Boston Chowda Scores!

Through a contest sponsored by our local Oldies radio station, WODS, I won a free lunch for my entire office, catered by the Boston Chowda Co., which is located at Faneuil Hall - yep, that spot in the Market Place food court that offers samples of their various soups, and has a glass counter laid out with with yummy looking pie plates filled with a variety of pot pies.

The radio station duo arrived laden with a nice stash of prizes emblazoned with their employer's logo. Yep, a nice fluffy pair of purple socks dotted with anti-slip dots for me! The Boston Chowda folks arrived with one of those rolling carts stuffed full of lobster sliders (yum!), trays of sandwiches and wraps, three types of soups (clam chowder, lobster bisque, and corn chowder [my personal fav of the 3]), soup cups, covers to go with the cups, soup spoons, plates, and tons of napkins, oyster crackers, and styrofoam clamshells filled with salt and pepper galore! Yes, they were very generous to us...

And based on the talk around the office, I do believe they've won a spot in the rotation for our company's catering needs. :)

Apricot Sour Cream Scones

I'm no longer sure where online I had initially picked up this recipe since the wording differs from the versions that that I have been able to locate recently. However, the reason under which I originally sought it out is still clear...

Several years ago, I ran into a sale of Sunsweet Apricots (16 oz) at CVS for $1.99 a carton (regular price probably being over $4) and I had a coupon(!) so I picked up two for about a dollar each. DEAL! But only if I could manage to do something with them before they went bad. What to do?

Since I was about to host a tea with a friend, I decided to bake up my first batch of scones as one of my contributions. They turned out great! Moist and flavorful, the ladies gobbled them up without the addition of any spreads!

In fact, this is one of the few recipes of my collection that my mom will actually request that I make. :)

Today, I made these scones again, by special request of that same friend for a potluck tea/lunch! Even the ladies who claimed to not like scones liked them!

Apricot Sour Cream Scones
The River Street Inn, Sun Valley ID

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 large egg, beaten
Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400*F (205*C).

Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add butter and combine with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center of mixture. Add sour cream and vanilla to well. Using fork, stir sour cream mixture into dry mixture until dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Sprinkle apricots over. Knead dough until apricots are incorporated, about 10 turns.

Flatten dough into 8-inch round on lightly greased baking sheet. Score into 8 wedges. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 scones.

Vivian's Notes:

1) Use extra sour cream (but still under a cup) for extra moistness - about 3/4 cup perhaps

2) Add extra fruit - I tend to dice 14-16 apricots into 6ths

3) One envelope of Sugar In The Raw is great for sprinkling the tops of the scones!