johnnyd

Iggy's looks wicked good - deserves a spot on the Fried clam thread.... which gives me an idea: who is going to start the New England Chowder Crawl thread for summer '06?

In that vein, I also found http://www.mainefoods.net/ or the "Maine Foods Network". which is well organized. Not much going on but a solid foundation for the future. Also had a terrific talk with John at Rosemont bakery who swears by the above MFN and features 80% Maine product at his Brighton Ave location. I'd love to see the driving force of Portland Green Grocer (his former gig) in the PPM space. ...wow! imagine... a huge version of Portland Green grocer in that freakin gigantic 17000sq space. Why leave? Turn that dumb Mavericks into a B&B!

Stumbled upon a local group called "Save The Market" .org Haven't delved too deep into it and some pages are blank but it appears to be a bunch of PPM vendors who have collaborated. Check it out here.

A ham sandwich was my pairing the other day, Nicely done Susan! That looks delicious.

Yeesh is right! I spent a little time in a surf n' turf in VT and the exec chef made about ten gallons of chowder "base" that was like a grey glue studded mightily with freshly-chopped quahogs (steamed open). A quart of this muck made about 5gals of chowder when mixed (slo-o-wly) with milk. I froze a batch that I had added dairy to and it separated when thawed - very unappealing. Then I read somewhere that milk/cream goes in the very last to gently incorporate with the chowder. This has brought the best results for me as the dairy is heated to point and not given a chance to break down. It's a triple whamy when dairy is heated then frozen, then heated again - the molecules just don't survive that activity.

I make a lot of chowder. I usually have about four quarts in my freezer at any given time. Those of you who missed my foodblog: "Dining Downeast" can follow this link to the chowder making chapter. I happened to have taken a couple pints of a January "brew" out to thaw just before this thread began so we're going to have one for lunch. I also happen to have a few leftover fresh shrimp to throw in this batch, which was made with two pounds of "chowdah fish" from Harbor Fish Mkt here in downtown Portland. (The chowdah fish offered that day was swordfish, haddock and halibut - for $3.99/lb.) Note the liquid on top of the thawed chowder pint. The brew that makes it into the freezer is un-creamed and thickened only by fish and potato that has broken down in the cooking. Therefore, I make a small roux... ...and slowly pour in the broth with a touch of water if it's too gloppy (I hate chowder that makes your spoon stick straight up - but today I wanted it a little on the thick side). Once it reaches a simmer and it's uniformly heated (never boiled) I add a spoonful of Creme Fraiche and a splash of half n' half (no cream in the fridge today so these work instead). Add garnish of salt-pork cracklings... ...and serve!

I've been tweaking a "Cape Cod" chowdah recipe for a couple years that calls for celery. It's a great idea. I started adding a cup of diced fennel as well, especially if there is cod involved. As for Salt Pork, I render it completely so I can saute my onion, celery and fennel in it, then apply the salt pork "cracklings" on top of each bowl as a garnish.

Definitely! I'm adding some fresh sage and a touch of sugar tonight.

Okay, this was so delicious I'm going for another round today. I might tweak the recipe a bit. Prices are still stable in the stores but there is no auction to speak of. There is at least five weeks left in the season.

Try the The Dogfish Cafe on the corner of Congress and St. John. A solid menu of favorites taken to a higher level. Went in this week and had Haddock chowder that was EXACTLY the way I like it: broth, not glop, and I saw a couple fresh thyme leaves float by; then a Turkey Cobb salad that had a substantial loin grilled perfectly accompanied by cranberries, crumbled bacon, egg, avocado a bit of feta (I think), all over lightly dressed mesclun. Delicious. $20 with a gingerale. Their mussels are legendary. Dogfish also was a participant in The 11th Annual WMPG Fat Tuesday New Orleans Cuisine Cook-off which they won last year but came in second in 2006. Their entry, a seafood gumbo, featured mussels, Maine Shrimp and a killer tomatoey broth that was hard to pass up.

It appears that they will be taking over a building on Franklin Arterial and Somerset St. This from a couple folks at Wild Oats I chatted with y'day.

Excellent! Okay, I looked at that stuff a million times and it finally dawned on me that it was the stuff people brought to high heat and fried things in back before there were buckets of fryolater oil. And the talk on eGullet promoted alternative, old-school fry-media for better flavor - I'm all for it! Thanks! Fry Fest tonight!

It's with the marrow bones, smoked hamhocks, salt pork and tripe. That's the section all the kids go "eeeeww!" when they walk by. The beef suet is quite the unattractive package, white-ish with a streak of blood hither and yon, crumbly, about the size of a small boule, and cheap: $1.09 or so per lump. We used snowcap lard which is definitely hydrogenated, so I'm peeking into this new frontier for inspiration. I did learn from a chef-friend that duckfat is reusable for a long time. He also said he'd show me some tricks if I wanted to get a few whole duck so I can render my own fat then get into some exciting duck recipes. But what about this beef suet idea?

Now that harvesting is spotty, the number of days shrimp are out of the water is suspect. I've rarely had a problem with Harbor Fish's shrimp (I bought their last pound and a half y'day afternoon) but almost always have a problem at Free Range. Surprisingly, Hannaford sells headless for $3.99/lb and I've never had problems with their product, which they always seem to have on hand. Either way, I cook them off no later than the second day to prevent spoilage if I can't think of anything interesting to try. I can always stir up some cooked shrimp for an excellent sandwich or add to a chowder. I'm going to try TimH's New Orleans barbeque shrimp with this bag and see what happens I take it that's for two pounds of shrimp?

The undeniable Joe's Stone Crab of Miami Beach was an experience I'll never forget. Piles of Stone Crab claws harvested by boats owned by the restaurant, served with a horseradish sauce or remoulade, potato, cole slaw and a few cold beers.

Every time I go past the beef suet at my supermarket I almost buy it thinking it would be great for fried potatoes. I take it I should go for it, yes? We used some leftover lard for frying potatoes and it was good. When it set the next morning, it looked pretty clean so we used it again to fry some sweet potatos. How many times can I do that, assuming there is a minimum of bits n' things... which I could sift out anyway, now that I think about it.

Damn, me too! And how: I used to live on 85th and East End so Megan is smack in the middle of my old stomping grounds. I remember only Gristedes (I was a wee lad at the time) so all those cool shops and coffee places are new to me. Nice to see the 'hood again. MB: do you ever stroll around Carl Schurz Park? I also remember a busy german brathaus on York ave just above 86th I think. I lived in Yorkville when there were still a few germanfolk around I recall a few little places with sausage hanging in the windows. Great blog! Beautiful photos! Keep 'em coming!

Bar of Chocolate, 38 Wharf St. in the Old Port is a European style cafe with copper bartops, stools and Deco poster art in a brick-wall setting. Very nice.

That sounds delicious. We have a lot of monkfish liver around here but I think it's milder. The only cod liver I've had is in a spicy marinade for sushi mentaiko.

Holy Hannah, that's a hell of a menu. I've never heard of this place... I got an eMail from Chicky's Fine Diner who is holding a once-a-month super fine dining experience. This month they are having a single malt scotch sampling with dining match. Those guys are terrific. I'll have to clear my schedule. Our V-Day (also wedding anniversary and my birthday) was spent at Yosaku, site of our reception 2yrs ago. Sublime sashimi and sushi, as always.

Fish off the boat. Hell, I used to harvest my own scallops. Am I picky? You bet!

- from Portlandmarket.com That's plenty big. I'd say that's larger than the Wild Oats space. Whole Foods blew it by not taking this deal especially since parking is built-in along with downtown's cash-rich lunch traffic. This news is right up there with the Scotia Prince ferry bailing out of Portland-Yarmouth service last summer.

Looks delicious... and authentic: the english translation on the dinner menu page is a hoot!

...the Porthole should be at the end of the pier overlooking the harbor but there would be zero parking. That pier would be pedestrian only except for commercial vehicles delivering produce to the stalls. Eventually, Portland will sustain that.

Awesome. I can just see a death spiral, wings singed beyond repair, colored red and black like Ben Afleck's in Dogma! How about a little heap of marzipan cupids suffering various wounds? And a victorious couple armed with malevelant glares and automatic weapons?? Don't get me started! You're getting warmer: It's also our Anniversary! I know... I know...