Ceviche: tasty seafood without cooking Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Friday, 25 July 2008 Peruvian ceviche / Don Lucho image Hot food loses its appeal when the thermometer pushes past 80F and humidity is high. Cool foods are the thing. At the end of a hot summer beach day, when my body is sticky with sunscreen, sweat and sand and my mouth is parched and dry, give me a cool cerveza and a bowl of ceviche.  According to Damian Barr, ceviche (pronounced say-veech-eh) is the new sushi... or sashimi as the case may be. It's a Latin American mixture of raw seafood that's been marinated in lime juice and perked up further with chilis. The seafood in ceviche isn't technically raw, it's cured by the lime (sometimes lemon) juice. There is no actual cooking thus there's no hot stove - a big plus in a summer house without central ac.  The main flavors in ceviche are salt, lime and chili.  It's served cold, usually with something crunchy such as lettuce or daikon.  Firm fish works best and the fish must be absolutely fresh, never previously frozen, otherwise the citrus juice isn't absorbed. Shrimp, squid, octopus, scallops and lobster are all taste great ceviche style.  Here are some links to recipes: Chez Wong's ceviche (easy) Emeril's ceviche  intermediate) Grilled Mahi Mahi ceviche style by Alton Brown (easy) More about ceviche in Wikipedia Add Comment (0) Hits: 100 Last Updated ( Friday, 25 July 2008 )   Lobster and history lost in Boston fire Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Saturday, 31 May 2008 James Hook & Company, a landmark on Boston's waterfront since 1925 was destoyed in a fire on Friday. 60,000 lbs of lobster and a part of waterfront history were destoyed totally with damage estimated at $5,000,000. No people were hurt. The Hook family has resisted many offers to sell its valuable financial district real estate in the past and is planning to rebuild at the same location. Let's hope they do and rebuild it with the same crusty vibe. "We will set up a trailer, we will set up a tent. I don't know what we are going to do, but we will find a way," said Edward Hook II. "Once this mess is cleaned up, we will find a way."  Here are some links to the story: Boston Globe Associated Press James Hook & Company website Add Comment (0) Hits: 175 Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 May 2008 )   Is it a wild sea bass? Look at the otolith. Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Friday, 25 April 2008 Wikimedia image / Georges Jansoone Europeans and Americans have both faced declining populations of wild sea bass. Americans responded with catch limits and other steps to successfully rebuild the wild population. Europeans responded with fish farms. Paul Greenburg tells the story in the NY Times Magazine: "'Socrates,' I asked, 'how do you tell a wild sea bass from a farmed sea bass?' We were at a restaurant northeast of Athens a few months ago. A grilled, whole European sea bass (a k a branzino) lay on a plate before us. Socrates Panopoulos, a hatchery manager of the Greek-owned Selonda company, let his junior scientists answer first...." more Add Comment (0) Hits: 228 Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 )   World's Largest Crab Cake Certified by Guiness Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Saturday, 15 March 2008 Baltimore Sun, March 11 - "After more than a year of waiting, Handy International, the Crisfield seafood-processing company, is the proud co-owner of a Guinness World Records' certificate that finally designates a Maryland- Delaware culinary creation to be the largest crab - eh, fish - cake in the history of such endeavors." Full story Add Comment (0) Hits: 409 Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 March 2008 )   Resolved: honest chowder for the New Year. Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Saturday, 29 December 2007  It's time to start planning for New Year's Eve.  Odds are good you'll be drinking something bubbly, be it champagne or beer or plain old seltzer. You'll need something to go with the drink and there's nothing more appropriate for a start to the New Year than a good old  New England Clam Chowder. Emeril's chowder recipe is great. It calls for  fresh clams, cream and bacon. But it's a lot of work. The Cliff House in Oqunquit Maine makes a chowder that uses canned clams and clam juice. That's an easier solution so I offer it here. But is it honest?  Canned clams? Is that really the right way to start a New Year?  Dennis Robinson certainly wouldn't think so.  He has one strong belief and that's that his Grampa's simple chowder is the best in the world.  For something a little different maybe try Lobster Mac and Cheese.  Easy and delicious.  Or maybe Seafood Pan Roast. Whatever you eat and drink, enjoy yourself, be moderate if you're driving and have a great New Year! Emeril's clam chowder using real clams, cream and bacon  Emeril.com Recipe for Lobster Mac and Cheese  Daily Herald Dennis Robinson claims his Grampa Scott made "Best Clam Chowder in the World" Clam chowder using canned clams and juice Cliff House Seafood pan roast for New Year's Eve.  LA Times Add Comment (0) Hits: 489 Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 )   400 year old clam could have been in Pilgrim's chowder Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Tuesday, 20 November 2007 New Englanders KNOW that clam chowder is white.  The red stuff is for Yankees fans. Last year Land Ho in Orleans served the red stuff for a day or two. I expected to see pitchforks and torches in the parking lot. Inside there were people actually eating and enjoying the mess. Tomatoes and clams? Sounds like booyawhatever.  Thoughts of clams come to mind because of a story I found this morning. Scientists have discovered a 400 year old quahog clam. The variety, Arctica islandia, lives in the waters off Iceland. If the clam had looked up when it was a kid it could have seen the Mayflower sailing by. That's something to think about the next time you eat clam chowder. Give a little latitude and longitude here. You could be eating brothers and sisters of clams Myles Standish ate in 1620. Here's the story by Brandon Keim in Wired.   Add Comment (0) Hits: 415 Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 )   Booya for Bouillabaisse Seafood Written by Mike Marks    Tuesday, 06 November 2007 It's rainy and windy. Going out on or into the water these days puts a chill in the bones. Stew, hot stew is the thing. Some may wax poetic about beef stew, lamb stew or curries. For seafood lovers there's only one kind of stew and that's bouillabaise (pronounced "buoy-ya-bess" or "...bays") It's one pot cooking... and easy... if you ignore the massive prep work. Classic recipes call for seven types of absolutely fresh fish plus shellfish. Whether or not you call the creation "bouillabaisse" or simply fish stew is a matter of personal style. Uber-foodies insist that the only fish stews with a right to the title "bouillabaisse" are made and eaten in Marseilles with fish caught in the waters nearby and rowed ashore in a wooden dory by a guy named Jaques who's smoking Gitanes and wearing a beret. More casual folks, count me as one, think any fish stew with a three or more types of fish and a smattering of mussels ought to qualify. The mussels are the thing. Black shells floating in a soupy broth make the dish look like something from France and give it a right to a name I cannot possibly spell without assistance. Here are some links for recipes and more: Wikipedia Bouillabaisse with grouper TampaBay.com Recipe from blogger Elise Bauer Bouillabaisse 101 Minneapolis Star-Tribune story and recipe From Israel another take on fish stew: Haaretz Add Comment (0) Hits: 624 Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 )