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 …
Bologna’s pride: Bolognese sauce February 12, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Every cuisine has its signature sauce, and the staple of northern Italy’s Bologna is a thick, full-bodied meat sauce. Ragu, as the Bolognese call their celebrated sauce, is characterized by a mellow, gentle, comfortable flavor that marries gastronomically well with a broad noodle slightly wider than fettuccine known as tagliatelle. In her book “Essentials of …
On Super Bowl Sunday, dip into blueberry sauce, salsa January 22, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish Maine wild blueberries are a superfood, and our family enjoys more than 100 pounds of these tiny, intensely flavored, berries every year. Packed with antioxidants, this blue food relieves the body from the oxidative stress of free radicals. And wild blueberries may be one the best foods for protecting our brains as we age. When …
Spicy noodle salad tasty enough for multiple meals January 7, 2018 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish In the depths of winter when we just don’t feel much like cooking, our household eating strategy is quite simple: Cook once. Eat twice! When the inspiration to cook a meal strikes, I’m sure to prepare enough ingredients (cook once), to become the star of another meal, (eat twice). Roasted root veggies from supper become …
Culinary comfort in a bowl December 25, 2017 by Cheryl Wixson on Columnists, Food, Lifestyle, Maine Dish A whirlwind visit to Hong Kong and the rush of the holidays had me yearning for the comforts of food. It had to be soup: simple, hot, fragrant, bone-building, spicy and creamy …. a cup that restoreth the culinary soul. For a while I ate turkey stock boiled with thin slices of carrots and laced …
