this week. Set up to handle two cooks max, Malcom and his assistant have very little room to maneuver in this small food truck. Actually, the space looks pretty familiar – a lot like my galley. No jumping jacks for those two, just the dance of two chefs moving from one place to the next weaving in and around each other to reach for the next ingredient. Cassie, my assistant cook, and I get this all too well.
My Rubenesque, a vegetarian Ruben made with roasted beets and Morse's sauerkraut, was a well-balanced blend of texture and flavor. The crispy bread off-set the crunch of the kraut and the easy bite of the beets – the flavors all complimenting one another.
Located on the edges of Rockland Harbor with the tang of the sea greeting the outdoor park seating, there's no doubt that these two have a formula for success. Oh, and try the grilled cheese too – ours was with caramelized onions, pickled jalapenos, and chips.
Good luck to you both! Today is taco Friday, friends, from 4-7pm.
P.S. My galley is still smaller.
Rolls for a special dinner should be soft and buttery and have you wanting at least seconds if not thirds. They should also be served warm. That's just how it is. Now, I've posted Aunt Annie Rolls before and those are super good. We make these for holiday dinners all the time. However, when my friend made these Feather Rolls with me on the boat one year, I fell in love.
Thank you to my friend, Glen Rines, and the women in his family, for passing this recipe down through the generations. May our holiday meals always be as delicious as yours were.
Put water, sugar and yeast into a large bowl and add salt. Add 1 cup of flour and beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs, unsalted butter and beat for another minute. Add the rest of the flour and stir until dough is firm. Let rise 1 hour. Remove from bowl onto a floured counter top. Roll the dough out to about 3/4-inch thick and cut into rounds with a large biscuit or the outside of a doughnut cutter (without the hole). Brush both the top and bottom of the rounds with butter and fold in half. Place them on a rimmed 12 x 17 inch baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until they are doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes or until the rolls are cooked through and golden brown on the top. Serve warm.
Here's to passing down recipes!
It's only a few days until daylight savings time, however, until the snow melts from the ground and the temperature rises above 35 degrees most days, comfort food will remain a staple in our house. I just can't bring myself to keep the stove off! Scarves, many layers, turtlenecks and fingerless mittens are also a constant. It's just how it is some years in Maine.
I find myself looking for those things I love because complaining about weather, over which I have zero control, is not my cup of tea (or bowl of stew)… Could this be the last snow fall of the season? How lovely that a new coat of snow has freshened up the roadsides and our yard. Are those cardinals at the bird feeder? The seeds are on their way. The green is on its way. The warmth is on its way….
And for now I'll delight in the cozy meals that still sound just as delicious now as they did in October when I began to crave them. Fish Stew with Porcini Mushrooms is the recipe that ran in the Portland Press Herald today. Of course Quick Buttermilk Bread goes super well with the stew. Check it out.
I woke up this morning to my car cloaked in a glow of pink. The sun had not yet broken the horizon and my snow-covered car received it's kiss as it rose to greet the day.
July 20, 2013 – Annie returned to shore after a 4-day cruise and proceeded to heat the entire downstairs with steam as she made batches of jam in 84 degree/humid weather. THEN she wanted to open the windows to "cool down." Ha. E made Annie promise that 7 months from now, February 20th, that we would have jam & biscuits to make up for it. Annie agreed. Annie hereby agrees to make biscuits with Strawberry or Rhubarb Champagne Jam as she has promised. Signed by both parties.
And here they are, E. As promised and as delicious.
This is a recipe my grandma passed on to me through my mom. Thank you, Grandma, for being so good at making both biscuits and pie dough. I think of you every time I make either.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. This is an important step because you want to add air to the mixture so the biscuits are as fluffy as possible. Cut the butter in with a pastry knife until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Stir in any additional dry ingredients here. Add milk and any additional wet ingredients, stirring until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix. This is very important; if you overmix you will probably get hard tack instead of fluffy biscuits. Great for sailors of old, but not so delicious in present time. Turn out onto a floured board and knead 5 to 10 times, then stop. Roll or pat out the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie pan for 12 to 15 minutes.
Keepin' E happy. It's a good thing.
Is there anything good about your team not playing in the Super Bowl? Hmmm… For starters, it's safe to spend the game with others without embarrassing outbursts and too much enthusiasm. If one team looses, at least it's not yours. One can focus on the food and not so much the game. Turns out there are a few upsides after all!
As for the food, I've been thinking about what sounds good to me this weekend and found this recipe in my column archives. I'm thinking some oven-fried potatoes and a big salad plus maybe a brothy soup to go with it.
Go Welker! (even though you don't play for the Patriots any more and your uniform is the wrong color).
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Heat the oil and add the onions, peppers, salt and pepper. Sauté until tender and remove from heat.
Slice baguettes in half length-wise and place on a baking sheet. Place slices of meatloaf on baguettes and top with onion and pepper mixture and the slices of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Slice into 3-inch pieces and serve.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Mix all of the ingredients together; pat it into two 9×4 loaf pans and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Glen, a long time Riggin Relic and friend, is often the first to greet me in the morning and I am often the first to greet him, with his cup of steaming coffee in hand. His cup is poured before anyone else's, one because he's a guest and two because he's down in the galley having early morning conversation amid the chopping and slicing of vegetables and fruit in prep for all of the meals of the day.
Food memories come up often as we move in and out of intense work and then a sip of coffee. During one of these moments, Glen shared a memory he had of making doughnuts with his Grandmother who was the long-time cook at Bowdoin College in one of their fraternity houses.
We've been talking for two years about making his Grandmother's doughnuts together. He'd long since shared the recipe with me, from memory, but I didn't want to make my first batch without Glen. It just didn't seem right.
Last trip, after another winter had gone by with out making doughnuts together, I put my foot down. We were making doughnuts and we were making them together on the boat. And so we did. And they were fantastic. And I felt full in so many ways!
Glen in my spot pressing out doughnuts.
Cassie and Ian having their first bites!
Cinnamon and sugar on top. Delish.
Note the very important meat fork as a turning tool. Another piece of history carried forward.
An opened can and a biscuit cutter serve as our doughnut cutter.
Our crew – Cassie, Justin (apprentice), Kaitlin and Ian.
Sugar and cinnamon, powdered sugar or plain anyone?
What can I say, would someone help me with my hair for goodness sake?
Team work with a friend. The best.