New England Cooks

On vacation in Maine this summer, I met Brandy Lee McCurry at the Webhannet River Bait & Tackle store in Wells Harbor, Maine. She mentioned her blueberry pie won a contest at a chili fest in Wells Harbor. I thought our readers might like the recipe — the simpler the better so here it is, in Brandy’s words:

1- Pre-made roll out pie crust or your favorite crust recipe
3-4 cups of fresh (preferred) or frozen blueberries

Roll out bottom crust into an 8-inch glass pie pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Fill the shell with the blueberries. Sprinkle with cinnamon to your liking.

On the stove top, in a 2-quart sauce pan, add the following ingredients:

1 cup cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp corn starch

Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once at a rolling boil, continue stirring constantly for two minutes (this creates a sugar gravy). Remove from heat, stir in 1tsp of vanilla extract. Pour evenly over berries in the shell, add top crust and cut slits for venting. I like to brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Place aluminum foil below the pie to catch drippings, this works best on the rack below the one you set your pie on and prevents the pie from sticking or baking to the foil. Bake at 350 degrees on the center rack for about 45 minutes or until the top crust is browned. Let cool completely before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

This pie is easy and it can’t be beat. Also works with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, or your favorite combination.

Enjoy!

Brandy Lee McCurry
Wells, Maine

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Chef Bob Hildebrand of The Three Stallion Inn in Randolph, Vt. will kick-off the fall 2007 season of New England Cooks on Thursday, September 13.

Bob will be featuring Pan-Roasted Cod with Pancetta Vinaigrette, Sautéed Spinach and Beet Risotto for the show. As always, our studio audience will get to sample the creation. To purchase tickets, click here.

“That is my favorite time of the year to cook,” said Hildebrand, who is also chef and co-owner of the Randolph Depot, a breakfast and lunch café in downtown Randolph.

Hildebrand grew up in West Boxford, Mass. And has been baking and cooking since he was a teenager. He studied finance and economics in college and “did the suit-and-tie-thing” for about 15 years, he says.

Around 1997, he was thinking of pursuing his MBA but decided to he wanted to be in the kitchen instead. He had some restaurant experience so he enrolled at the New England Culinary Institute.

NECI, he says, turned him into a chef.

“It was beyond just learning the tricks of the trade,” said Hildebrand. “The chef instructors at NECI stressed the importance of good, local ingredients, and letting the flavors speak for themselves. They made me what I am today.”

In 2002, Bob was hired to be the executive chef at the Three Stallion Inn in Randolph, Vt. He has since opened the Randolph Depot, a more casual café and coffee bar in downtown Randolph.

“I can’t wait for the show,” said Hildebrand. “We are going to have a lot of fun.”

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