Here's one entry in a worn copy of the Moosewood Cookbook:
11-18-01-This [quiche] remains a perennial favorite, dating back to when Amanda and I had quiche bake-offs before we were married, living on Middle Street in Orono. Today it reigns supreme, even with kids 8 and 10, who have interesting tastes. We [meaning Amanda] have made this recipe scores of times.
Another entry, in another book:
10-19-98-Fabulous, subtle, sublime -- remove all sauces from the table; this one needs no assistance. Two thumbs up. P.S. Kids loved it!
The commentator (and fan club prez) is Steve Bost, Amanda's husband of 23 years. Together they've shared a lot of great meals. It all started back in their college days
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Love and marriage didn't stop these two from immediately going at it in a series of quiche bake-offs -- a score that took years to settle. "I'd make something exotic, with lots of bravado, and people would politely say, 'This is very good, Steve,' but they'd eat all of Amanda's quiche."
Having long ago won the "superior chef" title, Amanda Bost, an independent financial consultant, has taken her family on many culinary adventures. Though she owns a mother lode of cookbooks, "I wing it every day," she says, "unless it's a weekend in the winter." Bost is a big fan of salsas (she served three varieties with tonight's shrimp quesadillas) and sauces. Her and Steve's kids (Rowan, 12, and Stuart, 15) "are starting to get more particular about what they eat," she says, and sauces help. "Fish can be something that they object to, but as long as they have enough sauce options, they're all right."
These sauces, of course, are delicious homemade creations made in the Bost's custom-designed kitchen in their home on Wintergreen Way in Brewer. Amanda's cooking space features a countertop and cabinetry that had been a display at Matthew Brothers for many years, augmented with custom cabinetry. Her kitchen also houses several of Bost's beloved companions. Top billing goes to Gabby, the "working" dog, who sits sentry from her comfy bed. "She goes to work with Steve each day and greets people at Brewer City Hall [where he is city manager]."
Bost is also extremely fond of her "kitchen fish," a beautiful aquarium of exotic swimmers that keep her entertained as she cooks. "They're my TV." And last, but not least, she's clearly attached to her knives. "I love my knives," she says, wielding a surgically sharp chopping knife. "They're not stainless, they're carbon." While the downside to carbon knives is that acid will stain them, the upside is "the longer I have them, the sharper they get."
While the Bost children aren't allowed to use mom's knives, they are encouraged to develop their cooking genes. Both kids are Scouts, and have the opportunity to cook during camping trips. Stuart, she says, "is great at making pancakes." Rowan is a confident maker of "The Recipe," a Bost family spin on nachos that was published in the Asa Adams School recipe book. "We make it with kids sections and adult sections," Bost says, referring to grown-up additions like jalapenos.
In and out of the kitchen, one gets the sense that the Bost family menu is an alternating feast of comfortable familiarity and brave adventure -- and that Amanda is the one quietly steering toward uncharted territory. In fact, her chosen main course, Lime Shrimp Quesadillas, was her first stab at this particular recipe. "I thought it would be more fun to try something new," she says. Bost displays the proof that this is indeed the recipe's maiden voyage: "Look -- it has no comments."
Amanda's Lime Shrimp Quesadillas
Serves 8
1 lb. raw peeled and deveined shrimp
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. chicken broth
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. fresh cilantro
1 onion, sliced into rings
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
2 tsp. olive oil
8 warm 6-inch tortillas
Optional toppings: salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream or yogurt
Combine lime juice, 1 Tbs. olive oil, chicken broth, garlic, pepper, salt, and parsley. Add peeled and deveined raw shrimp and marinate 15 to 30 minutes. Saute green pepper and onion in olive oil, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and discard marinade from shrimp; add to skillet and cook 5 to 8 minutes until shrimp is pink and opaque. Set aside; clean and oil skillet. Layer a tortilla, 1/4 of shrimp mixture, and shredded cheese; top with another tortilla. Heat until cheese is melted; carefully flip over and brown other side. Keep warm; make 3 more quesadillas. Serve with toppings.
RECIPES FOR BOSTERITY
Anyone looking for ways to promote family unity need only spend an evening with the Bost family for some great ideas on kitchen-centric happiness.
REMEMBER MOMENTS
Years ago, Amanda and Steve Bost had a set of dinner plates made by a potter in Walpole, Maine, with this inscription on the underside of every plate: We do not remember days, we remember moments. They use the plates for special occasions.
GO WITH THE SEASONS
In the summertime, Bost, a dedicated golfer, spends as little time as possible in the kitchen. "Fresh vegetables make cooking good food easy in the summer," she says. When the weather turns cold, she goes into what Steve calls "Amanda's heavy cooking season." By not being married to complex meals year-round, mama stays happy, yet everyone stays well fed.
FEED THE ANIMALS
Bost doesn't feed her pets table scraps, but does give them these healthy humanfood treats: chicken broth or tuna juice for the cat, and apples with peanut butter for Gabby, the dog.
MAGNETIZE YOUR MEMORIES
The family's refrigerator is lined with an impressive collection of magnets from all over, from Florida to Iraq. "Steve is the collector," Bost says. "Everywhere of significance we go, we try to pick up a magnet," creating a colorful scrapbook that's always open.
WRITE A REVIEW
The date a meal was made, variations they tried, guests who were at the table-it's all there for posterity in the margins of the family's recipe books. Over the years, the discipline of writing down a review of each dish has produced a priceless history of the Bost family's "remembered moments."
