In my effort to bring you the most up-to-date-seafood-info-ever, I developed a new blog series, Monthly Recap. The format is easy to follow and easy to read. In fact I’ve found that developing the Monthly Recap’s format is a lot like buying a new pair of shoes.
For instance, when I buy a new pair of shoes, I try them on, walk around in the store for a few minutes, maybe even buy them. And if I do buy them, then I wear them in my home a few times to break them in. Then I find the perfect item of clothing to match my new shoes, and I wear them outside. Sometimes, new shoes hurt my feet and I return them. Other times, I shelf them and wait until it is the right season to wear them. Once in a while, new shoes go back into the box and I never take them out again. Yes, this last sentence is a true statement. Shameful, I know.
This series, Monthly Recap, is like buying a new pair of shoes. I’m going to try it for a few months and see if I like the ways it feels. If not, then like those orange and white sandals in my closet, Monthly Recap be archived and I’ll try something else.
Are you hooked? If so, here’s what you can expect to find in Monthly Recap.
I’m going to mention a few of my favorite seasonal seafood(s) of each month, then I’ll dish what’s trending in the seafood world. I’ll take you on my seafood road-trips (which is nowhere near a large body of water), and then I’ll tackle kitchen tools and offer tips, and lastly, I’ll share a seafood recipe, review a seafood cookbook or offer a sustainable seafood thought, you know, something to chew on and digest for the future.
Ready, Set. Read.
Monthly Recap: December
East Coast Oysters and PEI Mussels
December is an excellent month for buying and eating fresh, seasonal seafood. Here’s a short list: mahi-mahi, cod, haddock, mussels and scallops. If there is something on this list you don’t like, then here’s a seafood calendar that will give you additional options.
American’s are buying more live seafood than ever according to SeafoodSource.com. Well, who would’ve thought? You might even be asking yourself, OK, great, but where can I buy live seafood, SeafoodLady? The majority of live seafood can be found in Asian markets. So the next time you pass one of those foreign-looking grocery stores, go ahead, get out of the shallow end and wander into the deep end. You’ll find live bass, Dungeness crab, shrimp, eel, tilapia and lobster swimming in large tanks. Don’t forget to ask them to clean your fish, unless you’re really handy with a knife (more about that later).
I’m having seafood withdrawal since I moved to the middle of the country. It has been three months since I’ve seen the ocean or smelled the salty, briny air of the East Coast. So when I went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill over the weekend, I went overboard, (sorry, I had to say it.) We ate as if it was our last meal. We shared spicy sashimi tuna and bang-bang shrimp as an appetizer, I ordered wolf fish with crabmeat and Elvis ordered mahi-mahi with lobster and rock shrimp. We felt like sleeping afterwards, but instead we wandered around The Fresh Market for a few luxurious goodies before we drove the hour-long trip home. And I might mention that the best time to shop in an overpriced grocery store is when you’re so bloated you feel like you could volunteer to put on the Santa costume and ring the bell for donations at the Salvation Army.
Ask any chef what their favorite kitchen tool is and 99.9% of the time, the answer will be, “my knife,” according to my series, “Who’s In The Kitchen?” Most chefs and home cooks have a favorite knife. Whatever works for you is what’s right. Me? I have a seven-inch fillet knife. I’m not going to tell you that I butcher whole fish, because I don’t. The people at the fish market are the ones that do it the best, so I let them. If your fish person is butchering your fish and it looks like a train wreck, then find somewhere else to shop. Meanwhile, let them do it. But I digress. You’ll eventually need a sharp, flexible knife (which is like the one I use) to trim fish and portion it. So go ahead, splurge on a few quality kitchen tools, like a good knife, and learn how to keep it sharp.
And I leave you with two easy-to-prepare seafood recipes. This month, edible Orlando was gracious enough to ask me for two seafood recipes for their holiday issue. I developed a Lobster Tail Pastry with a White Hot Dipping Sauce and a Spicy Shrimp Chowder. So head over to the Edible Orlando digital magazine to find my recipes and more.
What seafood topics would you like to know more about? Drop me a line or send me a tweet.
Have a great Monday! And thanks for sticking around.
