Yay! Maine Maple Sunday!

Oh, hello! Why yes, it has been almost a month since I last posted. It's been quite busy around here with a little girl that's becoming more and more mobile.

The weather here in Maine has become decidedly springlike. That is not to say that it's warm, although it is warming up. There are even some pockets of ground to be seen in the back yard now.

I didn't get to make it to the flower show this year. Husband couldn't justify the time off and my mother in law, Kronk, was in Florida. That left just me and a no-longer-convenient-sized Buttercup as potential flower show visitors. She likes the outdoors and plants, but I think I'll wait until next year before we do the Flower Show together.

We've been quite busy getting stuff planted and shockingly, I'm right on time for all my plantings so far this year. The leeks and celery root were planted back in February, my first planting of lettuces was last week and I got my peppers planted yesterday. Yup! We're moving right along, although I find that progress doesn't always lend itself to blog updates.

I have more to share, like the new grow tables, what I found when I looked in the cold frame and all the plans for the new vegetable bed, but those will have to wait. Today is Maine Maple Sunday and if you're reading this early enough, you might still have time to get over to your local sugar house and get some tasty treats.

We always go up to Greene's Maple Farm in Sebago. Mr. Greene is a wonderful character and he makes a damn fine syrup. We picked up a 1/2 gallon of Grade A Dark which will hopefully last us the rest of the year when kept in the fridge. We also got yummy samples of the syrup served over vanilla ice cream and bought ourselves a couple of Maple Whoopie Pies. Buttercup wanted to get in on the ice cream action, but she'll just have to wait for next year.

Dinner and a Movie Night: The Godfather

It seems like it's been a few weeks since we've had a Dinner and a Movie night. Husband has yet to pull one off but it's not for lack of trying.

Two weeks ago, he had picked out a comedy with Will Farrel and Emma Thompson and planned to make book-press sandwiches. He spent all week negotiating his Netflix queue so that the movie would arrive on time and just when we thought it would be perfect... the movie wouldn't start.

This past week, Husband had friends over on Wednesday, so dinner and a movie night was canceled. Of course, he forgot to rearrange his queue, so when The Godfather showed up yesterday in the mail, he was beginning to feel defeated. Then we decided to play hookie.

Yup. That's right. He's taking Friday night - one of the busiest nights of the week at our store - completely off. We took the day off too and I gotta tell you, it feels pretty good to just not do laundry or cooking or paperwork or any of the other hundred things I should have done today. It occurred to us (after going out for ice cream lunch) that we still had The Godfather and we could do our D&MN tonight instead. In that spirit, I now offer the Dinner & A Movie That You Can't Refuse.

Godfather Spaghetti

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
• 1 (10-ounce) or 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
• 3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
• 1 pound cooked meatballs (recipe follows)
• Dry red wine
• sugar
• Hot cooked spaghetti

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes; do not let the garlic burn. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistency is reached.

Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar, according to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

Meatballs My Way

• 1lb hamburg
• 1/2 c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 to 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper
• dash of Worchestershire sauce

Mix all the ingredients together. You can use a spoon if you like, but I find that hands are more fun and more effective. Resist the urge to over mush the mixture since it can make the meatballs tough. Form into balls and fry in a skillet with some olive oil.

He's serving this meal with some fresh garlic bread and a Caesar salad.

Dinner & A Movie Night: Amelie

This was actually last Wednesday's Dinner & a Movie. Husband is having trouble getting his Netflix queue lined up right to get his movie choice here in time. Unfortunately, he's kind of picky about his movies, and won't just pick one off the shelf.

I have no such reservations, so when last week's movie went astray, I grabbed Amelie and whipped up a French Bistro style meal with creme brulee for dessert, of course!

Amelie is a great, quirky little love story/comedy. Yes, it has subtitles but this is one of those films worth reading.

The recipe was inspired by Martha and her French Bistro Menu. Ideally, you'll have a mandoline and a creme brulee torch, but should your kitchen not be equipped with these extravagances, a broiler and a sharp knife will work.

Prep Notes: The creme brulee's can be made up to 3 days in advance and for best results, should be made at least the night before and allowed to chill in the freezer. I'd slice the potatoes next because they can sit in salted water up to 4 hours before you cook them. The steak needs to marinate for an hour, so that comes next and the salad is quick, so I did mine while waiting on the steak.

Amelie French Bistro Style Dinner
Marinated steak and shallots
Matchstick fries
Pear and mache salad
Creme brulee

Marinated Steak and Shallots
While shallots are oh-so-French, onions will work in a pinch.

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup malt vinegar (Martha used sherry vinegar)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• a nice, thick steak
• 5 shallots (or one hefty onion)
  
• Salt & Pepper

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard and Worcestershire in a glass bowl (vinegar can ruin metalic bowls). Coat steak in marinade and let sit for an hour, turning once at 30 minutes.

While the steak is marinating, chop up the shallots and caramelize them by placing them in a pan with some olive oil. Keep the heat low and let them get all golden and sweet. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Transfer them to a plate. Salt & pepper the steak and cook it up in the pan over med-high heat to your preferred doneness. Let sit for a few minutes before slicing into thin strips against the grain of the meat.

Serve over the shallots.



Matchstick Fries
These very thin fries are wonderfully crisp right from the oven

• 2 potatoes
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Wash the potatoes and use a mandoline or a very sharp knife to cut them into 1/8 inch strips. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times to ensure even cooking, until golden and crunchy.



Pear and Mache Salad
Mache (also called lamb's lettuce or corn salad) is a popular European winter green. You can omit it or add your favorite green if you can't find mache.

• 2 or 3 handfuls of mache
  
• 2 or 3 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 bosc pear, pealed and diced
• fresh mozzarella
  
• really good olive oil
• lemon
• salt & pepper

Toss the mache, spinach, pear and mozzarella together. Dress with a little olive oil and lemon. Salt & pepper to taste.


Creme Brulee
One of Amelie's favorite things is breaking the crust of creme brulee, so if you were to make nothing else for Dinner and a Movie: Amelie, you'd still do alright with this yummy dessert.

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• Pinch of salt
• dash of vanilla
  
• 1/4 cup plus 4 Tbs. sugar

Preheat an oven to 300°F. Have a pot of boiling water ready.

Put cream in saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt and the 1/4 cup sugar until smooth and blended. Gradually add the cream to the egg mixture, whisking until blended. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the custard among four ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking pan. Put pan into oven and carefully add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custard is just set around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes.

Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

Just before serving, sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the sugar evenly over each custard. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have a kitchen torch, they can be placed under the broiler until the sugars have gone crunchy. Make sure to keep an eye on it so they don't burn! Serve immediately.