I have an obsession.  It started last March when Danielle brought back some chocolates from Switzerland  that were infused with different flavors. Not just nuts, or coffee, or cinnamon.  Heavy duty flavors like lemon,  or chiles, or salt.  Yes. Salt.

I’m only slightly embarrassed that I didn’t come up with it myself,   but either way, it turns out that this combination could quite possibly be the BEST THING THAT I HAVE EVER TASTED IN MY LIFE.  It combines the best of both worlds.  I have never been the kind of person who prefers one type of snack over another; some people can eat an entire bag of potato chips in one fell swoop, but sicken at the thought of eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in 10 minutes.  I can do both. I have done both.  I have often mused over the question: if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, and actually survive, would I choose something sweet or something salty?  For me it usually comes down to the best fried chicken in the world vs. chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.  I can never decide.

Until now.  Chocolate laced with sea salt is my new best friend.

Recently I was at a party and there were brownies.  I have been trying to eat like a normal person and so I wasn’t going to have one.  But I kept hearing people talking about how good they were. So I tried one.  They were salty.  I was in love.  I asked the woman who made them, “Do these have sea salt in them?”  Her eyes twinkled a bit as she said, “Why yes, they do.  I love salty desserts.”  A comrade.

So now I am revisiting every chocolate cookie recipe  to see where I can add some good salt.  A quick internet search yielded a bunch of recipes, but because we’re only talking about 2 ingredients here -salt and chocolate-I think just a little tweaking of tried and true recipes will be just fine. We make some super rich chocolate shortbread cookies here;  I baked a few off with a sprinkling of sea salt on top.  Oh my.  They were delicious.

So, with all the chocolate that’s floating around this week, I urge you to step outside of your comfort zone a little, and try this combination.  Heck, you could simply sprinkle a little salt on a Hershey’s Kiss to see if you like it!  (Stick to good sea salt or Kosher salt, though. Table salt won’t cut it).  And who knows, if you’re ever stuck on a desert island, maybe you’ll stock up on salty chocolate too.

Our favorite Cranberry-Apricot-Nut Bread

We posted the recipe for this quick bread 2 years ago, but when I searched the archives, it didn’t appear to be there…ah well, the mysteries of the inter-web!  This is sooo good, it deserves a second chance at posterity.  It might look like fruit cake, but you won’t want to re-gift it!  It is particularly good at the holidays because it’s pretty and festive and it travels very well: perfect for gift giving.  We hope you enjoy it!

4 cups flour

1 ¾ cups sugar

1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible

Scant 1 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

1 ½ cups dried apricots, roughly chopped

2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

4 eggs

½ pound butter, melted and cooled a bit

1 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh orange zest

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray loaf pans generously with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients.  Add fruit and nuts and mix together well to break up any lumps of apricots and distribute fruit evenly through the flour. (It’s easiest to do this with your hands).

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, orange juice and zest together until combined.   Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour wet ingredients inside.  Using a large spatula, combine wet and dry until no flour is visible.  Divide batter between loaf pans and place in hot oven.  Large loaves may take over an hour to cook through.  Smaller loaves usually take 50 to 60 minutes.  Be sure to test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center.  When it comes out clean, it’s ready.  Cool completely on wire rack before unmolding.

Yield=2 large loaves or 4 small

We haven’t shared a recipe in quite a while, so to remedy that, here is one recipe from Brampton Inn that can be altered lots of different ways…I served this the other day at tea-time and 2 people asked for the recipe so here you go:

Really Easy Focaccia Bread

2 cups warm water

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

4- 5 teaspoons dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme)

2-3 grinds of fresh cracked pepper

1 cup softened, chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup chopped kalamata olives

2 heaping teaspoons roasted garlic, pureed or roughly chopped (8-10 cloves?)

Olive oil and Kosher salt for topping

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Sift together flour, salt, sugar and dried herbs. You can use whatever combination of herbs you like.

Add the olive oil to the yeast-water mixture and then pour into dry ingredients and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes, olives and roasted garlic and mix together with your hands. When dough comes together, knead until smooth. (You can do this by hand or in an electric mixer with the dough hook. You will probably have to add more flour if the tomatoes, etc. are too wet.) The dough is ready when it’s smooth and not too sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl and put dough in bowl, swirling it around to coat it with the oil. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat an oven to 425 degrees. Punch dough down and remove from bowl. Using your hands, press dough into a circle roughly ½ inch thick. Pierce dough in a random pattern with a fork, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until browned. Cut into triangles and serve.

This recipe can be adapted to suit your tastes. Another version we like a lot at our Chestertown Bed and Breakfast uses finely chopped fresh rosemary and chopped caramelized onions instead of the dried herbs and the tomato-olive-garlic mixture. You can also make it plain and top it with onions and cheese or just cheese, …any combination of herbs, vegetables and cheeses: if you like it, then you can put it in this bread! Another option is to form it into a rectangle instead of a circle before baking. Then, cut the finished bread into squares or rectangles to be used for sandwiches.

You may want to double or even triple this recipe and divide the unbaked dough into smaller portions and freeze. This way, you can have fresh focaccia bread at a moment’s notice. Take it out of the freezer to defrost; then let it come to room temperature before shaping and baking it.

Enjoy!

This morning’s fruit dish at Brampton Inn was a composed salad of super ripe mango slices and plump juicy blueberries, dressed with a dab of vanilla simple syrup. As Simone finished plating them up and was putting them in the fridge to chill, I suddenly noticed the most amazing thing….

Her outfit and the fruits were the same exact color!!

Does this mean we are going to color coordinate the menu and our clothes from now on?  I guess not but I couldn’t resist taking the picture; the color match was uncanny.

Just another fun filled morning in the kitchen at our Chestertown Inn.

While we certainly won’t harvest enough to make jam, they will be all over the breakfast plates for the next little while, and  we’ll get some blueberries from a local farm to make enough jam for the rest of the year.

The raspberries are making a spectacle of themselves as well, and in a week or two the blackberries will be at it. Such a pleasant way to get your vitamins!

Check out our delicious recipes and discover more about the delectable breakfast items available at Brampton Inn!

Another thing we have more time for midweek at Brampton Inn is putzing around in the kitchen.  This week we made mini double-baked potatoes with Boursin cheese: a great little savory tea-time item that would never appear on the weekend for a house full of people because they are just too labor intensive to make.  But when it’s quiet here at our romantic Maryland bed and breakfast and we have a little extra time on our hands, why not?

Fingerling potatoes are those particularly delicious spuds that grow small and long, looking a little like, well, fingers.  They are not baby potatoes, that’s just as big as they get.  Their size and shape makes them perfect for little individual snacks, either baked or roasted as a side dish, or as we did here, as an appetizer.  There are a lot of steps involved and it can be time consuming, but each step is pretty simple, and they are soooo worth it.

Just bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until tender, but not mushy.  Drain and let cool.  Slice most of the potatoes in half length wise, but keep a few whole.  Using the smallest measuring spoon you have, scoop out a well down the center of each potato half, leaving  some flesh around the edges.  Collect the bits you’ve scraped out into a bowl.  Peel and discard the skin from the whole potatoes you put aside and add it to the bowl.  Add a bit of whole butter, some milk or cream, salt, pepper and a healthy scoop of Boursin cheese (or any soft cheese you prefer).  Mash as if you were making mashed potatoes.  Using a pastry bag with a star tip, pipe the mashed potatoes back into the potato shells (or if you don’t have a pastry bag handy, simply spoon the mashed spuds back into the well).  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and perhaps a little chopped fresh parsley.

At this point, you can cover them and refrigerate until ready to serve.   When ready, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 7-1o minutes, or until slightly browned on top.   Enjoy!

April will be coffee tasting month here at Brampton.  We thought it would be fun and informative to ask our guests for their input on different coffees that we have used in the past few years.  We all have our favorites that will be put to the test.   It can be challenging to taste-test coffee:  what to use for a pala  te cleanser: plain bread, something sweet, or a forkful of scrambled eggs??  What about regular vs. decaf?  We don’t want our guests all revved up and unable to relax!! Ah, the difficulties of being an innkeeper…

One of the very best accompaniments to coffee are these pecan shortbread cookies.  Like any good shortbread, they  melt in your mouth and are addictive.   Try them at home and see for yourself!

Pecan Short Bread

Makes 18

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (bake in 325 oven for 10 min. Be careful not to burn the nuts)

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus a bit more for preparation

¾ cup confectioners sugar

½ cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.

In a food processor, pulse pecans until medium to finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the food processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt until dough barely holds together. Add reserved pecans. Pulse 2 or 3 times, just to incorporate.

Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. If dough is sticky, dust with a hint of more flour. With a fork, prick dough several times across top.

Bake until lightly golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Use foil overhang to lift shortbread from pan onto cutting board. With a serrated knife, carefully cut warm shortbread into 16 squares. Cool squares completely on a rack before serving.

Can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days however they never last that long at the inn!

As many of you know, we are animal lovers here at the Brampton.  Danielle and Michael live with and cater to two Cairn terriers, Muffin and Charlie.  Rita supports two mutts, or to be politically correct, “composite breeds”, Dalia and Sidney, along with two inside only cats, Leo and Junior.

Of course, all our guests are familiar with Slipper, the cat concierge extraordinaire (just don’t ask him to get our of your way while you carry your bags up the front steps!)  But did you know that we have a pet friendly cottage just waiting for you and your four-legged friend?  Russell’s Cottage is the home away from home for many of our regular 4 legged guests.  There is Tweed, the border collie from New Jersey;  Sadie the terrier from Virginia; Abigail and Fiona, the schnauzers sisters from Baltimore; Molly the Burmese mountain dog, whose parents got married here, and whose grandparents are frequent guests;  and Izzy, the chocolate lab puppy, whose picture you can see on Trip Advisor.

Separate from the main house, but just a few steps away, Russell’s cottage is private and comfortable.  It has a king sized bed, a wood burning fire place, and a large bathroom with an oversized tub and shower.  There is also a small private sitting area behind the cottage.   Brampton’s 25 acres are great for leashed dog walking, and Chestertown itself is a very dog friendly town.  Many shops have resident dogs or cats and when the weather permits it, there are even outdoor dining areas that will allow your well-behaved dog to sit with you while you dine.

In the area there are plenty of places to go with your dog:

One of the most popular spots around is Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, just south of Rock Hall, and about a 15 minute drive from the inn.  There are trails and observation areas where you will see all kinds of water fowl, ospreys and bald eagles.  Your leashed dog will enjoy the opportunity to smell new smells and maybe even take a dip in the water.  Many trails end up near the river or bay.

 http://www.fws.gov/northeast/easternneck/

Another beautiful spot is Adkins Arboretum, a 400-acre native garden and preserve.  There are 4 miles of paths and your leashed dog is welcome!  It is particularly nice on a hot day, as most of the paths are under the canopy of large trees and nice and shady.

 http://www.adkinsarboretum.org/

There are other spots we’d be happy to share with you if you are traveling with a furry friend.  We even bake our own dog biscuits to welcome them!  Here is a recipe for you to try at home. They smell so good when they are baking, you might even want to taste it yourself…

CHEESEY DOG BISCUITS

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4-5 tablespoons water
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine flour, cheese, garlic and oil in a food processor. Cover and process until mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
While machine is running, slowly add water until mixture comes together in a ball. 
Remove from machine and roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on lightly floured surface.  Cut out with bone shaped cookie cutter or into any shape you want. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.  Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.  Refrigerate or freeze.
 

QUAKER OATS OATMEAL COOKIES

½ pound sweet, unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature1 teaspoon vanilla extract1

½ cups all purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups Quaker Oats (quick OR old fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup raisins

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set aside.  In the bowl of a mixer use the paddle attachment to beat the butter and both sugars together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture slowly and mix well.  Stir in oats and raisins and mix well. Using a 1 inch ice cream scooper, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes or until just starting to brown. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes then move to cooling rack.
Makes about 4 dozen.
Suggestions: Omit the raisins and add your favorite dried fruit, chopped. Add chocolate chips and/or toasted nuts. Add butterscotch chips. Omit raisins and add white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (Rita’s favorite!) Use your imagination, add what you like and enjoy!