johnnyd

Tony Eats Portland Maine episode slated for April '10

Newly posted multi media version of this visit at Portland Cooks

Harbor Fish in the Old Port is open Xmas eve until 3:30p. They had this morning: Eels - from Canada, previously frozen @ $9.99 Fresh Maine Shrimp - whole/$1.39/lb - headless/$3.99/lb - peeled/$5.99/lb Whole RI Squid - $3.99/lb Fresh Ocean Perch - $2.49/lb Imported Branzini - $7.99/lb Whole Flounder - $5.99/lb Damiriscotta Oysters - $1.40/each Winterpoint Oysters - $1.30/each ...and the usual Cod cuts, Salmon, Sword, Tuna, Haddock, Hake, Pollack, Monkfish, Halibut, Clams, Mussels, Lobster, Shrimp from away, and Crab. I'm sure I missed something. If you are a wuss, the capable staff will clean your whole-fish selection for a couple extra bucks. The eel, however, will cost you $15.99/lb Merry Christmas!

A small band of Maine fishermen called Port Clyde Fresh Catch will start closing the gulf-to-table gap next month when they begin deliveries of seasonal shrimp to Brooklyn's Marlow & Sons Daughters. The fishermen, who will also operate a stall at this weekend's New Amsterdam Market, own all aspects of the supply chain, a clutch move that provides traceability and keeps the retail cost down and all preservatives out. The shrimp are harvested, hand-sorted, and frozen with a small amount of ocean water in one-pound vacuum packs. After that, they board the truck bound for the BQE. Read more: Community-Supported Fishery Comes to Marlow & Sons Daughters -- Grub Street New York http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/12/community-supported_fishery_co.html#ixzz0ZmYl5oPR

It came in the weekly delivery from Europe - baby polpo and sardines from portugal - so I thought it came from there. I will ask when I'm there next. Sardines were priced at $8.99/lb (which kills me - they were so cheap over there), polpo too. They all get snatched by local restaurants but I was there at the opening bell. Never saw Spanish Mackerel there before so I went for it. Freaking crazy-delicious, it was.

Spanish Mackerel was $4.99/lb in Portland Maine, so I bought one and roasted it Drizzled EVOO in and around, S&P, stuffed with lemon, red onion and parsley, splash of white wine hither and yon - 15 minutes covered at 400F and 15 minutes uncovered. Add heirloom potatoes and a glass of pinot grigio.

My wife has a million of 'em. Boston Irish Catholic raised on boiled everything. Me? lived on 3 continents by age 18 and forced to eat whatever or starve. Most recent vein-buster: I made a killer stuffing with local rye bread cubes, local celery, local onions, local garlic, local fennel, local fresh chorizo, our own fresh oregano and thyme... moistened just so with my homemade chicken/hamhock stock and baked for half hour... ...she says the rye bread smelled "funny" and didn't eat any. Another one is whole fish. Guess how long it's been since I've baked a whole fish? Not to worry: it's a challenge to create things she'll eat and we've made much progress. Sushi? check. Pate? OK w/that. Finally conquered mushrooms last Autumn. Slow is the march of love in the kitchen but worthy is the journey.

That's fascinating stuff Adam. Welcome to eGullet!

Laughing Bird shrimp, mentioned in this week's New York Times, has been available at Harbor Fish Market on Custom House Wharf since the Spring. Today's price: $9.99/lb

My vote is for Salsify. Grown in Thomas Jefferson's garden, it disappeared mid century but is making a comeback. I found a catalan recipe with salsify and chicken but they're great fried. More complex than parsnips.

"You were awesome on that Zimmern show!" good enough for me

Inspired by the article, 100 things a customer should never do

"Diver Scallops" are collected by scuba divers licensed in their state to "hand harvest". They are considered preferable on menus because the product is regarded to have been treated gentler than the normal drag-harvest method. In this video, the diver has retrieved 5 or 6 scallops so he'll end up with 5lbs of scallop meat per scuba tank. At a rate of $7/lb, he's made $35, and probably unable to supply even one lunch rush in a busy restaurant. A much more practical way - and the normal harvesting method - is dredging or dragging a chain-metal "bag" behind a sturdy vessel on flat ocean bottom, which scrapes everything up in it's path, hoisted on-deck and picked through for scallops. Not the prettiest way to treat the ocean, or scallops, but you get 100 pounds a whack - a decent days pay. So I know a couple guys here in Portland who sell their scallops to places in Boston, but they don't go out everyday - the point being that there isn't enough genuine diver product generated to legitimize menus claiming to serve "diver scallops". Not really caveat emptor here because all (dry) scallops are pretty damn good to begin with, but "deadliest catch" crab could be another similar stretch of marketing imagination.

It's like "diver scallops". If people only knew how few scallops were actually harvested by divers - but it sure sounds cool

I think it was the article in the NYTimes about the resurgence of heirloom potato farming that caught my eye so this hit my inBox like a ton of bricks. I'm going on Friday if I can get everything done. If not, Saturday. Any one else up here in Maine should too. Even if you can't get up here to help, this email shows the recent rise in community commitment to local food sources and the people who make it happen. Their website: Goranson Farm

I am a serial clipper. I have several pounds of NYT dining sections and Sunday magazine recipe pages dating back at least ten years. I have (and regularly use) almost every issue of Savuer. Whenever I'm bored or pick up an unusual ingredient, I poke through the collection. I recently found Salsify Root at our farmer's market and remembered a recipe for chicken with salsify from Savuer #106. I use clipped recipes about 60% of the time. Problem is organizing them into some coherent data base.

I'm curious too - I've had a bag of rice flour for a while with the intention of making rice noodles but I'm not sure if it's the right kind. and Maxh, I've never made fresh pasta but I'm pulling the trigger this weekend.

Superb pasta, Shalmanese. I'm doing that really soon, thanks to you. --------- Our Farmer's Market here in Portland has been introducing more intresting things every season. This year, I saw some Salsify Root, for which I had just seen a recipe from the Basque region in Spain - Pollastre amb Salsafins. From Savuer issue #106: I bought a bunch for $3, and followed this recipe (Savuer #106). The recipe calls for 2lbs Salsify and 4lbs chicken pieces but after peeling my bunch I guessed the result at barely a pound, so I added a few local carrots. The farmer who sold it to me said have a pot of water with lemon nearby because the root starts oxidizing immediately. I didn't believe him until I saw it myself - by the time you're around the other side, the spot where you started is the color of copper. Weird. The recipe calls for simmering salsify for 30 minutes then frying it, then simmering it again with the chicken pieces. I began to think the recipe it was written for older, cellar-stored roots (or black salsify) because I tasted them after every stage and thought it was terrific - kind of parsnippy but deeper. The kicker was a picada of parsley, garlic, almonds and chix stock that is added during the last 1/2 hour. We served it with rice and Rioja. The above shot is the leftover for lunch with a poached egg and fresh shrimp. All around, an interesting and satisfying dish. I'd do it again.

Can't find the LUNCH! topic and this was too late for BREAKFAST! thread, so here we are, Fresh Haddock, Cape Elizabeth onion and heirloom tomato, poached in butter, garlic and lemon peel - garden basil and black pepper grind garnish. Standard Baking baguette on the side. Secret ingredient: capful of Noilly Prat white vermouth. An hour later and I would have cracked open some pinot grigio, but I'm a good boy.

Local lamb shoulder, braised in red wine/madeira/water, carrot, onion and celery root, green peppercorn, rosemary, lemon thyme - house crouton garnish Tuna loin topped with spicey tomato confit and garden basil

Well, a week late but a really nice look at our restaurant scene and food sources, but most important, the energy we have in our kitchens. New York Times - Dining - 9/15/09

Cinque Terre is an excellent place. If you haven't been yet, definitely go. It's on a par with Fore St price-wise, so depending on your budget that might make a good switch except I can't resist Fore Street's energy and delicious food. I've had a clunker there once or twice, but I still go. Street & Co. serve reliably excellent food. I've also met a couple chefs there and believe them to be dedicated to their craft. You have a tough call, but if I were you, I'd make sure there's enough money for Montreal. On the way up I89, take the Burlington VT exit (West). Downtown is a mile down the hill and there are lots of great eateries. It's four hours from Portland so you'll be good and ready. I'm a sucker for Leunig's Bistro, as I stopped by every day for their coffee on the way to work when I lived there (as well as ate there, bought rounds of champagne there and dated a waitress), but I see some good things on their menu still, like strawberry & cashew encrusted salmon, a duck confit "sloppy Joe" and a turkey cubano. If that sounds interesting and you go, tell the manager, Bob Conlon, that Mr. Dennison says Hi. Bon Appetit

The October Bon Appetit magazine covers our waterfront, "The Foodiest Small Town in America" Writer Andrew Knowlton was among the guests at our most recent Deathmatch dinners back in April,

Now that things are coming out of the ground at a normal pace it's time to look for some deals. --------------- Look no further than the Freedom Farm stand on Monument Square during Wednesday's Farmers Market - at least I think it's them - but look for the stand closest to Center street for the amazing... $5 Bargain Bag! This is what I got in a really big bag of assorted mis-shapen, gnarled, but just-picked veggies: at least 10 small carrots (including the interesting one upper left ) 8 young turnips (mostly purple top) 4 or 5 radishes 2 young patty-pan squash 8 nice beets - two were golden 1 leek about 10 small summer squash 2 daikon, about 12" long 4 cukes (3 were small picklings) 3 Japanese eggplant 2 yellow hot peppers 1 hot cherry pepper 1 green bell pepper ...and about three pounds of assorted new potatoes Now, of course, comes the part about what to do with it all, but I'm not concerned about that. What I have is five pounds of locally-grown, fresher than fresh vegetables, that will prove not only incredibly nutritious but entertaining while I find ways to make them into something tasty to eat. And I only spent five dollars - I might come through this recession unscathed after all. Portland Farmer's Markets are in Monument Square every Wednesday morning and in Deering Oaks Park on Saturday mornings - both days until noon.

Also posted in New England Cooking & Baking forum here.