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Author: Nicole Carpenter

Potato Croquettes

by Nicole Carpenter

This simple dish was called “Potatoe Balls” in the 18th and early 19th centuries and an original recipe for this dish appears in Mary Randolph’s cookery book The Virginia Housewife published in 1824. These croquettes are a good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. While the base recipe is simple, feel free to add spices or herbs to your liking. Nutmeg, imported from the West Indies, was a common ingredient in early American kitchens—even in savory preparations. Minced chives are a good addition as is grated cheese—1/2 cup of grated gruyere or 4 tablespoons soft goat cheese are two choices. 

Ingredients

  • 2 Pounds Russet potatoes 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1 egg yolk and 1 beaten egg 
  • 1 cup or more as needed Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs 
  • 1 cup safflower oil 

Directions

Makes about 18, serves 6 to 8 

  1. Cook the potatoes: Boil the potatoes, with their skin, in a large pot with enough water to cover. Cook until tender—about 20-25 minutes.  
  1. Drain potatoes and cool slightly until easy to handle and peel. Mash well and stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Allow the mixture to cool completely. 
  1. Add the egg yolk to potato mixture and mix well to incorporate.  
  1. Lightly wet your (clean!) hands and roll the mixture into golf-ball sized balls.  
  1. Dip potato balls in the beaten egg, then roll them in bread crumbs to coat. Repeat with all the potato balls and then refrigerate for 15 minutes up to an hour. 
  1. Heat the oil in a large, deep bottomed frying pan over medium heat. Test the oil by dropping a bit of flour into the oil. If it immediately sizzles, then the oil is ready. 
  1. Place the potato balls gently into the hot oil, and fry until lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. For a healthier option, place the potato balls on a baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  

Focus On The Greely Family: Sending Encouragement to Those on the Front Lines

by Nicole Carpenter

My husband David and I (NAME) are both self-employed. I’m an artist; primarily a printmaker and painter. All of my art shows have been canceled – along with summer plans for a printmaking residency. The Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, where I regularly worked using the printing presses and darkroom, has also closed. After working with the kids schooling during the day, I’m now trying to maintain a home-studio practice in the late afternoons and evenings. David is an economist and has been working the last several months on launching his own company – the future of which is now quite uncertain. So, we will both be looking at how to pivot our work and hopefully find a way forward. 

As an artist, I am used to working alone and having stretches of quiet time to think and create. Having three kids at home 24/7 who are distance-learning through school, means very little time for my work. Even when I manage time in the studio, it is hard to quiet the mind and escape anxiety about what the future looks like in a post-pandemic world. I know that my artwork will change – but in what way remains unclear. I mean, all artwork is influenced by time, place, and events of the day. I will just keep showing up in the studio, doing the work, and trusting the process.  

We are spending loads of time with the kids (Xavier, 14, 8th grade; Nathaniel, 12, 6th grade; Maeve, 8, 3rd grade). In addition to their schoolwork, we’ve worked on family art projects (right now we are painting rocks to hide around town), lots of games (favorites seem to be Apples to Apples, Kids Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, and my oldest has created a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign for us to do as a family – I am now a Sorcerer named Hazel Mylove). The kids are all trying something new, but each week this seems to change. This week our youngest is learning to code via Khan Academy, our 6th grader is learning to cook with online Gordon Ramsey videos through Masterclass, and our 8th grader is fiddling around with music on a keyboard. I’m also spending an inordinate amount of time in the backyard with my daughter’s flock of chickens. It’s easy to escape the daily stream of bad news while watching chickens be chickens.  

Westport has been incredibly quick-acting and responsive to this crisis. I am immensely grateful for the daily town communications via emails and texts. Truly admirable as well are the school district’s administrators and teachers who have been trying to provide our kids with a sense of community and stability in learning during enormous upheaval. 

I fervently hope that we, as a collective humanity, start to truly view ourselves as part of an intricately entwined global community. This virus has infected nearly every country in the world within the span of a single season, regardless of borders. Countries are needing to partner with one another, share information and data freely in order to learn how best to prevent and treat infections. In our country we have been so divided, and remain divided across different states and across our physical borders. After this plays out, and the tragedy and loss of life is largely in the past, I hope that there is a renewed sense that we have all been in this together. We are sending healthy thoughts to friends who are sick, and strong encouragement to those who are in the hospitals fighting on the front lines. Be well, be strong, all.

I fervently hope that we, as a collective humanity, start to truly view ourselves as part of an intricately entwined global community.

Explore More of “Westport In Focus”

To read more of the museums long lens oral histories please visit the Westport In Focus page.

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The Bee’s Knees

by Nicole Carpenter

This cocktail was popular one hundred years ago during the Jazz Age. The sweet-sour combination was ideal to mask the taste of the harsh “bathtub gin” brewed locally or at home in defiance of Prohibition laws. 

Ingredients

For the Honey Simple Syrup: 

  • ½ cup honey 
  • ½ cup water 

 For the cocktail: 

  • 1 lemon, washed well to make twist for garnish (optional) 
  • 2 ounces gin (or vodka) 
  • 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
  • 1 tablespoon honey simple syrup (or to taste) 

Directions

1. Make the Honey Simple Syrup: Bring the honey and water to a boil in small saucepan over medium heat, then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture is reduced by half to form a syrup. Set aside in a sealed container, preferably glass. 

2. Make the Lemon Twist: Take a potato peeler, sharp paring knife or small channel knife and peel a narrow strip of rind around the lemon crosswise. Place the strip on a flat surface, pith side up, and roll away from you in tight coils—as if rolling a rug. Uncoil and use in your cocktail as a garnish. 

3. Make the Cocktail: Add the gin or vodka, lemon juice, honey simple syrup to a shaker with ice and shake well. Pour into a champagne bowl or martini glass and serve with the lemon twist, if desired. Alternatively, you may mix the ingredients in one tall glass and pour over anther tall glass filled with ice. Pour into a martini glass or champagne bowl using a strainer. Serve with the lemon twist, if desired. 

Shrewsbury Biscuits

by Nicole Carpenter

Named for a town in England in the county of Shropshire bordering Wales, the Shrewsbury biscuit is essentially a shortbread cookie. Carried to America via early colonists this cookie was commonly flavored with caraway seeds which impart a faint licorice taste. If you don’t like caraway, you may simply omit it.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter 
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) softened butter 
  • 1 cup sugar 
  • 1 egg 
  • 2 ½ cups flour with additional as needed 
  • 1 ½ tablespoons caraway seeds 
  • zest of 1 lemon 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

2. Cream together the butter until fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes in a stand mixer. Add the egg and beat until well combined. 

3. Slightly crush the caraway seeds in a mortar and whisk into the flour along with the lemon zest. Add the flour to the butter and egg mixture and mix until it comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. 

4. Flour a clean work surface liberally and roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick. Use a 2-inch round or fluted cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and place on the cookie sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. 

5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until they begin to brown slightly around the edges. Remove and cool before serving. 

Follow along with our video tutorial at home!