Mama mia!

Remember what happened the last time you tried to cook mom dinner? The smoke alarm? The fiery frying pan? You may have given blackened haddock a whole new meaning, but that doesn’t mean you can’t set things right this year. Take her to Opus in Bangor, which will offer a five-course Mother’s Day dinner this Sunday from noon till 4 p.m. The menu will include lobster fritters with pepper jelly, asparagus salad with sweet corn sorbet, foie gras with mango hot and sour sauce, roasted duck, Delmonico ribeye steaks, lamb with papardelle pasta in fire roasted tomato aglo olio. The dinner costs $50 per person, with a three-course children’s menu available for $16. For reservations, call 945-5100.

A helping of history

Attention Orono residents (past and present): Now’s your last chance to submit a recipe or anecdote in the “Orono Cooks 2006” cookbook, which will be published in time for the town’s bicentennial celebration in 2006. The book, which will be prepared by Friends of the Orono Public Library, will be a culinary snapshot of the town. Organizers hope to reflect the community’s diversity, as well as provide links to both the past and the future. To submit a recipe or add to a previously submitted recipe, send it to Lianne Harris, 63 Forest Ave., Orono, ME 04473 or Lharris@nehs.net by the end of May.

Sweet eats

Learn all about sweet peas – and have a delicious lunch – at Sweet Pea Gardens in Surry. Proprietor Susan Keating will present a talk from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15. A $20 fee will include lunch and a six-pack of sweet pea seedlings. Seating is limited. To reserve, call 667-4730.

Tidbits is hungry for news about local food products and events. Send your Tidbits by mail to: Bangor Daily News, attn: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor ME 04402-1329; by fax to 941-9476; or by e-mail to kandresen@bangordailynews.net.