Cooking For One, John Dory and I Didn't Fillet My Husband

Hey Y'all,

Let's just say I had my hands full this week. Mr. Fish had surgery last Friday to stitch up a hernia and I was tasked with taking care of him while he recovered. No problem, I thought. I can fetch things for him and cook for him and maybe give him a Tylenol or two.

Turns out it was a big ol' hernia and the recovery included emptying a wound drain bag, monitoring his pain meds and giving him a shot every day. Wait. What? A shot? I am going to give him a shot?

Of all the girls in my family I am the least suited for nursing, not because I don't care but because I get the creeps. I told the nurse who was instructing me that I wasn't sure I could do the shot. As a fishmonger, I told her, I could fillet him if necessary but I didn't think I could stick a needle in him.

Anyway, we managed just fine. I found that after drinking a considerable amount of wine I really had no problem sticking the needle in. I got the shots administered and the bag emptied and the medicine delivered. It looks like he is going to live.

Species Spotlight

John Dory has a large dark spot on each side of its oval, flat body and long spines on its dorsal and anal fin. The myth is that St. Peter caught the John Dory and left behind his fingerprints as the dark spots on the fish.

John Dory flesh is sweet with a finely textured medium flake and is very delicate. In the United States John Dory is a by-catch from vessels trawling in deep water for flounder and squid. In Northern Europe it is considered one of the holy trinity of gourmet fish along with Dover sole and turbot.

John Dory has pretty shiny silvery and yellowy skin. The English name John Dory is derived from the French 'jaune doré' meaning 'golden yellow'. If you have a choice, always buy fillets because this fish has some sharp nasty spines and are difficult to fillet.

Cooking For One 

My recuperating husband wasn't too interested in eating the first few days after the surgery so I experienced what some of you may deal with often: what to cook for a dinner for one. We make such a big deal about meals as social events but really there is nothing wrong with eating alone. Don't limit yourself to a unrecognizable meal from the freezer that you wouldn't consider serving to a guest. Treat yourself! And what better way than to visit Kathleen's Catch for a healthy meal.

One of my dear friends sent me this email this week and it made me think about how we manage our dinner meals when we are no longer cooking for kids.

Sorry, I was in Publix when you called, playing cat and mouse with a very long-winded neighbor whom I did not have time for today. I didn’t have time to be at Publix at all, but as my husband pointed out, our cupboards were bare and we’ve spent enough on Door Dash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats for one month. Maybe a year. 

There are so many issues here I just don't know where to start.

#1, Come to Kathleen's Catch where you will be in and out in no time and won't have to dodge people when you are in a hurry.

#2 No time? Bare cupboards? The truth is that this particular friend lives quite a ways from a Catch but if you are within 20 minutes of one you really have no excuse to have an empty fridge.



#3. Door Dash? GrubHub? UberEats? That's all fine once in a while but a healthy home cooked meal is just about as easy.  

If you are abusing yourself this way, pay attention here. We sell many of our fish in single portions which just can't get any easier for a dinner for one. Your meal is on the table in no time because you don't have to cut or trim - just throw it in the pan, the oven or on the grill. In ten minutes or less you have your dinner. If you want to crank it up a notch, buy a marinade off our shelves and marinade it for 10 minutes before cooking.

We sell delicious risottos that are ready in a snap if you need a quick side dish. I ate a dinner last night at a very upscale local restaurant and had a piece of halibut over risotto and while it was very delicious, wasn't any better than a meal I prepare with my packaged risotto, my halibut and a bottle of our Terrapin Ridge dressing.

Besides our portioned fish, if you are cooking for yourself, why not plan a day ahead and call us to order a small lobster for you? You can cook that lobster at home in no time. Add a salad and dinner is ready. Bonus: if you are eating alone, you don't have to be ashamed of making a mess of yourself while you eat the lobster.

If you have a little extra time on the weekend, why not put together a gumbo or a seafood stew? You can freeze it in portions and then toss in the seafood while you are reheating it.

Since you are eating alone, you can have whatever you like without having someone judge you. I, for one, am very happy I learned to love raw oysters after I got married. Mr. Fish is not a fan and the look on his face as I happily slurp remind me that if I loved oysters before I got married things might have turned out very differently.

When you are looking over recipes that you want to prepare just for yourself, try to find the ones with the fewest ingredients. These tend to be the easiest to scale down.

It's okay when you are shopping at the Catch to ask for 6 shrimp. We will gladly count them out for you so that you don't end up buying more than you need. Stir fry a handful of sliced veggies, toss in the shrimp for a few minutes (not too long! ), splash on some soy sauce, sesame oil or ginger. Heat up yesterday's rice or make some new and bang! dinner's ready.

If you are considering dinner for one tonight and thinking Why Bother?, the answer is BECAUSE YOU ARE WORTH IT!

A Few of the Available Fish This Weekend 

John Dory

Black bass

Amberjack

Striped bass

Arctic char

Mahi

Cobia

Red snapper

Swordfish

Cod

Fluke flounder

Chilean sea bass

West coast Dover sole

Steelhead trout

Rainbow trout

Tuna

Cooked crawfish

By special order only (order Friday for Saturday delivery)

Sheephead

Redfish

Monkfish

Catch to Go

Speaking of meals for one, you just can't go wrong with our oven ready meal, Catch to Go. Through Sunday it is Oven Baked Cheesy Crab Pasta which is completely and totally delicious. 



Next week starting Monday, try this:

Mustard and Pepper Crusted Swordfish

with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

And Finally

Next weekend is the Blessing of the Fleet in Darien, GA and I am reminded of that because a sweet customer, Evelyn, gave this to me.

I keep this on my desk because it reminds me every day that the bounty of the sea is a blessing that we should treasure and respect. There are not many ways to make a living that rely so heavily on providence. I never want to forget that the blessings of the sea are my blessings too.

Blessings, (rather redundantly)

Kathleen

Swordfish, Striped Bass and Unreliable Friends

Hey Y'all,

Spring, to me, is like an unreliable friend. All the way through March I am suspicious because things seem to be going well. But just when you least expect it, bam! Snow. Spring, I want to believe in you. I want to think that you are going to stick around and be true. But we all know that by the time I get to trusting you, it'll be summer and the sneeze season will be over.

Fin Mail
I had lots of nice notes about my St. Patrick's Day email last week. One lady wrote to tell me that she was crying so hard she couldn't read it to her husband who, we are glad she mentioned, could actually read it for himself. I'm not exactly sure why she was crying. Hopefully they were tears of laughter from sharing a bottle of Friday night wine and enjoying my email antics.

Fish from the Great Lakes

Passover starts April 19th and you know what that means? Fish from the Great Lakes! Why? Gefilte fish (pronounced guh-fill-tuh)! A traditional kosher dish often eaten  for Passover, gefilte fish is made from ground, deboned whitefish, walleye and pike from the Great Lakes. If you are from the Great Lakes region and love these kinds of fish, now is your time to get an order in. Orders need to be in by April 8th to get fish that will arrive the following week. Call the store and get on the list!

Species Spotlight: Swordfish

 Swordfish is a dependable year round fish. It is an ocean roamer that is unrelated to any other billfish and tastes like none other. Because it is high in fat and protein, it resembles beef but it has all the benefits of fish.

At our markets, we sell swordfish primarily as 6 ounce portions, with no skin, bones or belly meat. In other stores, you might find it cut into steaks with skin and bloodline to be removed by you. Keep this in mind when you are comparing costs. When you buy our portions you are not throwing away any part of it.

The key to cooking swordfish is to cook it quickly at high heat, approximately 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Because it has a firm texture, swordfish will continue to cook a bit on the way to the table so don't over cook it!

Swordfish has a full and unique flavor so this recipe with just a few ingredients is an excellent preparation for it.

Grilled Swordfish

with Roasted Garlic

4 swordfish portions
2 whole elephant garlic bulbs, unpeeled
Olive oil
1/2 t. lemon zest
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Mix lemon zest, salt, pepper and cayenne together and set aside.

Heat grill to very hot. Place garlic on the grill. (Elephant garlic is in the leek family but tastes like a mild garlic.)

While garlic is cooking, coat fish with olive oil and sprinkle desired amount of seasoning on fish and place in refrigerator.

After garlic has cooked for 15 minutes, add fish to the grill. Measure thickness of the fish and grill garlic and fish for 12 minutes per inch of thickness at the thickest part of the fish, turning halfway. Check internal temperature and remove garlic and fish from grill when fish reaches 145 degrees.

Place fish on plate and squeeze garlic out of skins. Spread garlic across fish and serve.


If you would rather bake than grill, try this recipe. The flavor of swordfish can stand up to these robust ingredients.

Mexican Baked Swordfish

4 swordfish portions (about 1" thick)
Salt and freshly ground black pepepr
6 T olive oil
1/2 c sliced green onions

For salsa
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup diced green pepper
1/3 cup diced yellow pepper
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (or to taste)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all salsa ingredients in a large bowl.

Season the fish with salt and pepper.

Put 3 T. olive oil in a baking dish and brush the remaining 3 T. on both sides of the fish. Place fish in the baking dish and sprinkle green onions on top.

Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Transfer fish to plate. Portion salsa over fish and serve.

Or prepare swordfish any way you like and add a full flavored tapenade topping.

Tapenade

In a small bowl, stir together 3/4 cup finely chopped black olives, 2/3 cup finely chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped capers, 1 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, and, if you like, 1 anchovy fillet. Add black pepper to taste.

Spread tapenade over fish just prior to serving.


Swordfish nutrition facts for 7 ounces:
50.8 g protein
100 mg cholesterol
2 g saturated fat
310 calories
1.2 g omega-3 fatty acids

A Few of Our Weekend Fish
Wild Striped Bass
One of my all-time favorite fish! Some fishermen must have hit the mother lode of striped bass because I am making a great buy on this fish and passing the savings to you! Usually priced at $29.99/lb, this weekend we are selling this awesome fish at $15.99/lb! I know I am sounding a little like a used car commercial on tv but I don't know how else to tell you that this is the fish you should be eating this weekend. It is the very best price on striped bass I have ever seen. Really.

Whole Pompano

Black Bass
Black bass is a conservation success story. Ten years ago black bass averaged at about 1 lb. with the very biggest fish on the market at 1.5 lbs. After really impressive stock management, the average today is 2 lbs and they are often available up to 4 lbs. In a ten year period, the average size of these fish have doubled!

Golden Tile
We usually see golden tile from Florida but because of that warm water current from the Gulf Stream, these fish are ranging farther north right now. This weekend's are coming from Maryland.

Halibut
The first of the Alaskan halibut is showing up today in Atlanta! It will be in our stores in the morning! 6 ounce portions are selling for $13.25 a piece.

Fluke flounder
Swordfish
Tuna
Steelhead trout
and all the rest....

By special order only (order Friday for Saturday delivery)

Greenland Turbot

Hiramasa

 Skate Wing

Catch to Go

Through this Sunday Catch to Go is Blackened Mahi with Cheddar Cheese Grits and Hickory Garlic Asparagus

Next week, starting Monday is Shrimp and Crab Baked Penne

And Finally

Now back to me and my friend, Spring. It is true that he is fickle and maybe he isn't always around when he promises to be. But I have to say this for him. He makes me feel like a new woman. As soon as he is around, I want to clean up my act. He is so beautiful that I want to clean the windows so I can see him better. I want to fling open my doors and sweep my floors and put away old drab clothes and get out the colorful spring things. And even though, after assuring me that 

only warm weather lies ahead, he disappoints me with a freeze, I still want to plant flowers everywhere.

Blessings,

Kathleen

Stretching Seafood Dollars, St. Patrick's Day and Halibut

Hey Y'all,

Are you feeling lucky?  This weekend, if you are Irish, you might want to buy a lottery ticket.  Where do you think the phrase the Luck of the Irish came from? Many Irish were gold miners back in the day. Whenever they struck gold people attributed that to the Luck of the Irish! (and apparently not due to their skill at mining...)

Halbut's Back

Yesterday was pi day.  Guess what today is. It's the opening of halibut season!!! YAY!! We should be seeing this fav fish early next week.  Call us up if you want to be sure it is in but in the meantime drag out those halibut recipes and get ready!

 With all the talk of sustainability and fishing out the oceans, it is hard to remember what healthy fish populations look like.  Pacific halibut is one.  Alaska's total halibut catch this year is 22 million lbs.  Read that again - 22 MILLION POUNDS!  And this is up 1.5 million lbs. from last year.  Here's what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA - those folks in charge of making sure our oceans stay full of fish) had to say about the increase in catch limits:

“While the overall quota for 2019 is a slight increase over 2018, the catch limits agreed to at the meeting reflect a sensible, conservative approach that will secure the future of this iconic and economically important species,” 

How to Stretch Your Seafood Dollar

I was at an event last week with some friends when someone with less than perfect manners mentioned my "$20 plus/lb shrimp". Because I am a wisecracker, I just said "you get what you pay for." But the truth is I don't sell shrimp that costs $20.00/lb. This is not to say, though, that carrying the very best seafood available isn't an expensive proposition. Even low quality seafood isn't cheap. But seafood is such an important part of your diet that you should do what you can to include it in your menus at least twice a week.

Of course you can always shop our discount freezer for the best deals in the store.  And another way to stretch your seafood dollars is to extend the more expensive ingredients by combining them with flavorful, nutritious and inexpensive items such as vegetables, pasta or rice.

This recipe adapted from an old Simply Seafood Magazine originally called for clams. Feel free to substitute or add mussels, scallops, shrimp, crawfish or chunks of firm fleshed fish - whatever your budget will allow. You can use any fresh herbs you have in place of the dried - just double the amount shown for dried seasonings.

Seafood and Vegetable Bowl

Serves 4

1 lb. red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 3/4" cubes

2 lbs. littleneck clams

1 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 t. dry basil leaves

1/2 t. dry oregano

1/2 t. dry thyme

1/2 t. dry rosemary

1/2 t. crushed fennel seeds

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes

1 small zucchini (1/4 to 1/3 lb.), cut into 1/2" slices

1 small yellow squash (1/4 to 1/3 lb.) cut into 1/2" slices

1/4 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, scrub the clams (or mussels, or both) and discard any that are not tightly closed or that do not close when shells are pressed together. Drain.

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and fennel seeds and stir until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Quarter the tomatoes, reserving their juice. Add the tomatoes and juice to pan, cover and bring to a boil.

Add the cooked potatoes, zucchini and beans. Stir in the clams, cover and simmer until the shells open, 5 to 6 minutes. Discard any clams or mussels that do not open. Divide the seafood, vegetables and broth among 4 large bowls and serve immediately. 

Mu Shu Salmon

aka Stretch Those Salmon Dollars

Serves 4

12 small (6-or 8-inch) flour tortillas or 8 larger (10-inch) tortillas

6 to 8 dried shiitake mushrooms (or use less expensive white mushrooms)

3/4 lb. skinless salmon fillet, pin bones removed. (Ask us to do this for you!)

1 T soy sauce

1 T sesame oil

2 T olive oil

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

4 green onions, shredded

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 T minced fresh ginger

4 c.shredded Napa cabbage

2 T water

1/4 to 1/3 c. hoisin sauce, duck sauce or plum sauce

Stack the tortillas and wrap in foil. Just before serving, heat in a 350 degree oven until hot,15 minutes. 

Soak the dried mushrooms in a bowl of hot tap water until tender, 15 to 30 minutes. Drain and gently squeeze the mushrooms. (If you are substituting white button mushrooms, saute in 1 T. of olive oil for 1 minute). Discard the tough stems, then cut the caps in slivers. Set aside in a large bowl.

Rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry. Slice the salmon crosswise into strips 1/4" thick and set aside. Combine the soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil  swirling to coat the sides. When oil is hot, add eggs and cook until set, stirring constantly to break up the eggs, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms.

Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the wok. Add salmon and stir gently until just opaque on the outside, 1-2 minutes. Add to mushrooms.

Scrape any cooked bits of fish from wok and discard (drizzle a lttle water into pan to loosen cooked-on bits). Turn heat to medium and add remaining tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the green onions, garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant and the onion is bright green, about one minute. Add the cabbage and water and stir until cabbage wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the mushrooms, egg and salmon to the wok. Pour in the soy mixture and toss the ingredients until thoroughly combined and heat through. Taste the mixture for seasoning, adding more soy sauce or sesame oil as needed.

To eat, spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce down the center of the tortilla - a little more for the larger tortillas. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling (1/2 c. for larger tortilla) over the sauce, then fold three sides of tortilla over the filling to enclose, leaving one end open.

There you have it, two seafood stretcher meals.  One is Italiany and one is Chinesey.  If you want to make them for St. Patrick's Day, simply add green food coloring.

A Few of the Available Fish This Weekend

Corvina

Red Snapper

Monkfish

Cod

Flounder

Rainbow trout

Haddock

And a whole lot more...

By special order only (order Friday for Saturday delivery)

King mackerel

Catch to Go

Through Sunday it's Honey Jalapeno Salmon with Black Beans, Corn and Spinach Salad.

Next week starting Monday, 

Blackened Mahi 

Cheddar Cheese Grits and Hickory Roasted Garlic Asparagus

Wine Tasting at Milton

If you are in the Milton area Friday afternoon between 3:00 and 6:00 stop by and check out our weekly wine tasting.  Why?  

• You get to taste really good wines
• It's free
• It's kid friendly (well, they don't get taste but we are happy to have them around.)
• Sara will give you a discount on your seafood if you buy wine.  How's that for stretching those seafood dollar?

And Finally

My maiden name, Regan, my green eyes and my daughter's red hair attest to my long line of Irish ancestors. Yet, my great grandfather, Michael Spratt, was a private in the Union Army in the Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg so that makes me pretty darn American too.

St. Patrick's Day makes me think about immigrants and what it means to assimilate into a society. The Irish weren't the most beloved immigrants in our nation's history. They were looked down upon as poor and uneducated. But on March 17th, we dye the rivers green and wear shamrocks because "Everyone's an Irishman on St. Patrick's Day!"

It's a fine line for immigrants to embrace local language and customs and at the same time hang on to their cultural identity.  But one of the best things about America is that there really isn't an "American" culture that is distinct from all the different nationalities represented in our vast country. In America, all her parts add up to much more than her smaller pieces. We are way better together than separate.

Erin go bragh and God bless America.

Blessings,
Kathleen

I Wrote You A Poem

Hey Y'all,

It's Daylight Savings Time this weekend! Yay! Let's have a party at the neighborhood pool this weekend! Isn't it time for the beach? Get out the sunscreen! Where are my shorts?

Fin Mail

I am so thankful that Amy sent me this note and recipe. I don't get many recipes for side dishes that are perfect for seafood and this one is just that!

Hi Kathleen,

Though it’s not Lent yet, I wanted to have the Verlasso salmon tonight that I picked up at your John’s Creek store. So glad I did!

I baked the salmon (with salt/pepper, garlic powder, dill and a bit of olive oil), roasted the brussel sprouts and had some Greek inspired cooked chick peas. I didn’t like chick peas until I had these made by my friend who is from one of the Greek islands (see recipe below)!

I rarely take pictures of my meal but this was an exception. Thanks to Kathleen’s Catch and Elena, I had the best meal of the week.

Amy

Greek inspired Chick Peas Cooked in Tomatoes

Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup dry chickpeas or 2 cans cooked chickpeas
1 small onion chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 carrot chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes (16 ounces)
½ teaspoon sugar
salt/pepper to taste
Chopped parsley

Instructions

1. If you are using dry chickpeas, soak them overnight. Rinse and put in a pot, add water so the beans are covered by about 3 inches and the bay leaf. Cook for about an hour until the beans are soft. Halfway through cooking add the chopped onion, pepper and carrot.
2. If you are using canned chickpeas, you can just boil the carrots, pepper and onion for about 20 minutes and drain.
3. Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain them along with the other vegetables and set aside.
4. In a pan heat the olive oil, and sauté the chickpea mixture for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and sugar and mix well and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until all liquids has been absorbed. You can add small amounts of hot water if needed during the cooking.
5. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper and sprinkle with some parsley

Thanks, Amy, for this delicous sounding recipe.

Now for a little about chickpeas:

I have had a mixed relationship with chickpeas. My very first job was at a Western Sizzlin back in the day when salad bars were all the rage. My job was to keep the salad bar full. Garbanzo beans came in a #10 can. I didn't like them. I did, however, love chickpeas.  

An Ode to Chickpeas

Garbanzo beans from a jar
on the Sizzlin steakhouse salad bar.
Oh no, oh no I am not a fan
I do not like beans from a can.

Chickpeas are delicious
and oh so nutritious.
But garbanzos are icky
and funky and stinky.

What? You proclaim!
They are the same!!
They are both appetizing!
Well, that is rather surprising!

It just goes to show

who am I to know?
Garbanzos and chickpeas
Why yes, I'll have more please.

Also in my fin mail I found Lou Hiers' ideas on the best way to cook salmon.

Hi Ya’ll,
This is the third time I have cooked salmon in my air fryer and unless I decide to smoke some I will not cook it any other way. I set my air fryer to 390 degrees, the max for my unit, and when it reaches that I add the salmon that I have seasoned with Emerills or some other seafood seasoning (ed: Helloooo - Kathleen's Catch seasonings are fresh and great on salmon!). The air fryer really is just a new name for a convection oven and it cooks the salmon perfectly. Moist and done all the way thru at 10 minutes at 390. Cheers!

I love these three pictures that show off how gorgeous our salmon is raw and cooked!

Some Cool Fish This Weekend

• Striped bass from Rhode Island
• Golden Tile from (Two Jerks Seafood in Jupiter, FL -- really)
• King Clip (good for seafood stews, very white, sweet, holds together well)
• Monkfish (best tasting ugly fish ever. Poor man's lobster.)
• Red snapper from Madiera Beach, Florida
• Arctic Char from Iceland -special price of $16.25/lb this weekend only
• Icelandic cod - extra big fillets. Pretty white flakey fillets

By special order only (order Friday for Saturday delivery)

• Pompano from Naples, FL
• Opah from California

This Weekend We are Stuffing It!

We have a batch of fresh crab stuffing that we are stuffing fish with. Pick up some stuffed fish stuffed with stuffing or just pick up some stuffing to stuff your stuffed fish with. (I have been waiting all week to write that sentence using the same word for an adjective, a verb and a noun.)

Catch to Go

Through Sunday, in honor of this week's Mardi Gras, Catch to Go is New Orleans Shrimp Creole. By the way, I heard that on Wednesday, the city of New Orleans retrieved 93,000 lbs of beads from the storm drains in a five block area following Mardi Gras parades.

Next week starting Monday, the ever-popular Honey Jalapeno Salmon with Spinach, Black Beans and Corn Salad.

And Finally
So here we are at the start of Lent. Just when we managed to forget all those New Year's resolutions, we are hit with sacrifices for Lent. No matter who you are or what you believe in, you have to agree that taking a personal inventory every now and then is not a bad idea. Just keep in mind that, even if you didn't quite manage all those resolutions from the beginning of the year, today is a new day! And keep in mind that if you encounter some obstacles on your path to perfection, well, that's a good thing. After all, if you have made it to perfection, you are dead.

Here's to an imperfect life.

Blessings,
Kathleen

Cooking Whole Fish, Canadian Cooking Theory, Billy Beer

Hey Y'all,

I have had a number of comments about my new blog format for my newsletters.  I hear you!  Not all of you are clickers! I am fixing it this week by sending you the content in the email and then copying it into my blog.   That way if you ever want to go back and find some simply charming photo of my dog or a recipe from a former newsletter, you can go there for it.  If you are, in fact, a clicker and would prefer to see it in blog format, just click away at the link at the bottom of the email.   

Fin Mail

Thanks so much for all your love and photos this week.  My friend, Mary Mayer of Cheeses and Mary sent me this photo of her work.  There is a ton of beautiful food on this board but I think our shrimp is holding its own.

Loaves & Fishes

Here's her sweet note that came with the picture.

Last night we had the privilege to host a Corporate Team Building event and created a post-meeting Nosh board.  We are so grateful to you and Theos for your outstanding Localisciousness and making us look good!  

Thanks KC, 

Cheeses loves you.

Localisciousness!  I love it and I love Cheeses and Mary!

Below is a Valentine photo from an old friend of mine from another life!  Dan Person and I used to work together as Construction Managers back before I became a fishmonger. And you thought it was the fishmongering that made me gray.  

I'm not sure how Dan managed my Valentine logo placemats but how cute! Maybe we will be offering those next year with our Valentine's meals!

And this week on Google, a 5 Star review!
Amazing quality! I have never really enjoyed fish until now. Reviews might say it’s expensive, but it’s well worth the price. The freshest and best seafood I have ever had.
— T P

ed:  Blushing and nodding furiously...

How to Cook a Whole Fish
Ellen Buskovitz sent me this picture of the red snapper she prepared last weekend.



As Ellen knows, cooking it whole has to be one of the easiest ways to prepare fish. Pick up some whole yellowtail snappers at our markets this weekend. They are already cleaned so you can simply stuff the cavity with sliced lemons, fresh herbs, garlic, and salt. Score the outside of the fish, as shown in the picture above, about every inch or so. Rub the outside of the fish with olive oil. Lay the stuffed fish on the counter and measure the thickest part of the fish. 

Using the Canadian Cooking Theory, you can determine the amount of time to bake the fish. The cooking time is calculated by multiplying the thickness of the fish in inches by 10 minutes. If you are using a sauce, add 5 minutes. If your fish is frozen double the cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place fish on an oiled baking sheet and bake uncovered for the required number of minutes as calulated above.

How to tell when it's done?  Insert the tip of a sharp knife into the fish. If there is a very small line of translucency in the middle, it's time take it out. That little bit of translucency will cook on the way to the table. 

Overcooking fish is the number one reason people get discouraged.  Do your best to get it out before it gets too flaky and dried out.

A Few of the Available Fish This Weekend

Whole yellowtail snappers

Swordfish

Mahi

Fluke flounder

Monkfish

By special order only (order Friday for Saturday delivery)

Pompano

Catch to Go
Through Sunday it's Italian Herbed Swordfish with Grape, Amond and Barley Salad

Next week starting Monday, in honor of Mardi Gras, we are serving New Orleans Shrimp Creole!  

And Finally
President's Day was week before last and it didn't occur to me to write about it.  Like I mentioned last week, we spent the day at the Georgia  Aquarium which didn't have much to do with presidents.  No worries though because apparently my grandchildren were learning about presidents at school.  Joel must have learned a thing or two about our Georgia president, because he was even able to draw a picture of him.

I'm probably never going to become President of the United States but if I did, I hope I could see all the pictures that children in 2nd grade draw of me.  It would be humbling.  2nd graders are innocent, no politics or negativity.   Jimmy's teeth didn't even make it into this picture.

I wonder if 2nd graders learn about Billy Beer...

Blessings,

Kathleen