In Season :Oysters in Winter

Chef Collaborative Blog -Just like a vegetable, oysters have historically been produced in certain seasons.  Oysters have typically been a winter delicacy, as colder waters encourage oysters to store glycogen, a carbohydrate compound that taste like sugar, in order to survive the dormant months when water temperature drops below 40 degrees.  As glycogen accumulates, oysters get plumper and sweeter.  However, when water temperatures rise, the oyster focuses its energy on enlarging its gonad in order to create reproductive material.  The oyster becomes less meaty and, thus, less tasty.  During summer or spawning the oyster becomes slimy and milky.  These oysters are edible but the taste and texture appeals to no one. READ MORE

Oysters Rockefeller Recipe

Watch How to Shuck An Oyster

Travel: Where to Dine in Myrtle Beach

As soon as Memorial Day  hits, Myrtle Beach is one of the favorite destinations for USA East Coast folks.  It is very family oriented.  Off of Kings Highway there are rides.    There are lots of theaters. There are no shortage of seafood restaurants and especially seafood buffets.

I dined at a restaurant which looks like a house called the Sea Captain Restaurant.  I order the seafood platter consisting of small tasty hush puppies, flavorful fried oysters, flounder and shrimp.  All the seafood tastes fresh.   My dining companion ordered the Lemon Curd pie for dessert.  This is a restaurant with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. – Report from Patsy Johnson of Norfolk, VA.

Sea Captain Restaurant Website: http://www.seacaptains.com/index.html

Foodie Vacation Destination- Savannah, Georgia

History of Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller was created at the New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s. Antoine’s was founded in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore, who moved to New Orleans after two frustrating years in New York to open a restaurant of his own. It is the country’s oldest family-run restaurant. The dish was created in 1899 by Jules Alciatore, son of the restaurant’s founder.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s in 1937. Mayor Robert Maestri commented to Roosevelt “How you like dem erstas?”, as the national press transcribed Maestri’s Yat accent.

The dish was named Oysters Rockefeller after John D. Rockefeller, the richest American at the time, for the richness of the sauce. The original recipe is a secret, the sauce is known to be a puree of a number of green vegetables other than spinach. It consists of oysters on the half-shell topped with the sauce and bread crumbs and then baked.^{[citation needed]} Jules Alciatore developed Oysters Rockefeller in the face of a shortage of French snails, substituting the locally available oysters for snails. Antoine’s has been serving the original recipe dish since 1899. It is estimated that Antoine’s has served over three million, five hundred thousand orders

See Recipe

*Read more at Wikepedia



How to Shuck an Oyster

Watch a First Time Raw Oyster Eater

Mediterranean Fish Recipe

Mediterranean Medley Cooking with Michelle Karam

*Recipe by Michelle Karam

Ingredients

• 1-2 Lbs of Fish (Chilean Sea Bass, Branzino) Any flaky white fish will
• 1 Red Bell Pepper Sliced A Handful of Small Cherry Tomatoes Halved
•  1 Leek Quartered and Sliced
• 2 Tbs. Capers
• (Optionsl) Juice from 1 Lemon
•  ¼ Cup Dry White Wine
• 1 ½ Tsp of Old Bay Seasoning A Sprinkle of Fresh Herbs Can Use Either Fresh Dill, Cilantro, Basil

 COOKING DIRECTIONS:

SPRAY THE BOTTOM OF YOUR PYREX DISH WITH PAM OR SOME SORT OF COOKING SPRAY- PLACE FISH IN THE PYREX- PUT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS ON TOP OF THE FISH- SEASONINGS, VEGETABLES, HERBS, WINE, LEMON JUICE, CAPERS, ETC…. COVER WITH ALUMINUM FOIL AND COOK IN THE OVEN ON 400 FOR 18 TO 30 MIN- DEPENDING ON HOW THICK YOUR PIECE OF FISH IS- THERE SHOULD BE A LOT OF JUICES ON THE BOTTOM- THEN PUT THE OVEN ON BROIL- REMOVE THE FOIL AND PLACE THE FISH UNDER THE BROILER FOR 5 MINUTES- UNTIL THE FISH GETS A LITTLE GOLDEN BROWN ON TOP- SERVE WITH RICE OR MASHED POTATOES.

See Video of Michelle preparing hummus: http://multiculturalcookingnetwork.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/mediterranean-medley-how-to-make-hummus/

Sylvia of Harlem’s Sassy Catfish- Low fat Cooking

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 10 min.

Cooking time: 12 min.

Ingredients:

•  ½ cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, granular
• 1 cup tomato puree
•  1 cup Sylvia’s Hot Sauce*
• ½ cup water
• 2 stalks celery, cut julienne style
•  ½ cup diced onion
•  ½ cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 lemons sliced
• 4 (4-oz.) catfish fillets
•  ½ teaspoon salt
•  ½ teaspoon pepper
•  ½ teaspoon Sylvia’s Secret Seasoning*
•  2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

Combine Splenda granular, tomato puree, Sylvia’s Hot Sauce, water, celery, onion, green bell pepper and lemons in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer five to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle fillets evenly with salt, pepper and Sylvia’s Secret Seasoning. Saute fillets in hot olive oil, in a large skillet, over medium heat for two minutes on each side. Pour sauce over fish; simmer two additional minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Serve immediately. *Hot sauce or salt-free herb seasoning may be substituted for Sylvia’s Hot Sauce and Sylvia’s Secret Seasoning. For that special flavor, look for Sylvia’s Hot Sauce and Sylvia’s Secret Seasoning at your local market or order online.

Sylvia's Sassy Catfish

Nutrition information per serving:  Serving Size: 1/4 recipe Calories 300 Calories from Fat 140 Total Fat 16g Saturated Fat 3g Cholesterol 55mg Sodium 900mg Total Carbohydrate 20g Dietary Fiber 2g Sugars 8g Protein 19g Dietary exchanges: 1 Starch, 2 Med fat meat, I reg, 1 fat This recipe, when compared to a traditional recipe, has a 22 percent reduction in calories, a 53 percent reduction in carbohydrates and a 76 percent reduction in sugars.

Sylvia Woods is a compensated spokeswoman for Splenda Corp

The Seafood of Norway

The one traditional Norwegian dish with a claim to international popularity is the smoked salmon. It is now a major export, and could be considered the most important Norwegian contribution to modern international cuisine. Smoked salmon exists traditionally in many varieties, and is often served with scrambled eggs, dill, sandwiches or mustard sauce. Close to smoked salmon is gravlaks, (literally “dug salmon”), which is salt-and-sugar-cured salmon seasoned with dill and (optionally) other herbs and spices. Gravlaks is often sold under more sales-friendly names internationally. A more peculiar Norwegian fish dish is Rakfisk, which consists of fermented trout, a culinary relation of Swedish surströmming.

Until the 20th century, shellfish was not eaten to any extent. This partly due to the abundance of fish and the relative high cost of time to catch shellfish over nutritional value, and that such food spoils rather quickly, even in a northern climate. However, prawns, crabs and mussels have become quite popular, especially during summer. Lobster is of course popular, but restrictions on the catch (size and season) limits the consumption, and in addition lobster has become rather rare, and indeed expensive.

People will gather for “krabbelag” (“crab party”) feasts, either eating ready cooked crabs from a fishmonger, or cooking live crabs in a large pan. This is typically done outdoors, the style being rather rustic with only bread, mayonnaise and wedges of lemon to go with the crab. Crabs are caught in pots by both professionals and amateurs, prawns are caught by small trawlers and sold ready cooked at the quays. It is popular to buy half a kilo of prawns and eat it at the quays, feeding the waste to seagulls. Beer or white wine is the normal accompaniment.-(Wikepedia)

Classic Baltimore Dining: Mt. Washington Tavern

 Fine Foods, Beverages & Conviviality……..

 

 It was quite a few years ago now that a likeable and somewhat courageous group of people set out to create the best original restaurant they knew how.  The Mt. Washington Tavern quickly became a comfortable neighborhood eatery; a common for debate and chatter at day’s end, and the proper environment for those special lunches, dinners and late night suppings.

Now in our 30th year, there is great pride in our growing reputation for great homemade food, inventive chefs, heavy handed bartenders, and an atmosphere that makes you happy to be in Baltimore.

Our interior decor and multiple motifs reflect the pride that we have in our city and the escapist destination dining that you seek in a night on the town.  The prints, paintings, and engravings on the walls were all carefully selected to create a Baltimore ambiance.  Painted by Carol Offutt, the mural on the West wall depicts the old club house that stood at Pimlico Race Course, which, before it was destroyed by fire in 1966, was one of the most cherished landmarks in all of American racing.  The chandeliers that hang over the bar date from 1889 and originally hung in the lobby of the old Gayiety Theatre on East Baltimore St.  Even our antique wooden telephone booth is a relic from a famous downtown drugstore.  The etched windows between the Front and Raw Bars feature scenes particularly relevant to Baltimore and its heritage. 

*The Building has been declared a historic landmark.

*Food Note-It’s Baltimore, Crabcakes are on the menu.

Tofu Steak and Shitake Sauce

Japanese dish that's great for vegans!

Ingredients

2/3cupSliced Shiitake Mushrooms, by Dynasty

1pkgFirm Tofu, by Silken

2tbspPotato Starch, by Hinokuni

3tbspSoy Sauce – all purpose, by Marukin

1tbspManjo Aji Mirin, by Kikkoman

1/8tspWhite Pepper Powder

4tspVegetable Oil – divided

2cupsRice, by Calrose

2 Carrots – julienne cut

1 Yellow Onion – cut into thin wedges

Directions

1. Soak shiitake in 2 cups hot water, 25 minutes.
2. Drain tofu. Halve tofu horizontally and vertically to get 4 equal size “steaks.” Place tofu on paper towels, in single layer. Let drain 30 minutes, changing towels when wet.
3. Drain shiitake, reserving liquid.
4. Combine shiitake liquid, potato starch, soy sauce, mirin and pepper; stir until potato starch dissolves. Heat large frying pan, preferably nonstick, over high heat.
5. Add 2 teaspoons oil; coat inside bottom of pan. Add tofu steaks, in single layer. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.
6. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the same pan. Add carrots and onion; sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender crisp.
7. Mix in shiitake, shiitake-cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes, or until mixture boils and thickens. For each serving, place a tofu steak on serving plate. Spoon 3/4 cup shiitake sauce over tofu. Serve immediately with rice.

Recipe and Image from Asian Food Grocer

What’s cookin’ in Alaska? (by Monica Johnson)

Image from Caribou Crossings Cabins and Adventures

Go ahead and admit it! When you were younger you thought Alaska was one big sheet of ice with nothing but igloos and Eskimos. Well with time, a few episodes of Northern Exposure, and the help of the cruise industries; Alaska is not as much of an enigma as it once was. However, you still might not know what’s cookin’ in the land of the white nights.

Believe it or not Alaska has a huge selection of wild berries from the wilderness regions of the state. They are in limited supply and are a very important part of the brown and black bear’s summer diet. Locations like: Anchorage, Kodiak Island, Juneau, Fairbanks, and the Kenai Peninsula contain these berries (commonly used for jams and jellies). Berries include:

• wild blueberries                        wild blackberries

• wild salmonberries                   rhubarb

• wild ligonberries                       wild black and red currants

• wild rosehips                              wild high bush cranberries

• wild mossberries                        wild fireweeds

But it’s not all about the berries, although they are berry, berry delicious (Just a little berry humor…berry little!). Alaska is known for its cold water seafood. What don’t they have is the question? There’s halibut and trout, but Alaskan Salmon rules, and it is often served as smoked salmon, cured salmon, salmon jerky and indian salmon candy. In other words, salmon is king, but the throne is usually presumed to belong to Alaskan King Crab. Alaskan King Crab differs from dungeness crabs, or the blue crabs found in the other states because of the sheer mass of this crustacean. Alaskan King Crab can easily feed a whole family. Now that’s a meal fit for royalty!

Here’s where it gets interesting! So let the game begin, and the hunters in Alaska enjoy game like: moose, caribou, elk, and bear. It’s not just a delicacy; it’s a major part of many Alaskan’s daily protein, especially those who live outside of the main cities. There are not a lot of fresh, fruit and vegetables available in the winter.

Reindeer, although not native to Alaska, is also enjoyed in the form of commercially available sausage. It was brought to Alaska from Siberia in 1892 because the whale’s, which were a major part of native Alaskans diets, were becoming less and less available.

Now if you happen to go to Alaska and you happen to hear somebody call someone “sourdough” –  don’t incite a riot. They are simply using slang for a person who lives in Alaska! The explanation comes from the Klondike Gold Rush. At that time, everyone kept a pot of sourdough starter in their kitchens. By feeding the starter with a little new flour every few days, the wild yeast was kept alive and they could bake bread at any time. That bread is called sourdough bread.

So, now that you know what’s cooking in Alaska, click here for an authentic Alaskan recipe called Bouillabaisse-Alaska. Try this recipe at home!

Information about Alaskan food was taken from the Alaska Wild Berry Products website: Click here to visit their site!”

Other sites: Caribou Crossing Cabins and Adventures