johnnyd

Tough to gauge their size from this but I'd say these are less than two inches. They were my wife's favorite course of the dinner because they... wait for it... taste like chicken.

Gee whiz, everybody! Thanks for taking a look. I am very proud of this. I am trying to take foodblogging to a new level using tools I have gathered in my broadcasting career. This was produced on a Pro Tools LE audio workstation that I built myself. The field audio was captured on a Marantz 620pro, a hand-held solid state recorder that CNN takes(took) into Baghdad. Photos were taken by the same Canon A85 that I used in my eG foodblogs. Subscribe here for future productions: http://portlandcooks.net/ @Chris: As soon as milk weed pods get silk, they are done - ie: inedible - so you have to get at them early. This took place mid-July so there's your target window. PS: they were barely 2" across, most were smaller. I have a photo of them sauteeing that I will find. @PTE: I'll ask my pals at http://www.rabelaisbooks.com/ if they've heard/seen that. They are in the antique food/cookbook racket. @djyee: I don't know about that, but I'll pass on your request to Stephen. Stay tuned. @janeer: The TTable was a great touch. the two jazz ditties (especially the flourish over the end credits) was the actual player's output captured on the field recorder. There was a lot of superimposed audio (six tracks - 600 edits) in order to condense 4 hours into 3 minutes! I am currently editing audio and slides of a lobster bake I attended a couple weeks ago on Long Island in Casco Bay, catered by http://www.cascobaylobsterbake.com/ It's going to be swell.

I couldn't believe that either, "Have you read any of my freakin' books, woman??"

Hilarious!

Thoroughly enjoyed last night's 100th episode. The pace was actually exciting for a bunch of respected chefs chatting about the state of food affairs at the moment. Tony posed a question, held back and let these guys take over. The venues were wonderful, the food - stunning. For me, it was engaging television in spite of the absence of Tony on a zipline or some such enjoyable lunacy. He's probably decided to take better care of his knees.

Red's, the famous lobster shack in Wiscasset, Maine was featured in the August issue of "Working Waterfront". This nugget of knowledge stands out for me: Article Here

According to this post on beernews.org a Belgian Beer maker/pub has blended a special beer for this party -AND- there are apparently seats available after all.

I came across news of an extraordinary event taking place in the-middle-of-nowhere, Maine, on Thursday, August 19th. Chris Lively, proprietor of Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine has been collecting rare beers for his Pub for a long time. Last year, he extinguished a couple remaining specimens at this apparently fabulous dinner, held at his establishment. Here is this year's menu (w/pairings). DEFINITELY check this out! Seating is limited to 100, costs $295, and has been sold out for a while. Folks camp out back and keep the party going. In fact, the next day kicks off The 6th Annual Belgian Beer Festival also held at Ebenezer's. I've read some fantastic reports about the camaraderie, the food, the amazingly rare and delicious beer, the mosquitoes, and think hard about how I'm going to make it next year. More info is at http://beernews.org/

Harris Interactive Poll - 8/13/10 - The article features the top ten cooking shows, a survey of adults on watching habits and purchasing habits as a result of watching. Predictably, baby boomers score high. Oh, and Rachel Ray is the most watched cooking show.

I attended a dinner last month composed entirely of foraged plants, seafood and some Maine venison. I took pictures and recorded some audio of the event which I mixed together here:

I recently saw a corn soup - possibly chowder - with a little adobo sauce pool in the middle. This has to happen when the local corn starts going bonkers. Who can say no to an adobo kick?

Bolinhas de Bacalhau - Salt Cod and potato fritters

Three years ago I attended the Maine BBQ Challenge in Eliot, Maine (5 miles from Kittery Mall Shops) and got an education in first class 'que. I saw the serious look on these fellas faces - some had driven from Tennessee - and how seriously the Judges took their business. Not only did I stuff my face with unbelievable slow-cooked meats, I took lots of great pictures and interviewed some passionate people. Click HERE for my colorful report on the 2007 Challenge. This year's Challenge will take place Saturday August 7th and Sunday August 8th. 100% of this year's Challenge proceeds (entry: $5) will benefit the The Raitt Homestead Farm Museum, a 501c3 non profit organization dedicated to educating future generations about farming history. 100% of the proceeds from the CMF/MGCB go to the restoration and preservation of the beautiful 33-acre farm. Located on Route 103 in Eliot it is only five miles from the Kittery Outlets and I-95. Press Release and Information Hosting Note: Click here for the guidelines under which this event is listed at the eGullet Forums

Can't agree more. It's just so against so many trends right now - overeating, overspending... And then I find out this guy invaded my town and taped a show over July 4th, Article in Portland Press Herald 7-6-10 It seems such a waste because Nosh Kitchen Bar has a couple great chefs who I know personally that do amazing charcuterie, very creative sandwiches, all manner of in-house pickling, innovative flavor pairing, and choose excellent beverage menus. If you are in the area, don't rule them out because they appeared on this show next September. Richman then went out to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights for who knows how many lobster rolls.

That sushi place would be Miyake. Extraordinary. He's opening a noodle bar soon. Havana South has just opened on Wharf Street and looks promising, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll look around and round up the newcomers

So things began to wind down, food-wise, but heated up as more booze was consumed and the music got louder. New friends were made... ...and lost, but the best part is that we were together again, having a great time. It had been a year for chrissakes. Thanks for checking out another Deathmatch Crew extravaganza! See you long time! NOTES: A less PG-rated report of the evening can be found at the notorious Portland Food Coma www.portlandfoodcoma.blogspot.com Also, another report with audio from the dinner (including a kicking soundtrack), these, and more pictures will be featured, at Portland Cooks, in about a week. www.portlandcooks.posterous.com

Dim Sum Number Twelve Nolan's Deep Fried Shrimp Balls Served with a Spicy Salt and Mustard Sauce Freaking incredibly good! Dim Sum Number Thirteen Brad's Egg Custard Tarts A Lard Pastry with Condensed Milk, 5 Spice and Onion Seed. Very subtle little item here. He also has my favorite T shirt...

Dim Sum Number Ten Pieper's Pig Head Soup Dumplings Robert simmered a pig's head for about thirty hours, extracting an eventually gelatinous broth and a quantity of delicious meat. He added 5 Spice, Soy Sauce, Chinese Cooking Wine and Cabbage. Although the dough wrapping made the dumplings kind of stick together at the steaming stage, this was by far my favorite flavor of the day. Dim Sum Number Eleven Chinese Style Honey BBQ Pork Stuffed Puff Pastry These were extraordinary, as expected. Not just because anything with honey or BBQ involved is delicious by default, but because Joel decided on using a French Puff Pastry recipe by his co-worker, Atsuko Fujimoto, instead of a typical lard-based chinese dough. And anything with butter is, again, delicious by default

Dim Sum Numbah Nine Pan-Fried Daikon Rice Cakes (Melissa's Mom's Recipe) Shredded Daikon, Rice Flour, Minced Shitake, Dried mini shrimp Served with diluted thick Soy Sauce or chili sauce Melissa says this is a very traditional Dim Sum Recipe. I believe her.

Dim Sum Number Eight Dim Sum Amerikrana Cheez Whiz Dim Sum! Kate and Josh also made red hot dog and pimento and ham dumpling Take THAT Mr. Chairman!!

Dim Sum Number Seven Stephen's Sticky Rice, Lemongrass Sausage wrapped in Lotus Leaf This dim sum was a favorite of many. It was delicious.

Dim Sum Number Six Congee Three Ways Jon's ambitious effort was most rewarding, if challenging, to the posse on hand. I caught up with Jen, who was helping prep his condiments. There was a Soy, Black Vinegar dipping sauce, A Sambal that blew your head off, ...and some preserved egg Congee Number One, is a traditional congee with short-grain rice made in chicken stock and water, Number Two was a Green Mung Bean Congee, and Number Three was Black Rice with Red Dates and Pandan Leaf Condiments are ready (including some pickled mustard greens), Finally, Congee hour arrived Pretty good for a Congee rookie, I'd say, not that I've had it that often, but Melissa, who is from Taiwan thought it was just fine. [NOTE: The wonderful Jessica has more pictures which I will add later]

Dim Sum Number Five Karl's Chinese Spare Ribs These were brined for seven hours in smoked Lapsang Souchong tea, then coated and re-coated with a 5 spice, Hoisin, Vinegar, Soy sauce, Mae Ploy and Worcestershire sauce Outstanding! People were beginning to fill the kitchen as folks arrived at a steady pace all afternoon. Fortunately, samples of Dim Sum made so far were available to late-comers. ...and the assortment of beer and booze was growing

Dim Sum Number Four Leslie's Maine Shrimp Toast on Brioche Maine Shrimp with Cilantro, Garlic, Scallion, Sriracha, Fish sauce, and Lard, which makes these tasty morsels puff up. These were amazing.