Tag Archive for: Twilight Park

What to do in a heat wave?

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The entire East Coast seems to be in a massive heat wave, and Twilight is no exception.  Clearly, it is not as bad up here as it is in New York City, where the temperature is currently 99 degrees with a “real feel” of 107.  That is not a lot of fun.  So, we have been spending a lot of time at the pool keeping cool, and I took Walker and his friend Jake to Zoom Flume yesterday.  It is a water park in East Durham, NY.  It is a pretty drive to get there and funny too, because you are driving along through very rural residential neighborhoods, and all of a sudden, there is a big water park.  The boys found a nice lounge chair and then ran off to the new wave pool.  We all had a blast- I finished my book in the shade, and they rode all the water rides and had funnel cakes.  Zoom Flume is a great way to beat the heat, but since we can’t do that every day, we rely on the pool and ice cream sandwiches of course.  Here is a great recipe for Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwiches.  They are even better if someone else makes them and you can just enjoy!

Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
4 to 5 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

For the mint chocolate chip ice cream:

Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice cubes and 1 to 2 cups of water. Place a medium bowl fitted with a fine strainer inside the ice bath.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Set over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is warm and begins to steam, about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Carefully whisk half of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, one ladleful at a time, until the egg mixture is warmed. Whisk the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and registers around 175°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to boil the mixture.
Immediately strain the mixture through the fine strainer into the prepared ice bath. Stir in the extracts and food coloring, if using. Cool the custard in the ice bath until it reaches room temperature, stirring often. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the custard and refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours or up to 1 day.
Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Add the chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of churning. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, press plastic wrap against the ice cream surface, and freeze until the ice cream is firm and the flavor is ripened, at least 2 hours.
For the chocolate sugar cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until combined.
Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Roll the dough into 2 tablespoon-sized balls, then roll in the sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets and flatten with the bottom of a measuring cup to a 2-inch diameter.
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Freeze the cookies until firm, at least 1 hour. The cookies can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 1 month.
For assembly:
Top one cookie with a scoop of ice cream. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and gently press down to form a sandwich. Immediately place the sandwich in the freezer. Repeat for the remaining cookies. Freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sweet Corn

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Does anything say summer more than sweet corn? And a fresh corn salad is about the best thing in the world.  It is a touch warm up in Twilight this week, but that means it has gotten above 80, so really it is not warm at all, it is perfect.  We have done some amazing hikes and are currently anxiously awaiting the arrival of great friends from Charleston who are coming up for a week.  I am dying for them to get here!  Our plan tonight is to porch sit- big surprise, and the picture is of our wonderful porch.  But I have a very delicious corn salad that will go perfectly with grilled burgers.  Yum!

Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients:
5 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

More Porch Life

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We have been up in Twilight for just over a week now, and I could not be more relaxed.  It is heaven up here except I don’t think my waistline would be expanding this much in heaven, but other than that, it is pretty perfect.  We have had a great time hiking and swimming, and we celebrated the 125th anniversary of Twilight Park this past weekend with a wonderful parade and a great picnic.  The whole park got so involved dressing up in period costumes, and everyone had a ball.  We have also had some great porch nights with friends, and on one particular evening last week, our friends Rob and Lauren and Rob’s sister Megan and her husband Jay were telling us about their family version of Top Chef.  Megan and Lauren cooked dinner one night and Rob and Jay the next, and Rob and Megan’s parents were supposed to declare a winner.  However being the wonderful parents that they are, they of course could not decide between their two children and called it a tie.  The dinners sounded fabulous, but one dish that Rob and Jay made sounded so unique.  It was an appetizer called and Eggvocado.  Basically, you cut an avocado in half, remove the pit, and put in an egg and cook it.  They all said it was fantastic, and I have yet to try it, but I can’t wait to.  Just another great tidbit picked up sitting on a porch.

Baked Eggvocado

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado
2 eggs
Salt & pepper, to taste
Other seasonings, as desired

Directions:

Cut avocado in half, remove pit, and scoop out a little bit of the avocado flesh to make a hollow big enough to hold an egg. Place avocado halves in a small foil-lined baking dish. Crack an egg into each avocado half (don’t worry if a little bit of the egg white spills over). Sprinkle each egg with salt, pepper, and/or other seasonings, to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until eggs reach desired doneness. Serve warm.

Ahhh…Porch Life

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We arrived in the Catskills on Friday night after a very long 14-hour drive.  My wonderful husband drove the whole way.  We got up to Twilight just in time for the Friday night drop-in dinner at the clubhouse, which was a welcome treat.  After a quick bite and hello to old friends that we hadn’t seen since last summer, we came up to the house to unpack and relax.  Friends in Charleston were asking me before we left what we did up here.  To be honest, we don’t do much- there are pretty much only two questions to be answered during the course of the day.  What hike will we do, and whose porch are we sitting on tonight?  The hiking I love, but porch life is what I look forward to all year long.  The Swansons’ porch has one of the better views, and hanging on that porch usually involves some sort of meaty treat.   Our porch always brings a plethora of cheese (after all, it is my porch), and Dave’s porch is usually reserved for after-dinner cocktails and fireside chats.  It really doesn’t matter whose porch we are on; it is always a good time.  However, I did want to spice up my cheese offerings this year.  And, in honor of my two favorite cookbook authors, The Lee Brothers, who coincidentally have a house close by and we are hoping to see next weekend, I am going to try to recreate their Henry’s Cheese Spread.  I have had it at a cocktail party they threw during Spoleto in Charleston, and it is fantastic.  I think everyone in Twilight will love it as much as everyone in Charleston.  Stay tuned for more “porch” recipes!

Henry’s Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

10 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (3 cups)
2 ounces (1/4 cup) lager or ale
Juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, drained
2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Crystal
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is smooth and spreadable. Transfer to a small bowl to serve.

Maggie’s Krooked Cafe

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When I moved back to Charleston after two years in the Catskills, I was hanging out with a group of people one night, and a friend of a friend asked from where had I just moved back.  Assuming that most people in South Carolina are not familiar with the tiny towns in the Catskill mountains, I said that I had been about two hours north of Manhattan up in the mountains.  She is a photographer and said that she had shot a wedding up in the Catskills the past summer.  She then went onto say that while she was up there, she had eaten breakfast at this little place and had the best pancakes.  It was obvious, she had been at Maggie’s Krooked Cafe.  I was right.  It was a very small world coincidence- the wedding she shot had been an acquaintance who grew up summering in a neighboring park to Twilight called Onteora.  These two parks are only about 10 miles away from each other on either side of a town called Tannersville, and all of this is one town over from Hunter Ski Mountain.  I remember the first time I went to Maggie’s and thinking how quirky the whole place was.  There is a reason the place is called Krooked Cafe- there is not a right angle in the whole restaurant.  Then the food came out.  We had ordered corned beef hash with a fried egg on top for the table, two people got the Ploughman’s breakfast, one person an omelet, and I got the blueberry pancakes.   First of all, corned beef hash is not something that I would think I would enjoy, and fried eggs are not my favorite (I have a thing against yolk- I don’t like it).  This stuff was amazing.  It had a lot of curry spice to it, and it was unbelievably flavorful.  Then I got to my pancakes.  When I tell you that these pancakes were unlike any pancake I have every eaten- its true, and you will only believe me if you actually taste them for yourself.  It might be the pound of butter of the entire sack of sugar that goes into each one, but there is something in those pancakes that is very special.  Since that day, whenever we have friends up on the mountain with us, going to Maggie’s for breakfast is a requirement.  So, if you happen to find yourself in Tannersville, NY- Maggie’s Krooked Cafe should be on your list of must do’s.  You can check out her website and all the accolades she has received here www.krookedcafe.com.

 

Maple Bacon and a 4th of July Parade

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We had some friends up to visit us in the Catskills last weekend with their three boys.  It was so great to see them, and I think they enjoyed escaping the heat that was attacking the rest of the country.  Our friends had never spent much time in the Catskills, and I think we made converts out of them.  We spent time between swimming at the pool, hiking and eating of course.  We introduced them to the best ice cream in the entire world- Perry’s Piece of Cake.  It, unfortunately for me, is a regional upstate New York ice cream company, and they have not expanded to South Carolina yet.  Hopefully after I start a letter campaign, they will.  Anyway, this ice cream literally tastes like yellow cake batter and chocolate icing- which if you are like me, the batter and icing is the best part of a cake.  If you can find some- try it- it is something special.  They funniest part of the weekend was Sunday morning.  Corby was making his awesome cracked pepper and cheddar biscuits(https://thesouthwillrise.com/cracked-pepper-and-cheddar-cheese-biscuits/), and I was making scrambled eggs and maple bacon.  Maple bacon is again something I can not find readily in South Carolina, and it is so good.  It smells so good.  Denny, our friend’s 7 year old son, ran down the stairs excitedly wondering where the pancakes were.  The maple bacon filled the house with the smell of maple syrup and Denny could not figure out why when the smell of syrup was coming from the kitchen we were not having pancakes.  It was so funny.  Fortunately, he loves scrambled eggs just as much as pancakes, so he was not too disappointed.  It was a great weekend!   We followed up the weekend with a super fun 4th of July.  The Twilight camp put on a great parade- the campers had spent the first part of the week making costumes.  We had eagles, bunnies, bears and skunks- the costumes were awesome.  Walker was an eagle and he made his mask with a fish coming out of his eagle’s mouth.  Then there was a park wide BBQ down at the pool with a dive and jump competition (one picture is AJ winning the belly flop competition and the other is Walker in the big jump competition), and the day was finished off with a carnival up at the playground with games and face painting.  The counselors and CIT’s out did themselves, and the kids had so much fun- here are some pictures!  I hope everyone had a great and safe 4th- send in your favorite grilling recipe from the holiday if you have a chance!  We are looking for new ideas while we are up in the mountains- thanks!!

More from the Mountains: Bear Claws

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This is my 11 year old Springer Spaniel, Nemo (named before the fish).  As you can see, he is a ferocious beast.   Despite the fact that he still looks like a puppy, he is getting old.  His hips are going, and he sleeps most of the time.  However, this morning, he recaptured some of his youth, when at 5:45am he demanded to be let out.  I dragged myself down the stairs and opened the door- my eyes still basically closed thinking he would just quickly do his business and come right back in.  Well, instead, Nemo the ferocious beast, found and scared a bear cub off our front porch.  The barking and scramble that ensued, I thought that there was a raccoon or something except that when I ran onto the porch, I saw this.  I did not get a picture of the cub because, well, this is a huge bear, and I did not want to hang out for too long.  But I did wake up everybody in the house and we all watched them safely through the upstairs window as they went up the hill.  I have to say,  when I am out on the boat in Charleston, I still get super excited to see dolphins- it never gets old.  Bears on the front porch, this could lose its appeal pretty quickly!  In honor of Nemo continuing to keep us safe and our hopefully never to return visitor the bear and her cub, here is a fun recipe I got from www.tasteofhome.com for bear claws!!

Bear Claws:

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

5 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

1-1/4 cups half-and-half cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 egg white

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup almond paste, cubed

1 tablespoon water

Coarse or granulated sugar

Sliced almonds

Directions

In a bowl, toss butter with 3 cups flour until well coated; refrigerate. In a large bowl, combine yeast and remaining flour.

In a saucepan, heat cream, sugar and salt to 120°-130°. Add to yeast mixture with 1 egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in butter mixture just until moistened.

Place dough onto a well floured surface; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Starting at a short side, fold dough in thirds, forming a 12-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Fold into thirds, starting with a short side. Repeat, flouring surface as needed. (Do not chill dough between each rolling and folding.) Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours or until firm.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and almond paste; beat until smooth. Cut dough in half widthwise. Roll each portion into a 12-in. square; cut each square into three 12-in. x 4-in. strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons filling down center of each strip. Fold long edges together; seal edges and ends. Cut into three pieces.

Place on greased baking sheets with folded edge facing away from you. With scissors, cut strips four times to within 1/2 in. of folded edge; separate slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly beat water and remaining egg; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Recipes from the Mountains

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We arrived in the Catskill Mountains on Saturday to the most beautiful blue skies and 75 degree temperature.  The weekend was spectacular, and I woke up this morning to rain and 55 degrees, and that does not upset me at all.  I got a fire going and turned on Wimbledon, and I think this might be the greatest vacation ever.  We are up here for four weeks which is pretty awesome for so many reasons.  We get to be with friends that we only see in the summer, we get to avoid Charleston heat in July, and we get a change of scenery from the beach to the mountains.  We are in Twilight Park which is a tiny little summer community in Haines Falls, NY.  This place is a special little piece of heaven that I love so much.  Here is the view that we look at every day over the Hudson River Valley.  My day consists generally of getting Walker ready and off to camp for the day and then deciding which hike I am going to do, followed by swimming at the pool, maybe a nap, lots of reading, and fixing dinner which is usually cooked on the grill.  It is kind of like I am at summer camp too.  I love making burgers up here, and I change up my burger concoction pretty frequently, but here is one of my favorites.

Pepper Jack Burgers:

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine everthing in a mixing bowl and mix everything together (I use my hands) and then form patties.  Pretty straigh foreward, but I think adding the pepper jack cheese into the meat mixture adds great flavor and I love have cheese in the burger as well as on top.  Grill to your liking and enjoy!