Happy Winter!

I do hope, wherever you are, that winter and the holidays find you happy and cozy.

A healthy, peaceful, utterly satisfying 2008 to you all. Here's hoping we see you in Blue Hill in the new year.

All the best,
Sarah

Magic in the air

I drove to Ellsworth last week for a business meeting on a morning when it was only 9 degrees. I had to stop in Surry and take pictures of the sea smoke.

The following day I went to Deer Isle, to Stonington, and had breakfast at the Harbor Cafe—have you tried a grilled muffin? O decandent. It was even a bran muffin, and it was still decadent.

I met with Capt. Bill Baker, my pal from Old Quarry Ocean Adventures. Do you wonder what people like him do in the winter? He works on marketing, tries new recipes (duck hunters rent from him this time of year and often share with him—he even sent me home with some. My friend Karen loves duck and loves to cook so I’m planning a meal with her), and is building a bunk house. He also reminded me what great kayaking we have in this area—I’ve taken it for granted as it’s the only place I’ve ever been kayaking. It was 42 degrees as I drove up to Old Quarry and the snow was mushy underfoot, fickle Maine.

I stopped at the Sleigh Bell Shoppe and Lobster Crate on my drive back, doing a quick U-turn after seeing the “Fresh scallops” sign. While there, I picked up a copy of Little Yellow Boatie, by Helen Sylvester, the sweetest Maine children’s book this year. I also bought A Record of Early American Wall Stencils Found In Blue Hill Maine and Nearby, plus some gift tags designed with them. I also bought some Christmas gifts and a pound of fresh scallops. The resulting chowder was so delicious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t bought gallons more.

Back in Blue Hill, I went on a walk with Julie who likes her off-season job so much, I may not be able to lure her back to waitressing at the inn. We stopped off at Ginger Manna’s Bella Colore, a shop filled with everything from beads to Mexican tin ornaments to funky hair ties and great jewelry and it's less than two blocks from the inn. I bought a few presents—for others not myself!—look how sweetly she wrapped them. I put my name on her mailing list for craft classes this winter. Maybe this is the year I do something with all the glass beads I can’t resist buying.

New York cousin Stephanie goes out almost every night and wondered how often Blue Hill cousins go out. Starting with Friday night, this has been my evening social life: Dinner at Margaret and Barbara’s (see Oct. 22’s blog entry) with Jim and Marcia Schatz, who own the Blue Hill Farm Country Inn, and Ralph Pettie, who the following day was a member of the trio who gave a dramatic/comedic reading of A Christmas Carol at the public library. The gals of Gallery 66 always serve delicious things. This time they introduced me to pappadews and even sent me home with a jar. On Saturday I started at the Blue Hill Public Library’s Christmas party—as I walked in, I could smell wood smoke from the fireplaces on opposite ends of the main hall. Pine boughs graced every surface and provided a backdrop for twinkling lights and plates of goodies. When was the last time someone read aloud to you? I adore it and having these men read the Christmas Carol was truly a treat. That evening I had to decide between a sing-along of Handel’s Messiah at the Blue Hill Congregational Church and Aunt Mae’s Cabaret at the Town Hall. Luckily they and the inn are within a block of one another so I listened to the beginning of the Messiah (and "listened" is the correct verb. I never did well in chorus) and then dashed across the street to catch some of the local talent in the cabaret. On Sunday, I went to Bar Harbor on the early side to avoid the snowstorm. I stayed with my friend BobbieLynn Hutchins, who owns the Café Bluefish and is an amazing cook, as she was hosting a dinner party. I had every intention of seeing the sun rise over Cadillac Mountain but the snowstorm turned into a rain storm and the roads became ice skating rinks. Monday night (are you already a bit exhausted by my social life?!), I said no to playing bridge with friends to go to the Wescott Forge as they were hosting a chamber of commerce business after hours event. Check out contractor John Ruger’s Blue Hill “cover model” house.

Then on Tuesday, I dined at the Barncastle, in front of one of the fireplaces, on a great spinach salad and spelt-crusted pizza with artichoke hearts and feta, before dashing to the George Stevens Academy’s holiday concert. Tonight I’ll sit in front of my own fireplace and wrap some presents.

The other day, cold and crisp, I had to walk down Parker Point Road and take pictures to show you how beautiful it is. Don't forget--we have the Cape House available all year--it could be you strolling along here...

The Big Snow! And Chowder vs. Stew

I'm in the midst of my first snowstorm at the inn. I woke to "little snow, big snow" an adage that suggests if the flakes are small, the piles will be large. This morning the flakes were tiny! I walked through town a few times running errands in a very quiet village. We've been plowed out and James the Plower will be taking very good care of the guests in the Cape House, should any ever get snowed in. And what a treat being snowed in here is--the crackling fireplace, the cozy duvets, the solitude. And if you'd like, we'll put flannel sheets on the bed. We've gotten about 10 inches and it's still coming down.

You know you're in Maine when... On Friday night I drove to the Franklin Street United Methodist Church in Bucksport (which is on the Penobscot River and home to that Penobscot Narrows Bridge I'm so fond of). I had read in the Weekly Packet, the local paper we give to guests at the inn, that the church was holding a lobster stew dinner followed by Mt. View Chamber Singers performing carols in the round. What an absolutely magical evening.


Stew vs. Chowder

You need to know before reading any further that I can’t keep a secret. If you really truly want something to stay a secret, please don’t tell me. See, someone once told me her mother's secret for the best chowder ever, ever.

But do you even know the difference between seafood chowder and seafood stew? (And by seafood I mean haddock or scallop or lobster or clam or various combinations.) You need to know because you can usually find them on the menu in Maine and the smarter you look when you're ordering, the more respect the Mainers'll have for you, and they're so good you must order them.

I'm pretty sure that Linda Greenlaw has a recipe or two in her cookbook but I gave my copy away and haven't gotten a chance to replace it yet. I could wait until I finished all my research on stew vs. chowder before I started talking to you all about it but I'm too impatient for that.

So, stew will have seafood and milk or cream, and that's about it. This recipe sounds like what I feasted on Friday night--oh it was tasty. With a chowder, a person could and should throw in some onions and potatoes. You can get fancy, like this fish chowder recipe, or keep it really simple. In the summer, I like to grill fish along with potatoes that I've washed and then coated pretty heavily in a seasoning mix like Montreal Steak Seasoning and onions that I fold into foil with some olive oil. I make enough for leftovers which I throw into a pot with some stock and milk and yum! Fish chowder. I think pepper is a key ingredient. Brooke Dojny--in her Dishing Up Maine cookbook--adds in fresh thyme.

A few great sounding recipes:
Clam Chowder
Fish Chowder
Shrimp and Scallop Stew

So, the secret. See, I think good things should be shared. But I can't seen to put it out here in black and white. If you want to know how to make the best chowder ever, ever, drop me an email and I'll whisper it to you. Though one secret is to have someone make it for you--I find it always tastes better then.

Check out this article from The New York Times, a piece—Sea Sends Distress Call in One-Note Chowders—on Dick Bridges and a local organization, PERC, which is working hard to “secure a future for our fishing communities.”

Are you shopping for Christmas presents? If so, Catch a Piece of Maine sounds like a fabulous present! Maine lobster from your own trap—and you can pick your lobsterman! I pick this one. He has a handsome boat, too.