By late October the harvest from the fields is largely done. But on Nantucket, two crops indigenous to the island are harvested beginning in October: scallops, for those with recreational licenses, and cranberries. Both crops provide inspiration for the dinner table, especially around the holidays.
Scallops Wrapped in Bacon
This is quintessential Nantucket cocktail fare: a crisp piece
of bacon wrapped around a tender and juicy scallop.
You can never make too many of these. The fat of the bacon
bastes the sweet scallop meat and the crisp bacon is a beautiful contrast to the creamy texture of the scallop. The secret is in
pre-frying the bacon so it is partially done, but still flexible,
so it can be wrapped around the scallop. It finishes cooking
under the broiler.
24 scallops
12 slices good quality bacon
24 toothpicks
1. Preheat broiler. Fry up bacon, so it is partially
cooked, but still pliable. Drain.
2. Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap each scallop with a
bacon slice and secure with a toothpick.
3. Place 4-5 inches from the broiler and broil til scallops
are opaque and bacon crisps, turning at least once.
Scalloped Scallops
This is an old Nantucket recipe that, in its simplicity, celebrates the true taste of the scallops and is a great Saturday night meal on a cold and windy night. Serve with coleslaw and baking powder biscuits.
Package of Saltines (about 40)
11⁄2 quarts scallops
1 stick butter, melted
1⁄2 pint light cream
Pinch of pepper
Paprika
1. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Crumble half of the Saltines and place on the bottom of the dish.
2. Cover with all the scallops. Crumble remaining Saltines over the scallops. Add melted butter to cream and pour over all. Sprinkle with paprika.
3. Bake at 375° F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.
Flounder with
Bay Scallop Stuffing
An old recipe from the old Brotherhood of Thieves when Doug Wolfe ran the place. It’s a perennial favorite. Serve with rice pilaf and a green salad.
2 tablespoons butter
2⁄3 cup sliced mushrooms
2⁄3 cup diced onions
1⁄2 teaspoon thyme
1⁄3 cup bay scallops
1⁄3 cup dry white wine
11⁄2 cups Pepperidge Farms bread stuffing
11⁄2 lbs. flounder
Topping
Mix following ingredients and set aside:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2⁄3 teaspoon pepper
1. Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter until soft. Add thyme and wine. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Allow to cool and then mix with the dry stuffing.
2. Place tablespoon of stuffing on flounder filet. Roll up and place seam-side down in buttered au gratin dish. Continue until filets and stuffing all used up. Top each flounder roll-up with a pat of the lemon butter
3. Place in preheated 350° F oven and bake for 15 minutes or until flounder filets are lightly browned.
Scallop Quiche
A great dish for a Christmas Stroll weekend brunch or an easy dinner with a salad. This is adapted from a recipe that Nantucketer Martha Butler, née Holdgate, had in the St. Mary’s cookbook many years ago. I use fresh garlic, diced red pepper and all cream, whereas Martha has a healthier mix of whole milk and cream.
9 inch unbaked pie shell
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 cup dry sherry
3⁄4 lb. bay scallops
1 tablespoon shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 teaspoons diced red pepper
5 large eggs
3⁄4 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
Dijon mustard
1. One-two hours ahead of time, toss scallops with fresh herbs and sherry and marinate in the refrigerater for one-two hours.
2. Preheat oven to 450° F. Prick bottom of pie shell with a fork, brush with Dijon mustard, cover with tin foil and pie weights (dried beans is a good substitute) and bake for 5 minutes. Take pie out of oven, remove foil and pie weights and set aside.
3. Sauté shallots till soft, add red pepper and garlic and sauté for a few minutes more. Mix together eggs, cream, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Add shallots, red pepper, garlic and scallops with the marinade. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle top with additional chopped parsley.
4. Bake for 15 minutes at 450° F. Reduce heat to 350° F. and bake for another 10 minutes or until knife inserted one inch from edge comes out clean.
Cranberry Applesauce
The smell of homemade applesauce simmering on the stove is one of my favorite house-warming scents of fall. I discovered a recipe several years ago for an applesauce that relies on a generous handful of cranberries to give it a rosy hue to serve with potato pancakes and pork chops.
4 large Golden Delicious apples,
peeled and cored
1⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup water
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3⁄4 cup fresh cranberries
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and cook until apples are soft and cranberries have popped, about 20 minutes. If you like your applesauce smooth, place in food processor and purée. If you like your applesauce on the chunky side, then mash with a potato masher. Cool and serve topped with a sprinkling of nutmeg.
Upside Down Cranberry Walnut Cake
An easy and different dessert to make at the last minute that is a colorful ending to an autumn dinner. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or mango sorbet. Adapted from “Cranberry Cooking for all Seasons” by Nancy Cappelloni.
2 cups chopped fresh cranberries
1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1⁄2 cup butter, melted
1⁄4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, mix the cranberries, walnuts brown sugar and place in the bottom of the baking dish.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs with 1⁄2 cup sugar until smooth. Add in vanilla, milk and cooled melted butter. Set aside.
5. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Then add dry ingredients to wet, combining well. Pour batter over cranberry topping already in pan.
6. Bake at 350° F. for 45 minutes or until toothpick stuck in cake comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes on wire rack. Run spatula around edges of cake, loosening it. Then place a dish on top of pan, inverting cake so cranberry topping comes out on top. Any bits that stick to the pan can be scraped off and gently patted back onto the topping. Serve warm with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.
Cranberry Nut Bread
I have been making this bread for 30 years, having originally gotten the recipe from an old Ocean Spray cookbook. It is a favorite of my kids – all nearly grown now – and I make sure to bake a few loaves before Christmas to give as gifts and to have on hand for Christmas breakfast. If you have a child in college, it is also a good gift to send, via 2-day shipping – as the flavor improves the next day. I also like to serve this with flavored cream cheese. Grate the zest of one orange into a container of whipped cream cheese, left at room temperature for a few hours, then store overnight to let the flavors develop.
2 cups flour
3⁄4 cup sugar
11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
3⁄4 cup orange juice
Grated peel of one orange
1⁄2 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 egg, well beaten
11⁄2 cups Nantucket cranberries, coarsely chopped
1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Line bottom and short sides with a strip of parchment paper, cut to the width of the pan. This ensures nothing will stick to the bottom.
2. Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in butter with two knives, or work with your fingertips until butter is broken up and thoroughly incorporated into the flour mixture. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Toss cranberries and nuts with a tablespoon of flour. Stir in to batter.
3. Spread evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Wrap and store overnight.
Makes 1 loaf.
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
When my Aunt Charlotte, an eleventh generation Nantucketer passed on, I inherited the ceramic mold she used for the cranberry sauce she made for every Thanksgiving dinner. While it’s certainly easier, to open a can of Ocean Spray, there’s something alluring about making your own sauce from scratch. I prefer the fresh taste that comes from putting berries, oranges and sugar through a grinder and letting it sit for a few hours so the flavors can mellow. No mold required.
1 large orange, cut in quarters and seeded
4 cups fresh cranberries
11⁄2 cups granulated sugar
1. Place orange in food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Scoop chopped orange into a bowl. Place cranberries into processor until finely chopped. Add chopped orange and sugar to bowl and process until finely chopped. Store covered in the refrigerator overnight for flavors to mellow.
Cranberry Conserve
This accompaniment is good with poultry, game and delicious with roast pork and on sandwiches featuring the aforementioned protein and some good cheese. Your best bet for buying good quality candied ginger is to go to the King Arthur Flour website, and in their Shop section, go to “Pantry” and look for candied ginger slices. For under $20 you can buy a pound of large, good quality slices of candied ginger that you can put to use in your holiday and winter baking.
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup raisins
1 cup broken walnuts
1⁄4 cup candied ginger
1⁄2 cup orange juice
Grated rind of an orange
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1⁄4 cup water
Combine cranberries, walnuts, water, juice, orange rind and spices tied in cheesecloth bag in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then turn heat down to barely boiling till all cranberries have popped, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in raisins and chopped, candied ginger. Cool. Remove spices, store covered in refrigerator. Bring out an hour before serving.
Cranberry Ketchup
Thinking of the traditional pairings of cranberry sauce with turkey at Thanksgiving, try this spicy and fruity ketchup variation on your next turkey burger.
1 pound fresh cranberries
3⁄4 cup water
2⁄3 cup shallots, in small dice
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1⁄2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1. Sauté the shallots in a teaspoon of
canola oil till soft.
2. Put cranberries and water in a medium saucepan. Add shallots and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Pour mixture into a food processor and purée until smooth.
3. Return mixture to saucepan. Tie spices
in a square of cheesecloth and toss in saucepan along with vinegar, sugar
and salt.
Turkey Burger
1 lb. ground turkey
1⁄4 cup bread crumbs from
Something Natural Herb Bread
1 teaspoon ground sage
1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
1⁄2 cup cooked, drained chopped spinach
1 tablespoon grated onion
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form into 4-6 patties, depending on the size. Pan fry or grill 4 inches from hot coals. Serve on toasted English muffin with cranberry ketchup.
Cranberry-Apple Granola
I began making granola for my kids when I got tired of paying the high prices of commercially-prepared granola that wasn’t as good as I felt I could make at home. The beauty of making your own granola is that you can customize it and add whatever you like in the way of dried fruit, nuts and spices. This is a great combination that evokes the flavors of fall.
4 cups Old-Fashioned Quaker Oats
1⁄3 cup canola oil
1⁄3 cup windflower honey (could use native Nantucket cranberry honey)
1⁄3 cup Grade A maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
3⁄4 cup dried cranberries
3⁄4 cup dried apple slices
3⁄4 cup golden raisins
1 cup pecans, broken
1 cup slivered almonds
1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line large, roasting or lasagna pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Pour oats, coconut and nuts into a large bowl. In 1 cup liquid measure pour canola oil, honey and maple syrup. Add salt and cinnamon. Stir well. Pour over oat mixture and toss to coat evenly.
3. Spread mixture evenly into prepared roasting pan. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so. Stir in dried fruit. Cool and store in an airtight container.
Granola Breakfast Parfait
This is a great way to get your kids to eat their whole grains, dairy and fruit for breakfast, and these can be made the night before, It is worth investing a few pennies in some parfait or sundae glasses for the aesthetic effect. Note: Out of all the yogurts I have used for this, the Stonyfield brand has the best taste of plain yogurts, others often being chalky-tasting.
8 oz. Stonyfield plain or vanilla yogurt
1⁄2 cup fresh blueberries or raspberries
1⁄2 cup homemade cranberry-apple granola
2 tablespoons wildflower honey
Layer yogurt, honey, berries and granola in tall parfait dish, until filled to the top.
Mixed Greens with Dried Cranberries, Great Hill Blue, Apples and
Toasted Walnuts
1 bag mixed greens
1 crisp, sweet apple such as Fuji or Jazz
Generous handful of walnuts
1 tablespoon canola oil
2-3 ounces Great Hill Blue Cheese
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1⁄4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1⁄4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1. Wash and dry salad greens.
2. Heat oil in sauté pan and add walnuts to toast. Shake the pan often, turning walnuts to prevent them from burning. When browned and aromatic remove pan from heat and empty contents onto plate lined wit paper towel. Cool.
3. Squeeze lemon into cup of cold water.
Set aside.
4. Cut apple lengthwise into quarters. Slice out core and sides. Place quarters on their sides and slice horizontally into very thin slices. Place slices in lemon water mix to retain crispness and color until ready to assemble salad. Note that preparation of walnuts and apples can be done ahead.
5. Make salad dressing, shaking olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in covered jar, or blending in a mini-prep.
