Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

February 27

Food & Dining Dispatches, Feb. 27, 2013

By Meredith Goad mgoad@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND

Grace dedicates proceeds to anti-hunger effort

Grace, the restaurant at 15 Chestnut St., will be holding its annual Share Our Strength week Friday to March 8.

For every three-course, $30 meal that is ordered during that week, $1 will be donated to Share Our Strength, an organization that fights childhood hunger.

 

Delegates to share insights from Slow Food conference

Slow Food Portland will host a potluck dinner at the Mayo Street Arts Center, 10 Mayo St., from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

This is another chance to hear about the experiences of this year's delegates from Maine to Slow Food's Terra Madre conference. Terra Madre is Slow Food International's major bi-annual conference held in Torino, Italy. The conference is an incubator of innovative concepts in sustainable food and agriculture with a goal of preserving taste and biodiversity.

The delegates will talk about their trip and what new ideas or perspectives they are bringing back to Maine. This year's delegates from Maine were Heather Chandler of the Sunrise Guides; Sarah Bostik of Cultivating Community; and Holli Cederholm of Proud Peasants Farm.

 

Celebrate all things French at Merry Table Wednesday

If you like French food and wine and want to hang out where the cool French-speaking folks hang, get yourself down to The Merry Table Wednesday for a French wine dinner prepared by chef/owner Jean-Claude Vassalle.

The creperie at 43 Wharf St. is known for its "French nights," where expats and folks who just plain love France gather on the first and third Thursday of every month to eat Vassalle's delicious crepes and speak French all night.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Vassalle, who was born in Lyons, will hold a French wine dinner with Erika Archer of Wine Wise as host. The dinner costs $60 per person, tax and gratuity not included. For reservations, call 899-4494.

Here's a look at the menu:

First course:

Smoked salmon toast with creme fraiche and American caviar

N.V. Bailly Lapierre, Cremant de Bourgogne (sparkling Burgundian wine)

Second course:

Maine sea scallop Tahitian-style (marinated in citrus and coconut milk, spices)

2010 Eric Chevalier, Muscadet Cotes du Grand Lieu AOC (Loire region white)

Mixed green salad

Third course:

Peppered 8-ounce sirloin, yellow potato, French green beans

2007 Chateau Pecot, Tentation, Cahors AOC (southwest region)

Fourth course:

Creme brulee with berries

2009 Domaine de Durban, Muscat Beaumes de Venise AOC (southern Rhone)

 

CSA gatherings to be held all over Maine this weekend

It's CSA season, the time when people who want to support their local farmers and fishermen can purchase a share of the upcoming Maine harvest by signing up for regular deliveries or pick-ups of fresh produce, meats and fish.

CSA programs provide food producers with the capital they need before growing season begins, and in return customers get fresh, local food directly from the farmer or fisherman.

Farmers and fishermen come together every year at this time so customers can meet them and ask questions. These free events, called "Meet Your Farmers and Fishermen: A Celebration of Community Supported Agriculture and Fisheries," will be held this weekend at locations all over the state.

Many of the events, sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, include tastings, live music, film screenings and sales of food and other products.

Portland's CSA fair will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Woodford Congregational Church, 202 Woodford St.

Other events will be held in the following towns:

Augusta: Viles Arboretum, 153 Hospital St., 1 to 5 p.m. Friday

Bangor: Hammond Street Congregational Church, 28 High St., 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday

(Continued on page 2)

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