Let’s think of Stephen King, let’s think of all the incredibly beautiful stories and terrifying scenes he takes us through his many novels. One such location is Castle Rock, where many of the King of Terror stories take place. Now there’s news from a small town in the US state of Maine, and it’s anything but scary. In fact, the “Castle Rock Cookbook” was published at the end of September 2022. And if you think you’ll find scary Halloween recipes in this one, you’re wrong!
Authentic cuisine from the US state of Maine
In fact, all the recipes in the Theresa Carle-Sanders cookbook have their roots in the US state of Maine. Not only are most of Stephen King’s stories set there, but it is also the home of the author, who wrote the foreword to the cookbook.
“I was born in Maine, raised in Maine and will probably be buried there. But before that, I’ll keep eating in Maine, and it’s creating a lot of what I’ve eaten in my life. […] even in this wonderful little chef”.
StephenKing
In fact, author Theresa Carle-Sanders, a trained chef and recipe writer, put a lot of work and love into her cookbook. The research for his work took two and a half years. He read all of Stephen King’s books and looked for references to food or eating situations in them. As for the recipes themselves, they were inspired by King’s descriptions, be it of the foods mentioned in the books, the situations associated with them, or the people associated with them. And that’s not all: he coordinated the results of his research with Stephen King.
The result is the “Castle Rock Cookbook”, which King himself not only admits, but also knows how to convince with its atmospheric images. In addition, each recipe comes with the appropriate text section of the appropriate horror story by Stephen King, which may inspire you to read the novel again (or for the first time).
Want a look at the cookbook? Below, you can read how to make apple cinnamon rolls just like in Maine. The recipe was inspired by the novel The Arena King. A compelling story that was also successfully implemented as a series under the original English title “Under the Dome”.
A little suggestion: You should start preparing the day before…
Maine-style apple cinnamon snails recipe
Ingredients for 12 pieces:
To make the dough:
- 410 g flour + a little more for the work surface
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon of sea or salt
- 180 g of butter
- 3 eggs
- 6 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
- 55 grams of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
To fill:
- 2 medium apples, such as Cortland or Pink Lady, peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 50 grams sultana
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted + more for the mold
- 200 g light brown sugar
For the glaze:
- 220 g powdered sugar
- 60 g of butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
the preparation:
- To make the dough, mix the flour, yeast and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- Place the butter, eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix well on medium speed. Then gradually add the flour mixture on low until a ball of dough forms. Replace the stand mixer with the dough hook and continue kneading the dough on low setting for 6 to 8 minutes. It should be smooth but not sticky.
- Pour vegetable oil over the dough and toss it back and forth in the bowl a few times so that it is completely covered with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and a plate and place the dough in a warm, draft-free place to rise. Let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- For the filling, combine the apple slices, sultanas, cinnamon and lemon juice in a small bowl.
- Grease a ceramic or glass bowl (about 22 x 32 cm) with butter.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the slightly floured work dough, starting from the center and forming a rectangle in all four directions (approximately 45 x 30 cm). Release and turn occasionally. Brush with melted butter, leaving a border of about 1 centimeter on one of the two long sides. Sprinkle with brown sugar and fill with filling.
- Roll up the dough tightly, starting from the long, unbounded edge. Close the roll tightly at the edge. Then use a serrated knife to cut it into 12 slices about 4 centimeters thick. Place the fillets side by side in the prepared baking pan, cover the pan with cling film and refrigerate the snails overnight or for 12 hours.
- Take the snails out of the fridge about 45 minutes before baking and place them in a warm, draft-free place to rise until they have roughly doubled in size. Release the film so that it does not prevent it from rolling.
- Place a rack in the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 175°C.
- Remove the foil from the pan and bake the apple cinnamon buns in the oven for 30-35 minutes until puffed and golden. Leave to cool in the mold for 30 minutes.
- For the icing, in a medium bowl, beat the powdered sugar, buttermilk and vanilla extract until fluffy.
- Drizzle the glaze over the apple and cinnamon snails. Divide the latter into individual snails and serve.
Theresa Carle-Sanders: “Castle Rock Kockbuch”, Südwest Verlag, 38 euros.
Each week we review a different cookbook of the week. You can find a small selection here: