Immigrant Kitchens: Russian Beef Tongue

In the latest entry from Immigrant Kitchens, Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Russian Beef Tongue from Yulia Converse and Alla Zagoruyko (read the story, get the recipe and see the photos).

Most animal parts come so deconstructed from the whole that I don’t think of animals at all when I’m cooking. Steak tips are steak tips. Hamburgers are hamburgers. This is perhaps how I’ve lived as a meat eater, in a kind of denial: I’m not eating animals, I’m eating meat. But recently I came face to face with an animal part that threatened my usual delusion. At a recent family reunion, my brother-in-law, Tom, gave me a gift from Vermont: the tongue of his young grass-fed, organic heifer.

Immigrant Kitchens: Indian Toor Dal

In the latest entry from Immigrant Kitchens, Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Indian Toor Dal from Shweta Galway (read the story, get the recipe).

I’d tasted dals from time to time in Indian restaurants and liked them, but never had the occasion to cook one. I guess I was intimidated. What were dals even made of? And how many kinds were there? It seemed like dozens,maybe even a hundred. I asked my Indian friend, Shweta Galway, if she’d show me how to make one. She said yes, although she had a funny reaction, like I asked her to show me how to make a glass of milk.

Review of Rosie’s

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Rosie’s.

Over the years, Rosie’s has won several best burger in Portland awards, and their burgers still rank high. This casual eatery and bar remains a congenial hangout for regulars seeking pub food and good cocktails and beer in a Cheers-style atmosphere. Stick with the array of hamburger platters, the fried chicken and the generous sandwich baskets, such as the BLT with pastrami. Pizzas, calzones and chili are also popular. There are 15 draft beers, draft cider and nightly specials. Parking is available on the street or at nearby garages.

Today’s paper also includes a farmers market/super market comparison and the first of a two part farmers markets history series.

Immigrant Kitchens: Pakistani Chicken and Rice

In the latest entry from Immigrant Kitchens, Lindsay Sterling learns how to make jalfrezi from Savita Nooreen (read the story, get the recipe and see the photos).

As we cooked, we talked. “Someone on the school bus asked me if we have houses or we live in caves,” she said in disbelief. “It [Pakistan] is the same as here,” she asserted. “It is a developing country,” she clarified, “Fifty to sixty years ago there was no connection with the rest of the world. The northern part had no schools. But now it’s just like Freeport [Maine]. We have schools, colleges, universities…”

Maine Shrimp, Mayor’s Local Food Initiative, Reader’s Response

Today’s Press Herald Food & Dining section includes an article about how home cooks and restaurants are dealing with the lack of Maine shrimp,

With so many people pining for the tiny crustaceans, I thought it would be interesting to see if there are still any frozen shrimp out there from the 2013 season for consumers to snap up before they’re gone for good. I also checked in with some Maine restaurants to see what they will be offering on their menus as an alternative to Maine shrimp.

an article about the mayor’s local food initiative,

A task force convened by Mayor Michael Brennan in 2012 is moving forward with a number of initiatives aimed at giving the city’s residents more opportunities to eat local and nutritious food. While the urban farm and flock of sheep are only in the discussion phase, work is underway to make school lunch more popular by cooking with local foods and to increase the number of community garden plots.

and a collection of reader responses to Meredith Goad’s January 1 article about her hopes for the food scene in 2014.

Immigrant Kitchens: Syrian Kibbeh

In the latest entry from Immigrant Kitchens, Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Syrian Kibbeh from Asraa Ghazal (read the story, get the recipe and see the photos).

An Iraqi mother who lives with her husband and three kids in a Portland recently taught me how to make a Syrian food called kibbeh. Kibbeh are made of bulgur wheat, onions, spices, and ground beef or lamb, formed into the shape of lemons and deep-fried. Asraa, my teacher, learned how to make them from a Syrian friend when she was living in Syria after she fled Iraq.

Turkey Buying Guide

The Blueberry Files has published her annual Thanksgiving turkey buying guide with pricing and additional details on the turkeys available from: Hannaford, Shaws, Whole Foods, Rosemont, Trader Joe’s, Frith Farm, Wolfe’s Neck, Sam’s Club, Valley View Farm and Spring Brook Farm.

It’s once again time to talk turkey! Options abound for frozen and fresh turkeys in the greater Portland area. I want to help you make the right decision in purchasing a bird for your holiday meal – whether you’d rather have the cheapest, biggest bird available, the tastiest breed, or the most local. So here’s 15 options for turkeys in Portland

For additional reporting see also the turkey article in yesterday’s Press Herald.