I've always been thankful that I'm not allergic to anything. I breathe a sigh of relief every time I get to say "not that I know of" when the doctor asks if I'm allergic to anything. At the same time, I've always felt really bad for people who do suffer from food allergies. Lactose intolerance? You poor thing! What? You can't eat wheat/bread? I just don't think I could make it.
I realize that if you are one of the people who...
After disliking scallops through most of my childhood, I found them on my birthday dinner plate a few years ago. My friend had whipped up a warm scallop salad for my big day, and it was insanely delicious. Now, of course, I love the things. They're very tasty, pretty versatile, and are ridiculously simple to prepare.
Over the last few weeks, I wanted to use up the last of the big scallops hanging out in my freezer. First, I made the above -- a warm salad to get back to the roots of my scallop love. The key is to have a creamy sauce/dressing,...
Foodie Flicks: Halibut & Clams with Chorizo and Black Bean Sauce
There is a whole slew of cooking shows on the web that showcase newbie cooks that can show off a good meal, but can't necessarily give you some great background information that a chef can. Above you can watch Dallas' Master Chef David McMillan prepare halibut and clams with chorizo and black bean sauce -- and he not only discusses the dish, but the particulars of what is going into the meal. For example, he explains the different flavors that can be coaxed out of garlic, and the differences between curly and flat-leaf parsley.
The other day, I was itching for a great meal -- as gourmet as possible without breaking the bank. So my friend and I walked around the corner to this small fusion bistro, and while the over-done steak left something to be desired, I almost melted over the seafood chowder. There's nothing quite like the texture of seafood so soft that it melts in your mouth, exploding with flavor. Still dreaming about that great bowl of sea goodness, I have to share a similarly awesome-looking recipe from Leite's Culinaria -- Rhode Island Clear-Broth Quahog Chowder.
Doesn't the above look absolutely amazing? It's also accompanied by...
I never thought anything could beat the combination of garlic, butter, and shrimp in scampi. But really, that's more because garlic and butter make most things taste great, rather than the trio being the perfect flavor combination. When my tongue got a taste of ginger shrimp, however, I discovered a true pairing. The crisp, spicy-yet-light ginger flavor is just meant to go with shrimp, and together, they're unstoppable. Put it in a stir-fry, pasta, pizza, or a wrap like above.
Seeing that I still have some homemade mayonnaise, I decided to whip together a quick shrimp salad. Some frozen shrimp was quickly sauteed with ginger,...
After many years abiding to the rule that I would never eat what I couldn't look at in its real form, I succumbed to temptation and had a delicious bowl of Conch Chowder at the Nicola Seafood Restaurant at the Hyatt in Key West (a dish that is, sadly, no longer on the menu). While the conch might look all gooey out of the shell, it's ridiculously delicious and a must-eat when heading south.
And if you're lucky enough to live down south, or find yourself in a kitchen somewhere that conch is available, you've got to check out the quick video above. Bahama Breeze...
I always thought that a muscle car was a hot rod from the late 60's- early 70's until I was driving around my old haunts of Rockland, Maine yesterday researching and shooting an article and saw this impressive Mussel Car.
That looks like it was the remains of a tasty lobster, clam, and mussel bake. Or maybe it washed up on the beach after a Nor'easter. Either way that's one heck of a vehicle. I wonder how many shellfish power it is? Does it get dive bombed...
It's easy to pull out a few crackers, chips, or veggies to munch on, but I'm a big fan of fancy no-muss, no-mess snacks that are even tastier. One of my favorite quickies is shrimp cocktail, like the one above.
I keep a bag of cooked shrimp in the freezer, and when I'm feeling peckish, I pull out a handful, and then quickly thaw them in warm water* in a measuring cup. Pull out the shrimp, quickly rinse the cup, pour in a little cocktail sauce, and viola! It's shrimp cocktail with only one thing dirtied in the process, maybe two if you need to...
The old story was that expectant mothers should eat fish to help their growing babies' brains. Then we heard that eating fish was dangerous to the health of the baby. If you're pregnant, no fish!
Obviously, fish was never really bad for expectant mothers; it was simply that some certain types of fish that had high levels of mercury. All the news about "fish," "mercury," and "pregnancy" must have been confusing. The most recent research doesn't seem to...
Photos from the 2008 Boston International Seafood Show
A few days ago I told you about the 2008 Boston International Seafood Show that is going on from 2/24-26, 2008. I went down to the show yesterday and spent six hours tasting my way around the exhibits. I don't think I have ever eaten so much raw fish before in one day, no make that one month, as I did yesterday. If I don't see fish again for awhile it will suit me just fine, although I always have a hankering for shrimp, lobster, scallops, and clams.
Here's just a quick glimpse of the 2008 Boston International Seafood...
