Wedding in Provincetown Part II: Back to Boston

Say, I think that's Boston in the distance...

Again, my trip to Provincetown a few weekends ago took me through Boston, and I deliberately scheduled a late flight on Sunday (September 11, no less) just so I could explore the city a wee bit.  Just a few points on my stop from the dock to the airport (where awaited another, somewhat irritating adventure):

* On the Bay State Cruise Company's lovely ferry ride back between Provincetown and Boston, you can buy somewhat overpriced foods ($3 for popcorn is not out of the question though).  Or you can smuggle a Long Trail IPA, straight out of Vermont, on the boat with you.  Bring a bottle opener.  It's probably rude to ask them to open it for you. Oh, and still not seasick, though the bay was much calmer than before.

* The last time I was in Boston - on that eight hour layover before my IcelandAir flight to Amsterdam via Reykjavik - I made it to Faneuil Hall for an extremely overpriced and fairly boring lobster roll at one of the many vendors in the Quincy Market complex.  I swore that the next time I hit Boston, I would head to the Wagamama in Quincy Market, and that's what I did. 

 

Wagamama has been considering opening a location in Washington, DC (they better damn well do it soon, too), but for now the only stateside Wagamamas are all in and around Boston.  For $15 I got their "Absolute Wagamama" combo, which came with chicken ramen (or yaki soba - your choice), three chicken dumplings and a beverage: soda, juice or - yes!!! - beer.  I went with the beer, a Tiger Beer from Singapore.  It was refreshing, but it didn't wow me.  The meal, however, was memorable, especially after I ordered the side of Japanese pickles ($1).  I enjoyed my filling and slightly spicy meal, with chicken that wasn't even dried out like at so many other places, while watching a scrawny shirtless man covered in tattoos outside the window squeeze himself through a tennis racket (!) while juggling chain saws, to the awe of many.

Uhhhhh...

* After finding out that the Faneuil Hall Marketplace was closed, I wandered around the markets for a bit, contemplating some raw oysters and clams at one of the several seafood establishments nearby.  I finally swooped over to the legendary Durgin Park, one of the oldest restaurants in the US, which serves "Yankee Cuisine".  While the service was slow at first, once they saw me they quickly got over to me (you don't stay in business for two centuries with bad service, mind you).  I got a slice of Boston Cream Pie and a Harpoon ($12.50 altogether).

I left for Boston Logan early, and checked in with my boarding pass all ready to go!

Then I get to the gate, seeing a big line at the gate counter.  I found myself in that line when I suddenly got a text from Southwest saying that my 7:20 flight was now canceled, and that I should make other arrangements.  Apparently, BWI had chosen September 11 as their day to do massive maintenance to all but one of their runways.  Perhaps they thought nobody would be flying that day.  They were wrong, and a lot of travel plans were screwed up.  At least I was lucky, for the ticket agent was able to get me on a flight going out later, but originally scheduled to have departed already, so I wouldn't have to do stand-by, which most people did (good choice, too, since hardly anyone was on that plane).  While commiserating with all the people missing or barely making connections at BWI, I went to the terminal E bar to get a beer, a Bunker Hill Back Bay IPA, while some drunk guy from who knows where trash talked the Patriots.  Oh, his waitress was not amused, though she took it in stride - again, that Yankee heartiness on display.  After that and a cheap slice of cheese pizza from the Sbarro's in the international terminal, I finally boarded the plane for home, fuller, more tired, and ready to get up very early for work.

Wedding in Provincetown I: Civil Marriage is a Right

To bring my musings on Massachusetts full circle, I must take this blog back to Provincetown, the first place I deliberately visited in New England.  I probably would not have gone (any time soon anyway) had my friends Eric & Alan (hey guys) not married there last weekend.  Why not DC?  Well, yes it is closer, but they wanted to give a nod to the state to legalize same-sex marriage before any other.  Plus, Provincetown is a lovely place for a wedding.  And with over 50% of the full-time residents identifying as gay or lesbian, it's not like this sort of thing is unexpected.

I met several of my friends and fellow wedding guests at BWI by sheer coincidence (all out on the same flight).  Once in Boston we ran into a woman going to another P'town wedding that same weekend!  So the five of us hopped on the mass transit to the World Trade Center station, headed to the docks for our ferry tickets, and sought out food.  Our destination was a non-descript sports bar, Jerry Remy's Sports Bar and Grill.  Or at least I think it was Jerry Remy's, as the photograph suggests.  Apparently their website suggests there is only one, and it's at Fenway Park.  Unless the Red Sox have started playing out by the World Trade Center, we definitely weren't eating at Fenway Park.  Anyway, we all had some lovely microbrews from Western Massachusetts and some massive burgers.  They tout their fried dough burger, which the waitress warned us was at least 1200 calories.  I wasn't goin' anywhere near that.  One of us did order it, but on a brioche instead.  I got a filling and satisfying burger ($14) with a side order of sweet potato fries.  As far as sports bars go, it was pretty decent food.

 

We headed out to Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, on the Fast Ferry - courtesy of the Bay State Cruise Company (only about $85 round trip from Boston to Provincetown).  I didn't get sick, even with the rough seas.  Perhaps I have a built-in Dramamine supply.

 

Once in Provincetown, we settled into our various B&B's - the Cape, apparently, is full of them.  Mine was the Admiral's Landing, a lovely place on Bradford Street with friendly proprietors that serve homemade muffins and raisin bread for breakfast.  Do check it out if you're up there.

Later that evening the cocktails began.  Not long after that came the food - lots of it.  Before the wedding guests convened on Friday night, I went exploring Commercial Street to get a taste of the place.  Along the way I stopped in the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery for some cheap eats (cash only): a lovely lemon tart, and a bacalhau, that famous Portuguese codfish cake (total: less than $4).  Still not a fan, though I don't blame the bakery - it's not their fault I don't like coddies.  But I liked the tart.


After cocktails we split off into our own separate ways for dinner.  I went with the groom and groom and a few more of us to the Karoo Kafe, perhaps Cape Cod's only South African restaurant.  Once there, I had to confer with Alan, one of our handsome grooms, who is from South Africa, to find out just what to order that would be authentic.  After he conferred with the owner - he had a long conversation with her in Afrikaans - he told me to order the lamb curry ($14), which after tasting mine he said was pretty authentic: a little bit sweeter than a typical curry.  Another one of us ordered the antelope burger ($10), but found it unremarkable.  Yes, I almost ordered it.  I've never eaten antelope.

The next day was filled with little nibbles here and there, some cheap, some relatively pricey, but most good.  A note about Provincetown: it is not difficult to find cheap and good food if you know where to look.  But it is much much easier to find very expensive food.  I was more of the "Where can I get a super-cheap lobster roll that is actually worth eating?" mentality.  That's how I roll when I don't get paid until the next weekend.

 

I needed to wander out that morning for some toothpaste and hair spray.  Instead, I found myself meandering  up and down the breath-taking Pilgrim Monument and through the Provincetown Museum ($8) - near the site of the first landing of the Pilgrims before heading to Plymouth, I might add.  Then my day of eating began.

And oh, all the eating I did:

* The aptly-named Burger Queen was recommended to me by my innkeeper.  For just $10 you can get a classic and decent lobster roll, complete with the toasted buttered roll, and both small and large chunks of lobster.  They also had a Maryland crab cake (!) available for $16.  I didn't bother with it.  I wasn't sure how P'town Yankees, God love 'em, would do making a crab cake.


* Since whoopie pies have crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, I have been eating my fair share of them.  The one I had at Deja Vu for $2.50 was not one of the better ones I've had, though it wasn't all that bad.

* More than making up for it was the White Russian flavored ice cream from Lewis Brothers ($3.75 for a small cup).  Filling.

* I stopped in the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery for more stuff, some meringues to take home for family.  I regret that I didn't get to explore more of Portuguese-American culture while there.  That will be the next time I visit Provincetown, whenever that may be.

* A friend from Maine recommended Mojo's among other places, and Mojo's was the only one I could make it to.  Their onion chunks (for about $4.50) were fried in some sort of light batter.  Very crispy, and I love the take on onion rings, but they were not the best fried onions I've had.  Again, not bad.

* Scott Cakes, however, is a local institution.  They do their own laid-back take on the national cupcake craze by making just one type of cupcake: yellow buttery cake with pink buttercream frosting.  It is an unbelievably wonderful cupcake - either regular size ($3) or small ($2).  Do they put crack in these?  The innkeeper said she asked about a chocolate one hopefully soon, but Scott hasn't yet found a chocolate cake recipe he's happy with.  I was perfectly happy with the ones I bought, and even tried to bring some home.  By the time they got to Baltimore the icing was not so much on the cupcakes anymore as all over the insides of the box.  Oh well.  I ate it off the insides of the box anyway.

Finally: the wedding at the lovely Crown & Anchor, usually manned by a few drag queens telling passersby what's going on that night.  It was a lovely ceremony on the beach at sunset, with delicious appetizers and an open bar.  That and so many spectators in the balconies, all strangers to us, applauding from the balconies.  I am hoping for that when I land me a husband.

 

The happy couple.  Congratulations, Alan & Eric!

After post-wedding hors d'ouevres and cocktails, we headed into the dining room for dinner.  We had several choices, if I remember correctly: seafood pasta (this is what I ordered), scallops (this is what I should have ordered) and steak.

 

Dessert was an array of gourmet cupcakes.  Guys, you outdid yourselves.  I hope you can pay it off.  Though they tell me, as weddings go, it was a lot cheaper than a typical straight wedding might have been.

The next morning I headed back to Boston on the Fast Ferry.  You will read about my eats there later this week.

Other photos:

Oh he's leavin

On that midday boat to P'town

The view from atop the Pilgrim Monument

What ah ya lookin' at?

Oh Varla, when will you missionize at the Hippo again?

She was standing there, all day...

Next thing you know they'll be letting gay cupcakes marry!

The First World War Veterans' Monument in the center of town

 

Heterosexuals are also welcome in Provincetown

 

Apparently, they love the whale watching.

Snacking State-by-State: Massachusetts III - The cream cake that eats like a cream pie

New England clam chowder is just one of Boston's many culinary exports to the rest of America. One of the most famous ones is that most popular of Yankee desserts, and no I'm not talking about the whoopie pie.  This one had spread across the country before I was even born.


Official Name: Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State Nicknames: The Bay State
Admission to the US: February 6, 1788 (#6)
Capital: Boston (largest city)
Other Important Cities: Worcester (2nd largest); Springfield (3rd largest); Cambridge (5th largest)
Region: New England, Northeast; New England (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Clambake; Maple Syrup
Bordered by: Vermont, New Hampshire (north); New York (west); Connecticut, Rhode Island (south); Atlantic Ocean (south and east)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: cranberry juice (beverage); cod (fish); wild turkey (game bird); baked navy bean (bean); cranberry (berry); Boston cream pie (dessert); chocolate chip cookie (cookie); Boston cream donut (donut)
Some Famous & Typical Foods: New England foods, in particular Boston-specific foods such as: Boston cream pie, Boston baked beans, Boston brown bread; "New England" clam chowder; Irish, Italian and Portuguese ethnic dishes; codfish cakes, lobster rolls and other New England seafood dishes; cranberries and blueberries

I always loved Boston cream pie while growing up.  On my first trip to Boston (and as of this posting, not the only one) I wandered through the rain during a very long, eight hour layover en route to Amsterdam, into Boston's North End - the Italian neighborhood, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for Boston cream pie that was actually made in Boston.  It was a little on the frozen side, but despite that it was still one of the best pieces I have had in my life.

This is a daunting cake to make - yes, it's called a pie, but it's really a cake baked in a pie pan. It requires many steps.  True, it's not as complicated as the Smith Island Cake, but it is still in a lot of work.  Mind you, it is worth it.

The Recipe: Boston Cream Pie

Among many recipes I found for Boston cream pie, I was drawn to Sweet Dreams host Gale Gand and her recipe for Boston cream pie.  Gand's recipe can be found on the Food Network website, and was featured on the episode "Desserts from the Yankee Tradition".

 

You will make three separate things for the pie: the cream, the cake and the ganache:

For the "pie" (which is really just a cake) you need:

* soft or cake flour (I had White Lily on hand, a decidedly non-New England flour)

* granulated sugar

* baking powder, salt and cream of tartar

* milk

* vanilla

* cooking oil

* 2 eggs, separated

The cream filling also has a fair bit of ingredients: 

* more milk

* more sugar

* more vanilla (Gand calls for a vanilla bean, which I did not have on hand)

* 6 eggs - but just the yolks 

* unsalted butter and corn starch

The ganache doesn't have many more ingredients:

* sweet baking chocolate (yes I know, I have semi-sweet pictured.  I realized it was not only the incorrect kind, but was only half of what I needed.  I went out and got the sweet kind instead)

* heavy whipping cream

Although the recipe gives you the cake/pie recipe first, I found it much more productive to make the cream filling first, since you will need to chill that.  So make it, and chill it while you set to baking the cake/pie.

First, boil milk and vanilla (beans) over medium heat and immediately take it off the heat when it starts boiling.

While doing that, you might as well separate those egg yolks.  You won't need these whites.  Do whatever you want with them.

Whisk the yolks together with the sugar...

...and add the cornstarch, whisking until lump-free.

Add a quarter cup of the hot milk-vanilla mixture, whisking again
.

And then do the same with the rest of the milk.

At this point, I wasn't sure I was doing it right, but I slogged on, straining the mixture into a pot.

Next, you continue whisking over medium-high heat, until it gets thick.  This will happen in a few minutes.

Take it off the flame, and whisk in the butter until it melts.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Now to the cake/pie: while preheating the oven to 350°F, sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Separate the last two eggs, this time setting the whites aside - you will need these soon.  Add to the sifted dry ingredients the yolks, milk, oil and vanilla...

...and beat until mixed, plus a few minutes after.

Next, you will make a meringue: beat the whites and the cream of tartar until soft peaks form

Like so.

Fold white into yellow.

Then pour the batter into a 9" pie plate.

Bake until the top springs up when touched, about 30 minutes.

Finally, you make the ganache.  Boil the cream until little bubbles form around the edges of the pan.

While you do that, roughly chop the chocolate into small pieces.

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and stir until the whole thing melts together.

Again, like so.

You are now ready to assemble the whole thing.  When cooled completely, cut the "muffin top" off the cake, and set aside.

Once more, like so.

On the bottom half of the cake/pie, you will spread - or in this case, pipe - the cream filling on top.

Spread out the cream, and place the top over it, and finally pour the ganache over top the whole thing.  It will cover the sides as well as the top.

Sure, I'm not from New England by any stretch of the imagination, but I've eaten a lot of Boston cream pie in my lifetime.  This shows just how far and wide it has spread.  This pie certainly outdoes the many stale, store-bought versions we got from the store.  While I would have loved a little more cream, the pie is fresher, the ganache smoother and the cream sweeter and the whole thing is not the tacky-feeling stuff we get outside of Massachusetts.  It is a painstaking dessert to make (again, not nearly as labor-intensive as the Smith Island Cake), but well worth the effort.  I don't know if I can ever eat the store-bought kind again.

By the time this post goes up, I will likely have eaten my fill of actual Boston cream pie, made by real Bostonians (or at least Provincetowners).  Look for a post soon about that trip.  Meanwhile it is time to heave-ho from the Commonwealth for the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes.  Our next stop on this State-by-State tour takes us to Michigan.

Sources:

Dojny, Brooke.  The New England Cookbook: 350 Recipies from Town and Country, Land and Sea, Hearth and Home.  Also available in part on Google Books.  Harvard Common Press: Boston, 1999.

Gand, Gale.  "Boston Cream Pie".   Featured on the episode "Desserts from the Yankee Kitchen" of the show Sweet Dreams (Gale Gand, host).  Food Network, 2011.

Haggerty, Bridget. "Corned Beef & Cabbage - The Feeding of A Myth".  From the Irish Culture and Customs website, copyright 2001-2011.  All rights reserved.



Passos Duffy, Marcia.  "New England Boiled Dinner (Corned Beef & Cabbage)"  From The Heart of New England website, copyright 2004-2011.  All rights reserved.


Shields, John. Coastal Cooking with John Shields (the Companion Cookbook to the Public Television Series).  Broadway Books: Portland, Oregon, 2004. 

Yankee Magazine. "Annie's Corned Beef and Cabbage". From "Meat Recipes", March 2010. Copyright 2011 Yankee Magazine.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Massachusetts" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Massachusetts".