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03/23/2023 08:14 AMMike Urban, the food writer who lives on the Connecticut shoreline, has been writing about great places to eat in New England for about a dozen years in four different books along with many more articles for Yankee magazine.
His newest book takes a deep dive into the food of Maine, our New England neighbor sometimes referred to as the Vacation State because so many people vacation there. Maine is known for its lobsters with tender and sweet meat, and they certainly make an appearance in this new book. But the places he features in this book serve a whole lot more than just lobsters.
As he explains in the introduction to his new book, Unique Eats and Eateries of Maine: The People and Stories Behind The Food, “I’ve focused on places that I consider to be organically unique–that is, restaurants and food shops that are…for the most part, tried-and-true, mom-and-pop places that have been making good to great food for years, even decades.”
One such place, featured in the new book, is Gurnet Trading Co., in Brunswick, Maine, which was created on a plot of land that used to be a junkyard. It’s the kind of place you might drive right by if Mike hadn’t pointed it out.
Urban writes that the modest grey-shingled building tucked away in a stand of trees off on Gurnet Road “contains some of the best seafood in the area” and he specifically recommends “the milk-based, Maine-style seafood chowder, chockful of lobster, shrimp, scallops, and haddock,” along with the creamy lobster stew. But among the best offerings at Gurnet Trading Co., Urban says, are Brian’s “Dive” Scallops, “the most interesting and rewarding choice–sea scallops plucked fresh from the bottom of Casco Bay,” sometimes by Brian and his fishing crew.
This is a fun little book to peruse this time of year in front of your fireplace as you daydream about your summer get-away up to Maine. And you can pack it when you go, in case you get hungry on your way to whatever your Maine destination might be.
In the meantime, to tide you over when it comes to any seafood cravings, here is a recipe for Mamie’s Seafood Casserole from Gurnet Trading Co. published in Urban’s earlier book, Lobster Shacks: A Road-Trip Guide to New England’s Best Lobster Joints. It’s not always on the menu at Gurnet’s but when it is, it is a fan favorite. It’s packed with the kind of seafood that is abundant here along the shoreline, and is also a cozy, bubbly casserole for this time of year when the cold North winds continue to blow.
Mamie’s Seafood Casserole
From Gurnet Trading Co.
602 Gurnet Road, Brunswick, Maine
Ingredients
½ cup breadcrumbs
¾ cup crumbled saltine crackers
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup cream of shrimp soup
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound haddock
1 pound Maine shrimp (or small shrimp equivalent)
½ pound cooked lobster meat
¾ pound sea scallops (sliced in half, if large)
¼ cup melted butter
Directions
Mix together the breadcrumbs, crumbled saltines, and grated cheddar cheese, and set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix the cream of shrimp soup, milk, and Parmesan cheese.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the bottom of a 9- by 12-inch baking pan. Layer the haddock on the bottom, then add a light layer of the breadcrumb mixture, then sprinkle half the shrimp and lobster, then more breadcrumb mixture, then teh scallops and the rest of the shrimp and lobster, then top off with the rest of the breadcrumb mixture.
Pour the soup/milk/Parmesan mixture over the top, then pour the melted butter over everything.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until golden and bubbly.
Serves six to eight people.