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January 24, 2012

Fore Street Chef Sam Hayward: Pan Roast of Fish and Shellfish

At Fore Street, entrée choices change daily and with the seasons, as would be expected from a chef as well-regarded as Sam Hayward. This pan roast of fish and shellfish is another example of why he’s earned such praise.

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Fore Street Chef Sam Hayward image: starchefs.com

Pan Roast of Fish and Shellfish
Brooke Dojny, Dishing Up Maine

5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
1 spring onion or medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¾ cup dry white wine
1 bouquet garni (see note)
2 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice
1 Maine lobster, 1½ pounds
1½ pounds assorted fillets of white-fleshed fish such as monkfish, whiting, wolf fish, skate, or hake (use at least 3 varieties), cut into large chunks
1 large ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and cut into large pieces
24 smallish littleneck clams, scrubbed
24 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
12 medium-sized scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh chervil
2 Tablespoons stripped fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, leek, onion, and garlic and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, raise the heat to high, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and fish stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Place the lobster in the freezer for 10 minutes, if desired. Plunge a sharp knife into the top of the lobster’s head just behind the eyes and split the lobster in half lengthwise, through the tail. Twist off the tail pieces and claws. Remove the digestive tract from the tails and cut the tail halves in half crosswise. Crack the large claws. Put all the lobster pieces, including the body, into a large, deep ovenproof pot. (At Fore Street they use a cazuela—a Spanish pottery vessel—but a large enameled cast iron or other similar ovenproof casserole dish works fine.)

Arrange the fish, tomato, clams, mussels, and scallops over and around the lobster, sprinkle with the parsley, chervil, and thyme, drizzle with the remaining 3 Tablespoons olive oil, and season with the salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the broth and vegetables over the seafood and cover the baking dish.

Bake until the bivalves open, about 30 minutes. (Even if the clams are just cracked open, remove from the oven now so as not to overcook the rest of the seafood. You can wedge the clams open further if you like.)

Remove and discard the lobster body, the bouquet garni, and any unopened clams or mussels. Serve the pan roast directly from the cooking vessel.

Note: For the bouquet garni, tie together 4 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme branches, and 1 bay leaf with kitchen twine. To debeard mussels, pull out the dark threads that protrude from the shell. Do this just before cooking; mussels die when debearded.

Serves 6-8.

November 22, 2011

Maple-Painted Baked Winter Squash

All kinds of winter squash grow beautifully in northern climes. They start showing up in farmers’ markets and supermarkets in the fall: scalloped dark green butternuts, oblong orange acorns, striped delicatas, and big chunks of meaty Hubbard. They all take well to this kind of simple glaze of butter, maple syrup, and ginger.

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September 12, 2011

Grilled Spice-Brined Pork Tenderloin with Heirloom Tomato Salad

Boneless pork tenderloins are available at some farmers’ markets in Maine—or in the meat case at the supermarket, of course! Tenderloins are a perfect candidate for brining (soaking in a spiced salt solution for a few hours) because the process helps the lean meat retain moisture and it also injects flavor. If they are not overcooked, pork tenderloins will be buttery-tender, and the smoky grilled meat is beautifully complemented by this end-of-summer salad made with juicy, right-from-the-vine heirloom (or otherwise) tomatoes.

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image: dailyfillblog.com Continue reading “Grilled Spice-Brined Pork Tenderloin with Heirloom Tomato Salad” »

August 19, 2011

Gratin of Berries with Sweet Cheese Topping

Ripe summer berries are topped with dollops of sweetened goat cheese and briefly baked in a hot oven. What could possibly be simpler? Or more delicious? If you have lots of fruit and need to feed more people, simply use a larger dish and increase the ingredients accordingly.

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image: dailycrave.wordpress.com Continue reading “Gratin of Berries with Sweet Cheese Topping” »

July 6, 2011

Maine Potato Salad with Egg and Pickles

Almost all summertime potluck suppers or buffets in Maine boast at least one potato salad. Each version is slightly different, and comparing recipes is a perennial pastime. This deliciously eggy, slightly sweet (from the pickle juice) potato salad is my rendition of a good, old-fashioned New England potato salad.

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June 8, 2011

Pastry-Wrapped Brie with Sage and Blueberry Vinegar

Elegant and impressive, this pastry-wrapped cheese hors d’oeuvre is actually a breeze to put together with purchased frozen puff pastry. You can make it using any 6-inch cheese with a rind, such as the lovely Maine-made Eleanor Buttercup (love that name!), a cow’s milk cheese from Hahn’s End in Phippsburg.
pic74image: savoryreviews.com

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May 22, 2011

Portland Quahog Chowder

Mainers traditionally preferred chowders made with soft-shell steamer clams. In fact, if they built a chowder made with hard-shell clams, they would specifically call it quahog chowder as a differentiation. However, the further south you got—especially from Portland on down to the state line—the more likely you’d be to encounter the Boston-style brew: lightly flour-thickened and made with chopped hard-shell clams. These days, steamers are in somewhat short supply and hard-shells are still widely available (and in particularly convenient form, given that you can now buy containers of pasteurized chopped quahogs in their liquor in most fish markets), and this chowder is now popular all around the state.

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Portland Quahog Chowder
Brooke Dojny, Dishing Up Maine

4 ounces salt pork, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large onion, chopped
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups clam liquor, clam broth, bottled clam juice, or a combination (see Note)
3 cups whole or low-fat milk
4-5 cups diced all-purpose potatoes, such as Maine Superiors or Yukon golds (about 1½ pounds)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried
3 cups coarsely chopped hard-shell clams (see Note)
2 cups half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons butter

Cook the salt pork in a large soup pot over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the pork bits are crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the pork bits with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels (refrigerate until ready to serve), leaving the drippings in the pan.

Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the clam liquor and milk, whisking until smooth. Add the potatoes and dried thyme, if using, now. Simmer, uncovered, over medium to medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the clams and fresh thyme now, if using, and stir in the half-and-half. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are very tender, 5-10 minutes longer. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and let the chowder sit at cool room temperature for at least an hour or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Before serving, add the butter and reheat gently. Ladle into bowls and pass the reserved pork bits, if desired.

Note: You can buy chopped fresh clams in their juice from a fish market or seafood section of the supermarket, and use the juice (”liquor”) for part of the chowder liquid. Or use 5 quarts scrubbed hard-shell clams and steam them in a small amount of water just until they are open, about 5 minutes. Then scrape out the clam meat and chop or cut it with scissors into cranberry-size pieces. Pour the cooking liquid into a glass measuring cup, let any sediment settle, and pour off the clean broth.

Yields about 3 quarts (6-8 main-course servings).

April 17, 2011

Spice-Trade Chicken Curry

The Maine table has been enlivened by the exotic spices of the Far East for a couple of centuries. Curries of various types, brought to New England coastal towns by English seamen, were a particular favorite. And they still are. I crave curries for their bright color as well as their powerful flavors. This one is sharp with spice, but mellowed and enriched by the coconut milk in the sauce.

my-chicken-curry

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February 24, 2011

Linda Greenlaw’s Ginger-Almond Wafers

This is a deliciously crunchy, not-too-sweet wafer cookie that comes via Linda Greenlaw and her mother, Martha. Since ginger is a natural sea-sickness remedy, Linda touts these cookies as the ideal mid-morning snack aboard a fishing boat.

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February 12, 2011

Blueberry Oatmeal Scones

Dried (or dehydrated) blueberries, which are more and more available, are a wonderful way to enjoy Maine’s preeminent fruit all year long. Their pleasantly chewy, raisin-like texture and concentrated flavor makes them ideally suited for adding to baked things, and their tartness perfectly enhances these rich, crumbly oat scones. Frozen blueberries also work well in this recipe.blueberry-oat-scone

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January 12, 2011

Pan-Fried Haddock Sandwich with Jalapeño Mayo

Haddock sandwiches could well be the most popular year-round lunchtime sandwich in Maine. The fresh fish is usually dredged in a breading mix (lightly, preferably), deep-fried, and served on a bun with a lettuce leaf and sliced tomato—tartar sauce, chips, and a dill pickle on the side. What could be better? For the home version, I’ve called for pan-frying the fish (less money, less greasy) and spreading the sandwich with a jalapeño-spiked mayonnaise—non-traditional but darn good!

haddock sand
image: tasteofmaine.com

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January 4, 2011

Winter Salad

In the dead of Maine (or any) winter, when color and life seem drained from the world, I crave vibrancy in my food—vivacious, spicy flavors and bold, bright colors. I created this gorgeous salad to be just such an antidote to the winter doldrums. For full visual effect, spread it out on a large platter in all its glory.

Orange, radish, red onion salad Continue reading “Winter Salad” »

December 23, 2010

Pan-Seared Scallops with Dill Citronette

Large, sweet, meaty sea scallops are a fabulous once-in-a-while treat. Some scallops, however, are soaked in a phosphate-type preservative that adds liquid and an off-flavor, so be sure to try to buy “dry pack” scallops. The trick to pan-searing scallops is to make sure they don’t touch each other in the pan, because if they do, juices are likely to run out and they won’t brown properly. Here, the seared scallops are sauced with a delicious (and ultra-quick) citrusy pan sauce. Such a centerpiece star calls for a good supporting cast that might include a curried rice pilaf, salad, and gingerbread with maple whipped cream to finish.

scallops
image: media.cooksillustrated.com Continue reading “Pan-Seared Scallops with Dill Citronette” »

September 28, 2010

Carding Brook Farm Scalloped Tomatoes with Garlic Crumbs

Carding Brook Farm in Brooklin, Maine, brings all kinds of wonderful things to local farmers’ markets, including its famous mesclun, herbs, baby potatoes—and most recently, tomatoes. Like many farmers, Jon Ellsworth and Jen Schroth have been doing more and more experimenting with tomato varieties that do well in Maine, and they’ve come up with some winners, with names like Ida Gold, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, and Black Prince. Mostly we simply turn these beauties into fabulous tomato salads, but this delicious “scallop” is a lovely way to serve the tomatoes in a lightly cooked state.scallopedtomatoes4

image: smellslikehome.com Continue reading “Carding Brook Farm Scalloped Tomatoes with Garlic Crumbs” »

September 20, 2010

Kyra’s Herbed Crabmeat Quiche

Kyra Alex, cookbook author and chef/owner of Lily’s Cafe in Stonington, is famous for her quiches. She makes them with all manner of additions to the basic custard formula–one with tomatoes, basil, and local goat cheese, another with fresh spinach, one using flavorful Deer Isle sausage–but this one, utilizing the wonderful fresh local crabmeat, might be my favorite.

Quiche is an ideal showcase for sweet lump crabmeat. The herbed custard mixture doesn’t overwhelm the crab’s delicacy. You need only half a pound of picked meat, making it somewhat gentler on the pocketbook than other crabmeat recipes. This makes a great luncheon dish, served with a side salad of halved grape tomatoes tossed with simple shallot vinaigrette dressing.

crab quiche

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August 23, 2010

Down East Dilly Beans

Affectionately know as “dilly beans” in Maine, these tongue-tingling pickles constitute something of a small cottage industry in the Pine Tree State. You see locally made dillies for sale at just about every farm stand and tourist-oriented food emporium in the state. Since I am convinced that part of their charm is in the way they look, standing neatly upright packed into their glass jars, I have written this recipe accordingly. As with all the pickle recipes in this book, you can treat these dilly beans as a refrigerator pickle. Or, if you like, you may process the jars, while they’re still hot, in a boiling-water-bath canner according to the canner’s directions.

Dilly Beans
image: foodsnobberyhobbery.blogspot.com

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August 3, 2010

Simple Steamed Maine Lobster

Lobster is Maine’s crowning glory, the stunning jewel in its seafood crown. Among the countless ways to enjoy eating lobster—as an hors d’oeuvre tidbit on a pick; composed into a gorgeous summer salad; heaped into a butter-grilled roll; simmered in a stew; stuffed back into its beautiful red shell and baked—probably the most spectacular is the utterly straightforward, basic steamed Maine lobster with melted butter. It has everything: It feels opulent, yet is essentially simple; it’s glamorous, yet hands-on and primitive; it’s photo-op beautiful at the beginning of the meal and satisfyingly messy at the end. Above all, a perfectly steamed lobster has an incomparable taste: briny-sweet, rich, leaving the flavor of the sea and summer on the tongue.

Maine lob

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July 5, 2010

Orange Freeze

Many food chains make this thirst quenching summer drink with soft-serve ice cream; a reasonable facsimile can be created at home with vanilla frozen yogurt or regular vanilla ice cream. With a few creative additions, this would also make a fantastic summer cocktail. It’s the ideal refreshing pick-me-up to sip and savor after spending a day at the beach or in your own back yard.

frozen-cocktails_slide-show_steve-fav-o_w6095image courtesy of partybluprintsblog.com
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June 19, 2010

Fresh Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Vangie Peasley made pies for Bagaduce Lunch in Brooksville, Maine, for just about her entire life. She started when she was young, in the 1960s, when her parents owned the clam shack, and kept it up during the years that she and her husband ran the business. Day-to-day operations have now passed on to the third generation, and Vangie’s daughter, Judy Astbury, praises the memory of her Mom and her amazing strawberry-rhubarb pie. “She had to make the pies. No one else could even come close to being so good at it.”

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image: foodgeekery.com

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April 23, 2010

Mixed Greens with Simple Shallot Vinaigrette

A jar of this basic vinaigrette is always there in my refrigerator, ready to dress greens or all manner of other salads, or even to dribble over steamed vegetables or grilled meats and fish. It can be varied in numerous ways. For lighter salads, for instance, use lemon juice instead of vinegars, and light olive oil only, or for an Asian slant, add a touch of toasted sesame oil.

mixed greens with shallot vinaigrette

image: epicurious.com

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