Nothing fishy about Perfect Fish

 It's such an unassuming little gadget, but with a name that sounds more like a brag than a discription, the Perfect Fish Cooking Time Indicator is indispensable for cooks who love fish. I've had mine for almost as long as it's been available (the patent was issued in 1984), and it lost its plastic part that rested on the fish to get a precise measurement years ago, but the aluminum measuring part still hangs near my stove.

I have looked far and wide for a better-looking and intact replacement, with no luck. The few that have appeared from resellers on eBay and Etsy were snapped up quickly.

If this gizmo sounds like something that would help you from either overcooking or undercooking fish, here's my workaround:

Take a straight-edge metal ruler. Put it next to the piece of fish you will be cooking. Using a non-flexible thin item such as an icing spatula or knife, place it across the fish, perpendicular to the ruler and measure how thick the fish is. Figure 5 minutes of cooking time for every half inch of fish, 10 minutes for 1" and so on. Bake or broil at 450°F ; pan fry or deep fry at 375°F. 

It has never let me down. If anyone hears of a reissue of this useful tool, please let me know!

Name that tuna

The escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum,
which has been sold as white tuna and
Chilean sea bass.

You can't tuna fish? Heck, you can't even tell it's a tuna by looking at it.


The non-profit oceans conservation group Oceana last week announced the results of one of the largest seafood fraud investigations to date, revealing just how many seafood sellers around the United States are less than honest about their offerings.

The study compiled data from more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retailers in 21 states between 2010 to 2012. DNA testing showed that 33 percent of those samples were mislabeled or posing as fish that they were not. Samples claimed to be tuna and snapper had the highest fail rates, at 59 percent and 87 percent, respectively. Only seven of 120 samples of “red snapper” purchased nationwide actually proved to be red snapper. The rest belonged to any of six different misrepresented species.

As Quartz reporter Christopher Mims points out, in Chicago, Austin, New York and Washington D.C., every single sushi restaurant sampled sold mislabeled tuna. In 84 percent of samples, “white tuna” turned out to be escolar, a fatty fish that produces a side effect that I won't mention on a food blog.

As Mims writes, if you’ve ever wondered why the sushi in the display case is so plentiful given the dwindling supply of tuna around the world, well, this may explain it.

The good news is that the fish in your grocery store has a 82 percent chance of being what it is labeled as, compared to 62 percent in all restaurants and a mere 26 percent in sushi restaurants. Another reason that maybe you should be cooking at home more often.

Smelt in your mouth

All photographs ©2013, Lori Korleski Richardson

Smelts are funny little fishes, not regularly found even in fish markets. But they were for sale, and at a good price, last week at one of my regular grocery stores, and I couldn't resist buying a half pound of those silvery little devils.

These smelts were from Canada, where they have been traditionally an important winter catch in the salt water mouths of rivers. According to Wikipedia, fishermen would go to customary locations over the ice using horses and sleighs. Smelt taken out of the cold salt water were much preferred to those taken in warm water. The smelts did not command a high price on the market, but provided a useful supplemental income. The smelts were "flash frozen" simply by leaving them on the ice and then sold to fish buyers.

Washed smelts drying on a dish towel.

My dad, who grew up in Wisconsin and would go ice fishing for fun, used to bring home smelts a few times a year to cook. He'd shake a whole bunch of them in a bag of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, then into the pan they'd go for just a few minutes until they were golden, then out they'd come, sizzling and delicious.

But these were on the larger end of smelt scale, about scampi size, so I thought I'd give them a nice breading, with just their tail fins hanging out.

If they haven't been cleaned, do not despair. They are very easy to clean, since all you do is chop their heads off, slit open their tiny bellies and remove all their innards with a sweep of your fingernail. The bones dissolve as you fry them.

Wash and dry the fish. Next, season to taste. I used Mas Guapo, which is a Charlottesville-made concoction similar to Lawry's seasoning salt or McCormick's Season All, only with less sugar and more spice.

Beat an egg well, and put it in a pie plate. In another pie plate, put about 4 ounces of panko bread crumbs. Dip the seasoned smelts first in the egg, then in the crumbs to cover. Set on a cookie sheet. Dry for at least 30 minutes.

Smelt, dipped in egg, then in panko bread crumbs.

Heat about a 1/4 inch of canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet on medium heat until it is slightly smoking. Add the smelts, one at a time, leaving a little space between them. Cook until golden brown on the first side, flip and cook until golden brown on the other. Drain on paper towels and keep warm until they are all cooked.

I served them with a bowl of Progresso potato-bacon soup and a salad of romaine, orange bell pepper, grape tomato halves, goat cheese and slivered almonds, with a bowl of mixed canned fruit (apricots, pear and mandarin oranges) and vanilla yogurt for dessert. We were able to eat about half the smelts.

The next morning, we had the rest with eggs over easy, broiled tomatoes and a slice of toast. Two very good meals from those little silvery fish.

A Christmas salad and chowder

My sister-in-law is planning to serve a crisp Romaine salad and a chowder that includes giant prawns, scallops and clams, and asked if I had a recipe for a good Caesar dressing and a nice chowder. Here were my recipes from the files, and I thought you might like to try them as well.

What are you fixing for Christmas dinner this year? I'd love it if you'd include your menu in a comment below, or send me an email.

Caesar dressing recipe
from Sallie Y. Williams' "The Complete Book of Sauces":

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

6 anchovy fillets, rinsed, dried, smashed and chopped finely

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large egg, soft-boiled for 1 minute

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

For a rustic vinaigrette, put all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well mixed. For a more creamy dressing, put all ingredients but the Parmesan in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Add the cheese and stir.

If I'm not lazy, I rub the salad bowl with a clove of garlic for extra flavor. If I'm pressed for time, I use garlic salt in place of the salt. Also, since I know where my egg has come from and I wash it before using, I skip the soft-boiled step. (I think the lemon juice "cooks" the egg.)

Seafood Chowder

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a first

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 sprigs fresh summer savory or thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1 teaspoon)
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 pound Yukon Gold, white or rose potatoes (not russet), peeled and diced in 1/2-inch chunks
1 1/4 cups fish or chicken stock, or clam juice
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound of the following: mixed shellfish or skinless haddock or cod fillets, totally deboned
1/3 cup heavy cream (or half and half, or milk, if a lighter soup is desired)

For garnish

1 ounce lean bacon bits or lardons

2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives

Instructions

Heat a 2-quart heavy pot to medium hot. Add oil, onions, savory or thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened but not browned.

Add the potatoes and stock. If the stock doesn’t cover the potatoes, add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil over higher heat, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for 5-10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the stock hasn’t thickened lightly, smash a few of the potato chunks against the side of the pot and cook for a minute or two longer. Reduce the heat to low and season with salt and pepper (you will want to almost overseason the chowder at this point to avoid having to stir it much once the fish is added). Add the seafood or fish fillets and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the chowder to sit for 10 minutes (the fish/seafood will finish cooking during this time).
Gently stir in the cream and taste for salt and pepper. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit for up to an hour at room temperature, allowing the flavors to meld. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don’t let it boil. 

Warm the bacon or lardons in a low oven (200 °F) for a few minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to mound the chunks of fish and/or seafood, the onions, and potatoes in the center of large soup plates or shallow bowls, and ladle the creamy broth around. Scatter the bacon over the individual servings and finish each with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and minced chives.

Thank cod

Cod is an underappreciated fish, mostly because it's been inexpensive and plentiful in our lifetime. It has been close to being overfished, however, since it's the main ingredient in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich and the favorite fish of fish and chips.

For a fast dinner, it can't be beat, and you don't need to go out to get that speed, either.

For instance, including the prep time, last night's dinner didn't even take 30 minutes.

You will need:
Panko bread crumbs (Progresso makes them now, or use a Japanese brand)
Mas Guapo seasoning (masguapo.com, or use Lawry's seasoning salt)
Cod fillets (3/4 pound for two people)
Vegetable oil
Two ears corn
1 can artichoke bottoms (about 6)
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (the kind in the can is OK)
Butter, salt and pepper to taste

The drill:

Heat oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and pat the fish dry. Spread out the breadcrumbs and sprinkle with seasoning. Dredge the fish in the crumbs until it is well covered.

Put the oil in a pan big enough to hold the fillets without touching. Heat to medium hot (about 375 degrees), then put the fish in, largest piece first. In another minute or two, put in the other piece.

Put the artichoke bottoms bowl side up in a broiler proof pan. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, then Parmesan. Put in the oven.

Chop off the ends of the cobs. At least one row of kernels should come off the end. Do not shuck.

After 5 minutes, turn the large piece of fish. Put the corn in the microwave and set to cook for 5 minutes. Turn the other piece of fish.

About a minute before the corn and fish are ready, pull out the artichokes and turn the oven to broil. Put the artichokes back in.

When the timer goes off, take the fish out of the skillet and drain on paper towels. Take the corn out of the microwave, grab by the silks end and shake out the cob (if the corn is fresh, all the silks will be gone, too). Take the artichokes out of the oven and serve.

You will have to use a bigger skillet if you are cooking for 4 or more, but no extra time; add 2 minutes for each extra ear of corn, more if the corn isn't that fresh.

Any questions? Leave a comment below.

Cioppino benissimo

After a recent trip to San Francisco, we discovered how sleep-inducing the sound of waves and foghorns off in the distance could be. When we got back to Charlottesville, we found a bedside clock that mimicked the sound of the seashore, and have used it to lull us to sleep.

One drawback is it makes us long for the dishes we associate with the Bay Area: Dungeness crabs, sourdough bread and cioppino. While I don't think we'll find those fresh big crabs or the exact sourdough in Virginia, I still managed to make a fine cioppino, thanks to Seafood on West Main. Paired with a baguette from Albemarle Baking Company, it made us a little less lonely for Baghdad by the Bay.

Cioppino Benissimo
By Lori Korleski Richardson
Serves 4-6


Ingredients
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
1 small (or 1/2 large) fennel bulb
4 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
6 sprigs fresh oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (with basil, optional)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 8-ounce bottle clam juice
1 pound skinless fillets of a white fish (halibut, talapia, haddock or cod), cut into 1" pieces
1 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1/2 pound cleaned squid, thawed if frozen, bodies cut into 1/2" rings, tentacles left whole
Crusty baguette, or sourdough bread

Instructions

Toast fennel seeds over medium heat until fragrant. Cool and grind to fine powder in spice grinder. Set aside.

Finely chop garlic, onion and fennel (food processor is fine for this) and combine. Put oil in a large heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaf, oregano, the ground fennel seeds and red pepper flakes. Stir in tomatoes and cook for about a minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add clam juice and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (You can do this step up to a day before serving and reheat.)

About 7 minutes before serving, add the fish chunks and mussels and cook until the mussels begin to open, about 2 minutes. Add the squid rings and tentacles and cook 5 minutes.
Serve hot in large soup bowls with bread. Set out small bowls for the mussel shells.

If you double the recipe, double the fish, and add 1 1/2 pounds of other seafood as you like: clams, shrimp and/or crab. If you like spicy food, increase the red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon.

I believe in cod

A chef at a fine restaurant once said, "My customers are always asking for a firm, white fish without an assertive taste. I give them exactly that, and they never order it!" The fish he was talking about is cod.

Blame it on the Filet O'Fish sandwich, or soggy fish'n'chips, but cod gets no respect. Yet it is a nutrition powerhouse: Cod has almost the same amount of protein as sockeye salmon with half the calories.

And because it's a mild fish, you can spice it up just the way you like.

Here is a dinner I fixed last night. The prep took a little more than 15 minutes, since I grated the potatoes by hand, but the cooking took a little less than that.

Prosciutto-wrapped Cod with Artichokes and Hash Browns
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 white or red potatoes (not russets)
Salt and pepper
12 ounces cod
6 slices prosciutto or other strips of semi-dry ham
Olive oil
4 small spring onions, sliced
Handful of parsley leaves, snipped
1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed of oil and chilled

Instructions
Grate the potatoes into a bowl of water. Drain, put on a clean dishtowel, and squeeze all the water out of them. They must be very dry. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry the cod, and cut it into 6 strips, 4-6 inches in length. Season with salt and pepper and wrap each strip with a slice of prosciutto.

Lightly oil a sturdy pan that will hold the cod. Put about a tablespoon of oil in a large cast-iron frying pan and heat to medium.

When the oil starts to smoke, put the grated potatoes into the frying pan and spread them out thinly. Sprinkle with the onions and parsley. Fry undisturbed for about 10 minutes so they form a golden crust. Flip and cook 5 minutes more.

After you put the potatoes in the frying pan, put the pan of cod into the oven. Bake for 14-15 minutes until the fish turns opaquely white.

Serve with the chilled artichoke hearts.

A nonfat, no-salt kick for fish and other white meat

Our grill went on the fritz last month, so we've been pan-frying more than usual. But to get the taste of the grill without grilling, I had to get a little creative. Since chipotle is already made with smoked, ripe jalapeños, I hit upon mixing a tablespoon of chipotle sauce with the juice of a half lime and brushing fish, chicken or pork with it before pan-frying. Coat the cast-iron skillet with olive oil and heat it to medium high on our outdoor burner before adding the meat. The Pacific rockfish fillets took about 5 minutes total; the boneless pork chops pounded to about a 1/4-inch thickness took just a little longer, about 8 minutes.

Meat and fish cooked this way is also delicious in soft tacos; before you put the meat on, turn the oven on to 350 degrees. On a cookie sheet, place 4-6 corn tortillas in a single layer, then sprinkle them with cheese (if you are watching your fat content, use veggie shreds or part-skim mozzerella). Put in the oven until the cheese just starts to melt. Cover with meat, jalapeños, lettuce, diced tomatoes and/or guacamole and serve.

Floundering Fishwife

Anytime I've mentioned that we've been to Asilomar, someone always asks if we ate at the Fishwife, which is right across the street. "It's so good!" they exclaim.

Well, almost everyone. Our friend Al said ominously when we told him we would be spending a few days there this week: "You don't want to eat there. There are a lot of better restaurants in the area."

Did we listen? No. We wanted to walk to our dinner, so we threw caution to the winds and walked in.

I now understand the appeal. It's close. And the fish is good, at least my sole piccata was. And if you've spent several days eating the cafeteria food at Asilomar (most conferences include the meal plan to save time), the Fishwife must indeed be a treat.

But after the fish and the fresh sprig of broccoli, well, the rest of the meal tasted blah. The Belize Shrimp tasted surprisingly bland and looked amazingly like the ones out of the bag from Costco. "When I see Belize, I think Marie Sharps," said my dinner companion, referring to the popular habanero-carrot sauce from that Central American country. "This wasn't spicy at all." The black beans were creamy, but the rice? Converted.

As we were leaving, we think we saw what the problem was. See photo below. If you can't buy fresh in the Pacific Grove area, you really aren't trying.

Food allergies nothing to sneeze at

If you're planning to cook for a crowd (something I love to do), you might keep in mind that experts say eight foods account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions in people:

• milk
  
• eggs
  
• peanuts
  
• tree nuts
  
• fish
  
• shellfish
  
• wheat
  
• soy
  

Yes, avoiding all of these may limit your options, but it's better than sending someone to the hospital. Or have a substitute or two on hand for those with one of these common allergies.

Jim's cousin Cait says she forgot to order her usual gluten-free meal on her way from Ireland recently, and got a bagel, a mini-muffin and frosted mini-wheats for her breakfast. Luckily, she brought some food with her that she could eat.

Flounder, no floundering

A lovely, fresh flounder fillet called for a special treatment, but I had no time to consult my books - dinner had to be on the table in a half hour. So I picked up a half-pound of crab meat, some red, yellow and green pepper strips from the salad bar and some green onions, and headed for home. I had a half of a peeled yam left in the fridge.

I turned on the oven to 450, and put the 8-ounce fillet on a sheet of nonstick foil, about 4 inches longer than the fish. As the oven was heating, I diced the fresh pepper strips into tiny cubes and sliced two of the green onions. In a small bowl, I whipped one farm-fresh egg thoroughly with a fork, then mixed together the crab, peppers and onions with a generous grinding of pepper. I piled the crab mixture on the fillet, almost to the edges. Gathering up the long sides, I folded the edged a couple of times to seal, then folded up the ends so it was tightly wrapped. I placed the packet on top of the broiler pan, along with the yam, which I sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. I baked the fish for 20 minutes; the yam wasn't quite done, so I put it in the microwave for another two minutes after I took out the pan from the oven. I made a simple salad of lettuce, arugula, cucumbers and feta while the fish cooked.

I opened the packet, which was still steaming, cut the fish in half horizontally, and put it on two plates, surrounded by a piece of vibrant orange yam, and the green salad. The confetti of the diced peppers gave the otherwise white dish a festive flair, and the plate looked great. I wish I had taken a shot of it - but we ate it immediately! A satisfying, low-fat, low-carb, low-salt meal. 

Food trends from abroad

Yesterday, I posted the 2009 trends from foodchannel.com; today, we check out what the Europeans foresee, courtesy of thefoodpeople.com.

Among the mega trends expected to continue into next year, are “comfort food, nostalgia, scratch cooking and home baking, as consumers want to save money as well as feel good about the food they serve.”
Overall, the amount of protein on plates will shrink. But where meat is served, consumers will aim to make it go as far as possible through “head-to-tail” eating – including offal.
And considering the stiff markup of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars, more people will have that drink at home, either with their meal there, or before going out.
Thefoodpeople sees less reliance on packaged food. The group also predicts an uptick in fishing and growing your own vegetables.
Also emerging will be ‘freeganism’ – that is, the practice of living off discarded, yet perfectly edible food that has been thrown out. To date the freegan movement has been driven by green crusaders who object to unnecessarily wasted food clogging up landfill sites. Now it may catch on with people trying to decrease household spending.
People may start to club together and produce food by committee, and begin community food projects.
Sustainability will “remain high on the agenda”. This includes sustainable fish sourcing, and investigating little consumed varieties that are not endangered, such as rockfish and flounder.
Organic foods, because of their expense, may well drop back in importance.
Desserts are likely to contain less sugar and derive more flavors from the ingredients themselves, and also cross the line into savory sensations.