LOBSTER BISQUE AND JORDAN POND HOUSE POPOVERS

On a recent vacation to Bar Harbor Maine we enjoyed all the glory of Arcadia Nation Park, the beautiful coastline along with the harbor and the great food! I got my share of all three, for sure!

Today I am sharing 2 of my favorite recipes from our vacation.

We made the best of a dreary rainy day by turning it into a girl's shopping day and lunch! What fun!! It was at the PARKSIDE On The Green restaurant that I had a bowl of the best lobster bisque I have ever eaten!  Rich and just a little bit spicy and full of big buttery chunks of lobster.

On a hiking trip around Jordan Pond we stopped for a well deserved rest at the al fresco restaurant on the lawn at the Jordan Pond House. The scenery was stunning and serene. We were treated to delicious blueberry tea and their world famous popovers!

I want to bring a little of Bar Harbor to StoneGable's dinner table. So I am recreating two wonderful dishes... Lobster Bisque and Jordan Pond House Popovers.  Tonight Bobby and I will savor the flavors of Maine while looking at our hundreds of pictures together! Hope you liked the little peek at some of them too!

Lobster Bisque

My goal was to find a recipe that sorta SOUNDED like the bisque I ate TASTED without... spending all day fussing  in the kitchen or spending a king's ransom on live lobsters. Yet it should have a thick, rich noticeably  lobster taste with just a hint of a bite.

I found a great recipe at Food.Com. I doubled the lobster meat (tails on sale) and reserved some of the meat to use as garnish and added finely chopped parsley and Zesty Ranch Crackers (recipe below).

To view this yummy rich recipe, click HERE.

Jordan Pond House Popovers

These popovers should come with a warning label! Seriously! They are that good! The kind people at the Jordan Pond House give out the recipe. Our server told us that they make over 3,000 popovers a day!
 Eat them as soon as them come out of the oven slathered with butter and jam... or open them up and fill the cavity with your favorite great quality ice cream and chocolate syrup.

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup bread flour

pinch of salt

pinch of baking soda

SG Tip: a pinch is about 1/16th of a tsp. It is the amount that you can pinch between your thumb and index finger.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Grease a regular muffin tin pan very well all over.

Beat eggs at high speed in an electric mixer until thickened and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. On the slowest speed add very slowly 1/2 cup of milk. Beat until well mixed.
SG Tip: Use a timer~ 3 minutes is longer than you think!

Sift and measure flour, salt and soda. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the egg mixture. When mixed, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on medium speed and slowly add the milk; beat 2 minutes. Turn the mixer on the highest speed and beat for 5-7 minutes. Batter should be smooth and the consistency of heavy cream.

Strain batter through a sieve and fill EVERY OTHER muffin tin cup to the top. I put my muffin tin on a large baking sheet in case of spills.

Bake the popovers in the middle of the oven on the middle rack for the first 15 minutes.

Thur the oven door~ after 10 minutes in the oven!!!!

 WITHOUT OPENING THE DOOR reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 15- 20 minutes longer.

Almost ready- a peek through the oven door!

Serve immediately with butter and strawberry jam~ or blueberry jam!
Printable Recipe

Zesty Ranch Crackers
These are addictive! 
2 bags of small oyster type crackers
1 1/2 cup Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn Oil
2 packets Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

Preheat oven to  250 degrees.

Empty 2 bags of zesty oyster crackers in a large bowl.

Measure 1 1/2 cup oil  in a large measuring cup and stir in 2 packets of Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix. Stir to incorporate.

Pour oil over crackers and mix well.

Put crackers on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes. Toss using a spatula, turn crackers every 10 minutes and rotate trays in the oven.

After 30 minutes, remove from oven and let the crackers cool.

Keep in an airtight container.
Printable Recipe

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