Now that’s a good crumbly scone!!
The Saratoga Grill has always been my favorite Hillsborough restaurant. It’s about as small town charmed as they come. Perfect for a ladies lunch or a romantic dinner for two. And the best part? The scones 
Crumbly, dry and slightly sweet – just how I like ’em.
I asked Colleen, the owner, for the recipe but sadly it’s a family secret!! She said she’s gotten requests from national magazines for the recipe and has still kept the recipe hidden. Too bad for me 🙁
I had another 1/4 of one after my lunch
For lunch I ordered the Broiled Fish Trio. I believe it was dilled tilapia, salmon with an herb crust and parmesan-crusted halibut.
My dish came with a side salad with their fabulous strawberry dressing.
Colleen was too sweet and brought us white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert! I had a few small bites – the raspberry layer was fantastic!
My best friend growing up, bridesmaid, co-captain of the soccer team, professional hand-washer and water fanatic, Becca, joined us for lunch. It’s always wonderful to spent time with her. Can you believe she has a 2-year old!?
Mom and I walked to and from lunch and we’re headed out on another walk in a bit so she can show me the growth around town – they have an awesome new gourmet grocery store opening this month! Small town no more! Hillsborough has gotten SO much cooler since I left!
Kath- the scone was “crumbly, dry and slightly sweet – just how [you] like ‘em” BECAUSE it was made with TWO STICKS OF BUTTER.
As a professional baker, I can tell you with 100% certainty: though she won’t give you the recipe, if she did it’d contain your forbidden 2 sticks of butter. That’s just how successful scones work.
You happily enjoy the kind of scone you like here because you don’t (admit to yourself that you) know its ingredients. Why don’t you just suck it up and make some authentic scone recipes to enjoy at home?
Lisa,
I am well aware that this wasn’t a low-fat scone – and I enjoyed every bite knowing so. I asked for the recipe to make it exactly as she does – once in a while. But I’m still on the hunt for a low-fat crumbly scone that I can enjoy more often – maybe it can’t be done. I still don’t think it’s only about the butter because my recipe yesterday had a good amount of real butter and it still turned out completely wrong (eggs? Milk?).
K
Oh wow, those scones DO look great! I am glad you finally got to sit down and enjoy a ‘good’ scone 🙂
And that’s a fantastic dress, I love it!
You know what else? It could be (GASP! HORROR!) shortening.
On the serious.
Try not to think about it. It’s disturbing, I know.
I absolutely love the dress you were wearing! It looks like a JCrew find!
i left a comment previously asking how many calories were in a flagel (flat bagel)? I know the focus of this blog isnt calories, but i also know that there are many knowledgeable people on here who used to count calories, so if anyone could let me know i would appreciate it, since i couldnt find much on the internet. thanks 🙂
LBelle,
Sorry, I’ve never heard of a flagel.
K
Another Ann Taylor Loft dress. I’ve got the same one! :o) love strawberry dressings.
WHAT THE HELL IS A FLAGEL?
Kath,
I am an avid reader of the blog and think that you do a wonderful job! I have never commented before, but feel compelled to regarding scones…
I am obsessed with Food Network and according to Ina Garten the temperature of the butter is what gives scones their flakiness. It has to be so cold that it is hard to cut into (you typically cube the butter when making scones). I would refer to her techniques. Scones are tricky.
Keep up the great work!
I’ve heard of a bialy but not a flagel… sorry!
And if anyone knows about butter, it’s Ina! Good reminder, Melissa. Butter in scones, biscuits, and pasty dough needs to be cold.
I love your dress, Kath. Becca looks a little like your friend Meredith! Lunch looks very tasty.
Kath, did u go to Orange High School? Just curious – my parents lived in Hillsborough for a while. They opened a newer high school a few years back, Cedar Ridge…my younger siblings went to Grady Brown Elementary across the street from that school.
is the “hog festival” worth going to in hillsborough in the middle of june?
The fish looks delicious. I rarely get to make fish because the bf hates it and can’t even deal with the smell. That strawberry dressing sounds good…I frequently use a rasberry vinagrette, but I’ve never seen any kind of strawberry dressing before. How did you like it?
Ah the search for the perfect scone….aren’t culinary explorations the best?
Kath,
I love the dress!
I’ve been experiencing stomach muscles spasms, on and off, for the past three days. At first, I thought nothing of it. However, I’ve never experienced spasming (not the painful type, but the playful/annoying type) with this consistency before. I’ve tried doing research online to no avail. Should any of you brilliant food lovers out there have any idea what may be the cause or potentially how to rid myself of this somewhat frustrating phenomenon, I would love to hear it…
mmmm. scones.
LOVE your dress!!!!
kath – I made some cranberry scones a few weeks ago that I think you might like! I can’t remember off the top of my head where I got the recipe from, but I will search for it and send it your way if I find it!
I just bought the skirt your friend is wearing. Now if it would go above 55 deg. I could actually wear it!
Thanks for all the dress compliments 🙂
Melissa,
I’ve heard Ina say that as well. And she sure is the butter expert!! I used to watch her show everyday on my lunch break.
BethT,
YES!!! OHS grad here 🙂 I went to Cameron Park Elementary, but lots of my friends went to Grady Brown.
JennC,
I go almost every year. I’m not sure about this year because it’s smack in the middle of my crazy summer school, but I might. It’s a fun festival. Very southern. The BBQ sandwiches are great, music is good.
HOG DAY!!
Hannah ,
Homemade strawberry dressing = wonderful.
Anon,
Stomach spasms sound scary – I’d give your doctor a call. Hope you feel better soon.
Kath
Cute dress!!!!
Cute dress!
Why aren’t my posts showing??? I wrote “Cute Dress”
Kath,
You look beautiful and I want that dress!
I wasn’t going to say this but since scones are still up for discussion today I thought I would let you know about a scone I made using a recipe from Hungry Girl. Essentially the secret is to use reduced fat Bisquick mix (instead of the regular) and I think the scones came out good (it was a while ago!!) The best part was that each was only 130 calories or so. Hope that this is helpful!
http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=914
Lisa, I think that was a little harsh, there is always a nicer way to say/write something.
Megan,
Thanks 🙂
That recipe looks cool!! I’ll use my whole grain pancake mix and give it a try sometime.
Man I have a LOT of scone experiments to do!
K
Hmmmm….not sure of the full effect that fat lends although I will say that I have made cooking light scones in the past and full fat scones (Martha Stewart Baking Handbook) and the full fat scones had a much more crumbly texture than the cooking light scones. You might find more success trying a full fat recipe that’s well reviewed, and then experiment over time to find ways to cut back on the fat. I consulted my King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion to see if they mentioned anything about the crumbliness and they talk about flakiness in biscuits but not crumbliness in scones. Although they do have nutritional info for all the recipes and their basic scone recipe only has 150 calories & 6 g fat, really not bad at all. Apparently scones also freeze well unbaked so you could always store them in the freezer and bake them off as you crave them. I do that with a lot of my full fat baked items and it works well.
A flagel is a flattened bagel. Its like the pita version of bagels if that makes any sense? Like if someone took a regular bagel and rolled over it. I’ve never had one bc I prefer regular.
That cheesecake looks amaizing! And I guess it tastes the same… Mmmm
Those scones look great! Too bad you couldn’t get the recipe. =(
i love hillsborough, kath! i used to visit the cup a joe there and walk around town when i needed to get “in the country”. there are so many lovely little houses there!
have a wonderful time with your family.
I’m sure all you oatmeal lovers can help me with this question 🙂
I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast…I’ve been buying Quaker Old Fashioned Oats (in the big round thing). I was at Sam’s today and the only kind of oatmeal I could find (besides the packets) were Quaker Quick Oats. I looked at the nutritional info and it seems the same for 1/2 cup (from what I could remember). I looked online and the only difference I can tell is that the oats are cut smaller so they cook quicker. Is there any other difference? Is the volume the same when cooked? I didn’t buy them because I wasn’t sure….but it really was a good deal and it would save me some money if there’s not really a difference. Help?
(see above) – I think I just found my answer on Hungry Girl:
This is about Quick oats as compared to Old Fashioned:
Quick Quaker Oats, like Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, is made of 100% oats. In addition, it also contains all parts of the oat grain, including the bran, endosperm and germ portion. Quick Quaker Oats, though, are cut into slightly smaller pieces than the regular kind so they’ll cook faster. The result? Your blood sugar levels will be less stable, and you’ll feel hungry again sooner after eating this than you would if you’d eaten Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal. ‘Nuff said. (3.7 calories per gram)
I love how the old fashioned keep me feeling full. Guess I won’t be buying the quick oats!
Julie –
That doesn’t make sense, so don’t worry about your quick oats! They are the exact same thing. It’s like saying if you cut an apple into small pieces, rather than eating it whole, it will have a different effect on your blood sugar. Not true. The texture of the oats may be different, but the satiety will be exactly the same.
Hungry Girl, in my opinion, is a little ridiculous. I’m not a fan of how they replace whole foods with things like splenda and fat free cool whip and call it healthy.
Arielle – thanks!
What you said makes total sense!
I was confused about how they could be different when they are really the same thing (just cut different). Thanks again 🙂
Julie-
I always get the Quaker Old Fashioned Rolled Oats as well and I’ve gotten stuck getting the Quick Oats a couple of times when they’re out of the Old Fashioned. I really prefer the Old Fashioned…the Quick Oats are just as voluminous (in my opinion) but the texture is a little more mushy. They seem to hold me over just as well, but I like the bigger Old Fashioned a lot more!
Julie: I could be wrong about this, but it’s my understanding that whole grains keep your bood sugar steady because the bran protects the starch. The more you cut it up, the more you destroy the protective fiber coating. Quick oats still contain all of the fiber, so they still have the same calories and nutrition. However, because of the physical structure, old-fashioned oats keep your blood sugar more even. Regardless of the reason, they definitely have different spots on the glycemic index. I would stick to old-fashioned.
Kath–I love the Hillsborough story 🙂 I am SO upset that we missed out on Weaver Street! I also love the Wooden Nickel–have you been there? They have excellent fries and veggie burgers, and it’s a really fun atmosphere. It’s definitely a way cooler town now…
gottahavefaith: thank you for the oatmeal info!!