Country Weekend Entertaining : Seasonal Recipes from Loaves and Fishes and the Bridgehampton Inn

by PUMP, ANNALEROY, GEN

• ISBN13: 9780385488273
• ISBN10: 0385488270
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-04-01
• Publisher: Broadway

Summary

Here is an irresistible collection of recipes for every meal and every season, from the proprietor of Loaves and Fishes, the distinguished catering and prepared-food establishment in Sagaponak, Long Island, and The Bridgehampton Inn. At The Bridgehampton Inn, Anna Pump pampers all of her guests as if each were a personal friend, which is, no doubt, why they return year after year. At Loaves and Fishes, each dish seems exactly as though it had been created in a regular home kitchen. Now, withCountry Weekend Entertaining, she shares her secrets so that home cooks, too, can soothe and pamper guests with simple, elegant, and delicious meals, from breakfast through dinner, all year long. In fact, instead of waiting for company, you can treat yourself and your family like guests and enjoy dishes such as Anna's Scrambled Eggs with Cream Cheese, Fresh Chives, and Popovers; her Grilled Veal Chops with Peach and Coriander Relish; and her Crumb-Topped Coffee Cake. Impressive enough for any formal event, every dish in this treasure trove of original recipes is nevertheless simple enough to prepare at whim, without waiting for a special occasion. Arranged by season and illustrated with beautifully evocative color photographs, the more than 175 recipes in this book are certain to become the favorites of discerning home cooks everywhere.

Author Biography

Born in northern Germany, close to the Danish border, Anna Pump came to the United States with her husband and two small children in 1960. The family moved to their current home in Noyac, Long Island, in 1976. After teaching cooking and working as a caterer for a number of years, Anna bought Loaves and Fishes in the early 1980s and, in 1985, published <b>The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook</b>. The Bridgehampton Inn opened in the summer of 1994 and has been catering to a loyal clientele ever since.<br><br>Gen LeRoy is also the coauthor of <b>The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook</b> and has written seven books for children and young adults. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Putting It Together	p. 8
Spring and Summer
Spring and Summer Breakfasts	p. 20
Salads for Spring and Summer	p. 42
Starters for Spring and Summer	p. 62
Spring and Summer Soups	p. 80
Main Courses for Spring and Summer	p. 98
Side Dishes for Spring and Summer	p. 127
Cheese and Salad for After Dinner	p. 143
Desserts for Spring and Summer	p. 147
Fall and Winter
Fall and Winter Breakfasts	p. 176
Salads for Fall and Winter	p. 203
Starters for Fall and Winter	p. 218
Hearty Soups for Fall and Winter	p. 242
Main Courses for Fall and Winter	p. 256
Side Dishes for Fall and Winter	p. 299
Cheese, Fruits, and Salads for After Dinner	p. 319
Desserts for Fall and Winter	p. 325
Index	p. 353
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction

I believe that my passion for cooking and my joy of entertaining were instilled at a very early age. My mother never entertained fewer than fifteen people at one time. Friends, neighbors, relatives, field hands, all seated around a large bountiful table she set up either in our living room or, in more clement weather, outside under a large spreading tree.

I grew up on a large working farm in Tarp, Germany, close to the Danish border, where we cultivated crops of potatoes, wheat, and vegetables; had a variety of fruit trees; and raised cows, pigs, chickens, and geese. It was during those formative years that I learned how to make sausages, smoke meats, salt fresh fish, churn butter, and make cheeses. In the fall, we converted baskets of fruit into preserves, jams, and sauces that helped to remind us of summer during our long, relentlessly frigid Scandinavian winters. The sealed jars of fruits, pickles, and vegetables lined the shelves in our basement next to bins of rutabagas, carrots, onions, and potatoes.

It was no less busy in winter after the farm closed down. My parents went regularly to the opera in Flensburg, arriving home with neighbors and friends. Food would appear as if by magic: decanters of wine, superb desserts. It was a bustling time when entertaining was elevated to new heights. My mother was an excellent cook, both daring and inventive. Dinners were large, boisterous, and happy, with flickering candles set about the room. The fireplaces, alive and crackling, created just the right combination of warmth and excitement. Those early days certainly defined my life as it is today.

After schooling, I married and, soon after, my husband Detlef and I started our own family. With our two children in tow, we moved to America where I worked as a caterer, creating recipes with an array of new herbs, vegetables, and foods that absolutely dazzled me. We made frequent trips to France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and, when traveling by car, discovered marvelous bed and breakfasts and hotels, both quaint and luxurious. With every journey I was able to sample traditional dishes, new and exotic foods, choosing those that, with a little adjustment, would eventually round out my growing catalogue of recipes.

After a few years I began to yearn for a new challenge, and that was when, with my daughter, Sybille, a marvelous cook, I opened Loaves and Fishes in Sagaponack, Long Island. We have both had a great time and have met many wonderful people--customers who are now our friends. Although we have an extensive take-out department, we also cater dinners, lunches, brunches, cocktail parties, weddings, funerals, graduations, social gatherings that range anywhere from twelve to five hundred people, sometimes on the same day. I suppose that is why so many people stared at me, utterly amazed, when I announced that I had been seriously thinking of opening a bed and breakfast.

It was the building itself that had always intrigued me. Sitting off Main Street in Bridgehampton, it rose above the towering boxwoods that nearly obscured it from view. I would pass it daily, either on my way to Loaves and Fishes, which is about a mile away, or on my way home from catering a party, and always found myself slowing down to see if I could get a better look.

One day, my curiosity won out and I stopped. I had already learned that it was built as a private residence by one of the first families to settle in Bridgehampton and that at one time it had been an inn. I had to squeeze past the boxwoods that had swelled across the entrance. The path was overwhelmed by vines and rambling bushes, but beyond the bushes stood an eighteenth-century house, stately yet homey, elegantly scaled, graceful, and--most important--welcoming. I immediately loved it.

I circled the building, peering into windows that were nearly opaque with grime. I made out a staircase leading to the second floor, and as I moved farther around, I could see into a large kitchen. Beyond that was a wonderfully spacious living room with a fireplace tucked into one corner, graced with French windows that opened onto a terrace. Perfect. The building itself was badly in need of paint but to me, the setting, the proportions, the beauty were exactly what I had hoped they'd be.

I stood in the back gazing out at the garden. Although the town was drenched with sun, it seemed several degrees cooler back there. Lofty elms, an assortment of spreading maple trees, some Norway spruces, all somehow generated a pleasant breeze. I could see exactly where the herb garden would go, where to plant the rose bushes, where we could set up two marquees for private parties, under which tree to place the picnic table, how many tables would fit comfortably on the bricked terrace for morning coffees or twilight drinks. My heart was hammering as I turned back toward Loaves and Fishes. This was what I had been wanting for a very long time; to create a wonderful environment in which I could treat guests to home-cooked meals, prepared in the Inn's vast kitchen and served in rooms I intended to be as comfortable and inviting as possible. In other words, a home away from home where I could entertain guests the way I myself would like to be entertained.

As I headed back to Loaves and Fishes, I thought about the similarities between this marvelous village in which we had chosen to live and the farm where I was born. Flensburg is on a peninsula, with the Baltic on one side and the North Sea on the other and rolling farmlands connecting the two coastlines. Here, at the tip of Long Island, we have the Atlantic on one side, with its glistening white beaches, and the Long Island Sound on the other, and connecting the two coastlines are seven miles of splendidly arable land. It seemed right for me to want to re-create something tangible from all those marvelous memories.

I couldn't wait to get back and start the ball rolling. Sybille and I made a series of calls, and that afternoon we made an offer that, to our utter delight, was soon accepted. What followed next was a whirl of activity--planning, making list upon list. Unlocking the front door with my own key and stepping into the Inn for the first time filled me with excitement. I simply could not get the smile off my face as I moved from room to room, deciding just where and how to make the changes that would transform this gorgeous building into the Inn of my dreams.

Whoe'er had traveled Life's dull round,
Where'er his stages may have been,
May sigh to think he still has found
The warmest welcome, at an Inn.
--William Shenstone


Lemon-Blueberry Cake

We serve this at breakfast and mid-afternoon with a tall glass of fresh lemonade topped with mint leaves from our garden.

2 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) softened butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

The glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch tube pan.

Spread the blueberries in 1 layer on a sheet pan and freeze for 1 hour. This will keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest at high speed until light in color. Add the lemon juice, eggs, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix at medium speed until the batter is smooth and well blended. Add the sour cream, another cup of flour, and the baking soda. Mix at low speed until no traces of flour remain.

Combine the frozen blueberries with the remaining cup of flour. Fold this mixture into the batter, which should feel very thick.

Spoon the dough into the prepared tube pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan.

To make the glaze, mix together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cake. Let the cake cool completely before removing it from its pan.

Yields 16 slices


Shrimp wWith Lemon and Fresh Thyme

A simple and savory dish that can be prepared a day ahead. We serve it either as a first course or as an hors d'oeuvre with a basket of freshly baked garlic toast on the side.

4 quarts water
9 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 lemon, cut into 4 pieces
2 dozen large shrimp in their shells
4 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-by-2-inch-wide strips
1 red onion, peeled, cut into paper-thin rings
2 lemons, cut into paper-thin slices
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon whole fresh thyme leaves

The garlic toast
1 loaf French bread
8 tablespoons (1 stick) softened butter
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add 1 sprig of fresh thyme, the lemon pieces, and the shrimp and bring to another boil. The shrimp will be done at the boiling point. Remove from the heat and drain.

When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, remove their shells. Place the shrimp in a bowl. Add the tomatoes, celery, red onion, and lemon slices. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, olive oil, and thyme leaves. Toss well to blend. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours before serving.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To make the garlic toast, cut 4 thick slices of French bread on the diagonal so you get long oval slices. In a bowl, mash the butter, garlic, salt, and parsley together until you have a paste. Spread the mixture on the bread and place the slices on a sheet pan. Toast the bread in the hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the slices are light brown.

To serve, divide the shrimp among 4 plates. Garnish with the remaining thyme sprigs, and serve with the garlic toast on the side.

Yields 4 servings

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Excerpted from Country Weekend Entertaining: Seasonal Recipes from Loaves and Fishes and the Bridgehampton Inn by Anna Pump, Gen Leroy, Bridgehampton Inn Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.