There is, of course, nowhere on earth more beautiful than Vermont in the autumn. This is a fact.
Complete guide to fall foliage in Vermont.
My Mom and both of her parents were born in Vermont (as were many generations of ancestors of my grandfather’s family before him) – but this, to Vermonters, is irrelevant. I will always be a flatlander. I claim heritage through ancestry, not birth. But there are strings that tie my heart to Vermont that will never be broken, and for which I am so very grateful.
The vines of Vermont began encircling my heart very early. I simply do not remember a time when it was not part of my personal landscape.
My Mom was born in Derby Line, which is famous for its library, half of which sits in the United States, the other half of which sits in Canada. In fact, the house in which she was born straddled the border as well – though she was born in the American half.
In the early 1930s, her parents moved to Wells River, Vermont, which sits on the Connecticut River roughly 50 miles north of White River and Hanover, New Hampshire. My grandfather owned the creamery, where the local farmers brought their milk to my grandfather to process and bottle and to make into cheese. (President Roosevelt was a fan of his cheese.) Early on, my Mom rode the delivery horses up the ramp and back down. This ended when she reported one day to my grandmother that all the horses were named “Jesus Christ.” My grandmother, a church-going Congregationalist, inquired further, whereupon my Mom said: “Whenever they are going up the ramp, the man bringing them says, ‘Jesus Christ, move along.’” This ended her early riding days.
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I made my first trip to Vermont when I was an infant. And it was at the farm that my grandparents had moved to years earlier (also in Wells River) that I spent so much of my childhood. It was there that I learned how to can and bake, and it was there that I learned how to play hearts and love the Red Sox.
And it was there, also, that I developed my love of chicken pie suppers.
Chicken pie suppers in Vermont are a tradition. Vermont churches and schools hold chicken pie suppers to raise money for all sorts of local causes – and, really, just because everyone loves them.
We went to a bunch of chicken pie suppers when I visited my grandparents in Vermont. I remember attending the ones at the Cracker Barrel Fair in Newbury many times.
But perhaps the most famous chicken pie supper is held every October in Groton, Vermont (like Wells River, part of the Northeast Kingdom). Groton’s Chicken Pie Supper will be celebrating its 55th anniversary this year.
This recipe, from Yankee Magazine, is an adaptation of the famous Groton Chicken Pie:
1 whole chicken, 3 or 4 pounds
3 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 16-ounce bag of frozen peas (use fresh if it's the right season)
Place the chicken into a stockpot and cover it with water. Place onions, a few bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt and several peppercorns into the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Let simmer gently for about 15 minutes and then turn off the heat and let the covered pot sit until it is cool, about 3 or 4 hours.
(noweasels’ note: I have seen this technique used by Jacques Pepin and this is the technique in the Yankee Magazine recipe, but, frankly, this makes me a little nervous. I would bring the chicken to a boil and then simmer it for an hour or an hour-and-a-half and then follow the rest of the recipe)
Bone and skin the chicken, and tear the chicken into bite-sized strips. Place bite-size pieces or strips of the chicken in the bottom of a large casserole dish. With a slotted spoon, drain out the onions and place on top of the chicken. Reserve about a quart of the broth.
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and, then add two tablespoons of flour. Using a wire whisk, stir in a few tablespoons of the broth, making a thick paste. Gradually add the rest of the broth, a bit at a time, whisking all the while. When it's thickened but still pourable (you don't want it to be pasty, a smooth liquid gravy is what you are looking for here), pour about half of it over the chicken pieces.
Preheat the oven to 425.
(noweasels' note: And now we get to what separates a chicken pie from a chicken pot pie – which is essential)
Biscuit Crust
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons softened butter
2/3 to ¾ cup Kefir or buttermilk
Stir all the dry ingredients together with a wire whisk and then cut in the butter. Add the milk and blend until the dough is workable with your hands.
If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour as you go. Place on the counter or bread board and knead lightly until it's no longer sticky. Roll it out to fit the top of your casserole dish -- make it slightly smaller so it will fit on top of the chicken but not overlap or be fastened to the sides of the dish. The gravy is going to bubble up around the crust as it bakes. You can be approximate, it's OK to be shaggy around the edges or however you like.
Put the peas on top of the chicken and gravy and then top it with the crust. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the biscuit is golden.
Serve with extra gravy.
Yankee Magazine
Seatings for chicken pie suppers are usually at 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 6:30 pm and (for the decadent) 7:30 pm. In Groton, the final seating is followed by a community hymn sing at the church.
Vermont remains, in many ways, a large small town. One day, during my sophomore year of college there, I shared lunch with a friend and discovered that he had grown up in Vermont. As we exchanged familial stories, we discovered that we shared a great-grandfather. He was descended from his first wife; I from his second.
My Vermont grandmother made everything (clothes, jam, bread, maple syrup) from scratch. I remember to this day the sad weekend after she died, when my Mom and my Aunt and I removed the last loaf of bread she had made from the freezer and toasted it and ate every piece with butter and tears.
Here is her recipe for pork chops:
Nana’s Pork Chops
Thick lean boneless loin pork chops
Kosher salt; pepper
V-8 Juice
Heat a skillet until quite hot and sprinkle the pan with Kosher salt.
Blot the chops with paper towels to absorb any moisture.
Sear the chops on each side until crusty (about 2-3 minutes per side); then, using a fork, sear the edges. Remove to plate.
Reduce the heat.
Place the seared chops back into the skillet and cover with V-8 juice.
(Do NOT crowd them.)
Simmer until the V-8 is reduced to thick sauce and the chops are cooked through.
Serve with Vermont Blue Hubbard Squash (the best squash in the universe):
Wash squash thoroughly and dry.
Use (carefully) a very sharp large knife to halve the squash.
Remove seeds and threads. (Hubbard seeds, like pumpkin seeds, are delicious if oiled and baked – consider doing so!)
Cut halves into 3-4” sections.
Steam (over boiling water), boil or roast (in a 350 degree oven in a buttered baking dish) the sections until soft.
COOL.
Remove the soft, luscious wonderful squash from the skins.
Mash the squash with a whisper of butter and some salt and freshly ground pepper. Place in a buttered baking dish.
Reheat at 350 degrees.
(This is my favorite squash in the world. My Mom says it is “an amazing pain in the neck.”)
Apple Cider Pie
3 C. fresh apple cider
½ lb. dried apple slices
½ C. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
3 Tbl. butter
Pie Crust*
1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbl. milk
In a heavy saucepan, bring the cider to a simmer. Add the apple slices and simmer until they have plumped (about 10 minutes).
Stir in the brown sugar, spices and butter and continue simmering until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the sauce is thick (about 10 minutes).
Remove from heat and COOL.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9-inch pie pan (glass or ceramic) with pie crust.
Fill with apple mixture.
Cut remaining crust into strips to make a lattice. Cover the pie with strips. Crimp the edges.
Brush the surface with the egg mixture.
Bake at 300 degrees until golden brown (35-40 minutes).
Serve hot or at room temperature. In Vermont: add a wedge of Vermont cheddar.
• I am not a pastry chef. I do not like frozen pastry shells. I prefer Jiffy Pie Crust. Make according to directions. Do NOT roll it out too much – too much rolling makes for a tough crust.
(Recipe adapted from Enchanted Evenings @ 1990 by John Hadamuscin – one of the BEST cookbooks in my collection. Highly recommended if you can find a copy.)
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This foliage tour begins in Wells River, Vermont and takes you right past my grandparents’ farm on Bible Hill:
Wells River is the start of the Bayley-Hazen Military Road, built during the years 1776 to 1779 by General Jacob Bayley and General Moses Hazen. Ordered by George Washington, it was constructed from the upper Connecticut River to St. Francis, Quebec, and was intended to serve as a military route should the Revolutionary War spread to the northern border. Today the roadbed is still visible as it rises at the north end of the Route 5 bridge across the Wells River and disappears over a crest on Bible Hill. We like to stretch our legs on the first couple of miles of this historic road. Starting at the granite marker at the end of Main Street, we continue to a clearing above Tickle Naked Pond in Boltonville for rewarding views of the White Mountains. ("Tickle Naked" comes from the Algonquin name Tickenecket.)
Paul Sample, a WPA artist, painted this picture of a WWII soldier returning home. This is the Maxwell House Coffee advertisement from 1947 that featured it. I include it because it shows the soldier coming home to Wells River, Vermont:
I will always be grateful for Wells River, Vermont.