If you are looking for on unforgettable experience this summer, you’ve just found it! The Island Gourmet Girls Culinary Getaway in beautiful Isle au Haut is an experience you can’t afford to miss!
Summer Dawn: the Inn at Isle au Haut.
© Jim BazinMark June 13-15 and June 15-17 on your calendar and sign up now for an amazing opportunity to join the talented and celebrated ladies on Isle au Haut for the time of your life. You’ll meet innkeeper and chef Diana Santospago at her Inn at Isle au Haut, where she’ll prepare a lavish meal for you. Next morning, you’ll take some cooking lessons from her, have lunch, and enjoy some R&R.
Continue reading “Isle au Haut Culinary Getaway: the Island Gourmet Girls” »
I make these often for my appetizer table. The platter most always comes back empty!
Continue reading “Crab Stuffed Mushrooms” »
The history of Indian pudding is as rich as its taste. Festive
occasions in Old England were often celebrated with choice pudding
desserts. But in the New World, even the simplest of puddings seemed
out of the question due to the lack of wheat flour. But there was
Indian cornmeal.
In the late 1620s, dairy cattle were brought to
Plymouth Colony and milk and milk products became a bit more plentiful.
The Pilgrims could then attempt their English-style "milke" pudding.
Non-Indian, distinctly English touches in the recipe included milk,
eggs, butter, exotic spices like cinnamon and ginger, and thick cream
poured over the final dish.
Continue reading “Linda Greenlaw’s Indian Pudding” »
Among the piles of rope, buoys, scrap iron, stainless steel sinks and other treasures bequeathed by previous owners of my home, there is a rhubarb patch.
Continue reading “Asparagus & Rhubarb: Acquired Tastes and Found Treats” »
“Raspberry pie, lots of sugar, and the most elegant crust of flour,
cider vinegar, and lard for the shipwrecked. “ I had learned the love
of cooking at this early age under the unconventional instruction of
Miss Ada. (Nana could not cook a bit nor did she ever try to, but she
could dance and sing and swim.) Ada’s dishes were a delightful
hodgepodge of Jamaican, Irish, typical Maine fare, and a new found
flair for Italian. With the resources of the barn, coops,
slaughterhouse, and lavish gardens up at the “Big House”, meals were
always a well orchestrated event. Ada had recently learned to make
pasta from one of Grandsir’s card buddies, Rome Cabone, a local store
owner and native Sicilian. For a couple of weeks, long strands of pasta
hung over a wooden clothes-drying rack. Her favorite way of preparing
it was with Campbell’s Tomato soup. (That recipe needed some work!)
Continue reading “Actor Gary Merrill (Conclusion) and Irish Lobster Pie” »
I lived a charmed life as a child in Boothbay. My grandparents’ home on Murphy’s Point sprawled from the formal and elegant big house (and I mean “big”) down through the fields abundant with blueberry bushes and rustic (wine grape) arbors, to the shore via the well worn dirt road. My grandfather, who was in his 70’s when I was born (my grandmother was 30 years younger~a story for another time), had lived his life, amassed his wealth, and took pleasure in creating fun for his family. At the shore he had built a summer cottage to resemble the home he had grown up in on the Irish coast.
Continue reading “Actor Gary Merrill Puts Yacht Aground in Back River (Part 1)” »
Animal activists be damned, I'm adding the lobster races in Aiken, Ga., to the list of things I want to see before I'm 35.
Continue reading “Lobster Racing: Welcome to Lobster Downs” »
Last night, the James Beard awards gave honor to some outstanding chefs and their restaurants in Maine. Our congratulations go out to those who were nominated and honored in this prestigious annual event.
Chef/Owner Sam Hayward's always local (ingredients) and excellent Portland restaurant, Fore Street, was one of five restaurants nominated for the Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation. This nomination is a national one, and goes to a restaurant that serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service. Sam had been Maine's only previous winner of the Best Chef category for the Northeast in 2004.
Chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier of Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit (check their blog posts here) and Chef Rob Evans of Hugo's in Portland were among the short list of nominees for Best Chef: Northeast (includes CT, MA, ME, NH, NY State, RI, VT). The nod this year went to Chef Rob Evans of Hugo's.
Congratulations to our amazing chefs and their restaurants, you do us all proud.
From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
This weekend I picked up my first CSA delivery of the season, a bag of
radishes, spring onions, and delicate salad greens. The reappearance of
edible plants has me dancing around the kitchen and daydreaming about
salad. This one, light and fruity, highlights the gently-flavored
vegetables you'll find this week at your local farmers' market.
Continue reading “Spring Salad with Apricot Glazed Tofu” »
Old-fashioned chutney recipes called for simmering the fruit-spice mixture for upwards of two hours, which resulted in a very thick, dense compote. The contemporary cook is usually after something lighter, in which the identity of the primary ingredient remains recognizable. This rhubarb chutney is done in less than 30 minutes, start to finish–and it lasts at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator. It'll be gone before that, though–eaten with any hot or cold roast meats, especially ham or pork, or spread on smoked turkey sandwiches.
Continue reading “Brooke Dojny: Skillet Rhubarb-Ginger Chutney” »
Egypt/Jordan Trip: I was in Jordan for the first week, followed by two weeks in Egypt. Traveled with Overseas Adventure Travel.
Jordan was surprising in the depth of culture (all the Biblical references) and cuisine. Basically a healthy low fat Mediterranean cuisine with lots of olives and olive oil, beans and seed butters, (tahini, a sesame paste) fresh market fruits, and vegetables. One of the drinks of choice was hibiscus tea, which is said to be very healthful. Egyptian cuisine is very similar. I will focus on Egypt here.
Continue reading “Midcoast Foodie Visits the Middle East” »
Planked brie in its soft rind looks stunning. The cheese can be dressed up with savory onions and peppers or sweet fruits. Colorful toppings are the most eye-catching.
Continue reading “Planked Brie and Apricots with Ice Wine” »
While doing some delicious research for the new issue of Maine Food and Lifestyle, we were fortunate to find the following mail order cookie companies that we'd like to share with you. Satisfy you sweet tooth and mail order some today!
Continue reading “Maine Made Cookies by Mail” »
As the current economy is forcing many to change the nature of their food buying habits, a recent Nielson poll reported more shoppers are turning to just the basics, or "comfort" food. This trend is generating creative chefs who also aren't ready to scrimp on taste or quality. Leslie Bilderbac, CMB, has a new book out called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comfort Food. It is a guide to over 350 recipes that taste great and won't break your bank. Here's one to try:
Continue reading “Comfort Food an Economic Trend” »
Portland Psst! pointed out that the Food Network Magazine’s recent choice as “best burger in Maine” was old news. They credited us for posting this title as belonging to the Owls Head General Store back in December 2008. So we guess that now it’s official!
Congratulations to Martha Luttrell and Jennifer O’Hara!
From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
