Winter is not my favorite time of year. In the summer I can start off these notes with a recap of some fun hike I took or a party in the backyard or swimming with my grandkids. In the winter it's much harder. Let's see, I hiked around the neighborhood sidewalk two times a day every day (boring). And I stayed inside and built Lego cars with my grandson (not boring - but not exactly a party in the pool) and the only thing I have done in the backyard in the last month is clean up puppy poop. COME ON WARM WEATHER!
Peter Hall is a braggart. Now don't get me wrong - I love Peter and his wife, Jeanette. But sending me a picture of this meal is pushing the limits of acceptable behavior. Granted, he is bragging on his wife's cooking, but please, Peter. Not all of us get to eat this way.
Chilean Sea Bass and Seared Scallops over Puréed Chickpeas
with Sautéed Green Beans
Paired with a nice Pinot Blanc
(that I am sure Peter purchased at Johns Creek Wine and Crystal)
I guess you can't blame him for bragging and guess what? Jeanette can cook for you too. It's simple. Just send her an email at jeanettegilmore@bellsouth.net and ask her to put you on the email list for updates. She'll let you know what she is cooking this week and you sign up for what sounds good. Next to our Catch to Go meals, this is the easiest home-cooked meal in town.
Fun Fish For Sale
We have some interesting items in our seafood cases this week. Locally caught tilefish (not as local as the Chattahoochee but as local as the Georgia coast) and triggerfish. We also have what must surely be the last of the fresh shrimp for the season. And they are big -16 to 20 in a pound.
Also kumamotos for the Pacific oyster lover (you know we sell more oysters than anyone else) and very tasty little blue crab cocktail fingers.
Last Week's Contest
Last week I gave you an opportunity to win a free lobster roll by figuring out the "oops" in the following article:
http://tracker.dailyburn.com/nutrition/fish_salmon_atlantic_wild_raw_3_oz_3_oz_85g_calories
Apparently I stumped you. Thanks to you who took a shot, but nobody got it right. You didn't have to open the link to see the mistake. The link address tells you that the article is about "wild Atlantic salmon". If you have been reading my blog or emails for a while, you might know that Atlantic salmon does not really exist in the wild. The population was over-fished for so long that there is virtually none left. It's a sad story about excess and greed and lack of concern for the future of our natural resources. It is also a story about man's ingenuity in coming up with more and more efficient and effective ways to gather food - so much so that they gathered just about all the Atlantic salmon there was to get. And its a story about fishermen doing what they can to feed their families. It's dreadful in so many ways.
But, the bright side, if there is one, is that man's ingenuity is turning toward aquaculture and the future looks good for our children's children. They will never see an Atlantic salmon in the wild, but they will continue to have the opportunity to eat one of the healthiest protein sources in the world because companies like Verlasso have learned the proper techniques for raising these fish in controlled environments.
There are still species of wild salmon in the Pacific - kings (chinooks), sockeyes, coho and chums are plentiful out west. In fact, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute just released numbers for the 2014 season which show that the wild sockeye salmon harvest broke all kinds of volume records. The sockeye harvest totaled 44 million fish in 2014 which was a 49% increase over 2013 numbers.
That is a lot of fish.
What I cooked For Dinner Last Night
Maria Riley special ordered some black cod (sable) last week. When she stopped in to pick it up I asked her how she was going to prepare it so she sent me this recipe.
It took some advanced preparation. First of all, you have to order the black cod. Then you have to prepare the marinade and put the fish in the marinade for 2 to 3 DAYS. (!) And the marinade had white miso paste which I finally found at Whole Foods.
But OMG was it worth the time and trouble! This was very likely the best seafood meal I have ever prepared.
This was my side dish: Sesame Noodles
A word about black cod - It's also called sable. It has a high fat content and a soft, velvety texture. It is extremely popular in Japan, making it more difficult to get here in the U.S. I buy this fish whenever I can get it fresh, which is not often, but last night's dinner was a frozen-at-sea fish. And it was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Let me know if you want to give it a try. I'll be placing another order soon for a repeat performance at my house.
This Week's Special
West Coast Dover Sole
$11.99/lb
This mild, sweet, small fillet is every kid's favorite fish.
Catch to Go
Ginger Sea Bass over Wilted Greens
(recipe compliments of Pam Ellis)
and
Mango-crusted Grouper with Coconut Rice
(it will remind you of a warm summer day)
In the Discount Freezer
Cod
Amberjack
Tilefish
Catfish
Redfish
Pollack
Branzino
Monkfish
Hamachi
Swordfish
Barramndi
Mahi
Corvina
Cobia
Kampachi
Black drum
Rainbow trout
Snapper
Black bass
West coast Dover sole
And Finally
On Sunday Mike and I were babysitting Joel while Sara was at work. We were busy shampooing the carpet because we have a new puppy. Nemo is almost 4 months old and Joel is almost 4 years old. They are at EXACTLY the same emotional/intellectual/mischief level. I was moving some furniture to clean the carpet so I put the little fish tank on the floor just for a minute to get it out of the way. Joel came along to "help" me and dumped the entire contents of the fish tank (fish and all) on the carpet. Sayonara to the little blue fish I took home from the fishing village fundraising dinner in September, but thankfully I was already in the process of carpet cleaning anyway.
Mike came along to scoop up the dog and the boy and take them into our bedroom to get them out of my way. After a while he reappeared in the doorway to tell me that things were not going well on his end. The boy and the dog got out of his sight for a minute and he heard Joel squealing with laughter. Joel was peeing on the bathroom floor and the dog was licking it up. Gross.
Mike tossed Joel into the bath to wash off the pee. I went for a towel and by the time I got back the dog was in the bath too and Joel and Nemo were splashing water all over the place. Unfortunately, Nemo's very first obedience training class was in less than an hour so he was a sopping wet dog on the first day of school.
I know this doesn't have anything to do with the seafood business but at least there was a fish in the story.
Hope your week is less than chaotic.
Blessings,
Kathleen
No comments:
Post a Comment