The pleasures of pickles August 6, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish, Recipes With this latest spell of hot and steamy weather, my cucumber patch is exploding. Hundreds of bright yellow blossoms decorate the prickly, green vines. All sorts of pollinators buzz from early dawn until dusk, spreading the wealth that one day will become pickles. My husband likes to scour the cucumber plants early in the morning, …
Lobster gussied up in savory cakes July 16, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish I love a good fish cake, crab cake, even clam cake. There’s something so sensuous about biting through a crispy crust into a tender morsel infused with delicate flavor. Smear it with a good tartar sauce, aioli or ketchup; use plenty of napkins, that’s my kind of street food heaven. To hold together, these seafood …
Moo-ve over dairy July 2, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish We Americans love our ice cream, consuming more than 900 million gallons a year. Before the advent of modern refrigeration, ice cream was a luxury reserved for special occasions. Homemade ice cream was laborious to prepare, and had to be consumed immediately with no freezer capacity available. The process relied entirely upon ice harvesting, a …
Nothing beats a good biscuit June 18, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish I love a good Maine biscuit, piping hot from the oven, with a toasty brown top and feathery light middle. Spread with butter and jam, a biscuit is a hearty snack. Fry up an egg, add a piece of bacon and a slab of Cheddar, the humble biscuit becomes a breakfast sandwich. Leftover biscuits are …
Make a super bowl of clam chowder May 21, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish The flavor of Maine Clam Chowder only improves with age. For optimum enjoyment, serve this chowder in heated soup cups or bowls with lots of chowder crackers.
Famed dressing concocted to honor “Green Goddess” actor May 7, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Green is the color of spring. On my morning walk around Crockett Cove, I watch the winter grays and browns recede as bright shades of green spring forth; prickly green mounds of moss, chartreuse green tips of new spruce, bright green spears of chives, velvety green leaves of mint and soft green fronds of ferns. …
Tender morsels with a spicy twist April 23, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish One of the delights of working in the food business is the wide variety of folks you meet; dedicated farmers, steadfast fishers, enthusiastic foragers and adventuresome eaters. When I had a restaurant and catering company in Bangor, one of the most memorable meals I cooked was a dinner for the Physicians for Social Responsibility hosted …
Wild about warm mushroom salad April 9, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish A recent field trip down the western side on Penobscot Bay to Portland convinced me that although the weather outside has been frightful, the longer days of spring mean more Maine-produced food. Chickens and ducks are laying, hoop houses are filled with tender greens and tomato seedlings, goats are kidding, cows are calving, cheese is …
Sweet potato sandwich pops with flavor March 26, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish The March issue of Bon Appetit magazine features several pages that are devoted to how to build a finely crafted sandwich. It’s the architecture that makes it sing … the balance of flavors and textures. If seeing is a prelude to eating, the photographs of Green Goddess Tuna Salad, an open-faced Scandinavian smorrebrod and Fried …
Sweet on sweet potato muffins March 12, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Lifestyle, Maine Dish, Recipes I have an affinity for freshly baked muffins. At the very inkling of dawn, I love to turn on the oven, assemble ingredients and mix up a batch. The kind of muffin varies, and is highly dependent upon the ingredients on hand. Frozen wild blueberries or raspberries are family favorites, along with chopped apple, pumpkin …
