Favorite Fall Feasts

Story and photos by Rachael Osborne

The Black Bear Restaurant:

Chicken Pot Pie

The Black Bear's Chicken Pot Pie

4 tablespoons sweet butter
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt, fresh ground pepper, and fresh grated nutmeg to taste

Instructions:
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook gently, stirring constantly, for five minutes. Do not let the mixture brown at all.
Meanwhile, bring milk to a boil.
Pour the boiling milk into the flour butter mixture.
As the mixture boils and bubbles, beat it with a wire whisk.
When the bubbling stops, return the pan to medium heat and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt, peeper, and nutmeg.
Stir cubed cooked chicken breasts and a package a frozen mixed veggies into the sauce.
If sauce is too thick, you can add a bit more milk.
Serve over cooked rice and enjoy.

Tip:
For added flavor, top mixture with seasoned breadcrumbs and brown in oven to serve as a casserole.

The Black Bear's Apple Crepes

Apple Crepes

16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
Juice of one lemon
One package of store crepes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup 10X confectioners sugar
8 apples peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons pure vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Mix cream cheese with 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar.
Stir in juice of one lemon strained to remove the pulp, and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla.
Saute the sliced apples with sugar and butter over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the apples are soft.
Add the remaining vanilla, and the cinnamon to the mixture.
Place the crepes on a flat space, and divide the cream cheese mixture into the crepes.
Roll the crepes up in a tube fashion.
Place crepes in a buttered baking dish and top with the apple mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and enjoy with hot cider for a taste of fall.

Maggie's Restaurant:

Maple-Breaded Pork Chops

Maggie's Maple-Breaded Pork Chops

Instructions:
Bake pork chops until they are 90 percent cooked.
Coat in maple syrup and then bread crumbs.
Finish baking the pork chops until the coating is golden brown.

Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Instructions:
Boil potatoes.
Mash with butter, garlic, fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and milk.

Tip:
Serve with steamed broccoli for color and extra flavor.

Mona Dubay, Adirondack Caterer:

Vegetarian Pumpkin Stew

For this recipe, you will want to use a pumpkin that is wider than it is tall, and that will stand upright.

Ingredients:
4 cups pumpkin pulp, diced
2 cups dried navy beans, soaked overnight in 5 cups of water, then drained
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cups frozen corn
1 28 ounces can diced tomatoes
6 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil or 3 tablespoons fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano or 3 tablespoons fresh oregano
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or 2 teaspoons fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

To prepare pumpkin:
Cut top from pumpkin and scoop out seeds and string fibers. With a large spoon, scrape out and reserve pumpkin pulp, being careful to leave at least 1 inch on the sides, so the pumpkin will stand up.

To prepare stew:
Saute onions and garlic until tender in olive oil in a heavy 5 quart pot. Put soaked and drained navy beans, diced pumpkin pulp, and seasonings, except salt, in the pot with enough water to cover about 2 inches above ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn to low heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, corn, and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 30 minutes or more. When ready to serve, place pumpkin shell on serving plate and ladle hot stew into it. Enjoy!

Share some of your favorite fall recipes with us!

The Black Bear
2573 Main Street
Lake Placid, New York
518-523-9886
Open 7 days a week

Maggie's
124 Margaret Street
Plattsburgh, New York
518-562-9317

Mona Dubay
Jay, New York
518-946-7102