Cynthia Finnemore Simonds - Fresh Maine Salads

Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Finnemore Simonds. All rights reserved. ISBN: 0-89272-700-4 (13-digit) 978-089272-700-1 Design by Chilton Creative Printed in China (RPS) 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Simonds, Cynthia Finnemore, 1966 Fresh Maine salads : innovative recipes from appetizers to desserts / Cynthia Finnemore Simonds ; photographs by Randall Smith.-- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes index.

ISBN 978-089272-700-1 (trade pbk.) 1. Salads. I. Title. TX740.S4694 2006 641.83--dc22 2005026001 Distributed by National Book Network This book is dedicated with love to Travis and Elizabethmay their taste buds keep growing. INTRODUCTION Compulsions of a Foodie" When I was twelve years old I decided to write a cookbook.

That was in 1979. Thanks to years of running my own catering business, entertaining friends, and raising two wonderful children, I have put together a collection of recipes that allows me to realize that dream. Many of us foodies" can remember cooking when we were very young, and I am no exception. Luckily for me, my mom always said yes when I offered to help in the kitchen, and by the age of four I was reading recipes and baking my own cakes. I began catering for neighbors when I was thirteen, starting with intimate dinners, then branching out to ever larger parties. I remember catering one baby shower for 150 guests from a six-by-eight-foot kitchen that also housed the bar! (Eventually, that catering business would help put me through college.) Id use any excuse to get into the kitchen.

When I had school assignments, especially in History, Id always try to make my report about a food-related topic. Id learn about womens roles and the recipes, ingredients, and cooking implements of a particular era. I would make a meal, dress in period costume, and bring in antique or reproduction food-preparation tools from that time. I also started seeking out and recording recipes from my family when I was very young. A high school friend once gave me a beautiful blank book, thinking that I would use it for keeping a journal. Not likely! Instead, it became my own personal cookbook.

That first notebook has now been joined by several others. I have a recipe box tooan old oak library-card filebut my favorite recipes still reside in the books on the kitchen shelf. Salads, Fresh and Local Food nourishes us. It gives us energyfuel for our bodies. Even more important for me, though, is the comfort and pleasure found in sharing a good meal with others. I do love that Mmmm" sound that fills the room as people take their first bite of some scrumptious dish.

When we use fresh ingredients and prepare them with love, it nourishes more than just our muscles. The many people who have enjoyed the recipes you will find in these pages have been open with their opinions and willing to continue tasting as long as I keep creating. I chose salads as the topic for this first cookbook because I love to work with fresh ingredients. I so enjoy creating recipes that are bursting with flavor, fun to prepare, and a pleasure to look at. Salad is a basic, delicious, wonderful addition to any mealand as some of the following brunch and dinner recipes show, it can even serve as the main course. I hope that the trend toward eating healthier foods such as salads will create a trickle-down effect for our children.

I am convinced that kids who grow up eating varied, tasty, exciting salads will continue that eating pattern throughout their lives. Another wonderful thing about salads is that they can showcase the best local ingredients from ones home area. Many people might not immediately think salad when they hear the phrase Maine foods, but in these pages I will show just how compatible those two concepts are. Here in Maine we have an active, enthusiastic farmers market network (guides available at the www.getrealmaine.com website). These open-air markets are the best places to find anything grown or produced here in Maine, from fresh vegetables to wild mushrooms, specialty cheeses, condiments, and organic meats and eggs. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources also publishes two helpful booklets: Finding Maine Farmers Markets: A Guide to Maines Farmers Markets and Finding Maine Foods and Farms: A Guide to Maines Farms and Food Companies .

Traditionally, Maine is known for its potato farms, blueberry barrens, and orchards. Farms across the state offer the opportunity to pick your own berries and apples, including heirloom varieties nurtured by growers committed to preserving Americas agricultural heritage. Of course, Maine is famous for its lobster and other seafood.
Aquaculture farms raise trout and salmon. Local smokehouses produce golden smoked mussels, trout, cheeses, and other specialties. All of these delicious products are excellent additions to salads. In the recipes that follow, I indulge in a little bit of local pride by specifying Maine potatoes, or Maine maple syrup, or Maine smoked trout, etc.

You can, of course, substitute equivalent ingredients if you do not happen to live in Maine, but Id certainly encourage you to try the genuine Maine-made products first. In the Appendix youll find information on how to order the wonderful Maine-made specialty foods listed in my recipes. Make These Recipes Your Own One of my favorite things to do with cookbooks is to jot notes in them. When I make a recipe I write in the date, who I made it for or what occasion we celebrated, and what I did differently that time. Two of my favorite cookbooks are the King Arthur Flour 25th Anniversary Cookbook and the McCalls Cookbook (Random House, 1963). Their pages are stained and covered with notes.

It always makes me smile when I look through them and remember meals past. This is what I hope for youthat you use this book for yourself and for your family. Write in it. Make notes of what you like and how you would change things to fit your own taste. Add more or less of an ingredient if thats what tastes right for you. This is your book.

A Few Important Acknowledgments I have loved to cook for as many years as I can remember. There are a few people who have helped me along the way. I would like to thank my mom, Nancy Finnemore, for instilling in me a spirit of creativity in life and in the kitchen. Thanks to my children, Travis and Elizabeth, for reminding me of the wonder in little things. Thanks to my husband, Sherwood Olin, for his support, love, and kindness, and certainly, for his willingness to say Sure whenever I asked, Would you taste this? A special thank-you goes out to the woman who helped me begin my career in the food business, Linda B. Wagner.

Thank you for having faith in my culinary skills and helping me nurture them through the classics of cuisine. My editor, Karin Womer, has proven to be a wonderful mentor and translator of what I really meant to say. Thank you, Karin, for helping my voice ring true. C.F.S. SIDE SALADS Every day we should be eating at least five half-cup servings of vegetables. Apple, Broccoli, and Dried Fruit Salad with Maple-Garlic Dressing My friend Anne created a delicious salad with these ingredients, and developed a recipe that we can adapt in many different ways.