Unwind at two Portland, Maine, wine dinners in May

Hilary Nangle
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Unwind at two Portland, Maine, wine dinners in May

Make reservations now to sip and savor at two upcoming Wine Dinners in Portland, Maine: first at Local 188 on Monday, May 16, and second at Davids, on Thursday, May 19.

Local 188:

Local 188’s five-course dinner with wine pairing is $75 per person (plus tax and grat) and begins at 6:30 p.m. Here’s the menu:

• Amuse
Montsarra Cava

• Seared Scallops, Sweet Pickle Lime Salsa, Himalayan Pink Salt
Vienne Les Cranilles Cotes du Rhone 2008

• Braised Rabbit Ravioli, Dried Cherry Porcini Sauce
Perrier Vin de Savoie Mondeuse 2004

• Citrus Glazed Pork Roulade, Foie Gras Stuffing, Five Spice French Lentils, Ginger Glazed Carrots, Peashoots
Hochar Pe’re et Fils 2002

• Goat Blue Cheese, Poached Pear Gastrique
Montlouis les Tuffeaux 2007

• Liz’s Special Dessert
Marenco Brachetto 2007

David’s

David’s is pairing with Linconville’s Cellardoor Winery on a five-course menu. Seating is limited to 10 tables, and the price is $79 per person (plus tax and grat). Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Here’s the menu:

• Truffle fest amusé
Tenderloin carpaccio, black truffle, white truffle oil, capers, cracked pepper Fonduta
with truffles and grissini
Cellardoor Viognier

• Hudson valley foie gras and moularde duck breast, honey grilled black mission fig,
“Duck honey” crostini, Riesling-ginger-soy glaze
Cellardoor Riesling

• Pink peppered Diver Scallops, butternut squash risotto, Pinot Gris butter poached lobster
Cellardoor Pinot Gris

• Intermezzo
Grilled golden pineapple with frozen basil and vanilla bean vodka

• Salmon with lobster redux, crispy EVO and rosemary “steak frites”
Cellardoor Artist Series Grenache

• Heirloom garlic and rosemary roasted lamb saddle, tian of white bean and roasted garlic, roasted tomato, braised spinach, intense lamb jus
Cellardoor Monti Al Mare

• Dessert: Roasted pear tart, pumpkin ice cream, peppered maple bacon brulée
Cellardoor Serendipity

• Confiture
Amaretto chocolate and salt caramel cashew truffle with an znise-almond cookie

Celebrate spring with a Maine fiddlehead recipe from Chef Kaldrovich, of the Sea Glass dining room at the Inn by the Sea

Hilary Nangle
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Celebrate spring with a Maine fiddlehead recipe from Chef Kaldrovich, of the Sea Glass dining room at the Inn by the Sea

I asked Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich  to share a recipe for one of Maine’s favorite spring delicacies, fiddleheads.

“I am very excited to have our forager bring us fiddleheads next week. You have to treat them lightly so they retain their mellow flavors—as you would fresh asparagus.

“Fiddleheads are best with a  simple single flavor such as a little lemon. I also like to blanche them, very quickly, so they keep their crunchiness. Last spring I pickled them and then fried them tempura style to make a delicious top or side for a fish dish or to serve with a salad.”

I asked chef whether he had experience with similar spring vegetables in Argentina, where he grew up:

“There was nothing quite like this in Argentina. Fiddleheads really are special to Maine and the climate here—delicate shots pushing out of the earth from under fallen leaves—very special to Maine and the arrival of spring!”

Kaldrovich’s recipes often blend his passion for fresh Maine ingredients with an Argentinian twist. I had the pleasure of dining at the inn a couple of weeks ago, and I can tell you, it’s a treat. (see note at end about a seasonal dining special).

In this recipe for Maine fiddleheads, Chef Kaldrovich also used Farm Hill Farm goat cheese, making it a double Maine treat.

Fern Hill Farm Goat Cheese Croquette
with Marinated Fiddlehead Salad

 

Herb Lemon Vinaigrette:

1 Small Shallot, mince

2 Tbs. Wild Flower Honey

2 Tsp. Dijon Mustard

2 Lemons, Juiced & zest

¾ Cup E.V.O. Oil (extra virgin olive oil)

Maine Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Whisks vigorously add slowly the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set Aside

**

2 Tsp. Fresh Oregano, chopped

1 Tbs Chives, chopped

2 Springs Fresh Tarragon, chopped

2 Handfuls Baby Arugula (Rocket)

2 Handfuls Baby Spinach

4 Radishes, scrubbed and finely sliced.

1 lb. Wild Fiddleheads, ends trimmed, rinsed.

Blanch the Fiddleheads in boiling-salty water for 3 minutes. Shock in icy water. Drained and season with salt, pepper, fresh herbs and dress with the with the lemon vinaigrette. Add the Radishes, Spinach and baby Arugula, Taste for seasoning again and arrange in the center of a bowl, top with Croquettes, serve warm.

Goat Cheese Croquettes:

2 Cups Fern Hill Fresh Goat Cheese

Salt & Fresh Black Pepper

2 Eggs

2 Cups Breadcrumbs

½ Garlic Clove

1Tbs. Chives, chopped

2 Tbs. Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

Mix Goat Cheese with Salt, Pepper, Chives and half of the Parsley

Scoop out on a plate and chill to firm up. In a bowl mix Eggs with Parsley, Salt & Pepper. Put breadcrumbs in a bowl and roll all the Goat Cheese forming round with our hands. Dip in the egg mixture then coat with breadcrumbs. Refrigerate. Fry in Canola Oil until golden brown.

Enjoy !

Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich / Sea Glass at the Inn by the Sea / Cape Elizabeth, ME

Note: Through the spring, on Sunday through Thursday evenings, Chef Kaldrovich is presenting a seasonal three-course menu for $30, along with the usual Sea Glass menu and lobster tasting menu. The 3 for $30 menu changes weekly. From May 1-5, it includes: choice of baby spinach & arugula salad with goat cheese, marinated Maine tomatoes, and toasted almonds OR soup of the day; choice of hand-rolled ricotta gnocchi with housemade basil pesto, toasted pine nuts, spinach and Parmesan OR baked seafood pot pie with sh rimp, scallops, lobster, clams, sherry cream, and herb biscuit crust; and for dessert, Macintosh apple crisp, with vanilla gelato and oatmeal streusel.

Learn to find and prepare wild mushrooms in Mid-coast Maine

Hilary Nangle
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Learn to find and prepare wild mushrooms in Mid-coast Maine

Every now and then I stumble across an innovative lodging package, one that goes well beyond the ho-hum usual offering of room, meals, and activity at a slightly discounted price. Hunting and Preparing Wild Mushrooms with David Spahr, offered at Le Vatout, a bed-and-breakfast inn in Waldoboro, Maine, certainly meets that criteria.

Local ‘shroom forager (and photographer and professional cook) David Spahr, author of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada, takes package guests on a private foraging trip in Midcoast Maine, teaching them how to identify seasonally available ‘shrooms—perhaps black trumpets, chanterelles, chicken-of-the-woods, oysters, meadow, porcini, maitake, or boletes.

Upon return to the inn, guests learn how to prepare their finds and match them with other foods. On one night, the preparation will be German, which is in keeping with Waldoboro’s heritage (Hint: while in town, don’t miss visiting the Old German Church or Morse’s Sauerkraut & European Deli, a cafe and specialty food store).

The two-night package includes two days of private instruction in finding and preparing wild mushrooms, three nights lodging, three breakfasts, two picnic lunches, and two dinners featuring the mushrooms found during the foraging expeditions, (see detailed itinerary). Price is $850 for two ($425 per person) or $1,400 for four ($350 pp). The package is available from June into October.

 

Pet-friendly Inn by the Sea is dog heaven

Hilary Nangle
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Pet-friendly Inn by the Sea is dog heaven

Bernie at the Inn by the SEaWhen it comes to pet-friendly travel in Maine, the Inn by the Sea, in Cape Elizabeth, does everything right.

So says Bernie, my almost-five-year-old Leonberger (no, not a cheese; a big, furry dog). Bernie and I recently spent a night at this beachfront boutique inn: 24 hours of pure dog bliss.

It began with check-in, where I think Bernie got as big, if not a bigger welcome, than I did. The desk staff, bell man, housekeepers, and other inn workers all fussed over him. Treats? Of course, but only after asking me if giving him one (or two) was okay.

Dog-friendly places

I asked where Bernie was permitted to go inside the inn. “As long as he’s leashed, he can go everywhere except the spa and the restraurant,” was the reply. “If you want to eat with Bernie, you can have dinner in the lounge, and he can eat there, too.” I was shown the Doggy Menu (PDF).

In our room—one of 17 designated pet-friendly rooms—we found two bowls, a big inn-made bone-shaped dog treat, dog bed, and plastic poop bags for clean-up during walks. Armed with bags, we headed down the inn’s boardwalk to the beach, only to learn that the beach itself is closed to dogs from April—October. We settled for the dirt road paralleling the beach (only used by park maintenance staff).

Meat roarff & more

The Bird Dog meal choiceBy the time we returned, it was dinner time for Bernie. I read him the menu choices, and after much deliberation—he couldn’t decide between the Meat “Roarff,” Doggy Gumbo, and The Bird Dog—he finally opted for the latter: grilled chicken served with steamed rice and raw veggies. It even came with dessert: another one of those large bone-shaped dog cookies.

Dog after my own heart, he devoured the chicken, sniffed at the rice and veggies, then went straight for dessert.

Later that evening, Bernie held court fireside in the lounge, charming just about everyone present—one by one, they came over to say hi and pet him, and Bernie just ate it up.

When we returned to the room, chamber service had turned down the bed and tidied the room. They also left goodies: cookies for me and special treats for Bernie.

Of course, by this time Bernie was ready to move in for good, whether or not I stick around. Talk about a spoiled pooch.

Bernie begged to stay

After another nice walk the next morning, we checked out. Or rather, I did; Bernie was getting so much attention that he wanted to stay another night. He even tried to bribe the woman on the desk with a kiss.

Next time, Bernie wants me to book the Inncredible Pets package, including two nights lodging, Maine-made dog toy, personalized L.L. Bean dog bed, a 30-minute inroom doggie massage, nightly entree from the Doggy Menu, and nightly pet turndown service with locally made seasonal dog treat.

For a less pricey option, consider the annual Habitat for Humanity promotion: With a minimum donation of $35 to the international nonprofit, you get 50% off the rate, and the program is offered late April – late May, when rates are generally low.

Bottom Line: Bernie awarded the four-star property with four paws up.

 

 

Maine learning vacations: Combine vacation with learning a new skill

Hilary Nangle
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Maine learning vacations: Combine vacation with learning a new skill

One of these Maine learning vacations not only adds value to your vacation dollar, but also lets you go home with a new skill. Conquer nature-deficit disorder with a family immersion into the great outdoors. Learn to paddle a sea kayak, craft furniture by hand, build a boat, play an instrument, even build a surfboard. Perhaps discover the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness or maybe bone up on aviation history. These learning adventures, based in some of Maine’s most scenic areas, allow participants to bring home not only memories, but also souvenir skills and knowledge.

Updated Sept. 3, 2017

Home, Sweet Home: housebuilding skills

In 1974, enterprising entrepreneurs Pat and Patsy Hennin jumped on the do-it-yourself bandwagon and established the Shelter Institute to train neophytes in energy-efficient home design and construction techniques. Since then, thousands of students have taken courses here, and enthusiastic alumni (and their building projects) span the globe. Students range in age from late teens to early 80s. Courses take place on the school’s 68-acre campus in Woolwich, five miles north of Bath. Visitors are welcome any time, and anyone who appreciates fine woodworking tools must visit the institute’s Woodbutcher Tools retail shop and bookstore.

Contemplative Skiff Building

Word of mouth seems to be the best marketing tool for The Carpenter’s Boatshop. Founded in 1979 by Bobby Ives, an engaging Congregational minister, and his late wife, Ruth, the boatshop accepts interested applicants of any denomination to join a community dedicated to both spirituality and boatbuilding.

This is no laid-back, contemplative religious retreat; serious boatbuilding supports the Pemaquid-based community. Apprenticeships run mid-September–mid-June, and there’s no tuition. Room and board are provided. The diverse group of 6–8 students all become part of the boatbuilding crew, working at least 40 hours a week in the huge shingled barn/boatshop. Each student builds a 9.5-foot Monhegan skiff, contributes to the construction of three types of stock wooden boats, helps with all the daily chores, and spends Saturday morning doing valuable community service on the Pemaquid Peninsula. During daily prayer gatherings, students can participate or use the time for reading or other reflective pursuits.

Summer program offers courses in basic boat building, woodworking, furniture making, and related skills, with fees varying by course.

Creating a Smaller World: learn a new language

Begun in 1986 to provide language classes for adults, Rockland’s  Penobscot School has become a multicultural clearinghouse with ties around the globe. In fall, winter, and spring, the school offers day and evening courses in nearly a dozen languages. It also sponsors ethnic dinners and festivals, organizes language-immersion weekends, and puts on international study programs in local schools. July–September, international students (ages 18–65) arrive at the school for intensive three-week English-language courses. On summer weekdays, visitors are often invited for lunch at the school to interact with students practicing their English.

Furnish You Future: furniture building

Alumni of the one-, two-, and 12-week workshops at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, established in 1993, can’t say enough about their experiences.

In the Basic Woodworking course, students get a detailed intro to making furniture, while using mostly traditional hand skills to build a small bench or similar project. In the process, you’ll learn how to sharpen tune and use hand tools and safely use power tools, as well as how to select lumber and mill, join, scrape, sand, assemble and finish your project.

If you know the basics, consider more intense workshops such as twig tables, sculptural furniture, chair design or box making. Other possibilities include specialized courses in carving, veneer and marquetry, wood turning and finishing.

Classes take place on the school’s Rockport campus, with easy access to Camden and Rockland. Social activities include potluck suppers, faculty slide shows and openings at the on-campus Messler Gallery. The wide-ranging courses develop various skill levels, from beginner to pro. The center can help arrange for lodging and meals. It’s open all year.

Musical Interlude: learn to play an instrument or sing

If you’ve always regretted either never taking or quitting music lessons, it’s not too late to learn. SummerKeys, in the way, way Down East coastal village of Lubec, offers instruction in instruments including piano, guitar, trumpet, cello, clarinet, flute, oboe, violin/viola, celtic harp, and even voice.

You don’t need any previous experience, nor are there any admission requirements. The school invites potential students to “Come as you are to enjoy the study, the work and the beauty of the Maine Coast.”  Most sessions include three to five private lessons, practice times, group classes and optional performance. Class members usually socialize at concerts and perhaps meals.  Accommodations and meals are on your own, although area lodging discounts are available.

Build, Build, Build Your Boat: boatbuilding school

Tiny Brooklin proclaims itself the “wooden boatbuilding capital of the world.” Them’s big words from a town with a year-round population numbering fewer than 900 souls, but Brooklin is home to perhaps a dozen small boat shops, WoodenBoat magazine and the WoodenBoat School.

The school teaches hands-on courses ranging from boatbuilding to seamanship to related crafts, such as marine photography, painting, knots and ropework. Of more than three-dozen boatbuilding courses, the granddaddy is Fundamentals of Boatbuilding. During this two-week course, you’ll likely start one boat, work at planking another and finish a third. Other courses let you actually build your own surfboard, Skerry daysailer, skiff, sea kayak, canoe or pond-yacht. Courses take place on the school’s 60-acre waterfront campus. Lodging and meals packages are available.

Earn a B.A. in Family Fun: Family nature camp

“Awesome!” “Cool!” “Excellent!” No, we’re not talking the latest video game, but a week at the College of the Atlantic’s Family Nature Camp. Instead of simply packing the kids off to camp, join them on Mt. Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park. One week here, where the policy is no child left inside, helps cure nature-deficit disorder.

Bar Harbor’s College of the Atlantic opens its doors to families each summer, offering multiple sessions of its Family Nature Camp. This hands-on, participatory, naturalist-led learning vacation provides plenty of fodder for those “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” essays. Minimum age is five; extended family is welcome. Camp includes campus lodging, meals, field trips, and some boat tours.

Fiddling Around

Learn to play the fiddle by ear at the Maine Fiddle Camp, held on the grounds of Camp NEOFA in Montville. Campers stay in rustic cabins or tent and enjoy communal meals outdoors. There’s plenty of time to swim or hang out in the afternoon, before the evening concerts, dances, and jams. A weekend camp is usually held in June, with week-long sessions offered at other times during the summer.

Going Whole Hog for Birds: tweet about birding skills

Here’s something to tweet about: The Puffin Project sponsors residential ornithology programs at Hog Island Audubon Camp. The one-week sessions take place on the 330-acre island in Muscongus Bay, off Pemaquid Point, and are led by prominent naturalists and environmental educators, are intensive. Lodging is rustic, with shared baths and family -style meals.

Does the name Sikorski ring a Bell? A wilderness aviation experience

Here’s a learning vacation for aviation buffs: Bradford Camps’ Sikorsky Seminar. Bradford Camps is a traditional Maine sporting camp on the shores of undeveloped Munsungun Lake. Stretching along the shoreline are log cabins and a central lodge, where all meals are served. Popular with anglers and hunters in spring and fall, it caters to families in the summer months, with endless opportunities for hiking, swimming, boating and wildlife watching.

Every July, one special weekend is dedicated to the grandfather of Igor I. Sikorsky III, who operates the camps with his wife, Karen. Igor’s grandfather is best known for his work in developing the helicopter, but he also built the world’s first multi-engine aircraft, designed and built the largest aircraft used in World War I, and later worked with large amphibians, which paved the way for commercial aviation.

The Sikorsky Weekend is an opportunity to learn more about the aviation pioneer and talk shop with flight buffs while perusing books, artifacts, videos and photos. Saturday features seaplane rides with as well as a guest speaker. Cost covers all meals, private lodging and use of facilities, including boats, motors and kayaks. Do yourself a favor and splurge on floatplane transportation from either Bangor or Millinocket, otherwise it’s 60 miles over bone-chattering backwoods roads from the nearest blacktop.

Surf’s Up! Build your own surfboard

York’s Grain Surfboards is renowned for its handcrafted wooden surfboards, but it also offers surfboard-building classes, including a Surfboard Builder’s Fantasy Camp. The former are group programs; the latter is a one-on-one, week-long program during which you’ll work with a personal board builder to craft the perfect board: any board, any time, your own builder.

Woods-wise ways: Learn wilderness skills

For more than a decade, The Maine Outdoor Learning Center has been preparing wanna-bes to become registered Maine Guides or simply learn wilderness survival skills. These  hands-on learning vacations cover everything a guide must know to pass the state exams.

You’ll be schooled in canoeing and river reading, fishing, outdoor cooking, map and compass skills, search-and-rescue techniques, and flora and fauna identification. In the process, you’ll learn the specifics of hunting, fishing, and recreational guiding. You’ll pole a canoe, cook over an open fire, practice map-and-compass skills. Sessions, limited to six to 10 students, mix classroom and practical sessions and are held in various locations.

Be a sport: Discover a new way to play in the outdoors

No prior experience is necessary to participate in L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School’s programs. Learning vacation options include: archery, canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, clay shooting, bicycling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and paddleboarding. Each program is participatory, so you’ll learn by doing. Programs include equipment and instruction, and range from a few hours to multiple days.

Great Britain by rail: All aboard for Bath, England, a UNESCO World Heritage site

Hilary Nangle
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Great Britain by rail: All aboard for Bath, England, a UNESCO World Heritage site

You’re probably expecting the Maine Travel Maven to share her thoughts about Bath, Maine, but this time I’m heading across the pond to Bath, England, one of the cities and towns I visited while touring Great Britain by train.

This UNESCO World Heritage city, home to England’s only hot springs, is an easy day trip from London via train. I only spent about six hours in this delightful city—with most of that exploring the Roman Baths and the Thermae Bath Spa’s New Royal Bath, but I hope to return and immerse myself in more than the hot springs.

Here’s why: I went to take the waters, but this city won me over with its deep history and rich heritage. But first, those waters:

THE NEW BATHS

Thermae Bath Spa’s New Royal Bath isn’t a fancy or pricey spa, but one that is designed to encourage public support and use. The 92-degree waters contain more than 42 minerals, so I figured a good soak would be beneficial and maybe help counter my jetlag. A two-hour spa session, including the rooftop pool, aroma steam rooms, and Minerva bath,  is 25 pounds, add towel, robe, and slippers for an additional 9 pounds or bring your own.

I  indulged in a massage before soaking in the baths (most massage treatments last 50 minutes and cost about 55 pounds; other treatments are available, ranging 38-95 pounds). My Oriental massage combined a variety of techniques, including Lomi Lomi, Swedish, Malay, and Bamboo—I’d like to tell you  more about it, but I snoozed happily, awakening refreshed from my jetlag and ready to take the waters.

First stop: the rooftop pool, a fine spot for gazing over Bath’s skyline. I’m guessing the early Romans didn’t have the glass walls or the bubbling jets–their loss. Next I explored the steam rooms: Each is infused with an essential oil. Also here are footbaths and a rain shower, although I didn’t try either. I finished in the lower level Minerva Bath, the largest of the pools, with a whirlpool and lazy river incorporated into it.

By the time my session ended, I was thoroughly cooked and ready for lunch—whoops! that doesn’t sound quite right—I was completely relaxed and looking forward to having lunch.

Before assuaging my hunger, I peeked inside the separate Cross Bath (priced separately), a sacred site within the World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s Sacred Land Project. This small, outdoor soaking pool on the site of the original 2,000-year-old Roman cistern.

LUNCH

I had lunch at The Pump Room, managed by the Bath and North East Somerset Council and catered by Searcy’s. That’s a mouthful, and I haven’t even begun to dish on the food or experience.

The room is exquisite, an elegant and impressive Georgian retreat built by Thomas Baldwin and John Palmer in 1795. A pianist played recognizable tunes, such as Memories from the musical Cats, throughout the meal.

For lunch. I ordered a soup-and-sandwich special for 12.95 pounds, pairing tomato and basil soup with a Quikes cheddar and Abbey ale rarebit that came accompanied by a small salad and chips. Both were okay, but neither matched the setting. As I finished, tea service was starting. Now that I’d return for–those silver tiered trays of sweets and sandwiches get me every time.

THE OLD BATHS

Sharing the same building as the restaurant is the visitor center for the city’s historic Roman Baths, developed more than 2,000 years ago. Both live tours and audio guides (including one for children) are available and included in the admission price (12 pounds).

While this current structure dates from the Romans, truth is, long before they arrived and created Aquae Sulis in AD 43, the Celts dedicated the mineral-rich springs to their God, Sul, and before them, Prince Bladud was allegedly cured of skin disease by bathing here way, way, waaaayyyy back in 863 BC. (Just think on that a bit—863 years before the birth of Chris).

Don’t shortchange yourself here; I only allowed myself about a half hour, which was no where near enough to wander through with an audio tour. I easily could have spent an hour or more, but then, I really do love historic ruins. And these are especially well presented, with excellent signage explaining everything from creation to curses. I even came across a few Romans.

WALKING THROUGH BATH

I soaked up more of Bath’s history and heritage on a walking tour with Jan Hudson, a Blue Badge tour guide for the whole of South West England, but, as she said: “Why would you want to be anywhere else but here?” She proved a delightful and extremely knowledgeable guide. (Note to self: Always ask for a Blue Badge Tour Guide—each guide who earns that status has gone through a rigorous training and testing program). A two-hour tour is 50 pounds.

We covered a lot of ground in a short time, as Jan pointed out the city’s architectural distinctions, historical sites, and wove in stories as we padded–quickly–along, checking out the river and the bridge and getting the lowdown on the city’s first developers.

She explained the history behind two residential areas. The 1774 Circus, modeled after the Coliseum in Room, comprises 33 houses, each five stories high and adorned with three types of columns: Corinthian, Ionic, and Doric (Nicholas Cage owned #7 and had a pool in the basement, she quipped). The Royal Crescent, comprising 30 rowhouses with 114 Ionic columns, is considered perhaps the greatest example of Georgian architecture in England. (Although you’d never know it from the exterior—it’s in a World Heritage Site, so it can’t advertise–two of the Royal Crescent buildings house the Royal Crescent Hotel, a Relais and Chateau-member luxury inn, where rates begin at 345 pounds for bed and breakfast—not in my budget, but maybe yours?).

My short day didn’t allow me enough time to enjoy any of the museums and historical sites that demanded attention. Next time I visit Bath, England, I’ll spend more time at the Jane Austen Centre, the Fashion Museum, and of course, Bath Abbey, a masterpiece that I barely had time to duck into for a peek, and I’ll be sure to indulge in a Sally Lunn bun, a taste of Bath’s heritage served in the city’s oldest house.

 

 

 

Great Britain by rail: All aboard for London & the Courtauld Gallery

Hilary Nangle
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Great Britain by rail: All aboard for London & the Courtauld Gallery

In late February, I spent the better part of a week exploring Great Britain by train. The last time I took trains through England, Scotland, and Wales had been way back in 2000, and I’d loved it. Don’t know why it took me so long to answer that All Aboard call once again. Even better, now it’s possible to book point-to-point tickets in advance through Rail Europe for the same prices locals pay; a good alternative to multi-day passes that can end up being pricey, if you’re not going to utilize the full value.

Getting there: I flew direct from Boston to London, then took the Heathrow Express direct to Paddington Station ($56 round trip). Easy, even in my sleep-deprived state (I was seated next to a fidgeter on my flight, and not only did he fidget almost nonstop, he was also bottomless–two dinners + many snacks in crinkley bags). Yes, you can get there less expensively by using the Tube, but when you’re tired and rolling luggage, zipping along to downtown London at speeds of up to 100 mph—and with Wifi—is worth it. From there, I used a Visitor Oyster Card, valid on the Tube, bus, Dockland light Railway, London Overland, and select National Rail routes.

Courtauld Gallery: On the recommendation of a friend, I spent the afternoon at this small museum within the Somerset House, a stunning neo-classical building that doubles as an arts center and is  sited between the Thames and the Strand (a bit about its history, below). Through no prior planning, I arrived on a Monday, when admission is free from 10 a.m. –2 p.m. Otherwise its 6 pounds, and worth every pence.

“The Courtauld is one of the finest small art museums in the world,” says its director, Dr. Ernst Vegelin. “It was founded in 1932 as part of the Courtauld Institute of Art, which is one of the leading centers for the study of the history of art.” Although best known for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist holdings, the gallery’s collection is far greater, spanning from the early Renaissance to the 20th-century Modernists. And it’s still growing. Beyond paintings, it also comprises more than 7,000 drawings, prints, decorative arts, sculpture, and furniture.

The icing on the collection’s cake is the setting inside a spectacular work of architecture. Masterpieces are displayed in a series of rooms on three floors, connected by an impressive spiral stairway. Each room is personal and yet formal. Each room is a work of art in its own right, but none competes with the works displayed. Even better, works aren’t crowded in displays; my eyes were able to concentrate on one work at a time. The whole is “a combination of outstanding works of art presented on a personal scale,” Vegelin says, and he’s right.

Samuel Courtauld, who acquired works in the early 1920s, sure had an eye for Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Vegelin says the collection is distinguished not by the number of works, but by their quality. Among the highlights: Renoir’s Le Loge, van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, and outstanding works by Cezanne, Degas, Monet, Seurat, and Gauguin. To these, add a world-class collection of Rubens, works from the Renaissance, Gothic, and Medieval periods as well as 20th-century paintings.

I went through it all, then did so again. If I hadn’t been so tired from travel, I would have spent another hour or so there, and if I’d realized there was a cafe on the premises prior to arriving, I would have had lunch there, too. Next time, I will.

A bit of history re Old Somerset House: I had to add a bit about Somerset House’s history because, well, it’s so classically British: The history dates from 1547, when Edward Seymour, uncle of Edward VI, had himself declared Lord Protector and Duke of Somerset on the death of his nephew’s father, Henry VIII (It’s okay if you start humming the old Herman’s Hermits song, I did). Of course, Seymour needed a suitable residence in keeping with his new title, so in 1547 he began building himself a palace on land he owned between the Thames and the Strand. Construction didn’t sit well with the Privy Council, and Seymour was arrested and briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1549.

Seymour’s new home, which neared completion in 1551, was a bit of an architectural mishmash combining a Tudor-style courtyard, gatehouse, and great hall on the river side with Doric and Ionic pillars adorning the classical facade facing the Strand. The cost: 10,000 pounds to create what’s been called one of the “most influential buildings of the English Renaissance.” Too bad he didn’t get to enjoy it for long. He was arrested for treason in 1551, and executed on Tower Hill in January 1552. The Crown took over ownership, with construction completed in 1553. Princess Elizabeth used it as one of her homes until ascending to the throne in 1558.

Without getting into all the nitty-gritty of British royal history, Somerset House endured through the centuries, undergoing redesign, reconstruction, and remodeling, with each change in crown. By the late 18th century, though, it had fallen into serious disrepair. King George III agreed to give the site over to public offices, and demolition began in 1775 and construction began on the current building, designed by William Chambers.

 




Seguinland artists exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art, summer 2011

Hilary Nangle
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Seguinland artists exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art, summer 2011

Oh dear! With the opening of Maine Moderns: Art in Seguinland, 1900–1940 at the Portland Museum of Art on June 4, I fear the rest of the world will be let in on one of Maine’s best kept secrets: The Phippsburg and Georgetown peninsulas.

Historically known as Seguinland, these bony fingers reaching seaward from Bath and framing the Kennebec retain the essence of Maine: They’re relatively undeveloped, pocketed with lobster boat-filled coves, home to classic fishing villages, and despite being firmly in the rock-bound coast camp, have lovely sand beaches. No wonder that a small group of American modernists chose to summer here in the first half of the 20th century.

Exhibition who’s who

Moderns: Art in Seguinland, 1900–1940, on view through Sept. 11, 2011, will feature more than 65 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs by such well known, Maine-related artists as Mardsen Hartley, Max Weber, Marguerite and William Zorach, Gaston Lachaise, and Gertrude Käsebier. The exhibition will examine the close personal and professional relationships of this group and distinctive landscape that bound them together.

Although much of their artistic activity was centered in New York, along with their mentor the photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, these artists all chose Maine as their summer home. It was here that they developed a camaraderie and sense of place that strongly influenced their work.

The exhibition begins with an examination of pictorial photographs by F. Holland Day, Clarence White, Gertrude Käsebier, and others taken around Day’s home in Georgetown and White’s summer art school at the neighboring Seguinland Hotel. Maine Moderns will take a look at the work of modernist painters Max Weber and John Marin, who both showed their Maine images in Stieglitz’s New York galleries.

Why Seguinland?

In the early 1920s,  sculptor, Gaston Lachaise, bought a summer home and studio in Georgetown and welcomed  painter Marsden Hartley back to his native state, when Hartley returned to work here in in 1928. Other frequent visitors to the Lachaise house during this period included  photographer, Paul Strand, and painters Marguerite and William Zorach, who had settled at the other end of Robinhood Cove not far from the Lachaise house. Among the latter group, it was the Zorachs whose work most frequently depicted this region.

Seguinland provided a unique artistic experience in Maine and was distinct from the better known art colonies at Ogunquit and Monhegan Island that were also active during this period. In those places, larger numbers of both professional and amateur artists congregated for lessons and exhibitions, intermingling with a tourist community. But the two coastal areas south of Bath, Georgetown and Phippsburg, remained more isolated during the first half of the 20th century. The few artists there were a select group of individuals drawn by the distinctive coastline and their shared interests in modernism. This is the first occasion to fully examine their relationships to one another and the role of Maine in the broader development of modernism.

See the exhibition, then take it home with you

A 160-page fully illustrated catalog will be issued for the exhibition. It will features essays by Susan Danly, curator of photography at the Portland Museum of Art, and Elizabeth Bischof, assistant professor of history at the University of Southern Maine, along with entries penned by Verna Curtis, curator of photography, Library of Congress; Gail Scott, independent Hartley scholar; and Virginia Budny, author of the Lachaise catalogue raisonné. The catalog will be available in June and sell for $39.95 in the museum store.

(Image credit: Mardsen Hartley [United States 1877–1943], Fox Island, Georgetown, Maine. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA.)

Making whoopie in Rockland: Fiore shares its Pies on Parade recipes

Hilary Nangle
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Making whoopie in Rockland: Fiore shares its Pies on Parade recipes

Since the whoopie pie is being considered as the official Maine dessert, I figured I’d best share a whoopie pie recipe. Of course,  not just any whoopie pie, not even traditional one. I sampled these delicious mini-whoopies at Fiore Rockland during the annual Pies on Parade event. Now—truth to tell—I’m not big on traditional whoopie pies, but these, well, I was smitten!

Fiore served two different types of mini-whoopies, meyer lemon and blood orange. Each was made as an olive oil cake sandwiched with a butter frosting.

FIORE Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake (& Mini-Whoopies)
Serves:  8 to 10

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3  cup Fiore Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350- butter a 9 inch spring form pan. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat eggs with electric mixer until thick and pale yellow.

Continue beating and slowly add sugar in a steady stream. When the sugar is fully incorporated, add oil in a slow, steady stream, then add lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold dry ingredients into egg mixture, being careful not to over mix.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and cake springs back to the touch.

Makes approx. 26 “Fiorettes” (mini-whoopie pies) – drop ½ tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup in a mini-muffin pan.  Bake very briefly until springy to the touch.

FIORETTES Frosting
1-1/2 cup butter, softened
4-1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tbls whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
Beat all ingredients together until smooth; generously frost bottom of whoopie pie, then place top on!  You will enjoy!

FIORE Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake (& Mini-Whoopies)
Serves:  8 to 10

3 blood oranges
1 cup sugar
Buttermilk or plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Fiore Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 of the oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.

Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup. You will have about 1/4 cup or so. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in oil a little at a time. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.

Bake cake for about 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.  Time: 1 hour 20 minutes plus cooling

Makes approx. 26 “Fiorettes” (mini-whoopie pies)  – drop ½ tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup in a mini-muffin pan.  Bake very briefly until springy to the touch.  Top with FIORETTE’s Frosting recipe above!

HINT: “Many people dipped their whoopie pies in balsamic vinegar — chocolate balsamic, blueberry balsamic, strawberry balsamic, vanilla balsamic – you name it……….the list goes on!  And they loved it!  Try it yourself.”

Big whoopie-ta-do in Maine: Should whoopie pie be the state dessert?

Hilary Nangle
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Big whoopie-ta-do in Maine: Should whoopie pie be the state dessert?

Yup, folks, Maine’s legislature is making whoopie over whoopie pies. The legislature is debating whether to make the decadent treat the state’s official dessert, and the blueberry pie folks are fighting back. Frankly, I think it could all be settled with an old fashioned pie-in-the-face food fight. Last pie standing, wins!

Want to know more about whoopie pies? Read Nancy Griffin’s book.

Please take my little survey–it’s my first attempt at this, so I want to see if and how it works. Any feedback, let me know. Thanks.

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