Cookbooks, and why using them more should be your New Year's resolution, too

My New Year's resolution is often to cook with a new vegetable. How else does a girl from Wisconsin experiment with okra or ugly fruit? This year, however, I've decided to encourage myself to use cookbooks more, both the ones I already have and the ones I salivate over at Blue Hill Books.

At the inn, the office shares the same big room with the kitchen. When we started serving dinners at the inn last May, our shelf of cookbooks had to make room for the top shelf liquors in one spot and the fancy tools of the trade for baking bread in another. The cookbooks being far away and the computer being quite handy lead to me looking up recipes online. I love cookthink.com and allrecipes.com. Lots of sites allow you to browse by ingredient, consider variations, peruse photographs, and look at other cooks' comments. The speed with which I can consider three or four options for the crabmeat I want to use tonight or for how best to pair blueberries and sage is nothing short of miraculous.

So why the resolution to use more cookbooks of the food spattered paper variety?

Because recipes are often about anticipation, about possibilities, about looking to the future. Cookbooks have a romance allrecipes.com never will. So join me, paging slowly through an old friend or a new favorite, sipping perhaps on a kir royale or a favorite robust red...

A wonderful place to start is Kate Schaffer's Desserted. You know I love Black Dinah Chocolates... Imagine how gorgeous their first cookbook is?! This is highly recommended.

Swordfish boat captain Linda Greenlaw collaborated with her mother on two cookbooks, Recipes from a Very Small Island and the Maine Summers Cookbook. Seeing as both Kate and Linda are on Isle au Haut, you ought to visit!

A local map artist, Jane Crosen, published the Maine Mapmaker's Kitchen. It's part memoir, part sketchbook, but all creative.

Do you know Cynthia Finnemore Simonds? Me neither but check out her blog! She has written a trio of cookbooks--one on salads, one on soups, and one on desserts.

Brooke Dojny is a dear you might find just about anywhere. Still, she finds time to blog about squash, publish recipes and cookbooks, and write about the local scene. (For more on Brooke, read this Island Ad-Vantages article.) Rumor has it Brooke has a new book coming out this spring: Lobsters!

Jonathan Chase has been in the area a long, long time and diners are delighted to rediscover him, most recently at Buck's in Brooksville. He cowrote Saltwater Seasonings with his sister, Sarah.

Diane Bianco's book, Let's Party in Maine, really focuses on food that is easy to make and easily pleases a crowd.

Have you ever wondered what to cook on a windjammer cruise? Here's the cookbook for you!

The "Picasso & Pie" Buffet Cookbook: Blue Hill Buffet's Famous Recipe Collection has a wonderful back story which we'll explore another day.


I recommend browsing and buying at Blue Hill Books, New Cargoes, the Barnacle, North Light Books, Red Gap Books, and the library's monthly book sale. Afraid of commitment? It's easy to get a library card and staff can locate books at tons of other libraries and bring the books here for you.

Do you have a cookbook to recommend? Post it on our facebook page!

Need more suggestions? Just let me know. Here's to 2012 being a happy, healthy, delicious year!

Great Gift Ideas from Maine

Sometimes this season is challenging because I never know what to buy people for presents. As I started looking around, I realized we have amazing choices right here.

We have lobsters (red! perfect for Christmas). And Greenhead is great about taking care of last minute gifts.

We have so many book options! Blue Hill Books, for a bit of everything and lots signed by local authors; Red Gap Books, for the rarefied bibliophiles on your list; the Sleigh Bell Shoppe and Lobster Crate has a great selections of books but crafts and live lobsters as well!

We have wreathes (green! and made from local balsam and spruce or seashells).

Wine and good food from the Wine Shop, the Cave, and Seasons. (I think I've been good this year, Santa. Very good!)

What about some music? Paul Sullivan and Rosie Upton...,
the Bad Daddys Band..., or perhaps season tickets to Kneisel, Bagaduce, the Grand, or the Opera House?

You've heard me go on about jewelry--Handworks Gallery, the bead shop, the Turtle Gallery, Pyramid Studios...

Even furniture?!

And pottery from the Rackliffes.

A hooked rug?

And gift certificates fit everyone! We have very pretty ones for lodging or for dining. If you contact us directly, we can make every detail just what you, and the recipient, want!

With the help of those who attended the Winter Fest in Blue Hill and helped us get the town tree lit, the Blue Hill Inn was able to donate $300 to the Tree of Life Food Pantry. We had chestnuts roasting on an open fire, of course... The Food Pantry does an amazing job making food available to those in need. While they appreciate food donations, they are a bit like a teenager in their preference for cold hard cash!

If you need other ideas for festive gift-giving, just let me know!

October Fest

And fest we did! Chef Devin and I attended the 6th annual Foliage, Food, and Wine Festival's Taste of the Peninsula. Chef Devin was in charge of the menu: tastes of butternut squash soup, finished with toasted squash seeds, green apple, and parsley oil; and for lunch, braised short ribs with Four Season Farm celery root and potato mash and a braised local red cabbage slaw. We couldn't stop there, though, because each year, I've made a round or two or three of the festival grounds with a silver tray full of goodies--sometimes pecan mini muffins, apple walnut cake, homemade graham crackers, pillow chocolates... This year Assistant Innkeeper Sebastian made my favorite browned sugar cookies and Chef Devin couldn't resist making pumpkin truffles. I was so popular! The truffles were so well received she is now topping the creme brulee with them for dessert.

We are sad to be closing the restaurant for the season on October 28. Such a first summer! I am amazed at the number of people who say a certain dish or meal is the best they've ever had but I hear it again and again. Chef Devin is magic in the kitchen and the staff in the dining room take care of everything else. If you're able to come see us this week, make a reservation. We are looking very busy as everyone scrambles to get one last visit in. We have two specials to offer you: 1. come for dinner and mention that you read the inn's blog and would like apple crisp on the house. 2. Reserve a room as well as a table and your lodging will be half price (this is good for any night Oct. 24-28. Staying over is a wonderful way to really have a relaxing evening, and then to be pampered with our three-course breakfast in the morning.

The latest issue of Maine magazine just arrived, with a great selection of Maine made gifts. For me, part of Maine's appeal is the combination of gritty--like Stonington's working waterfront, and pretty--like Castine's downtown, of smart with Blue Hill's bookstores and film festival and coloquoy, and art with galleries found down every gravel road and artists sharing wares at farmer's markets and craft sales.
Autumn is an especially inspiring season for artists along the coast.

Are you on all the mailing lists for the area? El EL Frijoles has a great one--and it's the only way to find out about their special meals all winter long. Lucy's Granola is another--Lucy'll send any of her granolas to anyone on your gift list--or to you! The Whale's Rib is closed for the season, too, but will be back in the spring.

From the guestbook (my Italian, French, Chinese and German aren't really good enough to translate some of the comments!): "This is my new favorite inn," Leon from Virginia; "Thank you for such a wonderful stay. Your hospitality was beyond our expectations," from Pennsylvania; "You do a wonderful job of making everything charming and welcoming," from Colorado. If life isn't charming and welcoming where you are, come see us!

the beauty, and deliciousness, of fall

Ah, October! At last leaves are crimsoning up and drifting down.

The Blue Hill Inn is bursting with events this month.

First, Chef Devin Finigan and I invite you to a European wine dinner. Chef Devin has crafted a five-course dinner, with each course inviting diners to visit a different country in Europe.

We'll head to France for oysters and an Domaine Duseigneur Lirac 2010 rosé (The color alone of this rosé will dazzle.),
to Greece for Mediterranean flounder and Assyrtiko Santorini 2008,

to Spain for duck breast confit with peach and pepper sauce paired with Old Hands 2006 Monastrell,

and then on to Italy for peppercorn-crusted tenderloin paired with Riparosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Illuminati 2009.

We'll end our European tour with a German apple strudel and Dr F Weins-Prum Estate Riesling, Mosel, 2008.

Information about each wine poured and the pairing will be included. For reservations or more information, call 374-2844. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 6 and 7, 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is $80 per person (dinner, wine, tax, and gratuity included).

Then, we are hosting a reception for George Stevens Academy alumni and friends after a a New Surry Theatre presentation of songs and scenes from their production of Wizard of Oz on Sun., Oct. 9.

Then we move into Foliage, Food, and Wine Festival mode! This year again, we partner with El El Frijoles for two nights of their supper club here at the inn. Maxx from the Blue Hill Wine Shop will be on hand to wax poetic on wine pairings, with Michele from El El Frijoles doing her best to challenge his wine expertise.

We've had a bumper crop of hen of the woods mushrooms
this year. As I type this Chef Devin is creating ravioli with the mushroom, caramelized onions, fresh parsley and toasted walnuts. Again, she makes being vegetarian so much fun! Her soups have been very popular. This week she's making a native fall corn soup with peeky toe crabmeat--the absolute best this area has to offer. She's grilling quail and serving it with a fig demiglaze and polenta--so delicious. Her grilled steak is finished with gorgonzola butter and has farm carrots and crispy kale.

I, always testing the waters on your behalf, had oysters at Arborvine recently. The Hikades do it all right at Arborvine--the setting, the service, the food. Dining there, right around the corner from the inn, is always pleasant.

So many inn guests, as they head out for the day to kayak, hike, shop, and explore, wonder if I get time off. I recently was invited to an island to play pétanque with Tony from the Pilgrim's Inn, among other aficionados. When you're here next, I can steer you to the various courts we have in the area, including the one at the Pilgrim's Inn.

If your fall isn't this much fun, come share with us! But call ahead, our fun events sell out and we're all booked up in the inn certain nights this month.

Ah, September

Full on sunshine, cooler days and definitely cooler nights, crisp clear air--we love September!

We've had guests write some great reviews about the inn and the restaurant. If you haven't visited us yet, come see for yourself what they're talking about.

This weekend is Maine Open Lighthouse Weekend when you have a chance to tour some of the many Maine lighthouses. (See my blog entry from Sept. 20, 2009, for details about my visit to Eagle Island Light.) Tomorrow I'll get to go to Mark Island Light in Deer Isle Thoroughfare! We're traveling with Capt. Water Reed, who will charter his lobster boat for you. The lighthouse on Mark Island has a foghorn--it's the one you can hear on most of Deer Isle and certainly from my favorite hike to Barred Island.

Dining at the inn has been end-of-summer delicious! Listen to the steak offering: Grilled 8 oz. New York Center Cut Steak with gorgonzola and shallot butter, red wine braised cabbage, crispy kale, and garlic mashed potato! The baked haddock has the best roasted potatoes, the lentil soup is served with heirloom tomatoes from right around the corner. And dessert--doesn't a warm apple crisp with house-made caramel and ginger ice cream sound scrumptious? Or perhaps you would prefer our flourless chocolate cake with toasted walnuts, organic strawberries and vanilla ice cream. Most nights we run out of tables so do call ahead for a reservation.

One of the quotes from the guestbook this week celebrates our favorite local author. "In the words of E.B. White's Charlotte: 'Terrific.' And to bend another of her weavings: 'Some inn.'" Elizabeth was quite a Charlotte's Web
fan and turned me on to The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims. I ordered it from Blue Hill Books and am now waiting
patiently for winter to delve into it. We also got a copy of another interesting looking book, Jonathan Fisher of Blue Hill, Maine
Commerce, Culture, and Community on the Eastern Frontier. Fisher was the first Congregational minister of Blue Hill but was a talented man in many directions. You can tour his 1814 homestead here in Blue Hill.

If you plan to visit us this fall, make your reservations soon! Our fall is busier than ever, right through October. Foliage in this area, along the coast, peaks between Oct. 13-21, right during our fabulous Foliage, Food, and Wine Festival. Contact the inn for more information.

The Blue Hill Fair, and braised short ribs!

I love having the Marine Environmental Research Institute here in town. In the back is a marvelous touch tank. Local fishermen pass along unusual catches, like this rare blue lobster. They offer educational programs for children all summer and lectures year round.

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs... Who knew celery root mash could be so heavenly? Chef Devin sautes Tuscan kale from Four Season Farm and drizzles the perfect amount of her gravy over the dish. The result is heavenly and perfect for these evenings that are getting a little cooler. She's topping her corn soup with peekytoe crabmeat and our parsley--it's so good. (For a deeper understanding of this delicious local crabmeat, read this New York Times article.) Another nod to fall is our vegetarian option--a roasted acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, butternut squash, and cranberries then drizzled with apple cider reduction. The espresso chocolate mousse has been so popular, rivaling the blueberry crisp. We also have the sweetest crème brûlée, served in demitasse cups for the perfect ending to any meal. You must hurry in to see us, though. Our last dinner of the season will be Oct. 28. That is our last weekend of lodging on the inn proper. We'll have a glorious Halloween gathering and then host all guests in the Cape House Suite and Studio until May.

This week we're excited about the Blue Hill Fair! The rides, the animals, the award winning vegetables, the fancy chickens, the live music, the sheep dog trails, the horse racing--this country style fair is a hit with everyone.

Hurricane Irene passed us by with a wave of wind and a shower or two, making way for exquisite late summer weather. Come see for yourself. Now is the time for a long sail, an extra afternoon by the shore, a glorious cookout under the sky full of stars. I hope your summer has been this marvelous and you're looking forward to a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Spruce Hill Farm honey citrus chevre!

I've been so frustrated with the technology behind the blog lately. I have wonderful iPhone pictures but haven't been able to upload them without crashing everything. The very talented Matt is on the case, however, and you will be drooling over food pictures in no time!

If you were dining with us last week, you were choosing among carrot and ginger soup, a summer salad with Stonington Spruce Hill Farm honey citrus chevre (shown here at the great farmer's market in Stonington),
a Stonington lobster spring roll, or Prince Edward Island mussels for appetizers. For an entree, would you have picked the risotto with foraged chanterelle mushrooms? or perhaps the red wine braised short ribs (my selection the other night--so delicious!)? Chef Devin has been making as many lobster ravioli as she can as they are so popular. New on the menu last week was the seared wild sockeye salmon, which Chef Devin served with a salsa of capers, Four Season Farm leeks and tomato, and olives over a bed of garden parsley quinoa. Just to make the decision more difficult, the duck was served with a native strawberry and port compote, such a pairing! And, speaking of good pairs, the grilled steak was graced with a gorgonzola and shallot butter. Mmmm. She tweaks things each week, which makes Monday a very fun day here at the inn.

I hope your August is abloom and asunshiny! It's not too late to swim and drink gin and tonics under sun umbrellas!

David's Folly Farm

This week at the inn, we're offering White Bean Escarole Soup with Four Season Farm tomatoes, Carding Brook Farm patty pan squash and rosemary crostini; Summer Salad, with Carding Brook Farm greens, toasted pecans, Great Blue Hill cheese, David’s Folly Farm roasted beets, and lemon vinaigrette; Peeky Toe Crab Cakes, with Carding Brook Farms greens and lemon parsley aioli; Butter-Poached Lobster Ravioli, house-made pasta, Stonington lobster, lemon gremolata, and citrus salad; Seared Frenchman’s Bay Halibut, with summer succotash, organic spinach, lemon beurre blanc drizzle, and David’s Folly Farm roasted potatoes; Long Island Duck Breast, organic strawberry and port compote, David’s Folly Farm carrots, and turnip puree; and a Grilled New York Center Cut Steak, with a garden chimichurri, Four Season Farm carrots, Carding Brook Farm snow peas, and garlic mashed potato.

Lobsterman Luke came to dinner last week, said he had to try the lobster ravioli. He is now raving about the ravioli, and said the mussels were the best he'd ever had!

This week, Chef Devin is offering potatoes and carrots from David's Folly Farm. I had dinner at the farm itself Saturday night! The photo above is one of the spectacular views. Megan and Greg, the farmers, create a farm supper each Saturday night for a small group of very lucky diners.
This area has an amazing array of farmers markets, farm stands, and farmers innovating as to what they can offer those of us hungry for farm fresh and local. The photo to the right is the farmer/cooks and their friend/cooks receiving accolades from the stuffed and happy diners. If this idea delights you, you must call them now to get a spot. These supper clubs are very popular--in the winter, El El Frijoles offers them during the quiet season and they sell out mighty quick.

Did you see Chef Devin's picture in the Ellsworth American last week? The local press, both Penobscot Bay Press and the Ellsworth American, have been great support of our new venture. Have you heard our ad on WBACH? Recorded by yours truly... We've had so many dinner guests who have never set foot in the Blue Hill Inn, although they've been in the area for decades, and we've been here since 1830!

Look what Rackliffe Pottery is making now! We have loved their mugs, and the sweet cream pitchers, but these serving trays are wonderful. This line is so new, it's not pictured on their website yet. We're using them all the time--I'll try to get a better picture to show you. What a perfect housewarming, wedding, or hostess gift. Rackliffe Pottery is open 6 days a week but you can also call them up and say you saw it at the Blue Hill Inn and Margaret or David will take care of you. (If it's the lobster spring roll you're admiring, you'll have to come see Chef Devin.)

From a review on TripAdvisor: "the inn was charming..." If you haven't let the world know how you feel about Blue Hill Inn, Chef Devin's cooking, and the Blue Hill area, maybe now's the time!

Here's to a sun filled August!

...one of the highlights of our trip...

What a heavenly summer we're having!

New on the dinner menu this week are lamb tacos in chive tortillas with a mint sauce from our garden. We have lobster cakes with Stonington lobster and a baked haddock with a crabmeat crown and the most delicious lemon beurre blanc. The chilled borscht with Four Season Farm beets has been a perfect option for these warm summer nights but I'm still hooked on the Bagaduce River oysters.

Josh Dunbar, our oysterer, took me out to show me the farm. I was amazed how much like farming it felt like--I do claim to be a farm girl from Wisconsin after all. As it turns out, our oysters come from the river at the foot of Sunset Acres Farm, where we get the delicious chevre we adore. The Working Waterfront, a newspaper about the water published each month by the Island Institute, explored their farming relationship in a 2009 article that makes great reading. (For more fun reading on the seafood in this area, try this NYT article which also talks about Bagaduce River oysters.)

Guests and neighbors alike have raved about dinners here. From a TripAdvisor review: We highly recommend dining at the inn if you can. The meal was one of the highlights of our trip over two weeks... Breakfast is terrific too. This [area] is a great alternative to the more commercial Bar Harbor area, yet close enough to access Acadia National Park and other attractions of the area.

Although the New York Times just spent "36 Hours in Bar Harbor", we find that most of our guests prefer to stay a bit further out and take day trips to Acadia National Park, into the fray of Bar Harbor, and out to explore the beauty of Stonington and Castine. Although this area has something for everyone, a guest summed it up perfectly for me when he said he loved it here because there were no people but great food.

If you head to dinner on Deer Isle, as we did the other night, to the Whale's Rib, you have to leave plenty of time for sightseeing on the way. Stopping at Caterpillar Hill is a must and a stroll along the main street of Deer Isle at sunset yielded this view. Tony, the owner of Pilgrim's Inn, recently installed a boules court. You'll have to try really hard to not fill up on the bread basket--delicious! Guests have enjoyed scallops at the Surry Inn, vegetarian sandwiches at 66, burritos from El El Frijoles, lobster at the Boat Yard Grill... No one is going hungry! And at breakfast this morning--cinnamon pecan scones, amaretto french toast, Four Season Farm eggs with dill from our garden... If you aren't eating this well, come see us!

Freedom!

That was the rebel yell during 4th of July festivities last night. Guests made it to the Deer Isle parade, thoroughly enjoying the small town charm and humor. One guest got a late start and said she missed the first pass of the parade but caught them as they went by the second time after they turned around! Others headed off to Harborside, even taking part in the pie eating contest (a third place winner!). Here in town the steel drum band's street dance had old and young alike boogying. You can catch them in the area every Monday night so don't think you've missed it all.

If you do suffer from FMS (fear of missing something), which I do, terribly, then you must come to dinner frequently because the menu changes often--these were the offerings last night.

Chilled Summer Gazpacho, with farm tomatoes, garden herbs, local cucumbers and bell peppers
Spring Salad of Carding Brook Farm greens, spiced pecans, Four Season Farm roasted beets, Great Blue Hill bleu cheese, with a lemon vinaigrette
Bagaduce River Oysters Two Ways, three on the half shell with Four Season Farm cucumber mignonette and three grilled with Smith’s Smokehouse peppered bacon, cayenne pepper, and Carding Brook Farm garlic scapes
Fresh Stonington Lobster Spring Rolls, with an herb salad and a spicy dipping sauce
Barbeque Pork Ribs with Braised Pork Belly, caramelized onions, bourbon barbeque sauce and potato puree
Seared Frenchman's Bay Halibut, salsa of tomato, leek, and Four Season Farm basil with Four Season Farm roasted new potatoes
Summer Ratatouille, Four Season Farm squash, Carding Brook Farm herbs, tomato, and corn over creamy parmesan risotto
Long Island Duck Breast, native strawberry and port compote, Old Ackley Farm beet greens, and mashed turnip

We are certainly celebrating strawberry season this week! Pillow chocolates, generally organic Lake Champlain chocolates, were fresh strawberries, dipped in dark Callebaut, and rolled in toasted almonds and sea salt. And for dessert, luscious strawberry crème brûlée, with native strawberries, mint from our garden, and a dark chocolate drizzle. Let's hear it for summer fruit! You can pick your own at Homewood Farm--and you might meet Maple, the springer spaniel!

Four Season Farm Lovefest, mmm, and presents of peonies

As a guest at the inn, you see "Four Season Farm" on the menu quite a bit. They are one of two farms which supply eggs for our breakfast dishes (this morning we offered them scrambled with a maple pork sausage, sauteed onions, and sharp cheddar cheese or in an omelette with cherry tomatoes, herbs from our garden, and feta). The yolks of a fresh farm egg are much yellower and the flavor much richer. I am certain it is because the chickens are living a good life here in Maine, running around the farm, eating good food. At Four Season, they move the coop around, giving the chicks fresh territory. We also get produce from the farm--lovely Tuscan kale, deep green cucumbers, zucchini, spinach. We mention their farm stand to guests heading out that way. This morning the recommendation earned me a present! Guests heading back to Connecticut gave the inn the bouquet they couldn't resist but couldn't travel with.

Selections from our menu this week include Four Season Farm carrot and ginger soup, with a parsley leaf and parmesan crisp; spring salad of Carding Brook Farm greens, spiced pecans, native strawberries, Sunset Acres Farm chèvre, with a lemon vinaigrette; Bagaduce River Oysters Two Ways: three on the half shell with Four Season Farm cucumber mignonette and three grilled with Smith’s Smokehouse peppered bacon, cayenne pepper, and Carding Brook Farm garlic scapes; Blue Hill Mussels steamed with Four Season Farm basil, shallots, white wine and a touch of cream; and a grilled New York center cut steak with a garden chimichurri, sautéed Four Season Farm kale, and garlic potato puree; seared swordfish with a salsa of tomato, leek, and Four Season Farm basil over garden chive quinoa.
And if I were you, I would hurry in to try Chef Devin's summer ratatouille. It's ambrosia of Four Season Farm squash, eggplant, Carding Brook Farm herbs, tomato, and corn over creamy parmesan polenta. My suggestion, if you are like me and not apt to order a vegetarian entree, is to bring two or three vegetarian friends--you can "try" all of their dishes and not have to share any of your lobster ravioli! Devious, I know, but when it comes to Chef Devin's cooking, it's every girl for herself! We love how popular the lobster ravioli are--it means Lobsterman Luke (Chef Devin's husband) has to visit more often!

And desserts! Chef Devin was making profiteroles... Too delicious! And this week, a crisp with Carding Brook Farm rhubarb and native strawberries, or maybe you'd prefer the flourless chocolate cake with toasted coconut?

From the guest book: "Thanks for spoiling us so wonderfully!!" "Tremendous hospitality in a superb setting." "The inn is a wonderful civilized place."

From the neighborhood, a couple came in to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary. We said congratulations with one of Chef Devin's special desserts. The gent popped in in the morning to say how lovely dinner was and to thank us for the sweet, with a large bouquet of fragrant, gorgeous peonies from their garden. We have been basking in their pinkness ever since.

If your life isn't as magical as all this, come visit us. We'll share.

Long Island Duck! Flounder! and a Film Festival!

Guests and innkeeper alike continue to be dazzled by Chef Devin's offerings. For starters this week, we've been serving a Spring Salad, with Carding Brook Farm Greens, Spiced Pecans, Roasted Grapes, Crumbled Great Blue Hill Cheese with a Lemon Vinaigrette; Lobster Cakes, with Stonington Lobster, Parsley Lemon Gremolata, Local Greens and Lemon Sorrel Salad; and Charred Bagaduce Oysters, with Roasted Leeks, Smith’s Smokehouse Peppered Bacon, and Garden Chives, among other options. (Can you hear my voice reading these words out loud? The combinations Chef Devin puts together intensify the deliciousness.)

Entrees include Pan-Seared Long Island Duck Breast, with Mashed Turnip Puree, Duck Confit, Local Rhubarb Compote, and Four Season Farm Garlic Spinach; Crabmeat Crowned Broiled Flounder, with Shallot Lemon Beurre Blanc, Buttered Quinoa, and Sauté of Four Season Arugula; an 8 oz. Grilled Grass-Fed New York Strip, Au Poivre, with Reggiano Butter, Garlic Mashed Potato, and Sauté of Four Season Spinach; House Chive Gnocchi, with Roasted Butternut Squash, Garden Herbs, Toasted Walnuts, Asiago Cheese, and Braised Kale. The squash was the last to come from Chef Devin's own garden. Our small kitchen herb garden keeps us supplied in sage, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chives, parsley, and mint.

We are delighted to be hosting a reception for the Image Gazer Film Festival Friday night. If the weather holds, we'll enjoy hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the garden; a spring shower will bring us into the parlor. We are co-hosting with the Maine Film and Video Association so you know the conversation will be lively.
Following the reception will be shorts and live music at the New Surry Theater at the Town Hall next door, student films in the Town Park, followed by the premiere of Flash Phenomenon, a documentary about the steel drum craze here in Blue Hill. How can you not be excited about this line up? The festival is traveling this year so you can catch films at the Opera House, the Alamo, and the Grand.

The 10th Annual Lupine Festival rolls into the area this weekend as well and the lupine are right on schedule. I worried all spring--so many blossoms have been a week or more late, but the lupine aren't letting us down. Check out their schedule and make a plan--lupine by sea or plane. Art, music, everything lupine!

If you aren't expecting to have this grand of a weekend, come see us! We have all this plus sweet breads at breakfast that have guests raving all day. This morning, the cook baked pineapple coconut scones with toasted almonds. From the guest book: "Thank you for the delicious pampering." "A splendiferous experience, laced with impeccable taste."

See you on the lupine loop!

Chef Devin's menu for the week of June 6

Have you been out to eat and the food was so delicious that when the waiter came back to ask, "How is everything?" all you could do was moan in appreciation? I've been getting a lot of that lately as I table hop in the dining room. I have loved my job but I love my even more delicious job even more!

On the menu for this week--though items do change daily, depending on what comes in and what looks good...

The amuse bouche tonight is a roasted tomato, with herbed marscapone, balsamic reduction, and basil from our kitchen garden.

For starters or small meals
Roasted Cauliflower and Sage Puree $7
with Toasted Walnuts and Fresh Lemon Sorrel

Spring Salad $8
Carding Brook Greens, Spiced Pecans, and Shaved Pecorino with a Rhubarb Vinaigrette


Lobster Ravioli (you can see a photo of Chef Devin putting on the finishing touches in the last blog entry) $14
Stonington Lobster, Parsley and Lemon Gremolata, and Pea Greens


Baked Bagaduce Oysters (Josh the oyster man or his helper brings them right from the Bagaduce River to our door) $13
Grilled Salsa of Tomatoes, Leeks, and Garden Chives


For entrées
Vermont Quail Stuffed with Old Ackley Farm Chicken $24
Creamy Asiago Risotto, Tarragon Gravy, and Sauté of Kale


Pan Roasted Frenchman’s Bay Halibut $26 Summer Succotash, Parsley Quinoa, and Lemon Beurre Blanc

Grilled New York Steak $28
Caper Salsa Verde, Sautéed Tuscan Kale, and Garlic Mashed Potato

House Agnolotti $23
Seal Cove Chèvre, Herbs, Hazelnuts, and Lemon Zest, and Warm Arugula Salad


Our bread is made fresh daily
and served with Dickson Family Butter from Brooks, Maine.


Desserts this week will include Caramelized Peach Kuchen with Morton Moo’s Vanilla Ice Cream; Decadent Chocolate Mousse with Mascarpone Whipped Cream and Caramel Drizzle; Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Carding Brook Rhubarb Compote.

We've been fine tuning our wine list, adding more choices including additional bubbles. A popular selection has been one of our reds available by the glass or the bottle, an organic pinot noir, Domaine du Chateau d'Eau, Moillard, France, 2010. We have some great organic wines on our list. We have to give a shout out to Maxx at Blue Hill Wine Shop who has generously shared his knowledge and passion for wine with us.

If your dinners don't have you moaning in appreciation, call us. We take reservations for Monday through Friday, 5-8 p.m.

Lobster ravioli!

So much deliciousness to tell you about!

We had our first week of offering dinner at the inn. The response has been so favorable. One of my favorite dishes is Chef Devin's lobster ravioli. You know I'm a romantic... It's Chef Devin's husband, Luke, who is catching the lobsters and I think that is part of what makes this dish so good. He fishes out of Stonington and sends her pictures of gorgeous sunrises, like this one. This is the two of them when he popped in to see her at work. The ravioli she makes with his lobster has chunks of meat, perfectly cooked, embraced by pasta she has made. She bathes them in a parsley lemon gremolata, which magically transports me to the seaside. And here I struggle with how to describe it to you. I just have to say, make a reservation and plan for your own magical dinner.

A guest told me a story about his visit to the L.L. Bean mother store. He, being a good midwesterner, had a Cabela's cap on, which he sheepishly removed and crumpled in his hand while paying homage to the Big Bean. At the check out, the matronly clerk demanded, "What's in your hand?" When Jim showed her, she said, "Give me that!" In exchange for the Cabela's cap she took away, he got a new L.L. Bean one. I wonder how often she does that?

From the guestbook: "Comfy, friendly, tasty!"

How on earth do I manage to have time to read, now that it's spring, you ask? A few minutes with a book and early morning coffee (sometimes really early morning coffee) helps adjust my attitude and is almost mandatory as life gets busy. A friend picked up This Life Is in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman for me at the farmer's market. Elliot Coleman, her father, is behind Four Season Farm and has written numerous books on organic farming and sustainable agriculture. I'm only on page 40 but I certainly recommend Melissa's book. We get eggs from Four Season--gorgeous orange yolks come from happy chickens. You can visit their farm stand down on Cape Rosier when you come to visit.

See you then!