Win brownie points in your household! October 15, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish My friend Oscar Turner makes the very best brownies; thick, dense and chewy with a triple chocolate punch and packed with savory, chopped nuts. The perfect afternoon snack, and a great addition to the lunchbox, Oscar’s Brownies have no equal. When I inquired about the formula, his wife, Diana, was gracious enough to share the …
For a tasty spread, roast eggplant October 1, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Eggplant is such an interesting vegetable, although botanically speaking it specifically is a fruit. With deep purple, white or mottled glossy, thick skins and interesting shapes, eggplant is the staple of many vegetarian diets. Eggplants generally grow best in dependable and warm weather, and this season has produced a bumper crop of this delectable member …
Time is ripe to roast tomatoes September 17, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Tomatoes are a beautiful fruit. I love their bright colors; light pink, cherry red, golden orange and sunny yellow. My culinary heart skips a beat at the sight of them all decked out in their speckles and stripes. Now that the markets are bursting with ripening tomatoes, this is a good opportunity to enjoy one …
How well do you know your Ratatouille? August 20, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Do you know Ratatouille? “Ratatouille” (ra-tuh-TOO-ee) is a delightful animated Disney film released in 2007 about a gifted French rat named Remy with highly developed senses of smell and taste who dreams of becoming a chef. Remy’s signature dish, ratatouille, saves the day in this fast moving, highly entertaining comedy about the intricacies of French …
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. …
