The Lounge at Inn by the Sea is known for offering an array of specialty beverages and seasonal signature drinks. It’s a great location to meet friends or enjoy a quiet beverage before dinner.
image: cocktailrecipes.net
Get Email Updates
Contributors
Blogs & Sites
- Accidental Hedonist
- Accidental Vegetables
- Artichokes & Asparagus
- Black Dinah Chocolatiers
- Chef Ann’s Blog
- Chef's Blog & Recipes
- Chow Maine
- Commune Tested, City Approved
- Eric Hopkins
- Erin Cooks
- Flock and Vine
- Food History News
- Growin’ Up in Maine
- Hartstone Inn Blog
- Lani’s Food Finds
- Laura Cabot Catering
- Leslie Land
- Lulu Musing
- Maine Adventure Sails
- Maine's First Lady
- Midcoast Fishermen's Association
- Mitten Machen
- My Corner of Maine
- Pink Elephant Press
- Portland Food Map
- Portland Psst!
- Rabelais Books Blog
- Rockland Farmers Market
- Slow Food Portland
- Squire Tarbox Inn Blog
- Type A Diversions
- White Cedar Inn Today
- Wings Hill Inn Blog
July 30, 2010
National Cheesecake Day
Mark your calendar and remember it again next year, for today is National Cheesecake Day! It is one of the tastiest days to celebrate!
From plain to topped with fruit to chocolate crusted and everything in between, cheesecake can be served up many different ways. Anyway you slice it cheesecake is a favorite among dessert lovers. In fact according to TLC’s “How Stuff Works,” cheesecake is among the top 5 most popular desserts in the United States. We believe it’s because it tastes so good!
July 27, 2010
Summer Vegetable Strata
This wonderful vegetarian recipe comes to us courtesy of Anne Mahle from her cookbook, At Home, At Sea: Recipes from the Maine Windjammer J. & E. Riggin. A perfectly savory way to utilize the bounty of your summer garden, (or that of your local farmers’ market).
July 26, 2010
Summer Lentil Salad
What’s not to like? This recipe is low-fat, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free!
July 25, 2010
Fresh Lemon Rice
Nowadays I tend to use brown rice for every rice dish because it’s “heart smart,” but I still prefer the way white rice looks. I make this to accompany baked haddock or similar white fish. The lemon flavor nicely complements the fish.
image: yummy4tummy.wordpress.com
July 24, 2010
Sparkly Cherry Tomatoes
A quick sauté of ripe, sweet cherry tomatoes is fun to make while a tenderloin roasts in the oven or fish cooks outdoors on the grill. Fix them at the last minute to ensure perfect roundness.
image courtesy of flickr.com
July 23, 2010
Chambord Cheesecake Martini
Ok, I don’t know too many people who don’t appreciate the amazing deliciousness of cheesecake. And with National Cheesecake Day coming up soon on July 30, here’s one sweet and simple recipe for you to “get your cheesecake on.”
July 22, 2010
Lemon-Glazed Maine Blueberry Scones
The long-standing debate continues between Mainers and the folks “from away” regarding blueberries. Which is better, tastier, sweeter, more flavorful, more blue…the high bush type of large, cultivated blueberry (we always referred to them as New Jersey blueberries when I was a kid) or the small wild blueberries that we typically find here in Maine? My vote certainly goes to the Maine variety with that wonderfully intense flavor. Even the Native American tribes valued the wild blueberry.
The next time you have a handful of Maine blueberries, check out the blossom end and notice the calyx that forms a perfectly shaped 5-pointed star. Legend tells of a time when children were dying of hunger during a famine and the Great Spirit sent what they called “star berries” (blueberries) to feed them. The blueberry comes in second place as the most popular berry in the USA with strawberries holding the number one spot.
Warm blueberry scones with the morning cup of Joe…does it get any better?
image: finecooking.com
July 20, 2010
Batter-Fried Clams
During the summer, I try my best to sample as many fried clams as possible at the seasonal clam shacks up and down the New England coast. Which is better—clams coated in batter or crumbs? Depends on a lot of factors, such as the freshness of the clams, the quality of the oil, and other things, but when everything is right I tend to prefer batter. If the clams are large, I like to “squeeze the bellies,” which means pinching the belly to get the gross black goo out, but truthfully, by the time the clams are coated with batter and fried, you can’t see the goo anymore and it really doesn’t taste bad.
image: nytimes.com
July 19, 2010
Peach-Rhubarb Pie
It seems everyone in Maine has rhubarb growing in their gardens (except me). I was naïve enough to think that I could buy it and include it in our produce explosion at the store (hey, it’s summer and farmers are bringing in endless bounties of beautiful vegetables! So yes, it is an explosion!). Long story short, I had an over abundance of rhubarb, what to do? The easy answer is always strawberry rhubarb, but rhubarb season lasts longer than strawberries. So I whipped up a peach and rhubarb pie.
July 18, 2010
Dining Hall Food Withdrawals
As summertime approaches, all college kids say the same thing “I can’t wait to get home and have some home-cooking. Enough with this dining hall food!” And believe me, I agree. As far as dining hall food goes, Colby College isn’t too shabby. But I still can’t help but miss the meals that are special to my house: eggs a la golden rod, cheese dreams, lobster with blueberry bread, pea salad—the list goes on and on. They are all the foods that will forever remind me of my family.
But this summer, I stumbled upon a strange feeling. I miss some of the foods from school! Weird, I know. But I miss the pumpkin chip cookies that I convince myself are brain food at midnight; I miss the mango chutney salsa, my Sunday morning omelet made-to-order, and the brown sticky rice.
But more than anything, I miss the bread pudding. My love for bread pudding went unrealized until college. We have pies in my house, pies and lots of cookies, but never bread pudding. And after one taste, I was hooked. I adore the stuff.
Chelsea and her bread pudding: image courtesy of Marshall Sonksen
July 17, 2010
Blackberry Corn Muffins
I can’t think of a better way to glorify a corn muffin than to add some juicy ripe blackberries. These are wonderful served warm with a pot of honey butter alongside. I heat a smooth rock from Boom Beach here on Isle au Haut while the muffins are baking, wrap it with a kitchen towel, and place it in the bottom of the serving basket to keep the muffins toasty warm.
image courtesy of themodernapron.blogspot.com Continue reading “Blackberry Corn Muffins” »
July 16, 2010
Strawberry Special
With strawberries still plentiful, it is hard not to think about all that can be made with them: preserves, drinks, fruit salads, desserts. The last is where my favorite use for sweet, juicy strawberries lies. This simple to make, delicious dessert originated with a high school boyfriend’s mother, so that makes it even more special as it brings back memories of many wonderful times shared. I’ve really never known quite what to call it, so for lack of a better name, it’s a strawberry tart.
July 15, 2010
Bowtie Pasta Salad with Almonds, Asparagus, Feta, and Tomatoes
Feta is a crumbly tart salty Greek cheese that has become quite popular recently in Italy, and though most of it goes into salads it has many other uses as well. This pasta salad will be quite nice in the summer, either as a first course or as part of a picnic.
Continue reading “Bowtie Pasta Salad with Almonds, Asparagus, Feta, and Tomatoes” »
July 14, 2010
Maine Shrimp Louis: A Hot Weather Meal Plan
When the heat index is 105° (yikes!) there’s nothing to do but crank up the air conditioner and/or fans, pour a tall glass of lemonade, and dive into the latest best-seller that you’re dying to read. But wait—somebody is going to have the hungry horrors regardless of the temperature.
When it’s just too darn hot to fuss in the kitchen, let the wonderful workers at your local supermarket take the heat and help you prepare dinner. The seafood department offers cooked shrimp, the deli stocks cold cuts and rotisserie chicken or turkey breast, the bakery is the spot for crusty herb focaccia or a baguette, and hit the produce department for fresh fruits and veggies. VOILA! You can put together a delicious dinner without heating up the kitchen and with a minimal amount of work.
image courtesy of beyondwonderful.com
Continue reading “Maine Shrimp Louis: A Hot Weather Meal Plan” »
July 12, 2010
Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake
This is THE perfect, easy-to-create dessert to make during the height of the summertime heat. Chocalatey, minty, and deliciously cool to satisfy your sweet summer cravings. 
Let the layering begin! (image: flickr.com)
Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake
Paula Anderson
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
24 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
Garnish: Grated semi-sweet chocolate
In a large bowl with electric mixer on high whip cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extracts until soft peaks form. Stack 6 wafers on top of each other, spreading about 1 Tablespoon whipped cream filling on top of each wafer (sandwich fashion). Repeat 3 times to form 4 stacks of 6 wafers each.
Place cookie stacks on their edges, (end to end) on a serving platter, about 12 inches long. Cover all surfaces with remaining whipped cream mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Unwrap and sprinkle with shaved chocolate before serving. (Made be made up to 2 days ahead.)
Serves 8-10.
July 11, 2010
Sugar Snap Pea and Rock Shrimp Salad
A garden delivers so many little pleasures, and peas hidden behind the leaves is certainly one of them. Who can resist sugar snap peas right off the trellis? The challenge is to refrain from picking them too soon, before they’ve developed sweetness; when ready, the pods will be swelled with large peas. The Asian greens in this salad add a spicy note, and they’re so easy to grow.
Rock shrimp, which come from the Gulf of Mexico, are small and delicate (similar to Maine shrimp), and they stay quite firm after cooking. Any small shrimp will work in this recipe.
image of sugar snap pea courtesy of flickr.com
July 8, 2010
Lynn Archer Rocks 207 (Again!)
Lynn Archer, chef and owner of the Brass Compass Café in Rockland, does it again! First she beat Food Network Chef Superstar Bobby Flay with her classic “King of Lobster Clubs” in last summer’s Throwdown. Then she made an amazing recipe for “Lobster Stew” on 207. She’s back again tonight, sharing an easy Maine summer meal called “Penobscot Pasta” with 207’s Rob Caldwell.
Rockland, Maine’s “Queen of Clubs” Lynn Archer, with her famous “King of Lobster Clubs.” (photo by Jim Bazin)
Lynn is all about letting the “Maine ingredients” speak for themselves in her dishes. Simplicity with just enough flavors added to enhance rather than mask favorite seafood like Maine lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, and mussels is what Lynn Archer is all about.
The Brass Compass and Lynn Archer were featured in our 2009 #2 issue of Maine Food & Lifestyle Magazine. Don’t miss Lynn on tonight’s edition of 207!
July 6, 2010
Easy Chilled Tomato-Cucumber Soup
Ginny Maxfield uses canned stewed tomatoes, the kind with onions, celery, and peppers mixed in, to produce a cold soup that delivers all the advantages of gazpacho, but doesn’t require a whole lot of chopping. This was one of the slightly-chic-but-homey recipes that made Ginny’s restaurant, Maxfield’s, over the bridge in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, so popular for so long.
image: dailymail.co.uk Continue reading “Easy Chilled Tomato-Cucumber Soup” »
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.
image courtesy of partybluprintsblog.com
Continue reading “Orange Freeze” »
