Lucie Snodgrass - Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay

DISHING UP MARYLAND

150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay

LUCIE L. SNODGRASS

Photography by Edwin Remsberg

Foreword by John Shields

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Margaret Sutherland and Shauna Toh
Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong
Text production by Liseann Karandisecky and Jessica Armstrong

Photography by Edwin Remsberg
Map illustration by David Cain

Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road Communications

2010 by Lucie L. Snodgrass

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Snodgrass, Lucie L.

Dishing up Maryland/by Lucie L. Snodgrass.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-60342-527-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Cookery, American. 2. CookeryMaryland.

3. Cookery (Natural foods) 4. Natural foodsMaryland.

I. Title.

TX715.S672 2010
641.59752dc22 2009052449

To the farmers and watermen of Maryland,
especially my beloved Edmund, and to
my cherished sister, Alexandra, my lifelong
favorite cooking partner

Arugula, Asparagus, Beef, Beets, Clams, Lettuce, Oysters, Peas, Rhubarb, Rockfish, Soft-Shell Crabs, Spinach, Spring Lamb, Spring Onions, Strawberries

Apricots, Basil, Beans, Blackberries, Blueberries, Carrots, Cherries, Corn, Crabs, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Nectarines, Peaches, Peppers, Plums, Potatoes, Raspberries, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Watermelon, Wineberries

Apples, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Chestnuts, Collards, Crabs, Fennel, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mushrooms, Oysters, Pears, Pork, Pumpkins, Quail, Sweet Potatoes, Turkey, Turnips

Beef, Bison, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Chicken, Kale, Maple Syrup, Oysters, Perch, Rockfish, Rutabagas, Stewed Chicken, Smith Island Cake, Turnips

The idea for this book was in my head for years, but a chance conversation with Mark Powell in the marketing department at the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) rekindled my desire to write it, for which I owe him a debt of gratitude. Subsequently, he and his colleague Karen Fedor sat down with me to share their thoughts and suggestions, which were enormously helpful. Others at MDA to whom Im grateful are Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance; my friend Sue DuPont, who always had the statistic I was looking for; and Noreen Eberly of the Office of Maryland Seafood and Aquaculture. All of them embraced this books vision and its potential to bring positive attention to our farmers and watermen.

Thanks are also due to Pam Art, Margaret Sutherland, Jessica Richard, Amy Greeman, and the rest of the wonderful team at Storey Publishing. I feel privileged to be associated with a publishing house that so thoroughly shares my values.

Thank you to Edwin Remsberg for agreeing to work with me on this book, and for his stunning photographs, which are the visual counterparts to the stories and recipes shared herein.

Thank you to the dozens of farmers, watermen, and chefs who I interviewed throughout Maryland in the course of this book, many of whom shared their recipes as well as their stories. I regret that I was not able to include all of them. I am especially grateful to Holly Foster, who sent me home with delicious Chapels Country Creamery cheeses; Leo Shinholt for his sublime S & S Maple Camp syrup; everyone at FireFly Farms for the wonderful goat cheeses and a delectable lunch; Scott Fritze at Marvesta Shrimp for those sweet and succulent decapods; my wonderful sister-in-law Eleanor Van Dyke and her husband, Roger, for all their support, never-ending help setting up interviews, finding the perfect location for our Eastern Shore shoot, for the crabs, the rockfish, the expert oyster shucking, the recipes, and just for being who they are; the Balderstons of Colora Orchards for keeping me in apples; Claudia Nami and Susan Lewis for their exquisite Dragonfly Farms vinegars; Brett Grohsgal for his delicious greens and buttery turnips; Christine Bergmark for her help in southern Maryland and for what she does to preserve farming there; everyone at Roseda Beef, especially Mike Brannon, who sent me home with recipes and all sorts of wonderful cuts to experiment with, and Meghan Norville, who connected me with them; the incomparable Spiliadis family, owners of The Black Olive, especially chef and matriarch Pauline; John Shields, an inspiration and the true champion of Chesapeake cooking; Michele and Jimmy Hayden for taking me with them oystering on their boat; Keith Elliot for letting us use his beautiful dock; and the whole crazy crew of Emory Knoll Farms, who sampled just about every dish that I made tough as it was, someone had to do the job and they selflessly stepped up to it time and again. My appreciation and admiration also go to the many chefs across Maryland only a handful of whom are featured in the book who are committed to cooking seasonally and buying locally. You are leading us by example.

Heartfelt thanks to all my friends and family who encouraged and supported me throughout the process of researching and writing this book, especially my men: Ed, Tim, and Graham, the fifth and sixth generations, respectively, on Emory Knoll Farms. Without my husband, I would never have become a farmers wife living on a farm, or thought to have written this book, and for those and many, many other reasons, I will always love him. My sister, Alexandra, was, as she has been throughout our lives, a source of great encouragement to me, serving as my sounding board, idea generator, recipe tester, artistic stylist, and cooking companion. Her love and help have made this book better in every way.

Finally, I am thankful to my Ohma, long gone, whose orchard and vegetable garden have been my lifelong inspirations, and I am grateful to the people, she among them, who early in my life instilled in me a love of fresh ingredients and good cooking: my mother and father, Hedy Hauser, Vreni Senft, and my Tante Neck, whose apron I still wear.