During sugaring season I cook lunch for the crew every Friday. In the early years I tried to gourmet the heck out of it by creating elaborate meals from different regions. Our manager, Dean hinted strongly that what they would really like is just a hearty stew and fresh bread in enormous quantities to recharge these guys who spent their days hiking up and down a snowy mountain. When I finally started listening to him and geared the meal toward rich comfort food I could see he had been right all along. When you start your day at seven, in five degree weather, then spend the morning breaking trail through three feet of snow to tap thousands of trees, a delicate Thai salad is not what you crave.
One of the dishes Dean recommended for the meal is biscuits poached in maple syrup. It is a regional dish that is part American, part Quebecois that his family has been preparing for years. This recipe is from his mother Debbie who got it from her mother. I have copied it exactly as it was given to me except for the quantity of maple syrup. She wrote 2 – 2 ½ cups of maple syrup and I found 1 cup was plenty. In part I was worried it would overflow in the pan and also, this stuff is valuable!
Debbie’s French Rag Muffins
Melt one stick of real butter and put in a 9 x 13 glass cake pan then add 1 – 1 ½ cup maple syrup.
Make one dozen homemade or Bisquick biscuits and place on top of syrup mixture and let rest for 5 minutes. Bake in 375 degree oven until tops are golden brown, approximately 20 to 25 min. Do not over bake or biscuits will be tough.
Serve warm just as they are or add ice cream or whipped cream.