Happy Harbor

Driving North up the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, after passing a giant thermometer which shows the level of accumulated snowfall of the previous year, there is a stretch of highway where the trees create a canopy overhead like a covered bridge and the golden evening sunlight paints streaks on their shadows.  Speeding over the curving, dipping and lunging road, you will soon reach the most Northern point in the mainland United States: Copper Harbor.

Upon first arriving in the town of Copper Harbor, nestled into the evergreen hills with its rocky shores tinted the rusted orange color of its namesake mineral, one immediately gets the feeling that this is a very special place.

While sitting and relaxing by the harbor late our first night, our cousin Clyde recited a quote from the book of Deuteronomy-Chapter  8: which describes Copper Harbor very well:  “a fine country, a land of streams and springs, of waters that well up from the deep in valleys hills…a land where you will eat bread without stint, where you will want nothing, a land where the stones are iron and where the hills may be quarried for copper.”  For the hundred or so year-round locals, as well as many visitors who make a pilgrimage here every year, this truly is the promised land.

Copper mining was indeed once a major industry in Copper Harbor, and many of the original miners immigrated from Cornwall, England.  They brought with them a unique miner’s dish: the pastie;  pronounced “past”ie as in “not in the present tense”, and never like the scanty garment.

A traditional pastie is made with a round of sturdy pastry crust, which is folded over and crimped around potatoes, rutabaga, beef, and suet to make a half-moon shaped savory pie which is baked. Tradition says that the miners would hold onto the thick, crimped crust as they ate their pasties in the mines, and would discard the crust to avoid ingesting any dirt or toxins from their hands.

We sampled this local specialty in the much more inviting setting of cousins Lloyd and Clyde’s backyard on the harbor, where we were able to eat the crust, too!  These pasties were some of the best in the area, and were made by Toni’s Country Kitchen in the nearby town of Laurium .  They were a hearty, well flavored, and very satisfying meal all wrapped up in buttery dough.

Long before any miners arrived on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Ojibwa Native American tribe have called this land home.  Today they continue their long tradition of gill-net fishing to help supply the local fish store The Fisherman’s Daughter.  Wally Jameson, a local fisherman, started the business in 1954 selling his catch, as well as selling blocks of ice that were harvested straight from the frozen winter harbor!

Christine, the fisherman’s daughter herself, still runs the business and was there to greet us and hand us our order of whitefish and lake trout, both smoked and fresh, as well as a foot-long section of deliciously spicy and smoky fish sausage.

That evening, carrying on Amanda’s family tradition of hospitality, the smoked whitefish, lake trout, and fish sausage were served as hors d’oeuvres for the evening.  The smoked fish was very moist; it’s delicately firm flesh flaking easily from the narrow fillets; it’s smoky flavor marrying unctuously with the oily fish.  The fish sausage was made with a combination of lake trout and whitefish mixed with a spicy seasoning and smoked in a natural pork casing, which lent a satisfying snap to the firm and fiery filling.

A one-time chef at the renowned local restaurant The Harbor Haus, Clyde used an ingenious method of his own invention to grill the fish with minimal mess and maximum juiciness.  Laying each fish on a sheet of aluminum foil, he neatly crimped the edges of the foil to fit each fillet, creating customized cooking vessels that trapped moisture, kept the fish intact, and the grill clean.

With a squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt and pepper he placed them on a tray, then directly on the grill and closed the lid.  After a quick six minutes, they came out fully-cooked, firm, and juicy, or, as Clyde says “as sweet and tender as a mother’s kiss”.  Roasted red skin potatoes and salad with greens fresh from Lloyds garden rounded out the menu for a perfect summer meal!

To satisfy Lloyd’s request for a classic family dessert, Amanda made her great-grandmother’s Lemon Chess Pie.  Using her own super-flaky pie crust  and the Lemon Chess recipe from the Southern Sister’s Cookbook, she baked a pie that was lemony and custard, with a rich egg flavor and a caramelized top.

Amanda’s Pie Dough (Makes: Two 9 inch pie crusts)
2 cups	Flour
2 stick (8oz)	Unsalted butter
1/2 cup	Cold water
1/2 tsp	Salt
-Mix flour and salt. -Cut the cold butter into 1/4 in. pieces. -Using fingertips, cut the butter into the flour and salt until butter chunks are almond size. -Add cold water, gently mix just until a loose dough is formed, and no loose flour remains. -Divide into two pieces, wrap separately in plastic, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.(one dough packet can be frozen for later use). -Roll out the hard yet pliable dough on floured surface to 12 in. circle. -Place into pie pan sprayed with cooking spray, gently press into shell and trim off overhang. -Store in the freezer until ready to use.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com

Lemon Chess Pie (Makes: One 9 inch pie)
1 1/2 cups	Sugar
1 stick (4oz)	Unsalted butter
3 ea	Eggs, lightly beaten
1 large	Lemon, zest and juice
1Tbsp	Milk
-Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. -Add beaten egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, milk, and mix. The mixture should look curdled. -Add mixture into chilled pie crust. -Bake at 325d F for 40-50 minutes until the top is lightly browned and custard is set (just barely jiggling). -Serve warm or well chilled.
Source: ChefsOnTheRoad.com and Southern Sisters Cookbook

Finally, the sun set in a fiery streak upon the silhouetted treetops of Copper Harbor, giving way to night and a booming 4^th of July fireworks display, bringing to a close our magical weekend at this beautiful Northern land.  Our stay here was made truly special through the hospitality of Amanda’s lovely family, as well as the generosity of the welcoming people of Copper Harbor.