Customer Reviews

Dishing Up® Maine: 165 Recipes That Capture Authentic Down East Flavors

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Each summer, I take a trip to Maine for one main reason--to eat. Sure I hike, explore the coastline, keep an eye out for Stephen King sightings, but really, I'm there for the food. Everyone knows the lobster roll is the reigning celebrity of Maine dishes--and this book features plenty of mouth-watering recipes for lobster--but as Brooke Dojny knows, wild Maine blueberry pies, chowders, authentic baked beans, not to mention scores of fresh vegetable concoctions are all quintessential Down East dishes. The recipes contributed by signature Maine restaurants provide a sort of culinary tour of the state but Dojny's original recipes celebrate all foods that evoke true tastes of Maine.

The photographs are some of the most stunning I've found in cookbooks. Together with Dojny's local stories and food lore, this is at once a cookbook, a tour guide, and a souvenir--a way to enjoy a Maine experience whether you get there yearly or once in a lifetime. I made the crab cakes just the other day--believe it or not, they were easy and delicious! Can it get any better than that?

Maine is a place that conjures up magical images of Pine Trees, lobsters, lighthouses, and sparkling blue water. Brooke Dojny's book adds to the magical image of Maine with her recipes for classic Maine dishes like Lobster Rolls, Baked Beans, Blueberry Muffins and Clam Chowder. She also gives tourism information on what restaurants are 'hot,' and where to buy farm-fresh ingredients for cooking at your home or your Maine lakeside cottage. She identifies Maine as a place where people like she, and Chef Sam Hayward of Fore Street Restaurant in Portland, literally moved for the food. She thinks it's the next great outpost for foodies. However she is concerned about keeping Maine unspoiled so its charm can remain the same.

Brooke's book is fabulous whether you're going to actually cook from it or whether you want to dream about a Maine getaway. The full-color photos by Scott Dorrance are incredibly enticing.

I would highly recommend buying Brooke's book for yourself and copies to give as gifts. It's the best souvenir of a Maine vacation I can imagine.

Dishing Up Maine: 165 Recipes That Capture Authentic Down East Flavors by Brooke Dojny (winner of the James Beard Award and author of more than a dozen cookbooks) is an impressively assembled compendium of 165 recipes showcasing the cuisine of America's Eastern coast in general, and the state of Maine in particular. Offering a culinary wealth of easy to make, gourmet quality dishes for everything from snacks and sandwiches, to soups and side dishes, to entrees and deserts, Dishing Up Maine presents readers with recipes ranging from Oven-Roasted Asparagus; Shaker Chicken Stew with Scallion Dumplings; and Nutmeg-Scented Parsnip and Carrot Puree; to "Nude" Raw Oysters with Sauces; Blueberry-Peach Torta; and Split Pea Soup with Smoky Ham. A welcome addition to any kitchen cookbook collection, Dishing Up Maine is most especially recommended for anyone wanting to prepare an authentic "Down East" meal showcasing the regional culinary style of Maine and the Eastern dining.

My husband and I just purchased a beautiful piece of property near Blue Hill Maine. When I saw this book, I thought it would be neat to have a copy at the new house. It has since become my favorite cookbook. The recipes are uncomplicated and unpretentious - no hard to find ingredients or time consuming steps - just good down to earth wholesome foods suitable for both casual family dining as well as entertaining guests. The format makes it easy to read and (occassionally) modify amounts or ingredients to suit my family's tastes. So far everything I have made from it (and that's plenty) has been really good. In addition to lots of great recipes, the author includes good info about restaurants, traditions and lore of Maine. As my husband said, "This book is just fun to read!"

My favorite recipes so far - "My Best Creamy Coleslaw" and "Paella Cleonice".

Brooke Dojny came to Maine for the food, and that's good enough reason to love Maine. Brooke is an experienced, talented, and thoroughly dedicated professional. She has done her homework and chronicles the old foodways and the newest culinary surpises of her adopted state. And she is also passionate and thoroughly in love with Maine. And that's good enough for me. Brooke has a stellar reputation as a food writer, and has unfailingly good taste and style. Mainers are lucky to count her among their residents, and most fortunate to have this book as a culinary journey through a magical and delicious state that is as heaped in tradition as it is in blueberries.

Covers classic Maine foods: lobsters, mussels, blueberries, and baked beans with some old style recipes and modern variations.

More interesting are numerous sidebars touching on various aspects of the growing Maine "foodie" scene. New restaurants, growers, stores, and farms are highlighted.

A few maps would have been nice,and some of the recipes might be too far from convention for traditionalists.

A must have for any "Maine-o-phile"-native or those who wished they were. I found it simply "pleasant" to read. Do yourself a favor: get some mud from the seashore, throw some sea-salt in the air, turn your TV to "Scenes of the North Atlantic," and read this book.

Quick - name a food from Maine.

You didn't say lobster did you?

Well, there are other foods from Maine you know. But lobster certainly ranks as up there in popularity, and there are fourteen entries under lobster in the index of this book. Now all of them aren't recipies you understand. Some of the engries are on things like buying and cooking lobster, and how to eat it.

Other than that, this is still a pretty neat cookbook. Not only does it have all the lobster stuff, but a collection of recipies from other traditional Maine foods. All in all, 165 recipies, a higher percentage of which are of course seafood. The featured foods are different enough that I find this a good book to look through when I'm looking for something different to fix.

Recipies are good, but she also includes a list of twenty five or so Featured Restaurants. After all, sometimes you want to let someone else do the cooking.

Beautiful photos and enticing recipes transport the reader to Maine. Don't think only of lobster when Maine has such wonderful variety of seafood (scallops, clams, halibut) and produce (blueberries, Maine potatoes).
Does your mouth water just reading about oven-roasted asparagus, the Maine version of strawberry shortcake, pickled dilly beans, rich lobster stew, and blueberry-peach torta? Give these recipes a try.

this book by a non-native is fun to read and it has wonderful pictures, but I don't trust the recipes. For example, her only recipe for blueberry muffins (a Maine basic) contains brown sugar. Mainers do not put brown sugar in their muffins! She also commonly mistakes "local" and "artisanal" with "authentic.

She's also under the impression that there are only "at least a couple dozen" lobster pounds restaurants left in Maine. (Her page on them is weirdly called "Hidden Treasures.") The lady needs to get back in her Volvo and drive a little more on Rte to know that she's off by at least a factor of 10.

This book confirms Brooke Dojny's authentic place among cookbook authors who have tried to capture, create, and preserve regional cuisines. Her New England Cookbook, with it's totally reliable and delicious recipes, should be on everyone's shelf, regardless of where they live. This book should be too, but it's more interesting to those of us fascinated by the food renaissance taking place in Maine -- which is exciting. As always with Dojny, the recipes are impeccable. They also are true to their heritage, both old and new, and perfectly translated for the home cook.