There are generally family traditions that we all do every year on certain holidays. Because so many people grill out on the 4th, they tend to gravitate towards hot dogs, hamburgers and brats - just throw 'em on the grill, and if they get over cooked, no one seems to notice.
Question: do you know what's in those hot dogs etc.? Read the ingredients on a hot dog package - you may want to sit down first.
I know we're in the fish business, so people expect us to serve fish for every holiday, but when we offer an alternative to the fish items, as we did for our daughter's wedding reception (a backyard barbecue - it's what she wanted, and it was great) - 75 people chose the seafood, one chose the chicken.
For barbecues, there are many options - kebabs are both protein and veggies on a stick, plus there are salmon burgers and crab cakes for serving on a bun, and many of the meatier fish, like tuna, halibut, salmon, ono, mahi mahi, Chili bass etc. can be served on a bun as well -- just have us (or your local fishmonger if you can't get to us) slice the fish a bit thinner for steaks and in portion size for fillets. Fish should not be just left on the grill unattended - it cooks very quickly, much faster than beef or chicken, and in the case of tuna, you just want to cook it about a minute per side if the steaks are cut thin.
Our stone ground mustard sauce is amazing with salmon burgers and crab cakes, and on all of the fish mentioned above. I also like to put some of our creamy coleslaw on the bun, yummy with all fish I can think of, or a slice of farmer's market tomato and some fresh greens.
Put everything out on the table and let people build their own sandwiches - healthy, delicious ones that won't clog their arteries. In our family, our kids always chose seafood; if you train them right, your kids will too.
So you can certainly stick with the buns, just make a better choice about what you put on it!
Friday, June 24, 2016
Friday, June 3, 2016
Doing something seafood-special for Dad on Father's Day
Our dads have been gone for many years, but I always think of the many Father's Days when Grandpa R (my dad) got his favorite dinner - grilled salmon. My dad was an avid fisherman, going up to the Minnesota/Michigan border every summer to brave the mosquitoes and eat fresh fish for lunch every day - shore lunch. That's where he was when he died - on his annual fishing trip. I'm guessing it was part of his plan to stay there forever. We brought his remains back, but his soul is paddling a canoe out on a lake in southern Canada.
We are always amazed by the number of men who shop with us, and many of them we've found are fishermen as well - they know what fresh fish looks and tastes like, so we're especially pleased to count them among our customers.
So what ideas do we have for the dads out there? Here are some things that the kids can help with that will please Pop no end:
Breakfast/Brunch:
Treat Dad to some of our crab cakes topped with a fried egg - or scramble some eggs and add some bits of hot or cold smoked salmon and some fresh chives. These are simple dishes that the kids can help with, whisking up the eggs, serving them to Dad.
Dinner:
Kebabs - all ready to cook, either on the grill or in the oven, just brush with oil and marinade. We always have salmon kebabs, and usually shrimp, but we can make almost any meaty fish into kebabs for you - tuna, mahi mahi, ono, swordfish, halibut - then serve with one of our cous cous or rice dishes on the side.
Grilled Fish: Our recommended fish for the grill include salmon (wild salmon is in and it's beautiful - both king and Copper River sockeye); Alaskan halibut, ono from Hawaii, ahi tuna, mahi mahi, marlin, swordfish, Chilean sea bass and more - ask us for suggestions. We have a good selection of marinades and grilling sauces to go with. Just add a salad and one of our prepared side dishes, and everyone is a happy camper.
Our rule of thumb for grilling fish: 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measuring at the thickest point over medium high heat (around 400 degrees). Since wild salmon is less than an inch thick, it will cook in less than 10 minutes - don't overcook! And make sure your grate is scraped clean before you put the fish on - you don't want a lingering taste of hamburger.
Softshell Crabs: These are a little trickier for the kids to help with, but they're great on a bun for lunch or dinner - just dust with seasoned flour and saute for 2-3 minutes per side. I like them on a toasted pretzel bun topped with some of our fresh coleslaw and a little of our Stone Ground Mustard Sauce. Let the kids prepare the buns, you plop the crab on it.
Salmon Burgers: We make these fresh on a daily basis from the trimmings of our fresh salmon. When we fillet a fish, there are always bits that we trim off. Some of it goes to the local smoke house for hot smoked salmon, and the rest becomes our tasty burgers. We use a unique blend of seasonings to make them extra tasty - great on a pretzel bun with lettuce and tomato or our mustard sauce and coleslaw. These would be great for lunch of dinner - and a whole lot healthier than the other kinds of burgers that involve cows.
Lobster Tail: If Dad is particularly deserving this year, treat him to some lobster tail! We have them from Australia and Maine, and they can be cooked on the grill or in the oven - ask us for cooking directions, or watch our Lobster Tails 101 cooking video - half a million views! Click Here to see all of our cooking videos.
King Crab Legs: Another shellfish treat, these are already cooked, all you need to do is thaw them out and serve cold on a salad or warm them up in the oven or on the grill. We put ours in a roasting pan with a cup of water and cover with foil. Thawed legs will warm up in 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Every dad has a favorite seafood - treat him to what he loves because you love him!
We are always amazed by the number of men who shop with us, and many of them we've found are fishermen as well - they know what fresh fish looks and tastes like, so we're especially pleased to count them among our customers.
So what ideas do we have for the dads out there? Here are some things that the kids can help with that will please Pop no end:
Breakfast/Brunch:
Treat Dad to some of our crab cakes topped with a fried egg - or scramble some eggs and add some bits of hot or cold smoked salmon and some fresh chives. These are simple dishes that the kids can help with, whisking up the eggs, serving them to Dad.
Dinner:
Kebabs - all ready to cook, either on the grill or in the oven, just brush with oil and marinade. We always have salmon kebabs, and usually shrimp, but we can make almost any meaty fish into kebabs for you - tuna, mahi mahi, ono, swordfish, halibut - then serve with one of our cous cous or rice dishes on the side.
Grilled Fish: Our recommended fish for the grill include salmon (wild salmon is in and it's beautiful - both king and Copper River sockeye); Alaskan halibut, ono from Hawaii, ahi tuna, mahi mahi, marlin, swordfish, Chilean sea bass and more - ask us for suggestions. We have a good selection of marinades and grilling sauces to go with. Just add a salad and one of our prepared side dishes, and everyone is a happy camper.
Our rule of thumb for grilling fish: 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measuring at the thickest point over medium high heat (around 400 degrees). Since wild salmon is less than an inch thick, it will cook in less than 10 minutes - don't overcook! And make sure your grate is scraped clean before you put the fish on - you don't want a lingering taste of hamburger.
Softshell Crabs: These are a little trickier for the kids to help with, but they're great on a bun for lunch or dinner - just dust with seasoned flour and saute for 2-3 minutes per side. I like them on a toasted pretzel bun topped with some of our fresh coleslaw and a little of our Stone Ground Mustard Sauce. Let the kids prepare the buns, you plop the crab on it.
Salmon Burgers: We make these fresh on a daily basis from the trimmings of our fresh salmon. When we fillet a fish, there are always bits that we trim off. Some of it goes to the local smoke house for hot smoked salmon, and the rest becomes our tasty burgers. We use a unique blend of seasonings to make them extra tasty - great on a pretzel bun with lettuce and tomato or our mustard sauce and coleslaw. These would be great for lunch of dinner - and a whole lot healthier than the other kinds of burgers that involve cows.
Lobster Tail: If Dad is particularly deserving this year, treat him to some lobster tail! We have them from Australia and Maine, and they can be cooked on the grill or in the oven - ask us for cooking directions, or watch our Lobster Tails 101 cooking video - half a million views! Click Here to see all of our cooking videos.
King Crab Legs: Another shellfish treat, these are already cooked, all you need to do is thaw them out and serve cold on a salad or warm them up in the oven or on the grill. We put ours in a roasting pan with a cup of water and cover with foil. Thawed legs will warm up in 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Every dad has a favorite seafood - treat him to what he loves because you love him!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Greats for the Grate - what to grill from the sea
My rule of thumb for fish on the grill is firm fish that can easily be turned without falling apart. The ones I do most often: salmon, halibut, mahi mahi, ono, tuna, swordfish and marlin. Or kebabs - shrimp kebabs are a family favorite, especially done in the garlic basil marinade found on our web site. I generally add a marinade or grilling sauce, but not always. I also like to rub the fish with olive oil and a spicy rub - just enough to add flavor without overpowering the fish or my taste buds. I love to top the fish with one of our fresh pestos or salsas.
The pesto I generally add to the top of the fish during the last minute of cooking, the salsas I add to the plated fish. I take the salsa out of the fridge when I start cooking, so it can come to room temperature - you don't want to put ice cold salsa on hot fish.
Our recommended cooking method is the same, regardless of the type of fish - 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measuring the fish at the thickest point, cooked over medium high heat.
We switched from a charcoal grill to a gas grill two years ago, and I couldn't be more glad. Charcoal is messy, and I think less healthy than cooking over gas. It's easier to control the heat, the clean-up is simple, and so far the fish has been amazing. And our dog loves it -- when I cook salmon on the grill, I do flesh side first, then turn to skin side down. When I take it off the grill, I can slip the spatula between the flesh and the skin, leaving the skin on the grill. I turn off the fire, and as soon as it's cool enough, Archie gets to eat the skin. He LOVES it, his omega 3s for the day.
This Saturday, from 11 - 2, our chef Jaime Castilan will be doing a grilling demo in front of our Hinsdale store, offering free advice and free samples to all who come by. He used to do this in Glenview, he had quite a fan club, now he's doing it in Hinsdale for the first time this Saturday. We hope he draws a crowd!
The pesto I generally add to the top of the fish during the last minute of cooking, the salsas I add to the plated fish. I take the salsa out of the fridge when I start cooking, so it can come to room temperature - you don't want to put ice cold salsa on hot fish.
Our recommended cooking method is the same, regardless of the type of fish - 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measuring the fish at the thickest point, cooked over medium high heat.
We switched from a charcoal grill to a gas grill two years ago, and I couldn't be more glad. Charcoal is messy, and I think less healthy than cooking over gas. It's easier to control the heat, the clean-up is simple, and so far the fish has been amazing. And our dog loves it -- when I cook salmon on the grill, I do flesh side first, then turn to skin side down. When I take it off the grill, I can slip the spatula between the flesh and the skin, leaving the skin on the grill. I turn off the fire, and as soon as it's cool enough, Archie gets to eat the skin. He LOVES it, his omega 3s for the day.
This Saturday, from 11 - 2, our chef Jaime Castilan will be doing a grilling demo in front of our Hinsdale store, offering free advice and free samples to all who come by. He used to do this in Glenview, he had quite a fan club, now he's doing it in Hinsdale for the first time this Saturday. We hope he draws a crowd!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Mother's Days Past
This is the first year when I am the oldest mom in the family. My dear mother-in-law was with us until this past December, 101 years young. For decades, she was the one we feted on Mother's Day, though my kids and husband always made a pretty good fuss over me as well.
Until about two years ago, we would bring Grandma over to our house for brunch, which generally involved scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and chives, a glass of sparkling wine and orange juice, and her favorite croissants from a neighborhood bakery. This was an easy meal for my husband and kids to prepare, so I could enjoy myself as well.
Then the past two years, it became easier for us to go to her, enjoying a meal at her senior living facility. Her face would light up up when she saw us, she could never get enough of her family. And because she was always a ray of sunshine in our lives, we were always happy to oblige.
I learned so much from my mother-in-law - about how much better it is for those around you if you don't complain all the time -- I came from a family of complainers, and frequently have to bite my tongue. She made us feel her gratitude for every minute we spent with her.
And, of course, I learned a lot about cooking fish from her - Grandma's recipe for Scalloped Oysters was the hit of Christmas dinner last year, we had it in her memory, and not one scrap was left. She knew how to poach, grill or bake just about anything from the sea - if I ever have the time, I'd love to put together a cookbook from her recipe file.
I treasure every memory I have of my mother as well, who suffered from Alzheimer's and sadly left us mentally a few years before she died, in 1996. I want very much to remember her before she got sick, all the years when she would drive over to see us, bring us gladiolas from Hepner's, and provide free and frequent babysitting services. My mother was also a great cook, though she featured a lot more meat than fish in her menus when I was young, more fish after her eldest married a Burhop.
My mother and my husband's mother were friends and volunteers together, doing good works through their church, for the Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society, and working at Bargains Unlimited in Chicago, now gone due to a lack of available helpers. Theirs was a generation when wives did good works in the community to get out of the house and make a difference - now most women have jobs, so volunteers are harder to find. I learned early on, from my mother and then from my mother-in-law, that there's always time to volunteer, even when you work full time, and I've always found the time to give back, like they did.
So thank you to my moms, for all you did for me and for my family for so many years - I miss you both so much. Make every day Mother's Day for your mom while she's still here!
Until about two years ago, we would bring Grandma over to our house for brunch, which generally involved scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and chives, a glass of sparkling wine and orange juice, and her favorite croissants from a neighborhood bakery. This was an easy meal for my husband and kids to prepare, so I could enjoy myself as well.
Then the past two years, it became easier for us to go to her, enjoying a meal at her senior living facility. Her face would light up up when she saw us, she could never get enough of her family. And because she was always a ray of sunshine in our lives, we were always happy to oblige.
I learned so much from my mother-in-law - about how much better it is for those around you if you don't complain all the time -- I came from a family of complainers, and frequently have to bite my tongue. She made us feel her gratitude for every minute we spent with her.
And, of course, I learned a lot about cooking fish from her - Grandma's recipe for Scalloped Oysters was the hit of Christmas dinner last year, we had it in her memory, and not one scrap was left. She knew how to poach, grill or bake just about anything from the sea - if I ever have the time, I'd love to put together a cookbook from her recipe file.
I treasure every memory I have of my mother as well, who suffered from Alzheimer's and sadly left us mentally a few years before she died, in 1996. I want very much to remember her before she got sick, all the years when she would drive over to see us, bring us gladiolas from Hepner's, and provide free and frequent babysitting services. My mother was also a great cook, though she featured a lot more meat than fish in her menus when I was young, more fish after her eldest married a Burhop.
My mother and my husband's mother were friends and volunteers together, doing good works through their church, for the Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society, and working at Bargains Unlimited in Chicago, now gone due to a lack of available helpers. Theirs was a generation when wives did good works in the community to get out of the house and make a difference - now most women have jobs, so volunteers are harder to find. I learned early on, from my mother and then from my mother-in-law, that there's always time to volunteer, even when you work full time, and I've always found the time to give back, like they did.
So thank you to my moms, for all you did for me and for my family for so many years - I miss you both so much. Make every day Mother's Day for your mom while she's still here!
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Chilean Salmon fall prey to alga bloom - effects ripple through the industry
Chile is the world's second largest salmon exporter, only Norway ships more. Because of the recent El Nino and global warming, ocean temperatures have risen by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius. When this warmer water is added to the runoff from Chile's many cattle operations, it makes a great environment for algae, which can kill salmon. According to industry representatives, over 23 million fish have already died, a loss of $800 million to the Chilean economy. So far, 37 of the more than 500 fish farms have been affected. "There are so many dead fish, they could easily fill 14 Olympic size swimming pools," according to Jose Miguel Burgos, a government official.
Chances are that the algae bloom will spread in the warming waters, which will take even more fish off the market. The result will be pressure on competing salmon markets in Norway, Scotland, Canada and elsewhere, plus on supplies that are wild caught. When such a big player is affected this dramatically, the increased demand in other markets will undoubtedly send up prices.
So be prepared for higher salmon prices this summer - environmental problems can easily filter down to our pocketbooks.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Chile is entering their autumn, and I'm sure their salmon industry is praying for an early winter. Perhaps they should do a better job of controlling run-off from cattle.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
What kind of customer are you?
We have some of the most wonderful customers in the world - especially our old Glenview customers who drive down to Hinsdale for their fish - that's total dedication!
The difficult thing for anyone who has to deal with the public on a regular basis is letting go of the bad ones. You can have 100 great customers, and one total crab, and the crab memories hang on forever.
Recent example - we had a sale on ono (wahoo) that was very popular, and by Saturday afternoon we were almost totally sold out. A customer who wanted ono but hadn't called ahead, was very upset that 1) there was so little left, and 2) that the 4 remaining pieces weren't "uniform." She wanted four portions that all looked exactly the same. She ended up buying something else, but complained loudly about her disappointment.
One wonders if she's ever noticed what a whole fish looks like. To get only pieces that look the same, we'd have to throw away over half the fish. It's not what the fillets look like in any case, it's what the fish tastes like, and ono is delicious. Something the size of a cow you can get more uniformity. A fish, not so easy.
We buy fresh fish, and we want to sell out, so that we can order new fresh fish the next day. Stores that buy tons of fish and keep it in the back cooler to fill the fresh case aren't really selling fresh fish when they get to the bottom of the pile. We always tell our customers that if they want something special, they should call and place an order and we'll put what they need aside for them.
Having spent more time in the stores the past few years, I understand both the desire to make the customer happy, and in some cases, the inability to please some people no matter what you do.
I remember once in Marshal Fields (obviously a while ago) a woman was demanding her money back on some towels that she had obviously washed in bleach and ruined. The sales clerk (and everyone else) knew this woman had ruined her own towels, but the clerk took them back and refunded the woman's money. The customer was spectacularly rude, and the clerk amazingly patient. As the next person in line, I made it a point of being super nice to her.
For a big company like Marshal Fields, two returned towels were not a big deal. For a small company like ours, when someone leaves their fish in the car in a heated garage over night, or in the summer in a very hot car, and then brings it back because it's "bad," that's a different situation. We've had this happen more than once. Sometimes, when you wreck something, you need to take personal responsibility. Then next time, remember to take the fish out of the car. And we're always happy to give you a bag of ice.
Dealing with the public every day is a tough job - we'd love to be perfect, but no one is that good - we certainly aim to please everyone who comes to us, and are very upset with ourselves if we somehow fail. If a complaint is legitimate we do everything we can to rectify the situation. And sometimes we have to grit our teeth and make the customer happy, even when they're totally off base. Everyone has a bad day now and again, and we never know what might be going on in someone's life that's making them miserable. We just wish that there was a way to cleanse ourselves of the misery of dealing with the grouches.
Ask yourself, what kind of customer are you?
The difficult thing for anyone who has to deal with the public on a regular basis is letting go of the bad ones. You can have 100 great customers, and one total crab, and the crab memories hang on forever.
Recent example - we had a sale on ono (wahoo) that was very popular, and by Saturday afternoon we were almost totally sold out. A customer who wanted ono but hadn't called ahead, was very upset that 1) there was so little left, and 2) that the 4 remaining pieces weren't "uniform." She wanted four portions that all looked exactly the same. She ended up buying something else, but complained loudly about her disappointment.
One wonders if she's ever noticed what a whole fish looks like. To get only pieces that look the same, we'd have to throw away over half the fish. It's not what the fillets look like in any case, it's what the fish tastes like, and ono is delicious. Something the size of a cow you can get more uniformity. A fish, not so easy.
We buy fresh fish, and we want to sell out, so that we can order new fresh fish the next day. Stores that buy tons of fish and keep it in the back cooler to fill the fresh case aren't really selling fresh fish when they get to the bottom of the pile. We always tell our customers that if they want something special, they should call and place an order and we'll put what they need aside for them.
Having spent more time in the stores the past few years, I understand both the desire to make the customer happy, and in some cases, the inability to please some people no matter what you do.
I remember once in Marshal Fields (obviously a while ago) a woman was demanding her money back on some towels that she had obviously washed in bleach and ruined. The sales clerk (and everyone else) knew this woman had ruined her own towels, but the clerk took them back and refunded the woman's money. The customer was spectacularly rude, and the clerk amazingly patient. As the next person in line, I made it a point of being super nice to her.
For a big company like Marshal Fields, two returned towels were not a big deal. For a small company like ours, when someone leaves their fish in the car in a heated garage over night, or in the summer in a very hot car, and then brings it back because it's "bad," that's a different situation. We've had this happen more than once. Sometimes, when you wreck something, you need to take personal responsibility. Then next time, remember to take the fish out of the car. And we're always happy to give you a bag of ice.
Dealing with the public every day is a tough job - we'd love to be perfect, but no one is that good - we certainly aim to please everyone who comes to us, and are very upset with ourselves if we somehow fail. If a complaint is legitimate we do everything we can to rectify the situation. And sometimes we have to grit our teeth and make the customer happy, even when they're totally off base. Everyone has a bad day now and again, and we never know what might be going on in someone's life that's making them miserable. We just wish that there was a way to cleanse ourselves of the misery of dealing with the grouches.
Ask yourself, what kind of customer are you?
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Fishing for Spring
The El Nino oceanic current system seems to have brought us fairly mild winter and an early spring -- nice for us, maybe not so nice for the fish, especially on the west coast. Or at least not the ones that like cold water. According to Ryan Rykaczewski, Nereus Program alumni and assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, and an expert on El Nino:
"In the tropical Pacific, the trade winds typically blow along the equator from the east to the west, from Central America towards Asia. These winds stimulate the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters along the west coasts of North and South America and along the equator in the eastern Pacific. In contrast, the waters of the western Pacific are typically warm. However, during El Niños, for reasons that are not well understood, the trade winds weaken or sometimes even reverse direction. That weakening of trade winds inhibits the upwelling of cold water, and waves of abnormally warm water slosh towards the coasts of North and South America. During the biggest El Niño, in 1997 and 98, the surface waters were about 2.5 degrees warmer than average in the eastern Pacific. Over such a large area, that’s a lot of abnormal heat."
The warm water loving fish, like tuna, swordfish, ono (wahoo) and mahi mahi, come closer to shore on the US west coast, making them easier to catch, while the cold water fish (think wild salmon and halibut) find it less thrilling - their food supply is damaged by the warm water, and they can be affected by algal blooms caused by the warming waters. The food fish love to eat, largely Peruvian anchovies, die off in El Nino conditions, affecting the viability of not only fish, but all kinds of sea mammals and birds as well.
So while we're enjoying a lovely warm spring, the salmon and halibut will be swimming further north, looking for colder waters. This could mean lower supplies and higher prices on the cold-loving fish, perhaps a break on the warm water guys.
As basically the last wild food that we eat, some of us (you know who you are...) need to get over the idea that all farmed fish is bad - if we want the resource to last, we need to have other viable sources for our seafood. In fact, the only organic fish available is raised - because we don't know what the wild fish have been eating, there's no way to say its organic. We trust our sources for our raised fish - we love wild fish too, but we want some of it left for our grandchildren!
"In the tropical Pacific, the trade winds typically blow along the equator from the east to the west, from Central America towards Asia. These winds stimulate the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters along the west coasts of North and South America and along the equator in the eastern Pacific. In contrast, the waters of the western Pacific are typically warm. However, during El Niños, for reasons that are not well understood, the trade winds weaken or sometimes even reverse direction. That weakening of trade winds inhibits the upwelling of cold water, and waves of abnormally warm water slosh towards the coasts of North and South America. During the biggest El Niño, in 1997 and 98, the surface waters were about 2.5 degrees warmer than average in the eastern Pacific. Over such a large area, that’s a lot of abnormal heat."
The warm water loving fish, like tuna, swordfish, ono (wahoo) and mahi mahi, come closer to shore on the US west coast, making them easier to catch, while the cold water fish (think wild salmon and halibut) find it less thrilling - their food supply is damaged by the warm water, and they can be affected by algal blooms caused by the warming waters. The food fish love to eat, largely Peruvian anchovies, die off in El Nino conditions, affecting the viability of not only fish, but all kinds of sea mammals and birds as well.
So while we're enjoying a lovely warm spring, the salmon and halibut will be swimming further north, looking for colder waters. This could mean lower supplies and higher prices on the cold-loving fish, perhaps a break on the warm water guys.
As basically the last wild food that we eat, some of us (you know who you are...) need to get over the idea that all farmed fish is bad - if we want the resource to last, we need to have other viable sources for our seafood. In fact, the only organic fish available is raised - because we don't know what the wild fish have been eating, there's no way to say its organic. We trust our sources for our raised fish - we love wild fish too, but we want some of it left for our grandchildren!
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