Maple Recipes

The maple in this recipe is very subtle; the seasoning, and heavy custard, pretty much overpowers it. If you want a more distinctly maple flavor, use one of the following two. You may also find that this is not sweet enough; to sweeten it more, incorporate up to 1/2 cup sugar with the eggs. All in all, this is pretty close to traditional pumpkin pie flavor, with a hint of maple.

This recipe is from the Province of Quebec and is wonderful.

MAPLE SUGAR Melt 1/3 cup maple sugar and use as maple syrup

SERVING SUGGESTION: I spoon a pool of custard sauce onto individual dessert plates, place an apple in each pool, and drizzle the tops with the custard sauce.

This is a hit every year on Thanksgiving. It is also good any time of the year with chicken or turkey. I hope you enjoy it.

I am not a big fan of turkey but this turkey is a true masterpiece. It comes out juicy and succulent. It also leaves your oven free for all the other dishes. I serve with maple glazed roasted sweet potatoes, wild rice, broccoli and cheddar cheese bake, fresh cranberry chutney and cornbread stuffing.

Word to the Wise: If you catch the syrup too late, the candy will be coarse-grained, but it will still taste wonderful. If you get it too early, it will set up like a hard candy: clear and brittle. Again, very tasty. My suggestion is that you try making this with small amounts of syrup until you have a feel for when to pour.

Serve with Spiced Butternut Whip.

Although I've been meaning to, I've never tried this one. There are several others at cook-books.com.

These recipes have been adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten. )1999 by Ina Garten. Reprinted by permission of Ina Garten.