Recipes – Page 6 – BritishCottageBlog.com

More High Point High Jinks

Keith and I are huge fans of the show, Fixer Upper. I confess to having spent countless evenings mesmerized watching to see what a hundred grand could do in Waco Texas–where we live in NJ that’s basically a master bath.

So sadly when we visited the Magnolia Homes Showroom at the High Point Furniture Market it was a bit disappointing. Overall we were not overwhelmed by the furniture; it all seemed a little underbuilt. We kept looking for a Clint Harp kind of table but instead most everything was like the coffee table in the photo above, flimsy with a kind of post-modern vibe so I didn’t even bother to take many pictures.

One exception was the beds. I thought quite a few of them had that romantic, je ne sais quoi that makes furniture exciting. This vignette to me reflects the Joanna Gaines we have come to love: romantic, country style that is surprisingly sophisticated.
img_7208-907x1024 I have a vendor who makes a bed like this and now I just might get it. I just love the iron canopy, the dark hue and the dreamy styling.

And I thought the beds for little girls were both sweet and charming. img_7207-854x1024 All the bedding was lovely and from a company called Bella Notte Linens. I had just purchased similar bedding for the store from a company called Amity Home so it is nice to know Joanna and I are on the same page.

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One thing I totally loved in the Magnolia Homes showroom was the kitchen; it was classic Joanna with subway tile, a farmhouse sink and a massive island topped with zinc. With freestanding shelving instead of upper cabinets, wide-planked flooring, and an industrial-style chandelier, it was inviting and practical. (Although not so sure about the galvanized garbage can.)

Banana Bread Recipe

What I am sure about is that this kitchen looks like a fun place to whip up a loaf of homemade Banana Bread; here’s Joanna’s recipe and boy is it delicious!

**Homemade Banana Bread – Click image for larger view**

High Point High Jinks

Salami Roll Up Recipe

Keith and Joanna Gaines Maybe one of the more famous people we did not meet at High Point, but certainly it felt like Joanna Gaines was everywhere!

Twice a year thousands of vendors and buyers gather in High Point, North Carolina to preview the coming season’s latest introductions to the furniture industry. Although Keith and I design most of the items we sell it is always instructive and illuminating to see what the trends are, and it’s also terrific fun to purchase items that complement the British Cottage Collection. After all how many people get to pay themselves to shop?

Along the way we also pick up words of wisdom and design ideas from some of the leading designers and innovators in the trade. Here is Windsor Smith— a leading force in the Los Angeles design industry whose elegant interiors are a masterful mix of elegance, modernity, tradition–and yes–comfort. Next to her is Carl Dellatore, editor of “Interior Design Mater Class: 100 Lessons from America’s Finest Designers on the Art of Decoration” published by Rizzoli this October. If you buy only one book on design this season–this is it.
img_7235-2 Down a few flights of stairs were Barclay Butera and Kathy Ireland–also powerhouses in the California design world. We have always loved how Barclay manages to meld beach house cool with an English manor house sensibility, and we all know that anything former model, Warren Buffet confident, and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland touches is sheer gold. When she says color is making a comeback; we listen.
img_7248-2 Fortunately we are so on trend, because we had already purchased this fabulous couch and chair at Hickory White.

img_7030-3 Not sure you will see a salmon pink wall anytime soon at British Cottage, (and I will source the Benjamin Moore color for those of you who have asked), but the couch and two chairs should arrive in a few weeks. We like to buy the Hickory White floor models. Why not take advantage of their professional design savvy and add to our inventory at the same time?

And in for a penny, in for a pound as the pundits say, we also bought this couch and chair, again in a rosy hue.

But fear not, we did not go completely pink, we also purchased this lovely, royal blue velvet sofa and two complementary armchairs.

Usually it is all work and no play for us at Market. Cocktails are free and flowing throughout the showrooms, but we have found drinking and shopping is a volatile combination that results in expensive mistakes. And while there is always fabulous entertainment in the evenings, we never get to go; we are simply too tired from walking at least ten hours a day at the show to venture out in the evenings. Fortunately for us, on a late sunny Saturday afternoon Maggie Rose was practicing for her upcoming performance, and we got an advance preview.

Fabulous!

I like to end my blogs with a recipe, but food is beside the point at the High Point Furniture Market and largely forgettable except for one item:

Salami Roll Ups

It was late in the day, actually early evening, and we were trying to squeeze in one last show room before we went back to our hotel. We watched as a 70+ year-old woman, with hair like all Keith’s aunties in England had back in the days when a perm meant tight curls in an unnatural color, walked slowly up the stairs with a plate of appetizers.

Perhaps she had some connection with the staff and was delivering a special treat welcoming them to High Point, rewarding them for a good days work? I have no idea. But we were starving, and offered a sample we were thrilled to say yes.

Cue the flashback! The last time I remember having a salami roll up was back in 1969 when a friend’s mom hired a bunch of us to prep and serve hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party she was hosting on Chappaquiddick. My mother was more the Wispride on a Triscuit kind of gal so I thought these roll ups were just about the most wonderful things in the world–and very exotic.

Fast forward to today, and I can say while a Salami Roll Up is not the chicest of treats, they sure do taste good.

Here’s the recipe:

Take a quarter of a pound of good hard salami thinly sliced. Put a small wedge of cheddar cheese and a sweet pickle on top of each piece of salami. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Serve.

The Visiting Nelsons

T-Bone Steak Dinner Recipe

I’m pretty sure the last thing my son and daughter-in-law expected was for me to write about their house after we visited them last week in deepest Nebraska. With a three week old infant, a toddler and a proud kindergartener just getting three meals on the table and everyone dressed in the morning is challenging enough. No one has the time, or the inclination to worry about home decor at this stage. But hey, I liked their house so much I couldn’t resist.

colins-house

Built just last year in a subdivision outside of Omaha, my immediate thought when I learned of the purchase was great, ho-hum Midwestern tract housing-does it get any worse that that? Well I could not have been more wrong. Not only does their house have great curb appeal (even in this photo I cribbed from Zillow), with a lovely stone foundation, rocking chair ready front porch and an interesting roof line.

But also the interior is just as nice with exactly the right amount of architectural details, a thoughtful floor plan, hardwood–not engineered flooring and although not huge, very spacious. In fact their house amazed me by how livable it was and I realized how having a house that is actually designed for the people living in it, a twenty first century family, makes their life a whole lot easier.

My homes have always been old, requiring tons of imagination, effort and cold hard cash just to make them function. We’ve turned porches into playrooms, attic space into master bedrooms, added bathrooms and laundry rooms, jacked up sinking garages, and waterproofed basements. We have enjoyed making our houses into homes but we have never had a house that was designed for a modern family.

Our first two houses had detached garages designed to stable the horses! The next house had an attached two car garage in which you could squeeze in maybe one mid-size auto but certainly not two trucks like their house does with its three large car attached garage. Whoever thought of that was brilliant–space for two plus-sized family cars and all the bicycles, toddler vehicles and lawnmowers. You, and your spouse, can actually park your cars in the garage and walk straight into the house.

Then you enter an ample mud room and off come the shoes, and jackets, purses and back packs get hung. Not rocket science but still… img_6546-755x1024

Mudroom for children — Even the little guys can put their things away.

Next up is the kitchen. Not huge, but with a center island, double ovens, a plus size fridge, a walk in pantry, and still room for a kitchen table, all you could wish for.

Light granite kitchen island — Kitchen Island in a granite that looks like marble

And I loved that there was another, separate dining area. Home office by day for the modern working mom, but just steps from the kitchen to make entertaining a breeze, and a bit more elegant than sitting on top of the actual work space.

Country French Dining Table — We don’t sell these tables any more but I wish we did. Inside there is a butterfly leaf that extends the table to 100″.

There is no formal living room. The space off the kitchen is the family room with tv and just enough toys and books to keep the kids busy but not so many that they can’t be quickly put away when bedtime approaches or company is coming.

img_6549-720x800 Wisely they opted to finish the walkout basement adding carpeting, a bedroom and a full bath. Perfect for visiting grandparents and perfect for two little boys stuck inside on summer days when the temperature is over 100 or in the depths of winter when snow and ice reclaim the prairie.

img_6483-768x1024 Upstairs there is a master bedroom suite with a fireplace, sitting room (where the treadmill sits), master bath and walk in closets, then three more bedrooms and an upstairs laundry room. Here is our newest baby modeling the upstairs quest room with all its fabulous British Cottage furniture.

British Cottage Pine Bed

Now, what do you eat in Omaha? Steak of course.

T-Bone Steak Dinner

Sprinkle T-Bone steaks from your Uncle’s farm in South Dakota with salt and pepper and grill. Serve with baked potatoes topped with sour cream and fresh chives, and the last of the carrots from the garden roasted in the oven.

Super!

The Quogue (rhymes with frog) Delivery

Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil Lunch Recipe

Our furniture goes to the most lovely homes but rarely do I get to see them in person. Keith makes the deliveries and usually I merrily send him about his way. But Sunday I joined him on a jaunt to Quoque, a town, that to me, is all about the best Long Island living can offer. Sure there are multiple monstrosities masquerading as homes but there are also many terrific looking, normal sized houses that offer families fresh air and sunshine just sixty miles outside Manhattan.

The house we delivered to probably started life as a smallish ranch. But with the breezeway now a foyer and the former two car garage a den and the roof line altered to cathedral height it is certainly something else entirely today. Red Great Room My first advice to any novice interested in my decorating opinions is always to stay clear of jewel tones. Clearly this delightful great room proves me wrong. I love how the bold color adds definition to the space and provides a framework for all the diverse objects in this room. But also note how the glass coffee table, light rug and furniture keep the mood happy. As does Uncle Bowwow’s portrait to the left of the fireplace!

Next to the sitting area is a large farmhouse table made of old pine barnwood and next to that is a massive island separating the galley style kitchen from the rest of the room. It looks like it works fine for two–or what happens sometimes I am sure when you have a house in Quogue–twenty! Pine Farm Table

But the whole point of a summer house is not the interior is it? Sure there are rainy days and evenings spent playing scrabble, but really you want to be outdoors. And what makes this house so terrific is the fabulous swimming pool just steps from the kitchen. Who needs the beach?And as if the gorgeous pool wasn’t enough, the landscaping then is the icing on the proverbial cake. With both sun and a shade perennial gardens there is always something blooming magnificently.

Now let’s talk about lunch.

Recipe for a Perfect Summer Lunch

Go to the farmer’s market in August and buy the freshest tomatoes, slice and layer with some fresh mozzarella and lots of fresh basil leaves–and I mean fresh when I say it three times. This will not work with tired tomatoes or droopy basil or supermarket cheese.

Top with home made vinaigrette or just use some of Marie’s Original Salad Dressing. Serve with a loaf of french bread and a nice chunk of good butter.

Because lunch is light dessert (for once) is acceptable; slice strawberries and toss with chunks of cantaloupe. Serve with a plate of good store bought or homemade Toll House cookies.

Clearly I am on for the next delivery!

Our New Shipment has Arrived!

View the New Arrivals on the Web Site.

Beef Goulash Recipe

Antique Pine Nightstands — A glimpse of the new shipment

For thirty years Keith and I have traveled to Europe to buy container loads of antique–primarily pine–furniture. We started in England, then went to Holland, Denmark and finally Hungary purchasing hundreds of items to sell in our Red Bank, NJ furniture store. At some point we started adding furniture made from old wood, and then new wood, to meet customer demand for specific items. When our factory in England went bust after one recession or another—our Hungarian supplier of antique pine started building for us.

IMG_3730 (1024x955) — At the factory in Hungary

The big news this year is that we are now producing our own line of furniture made with weathered oak to meet the demand for the grey, drift-woody tone that originated in Belgium but has been happily adopted by the savvy American furniture buyer.

grey oak coffee table — Grey oak coffee table

IMG_0531 (1024x879) — 73″ grey oak table

In addition to the oak items we are also introducing a whitewashed pine finish:

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All the new items meant long days of hard work, figuring out what to make and how–but eventually dinner time would roll around. One of our favorite restaurants in Eger is called Feherszarvas Vadasztanya. The food served there is rustic and hardy, and we always make sure to fill up on the Beef Goulash.

Love this menu!
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Beef Goulash

Cut a couple of pounds of well-larded chuck steak into chunks and toss with 2 tablespoons FRESH paprika (not the stuff that has been sitting around for the last couple of years), a tablespoon of flour, a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of caraway seeds–if you have them.

Pour some olive oil in a heavy casserole dish and brown the meat in batches until it’s golden and crusted and set aside.

Scrape the bottom of the pan and add two thinly sliced onions and one green pepper thinly sliced also, and more oil if needed. When the onions are soft remove the peppers and add the leftover flour and spice mixture to the pan and stir.

Add the beef and water to cover, making sure to scrape and mix in all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot and put in the oven at 350 degrees for two and one half hours. Remove the lid and add the cooked peppers and cook for another half hour until the meat is very tender.

Taste for seasoning. In Hungary, this is served with spaetzle-a soft egg noodle that I don’t have a clue how to make but adore. Being essentially lazy I just ladle the goulash over the regular supermarket variety egg noodles. A dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chives is always nice. As is a bottle of Bull’s Blood, or Egri Bikaver, a fabulous red wine blend from Eger.

Egyunk! (Bon appetit in Hungarian)

The Red Bank Farmers Market

Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe

My favorite thing on Sundays, after the NY Times and Keith’s traditional English breakfast with eggs, fresh bangers (sausage to the uninitiated) from Sickles and toast (I leave all the Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce for Keith), is the Red Bank Farmers Market.

A hop, skip and a jump from our store at the intersection of West Front Street and Shrewsbury Avenue, in the parking lot behind the Galleria, is where you get the best and freshest fruits and veggies from a variety of local suppliers. This is what fresh direct means, from the farm to your table. And when Sunday rolls around it is always exciting to see what new treats are in store.

Because they start slow. Some herbs and lettuces in early spring, next comes the asparagus, some squash and now suddenly, it is in full swing, with nearly every fruit and vegetable you can imagine. It is a great place to schmooze with friends you haven’t seen for a while. And if, unlike us, you have not been properly fed there are some fabulous breakfast options starting with our neighbor Adam’s vegan legend, The Cinnamon Snail…

Or for you gourmands out there, there is that only in NJ classic, the Pork Roll truck!

Although I managed to resist the pork roll, I could not resist the eggplant, so guess what we’re having for dinner tonight?

Eggplant Parmigiana

This recipe is adapted from one in Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano; heaven forbid I ever follow a recipe exactly. But I love Mario for figuring out a way to make this dish without having to fry, or even better–batter the eggplant. Even if you are willing to take on the calories, who wants to spend a 100-degree day with the air-conditioning cranked up so you can sweat for a good half hour or so over a hot frying pan? And then you still have to hang around for another half hour while it bakes.

And don’t sweat that whole pre-salting thing either–it just takes up another half hour, uses more dishes and I can never taste any difference. Just start with the freshest eggplant you can buy. Don’t use the baby ones–go for a nice mid-sizer with some heft and slice it into a little less than 1/2 inch rounds. Put the slices on a lightly olive-oiled baking sheet, add salt and pepper to taste and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for ten minutes or so. Keep an eye on them–you want them cooked through with some color–but not burned.

And that’s it. Make stacks, with a cheese layer in between the slices–I like to use a mixture of goat cheese and fresh mozzarella because I think the mozzarella is a little bland. Top with your favorite tomato sauce and some grated parmesan and cook for twenty minutes in a 350 degree oven. Garnish with fresh basil if you’ve got some on hand and serve with a fabulous salad, and a warm loaf of that great Italian bread from those guys in the far corner at the Farmers Market and enjoy.

Buon Appetito!

The Maine Thing

Fish Taco recipe

Part of the reason why we are such happy empty nesters is when we sold our house and moved to an apartment above our store, we also bought a little place on a little lake in Maine, seven hours and 5000 light years away from NJ. There the air is always fresh, albeit slightly redolent of pine needles, and when the sun shines the sky is always a brilliant blue.

Mostly we like to be outside. Hiking, sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, or just sitting on the dock reading a book. But when the weather is not cooperating then we do another favorite thing which is messing about with the house. It’s a former camp, which to the uninitiated means a no-frills hut for hunters and fishermen, but fortunately, over the years, it has acquired what I consider to be the essential amenities of a home: indoor plumbing, electricity, heat and hot water.

However, our most favorite thing of all, and perhaps the one thing you can do in Maine at any time of the year–in any kind of weather–and that is eat, dine, nosh, you name it, we do it! In fact we time our journeys so that after a quick six am-ish pitstop for a bagel and a cup of joe to go from The Coffee Corral in Red Bank, we are in Maine just in time for lunch at Day’s Crabmeat and Lobster Pound and Take Out, a type of restaurant we don’t have in our neck of New Jersey any more.

It’s the kind of place where you order at the window, then wait for your number to be called, and in just ten minutes or so you have the freshest fried haddock sandwich or crab or lobster roll you’ve ever eaten in your life. Seating is out back at picnic tables, each with its own million dollar view. Trust me, you will never wait in line at Red’s Eats again.

After Day’s it is just a hop, skip and a jump to our Maine cottage. But first we stop at the Fisherman’s Catch and Seafood Market in Damariscotta and pick up some crabmeat and fresh fish fillets. (The lobster comes later in the week!)

(I swear this guy in line ahead of me was Al Pacino but I was too afraid to ask!)

In the summer, especially when the weather is delightful, time becomes of the essence so we rush to get the boats in the water and have a quick sail, or kayak or fiddle with the latest toy, the paddle board, because before you know it–it’s dinner time. And that often means fish tacos.

Fish Tacos

I’ve been a fan of fish tacos ever since our friend, Doug Douty, of Lusty Lobster in Highlands, NJ fame discovered them on a fishing trip to Mexico. He came back raving about how great these tacos were and even better, really easy to make: just flour tortillas, the freshest of fish and a crunch of slaw tossed down with a cold one. He had me by the time he got to the slaw–never even mind the beer.

Since then I’ve made them fried, and broiled and baked in the oven, breaded, blackened, sauced and unsauced and finally I decided my favorite way to make fish tacos is the easiest.

First, to make cleanup a breeze, use one of those disposable aluminum pans you can buy at the grocery store. Melt a little butter and lightly coat whatever boneless fish fillet you like–trust me you can use anything–even bluefish, and put it in the pan. Spice the fillets up with whatever is on hand: some chili powder, paprika, some crushed red pepper, a little salt or Old Bay and let it hang in the fridge for a while.

Then make the slaw—once again I’ve made a hundred different versions and find the simplest tastes just as good as more complicated recipes with a ton of steps and ingredients. Just grate or finely slice up some red cabbage. It has to be red cabbage; green does not work. Add some sliced, chopped or grated red onion, and if you like, a carrot and/or some chopped up hot peppers can go into the mix too. Then toss with a slurry you’ve made of about 1/3 rice wine vinegar to 2/3 mayonnaise and a pinch of sugar. Put in the fridge and get yourself a glass of wine or a beer.

All that’s left to do is cook the fish and that just means you get someone else to put the pan on a hot grill until done—usually, it takes about ten minutes. Place your flour tortillas in foil on the unheated part of the grill so they warm up as the fish cooks. (The fish can also be cooked in the oven at 425 degrees for about the same amount of time as on the grill.) The fish is done when it flakes.

The fish goes on the hot tortilla, top with the slaw, and serve with a wedge of lime. If you want to get fancy put half an avocado on a hunk of lettuce to fill up the plate, grab another beer or glass of white wine and enjoy.

Cooking With Gas: These are a few of my favorite things…

Baked Artichokes, Shrimp, Mozzarella, and Scallops

The late Marcella Hazan is often credited with being the godmother

of Italian cooking in the United States. Of course I didn’t know that when I picked up her Classic Italian Cookbook in the discount bin at Barnes and Noble and that evening made possibly the best Chicken Cacciatore ever. I only found that out years later when I read an interview with her in the NY Times food section that included a recipe for Baked Artichokes, Shrimp and Mozzarella I have treasured ever since. But with a tweak–or two.

Here’s my version:

Baked Artichokes, Shrimp, Mozzarella–and Scallops

Figure one artichoke per person. Fill a bowl with cold water and the juice of a couple of lemons. Peel off the tough outer leaves of the artichoke–maybe a few more than you think–then snap or cut off the top part of the remaining leaves. Cut into quarters and pull out the fuzzy bits in the center. Cut the quarters into halves or thirds and add to your bowl. (In theory the lemon juice prevents the artichokes from getting brown on you

but I find they still get a little discolored but not to worry).

Glug a fair amount of olive oil into a large saute pan, add a couple of chopped up cloves of garlic and a diced up shallot or two if you happen to have some handy. Marcella says to saute until nut brown and remove-I leave the bits in the pan and then add my artichokes which I have drained well and dried a bit so they don’t splatter in the hot oil. Add all the salt and pepper you want now.

Turn the artichokes so all sides are covered in oil and cook on medium/ low heat for five minutes. Then add some water to partially fill the pan, cover and simmer until tender. This takes anywhere from twenty five to 40 minutes depending on how hot your pan is to how big your artichoke pieces are. (Test hearts with a fork stab to get an idea of doneness).

Marcella says to put your artichokes into a buttered pan, I usually leave them where they are and add some butter–like half a stick because I like

a buttery artichoke flavor. If you are feeling healthy I think you could skip the butter entirely. Anyway spread raw shrimp evenly across the top (devein but leave the tails on for flavor). And then I add scallops–cut into halves if they are on the robust side–because Keith won’t eat shrimp and I have to make this recipe.

Now here Marcella says to top with buffalo mozzarella, some parmesan, and a couple of tablespoons of butter cut into bits and sprinkled on top, then cook in the upper third of a preheated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I usually cook it cheeseless in a 400 degree oven for twenty minutes and then up the temp to 450 and add the cheese for about 5 minutes until it melts. (I skip the butter because I have already gilded that lily).

Whichever way you go–watch that mozzarella carefully because it is really easy to overcook it. Remove from heat. Let rest and serve warm with lots of crusty bread to sop up the juice and lots of napkins because you just have to use your hands to get to the artichokes properly. And if you left the tails on the shrimp it just makes sense to pick those up with your fingers too.

Buon appetito!

On Golden Pond

The World’s Best Fish Stew

Like most visitors to Maine it was love at first sight. I was 16 and working for the summer as a mother’s helper for a local Rumson family and they carted me along with them to their summer place in Prouts Neck. Most famous for being home to Winslow Homer, it is a glorious peninsula composed of rocky crags on two sides and a sandy crescent on the third. My little charges and I spent our days on the beach and climbing the cliff paths that circled around the neck, and it was a summer I will never, ever forget.

A similar thing happened to my sister when she first got to Maine, but she was her in twenties and smart enough never to leave. She landed on the Pemaquid Peninsula–just far enough north not to be completely overrun with tourists, but still filled with the requisite amenities that make Maine so delightful: a lighthouse, fabulous ocean vistas, lobster pounds serving the freshest and best seafood imaginable, estuaries, tidal pools, and even a sandy beach.

We visited her many times over the years, and finally when we were empty nested we took the plunge, sold our family home, repaired to our apartment over the store in Red Bank (always the plan when we renovated a decade ago) and bought ourselves our own Maine cottage.

As much as we love the ocean views, we opted for lakeside because our little lake (which is technically a pond because, or so I’ve been told, it is just shy of the required five miles) warms up enough so we can comfortably swim all summer. Biscay Pond is just the right size for sailing in our little boat,kayaking, paddle boarding or running our little outboard to our hearts’ content–without the fear of being swept out to sea!

Naturally given the nature of our business, having our own home to furnish and decorate just adds to the pleasure of living in Maine. The first thing we did, and I know this is going to cause a lot of groans, was paint all the original knotty pine paneling Benjamin Moore’s China White and all the fir trim White Dove…. Yes, sacrilegious in some minds, but fully supported by legions of Scandinavians who know how best to live in northern climes. White makes smaller spaces live larger, reflects light and makes the day brighter and me, and happier. (And we all know that when mom is happy–everyone’s happy.)

Next we stripped the floors to a natural pine. I love light floors because they hardly show the dust or dirt or wear and when they do one swish of the mop and they look as good as new. With two small grandboys and a third sibling on the way, we want to make all of our visitors feel welcome and not fret over natural, and heaven knows with small boys around sometimes unnatural, wear and tear. You never know what they will get into or up to!

We had new kitchen cabinets made for the galley style kitchen, mostly because there were too many for the space and the wood was an ugly brown. These cabinets were made at the factory we use in Hungary to build all of our furniture so we knew they would be top quality. During the install we were able to double the insulation in the walls and enlarge the window over the sink–I am all about waterviews when washing up. And yes, the cabinets are now white so the whole area looks larger and so much more inviting than before.

Decorating was a challenge because there is only one room on the main floor for cooking, dining, and living. We had to have a large farm table, after all, we are British Cottage. Even so, the one we chose has a metal base so it doesn’t look so massive, even though it is 96″ long and can seat twelve–squished–but still, the more the merrier! Our chairs are upholstered in black linen; not the fabric you would think of for a lakehouse but I thought they would have to do double duty as extra seating when entertaining a crowd so they may as well be comfortable. And what else is Scotchguard for?

I think cheap couches are a false economy. Usually, the fabric choices are awful. And they can be really uncomfortable to sit on because the cushions are made of synthetic materials that are (besides being toxic) either too dense or too sloppy for relaxing properly–which is, after all, the whole purpose of a vacation home. So we have a really good couch, but we had two slipcovers made in a cotton blend that looks like linen and wears like steel.

The armchairs in the room are…black velvet? I know but I thought we needed some drama and like the tie in with the dining room chairs. And who doesn’t love that fabulous coffee table with traces of off-white paint made from antique doors? It looks great but can take a beating, just what you want for a vacation home. For accessories I mostly rely on a lot of lamps, everything from faux bamboo candlestick lamps to classic blue and white ginger gars, they literally light up the room and give it warmth. Are you sensing a pattern yet? This is just our fabulous New Jersey Coast style–in Maine.

I try to use antiques when decorating as much as possible. With furniture that has been used over and over again by family after family one more nick or scratch is not going to be the end of the world; it’s just another part of the journey. The whole point of decorating is to make your part of the world a little happier for you and your family. If you get it right, they will come.

That’s why the third floor has room for three beds tucked under the dormers; there is plenty of space for when the kids are visiting. Which is really what it’s all about, isn’t it? When no one is visiting I can channel E.B. White and write at the little desk by the window.

There is a another small bedroom on the main floor and then downstairs there is a master bedroom and bath with a Jacuzzi tub! I know, hardly roughing it, but I never said I was much of a camper.

But eventually, it is time to stop whatever you are doing and come in for dinner. One of our favorite meals is fish stew and this is the best I’ve come across. It is from Kate Shaffer, owner of Black Dinah Chocolatiers in Westport, Maine; naturally I’ve taken some liberties but basically, it goes like this:

The World’s Best Fish Stew

Heat a glop of olive oil in a large pot, the more decorative the better because this is what you will be serving from. Add a pinch or two of thyme, turmeric, fennel, saffron and crushed red pepper. If you don’t have any of those on hand try some oregano or basil. Heat just for a few seconds then add a large yellow onion & 2 celery stalks chopped up and 4 cloves of garlic minced. If you have fresh fennel on hand and like the taste–add that. For me a little fennel goes a long way so I usually skip this step. Another step I usually skip is adding 1/2 a yellow pepper–only because I don’t have any in the house. Then cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes and their juice and squish them up a bit. Fill the empty tomato can half with water and half with white wine–this is the bit I like because it means it is time to start cocktail hour. Cook the mixture until it boils and then simmer for at least 15 minutes or as long as a couple of hours–the idea is to let those spices really season the stew.

Just before you are ready to eat and the stew has simmered and is very hot, add your fish. Any kind of fish works; I like a couple of pounds of cod or haddock the best. Then add whatever else you like. I generally splurge on 6 or 7 of the priciest fresh scallops and shrimp the fishmonger has on hand and chuck in a bag of mussels (make sure to take them out of the bag and scrub them first). Cook until the mussels open and serve with some fresh parsley and a loaf of good bread and the freshest butter you can find. Scrumptious. Thank you, Kate.