“I had learned the love of cooking at this early age under the unconventional instruction of Miss Ada.” This was a line in my May 6, 2009 story on Maine Food and Lifestyle’s blog, titled “Actor Gary Merrill and Irish Lobster Pie.” Miss Ada was a proud lady from Jamaica who worked for my grandparents as a summer housekeeper when I was a child. From her I learned a great deal about the culture and the island. Jamaica and Grand Cayman have always been my favorite vacation spots. Over the years, many of my menus have had a little “Island” influence slipped in. So I guess it was inevitable in my natural progression of falling in love with a culture, a country, a cuisine, to fall in love with a man who grew up on Jamaica.
I met Everton in 2000. I was catering a wedding and needed some help. In a causal conversation at the local Irving, he told me that he was new to the area, up for 6 months on a work visa and had vast experience in hospitality and culinary. What started as a professional relationship blossomed into love, but not without its obstacles (of course)…Over the next nine years, we were on and off, however in September of 2009, he asked me to marry him and to my own surprise I said yes.
image courtesy of ecurry.com
Continue reading “Did you say “Goat?”” »
The young chefs were still cooking when I went to bed. I heard them leave for WCSH TV studio before 6 am. Mac was scheduled to present a plate on the morning show then off to SMCC kitchens to finish up his cooking for the competition. Once at Harvest on the Harbor event center, Mac, Dylan, and James busied themselves setting up for the show. The two chefs who presented before Mac did a superb job. I know how nerve wracking competition can be. You stand up there in front of a hungry audience feeling almost naked. Continue reading “The Belly of the Beast: Conclusion” »
Those are words my son, MacKenzie Arrington used in his cover letter to prospective employers recently. In describing his life of growing up in the culinary world, he said “having Margaret Salt McLellan for a mother was like living in the “belly of the beast.” Interesting compliment! Continue reading “The Belly of the Beast: Part 1″ »
Day Two: The five finalists were announced. Among them, Texas, Maryland, and of course the favored son of New Orleans, who was now representing Mississippi, John Currence. Chef Currence, on day one, had sauntered in wearing ripped jeans, cowboy boots, and a seriously wrinkled chef jacket. Day two, he at least wore an ironed jacket but I somehow knew he was not be underestimated.
Continue reading “Maine Lobster Chef McLellan: “Bring It On!” (Conclusion)” »
Night One: Our information packet gave us directions to the Arts District where we were treated to an amazing sampling of local cuisine prepared by chefs of New Orleans. One could not turn around without bumping into a bartender. (I am not complaining here.) From there we were loaded onto an air conditioned tour bus and escorted to the next stop, by far the best looking Harley riding big bald police officers imaginable. Lights flashing, sirens blaring, cars pulling out of the way. It was something!
Continue reading “Maine Lobster Chef McLellan: “Bring it On!” (Part 2)” »
If you can’t take the heat, get back in the kitchen.
Culinary competition. Ask any chef how they feel about it and you will get one response or the other. Terrifying or exhilarating. I happen to be of the latter school.
Continue reading “Maine Lobster Chef McLellan: “Bring It On!” (Part 1)” »
“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)” »
Duck Trap has the most delicious finnan haddie I have ever tasted. If
you cannot find it (try Hannaford), there is a Canadian version in
many seafood markets that is also good. And now is the time to enjoy that bounty of fresh Maine shrimp. It is for sale at many places fresh off the boat. Here is a deliciously elegant seafood recipe sure to wow guests at your next dinner party.
Continue reading “Finnan Haddie and Maine Shrimp Crêpes” »
Interestingly, when a couple has two kids, one is more like Mom, and the other more like Dad. "True that" with my sons Sam and Mac. Sam is his Dad's mini me and Mac is mine. But there is one thing they will always come together on eventually, and that is food. So, despite that one is comfortable in LL Bean attire and the other in Italian suits, their food tastes for Mom's cooking is a one note symphony…comfort food. Straight up and simple.
Continue reading “Cooking with your Kids (Part 2): Yo Mama’s Meatloaf” »
If the image coming to mind is of a little chap standing on a kitchen chair in a tea towel apron, covered in cookie batter and armed with a rubber spatula…stop right there! At my house, it's always been more like a scene from Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen. When my boys were 10 and 8, I decided it was time to learn knife skills. For Christmas they each got an 8 inch chef knife, (Wusthof of course), a paring knife, a sharpening stone, and a mesh glove. They got all the other crap kids get too, but imagine a kid's joy of digging into his Christmas stocking and finding a nice sharp knife!
Continue reading “Cooking with your Kids” »
As promised yesterday, here's my Taste of Soul Gumbo recipe, a hearty and delicious southern inspired meal. This gumbo with a little hot sauce will warm your heart and soul.
Taste of Soul Gumbo
3 cups canola oil
3 cups flour
2 quarts of chicken broth
2 quarts of water
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 cups chopped scallions (greens only)
1 cup of frozen okra
1 can of black eyed peas, drained (10-12 ounce size)
1 can of turnip or collard greens, drained (10-12 ounce size)
1 pound of Andouille sausage (sliced into rounds)
1 pound of chicken meat (white or dark) cut into bite sized pieces
1 pound of cooked gulf shrimp (25-30 count) with tail shell removed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chopped or minced garlic
Continue reading “Gumbo Recipe” »
The African American cuisine in this country in the early slave days of the south was born out of the need for survival rather than for taste or cultural preferences. Some slaves, depending on their location and the type of agriculture they performed, were only given 4 staples for survival: lard, flour, salt, and corn. From there, finding a means of nourishment became a creative pursuit.
Continue reading “History of Soul Food” »
