Spring Mix Salad With Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese & Crispy Bacon

Posted on by Sista Felicia

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mango cheese salad (4)

Spring Mix Salad With Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese & Crispy Bacon

Ingredients

8 cups spring mix baby red and green leaf lettuce

1 1/4 cup Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese (sold at The Cave, Main Street Gloucester)

3/4 cup dried cherries

3/4 cup whole pecans

8 slices bacon; crisply cooked; crumbled

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2  teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Step–by-Step

1 arrange greens in serving bowl; top with dried cherries and pecans

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2 cut wedge of cheese into bite-size pieces; add cheese pieces and toss

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3 vigorously whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper 1 minute; pour dressing over top; toss and mix well

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4  top with bacon pieces; serve

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Cambridge

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

Went into Cambridge on Saturday and decided to take a walk on Memorial Drive. I took this picture from River Street Bridge which connects Memorial Drive to Storrow Drive. Such a pretty day.

December 28, 2013 Cambridge

Joey’s Calling You Out to Take the Plunge

Posted on by God's Morning

rocky neck plunge call

Always a great time, whether you plunge or just come to cheer on the plungers!  The Rocky Neck Plunge will take place on New Year’s Day at 2:00PM at Oaks Cove Beach on Stevens Lane with a body and innards warming after party immediately following at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street with chowda and hot chocolate.  A perfect way to start the new year – having fun and being part of this unique community.  Who says nothing happens on Rocky Neck in the winter?!

There will be a van at the corner of Wonson Street and Stevens Lane to collect non-perishable food donations for The Open Door Food Panty so bring along some goods to help fill it up (checks are also welcome).

E.J. Lefavour

Alchemy brings New Orleans to New England for New Year’s Eve

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

alchemy new years poster

Alchemy will be celebrating 2014 New Orleans style with cocktails inspired by the Big Easy, creole fare and smooth jazz.

Sip Sazeracs while enjoying Chef Scott’s special prix fixe menu

Alchemy will be celebrating 2014 New Orleans style with cocktails inspired by the Big Easy, creole fare and smooth jazz.

Sip Sazeracs while enjoying Chef Scott’s special prix fixe menu:

 1st Course
Fried Oyster Po’Boy
Confit Alligator Hush Puppies
Maque Choux Salad

2nd Course
Sous Vide Grilled Filet Tenderloin
New Orleans Cassoulette
Crab & Crawdad Etouffee

3rd Course
Orange & Cinnamon Beignets
Glazed Doughnut Bread Pudding

 Judith Murray and her trio will be crooning jazz standards throughout the night, and guests who order the specialty prix fixe menu ($75) will also score a ticket to Minglewood’s New Year’s Eve party right down the street! Call for Reservations: 978.281.3997

The Franklin New Years Eve

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

 

Franklin Cape Ann

Still looking for New Years Eve plans? Look no further! 







Join us for Dinner…

We will be serving four courses with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. 

Enjoy live jazz from Billy Novick & Thomas Hebb  

6:00 – 9:30pm  

$65 per person

Call to reserve your spot 978-283-7888

We will also be reserving seating at the bar.

Our New Year’s Eve Menu

For the table…

Tuna nigiri with a jalapeno salsa

Complimentary glass of La Marca Prosecco 

:::::::::::

First Course

Lobster Bisque

:::::::::::

Second Course

Baby Arugula Salad

goat cheese, strawberries, walnuts, white balsamic & berry vinaigrette

:::::::::::

Entree Course

Surf & Turf 

filet mignon, panko scallops, sauteed mushrooms, roasted garlic potato, red wine sauce

Braise Lamb Shank 

spinach & mint risotto, orange zest

Pan Seared Sea Bass

vegetable succotash, saffron & caper sauce 

:::::::::::

Dessert Course

Warm Chocolate & Banana Pudding

homemade vanilla ice cream & fresh strawberries 

Call 978-283-7888 to reserve your spot.





Join us upstairs for the biggest New Years Eve party on Cape Ann!

The party starts at 10:00pm.

There will be music, dancing, and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight.

We will be staying open until 2:00am!

Tickets are $20 per person.
(Or free if you join us for dinner.)

You can pick up tickets at Franklin Cape Ann or call 

978-283-7888

Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year 1910!

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
Made by a sign painter in Salem, and likely photographed in the same city. So have a happy and safe New Year everyone. 2014 will bring us new adventures.
Made by a sign painter in Salem, and likely photographed in the same city. So have a happy and safe New Year everyone. 2014 will bring us new adventures.

Ginormous Frickin’ Announcement Coming!!!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Just frickin huge.

A monster.

Working out the details…

image

image

image

 

GMG Is About To Sign An Official Weather Guy!!!  And Not Just Any Weather Guy!!!!

 

Stay Tuned…..

Gloucester Fishing Throwback- 1983 Jose and Half a Hippie Gillnetting Aboard The Rumors

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Photos from Tuffy

Community Photos

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey,

Friday morning was lovely along the water.   There was still a hint of snow on Good Harbor Beach and the 

air was crisp but not too cold to chat with friends while capture the beauty of Gloucester.   

I hope everyone in the GMG family has a wonderful New Year!

Mary Barker

1Winter 2013-14 0591Winter 2013-14 0621Winter 2013-14 0631Winter 2013-14 0671Winter 2013-14 0681Winter 2013-14 0691Winter 2013-14 070

Why Do Herons Stand on One Leg?

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Great blue Heron one leg -2©Kim Smith 2013Great Blue Heron at Good Harbor Beach ~ Click to view larger

There are several theories as to why birds, especially large wading birds such as herons and flamingoes, stand on one leg, or “unipedal resting” as scientist like to refer to the trait. The seemingly most convincing and best-proved theory is that birds stand on one leg to conserve body heat. It is shown that birds stand on one leg more often when wading, which again points to the thermoregulation hypothesis because water draws away more body  heat.

Great Blue Heon one leg Good Harbor beach ©Kim Smith 2013 copyGreat Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Standing on one leg is not necessarily a sleeping and resting habit. I have filmed Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets meticulously preening while standing on one leg. The characteristic is not limited to large wading birds; species with shorter legs, including ducks and swans, also stand on one leg. Another popular theory suggests that wading birds stand on one leg to look less suspicious to aquatic prey.

wp4768443cCenter of gravity and line of gravity

wp0e750516Goose standing on one leg

To read more about avian sensory physiology, visit the website of Professor Dr. Reinhold Necker. Additional images courtesy Professor Necker’s website.

Rhythm of the Tide

Posted on by Marty Luster

DSCF0534 copy

Rhythm of the Tide

There are places, like the Goose Cove Causeway, where
the tide rushes into the cove, sounding like a
marathon runner sucking air during the
last kick before reaching the finish line.

The water foams and the buoys bend and the
tidal current rips under the bridge with just
a brief pause at slack to catch its breath before
reversing direction and roaring out.

Viewing the tide at such places can be
exhilarating and fascinating, but
I prefer to do my tide watching at the
calm pools and rivulets of Jones Creek.

In peaceful weather, through the afternoon into
the evening, I stand there listening to the
serene, quiet breath of the earth as the pool
gently rises and falls – a giant liquid Buddha.

It’s easy, in times such as those, to become
part of the pool, like the mist that sometimes forms
on the surface on a cool, still evening and
stays attached as the breath goes in and out.

My body is the body of the earth;
the rhythm of the tide governs my breath and
flow of the creek, pumped by the heart of the ocean,
nourishes me and cleanses me.

I will stare, listen and I will breathe with the tide
and receive renewed life blood from its flow
and be one with this wondrous world until
the tide runs no more and the creek  is finally dry.

Marty Luster

Encore, originally posted January 12, 2012

Start New Years Eve by helping to send Rockport High Band, Chorus & Orchestra students on a concert tour of Ireland and take home a rock star’s autograph

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

New Years Rockport Eve has so much music that trying to decide what to see will become your first decision of the 2014.  Check out the complete up-to-date music schedule here (this lists more shows than you’ll find on their website).

But before you even look at the schedule, check out this video & press release from Noreen Vincent about the amazing silent auction featuring instruments & sheet music autographed by Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan & the Eagles — all to support a program led by RHS Orchestra Director and local music star, Nathan Cohen:

Kick off New Year’s Eve with a Music and Silent Auction Fundraiser at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, Tuesday, December 31st from 3:30pm – 5:00pm.

There will be music of many genres, including a lively session of traditional Irish music performed by the Rockport High School students, faculty members and surprise guests. The Cape Ann Contra Dance Band will be joining the event for a live dance. 

Silent auction & raffle items include instruments autographed by Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney, sheet music and albums autographed by Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, and The Eagles, autographed drawings by Seth McFarland and Charles Schultz, circus lessons, lobsters, Celtics tickets, a summer weekend rental in Rockport, a pair of concert tickets at the Shalin Liu Center, a a three-day trip to Paris, and much more. The celebration will end at 5:00 p.m. – in time for Rockport’s New Year’s Rockport Eve festivities, which begin at 6:00 p.m.

Proceeds will help fund the Rockport High School Band, Chorus, and Orchestra’s Concert Tour of Ireland in April of 2014. The students will travel to Ireland to engage in the musical culture, study with some of Ireland’s most renowned musicians, and to perform at some of the country’s finest venues. Students will visit Limerick, Galway, Dublin, and Cork, and will work both with classical musicians and traditional Irish musicians and dancers. The fundraising efforts are critical in keeping the cost of participating in this tour affordable to all students.

This is not you’re grandpa’s bluegrass!

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

If you were at the Cape Ann Solstice concert, you heard Charlee Bianchini’s gorgeous version of Mark Erelli’s soulful “Snowed In.”  You may also remember Charlee say she was lucky enough to see him live — not many people are so lucky.   But you could be if you get your tix now to see him with Barnstar! at Old Sloop before they sell out!

poster-140104-for-gmg

Check out this video to see what I mean . . .

Gingerbread Muffin Tops With Mascarpone Frosting

Posted on by Sista Felicia

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ginger bread muffin tops with mascapone frosting (26)

Gingerbread Muffin Tops With Mascarpone Frosting

My daughter Amanda and I have had a craving for a Gingerbread Muffin from the Gingerbread Confection Bakery chain out of town for over a week…every once in while my husband (AKA “St Barry”) will surprises us with a box  of muffins from this yummy bakery located near his work. Yesterday, while doing some after Christmas shopping with my kids, I spotted a muffin top pan on clearance for $9.99 at Marshalls…there was no way I was leaving the store without it. For the reminder of the day my mission was to get home and whip up a batch of our favorite muffins and cure our carving!

Muffin Ingredients

1 stick salted butter

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/2  cup buttermilk

1/2  cup molasses

1 1/3 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2  teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 six section muffin top pan

Mascarpone Frosting  Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces mascarpone cheese

4  tablespoons salted butter softened

3 cups confectioners’ sugar; (plus 1/4 cup for final dusting)

2 tablespoons buttermilk

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large pastry bag  & decorative frosting tip

Muffin Step-by-Step

1 combine butter and brown sugar in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; on medium speed, cream butter and sugar two minutes or until fluffy

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2 add egg, buttermilk , vanilla bean paste, and molasses; mix on low speed until all ingredients come together (mixture will be wet & lumpy)

3 in separate mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients together

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4   add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in bowl of stand mixer; mix on low speed until thick batter is formed

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4 lightly spray muffin top pan with cooking spray

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5  fill each muffin section with 2/3 cup batter

filled muffin pan

6 in preheated 350° oven bake 15 minutes or until cake tester is  inserted and removed cleanly

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7 cool 10 minutes on wire rack before frosting

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Frosting Step-by-Step

1 place all frosting ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment

2 mix on low speed until frosting begins to form and confectioners sugar is incorporated; increase mixer speed to medium; beat mixture until smooth and creamy

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3 transfer creamy frosting to large pastry bag fitted with a decorative frosting tip (I like to use my Wilton 6B tip); pipe frosting in center of each muffin top

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4  finish with light dusting of confectioners’ sugar

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ginger bread muffin tops with mascapone frosting (30)

Mission Complete!

Yields 6 Muffin Tops

Goose Cove Bridge, circa 1940

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
Goose Cove, on a frosty day, with the tide coming in under the bridge. Alice Curtis shot this from the Greenbelt side of the cove, where we have hiking trails today.
Goose Cove, on a frosty day, with the tide going out under the bridge. Alice Curtis shot this from the western side of the cove.