Maine on the Menu by Ruth Paget
It is hard to think of Maine as a state with thrifty food when you think of buttery chunks of lobster tail or pepper steak, but Maine residents can afford these items, because they eat economical and healthy dishes most of the time.
Recipes for Maine’s delicious everyday fare can be found in the cookbook Dishing Up Maine: 165 Recipes that Capture Authentic Down East Flavors by Brooke Donjoy.
This book’s no-nonsense recipe titles should encourage readers to make grocery lists and fill their pantries.
Good transportation and distribution have made the following dishes from Maine available to everyone in the United States:
-Jalapeño Johnnycake (cornbread) with smoked fish on top
-Pastry-wrapped baked Brie cheese - Quebec, Canada is next to Maine making many French products available in Maine
-Pan-fried haddock sandwich with jalapeño mayonnaise
-Dandelion greens with bacon and vinegar
-Oven-roasted asparagus
-Green bean, walnut, and feta salad
-Smoked salmon pasta salad
-Down East haddock chowder - Recipe for a chowder using no dairy
-Split pea soup with smoked ham
-Potato, cheese, and broccoli soup
-Baked beans with rum and brown sugar - All of New England stays rich eating this and selling the lobster tail, pepper, and other spices to the rest of the United States. This recipe is made with canned beans to cut down on time.
-Roast pork loin with apple-sage gravy
-Chicken breasts with morel mushrooms, leeks, and cream
-Lemon-thyme chicken
-Chicken roasted with potatoes, turnips, and carrots
-Slivered raw asparagus salad
-Puréed parsnips and carrots
-Maple-painted baked winter squash
-Pumpkin-walnut bread
There are many treasures for living well on a budget to afford luxuries on a regular basis in Dishing Up Maine: 165 Recipes that Capture Authentic Down East Flavors by Brooke Donjoy. If that sort of lifestyle appeals to you, then this cookbook might be a good one for your home reference shelf.
By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
