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.
This lamb recipe makes a wonderful main course that is low in fat and high in flavor. A great change of pace idea in planning ahead for your Easter dinner!
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This recipe requires marinating the ribs overnight for a minimum of five hours. To toast sesame seeds for this dish, place in a small cast-iron pan on medium-high heat and cook until the seeds are just very lightly browned, turning often to prevent burning. Remove from pan immediately or sesame seeds will continue cooking.
Be cautious when handling the hot peppers this recipe calls for. A pepper’s heat resides primarily in its ribs (membrane), but also in its seeds, so keep and use both for optimum heat. If not wearing gloves, after handling the peppers, be sure to wash your hands and dip them in milk for a few minutes to help diffuse the heat. Refrain from touching you skin with your hands or rubbing your eyes until you have remove all traces of peppers from your hands as it will save you from a lot of misery.
image: rickrodgers.com
Harry Schwartz, a former writer of “The Maine Ingredient,” a weekly food column in the Portland Press Herald, has kindly shared some of his Maine maple recipes. The following is one of them.
This is a hot, soothing drink to sip after exercising in the cold outdoors, during a quiet moment at the end of a busy day, or while relaxing in the evening. In other words, whenever you need soothing.
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For best results, chill the bowl and the beaters in the freezer before whipping the cream. When measuring coffee for brewing, use one level Tablespoon of coffee per cup of cold water. Glass coffee mugs are best because you can see the layers of cream and coffee.
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If you’re like me, you need a pretty good excuse to spend nine bucks a pound for a hunk of meat. Here it is: Phyllis Gimbel’s scrumptious and cinchy roast beef. Invite your best beau or lady and another couple for a double date, or hog the whole thing for just the two of you. Fluffy baked potatoes and Asparagus ASAP are suitably stylish, no-fuss accompaniments.
Continue reading “Roast Tenderloin of Beef with Horseradish Cream” »
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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I’m not sure we’re talking real fajitas here, but this salad is “yum-yum-yum,” to quote Patrice Robertie. Patrice sampled a dish like this at Pier 66 in Albuquerque, NM, and went home to replicate it. “The sauce starts off medium-hot on your tongue,” she says, “but it cools down fast.”
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.
I know, I know, you hate split pea soup—I hear that a lot until you try this one. It is some good!
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One day down at the lunch place on the coziest harbor in Maine, Marion Bates’s mother, Eleanor, shared a lobster reminiscence worth writing down. It turned out to be well worth making and sharing, too. Here’s how she remembered a favorite lunch dish from a long-gone favorite restaurant, with some tinkering by me. The quantity of lobster meat depends on how flush you’re feeling.
“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.”
This quote is from the book “Chocolate: The Consuming Passion” written by Sandra Boynton in 1982, but I remember my Mom saying something very similar at least 50 years ago. A day without chocolate is just not a good day for Mom. Before we headed south for the winter, I stocked her freezer with a couple batches of brownies and tucked 3 jars of hot fudge sauce in the ‘fridge so she can enjoy her favorite dessert: a brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and a very healthy drizzle of warm and gooey hot fudge sauce.
If you need an excuse for all this chocolate decadence, February is National Chocolate Month. Get ready to celebrate!
image: devchengkalath.com
Continue reading “Homemade Fudge Brownies and Hot Fudge Sauce” »
This recipe is fun and delicious and is true to the wonderful nature of a traditional goulash. Use only a beef chuck roast for ultimate tenderness. The initial browning of the beef serves to seal in the juices; the intention is not to cook the meat at this stage, so it is best to keep the heat high to medium-high and not extend the suggested cooking time. If the baby potatoes are on the large side, cut them in half to maintain the proper cooking time. Use caution when handling the hot peppers.
image: bethecook.com
My husband Jim and I lived in Pennsylvania for a few years and it didn’t take me long to make friends with Ginny Brehmer, a fellow Mainer. Ginny was from Machias—a true Down Easter—and was a fabulous cook. She shared this delicious sweet potato casserole with me and I have been making it ever since.
Ginny Brehmer’s Sweet Potato Casserole
Martha Greenlaw, Recipes From a Very Small Island
2½ pounds sweet potatoes
4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted if potatoes are not hot
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup milk
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pecan topping:
¾ cup pecans
½ cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter
Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or other similar shallow baking dish.
Scrub potatoes, but in 2- to 3-inch chunks, and boil in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle, peel. Mash with a potato masher (you should have about 4 cups) and beat in the butter, sugar, milk, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Spread into the prepared dish.
In a food processor, pulse the pecans until chopped medium fine; remove. Add the brown sugar and flour to the work bowl and process to remove large lumps. Cut the butter into chunks, add to the work bowl, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the pecans and pulse once or twice just to combine. (Or you can make this topping by hand.) Sprinkle over the sweet potatoes. (The casserole can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before baking.)
Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the casserole until heated through and the topping is golden, 30-45 minutes.
Serves 8-10.
Between the pantry, the vegetable bin, and the fridge, you’re going to find everything you need to make Judi Wagner’s pasta supper for two. We like to use orzo, a rice-shaped pasta. If you want to break out the grated cheese rut, use a vegetable peeler to produce interesting cheese shavings for the topping.
Pantry Pasta
Karyl Bannister, Cook & Tell
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced or finely chopped
½ cup chopped broccoli
½ cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup uncooked orzo or your favorite pasta
Salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
A few white mushrooms, sliced
1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes, drained (reserve 2 Tablespoons of their jucie)
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
¼ cup grated or shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese (about 1 ounce)
1/3 cup pitted black olives
Cook the carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, and pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 8 minutes, or until everything is tender. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until limp and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they soften and give up their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and artichokes and sauté for 1-2 minutes more, or until heated through. Add the 2 Tablespoons reserved tomato juice and the pasta mixture and toss to distribute everything evenly. Dole it out into bowls and top each serving with 2 Tablespoons cheese and a few olives.
Serves 2.
Note: You may use any combination of carrots, broccoli, and/or cauliflower or skip them altogether. For the sautéed portion, you may add sliced red or green bell pepper and skip the mushrooms.
This recipe can be made with nearly any type of fish. I’ve used salmon, haddock, pollock, and hake, but I like cod best. The cakes can be shaped and refrigerated for up to a couple of days before frying, and the chili mayo can also be prepared ahead. It’s a nice alternative to traditional tartar sauce.
Fresh Cod Cakes with Chili Mayo
Linda Greenlaw, Recipes From a Very Small Island
Chili Mayo
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 Tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons jalapeño salsa (optional)
Fish Cakes
4 bacon strips
1½ pounds (about 6 medium) all-purpose potatoes
Salt
1 pound fresh cod
1 large onion, chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons light olive oil
For the chili mayo, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the fish cakes, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, 10-12 minutes. Drain on paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Peel the potatoes and cut into ½-inch cubes. cook in boiling salted water until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Bring a skillet of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the cod and poach in simmering water until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 5-8 minutes. Drain and break or chop into small chunks and add to the potatoes.
Cook the onion over medium heat in the bacon drippings until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add to the potato mixture. Crumble the bacon and add it to the bowl along with the eggs and the tarragon. Work the mixture together with your hands until well blended. Season with black pepper and additional salt to taste. Shape into 8 cakes about ½ inch thick. Spread the flour onto a plate; dredge the cakes in the flour.
Heat the butter and oil in one very large or two smaller frying pans. Cook the fish cakes over medium to medium-high heat, turning once, until browned and slightly crisp on both sides and heated through inside, about 10 minutes. Pass the chili mayo for spooning on top.
Serves 4.
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!
image: tasteofmaine.com
Continue reading “Pan-Fried Haddock Sandwich with Jalapeño Mayo” »
I can’t believe how good this is, notwithstanding the Minute Rice, which I snatch off the supermarket shelf only when nobody’s looking. Double the quantities for extravaganzas, where this dish will shine. With “supremo” in its name, you just know it’s going to be good.
When I am in the mood for something warming on a cold winter night like tonight, I love to make this curried shepherd’s pie. Depending on who is having dinner with us, I use lean ground beef or ground lamb. It is delicious and satisfying with either, and can be made a few hours ahead of time and put in the oven when you’re ready.
image: en.petitchef.com
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.
