Franzen Nicole - The lost kitchen: recipes and a good life found in Freedom, Maine

Acknowledgments

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Many thanks:

To the women of TLK, who bring so much love to the table each and every day. Your beauty, grace, and grit inspire me infinitely.

To Kristy, Dave, Holly, and Mom, aka my posse. You have been steadfast in having my back despite the odds against me. Thank you for never giving up on me, eternally believing in me, and pushing me forward each day. I love you and owe you all the world.

To Jaim. Your endless love and compassion for the world around you inspires me each and every day. You have taught me so much and opened my eyes. I love you to the moon and back!

To Dad. I know we dont see eye to eye and maybe we never will, but I still have hope that eventually we will find our way. Thank you for introducing me to my everlasting love for food. That diner of yours schooled me, and I am all the better for it.

To Michael. My constant cheerleader. X

To Tony and Sally Grassi, for believing in second chances.

To Janis Donnaud, for pushing me, protecting me, pulling me up and propelling me forward. I am grateful.

To Rachel Holtzman for keeping me in line and on time! You are a lifelong friend.

To Rica Allannic for taking the chance on a girl from the middle of nowhere. To Danielle Deschenes for bringing these pages alive with grace and simplicity. To Ada Yonenaka and Kim Tyner for helping to shepherd them.

To Nicole Franzen, Chelsea Zimmer, and Kate Jordan. Our time together working on this book was pure magic. I want to relive it all over again! Missing those trout pond dips and blueberry field picnic eves with you. You will always have a place in Maine and in my heart.

You cant make good food without good ingredients:

To the farmers and artists who have supplied us over the years. With love and appreciation:

VILLAGE SIDE FARM

DOROLENNA FARM

MORRILL CENTURY FARM

NEW BEAT FARM

BROWNE CO. TRADING

CALDWELL FARM

FINE LINE FARM

AFTER THE FALL FARM

HAHNS END CHEESE

LAKINS GORGES CHEESE

APPLETON CREAMERY

GARDENERS HONEY

HELEN TIRONE & HER MOST AMAZING HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

CROOKED FACED CREAMERY

MOODYTOWN GARDENS

HUBBARD BROOK FARM

RISING UP FARM

PEACEMEAL FARM

COMMONWEALTH POULTRY CO.

TINDER HEARTH

44 NORTH COFFEE

BELLADONNA FLOWER FARM

MEGHAN FLYNN CERAMICS

T he seemingly everlasting winter has held its grasp far too long. Cabin fever lingers, and we find ourselves bursting with a craving for green grass, budding blossoms, chirping birds, lingering daylight, and the opportunity to shed the layers of clothes weve been trudging around in for months now.

And then, finally, spring arrives. As if it has been sleeping for months, the earth begins to awaken. To me, there is nothing more exciting than the moment the first bit of green, that long-lost and forgotten hue, emerges from the thawing ground. The moment you can throw open the windows and inhale the first breezes that soften the bracing winter air. The moment the stillness comes alive with birdsong and buzzing and a constant trickle from the thawwhen the sweet scents of daffodils and forsythia awaken our senses, fiddleheads make their way through the soil, ramps spread wild over the forest ground, stalks of rhubarb gain height, and spring parsnips (wintered over, now sweet) are finally ready to be pried from the thawing ground. New life, new hope, and new dreams emerge with this season that I wait for most impatiently, the season of new beginnings.

FIRSTS

MAINS

SWEETS

Bites to Share on a Balmy Day

I like giving my guests something to dowhether its peel, shuck, dip, or nibblewhile I finish getting dinner on the table. Hard-boiled quail eggs (boil them for 5 minutes before chilling in ice water until cold), served with celery salt for sprinkling on top, make for a fun little project, while radishes and butter are a classic pairing that never goes out of style. To see the radishes coming uptheyre usually the first growing thing we pull from the soilis a very exciting herald of warmer weather to come. Because its such a simple dish, now is the time to find the freshest vegetables possible and to splurge on really good butter.

RADISHES & BUTTER

QUAIL EGGS & CELERY SALT

Fried Chive Blossoms

Before the grass, even before the asparagus, there are chives. I get so excited when their little sprouts start poking out of the dirtat last I can start eating something green after the long winter. So I put them on everything and use the entire herb, including the blossoms that sprout when theyve bolted. I usually sprinkle the lovely purple pompoms over dishes. But in this recipe, inspired by my fond memories of the fried onions and doughboys my dad would sell at summer fairs and carnivals, I fry them up wholelike little fluffy blooming onionsmaking for a great appetizer.

SERVES 4

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 cup all-purpose flour

teaspoon table salt

1 cups sparkling water, or more if needed

24 chive blossoms

Maldon salt

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375F or, alternatively, heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to the same temperature. (You can test if the oil is ready by dropping a small blob of batter into it; the batter should bubble and brown within 30 to 40 seconds.)

Meanwhile, combine the flour and table salt. Slowly whisk in the sparkling water and mix until smoothit should be the consistency of a loose pancake batter. If it seems too thick, add a bit more sparkling water.

Working in batches, dip the chive blossoms in the batter until well coated, then drop them into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer the blossoms to paper towels to soak up any excess oil and sprinkle them with Maldon salt. Serve immediately with the mayo for dipping.

Periwinkles in a Skillet
WITH GARLIC & PARSLEY

As a kid I was always playing with these little snails on the beachpicking them out of tide pools, poking at them so theyd retract back into their shells, and throwing them at my sister. Even though theyre everywhereand completely free for the scavengingit wasnt until I opened a restaurant that I actually started cooking them. I like to think of this dish as escargots from Maine, because I cook the periwinkles with the traditional French combination of butter, garlic, and parsley in a small cast-iron skillet and then send them out with a needle and thimble to help diners extract the meat from the shells.

SERVES 2

cup dry white wine

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 cup periwinkles, rinsed under cold water

4 tablespoons ( stick) unsalted butter