IIK: Chancho Frito and Vigoron

| Posted in Cooking

Lindsey Sterling has published another ethnic cooking adventures on her blog Inside Immigrant Kitchens. This time she’s cooking with Jenny Sanchez from Nicaragua to make Chancho Frito and Vigoron.

She calls it chancho frito and vigoron. It’s Nicaraguan party food. “Vigoron eat with your fingers,” Jenny Sanchez, my Nicaraguan-American neighbor coaches me. We’re in her kitchen three blocks from L.L. Bean. “No fork o no espoon.” Okay, I think, you eat it with your fingers. I get it. “If you a scared,” she looks at me seriously, “I get you a fork.”

The rewards are big for fearlessness.

Julia in Maine

| Posted in Cooking

Portland Magazine has published an article on Julia Child’s 50 year history with Maine.

For a chef like Julia, who insisted on the freshest possible ingredients, Maine was a delight. The family caught pollock for her Bouillabaisse à la mode de Blue Hill Bay (which she made with the fish, potatoes, fennel, and saffron). At low tide they gathered fat purple mussels for her to make Moulles Marinères. Local lobsters became her Lobster Archduke and Butter-Poached Maine Lobster.

New Maine Magazine

| Posted in Events

Maine magazine is set to debut this week with the official launch party taking place on Thursday. According to the their site the party will source food from “The Corner Room, Figa Restaurant, El Rayo Taqueria, and The Salt Exchange with signature drinks by mixologist, John Myers”.
A new article from MaineBiz reports that the 112-page premiere issue will include “a tour of six new Portland restaurants called ‘Eatland.'”

Sam Hayward: Haddock and Beans

| Posted in People

Portland Psst! uncovered this interesting NPR interview with Chef Sam Hayward from Fore Street.

Because of the recession, top restaurants across the country are trying to cut costs without compromising quality…But in Portland, Maine, Chef Sam Hayward, a winner of the James Beard award in 2004, says one way he’s keeping business up is by offering lower-priced entrees that still feel special.

The piece includes Fore Street’s recipes for Haddock Cakes as well as their Beans with Caramelized Onions.

This Week’s Events

| Posted in Events

Browne Trading are Portland Schooner are running a wine and cheese sailing trip this evening. Also on Monday the the weekly  Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place at Bull Feeney’s. The next Wine Flight 5k Training is scheduled for Tuesday. Both Jones Landing and The Salt Exchange are holding a wine event Wednesday evening. The Great Lost Bear is showcasing the beer from Sea Dog Brewing on Thursday. Bibo’s Madd Apple Cafe is holding a wine dinner featuring wines from the Tobin James Winery Saturday night. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

Blue Spoon Review

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Food Heads has published a review of  Blue Spoon.

In summation, I’d like to give a formal apology to the chef, cooks and staff of Blue Spoon: I don’t know why I haven’t patronized you for dinner as of yet, and feel that I may be missing out on something wonderful. I vow to stop by in the near future for a casual dinner, during which I will likely eat more than I can stomach, drink more than I can afford to and hopefully not pass out on your bathroom floor.

X-Rated Wine Tastings

| Posted in General News, Wine

Chow Maine has taken a look at one of the more unusual provisions of Maine’s new wine tasting law. While the law provides shop owners with more flexibility on what can be part of tasting or how frequently they can occur, it also specifies that they must “be conducted in a manner that precludes the possibility of observation by children.”

The changes made by the new legislation won’t go into effect until September, so it’s unclear how the “no children” aspect of the law will affect specific shops. However, an overly strict interpretation of this provision might make it impractical, or even impossible, for some shops to continue to conduct wine tastings.