johnnyd

I've been meaning to make corn chowder and float some lobster in it but I'm way too busy, so I slapped this together in five minutes... Mixed up some lemon juice in creme fraiche and sprinkled a bit of black lava salt to finish. Bon appétit

Sure do: PLANTAIN, CORN & CHILLI CAKES - The Book of Caribbean Cooking - £8.99 8oz peeled, ripe plantain, grated 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup Caribbean beer 1 tsp lime juice about a cup of diced scallion 1 jalapeno, finely diced 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro salt Put all of the above in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Leave for 15 minutes Heat 1/4 inch oil in a skillet. Add mixture in spoonfuls without crowding and fry a couple minutes a side, until golden brown. Drain on paper bag/towell. Serve with creme fraiche. BONUS POINTS: If you wait too long, the plantain doesn't grate, it just mooshes, but those are sweeter. Mine are barely 2 inches across They are easy to burn so keep the heat reasonable If you can find it, we put a pinch of black lava salt in the creme fraiche. Kind of melts...

Found this recipe in a Caribbean Food cookbook, now it's a house go-to. Grated plantain with corn meal, jalapeno, scallion and beer. CAUTION: Very addicting. Good hot or cold. Serve with creme fraiche for dipping.

Blue Fin Tuna is running off-shore now so I made some Poke A bit each of red onion, scallion, thai bird chile, pickled daikon, cilantro and hijiki seaweed, all in a splash of house-made ponzu.

Last night we made Crispy Lemon Chicken from the Better Than Take-out Lady's you tube series... delicious! Added into rotation.

I'll give it a whirl! Can't say when exactly but I'll post when I do. Also of note is Twelve, at 115 Thames St on Portland Foreside. The building is very old and was saved from demolishment, moved, carefully two blocks East. https://www.portlandfoodmap.com/twelve-now-open/

Delightful! We spent a whole Summer in a house in Warwick when I was seven. I learned to swim in those amazing waters on Great Sound. The house next door had a salt water swimming pool cut right into the rock. All I remember having was pink lemonade and a big rash from those man-o-war that my older brothers dared me to touch...

Tomatoes are just starting to come in here. This is my first this Summer.

Brunch course: heirloom tomatoes, local mozza and my garden basil chiffonade. Balsamic glaze and Pompeii oil

@liamsaunt Outstanding photologue, Madam. I've never thought of making Ceviche with Halibut. Shack's plates look great. All of them look good, some more creative than others. I'm definitely swapping in smoked bluefish in my next Caeser. Ostensibly, I'm scrolling through these after a huge breakfast and find myself hungry. Thank you!

Snacking for Wimbledon: Lobster poached in butter/sage/garlic & broccoli salad with raisins and sliced almonds

Beef Satay & Jerk Pork street skewers

BINGO! Nice one Weinoo! https://asian-veggies.com/products/aa-choy

I had some red curry/coconut milk sauce leftover from the snapper dish a few days ago, so, shrimp this time. I also used a vegetable I'd never seen before that I bought at Saturday's farmer's market - I've forgotten the name of it. It's stuck to the bowl on the upper left, and a smaller coin at center. It's very tender after simmering, tastes nice but non-descript. It might be a tuber; the seller said the leaves are more bitter than the bulb, which I peeled before slicing into coins and added it to the simmer. She said it reminded her of water chestnut but without the apply texture. This was very soft like a zucchini.

They start in cold water then simmer 20 minutes after boil. They smell amazing. Going for the yellow grits next order.

Red Snapper and Littlenecks in red curry/coconut milk with baby bok choy, mushrooms and basil

What is the pretty colored item in the jar? Mango juice? That's our go-to morning juice with OJ, unsweetened cranberry and DOLE pineapple. We found the grits online - they are fantastic.

Grits from Palmetto Farms, South Carolina; sauteed Black Forest Ham; Fried eggs with diced Fresno and garden fennel; freshly sliced imPeaches...

Gochujang chicken skewers, heart of palm salad, Israeli couscous and smashed kimchi cukes

From Portland Food Map 4-26-2022: Masa Miyake is renovating his eponymous Fore Street restaurant with plans to reopen this summer, hopefully in July. The newly refreshed space will seat 28, with an 9-seat sushi counter and another 20 seats between the new L-shaped bar on the left and tables along the right-hand wall. The menu will feature “shareable plates, including traditional Japanese preparations, dishes of Masa’s personal creation, rolled sushi, sashimi, and nigiri”. The bar menu will offer sake, wine and beer as well as house-designed cocktails that make use of Japanese spirits and ingredients. When they reopen Miyake will no longer offer an omakase option. Seating will be available on a first-come first-serve basis with a guest wait list. Miyake will be open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday evenings.

Indeed. One pays for the experience as a whole, not just the menu. That's why Fore Street is Fabulous and I will pay whatever they ask. I don't have the same love for Eventide, but that's just me - doesn't mean it's bad because I don't care for it as do others. Sheez, Weinoo, you got me all excited to go out in this town again!

I do seem to recall the Lobster Bisque recipe has morphed a couple of times since the Paprika version. I have not eaten there since before the pandemic. In fact, I had been denied a seat 3 or 4 times before that and basically gave up trying to go anymore. Strictly a friends-from-out-of-town destination now, I can open my own oysters just fine, and at 1/5th the cost. Something that should be on visitors radar is https://grossconfectionbar.com/dessert-restaurant-and-bar/ right on Exchange Street down a few steps in a bricked former bank vault restored by the chef/owner. In spite of the awkward naming convention, chef Brant is a highly skilled dessert chef who has staged in many high-end locations. Check it out.

The thing to get at Eventide is their Lobster Bisque. As you move the spoon through it, little dots of paprika oil pop to the surface. I met one of the chefs outside for a smoke and he said they coat the bottom of the bowl in paprika oil before adding the bisque. Between the heat of the Bisque and the customer's spoon, everything starts exploding. Looks really cool, and it's delicious. Eventide is part of three restaurants - Hugo's, Eventide and Honey Paw - all in the same building, and share one big kitchen in the back. Hugo's, ran by J.Beard award-winning chef Rob Evans for many years, sold the place to three of his cooks, who formed Big Tree Hospitality. I especially like Honey Paw's innovative Asian fusion dishes that use local ingredients, and the fact you can actually get a seat in the Summer.

The Iraqi bakery also have terrific sides like stuffed grape leaves, pickled veggies, a ton of hummus seasoned every which-way and baklava-type sweets oozing with honey...yum!

We've gone with a Levantine menu for a few years now. This year, I'm thinking Musakhan chicken thighs on onions with sumac. Pilaf with fruit and nuts in it. I saw a tahini with pomegranate syrup which looks interesting. We did lamb kebabs last year and I have some in the freezer, so maybe those too. There's a Iraqi bakery a couple miles from us who make a big puffy naan so we'll have to get those...