The House at Royal Oak (26 page)

Remove pumpkin from the heat and stir in the cream and milk. Whisk eggs to combine whites and yolks and blend thoroughly into the pumpkin mixture. Pour this into the pie shell, adding any extra filling after the pie has baked for about 5 minutes.

Bake the pie on the lower oven rack for about 20 minutes
and prepare the praline. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and butter and stir in the pecans. Remove the pie from the oven and spoon the pecan mixture in a circle around the edge of the pie, inside the crust, and return it to the oven. Continue baking for about 10 minutes more until the filling is puffed and wiggles very slightly when the pie is gently shaken. Cool on a wire rack.

Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff, then stir in the brandy. When the pie is completely cool, mound the cream on top, inside the ring of pecans. Serve right away or refrigerate. Serves 6 to 8.

*
Freshly ground cinnamon and cloves are best, but spice straight from the jar will do.

• • •

Eggs, cheddar, ham or sausage, and bread baked together in the rich tradition of English savory puddings. This rib-sticking main course is equally delicious in a vegetarian rendition.

4 thick slices white bread, torn into quarters

¾ pound cooked ham, thinly sliced and chopped (or 1 pound sausage meat, cooked and drained)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

½ medium onion, minced

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 eggs

2 cups milk

¼ teaspoon salt

Black and red pepper to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

Parsley to garnish

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a deep 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Lay bread in the dish, covering the bottom, and top with the ham or sausage and cheese. In a small pan, sauté the onion and red pepper in oil until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes, and layer on top of the cheese. Whisk together the eggs and milk, salt, peppers, and nutmeg. Pour the mixture over the bread, meat, vegetables, and cheese.

Bake for about one hour, until the pudding is puffed, firm, and golden brown. Tent with foil if necessary to prevent too much browning.

Cut into four squares, garnish with parsley, and serve along with Old Bay potatoes (below), steamed asparagus, and broiled tomatoes. You shouldn't see a hungry guest again until dinnertime.

Note:
For vegetarians, substitute for the meat a cup each of lightly steamed broccoli cut into small florets and thinly sliced, sautéed zucchini—both well drained. Serves 4.

• • •

A zesty take on home fries.

1 pound red-skinned potatoes

¼ cup Bay Spice
*

¼ cup canola oil

salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes, covered, in a pot of salted water until a knife easily pierces the potatoes but they are still firm, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and cool or refrigerate overnight. Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, making 1-inch pieces. pour the Bay spice into a shallow dish and dredge the potatoes to coat them.

Heat oil in a medium-size frying pan, add potatoes, and cook, turning until all sides are brown, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

*
Old Bay Seasoning can be purchased or you can make your own, as below.

• • •

You can easily mix up Bay Spice yourself, since the McCor-mick Company generously gives the ingredients for its classic on the side of the box. The proportions are ours.

Stir together I tablespoon coarse salt with the following ground spices: 2 teaspoons paprika, 1/8 teaspoon cloves, and I teaspoon each of allspice, bay laurel, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cardamom, celery seed, ginger, mace, and mustard seed. It tastes even better if you grind the whole spices yourself.

• • •

According to legend, the aroma from the frying pans in which Royal Oak pullets were “assuming a beautiful brown” drew the British into St. Michaels, during the War of 1812 and “as part of the investigation,” they shelled the town. From
Tales of Old Maryland,
by J.H.K. Shannahan Jr., 1907.

1 chicken, about 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces

4 cups buttermilk

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup canola oil

Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces and place them in a large bowl. Pour buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight. In a shallow bowl, mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Remove chicken from the buttermilk and dredge the pieces in the flour mixture. Pat firmly to remove any extra flour.

Heat the oil in a large cast-iron pan until hot, but not smoking. Place chicken pieces skin side down, 3 or 4 at a time, in the oil. Cook about 10 minutes on a side, until the chicken turns golden brown and is cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve warm or at room temperature with Southern green beans, below, and cornbread. Serves 4.

• • •

Southerners will cry over vegetables cooked the traditional way. Susie, the best of friends, shared the secret.

6 slices bacon, cut in 2-inch strips

2 onions, sliced

1 pound green beans, stems removed

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons sugar

OPTIONAL

1 cup diced potatoes and 1 cup corn kernels

Sauté the bacon and onions in a large saucepan until the bacon is crisp. Drain away fat, if you wish. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper, and cover with water. Simmer, covered, for a long time, 1 to 2 hours, depending how much patience you have.

Add the sugar, optional potatoes and corn, and simmer 30 minutes more. Serves 4 to 6.

• • •

Green tomatoes have a beautiful lemony overtone. If you don't see them at a farmers market, ask because sometimes they're just being kept out of sight until they ripen. If you can't get green tomatoes, very firm red ones cooked this way are also tasty.

4 medium-sized green tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick, cores discarded

1 tablespoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup flour

½ cup canola oil

Sprinkle sugar, salt, and pepper over tomato slices. In a shallow dish, stir together the cornmeal, flour, more salt and pepper, and dredge the tomatoes. Press the coating firmly to the tomatoes. Heat ¼ cup oil in a skillet and when hot but not smoking, add the slices a few at a time. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, until a golden-brown crust forms and the tomatoes are slightly softened and juicy. Add more oil to the pan as needed to fry the remaining tomatoes. Wonderful with eggs, ham, and toast. Serves 4.

• • •

All you need for this traditional Southern emblem of hospitality is a handful of fresh mint, spirits, sugar, ice, and friends to share it.

4 teaspoons superfine or confectioner's sugar, plus extra to taste

20 mint sprigs, tough stems removed

water

finely crushed ice

bourbon or rye

In a shallow dish, mash the leaves of 16 mint sprigs with a spoon and combine with the sugar. Divide the mint sugar among 4 eight-ounce glasses—tall, narrow ones if you have them. Add enough water to cover the sugar and stir. Pour in a couple of ounces of the spirits until the glass is about a quarter full. You can stir in a little extra sugar now if you like. Fill the glasses to the top with crushed ice and decorate with the remaining mint. Stir again and serve. Happy thoughts!

OF ALL THE REASONS PEOPLE GIVE FOR WANTING TO START
a bed-and-breakfast or acquire an existing one, few will hold up over time.

If your current job is running you into the ground and you long for a career change to make life easier, it is better to avoid the hospitality industry. If you enjoy socializing and expect that running a bed-and-breakfast will be an unending party with like-minded guests, the way the glossy magazine ads tell it, disappointment awaits you. If you're retiring and want a little something to do, you'll find yourself far busier than you ever intended, unless of course all you hope for is to rent out an extra room for occasional companionship. Even here, you could be in for disappointment because many guests will prefer to be left alone.

There are enticing reasons to persevere and if they speak to you, a bed-and-breakfast could be the right move.

This is the chief reason many satisfied bed-and-breakfast owners cite for getting into the business. With two partners living and working together rather than traveling to jobs in different directions on different schedules, you can lead a more organic existence, a life closer to home. If, for example, you grow herbs and flowers for the guests, you can enjoy them, too. In other words, you get to spend time together in a setting that you would choose for vacation.

Another good reason for going ahead. Instead of just sitting there, your house makes money for you. There can also be tax benefits to starting and running a bed-and-breakfast. Opportunities still exist, as well, to find a fixer-upper bargain in a town that has not yet turned around and develop it into a bed-and-breakfast. The opening of a bed-and-breakfast can be one of the first signs of an area's revitalization.

With the majority of bed-and-breakfasts housed in buildings over seventy-five years old, this can be the means to save a historic home from demolition. According to Jay Karen, president of the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, studies show that bed-and-breakfasts are a leading
source for the preservation of historic houses in this country. If the structure requires modernization to the heating, electrical, and other systems, there are additional opportunities to benefit the environment and decrease the structure's carbon footprint. If period furnishings are part of the plan, further green savings are possible when you purchase used or antique furniture.

You are in charge, you set the tone, decide when and how you will work, and when you will take time off.

The opportunity to share what you do well can be a surprise benefit of the bed-and-breakfast business. Consider the cooking that your family and friends take for granted—a whole new audience awaits.

Here, too, many people will see and enjoy the results of your work. Equipping and decorating a bed-and-breakfast also offers a great excuse to shop for antiques and visit yard sales and auctions. Now it's a valid business activity.

Bed-and-breakfasts generally self-select educated, affluent, and discerning guests. Many of them say they just want a nicer place to stay, a more refined experience, more accommodating of the individual and more interesting than a commercial hotel. These tend to be interesting people themselves and people with pleasing social skills.

This may be the best of all reasons to run a bed-and-breakfast. With a variety of guests passing through your doors, it would be almost impossible not to learn something from almost everyone. A boat captain, noticing the heat from our commercial range, showed Hugo how to shut it down and light it as needed, the way they do on boats. A contractor explained how to insulate the inaccessible eaves of an old house. A visitor from South Carolina suggested jasmine for the garden because it thrives in summer heat and humidity. Other guests discovered an eating place open after all the restaurants have closed, where the food is excellent. A potter noticed the clay soil around our garage and asked if he could take some home. We gave him plastic bags, he shoveled up chunks of the clay, wet them down with the garden hose, and departed. Next thing I knew, a package arrived containing two small bowls, glazed deep blue and green on the rims, with the natural, unadorned clay showing below. An English professor gave us an informative volume of essays about the bay. One morning after breakfast, two dance instructors taught everyone the rudiments of the rumba.

On the purely practical side, running a business like this teaches efficiencies of planning and time management that make “normal” life easier. A formal, three-course breakfast for twelve? No problem. A garden scheme for the walkways that looks good all year—simple. Pansies bloom in our climate from fall to spring and begonias from spring to fall. In the past I worked ten times harder in the garden with a lot less to show for it: Now it was necessary to discover what would contribute to a dependable, pleasing ambience with minimal labor and expense.