Home-grown menus

Restaurants across the state are cooking up locally grown and raised ingredients in honor of Maine Menus Month. With offerings such as steak fajitas, roasted game meats, stir-fried veggies or Maine crab ravioli, the selections are all mouth-watering. Maine Menus Month is a program developed by the department of agriculture to promote “real Maine foods.” Diners are asked to rate the Maine Menus selection when they eat at a participating restaurant. The highest-ranking restaurant will be recognized by Gov. Angus King at the end of October. For a full listing of more than 100 participants (which range from diner to white-tablecloth), visit www.getrealmaine.com or call 287-3491.

GourMaine

The editors at Gourmet magazine have great taste – two of the magazine’s top 50 restaurants in America are in Maine. Fore Street in Portland came in at No. 16, cited for chef Sam Hayward’s commitment to seasonal local produce. Arrows in Ogunquit made the list at No. 26 because, as the editors wrote, “Arrows is not so much a restaurant as it is a world unto itself.”

The same issue of Gourmet also includes an interview with and recipes from Melissa Kelly of Primo in Rockland. Her menu for “The Maine Event” translates just as well in a New York City kitchen, writes Cheryl Brown. Who could argue? If Kelly is cooking Fish Soup with Bread and Rouille, Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Duck Confit and Swiss Chard, and Pistachio Popover Creme Brulees with Grand Marnier Syrup, it doesn’t matter where you eat.

Spice up your life

Do you have worldly taste? McCormick’s new Gourmet Collection of 22 spices will take your taste buds on a trip around the globe. Whether you want the warmth of red curry or the spicy-hot flavor of Sechwan seasoning, McCormick has condiments from all the continents. For recipes such as Bombay Chicken (pictured), visit www.mccormick.com and click on “gourmet collection.”