It’s late summer and figs are ripe… so gorgeous and
luscious, they hardly look real. Each one is a work of art.

After I take many photos of these just-picked figs, I make Chloe’s Fig Preserves.

One of my favorite ways to eat these preserves is with warm, creamy brie. This dish makes a great presentation, it is fast and easy – guaranteed to be a hit at the party.

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Creamy Brie with Fig Preserves

It’s late summer and figs are ripe… so gorgeous and luscious, they hardly look real. Each one is a work of art.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: creamy brie with fig preserves, creamy brie with fig preserves recipe

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 232kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1 wedge of Brie cheese about 16 ounces
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds optional
• 1/2 pint warm fig preserves 1 cup
• 1 box 4 & 1/2 ounces Carr’s Table Water Crackers or similar plain crackers

Instructions

• Unwrap Brie and let stand at room temperature for several hours before serving; place in a warm spot so that cheese will be soft.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread slivered almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from oven, cool and reserve.
• To serve, place Brie on a serving plate and pour preserves over the cheese. Preserves will run over the sides and onto the serving dish. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top and serve with plain water crackers like Carr’s.

Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 96mg | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 225IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission has issued a challenge to Bloggers who blog about food – create an original sweet potato recipe. First thing I had to do was learn how to spell “potato.” … amazes me that it has no “e.”

My dad grew lots of sweet potatoes here on the farm at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast. My brother John told me that some years the Sweet Potato House would be full, so they had to store them in other buildings – like tobacco barns and buildings. That was the year they raised 5,000 bushels of sweet potatoes. They liked special varieties – Hayman, Puerto Rica and Georgia Red. No one here dared raise Jewel potatoes…they just weren’t as good.

When my mother baked a cookie sheet full of sweet potatoes, they were so sweet that the juice crystallized on the pan. She never made sweet potato soup, but I know she would have liked it.

Chloe’s Gourmet Sweet Potato Soup is creamy without any cream. Good for all those lactose intolerant folks. And – no flour thickeners, so it is gluten free. This is a delicate soup that is a good accompaniment to any meal.  It is a real show-stopper.

Print Recipe

Chloe’s Gourmet Sweet Potato Soup

For the two-color soup, make two batches. This is a beautiful soup, and you will love the variations in the sweet potato soups.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sweet potato soup, sweet potato soup recipe, two color sweet potato soup

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons canola or corn oil divided
• 2 cups  leek sliced, white parts only, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds red sweet potatoes about three medium-sized or two large potatoes. Buy the darkest red sweet potatoes available.
• 1 1/2 pounds light-colored sweet potatoes like Hayman Japanese, Murasakior O'Henry (about three medium-sized or two large potatoes)
• 1 cup water divided
• 4 cans 14½ ounce good quality vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons orange zest divided

You will also need for garnish:

• Sprigs of fresh chives
• Edible flowers like pansies, nasturtiums, violets, Johnny-Jump-Ups

Instructions

To make the red sweet potato soup:

• In a medium sized fry pan, heat 2 Tablespoons canola oil. Add ½ cup sliced leeks. Sauté the leeks on medium heat until tender, stirring often. Do not let the leeks brown. Remove from heat.
• Wash and peel the red sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. Add the red sweet potatoes to the pan with the leeks. Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 can of vegetable broth. Cover and cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Repeat this procedure with the light-colored sweet potatoes.

• Working in batches of different colors, add the sweet potato and leek mixture to a blender. Add remaining half can of vegetable broth and 1 teaspoon orange zest. Pulse gently to make a puree. Add more vegetable broth as needed to achieve the consistency of thin pancake batter. Optional - For a perfectly smooth soup, run the soup through a kitchen sieve.
• Using two medium-sized saucepans, heat soups, using low heat and stirring often. Add more broth as needed. Gently pour about 1/2 cup of the red sweet potato soup into a wide, flat soup bowl, allowing soup to settle. Gently pour 1/2 cup of the light colored soup into the other side of the soup bowl. Repeat for each serving of soup.
• Garnish with a chive sprig and an edible flower.
• This soup can be made ahead of time. Heat each batch separately before serving. You may have to add more vegetable broth or water because the soup tends to thicken as it cools.
• Serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 797mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 29395IU | Vitamin C: 26.5mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Bon appetite!
Big Mil Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Want to make a special gift for the cook in your life?

Easy to make Vanilla Extract

And for not much money? Homemade Vanilla extract is the perfect gift – everyone cooks. [continue reading…]

 Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a mouth-watering pecan pie on the table

Print Recipe

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a mouth-watering pecan pie on the table.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bourbon pecan pie, bourbon pecan pie recipe

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 675kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 2 pie crusts like Pillsbury’s rolled crusts 15 ounces found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store (you will need one for the bottom crust and one for leaf decorations)
• 2 cups pecans
• 3 eggs + 1 egg white reserved
• 1 cup light Karo Corn Syrup
• 1/4 cup melted butter if using unsalted butter add ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons good bourbon
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set rack at the middle position. Spray a 9-inch or 10-inch deep dish pie pan with cooking spray.

To Make Crust:

• Remove pie crusts from refrigerator at least 15 to 20 minutes before using. Gently unroll one crust onto floured cutting board or table. Lightly dust both sides of the crust with four. Carefully place the crust inside the pie pan, leaving at least 1-inch of the crust overhanging. Pierce bottom of crust several times with a fork.

To make pie filling:

• Chop the pecans and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the 3 whole eggs. Add corn syrup, butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and bourbon. Stir until well blended.
• Add chopped pecans and stir until combined. Set aside.

To make decorative leaves:

• Unroll second pie crust onto lightly floured board or table. Lightly dust both sides of the crust with flour. Using leaf cutters we found at Williams Sonoma, cut enough leaves to go around the outer edge of your pie. Place cut leaves on waxed paper. If you are using a scalloped pie dish, it will take approximately 30 leaves; fewer if using a standard round dish.

To assemble & cook pie:

• Pour filling mixture into pie crust.
• Using the reserved egg white, gently brush the back side of the pastry leaves. Brush the outside ¼-inch of the pie crust with the egg wash. Place leaves around crust, overlapping slightly. Press gently to adhere. Brush egg wash over the leaves.
• Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until pie is set; pie should have a gelatin-like consistency. A knife or straw inserted halfway between the center and the edge of the pie should come out clean. Check the pie after 30 minutes of cooking. If the crust is browning too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the pie.
• Remove pie from the oven and cool on a rack. Pie should be completely cool before slicing. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired. Here in North Carolina we often top our pecan pie with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 675kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Click for southern Pecan Pie Recipe

Ah, figs … a wonderful way to welcome Indian Summer to the South.

If a friend offers you fresh figs, gladly accept.

There was a time when everyone’s grandmother had a fig tree at the home place. I am lucky to live and work at Big Mill B&B – it is my home place. We have the old orchard, but the fig trees are small.  So when Michael called and offered figs, I went forthwith. Even North Carolina mystery writer Margaret Maron stops writing to make fig preserves.

The secret to having fresh figs is to plant a Fig Tree!

Before you commit,  make sure you have time to deal with the figs. When figs are luscious and ripe, the clock is ticking fast – you might be able to keep them for a day.

A great way to savor the flavor of figs all year long is to make Fig Preserves; they are mouth-watering on homemade biscuits.  I have worked on this recipe and I think it is perfect, humbly speaking. My recipe is worthy of the old South, a fact that now promotes me to “Miss Chloe.”

A friend, Nancy Rascoe, who owns the bed and breakfast 1812 on the Perquimans in Hertford, NC, teaches manners — “Miss Nancy Teaches Manners.” (You have to watch this video!)  Don’t you just love the South? I will tell you, “Miss Chloe” takes some getting used to; my mother was Miss Chloe. It really is a term of respect and endearment.

A word of caution:  Once committed to making preserves, don’t stray from the project. I’m serious.  Don’t answer the phone, the doorbell or anything else. This is science. You will be so glad in December when you show up at the party with Fig Preserves on Roasted Brie.

And save a few figs for the best bread ever – Chloe’s Fig Bread with a nip of Grand Marnier baked right in it.

Print Recipe

Miss Chloe’s Fig Preserves

A great way to savor the flavor of figs all year long is to make Fig Preserves; they are mouth-watering on homemade biscuits.

Course: Condiments

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fig preserves, fig preserves recipe

Servings: 56 servings

Calories: 110kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ripe figs 4 cups prepared figs
• 7 cups sugar
• Scant 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 3 to 4 lemons
• Zest from two of the above lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 pouch liquid pectin like Certo (3 ounces) Do NOT use Ball brand, they have changed the recipe

Instructions

• Wash and drain the figs, handling carefully. Remove the stems and cut the figs in half. You should have 4 cups of cut or mashed figs.
• Measure 7 cups sugar into a large mixing bowl. Wash the lemons and grate the peel from two of the lemons. Squeeze the juice from the lemons. You will need a scant 1/2 cup of juice. Check the expiration date on the pectin. Don't use if it is out of date.
• Place figs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and butter into a large cooking pot (at least an 8 quart pot). Using a potato masher, gently mash some of the figs, leaving chunks. Stir and bring this mixture to a full, rolling boil; a boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the liquid pectin and return to a full, rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for exactly one minute, stirring the entire time.
• Remove from heat and ladle into sterilized jars. Process according to your canning instructions.

Notes

Yield: 7 half-pints, plus some for tasting.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Don’t fret, you all can still call me Chloe or Chloe Ann!

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Our hummingbirds arrive at Big Mill B&B sometime around Easter – and it is with a flourish and a big show, chattering and demanding food. 

Hummingbirds love the zinnias at Big Mill B&B

And since we are a designated Bird and Breakfast Bird-Friendly Business, we willingly obliged. Guy’s outstanding photo, taken here at Big Mill B&B, earned him 1st place in the 2010 Beaufort County Arts Council Nature/Wildlife photography contest.

Hummingbird getting lunch at Big Mill zinnia

Guests often ask me if there is any time during the year when you should stop feeding hummingbirds? If you have had a similar question, here’s my answer:

It is perfectly alright to leave the feeders out until freezing weather arrives. The birds usually leave when their food sources (flower nectar and bugs) are no longer available. You may get a traveling hummingbird guest en route to warmer climates.  Big Mill seems to be a favorite spot for such hummingbird “refuelings!”

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

4 parts hot boiling water
1 part refined white sugar
Few drops of red food coloring, optional, but not necessary

Stir this mixture until all the sugar is dissolved. (Audubon suggests that you boil the sugar to kill any bacteria. If you change the water every day, this is not necessary).

Allow solution to cool before filling feeders. This sugar water can spoil in hot weather, so change it often, at least two times a week or more. Store any excess nectar in the refrigerator.

So, have you had any good hummingbird sightings this summer?  Share your best photos with us over on Big Mill Bed and Breakfast’s Facebook page .

And while you’re there, take a minute to write on our “Wall.”

innkeeper at Big Mil Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Update: I turned on the video camera and caught about 10 minutes of wonderful action at the hummingbird feeder the other day. Check it out here if you could use a 10-minute nature retreat:

Click on photo to SHARE or PIN for LATER

Winter has been cold here in eastern North Carolina and I am ready to sit on the back steps and socialize with the guests here at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast. (This post is submitted by the Big Mill Fur Person — Moses)

While waiting for spring to arrive, I decided to write a cookbook –The Country Cats Cookbook.  What follows will be my signature recipe. Hope you like it … I do.

Moses was a Special Cat

Print Recipe

Mouse Biscotti - April Fool Spoof

For you...or your furry friend?

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Biscotti

Servings: 36 biscotti

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 egg yolks reserve egg whites in case the mixture is dry
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon MOUSE extract found in specialty stores like Balduchi’s gourmet foods or Zabar’s Epicurean Emporium in New York - well, not exactly!!!!!

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Grease a heavy cookie sheet. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder in a medium size mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Add flavorings: mouse extract.
• Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until just barely blended. You will have to use your hands and perhaps a wee bit of the egg yolk. Add more flour if the mixture is too sticky.
• Using greased hands, form dough into three 4-inch by 9-inch (or thereabouts) rolls that are 2 inches thick. Gently place the “rolls” on the cookie sheet, making sure they are several inches apart. Place on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until dough will hold together. Remove from oven and cool slightly. (Do not cool completely because you won’t be able to cut it.) When cooled slightly, gently slide the rolls to a floured cutting board. Gently cut through each roll at an angle into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Turn each piece on its side and place on the cookie sheet.
• Bake again for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
• If you prefer a harder biscotti turn onto the other side and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Notes

Mouse Biscotti - Really?

Biscotti will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Bone appetite!
Big Mill Bed & Breakfast   252-792-8787

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Well, it is April 1st and APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!!! 

For us humans, just omit the Mouse extract.  And, honestly, Moses really does like these biscotti. She has one each night with her spot of cream just before bedtime.

Cracklins:  Pork fat and skins that are deep fried
in rendered lard until they are crunchy.
(From the Eastern North Carolina lingo dictionary)

Cooking Up Cracklins

Cracklins used to be common fare on southern tables. Sometimes you have to go back to your roots and eat the food of your heritage. My folks and the neighboring farm families had hog killings in the winter and they made cracklins/cracklings. So in cold weather we ate cracklin bread. Rest assured we don’t eat like this all the time.

Print Recipe

Cracklin Corn Pone Bread

Cracklins used to be common fare on southern tables. Sometimes you have to go back to your roots and eat the food of your heritage.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time33 minutes mins

Total Time43 minutes mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cracklin cone pone bread recipe, cracklin corn pone bread

Servings: 16 pone bread

Calories: 88kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1 cup pork cracklins
• 2 cups fine ground cornmeal I use House-Autry
• 2 Tablespoons self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch of sugar optional
• 1 cups warm water add more if needed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the pone pan with some really sturdy grease like Crisco or lard.
• Chop cracklins. If you don't like brown flecks in the bread, then grind the cracklins.
• In a large mixing bowl stir together the cracklins, corn meal, flour, salt and sugar. Add the water slowly, stirring until the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter.
• Pour into pone pan, filling to the top. Bake until edges are brown and bread is crusty, 35-45 minutes. As soon as the bread is cool enough to handle, pop the pones out of the pan. Serve immediately while bread is hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 88kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.6mg

This bread is made in a cast iron corn pone pan

The corn meal is also important. When I was growing up I rode my bicycle down our dirt road to the Big Mill to get a paper bag full of fresh ground corn meal; usually from our own corn. Miss Sadie James made the best meal; I can’t find any meal of that quality now. My dad Ops taught me how to take the raw meal in your hand, squeeze it and it should clump together like clay. If not, then it was ground too fast and the stone heated the meal too much.

Cracklin bread ready to eat

If you really want to try eating cracklins and you aren’t planning to attend any hog killings, you can buy them in some grocery stores like Piggly Wiggly. Buy the cracklins without skins, your teeth will thank you.

I did find a Cracklin’ Bread Recipe in the White Trash Cookbook, but don’t think cracklins are just for us down home folks anymore.

Come see us at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast, 252-792-8787

 Oh, there is absolutely nothing quite so tasty
as that first homegrown tomato…

Homegrown tomatoes on the farm at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, NC

… and a tomato sandwich is even better!

Tomato sandwiches are always better with Duke’s Mayonnaise

There are many versions of this classic sandwich, but the down-home plain and simple sandwich made with white bread and Duke’s mayonnaise is the award winner.

Print Recipe

Chloe's Farmhouse Tomato Sandwich

Oh, there is absolutely nothing quite so tasty as that first homegrown tomato…… and a tomato sandwich is even better!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: farmhouse tomato sandwich, farmhouse tomato sandwich recipe

Servings: 1 sandwich

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1 medium-size ripe preferably homegrown, tomato
• 2 slices bread
• 2 Tablespoons Duke's Mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Wash and cut the tomato into thick slices. Spread the mayonnaise onto both slices of the bread, one side only. Make sure to spread the mayonnaise to the edge of each slice of bread.
• Place the tomato slices on one piece of bread. Add salt and pepper. Cover with the second slice of bread, mayonnaise side down, of course.
• Cut the sandwich into two pieces and enjoy the best tomato sandwich ever. How to cut the sandwich is debatable-corner to corner or straight across the middle? We all have an opinion.

Notes

This recipe was featured on the Bountiful Kitchen, a part of Inn Cuisine.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 474mg | Potassium: 393mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1025IU | Vitamin C: 16.8mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 2.3mg

When I was a child I delivered baskets of tomatoes with my Schwinn bicycle to the restaurants in Williamston. Some were 3 miles away and I had to ride part way on a dirt road and partly on U.S. Highway 17. Surely couldn’t do it today.

Here in the Inner Banks of North Carolina, Hellman’s Mayonnaise is sold to transplants. And don’t even consider Kraft Mayonnaise.

Just remember, if it ain’t homemade, it has to be Duke’s.

If you don’t believe me, ask Eddy Browning, food columnist for the New Bern Sun Journal. He heard tell of various barroom brawls in this great mayonnaise debate. Eddy does advocate for homemade mayonnaise, so stay tuned. We will have that recipe on Chloe’s blog soon.

So it is just normal here in eastern North Carolina to see a display of Duke’s with six shelves, lest we run out ….. forsooth.

‘come and check out our Tomato Sandwich at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast in Williamston, NC, 252-792-8787