johnnyd

zb zb Canto V Oysters - Pieper Who can resist the most decadent of bivalves their final day on earth? I thought so. Well Pieper's lovely companion Patty happens to work at the best fishmonger in Maine so a pile were procured for Deathmatch. The method was ingenious: apply a layer of oysters atop a smoldering hot grill and remove when popped open by the pressure buildup inside where the liquor is poaching the meats. A minimum of shucking is needed. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon and tabasco dribble - goodbye cruel world. Unfortunately, the grill was really, really hot - I could tell because those oysters were popping like rocks in a campfire - so I put down the camera to help before the little buggers went to char. I saw a couple flashes so I know someone caught the comedy of pieper and I madly sweeping hot oysters on to a half sheet pan... (why yes, I would like you to send me that one, thanks!) Canto VI Roast Quail - Erik From Cavandish Farms, Vermont Simple, perfectly roasted little birds, zb

Thanks Marya - Terrific job on that, my dear!

It's important to point out that full credit (or blame, as it were) for these events sits squarely on the shoulders of these two intrepid gentlemen (photos, from DM Last Meal booklet, by Zack Bowen) I am merely a conduit through which all this can be shared: Mr. Joe Ricchio, and Mr. Jon Dietz, Scary photos? Why, whatever do you mean?? The music was painstakingly arranged by Joe, who grouped mellower selections (Astrud Gilberto, Debussy) at the start of the evening, then ramped up the pace (Grateful Dead, Roxy Music) through the courses. By dessert, Metallica, N.W.A and Dead Kennedys were getting the dancefloor going. All invitees were allowed 3 selections so 50 trios were printed in the DM Last Meal 2009 booklet.

Deathmatch is a concert of chaos. It's a miracle we pull it off, but we do because of a blend of unfailing attachment to good cuisine and stubborn desire to have the best damned party possible. What occasionally suffers is a detail or two, like my camera deciding to crap out, or the house plumbing shits the bed (more on that later). So owing to various challenges that arose, I wasn't able to capture all our courses. The good news is that there were at least two professional photographers at the feast, so anything I missed will be available in the near future, and I will see about filling in the gaps. [ETA: DM participants and photographers have come to the rescue: photo's marked zb were taken by Mr. Zack Bowen] Canto I jd zb zb American Spoonbill Caviar - Erik D. Sublime start to the feast. Canto II jd zb Tortilla Soup - Joe Great color and piquancy. Joe used house-dried peppers for this. Canto III zb jd zb Jamon Iberico de Ballota, Marcona Almonds and Amontillado Sherry aged by Juan Luis Gonzales Obregon - Jon Lovely stuff! Almonds at a perfect state of crunch and sips of delicious sherry made this traditional triad one of my favorites. Canto IV jd zb Classic Peruvian Ceviche / Creamy Coconut Ceviche - Joel Excellent rendition of a classic ceviche, it's citric tang countered with creamy coconut covered tuna.

Things are off to a great start. Anticipation is high as chefs and guests sample some terrific champagne and wines (list to come). Meanwhile, the kitchen is whiring to life. Pre-prepped dishes were loaded into the kitchen all afternoon. Canto III Jamon Iberico de Ballota stands ready for the knife. Chef/Owner Krista Desjarlais of Bresca, Chef/Owner Erik Desjarlais of Evangeline, and Artist-at-large Steve Benenson survey the gathering storm. In keeping with theme, most are dressed for a wake.

Portland Maine's Deathmatch crew - a collection of talented area chefs and cooks - got together again for another legendary feast. Sunday, April 19th 2009 This time, the theme embraced the inevitability of one's demise but afforded the following indulgences: 1) What would be your last meal on Earth? 2) What would be the setting? 3) What would you drink? 4) Who would be there? 5) Would there be music? These questions were sent out several weeks ago to the short list of regular Deathmatch participants, so adequate time - although if considering the circumstances for real, hardly so - was spent pondering the meal of a lifetime. Sixteen chefs produced 18 courses. The inventive menu, below, constructed the repast as Cantos, beginning at the bottom (Hell) and ascends eventually to the top (Heaven). A very handsome booklet was created for the occasion by Marya Baron, author of Accidental Vegetables - a local food blog - Photographer Zack Bowen portrayed the chefs in poses approaching their final moment, ...or maybe just after, The topic of bacon embalming technique surfaced at an alarming frequency over the course of the evening. The outdoor bar was in the capable hands of Nick the sommelier, and Myers, founder and curator of the Casco Bay Institute for Applied Toxicological Studies, About 70 bottles of rare and excellent wines were served, along with some small batch weiss bieres, David L. Geary Imperial Ale and Wee Heavy, Caipirinhas and Corpse Revivers by Myers, and as things got going, various stashes of PBR and Patron appeared. --------------- While I wrestle more pictures from a dodgy camera chip (the old girl could be dying - I got her a month before joining eG 5 years ago), here are links to prior Deathmatches in the event you are new to this talented group of cooks: October 14th 2007 - Deathmatch Deer: click here March 9, 2008 - Deathmatch Japanese: click here June 7, 2008 - Deathmatch Bizarre Foods on Travel TV: click here August 31st, 2008 - Forage! Grow! Kill! click here

The beach shacks in Portugal sometimes serve a "dressing" of chopped onion, tomato, parsley in olive oil and plain vinegar over salted grilled sardines. Ecstasy. When I see them fresh here, I switch to white balsamic.

Looks fabulous! Where can I get some in Portland (I'm in OOB)? thanks, -sabine ← Sabine - These beauties are from Harbor Fish in Portland. They are offered when ever Ben gets a load of flounder at this time of year. You should see them for sale all of April (check the dates on prior posts). They seem to be more likely available on the New England coast. Anyone around there might have to ASK THE FISH CUTTER to have them saved for you. I think these are from Massachusetts - I'll ask next time I buy another pile.

*Bump* Looks like flounder roe is in season, Lunch! I'm already prepping some hirame-ko like last year, but at $2.99/lb, what else can i make? Who is seeing this rarity at their fishmongers?

St Patrick's Day means New England Boiled Dinner at our house in Maine USA. Flat-cut Brisket - simmered 3 hours, Parsnip, Rutabaga, Carrot, Potato, Cabbage - added final 1/2 hour Garnish (okay, smothered) with Sauce Albert - White sauce, horseradish, mustard, cream

$3 a dozen?? Damn! I get only TWO for that money! How many can you fit in your duffel bag? When will you start driving to Portland??!

Ran into an old pal who slings a lot of fish on the waterfront. I was thrilled to hear he has developed a market in Manhattan for Maine shrimp. I imagined a string of reasonably good restaurants but to my surprise he told me it was a couple fish purveyors in Chinatown. He puts 10 pounds in a special styrofoam container and off they go, arriving the same day. Apparently, they are very pleased and the orders are steady. Trust the Asians who know a good thing when they see it.

Crap. I just bought a bone-in 3 pounder at a buck a pound. Couldn't resist the price. Maybe a braise with lots of garlic, onion, oregano, booze and orange juice? Pernil style?

That website is an excellent resource! Your veal substitution sounds good so I'm going that route. I've been looking for a good Fesenjaan recipe too since I have a bottle of pomegranate syrup form the same Persian store I bought the limes from. These folks made delicious Persian dishes that I enjoyed very much until they had to close. Our little New England city couldn't support it I'm afraid. (Read my restaurant review here: Shanaz Persian Grill)

Last week's Cajun cooking challenge was covered by the USM Free Press: Congratulations go out to Colleen and the crew at Sillys, 40 Washington Avenue, Portland. As for the amateur category, no one challenged Station Manager Jim Rand, whose "Land of the Lost" jambalaya, named after his weekly radio show, walked off with the trophy for the fourth consecutive year. C'mon people! Jim has to go down next year!

I've been sitting on a bag of dried lime peel I bought from a Persian food store wondering what to do with it. Those are whole limes I see. Are you soaking them first instead of letting the stew reconstitute them? Is that lamb? Definitely interested in recipe. Can't find "Khemee" when searched.

When I got home I gave a few handfuls of freshly picked greens a spin and drizzled a few drops of my vinaigrette on top. Besides the carrots, Paul also gave me some of the tiny turnips - hakurei, they are called. They were the size of a large marble. After sampling it in it's raw form, I made a little soup with turnips, turnip greens, carrots, white beans, bacon and turkey stock For a few days in the dead of winter, fresh picked produce hit the table. I will never forget that welcome window of summer in the middle of all that snow - the smell of dirt, the rows of green leafy things spread out before me. And the humidity. I had forgotten what humidity felt like!

More pac choi here. After picking, the greens are carefully washed in a succession of basins, then spun in a dryer (background) and bagged for clients, Paul mentioned that in winter, people love anything red in their salad. Area restaurants can't get enough "red" greens. The flavor of his micro greens are very different than fresh summertime greens. "Ever notice how people add cukes and tomatoes and all that stuff on their summer salads?" he said, "well, folks just eat these greens right out of the bag. They're delicious just on their own," And we began to do just that. Paul heads into Portland mid-week or so to deliver to Flatbread Pizza, Street & Company, Fore Street Restaurant, Local 188, out to Rosemont Bakery on Brighton Ave, and then up to Freeport to Royal River Natural Foods. Sunset Farm also supplies The Wolf Pine Farm CSA in Alfred Maine.

Pac choi bed here - Paul sells his micro greens to four high-end restaurants, one gourmet market, one health food supermarket and one local CSA. Back in the Beethoven greenhouse, here is some baby Tuscan kale, Here are some Japanese hybrid baby turnips. Red giant - a mustard - grows to their left Dave digs up a few carrots for me to take home, Freshly dug carrots in February! Are you kidding me??

Hold on, nakji! I'm posting as fast as I can between phone calls!

We are in the Brahms greenhouse here. Claytonia lines the left wall, a small forest of tatsoi is next. Baby spinach runs from the foreground right to the back. After the stretch of seedlings, there is baby swiss chard, ...which is actually co-habitating with some bulls blood. Paul and the crew found that when some varieties share a growing bed they do better than when they're on their own. Along the right wall is some fine-looking mizuna. A close up of the claytonia back forty, ...and bulls blood growing (another co-mingling project) alongside some tatsoi,

Paul used to number his greenhouses, This season he's named them after famous composers. Each greenhouse is sheathed in two layers of six mil plastic. When needed, he runs a fan through the walls to separate the layers for extra insulation. Two of his greenhouses are unheated - they are utilized in autumn, hopefully through Thanksgiving depending on the weather. The other four are heated with propane, and to help things along, he uses a CO² generator "to jack up" growing conditions (that's the black box hanging by a chain). A higher amount of CO² in the greenhouse causes his plants to grow faster, so instead of picking once a week they can pick twice a week. Normal conditions register 450ppm of CO² - Paul has about 2000ppm in his working greenhouses. To see just where things stand, he takes a big plastic syringe into the middle of the greenhouse and pumps air into it, then inserts a test ampule into the tip. He pushes the sample air through the tube and a shade of purple will reveal the CO² status at that time. Paul bought the CO² generator on line from a "boutique" shop in California that "probably caters to a different kind of farmer," he says. Still, the chance the local sheriff stops by - other than for coffee - has crossed his mind.

As residents of Maine negotiate their cars around icy towers of snow and contemplate the gray skies of another approaching winter storm, a clutch of taught, plastic quonset-style greenhouses just south of Portland coax tiny bundles of Japanese brassica from well-tended earth. Welcome to Sunset Farm Organics of Lyman, Maine I met owner/operator Paul Lorrain in the middle of the Old Port last December. He was carrying big plastic bags of gorgeous greenery into Street & Company, a seafood restaurant at 33 Wharf Street. After a spirited chat he invited me down to the farm to look around someday. Last week I paid Paul, Dave and Christine a visit. Paul built his first greenhouse in 2000. Now he's up to six with another two slated for next season. There's been the requisite ups and downs but at this point he's able to - for a fee - provide a complete set-up of his growing operation to anyone living in harsh climates like Maine's. In light of the growing interest in growing things, Paul - an active board member of M.O.F.G.A. - feels that operations like his could see some real action in the coming couple of years, either in the operations themselves or just the fabulous bounty that is produced within. I have some great pictures from my tour of Sunset Farm Organics coming up. If only I could embed the wonderful smell of dirt and greenery that day too.

Every year in February, WMPG-FM, the non-profit radio station here in Portland ME, hosts a huge Mardis Gras party at the USM student center, It started as a fun thing to do among DJs who hold down the 5p - 7p weekday Blues/Zydeco shows that the city of Portland have supported for years. Each of them made a dish and announced to the audience that there was great food at the studio if anyone was hungry. Well, after a few years there was simply no room in the station to hold the hundreds of people who showed up to look around and meet the volunteers who bring alternative radio to their homes and cars. The party was moved to the USM student center and area restaurants were invited to bring in a dish for people to try and vote on the annual ballot. The winner gets a cool trophy. After the move, we had at least a dozen respected restaurants send a chef and some excellent food to be judged, but there remains an Individual Category for folks to compete among themselves - kind of a holdover from when the tradition started - regular folks with Momma's mean recipe. I made a killer feijoada in 2006, This year's Mardis Gras Celebration is Tuesday February 24th and if anyone is interested in submitting a dish for the party - restaurant or individual categories - you are invited to do so! Contact: Dale Robin Lockman Development Director (207) 780-4151 development@wmpg.org WMPG 90.9 / 104.1 Greater Portland Community Radio Mail: 96 Falmouth St Box 9300 Portland, ME 04104 Offices/Studios: 92 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04104 The year I helped throw this shindig we got about 600 people through the door (it is free to anyone) and channel 8 came by for a taste... This is news-anchor Jeff Whats-his-name and his cameraman, If you want to give it a try, a couple tips: 1) Make a lot. The winner is the last man standing (usually the station manager, Jim Rand) so if you can, make 10 or so gallons. Ask Dale Robin how much she recommends. 2) Enlist a friend to help and tell everybody you know to help stuff ballots 3) Winners in the restaurant category always have a secret ingredient - or so they say. As you may imagine, it's all about having some fun in the middle of a long winter so I encourage everyone with a pulse to give it a go. Background music courtesy of real live WMPG DJs. Here is the 2006 winner, Beale Street BBQ, If you can't make the party, drop by one of their locations for a plate of their jambalaya - the winning dish that year. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or ideas, or DRL at WMPG See you there!

Captain Pendleton's shrimp were devestatingly delicious. Behold the blue plate special,