Other great recipes:

Pumpkin Soup with Seared Diver-Harvested Scallops and Spiced Cream

Wild Blueberry Pie

Butter-Poached Stovetop Clambake

Baked Gray Sole in Lobster Nasturtium Cream Sauce

Potted Shrimp

Baked Stuffed Maine Shrimp

New England Fried Green Tomato and Lobster Salad

Mystic Seaport Recipes

Plum Duff

• 1 pound of flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 6 oz. raisins
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 4 oz. sugar
• 2 oz. drippings

Sift the flour, soda, cream of tartar, and salt together and add the drippings. Stone the raisins and add the sugar. Mix all together with water. Make into balls and boil for 4 hours or steam for 5 hours. If allowed, serve with sweet sauce.

Clifford Ashley shipping from New Bedford on the whaling bark Sunbeam in August of 1904 this plum duff recipe is typical of most simple boiled puddings of the time and is a top-of-the-line pudding for the fo'c'sle. Plain duff was for Sunday and possibly one other weekday, while plum duff was served in the fo'c'sle only on holidays and special occasions. During most of the 1800s ship's cooks probably did not put sugar in fo'c'sle duff. Molasses was almost always served as sauce.

Frederick Harlow, a foremast hand on the Akbar in 1875, described a duff made with dried apples instead of raisins, which was one of the common shipboard variations on plum duff.

This duff is delicious. If you boil it in a cloth, expect the exterior to be like the bottom side of a dumpling. The texture is moist and cake-like. You may prefer to steam it in a pudding bowl or mold. You can always add spices and more raisins. The recipe above makes two duffs, which is enough for two dozen people; the following recipe is half the original. At least once, try eating it with molasses drizzled on it as sailors did.

• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup melted shortening
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup water

Set a large pot of water on and heat to boiling. Wet the pudding bag or cloth in the boiling water, and dust it liberally with flour or grease your pudding bowl or mold. Sift together dry ingredients. Stir into them the melted shortening, sugar, and raisins. Then add water to the dough and mix well. The dough should be fairly thick, but not stiff. Turn into the pudding bag, tie the bag leaving room for the duff to expand, or put the duff into a greased pudding mold.

Put the bag or mold in boiling water. If in a bag, boil for four hours; if in a mold, steam for 2 hours. You can test for doneness as you would for a cake by inserting a tester or thin bladed knife. If it comes out clean the pudding is done. When done, turn it out of the cloth onto a serving dish. Let it stand a moment to set up.

Slice it and serve with molasses.

Yields 12 servings.

From page 198 of Saltwater Foodways Cookbook

Pumpkin Soup with Seared Diver-Harvested Scallops and Spiced Cream

Internationally acclaimed Executive Chef Jonathan Cartwright of the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine, demonstrated this incredible recipe aboard the Regent Seven Seas Voyager when we sailed the eastern Mediterranean with him. This is adapted for home cooks and can be found (along with other specialties of the house) in the wonderful White Barn Inn Cookbook (Running Press, hardcover, $35.)

For the spiced cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Five Spice powder
• Pinch of salt

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream and the spice powder and whip until mixture forms stiff peaks. Season to taste with salt.

For the soup:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups peeled, diced raw pumpkin
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced carrot
• 1 MacIntosh apple, peeled and diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• salt and fresh pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 8 large diver-harvested
• sea scallops (see note)

1. In a heavy pot, melt the butter and cook the pumpkin, carrot, apple, onion, garlic, thyme and sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn up the heat, and add the white wine and cook until it has nearly all evaporated.

2. Add the chicken stock and simmer until all the vegetables are soft, approximately 30 minutes. In a food processor or blender, puree the soup and strain it. Add the cream and season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon.

3. Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides until golden, about two minutes each side. Drain on a paper towel.

4. Place the seared scallops in a shallow dish and cover with the velvety soup. Garnish the soup with a dollop of Five Spice Cream, and pinch of the spice powder for color.

Serves 8

Note: Diver-harvested scallops are used at The White Barn Inn as this is the most environmentally friendly way to gather scallops from the ocean bed. These are also usually the largest scallops.

Wild Blueberry Pie

Note: If you can't get wild blueberries, substitute 5 1/2 cups of high- bush blueberries, and enjoy summer's bounty!

For the pie crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ice water plus additional if necessary

For the wild blueberry pie:

• 6 cups wild blueberries, picked over
• 1/4 cup cornstarch, scant
• 3/4 cup sugar plus additional for sprinkling the pie
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half or milk

Preparation

To make the crust:
In a large bowl blend the flour, the butter, the vegetable shortening, and the salt until the mixture resembles meal. Add the 2 tablespoons ice water, toss the mixture until the water is incorporated, adding the additional ice water if necessary to form a dough, and form the dough into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 1 hour.

To make the pie:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out half the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, fit it into a 9-inch (1 quart) pie plate, and trim the edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill the shell while making the filling. In a large bowl toss together well the blueberries, the cornstarch, 1 cup of the sugar, the lemon juice, the nutmeg, and the salt, mound the filling in the shell, and dot it with the butter.

Roll out the remaining dough into a 13 to 14-inch round on the lightly floured surface, cut out a 1 1/2-inch star from the middle of the round, and drape the round over the filling. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang, fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the crust with the half-and-half or milk, cut slits in the top crust around the crust, and sprinkle the pie lightly with the additional sugar. Bake the pie in the bottom third of the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375°F., and bake the pie for 30 to 35 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool.

Butter-Poached Stovetop Clambake

You don't need to serve butter alongside. The butter (and no, the amount below isn't a typo!) gives a velvety, buttery taste as the ingredients poach in the mixture. You can also strain and freeze the cooking liquid so you can use it again. It's a messy meal, so have lots of napkins on hand!

• 1 ½ quarts water
• 3 cups clam juice or seafood stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 shallot sliced
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 sticks of butter
• 8 small new potatoes, washed
• 1 cup chorizo, chopped
• 4 new shell lobsters
• 4 ears of corn, husked
• 1 ½ pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed

1. In a large enameled stockpot or Dutch oven, bring water, stock and wine to a simmer.
2. Add garlic, shallot, thyme and butter. When butter is melted, add potatoes and chorizo, and return to a simmer for 5 minutes until potatoes are partially cooked.
3. Add lobsters, bring back to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add corn and layer the clams on top. Return to boil and cook another 8-10 minutes or until lobsters are bright red and clams are open. Discard any clams that do not open. Serve all ingredients on a large platter and garnish with fresh herbs, lemon slices and a nice loaf of crusty bread.

Serves 4.

Baked Gray Sole in Lobster Nasturtium Cream Sauce

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 2 1/2 cups light cream
• 15 nasturtium blossoms
• 1 cup chopped lobster meat
• 3 pounds of gray sole fillets

1. Preheat the oven to 450˚F.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, and stir to make a roux. Add the wine and light cream and stir until smooth and slightly thickened.
3. Add the nasturtium blossoms and lobster meat and stir until just heated through.
4. Place the sole fillets in a baking dish and season lightly with salt.
5. Pour the lobster nasturtium sauce over the fillets and bake for 10-12 minutes until fish is flaky and opaque.

Serves 6.

Fried Zucchini Flowers

Mary Ann Esposito, bestselling author and host of Ciao Italia, the longest running food show on television, shared this wonderful recipe for Fiori di Zucchini Fritti, or Fried Zucchini Flowers. As she says, "It's common in outdoor markets in Italy to see carts of bright yellow-orange zucchini blossoms. They bring a tinge of nostalgia for me, because the blossoms were a familiar sight in our kitchen. I usually run to my garden when zucchini are plentiful and gather an apron full of blossoms. I don't know anyone with zucchini plants who, by mid-summer, wouldn't love to give some away."

This would be fantastic with a simple aioli or herbed mayonnaise for dipping.

• 1 pound zucchini blossoms
• 6 to 7 cups peanut oil
• Flour, for dredging
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Open the centers of the flowers gently, remove the pistils and stigmas and discard. Put the flowers in a bowl of ice water for 1 hour.

2. Heat the oil to 375 F in a deep-fryer or heavy pot.

3. Dry the blossoms on paper towels; roll each in the flour and then the eggs. Fry the blossoms in oil until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on brown paper, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 10.

Enjoy!

Potted Shrimp

This is an updated New England adaptation of a popular British dish of the 1800s that was served as either an appetizer or a "savoury," which came after the main dish. Northern shrimp lend themselves well to this because they are so tender.

• 4 tablespoons softened butter, divided
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound northern shrimp, peeled
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons white vermouth
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch of mace
• Hot sauce, to taste

1. In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderate heat. Sauté the shallots until soft. Add the shrimp, along with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add the vermouth and bring to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer the shrimp to a cutting board. When they're cool, chop the shrimp coarsely.

3. In a bowl, blend the remaining butter and cream cheese. Stir in the shrimp, shallots, lemon juice, dill, Worcestershire sauce and mace. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, and with hot sauce. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve with water crackers.

Serves 4-6 as an hors d'oeuvre.

Enjoy!

Baked Stuffed Maine Shrimp

Although Maine shrimp are too small to "stuff" as you would large butterflied shrimp, they are tender, sweet and delicious with this topping.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the 1/4 cup butter, garlic salt, and pepper in a shallow 8x8-inch baking dish. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes or until the butter is melted.
3. Arrange the cooked shelled shrimp in a single layer in the melted butter.
4. Lightly toss together the onion, remaining butter, sour cream, bread crumbs, salt, and tarragon with a fork. Top the shrimp with the stuffing mix and bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the bread crumbs.
   

Serves 2-4.

New England Fried Green Tomato and Lobster Salad

The following dish was a showstopper for a get-together with friends at the beach last September. Prepare the tomatoes in the morning, drain well and place on a baking sheet ready to crisp up at the last minute. If you choose not to indulge yourself with lobster salad, a few grilled shrimp with a dollop of sour cream also works nicely.

Combine lobster, mayonnaise and celery; season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Chill.

Season the tomato slices on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Dip the tomatoes in buttermilk, then into the cornmeal, tapping off the excess. Pan fry on each side until golden brown (about two minutes) and drain on paper towels.

To serve, put greens in a salad bowl and toss with olive oil and the juice of the lemons. Arrange equal amounts of greens on each serving plate. Top with green tomato slices and lobster salad, garnish with capers and parsley. Serves 6.

From Mystic Seaport magazine's "In the Galley" food column. Recipe courtesy of Ainslie Turner.