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🐝 First Community Recipe Feature

🐝 First Community Recipe Feature

North Ferry Cyberattack, WinterFest, Host an Exchange Student

Thomas Loncar
February 13, 2026

Together With

Good Morning, North Fork! It’s Friday, which means you have exactly 24 hours to pretend your Valentine’s plan was intentional.

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

North Ferry Cyberattack
WinterFest
Host an Exchange Student

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

North Ferry Cyberattack 💻

If you tried to reload your ferry pass and the internet basically said “no,” here’s why.

The North Ferry Company confirmed its payment processor was hit by a ransomware attack on Feb. 6, knocking online payments offline for the moment. The situation is now in the hands of federal authorities.

The important part: customer data was not compromised.

Even better news for anyone worried about getting stranded, passes will continue to work. If your balance is low or totally tapped out, you can still ride and the company will sort out billing once the system is back up. ($)

Get the full story 👉 Suffolk Times

WinterFest ❄️

Southold is about to trade sleepy winter streets for a full blown block party.

WinterFest is back on Saturday, Feb. 21 (rain date Feb. 22), and for a few solid hours Main Road will transform from winter quiet to “why is everyone here this is awesome”.

Put on by the Southold Town Economic Development Committee, the festival pulls together more than 60 vendors, tons of local groups.

Enjoy ice carving at the annex. Fire pits and treats at the First Presbyterian Church of Southold. Roaming pop up moments from the North Fork Community Theatre. Bagpipes drifting down Main Street.

There’s a reptile show at the Southold Free Library, pony rides, a snow machine, face painting, paper airplane building, an obstacle course and a literal stilt walker.

Over at CAST, the morning starts sweet with cupcake decorating, rolls into dance performances and workshops.

Music will be everywhere, the gazebo, the museum, local shops, so wandering is highly encouraged.

Get the full story 👉 East End Beacon

LLC Home Purchases 🏠

If you’ve been scanning real estate transfers lately and thinking, who is buying all these houses and why do they sound like a law firm, you’re not alone.

A big slice of North Fork properties, more than a third since December, and close to half of the higher end sales, have been purchased through LLCs. Sounds corporate. Feels mysterious. Cue the conspiracy theories.

But local brokers say: take a breath.

Most of these buyers aren’t mega investment groups. They’re second home purchasers getting a nudge from attorneys and financial planners. It’s about liability and long term planning.

If something terrible happens on the property, owning through an LLC can help separate that risk from someone’s personal finances. It can also make it easier for families to adjust ownership shares or pass homes down to heirs without redoing deeds every time.

Get the full story 👉 North Fork Sun

Photo of the Week

📸 submitted by Dave Van Aken

Tag @NorthForkBuzz or email us at [email protected] to get your photos in The Buzz!

Local Spotlight

Host an Exchange Student 🌏

The Southold Rotary Club is on the lookout for host families ready to welcome an international exchange student for part of the 2026 school year in the Mattituck Cutchogue School District. It’s one of those opportunities that sounds big, and it is, but at its heart, it’s simple: offer a safe place to land, include them in everyday life, and show them what makes the community special.

Rotary helps guide the process, and families who’ve done it will tell you the experience tends to give back way more than it takes. Find out more

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. We’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Foodie Friday 🍽

Some recipes come from cookbooks. The best ones come from somebody’s kitchen, written on paper, tucked into a notebook, and perfected over years of “just taste it again.”

After asking all of you to send in the dishes you swear by, Patricia Schultz officially kicks off our very first community recipe feature.

Her Italian Seafood Salad is bright, briny, lemony in the way that makes you immediately go back for another forkful. It’s the kind of dish that shows up at holidays, and quietly becomes the thing everyone hovers around pretending they’re just “having a little more.”

It’s fresh. It’s classic. It somehow tastes even better the next day. And according to Patricia, there is one rule above all others: don’t be shy with the lemon.

Here’s how she makes it.

What You’ll Need

One large can of scungilli
26–30 shrimp, peeled and deveined
One package of calamari
Lemons (at least six, and honestly, maybe grab an extra)
Celery
Red onion
Fresh flat-leaf parsley
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

How to Make It

This is one of those recipes that rewards a little patience and a lot of citrus. Read through once, then channel your inner Italian grandmother.

Cut the shrimp into bite-sized pieces (Patricia goes thirds, strong move).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and squeeze in half a lemon. If your lemon feels stingy, add more. Nobody ever complained about too much flavor.
Drop the shrimp in and cook just until they turn pink. Don’t wander off. This happens fast.
Once they’re ready, move them straight into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain, give them another squeeze of lemon, and place into a big bowl. That bowl is now where the magic lives.
Slice the calamari into strips and cut the tentacles down if they’re looking dramatic.
Start with fresh water, bring it to a boil, and hit it with another squeeze of lemon. Add the calamari and cook for about two minutes.
Ice bath again. Drain. Lemon again. Into the magic bowl with the shrimp.
Open the can of scungilli, rinse, drain, and add it to the seafood party. And yes, more lemon.
Add chopped celery, red onion, and plenty of fresh parsley. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle generously with olive oil.
Now take a breath. And add more lemon.
Give everything a good stir, cover it, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Swing by and stir it when you think of it, like you’re checking in on an old friend.
The next day, taste it and adjust seasoning if necessary

This salad is proof that the simplest recipes are often the best ones, good seafood, sharp citrus, a little crunch, and patience. Let it sit overnight, taste as you go, and keep squeezing lemons like it’s your job. Huge shoutout to Patricia Schultz for kicking off our Community Recipe Feature in style.

A Quick Reminder: We Want Your Recipes

Just a reminder that we’re opening up this Foodie Friday space to you, we’d love to start highlighting your go to dishes in upcoming Foodie Fridays. Have a recipe you swear by? Send it over.

How to submit:
Email us at [email protected] with:

The recipe (ingredients + steps)
A photo (even an iPhone pic is perfect)
Your name
Optional but encouraged: a short story - when you make it, who you make it for, or why it’s special

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored

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THANKS!

Thanks for reading the North Fork Buzz today. Like what you read? Send it to someone who has good recipes.

Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships