New England Inn Dinner Menu

Good evening! ♥

Tonight I felt like menu-composing,

so I decided on a simple dinner menu
featuring recipes exclusively from inns
around the New England region...

I hope you'll all see something that makes your stomach growl!

First Course:

Roasted Pear, Arugula, and 

Maytag Blue Cheese Salad

from the Three Stallion Inn in Vermont

Ingredients:
4 firm-ripe pears (Bartlett or Anjou is the best choice here)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 bunches arugula
1/4 pound (115 g) Maytag or other firm blue cheese, crumbled

 Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4).
Peel the pears, nip off the stem, split lengthwise, and remove the core with a melon bailer. Toss the pears with half of the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put the pears on a baking sheet and roast until browned and easily pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Remove the stems from the arugula, then wash and spin-dry. In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the rest of the olive oil and salt and pepper.
Mold the cheese into the core of the pears, divide among 4 plates, and mound the arugula over them.

Makes 4 servings

ADD IT! Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over each salad. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over them for extra crunch.

Second Course:

Pan Seared Scallops & Mussels

from the Sebasco Harbor Resort in Maine

Ingredients:

8 jumbo scallops
4 ounces smoked mussels
2 tsp olive oil
2 T. butter
2 T. fine diced shallots
6 ounces cleaned spinach
6 T. dry white wine
2 T. lemon juice
6 T. heavy cream
2 cups cooked rice pilaf

 Directions:
Add olive oil to sauté pan.  Heat pan on medium-high heat, and when hot add scallops.  Cook scallops 3 minutes on first side, until dark brown.  Turn and cook on the other side for 2 minutes.  Remove scallops from pan and set aside.  Add butter and shallots to sauté pan and cook thirty seconds.  Add spinach, white wine and lemon juice.  Add mussels and cream.  Let reduce about 1 minute.  Add scallops to warm and serve immediately with rice.

Makes 2 servings

Third Course:

Fresh Blueberry Pie

from the 1785 Inn in New Hampshire

Ingredients:

Filling

8 oz Cream Cheese (soften by bringing to room temperature)

3 Cups of Fresh Blueberries

Pie Crust (yields 3)

 4 cups flour

 2 tsp salt

 ¾ cup butter (softened by bringing to room temperature)

 ½ cup water

 1 T vinegar

 1 large egg

Blueberry Sauce for Blueberry Pie

 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

 1 cup sugar

  ¾ cup of water

Whipped Cream

 1 pint of heavy cream

 ½ cup of confectioners' sugar

 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Mix flour, salt and butter in one bowl, and water, vinegar and egg in another. Add mixture from the second bowl into the first and mix; divide into 3 equal parts. Roll out flat and add to greased (with butter) pie plate.

Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes or until done, then let cool.

Spread thin layer of cream cheese over bottom of cooked pie crust; spread half the blueberries over the cream cheese. 

For blueberry sauce, cook ingredients until boiling and blueberries pop open. Mix together ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup water and add to mixture to thicken; cook and stir for 2 or 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Pour a third to a half of the blueberry sauce over the blueberries; add the rest of the blueberries; top with the rest of the sauce

Refrigerate for at least an hour and cut into 8 pieces. Garnish each piece with a dollop of whipped cream. 

For whipped cream beat ingredients together until firm.

Makes 8 servings

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Mmm, mmm... !

P.S.- A friendly little reminder that I 
will be announcing the winner of my
Cape Cod Summer Giveaway
this Friday-- so if you'd still like to participate,
please hurry! Time's running out!

♥