Show Us Your Mussels

Is there anything better than fresh seafood at the end of a long Maine summer? Not as far as we can tell. Last weekend, our friends at The Lobster Shack — a seafood truck out of Stonington that travels to the Orono Farmer’s Market every Saturday — brought a load of Maine mussels. They were so gorgeous, we had to take them home (which brought us back to our college days — but that’s a story for another blog).

However, when we got ready to make dinner, we were kicking ourselves for only buying two pounds. That wouldn’t be nearly enough for the dish we had planned to make — especially since Jason can no longer indulge in a crusty baguette. So we used this recipe instead, substituting the spaghettini for gluten-free corn spaghetti. It was amazing. Adapted from Food & Wine magazine, it showcases the best of late summer in Maine — juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs and those succulent mussels.

It’s so good, you’ll want to take this one home with you.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4  teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound spaghettini
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or shallow Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add wine and boil until reduced to 1/2 cup — be careful, because it reduces faster than you’d think if you’re using Le Creuset or other cast-iron cookware.

In the meantime, prepare pasta until it’s just shy of al dente.

Add tomatoes, crushed pepper and mussels to the garlic-onion-wine mixture. Cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Remove the mussels, simmer the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to the sauce and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Toss the mussels with the pasta and sauce for about 1 minute, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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Dressed to Grill

With another beautiful weekend approaching — and barbecue season in full swing, about a month early — we'd like to share our favorite recipe for grilled chicken. It's the best we've tried, and there are two things you can do to make it even better: use chicken legs from Maine-ly Poultry in Warren (available at the Orono Farmers Market and Rosemont Markets in Portland), and allow the chicken to marinate longer than the suggested 2 hours. Not surprisingly, the recipe is an adaptation from one of our favorite Maine cookbooks: "Stonewall Kitchen Harvest." So dig in and let the flavors of summer begin (even if the season won't really start for another month)...

Grilled Marinated Chicken with Herbs
Adapted from "Stonewall Kitchen Harvest"
Serves 4

4 whole chicken legs, cut into drums and thighs
1/2 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender (leaves and flowers)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

In a plastic bag or large bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken and shake or whisk to blend. Add chicken, refrigerate, and marinate for at least two hours.

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot (do NOT get a full, hot fire going; if using a kettle-style grill, such as a Weber, try to make sure that the coals are concentrated on one side of the grill, with a cooler area on the other side). Remove chicken from marinade, boil remaining marinade for 2 minutes and reserve for basting.

Place the chicken, skin side up, over the cooler side of the grill. Allow the fat to render for a few minutes, then flip so that the skin side is down. Cook for 20 minutes, basting regularly. Move the chicken to the hottest part of the grill and finish cooking, basting regularly — you'll want to keep an eye on the chicken to be sure the skin doesn't burn.

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One Tough Cookie

Editor's note: We're giving away a gorgeous tote designed by Erin Flett for AU. To learn how to enter, click here. 

Lately, we've been spending way too much time fixated on cookies.

We dream of the Montes Original (with chocolate chips, coconut and pecans) from Montes International Cafe in Bangor. We stock up on boxes of Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate chip cookie mix for Jason at Hannaford (for the record, they're delicious). On Monday, after reading this article about macarons — not to be confused with macaroons — in the Sun Journal, we found ourselves craving a "cowboy cookie" (dried cherries, chocolate chips, oatmeal, coconut, nuts) from Verve in Orono. It saved the day.

So, as The Maven heads into month eight of pregnancy and cravings, we want to know: what's your favorite cookie in Maine? Tell us by posting below and we'll try to pry the recipe from its rightful owner for a future post.

This is how the cookie crumbles. And this is how the waistline thickens.

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Egg-Citement

One day, about 12 years ago, Jason brought deviled eggs to a party. Now, this was one of those post-college parties where even the most adventurous guests only brought chips and salsa. None of us (except for Jason) really knew how to cook, and frankly, most of us were more interested in the beer, anyway.

But those eggs made quite an impression. In fact, people are still talking about them. So when The Maven and her gal pals threw a food-themed bridal shower for one of our best girlfriends last weekend, we knew Jason's Deviled Eggs needed to be on the menu.

Having never made them before, we thought they'd be complicated. But their beauty lies in their simplicity. They're not all tarted up like the Joy of Cooking recipe — shallots in deviled eggs? Seriously? Nope, these are basic but delicious. We do think one secret ingredient from Maine makes all the difference, though: Raye's Down East Schooner mustard is a must(ard). Oh, and if you can buy farm-fresh eggs (or score some from a chicken-raising neighbor — and really, who doesn't have one these days?) so much the better.

Jason's Deviled Eggs
(makes 24 — recipe is easily halved)

12 farm-fresh eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and cooled
3 Tablespoons Hellman's mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Raye's Down East Schooner mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
smoked Hungarian paprika (for garnish)
fresh chives (optional, for garnish)

Cut eggs in half and gently scoop yolks into a bowl. Set whites aside on a platter. Mash yolks, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper with a fork. Mixture will be lumpy, and you may want to add a little mayo and mustard if it looks too thick. Use a whisk to make yolk mixture creamy. Using a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with one of the corners cut, pipe yolk mixture into reserved whites. Garnish with paprika and/or chives and serve or chill.

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Mmmmmm .... Lobster Risotto

We recently had friends visiting from out of town, and when we have company, we love to cook something amazing using local ingredients. In the winter months, when the farmers markets go on a limited rotation, this gets a little trickier, but Lobster Risotto might be our new go-to dish. It's decadent, but because it uses so little lobster meat, it's relatively inexpensive to prepare. We adapted this recipe from Mark Bittman, and we think it's the yummiest. We hope you do, too.

Lobster Risotto
Makes 6 servings
5 cups Lobster Stock (recipe follows)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
the meat from 2 steamed lobsters (reserve steaming liquid and shells)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a wide, shallow saucepan (we like the Le Creuset saucier), melt together the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute about 4 minutes. Add rice and saute about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add stock 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until the rice absorbs the liquid before adding more. Add wine and saffron and continue to stir until rice is tender but still has a bit of a bite to it, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add lobster meat and parsley to heat through, then add Parmesan. Serve in shallow bowls with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley.

Lobster Stock
2 lobster shells
1/4 cup olive oil
Reserved steaming liquid
1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 bay leaves
2 cups white wine
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

In a stockpot, combine all ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. You'll want to add a bit more water about halfway through, but be careful not to water down the stock — if you need more liquid while cooking the risotto, substitute water or wine for stock. Do not overcook the stock, as it will become bitter.

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Smart Cookies

Every once in a while, you come upon a cookbook that both horrifies you and intrigues you. "Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year," is that book.

Author and part-time Stonington resident Julia Usher is the Martha Stewart of the baked-goods set. One look at this book made us feel like baking rejects — nobody's cookies look that good — but at the same time, we wanted to buy a copy in the worst possible way.

While cookie swaps are a given during the holidays, Usher extends the fun with themed cookie party ideas — for Halloween, a haunted house with meringue ghosts and fondant-covered pumpkins; for a wedding or bridal shower, cookies that look like miniature pieces of Spode china. She is a master of icing, and her decorating techniques are enviable. Fortunately, she shares them, along with more than 50 recipes and packaging ideas.

Usher's work has appeared in Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking and Gastronomica, and she was a 2008 James Beard Foundation Food Journalism Awards finalist. She will hit Maine for a book tour starting this week. For details, visit www.juliausher.com.

Maine book tour locations and dates:

November 18 | 1-3 p.m.
Sherman’s Books & Stationery, Freeport

128 Main St., 207-869-9000
Cookie talk/demo and book signing

November 19 | 6:30 p.m.
Bangor Public Library, Bangor
145 Harlow St., 207-947-8336
Cookie talk and book signing

November 20 | noon
Maine Coast Book Shop & Café, Damariscotta
158 Main St., 207-563-3207
Cookie sampling and book signing

November 20 | 4-6 p.m.
Now You're Cooking, Bath
49 Front St., 207-443-1402
Cookie decorating demo and book signing

November 21 | noon-1:30 p.m.
Stonewall Kitchen, York
Stonewall Lane, 207-351-2713
Cookie decorating demo and book signing

November 28 | 1-2:30 p.m.
Mr. Paperback, Ellsworth,
Maine Coast Mall, 225 High St., Suite 13, 207-667-5089
Cookie sampling and book signing

November 29 | 1-3 p.m.
Rabelais Books, Portland
86 Middle St., 207-774-1044
Cookie talk/swap and book signing

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Grape Expectations

A few years back, a friend of ours who works in horticulture at UMaine gave us two grape vines whose variety we promptly forgot. We do know this: They're Canadian, the fruit tastes just like Concord grapes, and they're more prolific than Stephen King.

We picked them this weekend before the birds got to them, but what does one do with that many grapes? We all know that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. But when life hands you grapes, make jelly. Really, really good jelly.

Don't take our word for it, though. Try making some yourself. Pick up some canning supplies (you can read about our favorite suppliers here, but any grocery store or hardware store will do), set aside a few hours and put on clothes that will hide purple stains. Yes, it's a bit messy, but it blows Welch's out of the water.

As our good friend Beyonce would say, We don't think you're ready for this jelly. But it really is fruity-licious. Let us know your favorite canning recipes by posting a comment below.

Grape Jelly

First, make grape juice: For each batch, you'll need 4 cups juice, which requires about 3 1/2 pounds Concord or similar grapes. Wash and stem grapes and lightly crush fruit. Place in a stockpot, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, bring to boil and simmer until fruit is soft — about 5 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag, squeezing with tongs to extract as much juice as possible.

Then, make jelly: While juice/sugar mixture is heating, sterilize eight half-pint jars in boiling water. A tutorial is available from Ball. In a large stockpot, combine 4 cups juice with 7 cups sugar (measurements need to be precise). Over high heat, stir continuously until sugar dissolves. When juice/sugar mixture mixture comes to a hard boil, add 1 pouch liquid pectin. When hard boil resumes, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove mixture from heat, skimming off any foam. Pour hot jelly into hot jars, cover with two-piece caps and process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

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In the Mood For Food

"Julie and Julia" is pretty much the story of your life — minus the tiny New York apartment. You devour cookbooks like they're Dan Brown novels (and please don't try to pretend you don't read Dan Brown novels). In other words, you can't put them down and you won't stop cooking until you've tried every last recipe — or, the ones that sound good, at least.

For you, we recommend "A Taste of It All: Celebrating the Mood of Food" by Georgia Manzo Joachim of Millinocket. Joachim grew up in the Little Italy section of town, a place where food was celebrated and shared. Her parents, the Manzos, were the founders and original owners of Orvieto, a lovely Italian deli and market in Millinocket, and they instilled in her a deep love for cooking. She has fond memories of her grandmother, Emma Manzo, calling to her grandchildren to come help with the sauce.

"Sometimes it was pizzelle cookies, or meatballs, or chicory stew. But we learned, without recipes and without question," Joachim writes.

In "A Taste of It All," Joachim combines her love for family, food and the natural world around her in a cookbook spiked with poetry and prose. Her recipes range from simple to sophisticated — homemade ham salad sandwiches, chicken stew, spicy crab cakes and, of course, homemade tomato sauce and meatballs. But in the end, this is more than a cookbook. It's more of a guide to making the most of life. She offers movie, book and music suggestions that complement each meal, while color photographs from her home and gardens give readers a glimpse of her own life on South Twin Lake.

The book is a feast for the senses — one you'll devour from cover to cover.

"A Taste of It All" is published by Thyme & Moss Publishing of Millinocket. For a list of retail locations throughout Maine or to order online, click here. To read excerpts from the book, including sample recipes, click here.

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Winner, Winner, Lobster Dinner

Judging by the headlines, this hasn't been the best week to be a lobsterman (or lobsterwoman). Hell, it hasn't been the best year to be one.

Prices hit rock bottom last year and haven't bounced back. This week's shooting off Matinicus has resulted in a "cooling-off" period (read, no fishing for two weeks). There's even been talk of a tie-up, which is the lobster-fishing equivalent of a work stoppage.

Hardly cause (or claws, as the case may be) for celebration. So what can you do about it? Buy Maine lobster — and lots of it. That's what we've been doing this summer — we usually serve it steamed with Houlton Farms Dairy butter or dressed with a dab of mayo in a lobster roll. Since lobster is a luxury, we're usually just fine with those options. But since we've eaten so much of it this summer, we're ready for a change, such as Madeira Sauteed Lobster on Angel Hair Pasta from "Recipes from a Very Small Island" by Linda Greenlaw and her mom, Martha.

To prepare: Boil water and cook 1 pound angel hair pasta to al dente. While pasta is cooking, melt 1 stick butter and 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large, wide skillet. Add 1 chopped medium onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 4 finely chopped garlic cloves and 4 cups chopped cooked lobster meat (about four 1 1/4-lb. lobsters) and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup madeira or medium-dry sherry and cook for 1 minute. Add another 1/4 cup madeira or sherry and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Add sauce to cooked, drained pasta, toss and serve. Makes 4 servings.

We can't guarantee this dish will solve the lobster industry's problems anytime soon, but we do know this: it'll add a little variety to your menu.

For more inspiration, visit the Maine Lobster Council.

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Maine Dishes

Here at The Maven, we are relentless foodies. It's kind of a drag for our non-foodie friends, because we could spend (and have spent) hours rhapsodizing over dishes we've eaten, discussing obscure ingredients we've tracked down and dissecting a restaurant's menu, service and wine list.

Because we live in the Greater Bangor area, we've also become resourceful foodies. Don't get us wrong — contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of great meals to be had around here. It's just that we sometimes find ourselves craving meals we've had in other parts of the state, and we're a solid two hours' drive from every other restaurant town in Maine. This usually leads us to re-create said meals, to varying degrees of success. We've mastered the arugula salad and Pasta a la Vongole from Massimo's in Bangor. However, our attempt at replicating the fennel salad from Street & Co. in Portland failed miserably.

Fortunately, VisitMaine.com has assembled a collection of recipes from some of Maine's best restaurants — Bangs Island Mussels from Five Fifty Five in Portland (pictured), Johnnnycakes with Peekytoe Crab from Arrows in Ogunquit, and Beet Risotto from Hugo's in Portland, to name a few.

The recipes are so detailed that there's no room for error. Now, if they could just get their hands on that fennel salad recipe, we'd be all set.

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This Takes the Cupcake

Last weekend, we were hanging out, minding our own business (as much as you can mind your own business on Twitter), sipping a glass of wine. All was well. And then our friends at the Clark Point Inn in Southwest Harbor posted that they were making Malted Espresso Cupcakes.

How do you top that?

With frosting.

They were kind enough to send us the recipe, and since it's the weekend once again, we thought we should share it (because, really, who has time to bake during the week?) It comes from BakeSpace.com, which is like Facebook for cooks, but we're pretty sure it originally comes from "125 Best Cupcake Recipes."

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1/4 cup freshly brewed espresso or dark roasted coffee
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs


Directions
In a small bowl, mix together with a whisk, flour, baking powder and salt.
In another small bowl, whisk together malted milk powder and espresso until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, butter and eggs, until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and espresso mixture, making three additions of flour mixture and two of espresso mixture, beating until smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.


Malted Milk Espresso Frosting

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small cup, mix together coffee and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.
In a bowl, add butter beat until smooth, add pinch of salt and vanilla. Add icing sugar a bit at a time and add coffee mixture until consistency is smooth and spreadable.
Spread on cooled cupcakes.

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