The Art of Fudge

Teen soccer players are swarming southern Maine, the slots are spinning in Bangor and the best fudge I have ever eaten is being readied in Boothbay. The folks at Downeast Candy's Fudge Factory in Boothbay Harbor are beyond impressive. They are candy scientists who have mastered the art of making good fudge.

I am a fudge fanatic. This quirk drives Gillian a little nuts. I am willing to buy fudge anywhere. The trouble is, the vast majority of fudge is really awful. Hence the annoyance of Gillian. My kids have been enlisted as my fudge testers. Even they have become less willing to try the fudge samples I pick up. They have taken to judging its graininess, moisture level and density. My son in particular won't pop a piece of fudge into his mouth if it doesn't pass visual inspection. There is an art to good fudge.

This past week I had the pleasure of returning to Boothbay Harbor for a Maine Fare board meeting. We met and lunched at Fisherman's Wharf Inn, a delightful and authentic harbor front restaurant. I have to admit though, one of the best things about the Inn, from my perspective, is its proximity to Downeast Fudge, less than a block away. For those aware of my love affair with this fudge, they're probably amazed that I was able to remain focused in the meeting. I think I mentioned fudge at least three times to my colleagues during our few hours together. But what's a fudge lover like me to do when the primo stuff is just minutes away.

My love of fudge started when I was a kid traveling to the Carolinas on family vacations where salt water taffy and fudge were regular treats. My mom and I tried making it many times at home but rarely produced anything close to good fudge. Usually it was crumbly, overly sweet, or too soft. The art of fudge was beyond us. I think it always will be, I am going to leave the fudge making to the pros. 

At last week's Taste of the Nation, Bryan Dame did something wonderful with fudge. His homemade marshmallows and fudge s'mores, which he made with Andrews Brewing Company’s porter, were the absolute perfect ending to this delicious meal. All of the chefs, who on their only day off sailed to Cow Island and worked for seven hours, did wonderful things with their individual contributions. Bryan's spectacular fudge finish was a highlight (his whoopie pies were pretty awesome too, but I'll save those for my whoopie pie retrospective).

Cheers.

Maine Chefs unveil Taste of the Nation menu

I recently posted a blog about Steve Corry from 555's soup. The one he will be serving at Taste of the Nation next Sunday, June 22, on Cow Island. Now let me tell you about the entire menu.

Chef Sam Hayward of Fore Street, with his Pastry Chef Brant Dadaleares, will be preparing roasted morels with sheep ricotta and crisp brioche. (I heard that Sam and Brant intend to roast their morel mushrooms underground in a fire pit, which they plan to dig out on Cow Island.)

Harding Lee Smith and Joe Boudreau, from the newly opened Grill Room, will be making something wonderful.

Lawrence Klang, from Camden Harbor Inn, will be preparing a Tartine of Marinated Pear Tomatoes, Cured Foie Gras, Banyuls and Summer Truffle Foam.

And then the meal begins -- The first course, from Steve Corry’s 555, will be a chilled cucumber soup with crème fraiche, salmon tartar, and fragrant fresh dill oil.

The second course, prepared by Hugo’s owner Rob Evans, will be organic Maine asparagus spears with farm fresh egg and parmesan vinaigrette.

For the third course, Back Bay Grill owner and chef Larry Mathews will prepare olive oil poached hybrid striped bass with preserved lemon, fennel confit and piccholine olives.

A fourth course, roast loin of lamb with Maine white beans in a red wine sauce, served with seasonal vegetables, will be prepared by Cinque Terre’s chef, Lee Skawinski.

From there we move to the walking dessert reception. Jeff Landry of Eve’s at the Garden, will make a potato and coconut blini with vanilla crème fraiche and fresh tangerine caviar.

Finally, Bryan Dame, from The Edge in Camden, will be making two desserts: an Allen’s coffee brandy flavored whoopie pie and a version of the camp classic s’mores, using a homemade marshmallows and fudge made with Andrews Brewing Company’s porter.

OK, so, you see why I get so excited about Taste of the Nation. Portland's and Camden's world-class chefs team up to produce a one-of-a-kind Maine culinary experience. These folks work hard six days a week and then agree to spend a day volunteering for Share Our Strength Southern Maine. It's amazing, really. Huge hearts, gigantic creative genius. These chefs are wonderful, caring people.

The good news is as I write this there is still a handful of general admission tickets available to Taste of the Nation. The VIP option has sold out. If you would like to become a guest of the 2008 Taste, please visit www.sosportland.org and click on "buy tickets."

MORE ABOUT THE TASTE
Share Our Strength Southern Maine 2008 funds will go to Cultivating Community, East End Kids Katering, Maine Equal Justice Partners, and Preble St. Resource Center.

Locally, Taste of the Nation is sponsored by Stonewall Kitchen, Whole Foods Market Portland, L.L. Bean, Time Warner, Weichert Realtors, FairPoint Communications, and Curtis Thaxter. The Taste of the Nation is sponsored nationally by American Express. 

The late afternoon event begins with a specially chartered boat ride from Portland to Cow Island, which is included in the ticket price for Taste of the Nation. In addition, the tickets for the event include specialty cocktails made with Diageo Reserve Portfolio spirits, live entertainment and wines from Wente Vineyards. Wente Vineyards is California's oldest family owned and continuously operated winery. Founded in 1883 by C. H. Wente, the winery is now managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. The winery farms nearly 3,000 acres of estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations, two premier Central Coast winegrowing regions.

Detailed event information about Taste of the Nation, tickets and Share Our Strength are available through www.sosportland.org. GA tickets will also available at the customer service desk at Whole Foods Market in Portland, until the event sells out.

100% of the funds raised at this event will go to organizations fighting to end childhood hunger.

Games of What If

My seven year old son likes to play games of "What if" with his friends. He and his friend Andrew are non-stop what if-ers. In the car together the other day it was "Hey Andrew, what if I ate this entire ice cream cone in one bite?" "You're crazy, Simon, your teeth would freeze and fall out of your mouth." A little later while we were at the driving range hitting golf balls, it was "Hey Andrew, what if I hit this golf ball so hard that it flew over the road and those houses and kept going and going?" "That would be so cool Simon, it would keep going up in the air so high that people in airplanes would see it flying by the window -- It would freak them out!" His what ifs keep coming. It's what if the car flew over the Casco Bay Bridge while a ship was passing... what if the scooter could go so fast that we could pass all the cars... what if my skateboard had a rocket engine attached to the back of it. I love his games of what if because I play this game a lot, too.

My latest what if is this -- What if  more like-minded Maine people than ever before come together to help tackle the hunger problems that thousands of Maine people face every day?

If you read my latest entry about Steve Corry's soup, then you know that one of my passions is working on Share Our Strength Southern Maine's annual Taste of the Nation. The Taste raises thousands of dollars for Maine hunger organizations including: Cultivating Community, East End Kids, Maine Equal Justice and Preble Street. This year's Taste, which is June 22, 2008, features chefs: Steve Corry (Five Fifty-Five), Rob Evans (Hugo's), Larry Matthews Jr. (Back Bay Grill), Lee Skawinski (Cinque Terre), Sam Hayward (Fore Street), Jeff Landry (Eve's), Bryan Dame (The Edge) and Joe Boudreau (The Grille Room). This team of restaurant community leaders will join forces to produce an extraordinary meal. 100% of our proceeds go to the cause. These funds are critical, as childhood hunger in Maine is getting worse every year.

A few weeks ago Share Our Strength Southern Maine organized a working dinner at the Blaine House with Gov. John Baldacci and first lady Karen Baldacci. The purpose was to bring together a statewide mix of people who are fighting for an end to hunger in Maine. The meal included about two dozen anti-hunger leaders from Mane. It was a good experience. I returned home that night with hope that aligning efforts and creating a plan with clearly defined goals, objectives and steps, will lead to Maine becoming the first state in the nation to truly eradicate hunger.

The answer to my what if isn't simple. It's actually quite complicated. But the desired outcome is crystal clear -- we will eliminate childhood hunger in Maine if we join together and surround our children with nutritious food where they live, learn and play.

Everyone has strength and something to share. If you agree, I encourage you to learn more as you add your voice to Taste of that Nation, this June 22. Come with us to Cow Island. Meet Share Our Strength's founder, Billy Shore, and the two hundred and fifty other like-minded Maine people attending this important event. From there you might decide to take some other important steps. One can only hope.  

Cheers.