Local Chef's Have Strength - Join Chef Bryan Dame

Taste of the Nation - Portland, ME

Maine's Got Strength

Join us Sunday, June 22 (The Sunday after Father's Day), for Maine's third annual Taste of the Nation. Our event is from 2 to 8 PM on gorgeous Cow Island. Transportation to and from the island is included in your ticket price. As well as appetizers, cocktails, dinner, and wine with each course.

The event features Maine's hottest chefs and mixologists, all of whom are donating their time, talent and passion to raise the critical funds needed to help fight for an end childhood hunger in our state.

We invite you to make plans to join us on the water for another superb wine dinner and fundraising experience.

This year's Maine chefs and restaurants:

Bryan Dame -- The Edge

Larry Matthews Jr. -- Back Bay Grill

Lee Skawinski -- Cinque Terre

Jeff Landry -- Eve’s at the Garden

Rob Evans -- Hugo’s

Steve Corry -- Five Fifty-Five

Sam Hayward Fore Street

Joe Boudreau -- Grille Room

Please buy your tickets today and reserve your seat at the table!

General Admission 3:00 - 8:00 $125
VIP Admission 2:00 - 8:00 $175

100% of Ticket Sales Help to Ensure No Kid in America Grows Up Hungry.

Local Beneficiaries include:
The Preble Street Teen Center
Maine Equal Justice Partners
Cultivating Community

Time: June 22, 2008 from 4pm to 8pm
Location: Cow Island
Contact Info: 207-775-2126 Ext 122

http://www.sosportland.org/

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation®, presented by American Express®, is the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid in America grows up hungry. Each spring, the nation's hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at more than 55 events across the United States and Canada, with one goal in mind: to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger. Since its inception 20 years ago, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $70 million.

The Maine Fiber Frolic welcomes craft lovers ...

It's that time again.....
Head out to the central Maine town of Windsor and the Windsor Fairgrounds for the 8th annual Fiber Frolic Fair.

June 7th and 8th from 10AM til 4PM.
Celebrate fiber, fiber animals and fiber arts.  There's something for everyone.  Go to their web-site for directions and more info:
www.fiberfrolic.com

Young musicians impress and perform for you..

For a true expression of spring in the air, come join music lovers and students in their annual concert,
The Odeon Spring Concert at the
Rockport Opera House.
Join the Odeon Youth ensembles as they perform live -
with artistic director Thomas Wolf -
as the culmination of their hard work throughout the spring.
Visit their web site for ticket information

 Bay Chamber Concerts

To finish off a terrific performance, why not bring your group to
the Edge, Oceanfront Dining in Lincolnville for a truely
memorable meal, seated right on Penobscot Bay.

The Beltie calves were born this past week!

May 10, 2008
Every year, we look forward to spring and the birth of new Belted Galloway cows at Aldermere Farm, in Rockport, Maine.

 

Go to: Aldermere Farm  for a closer look !!!

A fine example of local agriculture and stewardship, Aldermere Farm is a provider to Chef Bryan Dame and your evening's special meal at the Edge Restaurant.

Visit Aldermere Farm’s new web site at www.aldermere.org to learn more about the Farm and to see all the events and programs they offer year round. They are dedicated to offering many agricultural and ecological opportunities for youth and adults on the 136-acre salt-water farm, which is owned and managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Aldermere Farm is located at 20 Russell Ave. in Rockport, ME.

Opening Day for the Penobscot Narrows Bridge !

While you're touring up Rte. 1 this early May 2008, please visit us at the Edge for a comfortable nights'
stay and amazing evening meal courtesy of Chef, Bryan Dame

After you leave, and head north, you may want to visit the
Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory, majestically looking up and
down the Penobscot River, outside of Bucksport, Maine

The Observatory is the tallest glass panoramic view off a bridge in the US.  Only two others in the world.  420' above the river and a full 360 degree view.  The visitor center for tickets and information is located at the base in
Fort Knox Park, in Prospect.

(image courtesy Kevin Bennett Bangor Daily News)

Swamp Stomp! Fiddle Head'n!

 

It is Finally Spring in Maine! And the fiddle head’s are up!

Chef and I forage a few on Monday’s dreary afternoon up at Casa Dame. Not much was to be had after such a dry April. I knew yesterday as the rain poured down that my short window to forage for this northern delicacy was near.

Fiddle head’s for those who have never had the joy, are the head of the ostrich fern before they unfurl their Q like heads. Fiddle heads grow wild and are not commercially grown making them even more special. In the rough they are covered in a fuzzy skin that is easily removed. You want to pick them at about 4 inches high and while the head is still tight.

With a flavor similar to asparagus, you treat them the same way. Clean, blanch in boiling water and eat. I personally enjoy them simply dressed in butter but, other will tell you they are best in garlic, vinegar, or chilled with fresh aioli.

When I woke this morning, the sun was shining and I knew the brook that runs through The Inn at Ocean’s Edge would be flowing hard. I pulled on my Bean boots, grabbed the shears, a plastic bag ready from the recycle bin and allowed myself the extra time before work to hit the grounds.

What beautiful morning to be out doors, I could hear the waves break, Eider ducks bobbing on the shore and the power of the brook running full with yesterdays rain fall from the hills to the bay.As I made my way along the brook, Snip, Stomp, Snip, Splash, Snip the bounty of spring was right in front me, stretching across the forest floor from the top of the pathway to the Edge all the way past the Poolhouse, fiddle heads abound. Before long that bounty was bagged up and I had procured about 3 pounds of fresh, foraged fiddle head’s, enough to share but not really enough to meet the demand the restaurant.So I shared my excitement and today’s harvest with Jesse and Paul, I will take the rest home for a  BBQ with The Edge crew this afternoon.

It is a really special feeling to find food in the wild.

I hope you can get your hands on some fiddle head’s this spring, if not just give us a ring at The Edge, Bryan usually puts up a couple of pounds of pickles each spring.

Cheers, Natasha!

The Edge is ready for you ......

We report to you from the crisp, clean shores of Penobscot Bay ....

The Inn and the Edge and the Edge Restaurant is available for you and your guests,
as they plan for this season's adventure.  If you want to check out our facilities, enjoy a cocktail on our deck, please call or just stop by.  The pool and hot tub are yours...

 

                                                   We've had a great opening here at the Edge with a busy night of celebration with Gina Stipo and the wonderful tastes of Italy, right here in Maine.

Thanks go to Bryan Dame, the Edge's amazing chef for making the menu so special.  Also, thanks to all of you who came up Rte 1, just a bit north of Camden....

Here's a look .......

 

A Special Tuscan Night at the EDGE!!!

Saturday April 26th, The Edge at The Inn at Ocean’s Edge
in Lincolnville will host a very special wine dinner featuring a
Tuscan menu and wines from this region of Italy, via downeast Maine !!!
Yes, you've heard about it here, Village Soup Dining article
and you can have Gina sign her wonderful book, Ecco la Cucina
(order here, Ecco laCucina, by Gina Stipo)

Chefs Stipo and Dame have collaborated on a spring inspired, Tuscan themed menu featuring recipes from Chef Stipo’s new cook book. Chef Stipo will present this special four course dinner paired with a flight of four Tuscan wines from Vias Imports.

The Tuscan wine dinner is $80 per person plus tax and gratuity.
The evening will start with a meet and greet reception at 7pm followed by dinner.
Reservations are required; Few Seats Still Available Please call 236-0945

Don't forget, PIZZA Night is back on Sunday's $18 per person
for a full evening of fun conversation and comfort food....

We are Open!!

We opened the Inn this weekend, and the weather, wow! what a weekend, very mild, nary a cloud in the sky!  We had to get extra chaise lounges out of winter storage as guests were enjoying the sun and the sparkling views of the Bay!
The hot tub is bubbling away, the sauna and great room and treatment rooms are open and are already being used by happy guests, and the pool is being filled up to the top as we speak!
The restaurant saw many familar faces of patrons excited that one of their favorite restaurants was open again, and just seeing all of the path lights twinkling into the night remided us of the season ahead!
There are so many exciting things happening in the Camden, Lincolnville, and Midcoast area this spring! For one please take a look at our special packages, and please take a close look at our Explore Maine package.  This is a great package which allows guests to explore Maine and stay at our sister property the Black Point Inn. 
There are also many exciting events happening in our area as well.  Did you know that there is a wonderful winery just up the road from us?  The Cellar Door vineyard in Lincolnville is gearing up for their growing season ahead and they are organizing some very exciting events, which can be easily enjoyed by guests staying here with us.
We look forward to seeing you all this season and we wish you the happiest of Springs!!!

Three wineries in three days, Italy!

Speaking of Italy and wine, I should share a little about the three fantastic wineries that we visited while in Italy.

Lets start by thanking Michael Burke and his team at  Vias Imports.  They arranged for us to visit three very exciting wineries while we were in Tuscany. We were scheduled to visit each Vineyard on three consecutive days.  Our first visit was to be the estate of Argiano where we would meet Emiline Trouillot.  The Argiano estate is  just outside of the Hill town of Montalcino right in the heart of Brunello land. We met Emiline and were given a wonderful tour around the vineyards and then into the wine making operation including a peak down below in the wine caves which were filled with the barrique or barrels of aging wine. For miles and miles around as far as the eye could see were neat rows of vineyards, I can only imagine how green this would all look in the depth of summer.  Most of the workers were out in the vineyards trimming the vines of last years growth.  We noticed that the vines were heavily trimmed so the amount they must grow each year must be incredible.  Back in the tasting room we were treated to tastes of the full Argiano line up along with snack (or spuntino) of a rich local cheese and a salumi made of the local wild boar or cinghiale.  Bellisimo!

The following day we drove straight into the heart of the Chianti region which is directly North of Siena. We were headed to Castello di Meleto a vineyard and winery surrounding an impressive and ancient Castle with two imposing and iconic towers built into the walls.  We were met by Roberto who is fairly new to the winery but has been working in the Chianti wine business for many years.  Inside the castle covering the wall of one of the rooms was a fresco of an original map of "Chianti".  This charted the exact boundaries of the original area dating from the 1700's in which wine produced could be called "Chianti".  Owing to the huge success of Chianti as it was exported around the world, the area of Chianti has effectively changed.  First in the 1930's, and then again in the 1960's it has increased in size due to higher production demands.  This map on the wall records the original area which was first formalized in the early 1700's.  It was very interesting to see that rich piece of wine history!

Our final winery visit brought us back down through Brunello country to the Mediterranean Sea!  Just out of sight of the sea we found the very new and uber-sheik vineyards and winery of Rocca di Frassinello. Rocca di Frassinello is a new partnership between Paolo Panerai, owner of Domini Castellare di Castellina , and Baron Eric de Rothschild of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite). It is the first joint venture between an Italian and French producer and the wines are produced in a region called the Maremma, former marshlands along the Tuscan Mediterranean coast.  We met the young and smiling Massimo Casagrande up on the roof.  Yes the roof!  The winery, less than a year old, was designed by Renzo Piano, the architect who among other things designed the recently built New York Times Building in New York and the famous and quirky Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.  So there we were on the roof, with Massimo explaining to us that Renzo Piano had wanted to build a winery that used gravity as much as possible.  He went on to point out where the trucks would arrive with grapes during the harvest and pointed to the doors through which the grapes would drop into the containers in the winery below. On the way off the roof we passed through the tasting room,  which had walls completely made of glass.  The views from the tasting room encompassed the entire vineyards, the perfect place to taste and talk about the grapes, vineyards and the wine itself.  Coming down off the roof, Massimo led us into the winery and straight into the most amazing barrel cellar I have ever been in or ever will be in.  This cave looked more like a subterranean amphitheater than a barrel room.  Massimo explained that it could hold 2500 barrels and was designed to be lit from sun reflected off mirrors positioned on the tower on the roof above.  The sun light would filter down through a square hole in the center of the barrel room ceiling.  Wow!  In the winery itself we learned that the vineyards had been planted in 2000, and that the first production year was 2004.  Most of the wine produced is a combination of the local grape varietal of sangioveto (a version of the sangiovese grape which is the standard grape for Chianti) and the classic Bordeaux blends of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  These wines are known as Super Tuscans and boy are they ever! In an even more uber-sheik tasting room, sitting at a tasting table made of glass with special drawers at each seat for spitting the wine (these drawers when opened rinsed themselves out with jets of water!), we were treated to a full lunch!  We tasted through the entire lineup of wines as Massimo took great care and time to describe each one too us.

As we drove away down the road from the vineyard we stopped the car and got out to look back and see how completely this brand new uber-sheik winery fit seamlessly into its surroundings among the vineyards. 

We have to thank the good folks at Vias Wines and Michael Burke for arranging our tasting and tours, and we would also like to thank Emiline at Argiano, Roberto at Castello di Meleto, and finally Massimo and the great cooks at Rocca di Frassinello.
We also should point out that Argiano and Castello di Meleto each have luxury accommodations available at their wineries which can be booked in conjunction with wine tours and tastings at the wineries.

Actually we are presently working on a special Tuscan wine dinner at the Edge planned for April 26.  Our chef Bryan Dame will work with Gina Stipo who will be in Maine from Tuscany launching a new cookbook.  Gina runs a cooking school in Tuscany called Eccolacucina.  During the dinner we have decided to feature exclusively the wines from the three wineries above.  Michael Burke will be on hand to talk with Bryan and Gina about the wines and the pairings that they will create.  Look back here for more info, or contact the Edge directly!

Ciao!!

Jesse