In its most basic form, vinaigrette salad dressing is nothing more than 3 parts extra-virgin olive oil to 1 part vinegar well shaken or whisked, spead on lettuce or freshly steamed vegetables, and tossed.  The simplest variation of this basic combination is to change the variety of vinegar.  Red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, champagne vinegar, raspberry vingegar, and so on all add  a slightly different flavor to the dressing.

At the October Country Inn, we often get recepie requests for our red wine vinaigrette which we use with our French Country dinners.  This vinaigrette is a simple combination of 3 ounces of EVO, 1 ounce of red wine vinegar, 3/4 teaspoons of salt, 1 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of ground black pepper.

Add a few more ingredients to the above EVO/red wine vinegar mix; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 colves of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of cold water; yields a garlic vinaigrette that we use with our Italian Country dinners.

For Mexican dinners, we spice it up with cilantro jalapeno dressing.  Place 1/4 cup of fresh packed cilantro leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 ounce of white wine vinegar, and a couple of fresh or pickled seeded diced jalapenos in a food processor.  While mixing, drizzle in 3 ounces of EVO.

For our Greek salad dressing take the standard vinaigrette mix of 3 ounces of EVO and 1 ounce of red wine vinegar; add 3/4 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of fresh minced oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 pressed garlic clove and a pinch of ground black pepper; and whisk it all together.

Sometimes we want a more substantial dressing than a vinaigrette.  For this occasion we use a creamy dressing, such as the following creamy dill dressing.  To make this creamy dressing, in a mixer, combine and mix well:

• 1/2 cup EVO
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar with tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

As a nod to our southern neighbor, and In keeping with October Country Inn’s international dinner theme, our chicken enchilada dinner, spiced for the northern palate, is always a favorite with our dinner guests.

This dish, serving 5 or 6 persons, is not hard to prepare.  The ingredients for the four component parts are assembled, and then they are combined by rolling the stuffing into a tortilla shell placed in the serving dish.

Ingredients are:

• 1 1/2 lb bonless, skinless, chicken breasts; cooked and shredded
• 2 19 ounce cans of La Victoria red enchilada sauce, or equaivalent
• 10 corn tortillas
• 3/4 lb jack, cheddar cheese mix, shredded
• 4 ounce can of pitted, sliced, black olives, drained
• 2 bunches scallions, chopped crosswise including green parts

Place chicken breasts in boiling, salted water and boil until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 20 minutes.  After cooked  chicken cools enough to handle, shred each breast by picking it apart with a fork.  Place shredded chicken back in the empty cooking pot and add half of the chopped scallions, one half of the sliced olives, and about 8 ounces of the enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix all these ingredients  together and set aside.

We like to use the La Victoria brand of mild, red enchilada sauce.  It can be ordered online if you can’t find it at your local grocer.  However, other brands, or some variety of homemade enchilada sauce is always an option.

In order to make the corn tortillas more pliable and easier to roll, we have a small piece of screen that we place over a pot of boiling water.  By placing a tortilla shell on top of the screen, the escaping steam quickly softens the tortilla and each side can then be dipped into a pan of enchilada sauce to coat.

With the various pots, bowls, pans, and serving dish arranged in close proximity, each coated tortilla shell is placed in the serving dish to be filled with a golf ball size amount of the shredded chicken, a generous sprinkling of the

Arrangement of pots, bowls, pans, and serving dish.

cheese mix and rolled into an individual enchilada.  Repeat rolling enchiladas crosswise in the serving dish.  A 9 x 13 inch Pyrex casserole dish will hold 2 rows of five rolled enchiladas.  After serving dish has been filled with the rolled enchiladas, spread any remaining shredded chicken or cheese mix  over the top.  Spread the reserved chopped scallions and sliced olives over the top, and coat the top with the remaining enchilada sauce.   Place the serving dish into a 350 degree preheated oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.   Ole!

An introduction to New England style hospitality at the October Country Inn often begins with a generous helping of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from the pumpkin shaped cookie jar that lives in the little kitchen.  Edie mixes up  big batches of dough, scoops it into little balls that she freezes so that she can freshly bake each day’s supply.  This is how Edie makes enough for about 5 dozen cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts

With all the ingredients at hand, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Then in a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugars, and vanilla and beat until creamy.  Add the eggs into this creamy mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually stir in the flour to this mixture while continuing to beat.  After this is all well mixed, complete the dough by stirring in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

A tray full of dough balls ready for the freezer.

On a baking parchment lined baking sheet, scoop the dough into little balls about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.  Edie uses a small 1 1/2 inch diameter ice cream scooper, but you can do it by hand if you don’t have such a scooper.  Line these dough balls up close together on the cookie sheet.  When the sheet is full, place in the freezer and let freeze.  After frozen, remove each dough ball and place in a large zip lock freezer bag and store in the freezer.  When you want to bake some fresh cookies, take the number of cookies you want out of the bag, place on a baking parchment lined cookie sheet and let stand about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When ready to bake, place the cookie sheet in the middle of the oven for 7 minutes.  Then move them to the top rack for another 2 1/2 minutes.  Take them out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet so that they can finish baking while they cool.  Eat as soon as possible.

Ginger glazed carrots are a colorful as well as delicious addition to October Country Inn’s popular French country dinner.  Besides being delicious, this dish is also very easy to prepare.  For every four diners, assemble the following ingredients.  If there are more than four diners, simply multiply ingredient by units of four.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of carrots
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 3/4 ounce of butter

Carrots peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces.

The carrots can be prepared ahead of time, and refrigerated until you are ready to glaze them just before serving.  Prepare the carrots by first peeling them and then slicing them diagonally into bite sized pieces.  Place the sliced carrots into boiling water for about two minutes.  Drain, and blanch by immediately immersing the drained carrots into an ice water bath.  Allow to cool, cover and refrigerate if you’re going to serve them later.

About 25 minutes before serving this dish, melt the butter over medium heat in an appropriately sized skillet or pan.  When butter is melted, add sliced carrotts, sugar, and ginger.  Stir to combine the ingredients while the carrot mixture comes to a gentle boil.  Continue to stir often until liquid becomes very thick and carrots are glazed, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Plate and serve while hot.