Tag: Gloucester Daily Times

Must Read: John McElhenny’s Piece In The Gloucester Daily Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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To the editor:

Thank you for the Rev. Rona Tyndall’s beautifully written Midweek Musing (Opinion page, the Times, Wednesday, Feb. 8) about changes under way in the Fort neighborhood.

I don’t think what makes Gloucester special is any collection of buildings or single neighborhood.

When the houses along the harbor side of Stacy Boulevard were cleared a century ago, some people didn’t like the change. Today the Boulevard is one of the most beautiful places in Gloucester, bringing people together every day for exercise, walks with family and to see old friends.

In the 1940s and ’50s, a neighborhood of small houses grew up in Burnham’s Field. Eventually the houses fell and were removed.

For the entire piece click here

Is there apathy in regards to Gloucester’s Fishing Industry News or have people given up trying to understand it.

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro
 

Cod cut loss to city: $70M

By Richard Gaines

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A statutory need to address a reported widespread decline in the status of the Gulf of Maine cod was translated Wednesday into terms of a potential economic catastrophe for the New England groundfishing industry — with projections of dealing a $70 million hit to Gloucester’s economy alone.

Click here for the rest of the story
Richard Gaines reports some really heavy stuff today in the Gloucester Daily Times but other than people directly involved in the fishing industry locally and a few other folks that seem to weigh in on it outside of the industry I wonder if the general public has tuned it all out because it is so difficult to understand and or they gave up trying because it’s impossible to keep up with all the changes.

In either case there are some MAJOR MAJOR changes to the life and independent spirit of what so many people have clung to here for so long but it seems like people are resigned to feel like it’s all a done deal.

Like the people that think that the Government is ever going to allow the amount of fish that was once landed in this city to ever be harvested again, that’s just crazy.  They would be nuts to because it would get us right back to the state of overfishing that got us into this mess in the first place.  But now with Catch shares and the privatization of the industry and without provisions to make sure that fishing permits stay in the hands of independent fishermen I never thought I’d see the day but within our lifetime there likely will be very few independently owned fishing boats.

When you listen to the bananaheads at the meetings continue to cling on to the hope that this town is going to somehow revert back into the golden days of schooners or when our Grandfathers and Father’s age when millions and millions of pounds of fish were being landed here on a daily basis tell them to wake up.

It’s not “Times, They are A Changin’”

They’ve Changed.

Terry Weber, Gail McCarthy and Nancy Gaines Cover The 20 Year Anniversary of The Perfect Storm For The Gloucester Daily Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Terry, Gail and Nancy get all the interviews in these big time pieces-

Perfect Storm: 20 years after
Memories fresh for those closest to losses

By Gail McCarthyand Terry Weber

Roberta Tyne Smith, now 60, recalls hearing the phone ring 20 years ago this weekend — at 5 p.m. on Halloween in 1991.

On the line was the ex-wife of Smith’s brother, fishing captain Billy Tyne, calling to tell Roberta that the Andrea Gail was three days overdue.

"I was in the middle of getting ready to go trick-or-treating with my three sons," said Smith, who now lives in Manchester. "But life changed dramatically from that day forward.

"My biggest regret is that Billy never got to see his children grow up. Billy loved his children more than anything. He always looked forward to coming home and spending time with them."

Tyne and his five-man crew on board the Andrea Gail were lost in what is today known as The Perfect Storm.

And the telling of their story — both in Sebastian Junger’s best-selling book "The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea," published in 1997, and again in the blockbuster Hollywood film of the same name, released in 2000 — has made the term "perfect storm" a common part of the American lexicon.

But memories of the storm — and the Andrea Gail tragedy — remain painful here in Gloucester, especially for the families who can never forget those days two decades ago.

Click here for the rest of the story at The Gloucester Daily Times website

and because I can never get enough of this song by Earl and Arch and the video made by Mike Lindberg The official Song od GoodMorningGloucester- Gloucester Til The End

Nancy Gaines Piece Here-

Tragedy, film lore still driving economy

By Nancy GainesCorrespondent

In the 20 years since what’s now known as the Perfect Storm, the story of the nation’s oldest seaport reads like a tale of two cities.

The economic impact on the home of the seafaring tragedy that inspired the best-selling book and blockbuster movie has been, by most measures, a wallop. And, in a sad paradox, it’s also been a boon to a place that’s been beset by a dwindling fishing industry and is now retrofitting with retail, commercial and development ventures.

The working waterfront of fishermen who go down to the sea forever — at least 30 since the Andrea Gail, says the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association — still works.

The fishing industry is worth about $200 million to the city annually, considering the ripple effect (economists use 3.5) for shoreside businesses, taxes and temporary employment, from $56.6 million in sales last year.

Yet, the business is a shell of itself 20 years ago. Fish landings in Gloucester were 126 million pounds in 1990; 41 million last year. At 100 boats, the fleet is half what it was when the movie hit, never mind the storm.

Tenderloin With Fig Sauce Video With Sista Felicia On The GDT Taste of The Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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click here for the entire video and recipe

Figs are used extensively in Mediterranean and Middle East cooking. You may have heard of Italian sweets such as Fig and Ricotta Tarts, Fig and Pistachio Biscotti and of course Italian Fig Cookies. But they are also used for more savory foods, such as this Pork Tenderloin marinated in an onion and fig mixture and then served over couscous with an onion and fresh fig sauce.
If you can get them, there is nothing quite like the unique taste and texture of a fresh fig. They can be eaten whole, skin, seeds and flesh. Since fresh figs are one of the most perishable fruits, they should be purchased only a day or two in advance of when you are planning on eating them. Look for figs that have a rich, deep color and are plump and tender, but not mushy. Ripe figs should be kept in the refrigerator where they will stay fresh for about two days. California figs are available from June through September; while some European varieties are available through autumn.

You can click below to see a listing of all Felicia’s previous recipes on demand (for free!)

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Sista Felicia’s On-Demand Recipe’s At The Gloucester Times Taste of The Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Click here for a listing of Sista Felicia’s Videos On the Gloucester Times Taste of The Times

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$15 for $30 of Food At The Seaport Grill At The Gloucester Daily Times QPON

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Here are some of the dishes I’ve enjoyed at the Seaport Grill-

Seaport Grill Shrimp Scampi Pizza

Firecracker Shrimp

Chicken wings-

Fisherman’s Platter

Crab Cakes-

Twitter Faceoff Battle of The Gloucester Times Staff Tweeters- Andrea Holbrook (@andreasoldier) vs Steven Fletcher (@StevenGDT)

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Chickity Check It! Atwood Does The Mackerel Thing In Her GDT Column

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

July 12, 2011

Mackerel: Local, sustainable and good for us

Food for ThoughtHeather Atwood

In staying true to New England waters, Steve Johnson of Rendezvous Restaurant in Central Square, Cambridge, courageously puts fish on his menu that — oh no! — has bones.

Mackerel. Grilled to a charry crispness, dripping with olive oil, delicate filets lifting off of 8 inches of spiny vertebrae, mackerel.

In Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, just about anywhere but here, a serving of fish means a pile of bones on the plate. Residents of these countries make beloved meals with sardines, anchovies, pike, mackerel and herring.

After the jump you get the rest of the story and a recipe as reward

and when you’re done with that, check out Heather’s Fantastic Blog-

Food For Thought

Sista Felicia Does Moms Zucchini Side Dish At The Gloucester Daily Times Taste Of The Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Check It Out At The Gloucester Daily Times Website By Clicking here

The summer vegetables will be coming soon and this simple version of preparing zucchini is another recipe from Felicia Mohan’s home style Italian kitchen. When zucchini becomes plentiful you need many different ways to prepare it that are simple and of course tastes good.
This particular recipe is one of the ways her mother used to prepare zucchini and that is where it got its’ name. The main ingredients that give this side dish its flavor are the basil, the chicken broth and the juice of a fresh lemon. Felicia insists that the lemon juice be fresh in order to achieve the full flavor.

Richard Gaines Deserves The Highest Journalism Award In The Country

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

I hope everyone understands that with all the injustice that happened with the regulators in the fishing industry that there is one man, ONE SINGLE MAN who is most responsible for exposing it all and getting the wheels turning to see that things change.

That man is Richard Gaines at The Gloucester Daily Times.  For years  complex rules were made and the regulatory scheme changed so often and without warning that even the most involved person in the fishing industry would be forgiven for giving up trying to understand it.  This is the reason that the regulatory departments within the government basically got away with anything, because no reporter would bother to try to figure out the moving target.

Ray Lamont, editor at the GDT in his wisdom, unleashed the journalistic beast that is Richard Gaines.  Armed with the protection of the First Amendment Richard threw himself headlong into this world and immersed himself trying to figure out just what the hell was going on.  As he dug it became apparent that  fisheries management was completely out of control.

He exposed it and exposed it and exposed it daily and it was through his investigative journalism that people began to understand just how fucked up it all was.  This is the reason that the politicians got involved because they could no longer sit on the sidelines,the abuse had become apparent after Richard had broken it down for all to see in the pages of the Gloucester Daily Times. Before Richard took on the task, there was literally NO ONE who brought all the complexities to the masses.

Richard Gaines deserves the highest journalistic awards this country has to offer.

Here are some interviews I did with Richard not long after he had taken on the waterfront beat for The GDT back in June of 2009-

Does anyone know who one needs to write to nominate him?  Because hopefully he gets the recognition he deserves.

Easter Bunny Cookies With Sista Felicia at The Gloucester Daily Times Taste of The Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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From The GDT:

Felicia Mohan grew up waiting for Easter so she could eat these cookies her grandmother made. After her grandmother retired in Florida and was no longer around for Easter, her Aunt assumed the responsibility and now she has herself. The secret is to use this Italian pastry dough recipe, decorate your own Easter eggs with your kids, make a simple frosting using fresh lemon, and top with brightly colored sprinkles.

Get the recipe here

The Gloucester Daily Times Cover’s Well Traveled Letter that EJ Broke The Story On Today

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Chickity Check It-

This piece of mail gets through – 65 years later

By Francis X. Quinn Staff Writer

History buffs in Gloucester have turned up a decades-old mystery involving the U.S Postal Service.

As amateur sleuth E.J. Lefavour posted on the GoodMorningGloucester blog over the weekend, a correspondent named H. Grimsland of Chicago mailed a First Day of Issue Roosevelt Memorial envelope and 1-cent stamps to Mrs. S.E. Lawrence of 123 Leonard St. in Gloucester on July 26, 1945.

That may not seem too remarkable — but the envelope only arrived in Annisquam last week, more than 65 years later, according to Lefavour.

For the rest of the story click the highlighted text to see it on the Gloucester Daily Times website

Cooking Fried Whiting With Sista Felicia Video at The Taste of The Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Click here to view the video at the Gloucester Times Website

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Deb Clarke just asked me how Felicia seasons her fried whiting.  I answered her on Twitter but not sure if she ever got it.  In any case here you can see exactly how it is done.  Fried Whiting is my very favorite fish to eat.  I could sit down with a pile of salted fried whiting and a couple of cold beers and have an incredible feast.  The pure white flesh of the whiting is the tastiest fish ever.  You eat it like corn on the cob and the meat falls away from the bone easily.   In my opinion the most underutilized species we have today.  It also make an incredible soup.

Here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago at Felicia’s house-

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Maria Cracchiolo of Caffé Sicilia Makes the Real Tiramisu

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Maria Cracchiolo of Caffé Sicilia Makes the Real Tiramisu

To be authentic, Maria says you need to use real Italian espresso coffee and Savoiardi, or Italian “lady fingers.” You can find both in Italian specialty stores.

Otherwise this no-cook dessert is surprisingly easy as you can see in this video made with Maria.

Check out the video at the Gloucester Daily Times Taste of the Times-

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Beets! The Women of Chive Prepare Some Tasty Beets

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Beets are available this time of year and this is a perfect way to use them to enhance your menu options. In this recipe and video the women of Chive (Chive Sustainable Event Design and Catering) prepare this easy, delicious and healthy silky, velvet beet puree that has a multitude of uses. The boiled beets are blended with some yogurt, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Finish by adding chopped chives.

The puree is also excellent with meat such as turkey and pork.

Check out the video at The Gloucester Daily Times Taste of the Times-

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http://food.gloucestertimes.com/?video_key=Fresh_Beet_Puree

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January 25, 2011 ‘Blacklisted’ meal provokes ‘sustainable’ fisheries debate By Richard Gaines

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

From the Gloucester Daily Times

Gaines covers the Berkowitz dinner-

BOSTON — For a private dinner at one of his Legal Sea Foods restaurants for which he made the intentionally provocative decision to serve three so-called blacklisted fish, Roger Berkowitz minced the black tiger shrimp but not his words.

It was an evening of food for thought.

"We have sustainable fisheries, now we need sustainable infrastructure. It has to come back to the center," Berkowitz said in a plea for common sense and reason, noting that many years of strict conservation have weakened the fishing industry while strengthening U.S. stocks.

"We are seeing something out of balance," Berkowitz added. "The environmental movement is well financed; the fishermen are not."

Click here for the rest of the story at The Gloucester Daily Times Website

Then you can watch Part I of the Interview I did with Richard a while back by clicking below

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Sista Felicia’s Pasta Gagoot’s Video At The Gloucester Daily Times Taste Of The Times website

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Click here to view recipe at The Gloucester Daily Time website

Referred to as "Pasta Gagoots" by many Italians from Sicily, including the family of Felicia (Ciaramitaro) Mohan, this is a layered pasta dish most often served when the cook has extra large zucchini or cuccuzza squash from the garden or elsewhere.

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Laurie Lufkin $10,000 Pumpkin Cake Video At The Gloucester Daily Times

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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According to Laurie Lufkin the secret to this prize winning recipe is the caramel sauce. The official name of the recipe is New England Buttermilk Pumpkin Cakes with Sour Cream Apple Caramel and Dried Cranberries. She created this dessert for a recipe contest that involved using a Hood dairy product, and in a moment of inspiration she used sour cream as one of the creaming agents for the caramel sauce topping. The result helped her to win a $10,000 prize and another step in her climb up the recipe contest ladder.

Click here for the video and recipe printable at the Gloucester Daily Time taste Of The Times Website

Sista Felicia Keeps Grandma’s Recipes Alive Through The Gloucester Daily Times Taste of The Times Series

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Every Christmas this dish was prepared by grandmother Felicia. It is an assortment of raw vegetables specially marinated in oil and vinegar and placed around the living room and kitchen in serving dishes. The main ingredients are carrots, celery, onions and extra large Sicilian green olives. Everyone who grew up with this dish ended up having their favorite vegetable that they would choose, hoping that they could get them before someone else did.

The celery and carrots are cut julienne style to allow more of the marinade flavor to penetrate and the olives were prepared by Felicia’s grandfather using a special cooking implement, his hammer. Rather than try and pit them, just smash the olive and place in the salad along with all of the other vegetables. The pit will come out easily once someone goes to eat one.

Click The Picture For The Video at The Gloucester Daily Times Taste of The Times Site

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At the site there are options to print the recipe and share it.  This is one of my favorites from our Grandmother Felicia

Local Resident Bo Cleary, Fitness Coach to Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale of "The Fighter"

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Local Resident Bo Cleary, Fitness Coach to Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale of "The Fighter," Premiers Fitness Video Series On Taste of the Times

In this first video demonstration, “Mitt Fitness,” Bo shows his training approach on how to use boxing to get in shape. Bo coached Mark and Christian before and during the filming of their latest movie, The Fighter, opening nationwide today. It has already received 6 Golden Globe nominations. In the movie, released today, December 17, 2010, Bo plays a policeman who breaks the hand of the main character played by Mark Wahlberg. The movie is based on the true story about the unlikely boxing champion from Lowell, Micky Ward.

Bo, currently living in Cape Ann, says that he has seen the movie and liked it a lot, and not just because he is in it. “It has a lot of drama, great acting by Mark as well as Christian Bale, who plays Micky Ward’s brother, Dicky Eklund. Besides that, it is a true story that happened right in our area.”

In this first video, Bo suggests starting in front of your mirror, moving your hands back and forth like a boxer does to train for a fight.

Click the picture to view Bo’s video At The Gloucester Daily Times-

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