johnnyd

One of my favorite meals, hands down. Lovely blog FP

What kitchen lets a "batch" of bad mussels get in the door? You can smell 'em a mile away. Too much hashish in the morning, I suspect.

Maine's elver season saw a jump in violations due to a spike in prices. Little Eels - Big Bucks

I helped a pal with his elver weirs one late night in '95. The price was about $400/lb. There was a lot of shooting and yelling in the dark at one point so I thought best to decline the invitation for another go at it.

Say, what flavor are your light bulbs?

That's magnificent, andrew. And talk about fresh. Finally found the NYC restaurant with the killer scrambled eggs: Elaine's. Her Recipe Here - NYT.

@andiesenji - that is a revelation. Thank you!

It's crazy how eG makes me kill an hour looking for the name of a NYC restaurant in the 1950's that regularly served Audrey Hepburn, Peter Lawford and friends scrambled eggs at 3am. When the Matriarch of this place died, it eventually closed. The NYT magazine ran an anniversary article at some point and that scrambled eggs recipe made it in. I remember a double boiler, 1/4lb butter, 10 eggs, constant whisking for 25 minutes, cream, caviar garnish, maybe. My date at the time (now my wife) made it all that winter, and occasionally make it late at night for auld tymes sake.

These were fresh not frozen. I see mostly cleaned octopus in the Asian market freezers. I bought four - probably 4 to 5 inches across. The counter guys said to make an incision from leg to tip of the head and scrape out the insides, making sure you find the beak. I made a complete and utter hash out of the first one - severing ink sac and whatever encased the gross brown stuff - a big mess (good thing they were small). I was smarter with each one after - most importantly: don't cut through the beast, just in enough to be able to unfold the head cavity, leaving guts intact which you can then scrape off (you'll see you can pull it all off eventually). Eyes and beak next. The first pic above is actually an inside-out polpo. Drop into boiling water and reduce to simmer - the polpo will shrink to half-size. I chilled them for a couple days then seared them in a hot pan w/EVOO, only because I didn't have the grill going at that moment, my first choice. They were so small they ended up super crispy - drizzled EVOO, lemon and S&P and that was lunch today with a salad and poached egg. I'd call myself ready to take on the big boys now so I can slap it on the grill as a course in a Greek-style meal. ETA: Make sure to flush out any dirt in the suction cups

A lot of baby polpo has landed at my favorite fishmonger here in Portland, Maine Simmered these with a cork for 45mins, then seared them at high heat in olive oil, added kosher salt.

I am proud to report my Deathmatch colleague and new Mom, Krista Kern Desjarlais is the only Woman Finalist for Best Chef Northeast this year. Her innovative restaurant, Bresca, here in Portland Maine.

...you mean the guy who USED to dive until he came to his senses? Nope, not me, and that style of boat ain't from around heeyah. The name on the boat is in English, so that narrows down the planet somewhat.

Saw the roasted grapes n' sausages and had to stop and read the whole blog. Loving your cooking, forages, local pics and 'tude, P! I know how one amps up the cooking during foodblog week too, but the sense of mass-sharing with the eG tribe for a week is a great feeling. I've picked up a LOT of tips from your play-by-plays which I really appreciate, and it's about time for a pot of short ribs - sure would take the chill off a late winter Maine weekend.

Port Clyde based harvesters distribute local shrimp to the following locations outside Maine: Fiddleheads Natural Foods, CT City Market Food Coop, VT Healthy Living Market, VT Putney Food Coop, VT Wild Oats Coop, MA River Valley Market, MA Marlow and Daughter, NY Park Slope Food Coop, NY HURRY: Season ends Friday!! Correction: Maine DMR says season ends February 23rd if stock assessment and fishing quota is as predicted.

Video: Marine regulators may shut down shrimp fishery early

The bowl is 10" across. They are about 40 shrimp per pound at this point in the season. I like to get them whole this close to the harvester, but I'd buy them peeled if your in a metropolitan area.

Fresh off the boat, Freshly steamed, ...and peeled,

Didn't do it for me either, but in a chowder it adds an interesting tone. Most processed food makes me gag - that frozen pizza is just not food. @Big Mike: Uni has a short shelf life. Metropolitan sushi bars just don't have it fresh enough no matter what they claim. If you are ever up here in Maine, the season is October through February - try 'em then.

Local news outlet Village Soup features Port Clyde Fresh Catch who are co-ordinating shrimp fisherman to supply a healthy local market. This article has a picture of a loaded drag net FULL of fresh shrimp. This year's harvest is particularly good. Please report Gulf of Maine shrimp sightings in your local market here!

Depends how old the Maine shrimp is if you find them at your market. The boats are fishing heavily starting y'day so I wouldn't buy any until tonight and tomorrow

Bangor Daily News - Maine Shrimp Season In Full Swing Includes some good looking recipes. Here are occasional real-time facebook reports from Captain Libby on the S/V Skipper. He reports larger shrimp in this morning's haul: Port Clyde Fresh Catch

Shrimp season started December 1st. The weather was crappy but a few boats made it in for the first retail day in Portland's Old Port. I bought about 2lbs whole shrimp for $3.83. Headless shrimp sells for $4.99 and peeled shrimp sells for $5.99/lb at Harbor Fish Market. Yesterday's article in Village Soup HERE

Outstanding foodblog!

Indeed. Food blogs are a major strength of eGullet, as are Q&As, and the forum is poorer without them. Bravo, Stephen, for bringing back an important tradition. Coco Helado = iced coconut -or- coconut ice

I am pleased and flattered to report that my 3-minute audio/slide show on an unusual 15-course meal was picked up by SustainableFoodNews.com. Sustainable Food News .com It is being tweeted to 2000 subscribers worldwide! Woohooo!