Update on Angler's, Searsport

WOW, what a change in circumstances! We went back to one of our favorite places for dinner with Vicky and found the food to be really pretty bad. We ordered onion rings to start, which were still pretty good. Greg said his fried fish fillet was ok, but not as good as in the past. Poor Vicky had the crabcakes. Who knows what the cook did to these, I thought they were deep fried and had been waiting around under the heat lamp for a while. They arrived flat and dark and looking like a hamburger. I heard last night from a friend who had the crabcakes on his visit there who said his crabcakes were about the same, inedible. I had trouble ordering. We got there at about 6:30 and the place was out of chicken and hamburger. I saw one of their salads go by and knew I didn't want that...I ended up having them make me a grilled cheese with tomato and fries. It arrived as mostly fried bread and old fries. All I can say is: "Clean up your act Anglers!!"

Cedar Crest Motel Coffee Shop, Camden

Had never heard or noticed this place for the first two years I lived here. Then I noticed the "breakfast" sign as I drove south on Rte I just south of downtown Camden. It took me another year before trying the place.

Greg and I were famished coming back from hiking with the dogs, so we decided to try it. The place is totally tucked away and has windows facing the Camden Hills so it really is a great escape from the hustle and bustle of Camden. The decor is curious. There are marine paintings on the wall for sale. A large coastal scene greets you when you come in the door...its by a 19th century Dutch artist and is for sale for something like $19,000. What caught my eye most about the work was the bit of gravy in the corner of the painting.

We were tired, parched, and so hungry. Greg ordered his usual deep fried fish and taters which was still not as good as the fish one gets at the Irving Station in Searsport. I had the chicken quesadilla, which was a huge portion and came topped with sour cream and canned salsa. It was ok, but the chicken should have had a bit more flavor and there needed to be more cheese. The service was really friendly and the place was pretty clean. I hear the breakfast menu is great.

Enjoy
Seth
Food: C+
Atmosphere: B+
Service: A

Crusty Tuscan Flat Bread
So, I find this recipe and tweek it a bit to make it my own and Greg now asks for it every day around noon...."are you makin' bread for dinner?" he says. Jeez, I'm a bit tired of kneading dough. The thing is, its super easy to make.

Cup of lukewarm water
2 packs of yeast
2. 5 cups flour
fresh herbs if you want
sea salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil give or take
toppings of choice or eat it plain with butter!

So, take the the yeast and sprinkle over warm water...let stand for 15 minutes or so until the yeast becomes frothy

Put two cups of flour in a bowl with a pinch or two of sea salt and I cut up some sage leaves here...I've used lavender too which is nice and aromatic. I would use rosemary, but I don't have any in my winter herb garden (oh no, that sounds so martha and its not...just a couple of dried out old sage plants from the summer sitting in pots in the kitchen). Make a well in the center of the flour

Pour in the frothy yeast mixture and mix with a fork until combined and sticky...add about a 1/4 cup more flour and knead in the bowl until combined. Add 1/8 cup of olive oil and knead through your fingers until dough becomes elastic..keep adding oil as needed and knead for about 5-7 minutes right in the bowl (this is the secret to crusty bread). Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and let rise for 1.5 hours.

Take bread out of bowl and place on cookie sheet shape into round or rectangle. cover loosely and let sit another 30 minutes. Preheat to 400 degrees

poke with finger to make divets, sprinkle with oil and more salt and whatever else you want to put on top...carmelized onions, tomatos, red peppers, etc and bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and smellin' good.

Primo, Rockland

Last night we were treated to a fabulous dinner at Primo in Rockland. Primo is probably the best restaurant in Maine and I had never been there before. Our great friend Vicky took me there as a birthday present, with Greg in tow and with our friend Mary as well. I knew we were going to be loud and have lots to drink (wel, not me as I drove) and have a great time and we did. The food was of course, just fabulous. I don't think anyone left a morsel on their plates throughout the three courses.

We were ushered into a small room at the front of the 100 year old house that hosts the restaurant. We waited quite a while for our waiter to come by for drink orders and then even more time to get them (the bar is upstairs). After ordering, we were served an amuse bouche from the kitchen of potato leek soup with frizzled leeks decorating the top. The soup could have been thicker and have a richer flavor. I personally think curry brings out both flavors of the potatoes and the leeks and maybe that would have helped.

I ordered a chickory and citrus salad with candied walnuts that was out of this world. Excellent. I know the other salads were excellent too as there was not a morsel left on anyone's plate. Vicky had a salad with fried oysters that she loved. Greg had a stuffed grape leaf that he is still raving about and Mary had a green salad.

Dinner came and I had the bistro steak with frites and sauteed watercress that was to die for. It was creamy and lemony and delicious. Greg had the cod which he didn't let anyone eat. Vicky the Venison with baby brussel sprouts, and Mary the Pork Scallopini with garlic mashed taters. The flavors of each were distinctive and very good. No wasted food here!

We had to try the desserts and so we had the lemon souflee tart, the black and white creme brulee and the profitorales with hazelnut ice cream and milk choc. sauce. Everyone agreed that the cream puffs with icecream was the best, the lemon souflee with berry sorbet was second and the black and white creme brulee was a distant third. Along with these came the trio of ports (20 yr, 30 yr and 40yr old) and a sweet dessert wine all of which were great (I had tiny sips)

We all agreed that the service could have been better. We waited a while for our plates to be cleared from dinner and drinks were slow to arrive. I must say that the waiter caught some of our conversation because the profitarells arrived with "Happy 37th Birthday" written in chocolate around the rim of the plate. mmm mmm mmmm

Food: A+
Atmosphere: B+
Service: B-
Price: Oh My God, lets not go there!

Enjoy!
Seth

3Tides, Belfast

I'll tell you up front here that Sarah and David Carlson, the owners of 3Tides, are very very good friends of mine, so this might be a bit biased, though I'll try to make it as objective as possible. When 3Tides opened in August, there was always an audible gasp from patrons who walked in the door. It was a gasp of disbelief that such an interesting and quirky place could suddenly appear on the mid-coast. I told David that his place was termed in my head "Industrial Chic." Its just such a cool place, everyone should partake of the atmosphere here...it is a great escape from the sameness of other eateries on the coast.

The atmosphere is like no other on the mid-coast...interesting, warm, yet spare, welcoming, and cozy, with a side of hip. When I walked in yesterday around 1pm, Linda Ronstadt was on the satelite radio and there were candles lit all over the place with Sarah and David's crapepaper collage decorated tealight votives. It was very relaxing and the glow from the candles really shut one's mind off from the stresses of the day. There was some dude writing the great American novel at a booth while a couple finished up their grilled sandwiches. I got a big greeting from Sarah behind the bar and Ben Clarke in the kitchen. I sidled up to the bar with my menu and looked over the fare......I chose a cup of cream of broccoli soup and a personal artichoke heart and roasted red pepper pizza on Ben's homemade crust. A word of advice...If there is ever a dish that has something to do with Ben's homemade yeast bread or crust...just order it no matter what....His bread talent is quite amazing (I am very jealous of his bread skills)

The soup arrived with a smile from Sarah and a side of oyster crackers.......It was good, but could have been thicker and hotter. I like my broccoli soup to have chunks of broccoli, which this didn't have. I also like it so thick that the broccoli could stand up straight if it wanted to...Perhaps I'm a freak, but this is what I like.

The pizza was heavenly. Ben used sun-dried tomato oil in the crust as well as a pinch of fresh rosemary. there was fresh shaved parmesan on the top and it smelled and tasted really good.
I'll keep coming back for Ben's cooking and the big hugs I get from Sarah and David upon entering. Never thought I would have my own Cheers!
Atmosphere A
Food B+/ A-
Friendly Service A+
Enjoy!
Seth

Rollie's, Belfast Maine

Rollie's has new owners, a fresh coat of paint, the Maine no smoking policy, and great bar food. All of that adds up to a new place to have lunch in Belfast! We met our friends David and Sarah there last Monday during their day off from Three Tides. We had a really pleasant time as we hadn't really seen them in forever. Between tales of pipes freezing and problems of finding plumber in these cold days, we had beautiful onion rings, burgers, grilled cheese and tomato, and fried haddock (guess who ordered that!) The owner came over after we finished and chatted with us a bit. He is a super nice guy and should do well with the business...he did tell us that he was off to the Middle East for the next six months as part of the American Troop movement there. His wife, whom we did not meet, will be running the place. I wish them the best of luck and urge all who read this who might want a "new" place for a down to earth burger or a salad to try Rollies.
Food: B
Atmosphere B-
Friendliness A

New Year's Eve New York Cheesecake

Everyone has their favorite cheesecake recipe, and this is mine, passed down to me from that great blonde in Florida, my mom.

I've loved this recipe ever since she started making it for me and sending it to me as a care package in high school. The secret is the ricotta cheese. I've added a few refinements of my own and it is delightful.

It's cooking as I type and I'll take it to a New Year's party tonight.

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Two packages graham crackers
1 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar


1 lb of cream cheese
1 lb of ricotta
1.5 cups sugar
5 eggs room temp
1/2 stick butter melted and cooled
3 tblspoons flour
3 tblespoons cornstarch
2.5 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sour cream folded
lemon zest if desired.

grind the crackers to crumbs
add the sugar and melted butter and combine
pour into an ungreased 10" springform pan and tamp down on bottom and 1/2 way up sides forming a large cavity for the cheesecake batter.
cook in the oven while making the batter (appoximately 10-15 minutes)


Blend the ricotta and the cream cheese and the sugar together until light. Add eggs one at a time blending well each time. Add butter, flour and cornstarch and then vanilla and combine well. Fold in sour cream and if desired , 2 tablespoons lemon zest. Pour into crust (will exceed crust on sides of pan) and bake in a slow 325 degree oven for 1 hour. Turn off oven and let cake sit for 2 hours to dry out. Cool completely on rack in pan and then chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

For tonight's dinner, I added some leftover key lime juice that I had and added zest to the crust.

Enjoy,
Seth

Summer House Cafe, Belfast
Every Sunday we wake Vicky out of a sound sleep at about 7:45 am by telephoning her and wispering "get out of bed, all the good stuff is gonna be gone!" We then proceed to pick her up for Church......our church is different from you Sunday go to worship folks...we pray to the object gods by going to our Church, the fleamarket in a nearby town.....
So after a morning of junquing, we are usually hungry, but on this morning, we also took the dogs for a spin around Sears' Island so we were pretty famished by then. We decided to drop the dogs off and go to the Summer House Cafe across from Agway on Rte 1 in Belfast. We had seen a lot of cars there in the past few weeks since it has opened, and wanted to check it out. When we walked in, this nice young woman told us someone would be with us in a minute.........then someone else told us the same thing......then it happened again....we started keeping count by then and when it happened two more times, we pointed the problem out. That's the fifth time we've been told that and there are empty tables to be seen everywhere.
My rule is...if you are going to make people wait, don't leave the menus within easy reach...6.95 for eggs, bacon and toast? In Belfast??? I don't think so, especially not if we had to wait 15 minutes with empty tables around. We left and went to Dudley's for the $4.95 special of two eggs, chedder and sausage potatos, and a grilled biscuit...what more do you need????
So far I can only rate this place on my first impressions and it gets a D for its attitude

Early Christmas Dinner

Every year at about this time, my family gets together for Christmas in New York. We all dread travelling over the holidays and so we meet, have a big dinner and exchange presents...it is wonderful to have Christmas "over" three weeks before the actual event, making the actual day of Christmas much less stressful. So, why am I telling you all this? Because we had about a foot more snowfall in New York than we had in Maine, and I got stuck there and couldn't get back here, where my pipes froze and my furnace quit on me (Luckily, Greg stayed behind with the mutts and was able to remedy the situation!)

My mother has finally relinquished her kitchen to me completely. There was a turning point in our food relationship when she called me on Thanksgiving day to find out how I made my mashed potatoes instead of me calling her. So, she told me that "Christmas dinner" was all mine to make....of course only after she bought the food (I went out later and bought the things I really needed) I wanted to share my Roasted Beef Tenderloin in green peppercorn sauce with you:

Trim and prepare your tenderloin in a roasting pan.
and marinate in the green peppercorn mixture:

In a blender, puree:
4 tablespoons green peppercorns (rinsed if pickled)
4 cloves garlic
1/2-3/4 cup red wine
dash of olive oil
pinch of thyme if you have it

pour over the tenderloin (you might need to double the recipe of your tenderloin is larger), cover in plastic wrap and set in refrigerator for at least three hours.

before cooking, bring tenderloin to room temp. take off plastic wrap, baste meat with sauce from pan and place in a preheated 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. lower temp to 350 and roast for another 25 to 30 minutes depending on how you like your tenderloin. Let rest covered for 20 minutes on a cutting board.

Place roasting pan with juices on stove burner medium high and add two tablespoons butter when melted wisk in two tablespoons flour until smooth and then add 1/2 cup heavy cream wisking constantly, if sauce starts to boil , reduce temp and keep wisking until desired thickness. Sauce will be quite zesty. cut beef in slices and add a bit of sauce over the top. Serve with:

Baby carrots and asparagus tips sauteed lightly in two tablespoons butter, dash of white wine, and fine herbs

Enjoy!,
Seth

Thanksgiving has come and gone and there is STILL turkey left in the fridge! We brined a 20 lb turkey for 24 hours in 3 gallons of water, 2 cups salt, 2 cups dark rum, cayanne pepper, and cilantro. We then cooked it over low heat on the gas grill for three hours and it was just as tender as can be. I am a brining fan from now on!
I cooked a lot of food over several days and so there was no real stress about 10 people for dinner. I found a wonderful dried cranberry and orange yeast bread and tweaked it a bit to make it my own. Greg declared it his new favorite and wants me to make loaves for each of his family members for Christmas presents (I also have to make chocolate almond bark by request for his sisters) So the recipe for the bread is as follows:

3 cups (or more) bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 envelopes quick-rising dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, hot
1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
Juice from one orange
1/3 cup (about) hot water (120°F to 130°F)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 large egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

Stir 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt in large bowl to blend. Add milk, 2 eggs, melted butter and orange zest and juice and stir vigorously until well blended. Gradually stir in enough hot water to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead dough until smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky, adding more flour if necessary, about 7 minutes. Knead in dried cranberries 1/3 cup at a time; then knead in pecans. Form dough into ball.

Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly oil heavy large baking sheet. Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; then divide 1 dough piece into 3 equal pieces and reserve. Using palms of hands, roll out each of remaining 3 large pieces on work surface to 13-inch-long ropes. Braid ropes together. Tuck ends under and pinch together. Transfer braid to prepared baking sheet. Roll out each of reserved 3 small dough pieces to 10-inch-long ropes. Braid ropes together. Tuck ends under and pinch together. Brush large braid with some of egg glaze. Place small braid atop center of large braid. Brush small braid with some of egg glaze. Let rise uncovered in warm area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush loaf again with egg glaze. Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 45 minutes. Transfer loaf to rack and cool at least 45 minutes before slicing. (Can be prepared ahead. Cool completely. Wrap tightly in foil and freeze up to 2 weeks. Uncover and thaw at room temperature.)

Makes 1 loaf.

Other highlights of the Turkey day feast were the ginger candied carrots and butternut squash. MM MMM MMM. I cut baby carrots and butternut squash in to bite sized pieces and sauteed with butter, fresh orange juice, fresh ginger, and salt and pepper..the results were great!
That along with traditional whole cranberry sauce, a good zucchini bread and the spiced pumpkin soup that is elsewhere on this site made a great dinner. Others brought other dishes, so the feast was a sight to behold.
Til next time!
Enjoy,
Seth

So, Greg made a cozy dinner tonight and we had Vicky over. She is always good when we want to sit around and giggle and laugh. After dinner I had an attack of the insatiable sweet tooth and wanted something really decadent......So, I adjusted a recipe for toffee bars, 1/2ed it and made the richest chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. Here is what transpired:

Riichest chocolate chip cookies

Start out melting 2 sticks of salted butter
combine with 1 cup of packed brown sugar
add one egg yolk and mix well
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
mix well
fold in 12 oz semi sweet or milk chocolate chips

(these are girl cookies..no nuts)

I served them hot off the cookie sheet on plates with a scoop of ice cream and a dollop of some frozen chocolate glaze I had.

Vicky and I were discussing her book club and I thought to myself "self," I said " I'd like to start a dinner group...gourmet pot luck. Start a theme dinner and let the guests bring something to make a several course meal..better than any restaurant could...put effort into it. Carribean night, Moroccan food! Afgani cuisine...something different from the same ole grind up here. I don't know if this would work...it would be set up like a book group in that you wouldn't nessesarily see most of the group outside of the dining room...would that work?

Its food for thought. If there is anyone in the Camden-Lincolnville-Northport-Belfast area that reads this missive and is interested in pursuing this idea, gimme a shout at seththayer@gwi.net

Enjoy,
Seth

well, it snowed here today, so you can imagine what the temperature is. I found myself wandering the aisles of the grocery store yesterday trying to find the perfect comfort food for dinner...then it hit me "POT ROAST." I have never made it, haven't eaten it in years, since dear ole' mom used to shove it in the oven around noon and serve it up to us after school, while she and my dad had cocktail hour.

Anyway, pot roast happened to be on sale for about 2 bucks a pound..a real bonus. Got some fingerling potatos and some baby carrots and I was all set...a whole dinner in one pot..what could be easier.

It was so easy, in fact, that I invited some folks over to share.. we built a big fire and had a riot with the black meanies (our two XL dogs). I love low key evenings cooking for friends and eating on our laps in front of the fire. There are very few people in this world that are close enough to you to not mind eating on their laps...these are the people with whom you should surround yourselves. Listed below is the recipe I came up with for dinner. The great thing about pot roast is that you can throw anything in with it to simmer with it and it comes out pretty good all the time.

POT ROAST

I used a cast iron stew pot and did the whole thing on the stove.

Got the pot really hot and added olive oil and butter mixture.
Rub and coat the roast with a mixture of flour, salt and pepper and brown each side of the roast in the oil and butter mixture.
Add onions and turn the heat down a bit..cover and cook about 10 minutes until the onions are cooked through and brownish
Add baby carrots and spices----I used hand-ripped fresh sage (doesn't that sound snobby???--its wonderful) and threw in a bundle of thyme. added some ground ginger and a few cloves of garlic, a 1/2 cup of spiced rum, a bit of white zinfindel (we had it left over from a party...gotta use it for something) and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Let the whole thing come to a boil and then turn to simmer. REMEMBER: Cook the roast with the fat side up.
The whole should cook for 4-5 hours on low on your stove.
after two hours turn the beast over
after three hours add some potatos.

When you take this out of the pot, it should have trouble staying together and should crumble when you cut it.
Let the roast sit for a few minutes out of the liquid before carving.

strain out veggies from pot and turn the heat up. rapidly whisk in a touch of corn starch to the juices to make gravy.

Serve with a side of the veggies and homemade rolled parmesan butter biscuits..... :-)

My friend Anne called up today and raved about the pot roast, saying it was so tender and the flavor was excellent. We talked food for about 20 minutes and it was great to get that input. While eating last night our friend Vicky said that the roast was just the perfect thing and that it made her think of her Mom....can't get much better than that. Food that evokes memories...kewl!

Tonight I'm having stew (I cheated and just shoved the leftovers in the pot with the gravy, added some water and am serving over rice with bread from Chase's Daily.) Greg is refusing to eat stew and is having leftover clam chowder....have I written that recipe down yet???? I know it by heart after making it for 3Tides everyday for a bout a month. I still get compliments from people about it Best chowder they've ever had...don't know what I did, but it makes me proud to have done it and never, ever, tasted it!

Enjoy,
Seth

Lobster Pound, Lincolnville Maine

We finally went to the Lobster Pound for dinner last night, having never eaten there at all. I figured as one who is allergic to seafood, that they would typically offer bad landlubber fare to those of us who don't imbibe....this was true. Greg had deep fried haddock as usual which he said was really good, but not as good as the Irving Mainway. His dad had the baked stuffed haddock and his mom had the baked haddock...like parents, like son I guess. Both parents gave the food a big thumbs up. I had the roast turkey with Gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce and it was good, but smothered in a tastless canned gravy. that made it a disappointment. The atmosphere was pretty pared down...florescent lighting did a lot for the mood of the place...two well placed spider plants were all we had for decor...but the gift shop was hoppin'!

Food B
Atmosphere D-

OOPS! Greg just informed me that he didn't want to hurt his parents's feelings about the dinner at the Lobster Pound and so he fibbed a bit. When I asked him a few days later if he REAAAAAAALLLYYY thought the fish and chips were as good as Irving, he said the Lobster Pound food was horrible! No taste, very greasy, etc. He also tried his father's and thought there was no taste at all in the food and that the stuffing was just a bunch of seafood mush. I have to revise the ratings and give the Lobster Pound a resounding D all around.

Enjoy,
Seth

Can't believe I haven't been here since August! Anyway, I need to unload about the bad sitcom birthday party I threw this week. Greg's parents were here for a week and his mom's birthday was on the 14th. One of our clients kept asking to meet his parents, stop by for cocktails, whatever...so I invited them to join in the festivities. I also asked a few other people...I love cooking for friends. Tuesday morning rolls around and the day starts off badly...shoulda just gone back to bed and ordered Thai food for dinner! The dogs were sick all day and had to be tended to....everyone except our clients and Greg's parents cancelled because they all have that flu thing that sticks around for weeks on end. So the dinner was going to be Greg's West Virginian parents and our doctor clients! Oh the conversation stoppers I was imagining all day long!
So I make the spiced pumpkin soup no problem (recipe below) and then move onto cake. Greg's mom said all she wanted was chocolate cake..so I gave it to her....a flourless chocolate cake that is so rich it makes your face sweat...I prepare the cake and let it bake...it is gorgeous coming out of the oven...looks like a huge soufle..raised about an inch above the pan....beautiful! I then let it sit so that it can fall and crack while I take the dogs out.....Get back 20 minutes later and find that the darn thing isn't cooked all the way through...back it goes in the oven for about 20 minutes longer than usual for some reason...take it out and let it sit again...turn it over and the cake just falls apart :-( I'm crushed. So, I guess its time to make that chocolate glaze to glue the darn thing back together again.....it works to some extent, but the beautiful cake I envisioned looks a bit lok a lopsided leaky tire.

We are getting ready for guests and have about 1/2 hour to go when Greg comes downstairs stark naked and says that something is wrong with the shower. Meanwhile I've noticed that the Doc and his wife have pulled up and are walking up the front steps while Greg is standing there in all his glory in full view. (They say they didn't see him streak through the house, but how could they not) Early party guests are hard to take, especially since I wasn't ready...no shoes on and no h'ors d'oeuvres available. So they come in and comment with dismay at the dining table saying (We're your only guests?) They ask for Vodkas and ice and I go into the kitchen only to find that we have enough of both for just two drinks! Ahhhhggghhhh. Greg is still primping upstairs. The doc goes to pet one of our large dogs and Sebastian growls at him (we have this reputation for our large black mean dogs who are sweet as can be as long as guest don't look at them!). Greg finally comes down and I pop off to the mobil station for cheap vodka and ice, forgetting of course to put the sausage in puff pastry in the oven . When I return, the appetizers go in and start to brown. No sign of the birthday girl yet (Greg's parents show up about 1/2 hour late) I get impatient with the sausage and put the broiler on to brown them....get the picture about what happens here? I can carbon date the tops of these tasty suckers when I remember about them 10 minutes later........Greg saves the day by cutting the tops off and making sausage cups sprinkled with cheese and tomato...great save!

meanwhile Greg's mom and dad show up the first thing she says to me is that she wished we'd told her to dress up! I can't believe how unorganized I am...The pork roast doesn't cook fast enough so by the time the soup is heated and eaten (delicious reviews all around) the pork is not even close to being cooked......While I'm frantically cutting the roast into strips and throwing it in the microwave to cook...Greg's diningroom chair breaks and he falls to the floor.......way to impress the guests!

The pork comes out of the microwave and some pieces are a bit dry, but the whole thing is tasteless because I made the mistake of experimenting with the cooking process by throwing them in the cast iron covered pot in the oven. While I'm trying to whip up an orange sweet and sour sauce to go over top of the pork, Greg's Mom yells in from the other room "Tom, Come sit down" Then I hear "Who's Tom?" Tom was Greg's previous partner (5 years ago) So I choose to ignore the whole thing, but hear Greg explaining who Tom is.

Needless to say...I spilled the beans over coffee and dessert that I felt like Jack Tripper in Three's Company when he tries to impress investors in a new restaurant idea and just blows the whole evening...everyone said that they didn't notice a thing!

Recipies:
Spiced Pumkin Soup
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped ripe banana
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 cups canned pure pumpkin
3/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon yellow curry powder



Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrot and next 6 ingredients and sauté until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Transfer mixture to processor and blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot. Add broth and all remaining ingredients. Boil soup over medium-high heat 15 minutes to blend flavors. Cool slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.)

Bring soup to simmer. Divide among 8 bowls. I add a dollop of plain yogurt for contrast


Makes 8 servings.


Savory Sausage Puffs


1/4 cup chopped onions
1 clove minced garlic or more
1 roll Jimmy Dean 50% lean ground sausage
fresh sage or thyme
pinch of ground red pepper
salt pepper to taste
sheet puff pastry

sautee onions and garlic in olive oil and add sausage and spices. cook until done and then let cool (pressed for time? Put pot in refrigerator while you prepare the pastry. )
Thaw one sheet of pastry and roll out on board until nice and thin. Cut into 2" squares and fill each with a spoonful of sausage, wrapping the corners over the top to seal. place seam side down on cookie sheets and bake until golden brown. Let sit for a few minutes to cool and serve.

Irving Mainway, Searsport

I never thought I'd be writing about the food served in a gas station on the side of route 1, but here goes......Greg had another craving for fish and chips after a long afternoon of installing and trimming out our new rear door to the house. I told him I'd treat him to his favorite dish down at the Hideaway, which happened to be closed...then we tried Anglers in Searsport, also closed........so, I suggested we could probably get fish and chips at the Irving Mainway diner...best described as a truck stop outside the big gas tanks in Searsport.
We were about the only ones there at 9pm on a Wednesday night..big suprise....Greg was adventurous and ordered the deep fried haddock and fries and I had a patty melt. The haddock was actually a fresh side of fish battered and deepfried on top of a heaping mound of the best crispy fries we'd had in a long time. Greg says that it was his best haddock experience yet. The patty melt was passible and I think you should stay away from the slaw.

Atmosphere: Mauve nautical
Food A-
Enjoy,

Seth

Wow, July 21st was my last post here. We've been busy trying to get 3Tides, my friends's waterfront bar, open and up and running for the last few weeks. This is our first full week of being open and boy am I tired! David and Sarah asked me to help with the menu and help cook the food for the bar. We quickly realized that the place was more of a dining establishment than any of us realized it was going to be. Wednesday night there were people lined up down the stairs for a table on the deck and lobsters and steamers were flying out the door! We created some interesting, simple to prepare, dishes that could be served out of a very small space using warming ovens, etc. We want to be known for a few things such as the quality of our shellfish, our chowder, and of course, our cornbread muffins, which are a great accompanyment to every dish.........I feel sometimes like that Duncan Donuts commercial "Time to make the cornmuffins...the cornmuffins." I am also producing gallons of lemon-limabean hummus, black bean dip and salsa for our dip sampler platter. I came up with a spinach and onion frittatta for Sunday brunch and we hit upon a popular dish which is tomato, basil and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and served with rounds of french bread. It looks amazing on the plate. We get our desserts from a local bakery and they are delicious....death by choc...lemon layer cake...and a frangiopan. I think 3Tides is going to be a hit......

Enjoy,
Seth

Seng Thai, East Belfast, ME

House guests are at least good for one thing! We were taken out to dinner again by a different out of town guest. Since our guest room is full for a while, I think we'll probably eat well for a few weeks.

We'd been to Seng Thai a few years ago and didn't care to go back because Greg was not really impressed with his meal at that time. When I was down in Belfast yesterday thouh, some people were chatting about the place, so I thought we should go again.

We were pleasantly suprised this time. Our service was fast and attentive and we all had a glass of red wine faster than you can say "steamed dumplings, please."

I ordered the steamed dumplings which were really good. The black sauce was really tasty. Greg ordered the Crab balls, which were actually "krab" and not very good. Since we live on the coast of Maine, there is no excuse for using frozen crab substitute.

The menu told us to order our meals by means of a star grading for spicyness...1 star for least spicy and 5 for most. I ordered chicken cashew with a three star spice and my mouth was on fire...it was great...my sinuses never felt better! Greg had the special of the evening, shrimp and chicken in a spicy asparagus sauce. He asked for 2 stars and said it was more like 5 stars..delicious, but it made his eyes water!

Our guest had a duck dish called "duck chow chee." The duck was plump and succulent and very nice.

We like the shabby chic interior. My favorite was the map of Thailand made entirely of pennies that confronts you at the front door. This place certainly gets the thumbs up from me. The price is right too...it was about $20 a person.
Atmosphere......the penny art definitely makes this an A
Food......B+
Price...A for affordable.

Enjoy,
Seth

Atlantica, Camden, ME
Last night we had an out of town friend treat us to dinner as payback for inviting her to Easter dinner! Though it was unnessesary, we never turn down a good free meal!!! Atlantica is one of the harborside restaurants on Bayview Street in Camden...the atmosphere of having boats and schooners float by while we sip our cocktails just cannot be beat. Right away, I give the place an A for location!

We started out with a couple of bottles of Austrailian Shiraz which was just lovely. The wine list is extensive and varies widely with affordable bottles as well as $125 bottles. Our server was very adept at getting the wine around the smallish table and keeping our glasses filled.

Three of us had the Atlantica salad, which was a bed of greens with walnuts, manderin oranges, blueberries, warm goat cheese, and a nice subtle dressing that did not overwhelm the salad. At $6.00 it was probably the best value on the menu. Greg had crab cakes (which turned out to be a single crab cake) He said it was wonderful, but later told me that it certainly wasn't worth getting again.

The chef appears to be a minimalist with a penchant for using his frothing machine....there were interesting sounding dishes that were served with some sort of foam on the side. Our dinner host ordered the salmon fillet with a side of Wasabi foam (wasabi whipped with cream) I think there was also a soy foam on something as well. For dinner there is not much choice for someone who doesn't eat seafood. I had the fillet of beef with carmelized onions and a bernaise butter. The dish arrived with a squirt of mashed potatos and three green beans. The dish was $23.00 and for that I think at least 10 beans should have been placed on the plate! The food was good, but the brown and orange sauces that were swirled together on the plate were pretty tasteless. Our friend Vicky had the Haddock which she said was mouthwatering and Greg had the scallops which he also said was wonderful, if a bit minimalist for the price.

We were lulled into ordering dessert by the dessert tray that kept passing by. My lemon layer cake was totally sublime and just delicious. I need to figure out how to make something with such a light lemon flavor! Vicky had lemon curd with fresh berries which was also wonderful, though I like my lemon curd better (this dessert gives me ideas for my next party though) Greg had a macademia nut torte that he loved and I thought was ok.

I would certainly recommend this wonderful restaurant, just ask for a few more beans with your dinner though.
Atmosphere A
Food A
Wine A

Enjoy,
Seth

Broadway Deli, Belfast, ME

Yesterday was wicked busy in Belfast with all sorts of art festivals and food booths set up. I went to help my friends David and Sarah at their lobster pound. We sold out of about 45 lbs of lobster in 40 minutes and cooked some for people to eat at our picnic tables. We had a load of people lined out the door for lobster when one of the lobstermen came into the dock with over 30 lbs of fresh catch for us to sell, including one that wieghed in at over 3lbs! (which we sold and cooked for a woman and her mother, who required our metal mallet to break the hard shell exterior!!! We also had a rare and elusive blue lobster! Anyway. Sarah and I don't eat lobster, so we had a break for lunch around 2:30 and I went to a new place in Belfast, the Broadway Deli on Main Street.

Great location, very nice atmosphere with show tunes (my favorite) and Broadway play posters. I thought the menu, which is designed to mimic a Broadway Playbill was very clever. The tables are small and look uncomfortable and the selection is not as extensive as one would want it to be.

When this place was being built out, I thought "great" they'll have a great selection of sandwiches and salads and other things. Well, since they only use Boar's Head products, there are really limited choices as to what to have. There are not Vegatarian subs (which is what Sarah wanted) and no salads, except pre packed potato and macaroni salads. :-( My sandwich was average. A lot of meat, but with only a measley single slice of cheese and a wilted looking tomato. Sarah ended up with a Turkey Club, which she said was pretty tasteless and not something she would order again.

We had a deli bar for dessert which appeared to be a butter crust with chocolate on top and then sprinkled with a crumb topping. The chocolate was mostly whipped egg and was really not what I was hoping for.
Atmosphere is a B+
Food is a C

Enjoy,
Seth

See additions to Darby's review below