The Lost Kitchen Dinner, At Home Edition

Following our magical experience in Freedom, Maine during the Fall of 2020, we purchased a copy of Erin French’s The Lost Kitchen cookbook on Amazon to allow us to create some of that Lost Kitchen magic right at home. We have decided to begin the tradition of a quarterly Lost Kitchen inspired dinner, to try out and enjoy new seasonally inspired recipes as a family.

We focused on recipes from the Fall and Winter sections (the cookbook is broken down by seasons) for our recent dinner to match the chilling temps and shorter days we are now experiencing here in Maine. Happy to report that we have found some new favorite recipes that we will definitely be putting on repeat…cue the warm mushroom toast and the chocolate tart with chocolate wafer crust dessert!

Another wonderful aspect of preparing our Lost Kitchen Dinner at home, was sourcing all of our local Maine ingredients. It was so much fun! For example, we purchased breads from Night Moves in Biddeford for our warm mushroom toast and crab cake biscuits and scallops from our favorite fish market, Free Range, in Portland. We also recently went apple picking at a local farm in Yarmouth and had fresh Maine apples for our Waldorf salad and local apple cider for the brussels.

The ambiance and vibes are also such a strong component of what makes The Lost Kitchen experience so special. So, we broke out our wedding china, lit candles and set a fall inspired tablescape to enjoy our dinner together. It really set the tone for a magical evening at home.

We challenge you to break out a new (or old!) cookbook and try some new recipes this fall and winter season!

The Menu

Signature Drink:

• Honeyed Hot Toddy with Thyme, page 147

Starters:

• Warm Mushroom Toast with Port, Herbs & Ricotta, page 158

• Kefir Biscuits with Maine Crab Meat

  • NOTE - This recipe is not in the cookbook, but was inspired from the Maine Crab Cake biscuits we enjoyed while at The Lost Kitchen this summer. We ordered the kefir biscuits from Night Moves and got the crab meat from Free Range.

• Waldorf Salad with Apples, Fennel & Candied Walnuts, page 157

Main + Sides:

• Scallops with Grapefruit and Fennel, page

• Roasted Cauliflower with kalamata olives & red pepper flakes, page 234

  • We used our cast iron pan and placed it directly on the grill as Erin suggests and we think we found our new favorite way of cooking ha!

• Apple Cider Braised Brussels Sprouts, page 235

Dessert:

• Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Wafer Crust, page 246