Fish and rhubarb? Absolutely! Photo
courtesy McCormick.

The eighth of McCormick’s 2010 flavor trends is a pairing of roasted ginger & rhubarb

Creole mustard and shellfish are the fifth of the pairings in McCormick’s 2010 flavor trends.

Fried green tomatoes topped with jumbo
lump crab are an elegant first course. Photo courtesy McCormick.

Recipe: This classic southern favorite is presented with flair in this recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab & Creole Mustard.

And whip up a Creole mustard dip in addition to/instead of a tomato-based cocktail sauce for your next shrimp cocktail or raw bar. Use your favorite dip base—fat free yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, etc., or a combination. Add mustard to taste along with a complementary fresh herb—chives, thyme, etc.

How could it be that we have lived this many decades without the joys of smoked shrimp and scallops?

Smoked fish we’ve had aplenty: black cod (sablefish), chub (carp), salmon, sturgeon, trout, whitefish. But our smoked shellfish experience has been limited to imported cans of smoked mussels and clams. We employed them in various hors d’oeuvres, dips and dishes and concluded that what we’d bought was the smoked shellfish equivalent of supermarket canned tuna.

Sullivan Harbor Farm does away with those memories, bringing an “I must have more!” allure to smoked shrimp and scallops (and also to smoked salmon). The smoked shrimp and smoked scallops add big personality to recipes, not to mention wowing the cocktail crowd as nibbles in various forms (dips, hors d’oeuvres, canapés or straight from the toothpick). If you love shrimp, scallops and smoked foods, you’ve got to try them!

The products are all natural: no preservatives, chemicals or colorings are used. Made in small batches using old world techniques—including outdoor smokers.

You’ll enjoy all the different ways you can use these smoked tidbits. For lunch we enjoyed them atop Al Dente Pasta’s garlic parsley fettuccine, tossed with some rosemary basil olive oil from Sonoma Farms and a bit of brown butter. Fresh parsley was a light offset to the smoky seafood. A gourmet feast in minutes!

Smoked shrimp and scallops combine into
easy, delicious recipes. Photo by Jerry Deutsch | THE NIBBLE.

Read the full review to see how else we’ve used these smoky protein treats.

Salmon caviar is an affordable treat for Valentine’s Day. You can use it in a variety of ways: in canapés, in pasta, in a baked potato, as garnish on grilled fish or in soup, and of course, with smoked salmon.

Don’t miss an opportunity to serve salmon caviar during your Valentine festivities. Take a look at our salmon caviar recipes, and pick one or more.

As hors d’oeuvres or on a dinner plate, red
jacket potatoes topped with red caviar are always a hit.

Celebrate the day by topping your bagel and
lox with scrambled eggs. Photo courtesy
American Egg Board.

February 9th is National Bagels and Lox Day.

“Lox” is an old generic term for smoked salmon that is fading away, replaced by much more complicated choices. So how does one decide among the Irish, Danish, Nova Scotia, Norwegian, Scottish and other smoked salmon contenders?

They differ in saltiness, smokiness and fishiness; the only way you’ll know is to taste.

If the fish is sliced-to-order, you can try a piece at the counter; but packaged salmon (which can be equally fine or better quality depending on the manufacturer) is often less expensive because factory slicing is cheaper than store labor).

Buy small amounts of different styles and compare. TIP: Once you decide what you like, write it down. The different styles of smoked salmon sound so similar, it’s easy to forget.

On the other days of the year, you don’t need bagels: Slices of smoked salmon with a sprinkling of dill and capers, a lemon wedge and an optional garnish of crème fraîche make a lovely first course for brunch, lunch or dinner.

A salmon farm. Photo courtesy Monterey
Aquarium.

Farmed fish is controversial for numerous reasons, but one is threatening the wild salmon population. There are concerns that in another generation, there may be no more wild salmon.

Millions of farmed salmon, raised in pens along coastlines, escape each year (due to equipment failure, extreme weather conditions and human error). In the northern Atlantic Ocean alone, an estimated two million farmed salmon escape annually.

These fugitives fish go on to harm the wild salmon population. Farmed salmon carry parasites that can attack the wild salmon population. Farmed salmon are larger and more aggressive than wild salmon; they compete with wild salmon for the food supply. And worse, they interbreed with the wild salmon population, creating hybrids. (Read more about farmed salmon issues.)

Top seafood chef Rick Moonen, a Las Vegas chef, restaurant owner and early champion for sustainable fishing practices, is now an exclusive supporter of wild salmon. Moonen had endorsed Norwegian farmed salmon years ago, but has since learned the harm caused by the open net technology used in Norway and other places. Even a major retail chain can make a commitment to healthier, more sustainable seafood: Target stores has announced that farmed salmon will be eliminated from their more than 1,700 stores. The company will sell only wild salmon.

Still, if you want to do the right thing, you can be misled by false advertising. According to Food & Water Watch, a non-profit organization that works with grassroots organizations around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future, the Norwegian Seafood Export Council (NSEC) is misleading U.S. consumers with the false impression that Norwegian salmon is wild, not farmed.

Browse through Food & Water Watch’s website for more information on this and other food issues. You’ll be surprised—and chagrined—at the number of issues facing our food supply.

A simple-to-make, impressive first course is a smoked salmon roll filled with salmon caviar and crème fraîche. Ask the counter person to slice the salmon in wide pieces instead of narrow strips—explain that you’re going to fill the slices and roll them up like a cigar.

1. Spread the inside of each slice with crème fraîche and a teaspoon of your favorite caviar or roe, but leave the last inch on each end clear of filling so it doesn’t spill out when you roll up. Then roll!
2. Put a few beads of caviar on top of the “cigar” for decor (consider some contrasting caviar, e.g. flavored whitefish roe or tobiko).
3. Garnish the plate with a sprinkle of snipped chives and dill and some finely diced red onion. This cigar is smokin’!

Can’t afford sturgeon caviar in a recession
(or any time)? Affordable salmon caviar is
delicious in this recipe. Photo courtesy of Red-Caviar.com, certified kosher.

Oysters on the half shell: so delicious,
so low-calorie. Photo courtesy of Carrie
Bailey-Morey.

Heavy cocktail sauces with horseradish are too much for oysters at their prime. We eat great oysters straight from the shell, without even a dab of citrus juice. But for those who like a bit of garnish, here’s a lovely recipe, courtesy of Charleston, South Carolina’s Charleston Grill and Carrie Bailey-Morey, co-owner of Callie’s Charleston Biscuits, who recently enjoyed them there.

Combine to taste:

Garnish plate with watercress and edible flowers.

Live in Houston? There’s a free tasting of Callie’s today and tomorrow at Rice Epicurean Markets: San Felipe and Post Oak store Wednesday, October 28th from 2:00-6:00pm and the Westheimer and Wesleyan store Thursday, October 29th from 10:00-3:00 pm. from 10:00-2:00pm.

Live in Chicago? The tastings are on November 5th and 6th at Fox & Obel (we love that store!).

For a quick and easy first course/appetizer, serve a trio of miniature blinis or toast points, each with a different color of caviar. Put a dab of crème fraîche on each toast and top with a different caviar. Depending on your budget, try salmon, golden whitefish and a flavored whitefish caviar; or treat your guests to American sturgeon. Without the sturgeon caviar, it’s a relatively inexpensive and high wow-factor dish. The caviar blinis or toast points also make exciting or hors d’oeuvres.

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