Contents

Introduction

8

Appetizers and Porch Food

13

Smoked Bluefish Spread

18

Mommy’s Deviled Ham Spread

19

Guacamole

20

Cocktail Almonds

21

Spicy Edamame

24

Spicy Cashews

25

Codfish Fritters

26

Marinated Olives

30

Deviled Eggs

31

Tomato Sandwiches

33

Stuffed Quahogs

34

Soups and Salads

37

Jamaican Red Pea Soup with Spinners

42

Quahog Stew

44

Portuguese Kale Soup

45

Simple Summer Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

48

Arugula and Love Apple Salad

50

Mushroom and Parmesan Salad

51

Rice Salad

53

Good Old Iceberg with Blue Cheese Dressing

57

Cucumber Salad

58

Martha Mae’s Caesar Salad

59

Condiments

63

Cranberry Chutney

68

Tomato Chutney

69

Watermelon Rind Pickles

70

Brazilian Hot Sauce

74

Vinegared Chiles

75

Classic Vinaigrette with a Twist

76

Seafood Boil

77

Main Dishes

81

Marvino’s One-Pot Lobster Feast

87

Scallop Rolls

88

Fried Scup

90

Grilled Swordfish Skewers

94

Kate Taylor’s White Clam Sauce

95

Arlen and Perry’s Mussels

97

Summer-Flavored Sea Bass

98

Mitzi’s Bay Scallops with Deep-Fried Kale

99

Roast Chicken

102

Curried Chicken Salad

103

Lemon-and-Thyme Grilled Chicken Thighs

104

Mommy’s Summer Fried Chicken

107

Jagacida

110

Hot Dogs, Plain and Fancy

111

Outside-In Blue Cheese Burgers

112

Peppercorn-Crusted Steak with Roquefort Sauce

115

Lavender, Garlic, and Rosemary Leg of Lamb with Spicy Mint Sauce

116

Vegetables

119

Corn Pudding

124

Ratatouille

125

Corn Fritters

127

Milk-and-Honey Corn with Two Butters

128

Brazilian Greens

129

Stir-Fried Broccoli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Garlic

132

Baby French Beans

135

Spinach with Soy and Lemon

136

Baked Potatoes with Pimentón Yogurt

137

Carrots in Passionfruit and Orange Juices

138

Summer Southern Succotash

141

Marvino’s Lobster Grits

143

Suesan’s Corn Bread–Collard Green Pie

144

Home-Style Corn Bread

145

Desserts

147

Blueberry Grunt

153

Lavender Cookies

154

Tipsy Watermelon

156

Cranberry-Apple Crisp

161

Sadie Delany’s Ambrosia

162

Blueberry Crepes

163

Grand Marnier–Marinated Strawberries with Lavender

164

Gingerbread with Blueberries and Molasses Cream

169

Molasses Cookies

170

Pegi’s Cranberry-Nut Bread

171

Mrs. Leonard’s Portuguese Sweet Bread

172

Beverages

177

Porch Sitter

183

Watermelon Agua Fresca

184

Bluffs Bloody Mary

185

Spicy Vodka

189

Lemon Verbena Iced Tea

190

Sugar Syrup

194

Lavender Syrup

195

Lemon-Limeade

196

Boa Noite

197

Sources

198

Acknowledgments

199

Index

200

Table of Equivalents

204