I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday. Thank you to everyone who ordered Valentine's Day meals from us. It was so much fun and so rewarding to help you celebrate the love of your life in a special way. I hope it all turned out well and that you enjoyed every bite.
Reason Number 5 to Shop at Kathleen's Catch
Our shrimp.
We don't advertise our shrimp as small, medium, large, jumbo, colossal, or superdupergigantic. We tell you how many are in a pound. If we say 16/20 that means there are 16 to 20 in a pound. If we say 21/25 you will know that these are just a bit smaller.
And our shrimp is domestic and wild caught - almost always from Brunswick, GA but sometimes from North Carolina or Florida. And you won't find chemicals such as sodium tripolyphosphate (phosphate - as in laundry detergent) added to increase shelf-life or to cause them to soak up water so they weigh more (and cost more).
Catch to Go
Through Sunday it is
Salsa Verde Baked Salmon with Green Beans, Grape Tomatoes and Jasmine Rice
Next week - Low Country Bake
Everyone loves the Low Country Boil. If eating your dinner off of newspaper is your thing, we can surely hook you up with all the necessary ingredients, minus the newspaper, to make your own mess.
But if you really just love the food and the flavors of a Low Country, buy our Catch to Go oven ready meal. You just pop it in the oven and voila! When meal is complete, serve in container with a side of newspaper to read. A no mess coastal experience!
Cool Catches This Weekend
Red snapper - whole and fillet
Corvina
Black drum
Monkfish
Red grouper
Walleye
Golden tile
Large stone crab
Mariners' Pepper Pot with Orzo
adapted from Simply Seafood magazine
Serves 6
2 T olive oil, divided
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 T minced fresh garlic
2 orange or green bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1/2" dice
1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes with juice
1 cup orzo
1 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t salt
1-1/2 cups clam juice or fish stock
1-1/2 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces swordfish, cut into 3/4" cubes
1/2 lb. cleaned squid tubes, cut into 1/4" rings
1/2 lb. black mussels
18 littleneck clams
Parmesan cheese
Clean and thinly slice leeks crosswise. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add leak, onion and garlic and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and tomatoes and stir until peppers are tender and mixture is thick, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a 4 quart saucepan, heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add orzo and pepper flakes. Saute' until orzo is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until orzo is tender and slightly soupy, about 15 minutes.
To orzo, add salt, clam juice (or fish stock), wine, parsley and pepper and bring to a boil. Gently stir in tomato mixture, swordfish, squid, mussels and clams. Simmer until fish is barely opaque and mussels and clams have opened, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook as the fish will continue to cook as the soup stands.
Remove and discard any clams and mussels that did not open.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired, before serving.
Wine News At Milton
Wine tasting today from 3:00 to 6:00 at our Milton location. Stop by and have a taste of some very special wines.
And Finally
My memory of Valentine's Day when I was a kid is decorating a box and bringing a little Valentine card to each person in the class (even the boys!!) . It was sweet and simple. As an adult I tend to totally over-complicate things by making it one of the biggest sales days of the year for our stores, which is a good thing. But overcomplicating things at home isn't such a great idea. This year I didn't buy a card. Instead, I picked one out while we were grocery shopping and forced Mr. Fish to memorize it so that he would remember it on Thursday. Putting it back on the card rack saved me $7.00.
Mr. Fish caught the cheapster bug and made me a Valentine on his computer and emailed it to me. Bam. Another $7.00 to go towards wine.
Although I was too cheap to buy a card, I did come up with a gift for my Valentine. I promised to be a better listener. The truth is I am a terrible conversationalist. As soon as someone starts to talk to me, I begin formulating my response and once I know what I am going to reply, I zone out until it is my turn to talk. My Valentine's gift to my husband is to take myself and my responses out of the conversation and truly listen.
If I can develop this habit, I might just give the same gift to you.
Now what was it you were saying?
Blessings,
Kathleen
I love your blog!
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