Memories of New England

                                 


This past Columbus Day weekend, Trey and I took vacation to New England to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to see, first hand, the leaves change in New England. You see, fall is my favorite season. I LOVE to see the beauty of the Earth change with God's hand into a brilliant display of oranges, reds, and yellows. New England was everything I thought it would be and more. We flew into Boston, stayed in New Hampshire, and drove into Maine,Vermont, and all in between.  We reconnected with our country's history in Boston and Plymouth and stood in the footsteps of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, the Boston Massacre victims, and the Pilgrims. We visited Fenway Park (I am now a SOX fan!) and Harvard and crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon (in a car).We drove the back roads and took in the beauty of the countryside and met locals who were just as friendly as us in the south.

Ash Street Inn

We stayed at the Ash Street Inn (http://www.ashstreetinn.com/ ) in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was one of the best Bed and Breakfasts we've ever stayed in. Each morning we were treated to our choice of pumpkin spiced pancakes, cinnamon vanilla french toast, omelets, eggs, bacon, sausage, or toast. Delicious! There were always homemade goodies out for snacking whenever we liked and coffee and an assortment of drinks to go along. Two of my favorites were the freshly made Cranberry Orange Scones and Apricot White Chocolate Scones. I couldn't get enough. So I asked for the recipes and got them! Cranberry Orange Scones were what we had for breakfast this morning....

Cranberry Orange Scones


2 cups all purpose flour                               1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup sugar                                                1 tsp. vanilla extract
   2 tsp. baking powder                              1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda                                                                  
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1 cup Craisins
1 egg white mixed with 1/2 tsp water for glaze

Soak Craisins in orange juice overnight. Drain off the liquid. Preheat oven to 385. Grease baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, orange juice, vanilla, and orange peel.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine well. The dough will be sticky.  With lightly floured hands, knead in the Craisins. Divide mixture into 24 pieces, about the size of golf balls. Space evenly on greased baking sheet. If desired, brush the egg mixture over the top and sides of each scone. Bake 15 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the center of the scone comes out clean. Remove and cool for about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Uncooked dough may be formed into scones and frozen. Place scones on baking sheet place in cool oven. Once oven is preheated, the scones have thawed enough to cook as above.

Here's a peek into our trip.......

Bunker Hill

Old State House

Grave of the Boston Massacre Victims

Paul Revere's grave - TINY!

New Hampshire Coast

Plimouth Plantation

Paul Revere's House

Boston Harbor

Soup Weather

As I've said before, fall is my favorite time of year. In spite of busy schedules, our family still finds time to enjoy the fun parts of this season. One of the things we make time for is dinner together (most of the time), and one of our favorites when the temperatures start to dip is soup! French onion soup has long been one of our favorites, and it was requested by my girls tonight. It's rich, savory, and downright soul satisfying.  Cook yourself up a pot this weekend. You'll be glad you did!!

French Onion Soup

4-5 large yellow onions

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

3 cans beef broth, undiluted

3 cups water

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

6 to 8 French bread

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1 cup grated Swiss or Gruyere ( I've used smoked provolone too)

Peel and slice onions thinly. Melt butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven then add onions and ground pepper. Saute onions frequently with a wooden spoon until onions are very tender and are a light golden brown. Sprinkle onions with flour and stir and cook 1 minute longer. Lower heat and gradually add beef broth. Stir in water and add bay leaf. Increase to high heat and bring to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes. 

Ladle soup into broiler proof soup bowls and place on a heavy duty baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Toast bread slices until they are golden brown. Arrange toast slices on top of onion soup. Do not push down into the soup. Sprinkle the toast with Parmesan and grated cheese. Place bowls under a preheated broiler. Broil the soup until the cheese is golden and bubbly. This takes a VERY short amount of time. DO NOT leave this unattended. It will burn to a crisp. Trust me. :) Serve immediately. 

**If you do not have broiler proof bowls, then bake oven proof bowls at 425 degrees until cheese is golden and bubbly.