The Pork in the Park BBQ Festival, presented by Gateway Subaru is expanding its horizons this year with the introduction of the Mountaire Farms Eastern Shore Wing War.  Moving past the festival’s reputation for being ‘porkcentric,’ this new edition to Sunday’s line-up focuses on another grilling favorite – chicken.  The Mountaire Farms Eastern Shore Wing War will launch on Sunday, April 21^st from 12:00pm – 4:00pm at the Pork in the Park BBQ Festival.  Area restaurants, amateur eaters and professional eating champions are lining up to take part in this challenge which includes a People’s Choice Wing Competition, Amateur Wing- Eating Contest and Major League Eating Professional Wing-Eating Competition.

People’s Choice Wing Competition, Sunday, April 21^st 12:00pm – 2:30pm

Area restaurants, including local favorites Adam’s Ribs, Catering by Chef Stewart of Flannery’s, Famous Dave’s, Sub Runners, The Deli, The Greene Turtle and Vinny’s La Roma will face-off in this bracket-style competition in which ‘the people’ will decide who has created the best wing.  Brackets are $10 per person and include 20 wing tickets (while supplies last).  The winning restaurant will receive $200 cash and a banner to help with bragging rights.

Amateur Wing-Eating Competition, Sunday, April 21^st at 2:30pm

The focus of the next challenge is on quantity.  Local wing-eaters will take the festival’s Main Stage to compete in the Amateur Wing-Eating Competition.  The participant that eats the most Mountaire Farms jumbo chicken wings (judged by weight) in a timed-period will be crowned the ‘Wing Warrior’ and take home $100 in prize money.  Advanced qualification is required.

Major League Eating Professional Wing-Eating Competition, Sunday, April 21^st 3:00pm-3:45pm

Professional eaters from around the world will go head to head during this wing-eating competition, sanctioned by the Major League Eating Federation.  Current World Champion Joey Chestnut, third-ranked Tim ‘Eater X’ Janus and fourth-ranked Sonya Thomas will take on other professional eaters in this challenge where a $5000 purse is up for grabs.

Celebrating its 10^th anniversary, the Pork in the Park BBQ Festival will be served up April 19^th – 21^st in Salisbury, MD’s WinterPlace Park. The festival offers three days of family-friendly entertainment including live music, rides and games, unique craft vendors, delicious food and cold beverages.  Admission is $5 daily for adults, and children under 12 are admitted free.

www.PorkinthePark.org / 1.800.332.TOUR

Admission $5 Daily / Children Under 12 Free

Friday, April 19^th 4pm – 10pm
Saturday, April 20^th 10am – 10pm

Sunday, April 21^st 11am – 6pm

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Bistro St. Michaels, a popular local restaurant that closed in mid-2012, has reopened under the ownership of Robert A.W. Pascal.

The restaurant, which is now open Thursday through Monday for dinner only, welcomed its first guests on Friday, March 22, at 5 pm. “One of our goals was to remain true to the restaurant’s former ambiance of warmth and local hospitality,” Pascal said. “Based on what we heard this past weekend, our guests are pleased with what we’ve accomplished.” 

Pascal, who is also owner and general manager of St. Michaels Harbour Inn, Marina & Spa, purchased the restaurant, noted for its warm atmosphere and great food made with ingredients native to this area, in October of last year. Since then, he has been working closely with Executive Chef David Hayes, who oversees the food operations at the Inn, to recreate that dining experience with a slightly different approach to the menu.

The menu, developed by Chef Hayes, features European-style bistro cuisine prepared with local sustainable products. Among the menu items are regional favorites with a twist such as Bistro Steamed Mussels served with a shallot, garlic, saffron, fennel, arugula, and white wine cream broth and grilled ciabatta; Duck Confit Crepe prepared with green onions, cabbage, smoked duck and an orange reduction syrup; and Bistro’s “Fruits de Mer” featuring scallops, shrimp, jumbo lump crab and fresh herbs in a seafood veloute served in a puff pastry basket.

Currently, the restaurant is open Thursday through Monday from 5 to 9:30 pm (10 pm on Friday and Saturday) for dinner. In May, the hours and menu will expand to include lunch as well as brunch on Sunday. Plans are for the restaurant to be open year-round.

Located at 403 South Talbot St., the 75-seat restaurant occupies a 100-plus-year-old clapboard house. Originally opened in 1996, the restaurant features a main floor with a bar and cozy tables for casual dining as well as a dining room upstairs, which is perfect for special events. For more information about Bistro St. Michaels or to make reservations visit www.bistrostmichaels.com or call 410-745-9111.

John Lennon’s lyric Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans is all too true for the accidental food entrepreneur Victor Hendricks of Harrington, executive chef and banquet manager at the Modern Maturity Center, Dover, DE. Marketing his Famous Marinade recipe wasn’t even on his radar. After all, there isn’t a lot of time to spare when you often work 30 to 35 straight days for months at a time.  “Although I created the recipe for my marinade while working in the U.S. Navy, finding the time to do all the steps to take it from recipe to marketplace would have been overwhelming,” says Victor Hendricks. It wasn’t until Hendricks was working at the Modern Maturity Center that he began the journey to market his food product. Hendricks heard about a non-profit called Shore Gourmet through the USDA, and received the assistance he needed. “Shore Gourmet took a lot of the headache and legwork from the process, making it doable for me,” he adds.

Although Victor’s Famous Marinade was originally created for chicken, over the years he discovered that it works well on all meats, including wild game, and his foodie fans agree. In fact, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) likes it so much he sent Victor a letter of endorsement.

Shore Gourmet of Easton, Md., a service-oriented non-profit organization, was created to help food product entrepreneurs like Victor. Shore Gourmet general manager Kevin Deighan helped Victor resolve production issues, decreasing production costs, as well as handling labeling and distribution issues.

Victor Hendricks has been working in the culinary arts field for more than three decades. He served as a U.S. Navy chef where flavor and presentation are crucial. He also worked as private chef for Rear Admiral Chandler. Within 24 hours of completing his Navy career Hendricks began working at the Modern Maturity Center, Dover. He spent 11 years managing the Meals on Wheels program, he then moved onto the banquet program.

“Working as a Navy chef makes you pay a lot of attention to the art of cooking both in terms of flavor and presentation. Meals are a big part of morale. You cook every meal as if you are cooking for royalty,” he adds. “I now have my own marinade sauce to add to my career achievements,” Hendricks concludes.

Incorporated in 2009, Shore Gourmet is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote and sustain food and agricultural value-added businesses by providing free support to local entrepreneurs to start, grow and diversify value-added food products such as local cheeses, sauces and rubs, meats, soups, seafood products and desserts. Since its inception, Shore Gourmet has been funded mostly by USDA Rural Development and state grants. Shore Gourmet serves Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delaware. For more information, contact Kevin Deighan, general manager at (410) 770-4454 or kevin@midshore.org or visit shoregourmet.com.

Victor Hendricks of Harrington, DE, has worked in commercial kitchens on land and on water. But bringing his Famous Marinade from recipe to marketplace may have been his most interesting journey. Hendricks received the assistance and guidance he needed from Shore Gourmet of Easton.

Forbes Magazine offers profiles of some of the most innovative ‘food projects’ online.

“Below is a list of some of the most interesting food projects underway utilizing web technology.  Some are new and some old; a few have loyal followings and others should; some are still in startup mode and while others are well underway.  Yet all are ideas that deserve attention.”

(Continue reading from Forbes here)

First there was walk for a cure and now you can eat healthy and cook for a cure, too.

Caroline Woodall
Capital News Service

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland has a state bird, a state flag, and even a state crustacean, the blue crab. In 2008, Smith Island Cake became the state dessert. Now, legislators in both the House and Senate are hearing a bill that would make the soft-shell crab sandwich Maryland’s state sandwich.

The purpose is not state pride, but economic benefit.

Delegate Rudolph Cane, D-Wicomico, who introduced the bill in the House, said Smith Island Cake turned out to be one of the legislature’s finest economic programs.

“I think we can do the same thing to help the watermen,” Cane said.

Delegate Rudolph Cane, D-Wicomico, introduced a bill that would make the soft-shell crab sandwich Maryland’s state sandwich. He testified before the House Health and Government Operations Committee Thursday, showing off the Maryland Life article on the sandwich that inspired the legislation. (Capital News Service photo by Jessica Wilde)

The bill says soft-shell crab sandwiches are generally quite simple.

“A traditional sandwich consists of breaded and fried soft-shell crab between two slices of white bread or toast,” the bill reads. “Lettuce and tomato are common additions; there may also be a squirt of lemon, Old Bay seasoning, or some tartar sauce. The focus of the sandwich is the sweet and savory meat of the crab and the crunch of the soft shell.”

Sen. Richard Colburn, R-Dorchester, who introduced the bill in the Senate, said watermen are an endangered species and this designation would help them.

“The Maryland waterman is on the state seal,” he said. “And that’s a dying breed.”

But it was Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., who convinced him to introduce the bill, after reading a 2012 article in Maryland Life on the soft-shell crab sandwich, Colburn said.

“This is very unique to Maryland,” Miller told the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Thursday. “It is a Maryland delicacy.”

Miller described the sandwich as crunchy, with paws sticking out of it.

“It’s just divine,” he said.

And Colburn said it is the only sandwich you can eat with legs sticking out the side, a quote that also appears in Maryland Life’s video, “How to Make a Soft Shell Crab Sandwich,” narrated by publisher and editor Daniel Patrell.

Patrell also testified before the committee on what he said was not frivolous legislation.

“Rather, it shows some remarkable foresight,” Patrell said, referencing the Smith Island Cake and its economic impact.

Miller brought a Smith Island Cake with him to the hearing, and gave it to the committee.

Why not the crab cake sandwich?

“If you eat a crab cake, the crab could come from Thailand,” Colburn said. This way the crab will be coming from the Chesapeake Bay.

Colburn said he thinks the bill will pass, and that it will not take a lot of time away from other important issues.

It received no opposition in the Senate, although Sen. Ronald Young, D-Frederick, said he would not vote for it or against it.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Young said. “There’s a limited number of soft-shell crabs. Prices are going to go up. And it’s going to be harder to get them.”

Join us for this special ‘sneak preview’ of Laurie’s Something to Wine About show heading to New York City on January 9th!

Looking for a laid back and hilarious take on wine tasting? TV personality, award-winning sommelier and comedian, Laurie Forster, delivers an off-beat hilarious show where wine meets punch lines. In her show, Forster peels back the labels of a customized selection of wines for your guests and exposes the truth of her life in the wine business and as a mom in suburban hell. Relax with a glass (or five!) of wine, because with Forster there are no formalities when it comes to drinking. This is a “tasting” you will never forget.

Show includes tastings of 5 wines, light fare and unlimited laughs!

OR, for an additional $25, purchase a 3 course prix fixe dinner to enjoy before the show!

Seats are limited, advance purchase is required.

Purchase tickets here: http://thewinecoach.com/event-calendar/

The Oxford Inn, 504 South Morris St., Oxford, MD 21654

Perry Cabin General Manager Stephanie Mehail and Executive Sous Chef Caleb Taylor of the Inn’s Sherwood’s Landing Restaurant

Inn at Perry Cabin General Manager Stephanie Mehail, and Executive Sous Chef Caleb Taylor of the Inn’s Sherwood’s Landing Restaurant, recently accepted a plaque from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) for winning the oyster stew competition at CBMM’s 2012 OysterFest.

Six restaurants competed, with more than 300 participants taking part in blind taste tests and voting by ballot for their favorite stew. Sherwood’s Landing’s oyster stew was served as stew ‘A’ in the tastings. OysterFest participants also picked St. Michaels Harbour Inn’s Harbour Lights oyster stew (stew ‘E’) as second, with third place going to Gourmet by the Bay (stew ‘B’). All restaurants are located in St. Michaels, MD.

The next OysterFest is scheduled for November 2, 2013 at CBMM’s waterfront campus in St. Michaels, MD. More info at www.cbmm.org.

Enjoy the magic of caroling along candlelit woodland paths when Adkins Arboretum hosts ’Tis the Season, a special evening of caroling, stargazing and music, on Sat., Dec. 8 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Participants of all ages are invited to sing carols while strolling along luminary-lined woodland paths, sip cider by a roaring bonfire, and uncover the mysteries of the winter sky with help from Delmarva Stargazers. Horse-drawn wagon rides beneath the stars will add an Eastern Shore touch to these traditional holiday festivities.

Guests will continue the magical and memorable evening in the Arboretum Visitor’s Center with the music of Wye Parish Choral Scholars, Judge Peter Edison, and Dovetail, an acoustic duo featuring Jodie Littleton and Pres Harding.

Tickets for adults are $25 for members and $30 for the general public. Children’s tickets are $15 for members, $20 for the general public.

To reserve tickets for ’Tis the Season, visit www.adkinsarboretum.org, or call 410.634.2847, ext. 0.

Maryland dairy producers have an opportunity to learn about dairy animal care and animal handling through a program called, Cow-side Forums for Enhanced Dairy Care and Well-being. This is a program being sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland Extension, and other partners on November 27, 2012, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

The Pennsylvania Beef Council, Land O’ Lakes, Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Association Coop, Inc., and
Dairy Farmers of America along with the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at University Park, PA, will
partner with the University of Maryland to jointly offer this program.

“Dairy producers have a growing need to equip themselves with the knowledge and management tools that are known to
benefit both the animals and farm sustainability, and assure consumers that the food from dairy farms is of high quality,
humanely produced, and safe to consume” comments Dr. Bob Peters, Extension Dairy Specialist, at the University of
Maryland. These forums train producers and employees on proper care and handling techniques.

The forums will feature two components: a classroom session beginning at 9:00 a.m. and hands-on instruction from 11:00
a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at a nearby farm.

Initially, the classroom discussion will focus on the fundamentals of animal care, the correlation between animal care and
profitability and tools needed to provide proper animal care on the farm. At the farm, Dr. Tim Mears from Chestertown
Animal Hospital will demonstrate a physical examination of a dairy cow and key indicators for detecting health problems
early.

Following lunch, forum participants will join in breakout sessions on downed cow care and management, euthanasia and
necropsy, animal movement techniques and body condition, locomotion and hygiene scores.

By attending the forum, dairy producers will be eligible to become Certified Producers with the Pennsylvania Dairy Beef
Quality Assurance Program. This program ensures that beef and dairy cattle are maintained in a manner which will result
in a safe and wholesome beef product for the consumer.

Forum location:
Morning lecture: St Clements Episcopal Church, 32940 Maryland Line Road Massey, MD 21650
11 a.m. Farm workshop: Jones Family Farm, 12667 Massey Road, Massey, MD 21650

For more information and to register, call the Kent County Extension Office at 410-778-1661 or email jdouthit@umd.edu.
The advance registration deadline is November 20, 2012.