A tip from Paul Duncan, executive chef at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle:

When preparing salmon and other fish, keep it simple to let the great flavor of fresh fish shine.

He, of course, uses fresh, local Copper River sockeye salmon (photo #2). But even if you buy yours at the supermarket, you can use the same technique.

Chef Duncan prepares fish like salmon skin-on, which makes for crispy skin, adding a crunchy texture atop the supple flesh.

It adds plenty of omega 3-6-9 essential fatty acids, too.

Salmon has the best skin to sear to a nice crisp. Never thought of eating fish skin before? Head to the nearest sushi bar for a salmon skin roll. It’s a delight.

Good fish to sear skin-on: branzino, flounder, mackerel, sea bass and snapper in addition to salmon.

Fish skin to avoid: monkfish, skate, swordfish and tuna skin are too tough or otherwise inappropriate to be grilled skin-on.
 
 
TO CREATE THE FISH IN THE PHOTO

“The only preparation required before grilling the salmon is to rub it with olive oil and season with kosher salt,” says Chef Duncan.

He finishes the fish with freshly ground pink and black pepper. “It’s all you need to make this fish into an incredible meal,” he states.

Duncan serves the fish with a seasonal salad of asparagus, green peas, radishes for bite and color, and herbs like dill and chive (photo #1).

You can garnish the plate with dots, swirls or swaths of your favorite sauce (here, aïoli [a.k.a. garlic mayonnaise—here’s the recipe]).
 
Ready To Cook?

[1] Skin-on Copper River salmon, alongside an asparagus, radish and pea salad, makes for a perfect summer menu item at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle.

[2] Raw Copper River salmon fillets (photo courtesy Copper River Salmon).

 
 
HERE ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SALMON

[1] Rustic Double Pumpkin Loaf is white whole wheat dough mixed with pumpkin purée and topped with pumpkin seeds.

[2] Ready for snacking and dessert: cocoa-flavored whole wheat dough with chocolate chunks and dried cherries (photos courtesy Chabaso Bakery).

Is Mom a bread lover? How about sending her some specialty artisan breads for Mother’s Day?

We are passionate about bread, so we couldn’t have been happier than to receive a gift from Chabaso, an artisan bread bakery in New Haven, Connecticut.

It began as Atticus Bookstore, and subsequently opened a café serving comfort foods and freshly-baked baguettes.

Founder Charles Negaro was influenced by the fine breads he came across in Europe: boules, ciabattas, rolls, sticks and other styles. The business evolved into Chabaso Bakery.

In addition to the classics, the bakery has created some wonderfully creative (and irresistible!) loaves, including:

 
The breads are made with a long-fermentation, high-hydration, technique: no shortcuts.

We’ve enjoyed them toasted, as snacks, even as desserts.

Make a sandwich with one of the slightly sweet loaves, with mascarpone for dessert, or with goat cheese or cream cheese for lunch. Heavenly!

The breads are sold at retail throughout the East and fine markets nationwide, as far as the Rocky Mountains.

You can buy them online at Chabaso.com. Each loaf arrives wrapped with a ribbon in a large box.

There are several gift box assortments. The Mother’s Day box includes Candied Orange Loaf, Chocolate Cherry Boule, Powerberry Loaf and Turmeric Sunflower Loaf.

For each Mother’s Day bundle purchased before 5/17/19, Chabaso will donate one bread bundle to a women-and-families shelter in Connecticut.

*We liked every bread, but Candied Orange Loaf was our favorite: a revelation. Runner-up: Chocolate Cherry Boule. Both are part of the Mother’s Day gift box.

Think pink for Mother’s Day, with this pink Margarita from Ocean Spray (photo #1).

Technically, it’s a Margarita-Cosmopolitan fusion: It combines the tequila, triple sec, lime juice and salt rim of a Margarita with the cranberry juice of a Cosmo.

The drink is pink because it uses Ocean Spray’s pink cranberry juice (photo #2). Here’s the recipe:
 
 
RECIPE: PINK MARGARITA

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. RIM a rocks glass with salt and fill with ice.

2. ADD all liquid ingredients to a shaker, shake hard and strain into rocks glass. Garnish with three fresh or frozen cranberries.

NOTE: Raw cranberries are inedibly sour. We suggest using raspberries instead, and sparing people the possible experience of biting into a cranberry. Pomegranate arils are another option, but they don’t float.
 
 
HOW TO PREPARE A SALT RIM

1. ADD some water to a saucer. In another saucer, add some salt.

2. DIP the rim of the glass in the water to coat, then twist in the salt dish to create the rim.

[1] A pink Margarita adds pink cranberry juice.

[2] Ocean Spray’s Pink Cranberry Juice Cocktail (both photos courtesy Ocean Spray).

[1] Baked vegetable omelet. Here’s the recipe from Pampered Chef.

[2] Eggs Benedict, popular for festive occasions (photo courtesy American Egg Board).

[3] Caprese frittata, with mozzarella, basil and tomato (photo courtesy eMeals).

[4] Shakshouka, eggs poached in a spicy sauce (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

[5] Toad In A Hole, at Sugar Cane | Miami.

Our omelet-folding technique is not great. That’s why we always order an omelet at restaurants, to observe perfection in flipping and folding.

Thanks to Pampered Chef, we have a new technique: a baked omelet, no folding required.

It’s more of a frittata, but here’s the yummy recipe.

Next up: a whole menu of eggs for breakfast. Food fun: Go through them, in alphabetical order, for the next 21 Sundays.
 
 
TYPES EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

Here are the best-known and less-than-well-known breakfast egg dishes in Western cooking. Perhaps you’ll find something new to try.

Baked Eggs: Also known as shirred eggs, the eggs are beaten, as with scrambled eggs, but then baked in a flat-bottomed dish. Other ingredients—herbs, meats, vegetables—can be added.

Basted Eggs: Sunny-side-up eggs that are slightly cooked on the top. This is accomplished by spooning fat from the pan onto the eggs. Some cooks turn them yolk side down for a few seconds.

Boiled Eggs: The eggs are cooked whole in their shell. Soft-boiled eggs are cooked just long enough for the egg white to solidify while the yolk remains soft. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked longer, until the yolk is solid.

Coddled Eggs or Eggs In A Nest: The eggs are gently cooked in a ramekin or other small dish, which is placed a hot water bath. The difference between a coddled egg and a poached egg is that a poached egg is made by cooking the egg directly in the cooking liquid, whereas a coddled egg is cooked in a small dish (usually a small ramekin) instead.

Creamed Eggs On Toast: A breakfast dish consisting of toast or biscuits covered in a gravy made from bechamel sauce and chopped hard-boiled eggs.

Egg in a Basket/Toad In A Hole: An egg fried within a hole in a slice of bread (photo #5).

Egg Sandwich: A sandwich with some kind of egg filling. Sliced hard boiled eggs, egg salad and scrambled eggs are popular options. Additional fillings such as various meats and cheeses abound. A common version is the fried egg sandwich. Also see Flat Egg.

Eggs Benedict: Poached eggs on Canadian bacon on top of toasted English muffin halves covered with hollandaise sauce (photo #2).

Eggs Neptune: A variation of Eggs Benedict with crab meat replacing Canadian bacon.

Eggs Royale: A variation on Eggs Benedict replacing the ham with smoked salmon.

Flat Egg: A single beaten egg with salt and pepper added prior to cooking (but no other ingredients). It is cooked in a dry pan, or with minimal fat. The egg is cooked until brown on both sides, then served on bread, sandwich style.

Fried Eggs: Eggs that are removed from the shell without breaking the yolk, placed in a pan, and fried in fat. It can be served “sunnyside up,” or flipped in the pan and cooked to different stages of firmness: over easy, medium or hard.

Frittata: An Italian egg-based dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta (photo #3).

Hangtown Fry: A type of omelette made famous during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s. The most common version includes bacon and oysters combined with eggs and fried together.

Huevos Divorciados: A Mexican dish of two fried eggs separated by a column of chilaquiles,. Each egg is covered by a different salsa.

Huevos Rancheros: Eggs either poached in salsa or fried, served on top of corn tortillas and frijoles. Toppings may include avocado slices, melted cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Omelet: Beaten eggs are fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. Often, the omelet is folded around cheese, chives, mushrooms or other vegetables, meat or fish (e.g. smoked salmon). A combination of ingredients can be used.

Poached Eggs: The eggs are cracked into a bowl and then slid into a pan of simmering water. The result is a delicate texture delicately cooked eggs than cooking at higher temperatures such as with boiling water.

Scrambled Eggs: Eggs are cracked into a dish and beaten, often with milk or cream. In the heated pan, they are stirred until plump “curds” of eggs form. They can be scrambled “soft”—looser, or “hard.”

Shakshouka or Shakshuka: A Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chiles and garlic, commonly spiced with cayenne, cumin, nutmeg and/or paprika (photo #4).

Shirred Eggs: See Baked Eggs, above.

Steamed Eggs: These are made in an cup egg steamer, and often called poached, but this is not accurate. To be poached, the egg is cooked directly in the water. When steamed, the eggs are placed in a cup or a special steaming device and suspended in or over simmering water. Often, an outer lid holds in the steam, so the heat surrounds the eggs completely.
 
 
BEYOND HEN’S EGGS & QUAIL EGGS:
CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS IN OUR EGG GLOSSARY

How much to spend on Mother’s Day champagne?

Truth to tell, unless your group consists of

That being said, the biggest value in champagne in the U.S. is likely the Kirkland brand from Costco.

Made for Costco in France’s Champagne region, it costs just $20—half the price of other real champagnes.

Kirkland Champagne lacks the toasty complexity of a big-name Champagne, but unless the’re big-time champagne drinkers, guests won’t notice the difference.

While champagne is the sparkling wine made in Champagne, there are other more affordable sparklers that deserve attention—and are even more reasonably priced. Head to your wine store and check out the options in:

 
In fact, our year-round go-to is Yellow Tail rosé sparkling wine, from Australia, for $10.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE BUBBLY EVEN MORE FESTIVE

Our two favorite techniques, which we first employed when we opened bottles that were too dry, or otherwise a bit unappealing to our palate:

[1] The best bargain in champagne is at Costco (photo courtesy Costco Wine Blog).

[2] Make bubbly more festive with raspberries (photo courtesy Tender NYC).