Surrounded by cookbooks, magazines, and my dog-eared notebooks, my head is swimming with the possibilities

Today here at Hodgdon Island Inn, it is a stay-inside-and-drink-plenty-of-warm-beverages kind of day so I am using it to do some more research on one of my very favorite subjects:  recipe development!  As I sit here sipping a cup of Red Rooibos tea infused with blackcurrant extract I am in seventh heaven.  Surrounded by cookbooks, magazines, and my dog-eared notebooks, my head is swimming with the possibilities for new breakfast starters, entrees and desserts.  Just think poor Richard will have to suffer through yet another round of “taste testing”.

In between reading up on the latest cooking trends, healthy ingredients, the importance of shopping locally and thinking about which recipe(s) we will try this week, I have been riveted to P.D. James’s new mystery novel, Death Comes to Pemberly.  It is every bit an exciting sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice as it is one of James’s very British murder mysteries (I keep waiting for Commander Adam Dalgliesh to appear)!

But I digress … I digress because I came across an interesting fact on the Internet today – January is National Hot Tea Month – which caused my mind to begin to wander and connect the dots between my delicious cup of Red Rooibos tea (infused with blackcurrant extract – yum) with the cure-all cup of tea in Regency England with what the so-called hottest trend in hot teas is at the moment.

January is National Hot Tea Month

According to the experts, this year’s hottest trend is “flowering teas”.  It is amazing to watch as hand-sewn sachets of tea and dried flowers bloom!  If you have a few seconds to spare, check out this video link:   http://www.whas11.com/video/yahoo-video/January-is-National-Tea-Month-13 and once you get there you may have to type in “January is National Hot Tea Month” in the video search section …

Now we know there are wonderful coffee shops and bookshop/cafes around the Boothbay Harbor Region where we have the occasional fresh-brewed cup of coffee and the calorie-busting frappucino, but I have to admit, under normal circumstances, to being a dyed-in-the-wool tea drinker.  In fact, legend has it, that my mother (being fromIreland), used to put milk with tea in my baby bottle.  And I am afraid I am not just a tea drinker, but I am a discerning tea drinker which means that I require water that is at a rolling boil, the appropriate steeping time, coffee-free vessels, and whenever possible, china cups or mugs.

So Richard and I have set out in search of local tea purveyors and found a gem right here in Boothbay:  McNab’s Tea Room up the road from the inn off Back River Road.  http://www.mcnabsteatoom.com/

Well, I’m off to put the kettle on and make dinner.  A possible new breakfast entrée is on taps for tonight:  baked eggs in bread bowls with Panko-crusted baked tomatoes.  I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out – you know if it is thumbs up or thumbs down from Richard.  Be sure to stay tuned …

There is something very soothing about assembling a pie.  Deciding though as to what kind to make is quite another story.  Should it be homemade or ready-made?  Do we want a galette, a bundle, a tartlet, a strudel, a triangle? Should we make it deep-dish, free-form or crustless?  Low fat?  Is it filo or Phyllo? And is Shepherd’s Pie really a pie?

If we go the savory route, there is always the traditional use of pastry to top off a delicious smooth and creamy chicken pot pie chuck full of winter friendly root vegetables as is the mouth-wateringly tempting wrapping of Brie and a medley of mushrooms in sheets of buttery Phyllo.  If we go the sweet route, there is always the ever-popular Lemon Meringue pie, cherry strudel, or Baklava even.

Celebrate National Pie Day with No-Peel Apple Pie; old-fashioned, but easier!

I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking let’s keep this simple.  Good old-fashioned apple pie will do it any day of the year – and my motto is the easier the better!  So, here is a recipe for a “No-Peel Apple Pie” that I discovered about 20 years ago in a holiday insert of Better Homes & Gardens.  When you make No-Peel Apple Pie, you can skip the apple-peeling step.  Select apple varieties with tender skins like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, or Jonathan and use a ready-made piecrust and voila! Old-fashioned, but easier apple pie!

INGREDIENTS:

 1- 15-ounce package folded refrigerated unbaked piecrust (2 crusts)

6 large apples

½ cup water

2 TBS lemon juice

½ cup sugar

2 TBS all-purpose flour

1½ TSP apple pie spice

Whipping cream or milk

Coarse and/or granulated sugar

Whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

_ Let piecrusts stand at room temperature according to package directions.

Meanwhile, core and slice unpeeled apples (you should have about 8 cups).

Combine apples with water and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl; toss to coat.

_ For filling, stir together ½ cup sugar, flour, and spice in a large mixing bowl.

Drain apples well; add to sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.  Set aside.

_ Unfold one piecrust. Place on lightly floured surface.  Unfold the second crust and place on top of the first.  Roll the two crusts together from center to edge into a 14-inch circle.  Ease the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate, letting crust hang over the edge.

_ Spoon apple filling into the pastry-lined pie plate.  Fold the pastry up and over the filling, pleating the pastry to fit.  Brush crust with whipping cream or milk.  Sprinkle the pie with coarse and/or granulated sugar.  Cover the edge of the pie with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake about 30 minutes more or till crust is golden.  Cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.  Serve pie while warm with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.

Snow Day at Hodgdon Island Inn

In nearby Boothbay Harbor today it is 28 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity is at 92%, the winds are from the north at 5mph and it’s snowing!  Here at Hodgdon Island Inn I am sitting at my desk looking out at a landscape which only can be described in terms of not black and white, but grey and white.

A multitude of grey for that matter!  As I look westward across the Inn’s circular driveway I can just barely discern the water at the end of the yard.  It looks like molten pewter, the sky overhead looks like a soft dove grey, the trunks of the horse chestnut trees are the color of ashes and the boughs of the giant pines standing watch over the north corner of the yard appear to be a dark brownish grey.

The water looks like molten pewter beneath a soft dove grey sky

The seagulls that can normally be seen perching on the rooflines of both the Trevett General Store and the Mill Cove Lobster Pond across the street are almost invisible as their grey and white feathers blend perfectly into the background. Of course all of these surfaces are being covered with lots of very wet and very white snowflakes.  In short, it’s beautiful!

It is so nice to be at home sitting at my desk.  Richard and I (and Charlie) have just returned from our annual sojourn south to celebrate the holidays with family and friends back in Kentucky.  We hope your holiday season was as joyous as was ours.  It is always nice to catch up on the “gossip”, overeat, visit the old haunts and in short, make wonderful new memories, but it is always good to come home.  And home it is here at Hodgdon Island Inn!  Last night’s run to Hannaford’s in Boothbay proves it:  we ran into someone we know at the grocery store!

One week left … seven more days and it will be Christmas.  I have to admit that with yesterday’s snowfall and today’s chilly temperaures, it is beginning to feel like any miute Santa and Co. will be pulling up on our rooftop here at Hodgdon Island Inn in not-so-balmy Boothbay, Maine! (Richard just came in from outside and commented that the pool is beginning to get slushy – oh my!).  But none-the-less, we are listening to Christmas carols and sipping cappucinos while wrapping presents to take with us tomorrow for the folks back in Kentucky.  So before we left town, we decided to take a little stroll (yes, I said stroll) around the harbor.  The following images are just a few of the beautifully turned out windows we wanted you to see vicariously!  Happy Viewing!  And if you would like to share some pics of your hometown, please do so in the comment section.

 

Offer is good through the 2012 Season; cannot be used with other specials or discounts;  and is based on double occupancy and availability.  7% Maine state lodging tax is extra.  Please mention being an “2010 or 2011 HII Alum” at the time of booking or put in the “Comments Section” when making an on-line reservation.  Rates subject to change.

Be sure to tell your friends to ask about the HII Referral Program … we have a little something for them too!

Quick and easy holiday dessert recipe: two-bite raspberry trifles!

A recipe from Pamela
Byrne Riley, Innkeeper

Photographed by
Richard B. Riley, Innkeeper

TWO-BITE TRIFLE

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3TBS seedless raspberry preserves

1 TBS La Belle Orange (cognac & orange liqueur)

1 (3-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

½ cup heavy cream

8 Ladyfingers, halved crosswise*

8 fresh raspberries

Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Directions:

1)
Microwave raspberry
preserves in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 20 seconds.

2)
Stir in the La
Belle Orange.

3)
Beat cream cheese
and sugar at until creamy (about 1 minute).

4)
Beat heavy cream
until soft peaks form.  Fold into cream
cheese mixture.  Spoon into a zip-top
plastic bag (do not seal).  Cut one
corner of bag with scissors to make a hole about ½ inch in diameter.

5)
Press one
ladyfinger half into bottom of a shot glass (about 1 ½ -oz).  Repeat procedure with 7 more glasses.  Drizzle about ½ tsp. raspberry mixture into
each glass.  Pipe small amounts of cream
cheese mixture into each glass.  Repeat
with remaining ladyfingers, raspberry mixture and cream cheese mixture.  Top each glass with 1 fresh raspberry.

6)
Cover and chill 2
hours.  Garnish with mint, if desired.

*There are crisp Italian cookies also called
ladyfingers, but be sure to use the soft ones in this recipe.  Look for them in the bakery or produce
section of your supermarket.

Heavy Frost at Hodgdon Island Inn

Today in Boothbay the sun is shining, the sky is bright blue and currently the temperature is about 34 degrees.  High tide was around 11AM
this morning and as always, the water was beautiful – a bright, glistening deep dark blue.   As I sit here at my desk and look out, I see the shadow of one of our resident bald eagles as he (or she) completes the daily fly-by (I am always amazed by how very big they are) enroute to its nesting place on Barter’s Island. 

Looking out at the Sheepscot - the water is a deep, dark blue

The gulls are hunkered down on the ridgeline of the roof across the street at the Trevett Store.  And Mrs. Roberts, our neighbor and Hodgdon descendant, is coming back from one of her
walks with her dog, Foxie.  Inside, there is fresh coffee brewing (maple flavored) and loaves of homemade applesauce bread baking providing that perfectly delicious Holiday scent of coffee, maple syrup, cloves and cinnamon.  Can’t you just smell it?!  As I begin to gather my
thoughts in preparation for this BLOG I find it hard to believe that it is
December already and that Richard and I have closed our second season as innkeepers here at our beloved Hodgdon Island Inn!  2011 was the perfect illustration of the saying “time flies when you’re having fun!”
OMG!  How very true that is!  What a season!  What a year!  And most importantly, what fun!

We had guests from all around the world and all around the country.
Each and every one of our guests is special and unique in his or her
way.  The guests were Hodgdon Island Inn alumni, boaters, artists, authors, brides & grooms, scholars, teachers & professors, moms & dads, mothers and daughters, husbands & wives, doctors & lawyers, kayakers, cyclists, veterans, girlfriends shopping ‘til they dropped and those in need of respite and solitude.  We had visitors from as far away as Swaziland, Japan and Denmark and as close as Maine, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire. 

Fourth of July Wedding at the Inn

The Inn was the perfect setting for a beautiful family wedding here on the Fourth of July as well as numerous milestone birthday and anniversary celebrations throughout the season and an artists’ retreat in the fall.

How cool is this?!  Richard and I still find it hard to believe that we get to live in this very special place on the mid-coast of Maine and that we have the added bonus of crossing paths with so many special people!  We look forward to welcoming you to our tiny little island here in Boothbay,  Maine in 2012.

Artists from Ten Pound Studio, Gloucester, MA

Normally, Hodgdon Island Inn would be open year round, but we ask your indulgence as we need to make a few minor upgrades to several of the rooms. To do this with as little inconvenience to our guests, we will be closed from December to March.  Reservations can be made anytime online at www.boothbaybb.com or should you have a question for us, please leave a message on the voicemail at 1-800-314-5160 and we’ll get back to you.

Don’t forget to check the website www.boothbaybb.com for specials,
recipes, Hodgdon Island Inn Alumni discounts and more …

PACO'S TACOS Damariscotta, Maine

By now if you’ve read any of our blogs, you know that Richard and I, in addition to spending time in Boothbay Harbor, like to hang out in
Damariscotta.  Damariscotta is a great little riverfront town on the Pemaquid Peninsula located about twenty minutes from Hodgdon Island Inn www.boothbaybb.com, Boothbay.  The town has a wonderful array of shops, fun things to do and some great eateries.

One such eatery is Paco’s Tacos www.pacostacos.info.  Paco’s is located at 1 Tacos Alley. The alley is just off Main Street, between Sheepscot River Pottery and Puffin’s Nest (really neat shops by the way, but I won’t digress). Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Free WiFi is available (and it works better than a lot of public accessible WiFi we have encountered throughout our travels). Their telephone number is 207-563-5355.

Paco's is in the basement of the Sheepscott River Pottery Building

Their menu www.pacosme.com/menu2.html
offers a wide range of tasty dishes that not only please the palate, but are very easy on the wallet (everything is priced under $10)! We plan on working our way through the menu, but our favorites to date include in no particular order:  the Loaded Veggie Burrito with choice of beans (red or black), cheeses, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, rice, onions, olives and sour cream; Nacho Grande – a large plate full of yummy salsa chips topped with your choice of meat or beans, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, salsa, guacamole and sour cream; and the Taco Pescado (aka Fish Taco) which features a fried redfish fillet wrapped in a soft tortilla seasoned with a mildly spiced tartar sauce and topped with lettuce and tomato, served with a side of chips and salsa. Most days we prefer the Medium Salsa, but our best friend really likes the Hot Salsa.

Paco’s is in the basement of Sheepscot River Pottery building.  We love
opening the door and inhaling the air thickly permeated with the smell of fresh chili peppers, cilantro and all of your other favorite Mexican spices.  The décor is
very pleasant – fun colored tables, chairs, and benches with lots of striped
pillows and exposed brick walls painted white and all spotlessly clean.  Owner Mike Frame and his crew are very pleasant and take excellent care of all their patrons.  As you can probably tell, Richard and I give Paco’s Tacos in Damariscotta a “thumb’s up”, but don’t take our word for it, stop by and try it for yourself.  To
visit them on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/pages/Pacos-Tacos/225673352787

Hodgdon Island Inn Welcomes Spring!

Spring has come to Boothbay!

Spring is happening at Hodgdon Island Inn!

We have: tulips and tea at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens; tulips lining driveways; daffodils poking up on the roadside along Route 1; beautiful purple azaleas are towering over the fountain in the center of the inn’s circular driveway; forsythia bursting out on what used to be hen hill at the old Hodgdon farmstead and on the outer edges of the pool; and bumble bees are heard to be happily humming.

This year's dandelion crop

This year’s dandelion crop is making a real
show of spring yellow on the spring green grass!

The gentle rumbling of lawn mowers can be
heard from Barter’s Island to Hodgdon Island to Boothbay and from Boothbay to Boothbay Harbor.

Windows are being washed; porches and wicker
furniture are being hosed down; it’s time to call the “pool guy”.

Front porch gets gussied up!

Route 27 and Barter’s Island Road are being
blacktopped – good-bye potholes.

Restaurants and shops are opening; awnings and
umbrella tables are going up; “closed for season” signs are coming down.

The air is changing.

Spring is happening at Hodgdon Island Inn!

Spring has come to Boothbay!