Maine Foodie Tours Review

     One of our absolute favorite activities is to take a walking tour of the area we are visiting. And if the walking tour includes, history, food and alcohol we are in TOTAL heaven. For our trip to Portland we booked a foodie tour of the old port area. Staring at 10:30 am at the Old Port Wine Shop (what a PERFECT starting point for us two), This a great little wine shop with some very eclectic wine. You should definitely make a stop if your in the area.

      Our first official stop was Vervacious, right next door, http://www.vervacious.com/. This is a great gourmet shop of flavored salts and vinegars. We had a really nice sampling including Anise salt sprinkled on apples YUM and chocolate balsamic vinegar and a nice mead wine. Some pics of Vervacious and the walk to our next stop.

      From there we walked to a great little mixed use market with several different vendors sharing the rent on one building (pizza, sandwiches, beer store, cupcakes) and our stop was for a selection of great local Maine cheeses. We continued our walk and went next to Stonewall Kitchens, http://www.stonewallkitchen.com/, now a giant food emporium but originally started by two people to sell homemade Blueberry jam. And what else to eat but fresh baked blueberry scones topped with the now world famous jam. Heres a quick pic;

      After another walk, (good thing we were able to walk off some of these goodies), through the historic old port area, we were in a locals only fish store, the Harbor Fish Market, http://www.harborfish.com/about.php. This is the exact kind of store I would visit every week if I live here. Tons of extremely fresh fish, the boats deliver at the back of the store, that FRESH. We tasted some incredible smoked fish made in Maine and we ended up going back later and buying three packs.

      From there it was off for chocolate, YUM!! We stopped a a teeny, tiny little shop called Dean's Sweets, http://deanssweets.com,  making incredible truffles. The ginger/wasabi was to die for. From there, time for some more sweets, over to the Two Fat Cats bakery, http://twofatcatsbakery.com/,  for one incredible whoopie pie. And our final stop, liquid refreshments at the Shipyard Brewery, http://www.shipyard.com/, While I am not a huge fan of Shipyard beers, this was a fun and informative stop. Last set of pics;

      This was an incredible walking tour, one we would highly recommend. I give Maine Foodie Tours an A Plus.

Cooking 101: Grilled Indian Tuna Salad

      Another very simple recipe, takes no time but is TOTALLY dependent on one ingredient. You must have Sashimi quality Tuna available in your area, (shockingly our local Costco has some fresh and beautiful steaks). Start by finding your favorite spice mixture. For this recipe I used an Indian rub I had in the spice drawer,( you do have a spice drawer correct?), hence the name.

      I like to add layers of flavor to a dish, so I started with some liquid Jamaican jerk sauce rubbed into the steaks, followed by a healthy tablespoon of spice rub  and lastly I toasted some sesame seeds, (toasting gives them another layer of flavor, all about layers) and thoroughly covered each steak with sesame seeds. Then I let them sit for a couple of hours in the fridge, to let the flavors sink in. Just a couple words of caution about toasting sesame seeds, A) sesame seeds go from toasty to burnt in a split second, B) As sesame seeds toast they pop and jump around alot, have something over the top of the pan, (I used a grease screen) and finally C) If you think your cool and can do the wrist flip to flip over the food in your pan, remember that sesame seeds ALL OVER the kitchen make a mess.

      While your tuna sits in the fridge, prepare your salad. In this case I had found a nice "bag a salad" at Costco. It was called Parisian salad and came with some mixed lettuces, candied almonds, dried cranberries, feta cheese with a white balsamic vinaigrette. Sounds weird, but there is alot going on in this salad, some sweet, some sour, some salty, all of it very good and the flavors mixed incredibly with the finished tuna. Speaking of, now would be a good time to get that grill heated up, crank it up to high because you want a good crust and not much else, as we shall see. Once the grill is red hot, drop in your steaks, this is critical DO NOT walkaway, you want just a minute or two on each side, yea, yea, I know you don't like rare fish, get over it. Believe me when I say this is a totally different meal if the fish is cooked well done or even medium. The tuna will take on a whole different consistency, not necessarily bad but different. When good tuna is rare it has the feel of butter, soft, melts in your melt, luscious. Medium or (shudder), god forbid, well done tuna taste and feels more like what you get in the can, and if that's what your after, WHY oh WHY, pay for these gorgeous steaks??

      As always, lets your steaks rest a bit and then slice into 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide slices, (no, you don't need a ruler).  Arrange around the salad, (yes, presentation counts, even at home) and enjoy.

      A word about wine. As most of you know from reading here, I do not always subscribe to the "white wine with fish" theory. Salmon goes incredibly well with an Oregon Pinot Noir and for Tuna Steaks you need a big hearty red, look at the picture, does that not remind you of a big juicy steak.  So for this meal I chose a wine from one of our favorite little wineries, Oso Libre, ( you may remember them from the Tiny Thai review). I chose their 2008 Carnal, this is big wine, a nice blend of six different grapes, the majority being Syrah at 51%, Mourvedre at 21% and Grenache at 22%. We once went to a great wine school and something the instructor told us always stayed with me, pair spice with spice. And while a Zinfandel would have more pepper notes, the Carnal has some great mocha spices going for it, not to mention some wonderful stone fruit on the nose, mainly cherries. This turned out to be a PERFECT pairing, the flavors of the salad, the tuna and the wine blended together in perfect harmony. Total Bliss, If you can't find Oso Libre, look for a nice California Zinfandel or Syrah, these will all match great.

Cooking 101; Grilled Pesto Salmon

        OK, this one is very easy. All it takes is some good salmon, some fresh pesto and a grill. This is literally one of those 5 minute meals you are always hearing about. I don't know about you, but every time I see one of the Food Network shows about 5 minute meals I cringe. Sure, maybe if you have a team of chefs behind you doing all the prep and clean-up but for us normal folks it's an hour at least. Not so this one, it's a snap to prepare, have ready, and on the table in no time. First the ingredients;

1) Side of good salmon ( you know how I feel about farm raised but if it's all that is available go ahead).
2) Pesto, homemade is best but if you are lucky like us to have a great farmers market nearby, go ahead and buy some there. I try to avoid the supermarket stuff as it has usually been made months ahead of time and uses alot of preservatives to keep it stable. Here is our excellent farmers market find;

Here is great recipe for homemade;

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

      
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

      Now life could not be more simple. Heat up your grill. If you happen to have a few nice dinner rolls, slice them open add a pat of butter to them, wrap in aluminum foil and throw on the grill to warm up. Spread the side of salmon (obviously not the skin side), with a nice even layer of pesto and put on the grill, pesto side down. DON"T walk away, pesto is made of oil after all and this will catch your grill on fire. You want to leave it just long enough to get some nice grill marks. With a couple of spatulas, do a quick flip of the salmon, and continue to grill until fish starts to flake easily. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, overcook. The thickest part of the fish should still be very red, it will finish cooking off the grill. Remove fish and rolls from the grill and let sit for about 5 minutes. This would be a good time to make a quick salad. Don't forget to throw some fresh herbs in the salad, they will pair well with the basil in the pesto. I suggest a nice Pinot Noir from Oregon (shocking really I know, I suggest this wine with everything). Slice and enjoy, voila;

The Grumpy Troll Review

       As you will notice, no pics. In my defense, it was a long day, with an early morning flight and NO it has nothing to do with old age. Our first stop on the Wisconsin Pub and Brewery tour was the Grumpy Troll. Located in Mount Horeb, Wisc. (Former home of the World Mustard Museum), and located right on a major bike trail (smart location, nothing better than strenuous biking to work up a thirst). Because of the location, oh and maybe being prime time on Friday night, the place was packed. But, thanks to some friendly natives, we were able to secure a couple stools at the bar and have a tasty beverage while waiting for a table to open.

      We started with an Erik the red, a not too hoppy, American style amber lager. Very good but not entirely memorable. Good and refreshing but not that different from hundreds of other amber's made. Not so my 2nd beer, now this pushed some boundaries, Kentucky Porter, a nut brown ale, which has been stored in used Kentucky bourbon barrels for 6 months. WOW, great flavors, mellow but a great body, a really nice beer.

      How bout the food you say. Above average bar food is my answer.We went with a traditional Friday Night Wisconsin Special, Fish Fry. You could choose from different fishes (fishi? feesh? who knows), either fried DUH or baked and a variety of sides. I went with the fried perch with homemade chips covered in cheese, wife went with baked cod and also the chips, Cindy went with fried cod and (this is cool) sweet potato tater tots (told ya) and Dean had baked cod with I believe mashed potatoes or maybe rice? To start we shared a plate of that quintessential Wisconsin appetizer, fried cheese curds. Yes, I know it was ALOT of fried foods but what the heck we are on vacation. 

      Cheese curds were Ok, I have had better (in Minnesota of all places). These tasted not much different than your typical bar fare cheese sticks. The fish fry was much better, crisp coating and moist, fresh fish  and a huge portion ( to become a trend here in Wisconsin). Chips were fresh, crisp with a nice coating of cheese, all in all a very satisfying meal. All around the table things were great , Cindy's sweet potato tater tots quite yummy, until we got to Dean. Unfortunately, when you get baked fish in a brew pub you take a chance, wife's was good but Dean's had been baked to within an inch of its 9nth life (Do fish also have 9 lives? If not, why not?, these are the questions that keep me up at night). After all is said, it was a great time, with great friends and this is a place I'd love to have in my own home town.

On a scale of 1 to 5;
Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.

Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing 

Price,                 And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     4  Overall a great meal , with just some slight misses.

Beer and Wine,    4  Great beers made on site, who needs wine?
Service,                 4  The staff was wonderful. And service was prompt and friendly.

Ambiance,             3.5 It's a pub of course, and brewery, so don't think romance or quiet. But it is clean and fun.
Price,                     3.5 This is not a "cheap" place to eat, beer is rather expensive and entrees are average priced in the $10-$15 dollar range, though portions are huge.
                               

Overall,                3.8 Just a really fun place, I wouldn't mind having in my backyard.

  

Cooking 101: Fettucine and Meatballs

      OK,  not so much a recipe this time, as an endorsement. Sometimes life gets in the way of Supper and you need to come up with something quick. Whether for a quick supper with the wifey or a meal with friends and family, here is what we put together on Saturday;

      All three products available at your friendly, neighborhood Costco store ( or I am sure, grocery store also). Add the first two ingredients to a crock pot, turn on low and go take a nap, (OK this was my recipe, you may not want to follow it exactly). Now if you ARE following exactly, wake up from your nap, realize the crock pot was on low AND the meatballs went in frozen, so now crank up the pot to high and after your guests arrive, stall them with appetizers and several drinks. Appetizers can be most anything, but as we had perused our local farmers market (see previous post) we had some stuffed breads to offer, garlic and roasted tomatoes and my favorite, blue cheese and pear.

      For drinks you can add your personal favorites or some of my previous tinis, OR better yet, here are two brand new concoctions for you to try. The first I call Tropics in a Glass ( makes two)
2 ounces Coconut Rum
2 ounces Mango Rum
2 ounces fresh Mango Juice
4 ounces Lemonade
Splash of pineapple juice from the sliced pineapples in a can
1 Pineapple slice split in two

Shake the first 5 ingredients vigorously in a shaker with ice cubes . Strain into martini glasses and one piece pineapple slice to rim and VOILA;

      The first drink was found delicious by all who tried it, For the second drink, I went away from the tropics and more to home grown fruits. This one shall be dub  ummmm hmmm naming contest, I will go with the Black Berritini but really that title sucks, all my loyal readers, what do you think? Here are the ingredients;

In a shaker glass , muddle

Large handful of ripe fresh blackberries
4-5 sprigs of fresh mint
 To this add;
2 ounces coconut rum
2 ounces regular rum
6 ounces lemonade

Shake vigorously and again VOILA;

      What would you name the lovely concoction? For the guys , two new beers, Ommegang Abbey and Noire de Chambly. The first brewed in Cooperstown  NY and the Second in Quebec. Both were delicious, with a slight edge going to Noire de Chambly.

      As you can tell, not images I took, sorry, forgot to photo the beers, ANYWAYS back to our regularly scheduled dinner. So with drinks and appetizers in hand and a very addicting program I had downloaded on the laptop, Spotify, (try the free version, you have to listen to a few ads but man is it fun to try and stump the computer), we were all having a great time. As far as we can tell, you just can't stump this program, I think they have every song ever made. In no particular order we  found and listened to Dominique by the Singing Nun, Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton, 10 cc, Play that funky music white boy (Leif Garret sang this also who knew?), Black Sabbath, The Ballad of the Green Berets Oh and about a few hundred more. So while everyone was engrossed in digging up the most obscure songs ever ( The Singing Nun,  REALLY), I checked on the meatballs, thawed and hot, just how I like my meatballs. On went a huge pot of boiling (OK, technically it started out as non-boiling and soon became boiling) water with olive oil and kosher salt thrown in. Drop in the fresh pasta, wait a couple of minutes, (no more people, this is FRESH pasta, no more than 2 -3 minutes REALLY). Dump the pasta into a nice big colander, back into the now empty pot , splash of extra virgin (olive oil !!) and you are ready to serve.

      Best way I have found is assembly line style. On the counter your first dish should be pasta, next the crock pot with the meatballs, (lid removed DUH) and finally a micro plane with a nice block of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Here is where you need to spend a bit more, c'mon supper was inexpensive, buy GOOD cheese (hey that should be my new motto). We went with a nice block from (where else) Costco but any good cheese shop can help you here. DO NOT buy shredded parm at the grocery store YUCKKKKKKK !!! And if you have some , some fresh thinly shredded basil over the top would be Divine (OH yea I just used the word Divine). Everyone agreed a great meal. And for dessert from our trip to the farmers market.

      Moroccan delights, small but intense flavors, a perfect dessert. But feel free to insert your own dessert. There you go, a quick easy meal for two or many more.

BFM's Forever

      OK, I believe the phrase is BFF, but in this case we aren't talking about best friends but rather the Burlington Farmers Market. Here in Vermont, we are very lucky to never be far from a farmers market, no matter which town you live in. But the granddaddy and probably the biggest of them all is the Burlington Farmers Market. This is a great combination of fresh produce, ready to eat foods and of all things, Arts and Crafts. With such a great variety of things to see and taste and smell, one can easily spend hours wandering the booths.

Garden if front of City Hall and a few booths from the market;

      Fresh produce and prepared foods are the highlight of any market. And you will be hard pressed to find greater diversity than the Burlington market. Just a quick walk around and we found ready to eat food from Tibet, Africa (Samosaman YUM), Jamaica, Nepal, Morocco, China and food items like Barbecue, desserts, brownies and homemade root beer,  numerous baked goods, breads and lots more. In the produce department, every kind of fruit and vegetable you can imagine, fresh eggs, incredible cheeses, Vermont wines, organic meats, poultry and lots of fresh cut flowers.

      We had company coming for supper otherwise I could have spent several hours exploring. We had a quick bite to eat at Orsini BBQue, (try the Porky, half a serving of homemade mac and cheese , half incredible pulled pork DOUBLE YUM !!) And of course, a big shout out to Samosaman with a full offering of samosas and chicken curry and rice.  Next time we visit, we will bring the in-laws (Bro and Sis) and eat our way through the market, offering reviews on all the food. Just a quick thought, if you are planning on coming down to the farmers market to get bargains, think again. From what a couple of vendors told us it is VERY expensive to have a booth here, maybe the most expensive in the state (Thanks Burlington). So prices will be higher than your local mega-mart grocery store. But the trade off is, nothing will ever be fresher, the corn we saw was picked that morning, the eggs we bought laid the night before, the cheeses (Boucher Farms INCREDIBLE blue) fresh from the farm. For us it worth the extra money to A) get absolute farm fresh produce and B) to give money directly to the farmers who are working so hard to supply us with quality ingredients.

      So what did we come home with? Lets see, three different Boucher Farm cheeses, fresh eggs (Eric's I believe?) blueberries (Willow farm), Moroccan Delight Deserts, Stuffed breads (sorry can't remember the booth). These breads were great by the way, mine was a bread roll stuffed with blue cheese and pears YUMMMMM.  Some just picked organic arugula, and of course the BBque we ate while there. I am sure I forgot something, as the bags were quite full. A perfect way to spend a few hours in the sunshine of Vermont.

      Here are a few more pictures;

      A great time was had by all and an activity I suggest everyone participate in. Just think ahead, bring a cooler with some ice (or cooler packs, we did neither, of course, BUT I did remember the camera YEA) and after wandering around the markets, stop for a lunch at one of Burlington's many fine restaurants. We recommend Church and Main, Ri Ra's , Daily Planet and we are soon to try the New El Gato and we still haven't made it to Farmhouse Tap. What's missing? Well off the top of me head, fresh seafood, ( I know the ocean is a ways away but someone should drive to one of the big fish markets and bring back whatever is fresh for the Farmers market), pies, cakes, cookies , whoopee pies, I saw none of these and a HUGE miss is Ice Cream, the PERFECT summer treat and not a bite to eat. If anyone takes me up on these missing offerings, just send me an email and I will gladly let you know where to send the commission checks.  As far as activities go, I rate this one an A.

Cooking 101 : Cheese Souffle

        Since we are not related to Donald Trump, eating out every night of the week is not an option. AND since we love the Travel Channel and Food Network, trying new and exotic food are high on our list of things we love to do. So every now and then we put our heads together and come up with a recipe that tests are abilities (homemade chicken mole anyone, yummy but LOTS of ingredients). This portion of the blog will be called Cooking 101 and no I will not be explaining how to take Banquet chicken from the box , put it on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Oops I just  did , OK there's your first recipe !!

       For this adventure we decided Souffles were in order, Why? Who knows it sounded good at the time and was exotic and hard enough to make us see if we could master it. Why a savory souffle? Again I can not remember the exact thinking other than maybe we wanted a healthy version ( RIGHT) or more likely it is impossible to keep chocolate in our house (you know who you are). But first a drink was in order, as a very wise woman once said " I love cooking with wine, sometimes I even put some in the food". So today's concoction a Ras-Mintini.

For the soon to be world famous Ras-Mintini;

In a cocktail shaker, Muddle a small handful of fresh mint and fresh raspberries together.
Add 3 ounces of your favorite rum (we used Mango Rum for an extra tropical kick).
Top with Fresh lemonade, add ice, shake, strain and Voila a perfect summer cooler.

           With Mintini in hand, we were ready to tackle the mysterious souffle. And since this isn't a detective novel let me fast forward to the end, Souffles are EASY,  the absolute hardest part is separating six eggs. But I am getting ahead of myself. What to serve with the soon to be spectacular souffles? A beautiful side of wild sockeye salmon, cooked simply on the grill with an Indian spice dry rub.

          Allow me a quick rant, (like you could stop me, I am writing this after all). Our local Costco store had some gorgeous wild sockeye salmon fillets and right around the corner, in the same case, farm raised salmon for a dollar a pound MORE !!   And people were buying them !!! PEOPLE, PEOPLE farm raised salmon is tasteless and REALLY, REALLY bad for the environment. Gigantic pens in the ocean, leeching chemicals, food and waste into formerly pristine waters. PLEASE, always buy wild salmon , and if its not available look for Steelhead fillets, these are pond raised in the USA with very strict controls. Nothing leeches out, it all stays in the ponds, which are closely regulated by our government. And now back to our regularly scheduled recipe.

          First step , always mis en place (French for everything in its place or in English don't forget the most important ingredient dummy). You will need;

4 tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup All purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk warmed but not boiling
6 Eggs (at room temperature) separated
1/4 cup Fresh Herbs (whatever you have growing , you do grow fresh herbs right?) We used a combo of Basil, Rosemary and Thyme YUMMY
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup grated your choice Cheese (we used smoked Gouda but next time may switch to a hard goat cheese for a more robust cheese flavor).

Pre-Heat oven to 375 one hour before you want to start cooking. Yea, this isn't a recipe to try when its 100 outside, it will heat up your kitchen to hellish levels.

Prepare souffle ramekins or 2 quart souffle pan (we used six, cup size ramekins that I had gotten with a creme brulee set and these worked great though we did have left over souffle so 8 would of been perfect), by thoroughly buttering the insides (don't skimp its important) and dusting the inside with grated Parmesan, it will stick to the butter and you can dump the excess out into the next ramekin.

        Now lets start assembly. But first a Food Network hint, when separating eggs use three clean bowls, separate over the middle one, add yolks to one bowl and pour out the white into a separate bowl, that way you always only have one egg white in the bowl in front of you. Absolutely sucks to get to the 6th egg and drop yolk into the other five whites, ruining it all. We went through ALOT of eggs but only ruined one at a time, (to be fair the dozen eggs we bought had 4 cracked ones GRRRR). Back to assembly, melt the butter at med-low heat until it stops foaming, stir in the flour and whisk for around three minutes until well incorporated and starting to color a very little bit.  Now whisk in the milk a little bit at a time, allow to cool slightly and whisk in the egg yolks and the cheese. Once the cheese melts, remove from heat and set aside.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, (we used a stand mixer MUCH easier but keep your eyes on the whites as it takes very little time once they start forming to get to stiff peak, ours may have been a touch too stiff but they worked, phew).

          Hang in there gang, we are on the home stretch. And I apologize for not having photos as we assembled, I blame the Mintinis.  Now add the herbs to the yolk mixture and mix 1/3 of the egg whites in, don't worry about being gentle at this point you need to loosen up the yolk mixture. Add the rest of the egg whites and now you need to be gentle, fold with a wide spatula from bottom to top until all incorporated, its OK if there is still some white showing you need to keep the air in the mixture so it will rise. Pour into each ramekin (or one big one) until almost full, we put the ramekins on a cookie sheet just in case and plus its easier to handle on a cookie sheet than 6 individual ramekins. Put into the oven for 30 minutes or until a skinny skewer comes out moist but clean (what the heck does that mean, we left them in until they were really nicely browned on top and a toothpick came out clean, about 26 minutes).

           And to deflate (hee hee) a misconception, you do not have to tiptoe around the kitchen just to make sure the souffles actually rise. We went about our normal business and even (gently) peaked in the oven (maybe not the best idea) and we had no problems. OK, stop drinking mintinis and go put the salmon on the grill, flesh side first for a few minutes to get some nice grill marks and then flip until cooked , probably 10-15 minutes for a good size fillet, stop when the thickest part still shows a little raw as it will continue to cook off the grill,  DON"T OVERCOOK YUCK !!  And for the grand unveiling;

   So as you can see, souffles are not made of gold and us ordinary mortals can make them just like the pros, except we don't have someone to do the cleaning for us, DARN. Just a couple last observations, Souffles do deflate, so plan on serving them as soon as the get out of the oven, this means have everything else ready and serve HOT. But cold souffles are darn tasty (Who Knew),if just a little flatter, though to me they taste like quiches, not necessarily a bad thing.

   On the Andy scale of cooking from 1(EZ Mac) to 10 (Molecular Gastronomy) I rate this recipe a 4. Really people, the hardest part is the prep work, so have fun and play with the flavors, this recipe just calls for improv, different cheeses, different herbs. Wifey says next time we are to add cooked bacon bits to the batter YUMMY !!  And I have a recipe for a chocolate souffle with a white bourbon sauce added to the center. Until next time Happy Cooking !!