johnnyd

Bummer. Your shrimp were out of the water too long. These guys are sooooo delicate. It's also the very smallest that "turn" first, sometimes ruining the whole bag. These have a yellower tint I've noticed. Interesting note: between your post and chrisamiraults, the price at Whole Foods dropped a dollar, possibly reflecting the need to move these critters faster. ... and the price could go south even more! Last night's volume was massive: 3/7/05 - 58,765lbs - 11 boats, 7 trucks Low price: $0.55 Average: 0.56 High: 0.60 The season ends on the 25th so there are 17 days left.... edit to add: Really bad weather the next two days will prohibit shrimping. Seas are expected as high as 22feet and gale-force winds to 45knots. Last night is the last auction for a couple days so the time to shop for them is tonight and tomorrow!

Holy Hannah, jhlurie! It's mole! You simmer this sucker for a month at least! But seriously folks, when Mr. Lee sent this to me and I saw Avocado Leaves I went "screw this!" and went and bought Maria so n' so jar o' mole instead. Got so sick I vowed I'd never "buy" mole sauce again. So I keep this damned recipe around thinking I'll eventually stir up a pot. My strategy was to just leave out or substitute the nuttier items, get it going at noon, turn off the simmer when I went to bed and leave it to meld overnight. On the other hand, Abra's amazing photo essay is a far better looking strategy for making mole. It pays to keep a dish as close to the original method as possible, no?

Just picked one up after much research. I'm thrilled at the possibilities. Check out this Thread about my visit to Portland's Fish Exchange which I shot four days after buying my A85. I humbly submit this report to my better-skilled colleagues in hopes of constructive criticsm. I have noted: A) I knew better (thanks to this thread) than to use flash but I couldn't resist the fascinating contrasts in the flash and non-flash photos of the boxes of fresh shrimp. B) I like the movement of the pier guys sliding the boxes along the auction house floor but could have gotten a more stable shot of the boat w/spool unloading. Maybe I was nervous about the fifteen drop into the ice-chunk studded seawater to my left! I was lucky to get Hank stable enough on deck of his boat for a sharp shot (pic #2) I am still getting to know how to work this thing. I am familiar with some photoshop functions such as unsharp mask and the brightness/contrast, especially in ImageReady. I haven't a clue how Macro Mode works yet, but I do have a plan for lighting when it's time to shoot plates. I just hope I get to it before shrimp season ends!

This was sent to me from eGmember Bicycle Lee back in June: Mole Poblano From The Red Iguana,736 W North Temple, S.L.C. Ingredients: 6.30 Oz. Mexican Chocolate 2 Very Ripe Plantain Bananas 1 Cup Peanuts 1 Cup Pecans 20 Passillas, Stemmed and Seeded 2 Oz. Guajillo Chilis Stemmed and Seeded 1 Cup Raisins 1 White Onion Quarted 4 Avocado Leaves 1 Bunch Cilantro 1 Bunch Epazote 2 Tsp. Sugar 5 Piloncillo Sugar Pieces 2 Tsp. Thyme 2 Tsp. Majoram 6 Cloves 8 Cinnamon Sticks 1/2 Tsp. Allspice 1/2 Tsp. Anise 1 Tsp. Coriander 8 Bay Leaves 1 Tsp. Mexican Oregano 3 Tsp. Black Pepper Salt to taste Chicken Broth (Optional) Instructions: Saute all ingredients. Blend, slowly adding 2 quarts water. Put blended ingredients back into pot, reheat and simmer. Add salt or chicken stock to tastes. Serve over meat or seafood of your choice. edit to add: I was missing a few of the ingredients so I never made it

We toured the JFK museum the day after Thanksgiving which took the better part of an afternoon. There is little to look forward to at their eatery - mostly prepared sandwichs and soda. Work up your appetite then head back into town.

Whew! ...I feel exhausted... Great blog Rochelle; I feel I've been scrubbing the grill grates and whipping up salad bar ingredients right next to you all week! Thank you for your insights and reflections on your job at the sorority. The Dinner with your parents was most welcome, too. On Soba's recommendation, I started reading the very first few blogs (Fat Guy, Sam, Maggie...) and boy have we come a long way. Reading them easily shows the genesis of eGullet as a whole. Our weekly foodblog is one of the Society's finest features. Thanks again, Rochelle!

Jason, I lived in Sao Paulo in my early teens and lived for the day my Mom (who was born in São Vicente nearby) made those little meat-filled pastries. They are called Empadinhas (empa - deen - yah) and they are also made with chicken. Splash a bit of piripiri (hot sauce) on 'em! We used to drive to the coast on weekends and usually in the direction of one seaside area because on the way was a road-side churraso that turned out perfectly grilled pork cutlets served inside a sliced pãozinho, or "little loaf". Splash of piripiri, delicious. I still make them at home now in a sliced baguette but the USA pork can't hold a candle to the Brazilian pig. [looks over shoulder for cleaver-wielding southwest eG members] The beef and corn combo I remember hazily. Maria's On-line Brazilian Cookbook is a great source of food from Brasil for those interested in going beyond Feijoada or the Rodizio routine.

That's the punchline of a joke an irish friend used to tell: "What d'you call a seven-course Irish meal?" [buddum bum!] ...but this septet looks mighty good:

It also reminds me of the Marmots I'd see in the Alps. That fractal cauliflower is amazing!

Yesterday's auction saw the biggest load of shrimp I've seen to date: 2/28/05 - 44,736lbs - 8 boats, 4 trucks Low price: $0.58 Average: 0.60 High: 0.63 Made a small shrimp chowder yesterday for the snow-day expected today. It was so good I ate it all before a single flake fell. 2 slice diced bacon rendered and removed to which I sauteed diced onion and fennel bulb, about a cup each. Added one diced potato until glassy, then one minced garlic clove. I only had a cup of chicken stock so I peeled my half pound of shrimp and simmered the shells in a cup of water for a half an hour. Added both stocks and a dash of hon-dashi for good measure. When bubbly, I added my shrimp, a cup of good heavy cream from our local Smiling Hill Dairy, and stirred in the bacon bits with the heat off. My "test" bowl got a grind or two of white pepper and off I went to read Malawry's Foodblog. I kept coming back for another "test" and by the time I finished eGulleting, the pot was empty. This is a chowder that I'm going to have to make in bulk to freeze for the summer.

Wait a minute here! I have been wandering around, lost in a fog, ever since project blew up the Great eGullet Novel; where's the talent? thread! You guys are terrific. Great surprise ending, Lucy! I have to catch up with everybody else now...

Susan, this is eeerie! That's me you are talking about! Are you my lost twin?

I lived in Portugal as a kid and when we went to town, there was a barn by the fishing boats that reeked soooo baaaad, I was scared to death. My mom said it was where they salted cod in big barrels. I don't think there was any refrigeration involved and I didn't have the stuffing to go near the place to find out. One of those childhood memories that lives in the "nightmare" file of the brain. I bet the tupperware plan will work. Just wrap the box in a plastic supermarket bag and seal with rubberbands. Let me know how it works out, I might want to try it too.

This Blog made me remember a bit of school life... I went to an international (high)school in Valais, Switzerland for a couple years. Meal service was a 3x/day affair and would not commence until everyone was there and "announcements" were made in three languages. The boys were pretty bratty and behaviour was hardly level during meals. No one was allowed out of there seats during meals unless you had a very good reason. The kitchen was run by a hyperactive Italian fellow who would leap over the steam tables and drag a student by his ear over to the adult table for punishment when (or if) he caught anyone disrespecting his food. This was deathly embarrassing so order was reasonably well-kept. We could depend on some weekly euro-basics like schnitzel, brats & potato, and pizza. Every two Friday nights we'd have cheese fondue. The joke on any new kid was to find the "potato", which was really a clove of garlic and watch his face fall off when he found and ate it. There was always a lot of salad with a strong, salty vinaigrette. A rumour surfaced that the dressing contained salt-petre in an effort to control the raging hormones of the boys and keep them from sneaking out at night to meet-up with the girls dorm down the road. I have no idea if that's true or even possible, but after a while, no one ate the salad. The Chef was mighty pissed-off.

This makes my head spin. I, too, used to muck about in the dorm kitchen and make things for whoever was around. I cannot believe the shortsighted point of view the insurance regulations have taken to cause this?!! I'm sure your kitchen is industrial strength, so some gear can be mis-used, but if an effort was introduced to educate the sisters in proper kitchen usage, resulting in a "certificate", the insurance regs could be therefore moot, the ladies learn basic prep and cooking (which would develop an appreciation for food groups and stave off possible weight-gain from bad restaurant choices), and the sorority achieves a goal of preparing it's members for post-college reality. I say push this as a requirement, Rochelle! Make it your own personal home-economics course! It's a great way to use your budget surplus too.

Interesting question. The folks at the DMR lab have established that there are usually 3 or 4 species of shrimp per sample, sometimes as many as nine. It is the northern atlantic environment after all so before I dig into Marilyn's info to find out more, I'd speculate that they are pretty much the same. Especially since you recognized the similarity between the two. Doc, did you have any dishes while in that area that included local shrimp? If you did, were they prepared in a way that reflects Catalan/Basque cuisine?

Check out my recent visit to the Portland Fish Exchange for pictures of fresh shrimp being off-loaded, weighed and prepped for auction. The pix on that topic, "Maine Shrimp Harvesters - 2005" were taken Thursday, 2-24-05: 2/24 - 33,403lbs - 7 boats Low: $0.59 Average: 0.61 High: 0.62 After all that time at the Auction House, I actually walked out of there WITHOUT ANY SHRIMP!!!

Visit to Portland Fish Exchange 2-24-05 @ 21:30 - Part Two - Here are totes of shrimp lined up for inspection by buyers a half hour before auction time. There are still a couple boats that need to off-load their catch... ... and a freeloading sky-rat looking for a snack... When the pier guys are backed up, they go even faster! To offer a closer look at these animals, I took a couple of pictures without flash and with flash and the resulting color contrast was remarkable: ...a little closer (but a bit out of focus, sorry)... ...but these, almost the same view as above, look like they're on fire! Look at those eyes! Just so you know, there were more than a few jumping around in these boxes. I got ya fresh shrimp heyah, right heyah! Note also a collection of grayish eggs around the abdomen area. These are quite tasty. Marilyn at DMR sent me an eMail last night with a bit more about shrimp analysis at their lab... She also sent me an interesting paper on the life cycle of Northern Shrimp, Here is the actual Auction room at the Exchange where buyers raise numbered paddles when lots of fresh shrimp come up for bid. Not very interesting really, until you think about how much seafood is bought and sold here in this room, then you realize the chances are pretty good you yourself have eaten at least one fish invoiced on these tables. That's it for the auction house. Marilyn at DMR has sent me lots of info on Maine's Best Kept Secret which will require sifting through before posting. Next up: a look at area retail fish markets who sell fresh Maine Shrimp. These will be posted on the Fresh Maine Shrimp; where d'you get yours? thread as it is most relevant there. Anyone who sees and can snap a photo of Maine Shrimp for sale in their area should join in and post their pics there too! Questions? Comments? See the Where d'you get yours? thread also for what I and other eGullet members have been cooking up with Maine Shrimp!

Members trying to find fresh Maine shrimp have been sharing their knowledge and frustrations here. Beyond the simple fact that I find Fresh Maine Shrimp delicious and fishing for anything as pretty damned cool, the purpose of the tour of the exchange and of Gulf of Maine Shrimp harvesting is to broaden the knowledge of consumers to the fact that there are some excellent shrimp available on the doorstep of New England. A few weeks ago, we had a spirited discussion about foreign/domestic shrimp prices and availability on the Food Media and News board. The prospect of buying a frozen, farmed shrimp vs fresh shrimp was argued to the conclusion that fresh product has too short a shelf life (and too little a harvest) to satisfy the huge domestic demand so foreign product is a necessary element in the market. The marketplace has established the 21-25 peices per pound sized shrimp as the de-facto restaurant choice for dishes served to customers so the little Maine critters take a back seat in the pecking order... so far. I introduce the argument that when you have fresh local anything, you create a plate that embraces it as it is, taking into account form and flavor. It is in the hands of a (hopefully) creative chef. The rub is taking on existing conventions at the risk of consumer rejection. The State of Maine is taking a pro-active stance in monitoring and fostering a healthy, sustainable shrimp fishery. The little beasts have been praised by many but are available to few. It is possible that they can join the other high quality seafood that consumers can expect from the Gulf of Maine for years to come... if we just bring them to the attention of the market.

You should hear the old seal jokes among us urchin divers! Fou: Things were pretty easy-going at the exchange until 9/11. I called last week and asked if I could come take pix and they said I had to sign in, get a pass and an escort. When I arrived, I recognized someone who knew a mutual friend in the Sea Urchin biz I used to be in, so I was let loose.

Welcome to my visit to the Portland, Maine Fish Exchange, America's first all-display fresh fish and seafood auction. The Portland Fish Exchange is non-profit and owned/managed by the city of Portland, Maine. It is recognized throughout the seafood industry as a leader in innovation, quality and integrity. Last night, I had my second visit to the Exchange to see the shrimp boats unload their catch (my first was drastically shortened by battery failure in my new camera... I learn more about this thing every day ) and as luck would have it, who should be visiting that night but the lovely Marilyn Lash from Maine's Department of Marine Resources(DMR). Jackpot! She was a wealth of knowledge and knew all the vessel captains on a first name basis, "Jeez, I haven't seen you in good, long while Hank! Howya been?" Marilyn was there to take notes on where in the Gulf of Maine the boats had trawled, how long their "sets" lasted, and at what depth they set their nets. This data is used to determine CPUE (catch-per-unit-of-effort) for the specific fishing grounds worked. She also took about a two-pound sample from each boats' haul for analysis at the lab back at DMR. Typically, they will find three or four species (sometimes as many as 9) of shrimp in a sample, but the bulk of the research is performed on the target species, Pandalus borealis, or Northern Shrimp. "Sooooo, you and the lab guys throw a little bayleaf and peppercorn in a pot of boiling water, right? Very scientific!" I said. She laughed but assured me that much complex analysis occurs (ie: size, egg-count/location) before the remains are fed to various marine life they are holding in tanks for on-going studies at the lab. The gigantic spool shown here holds the shrimp net on the transom (stern, or back-end of the boat... for you lubbers out there). I don't know how long these are but I have a feeling they're huge. The guys are raising a stack of fish "totes" full of shrimp (note the almost neon red color) to the right of the picture. Here, the electric pulley has just about hoisted them to where the pier guys can haul them in for weighing. These fish "totes" are tough, polyurethene buckets with interlocking corners that hold a hundred or so pounds of seafood. They take a lot of abuse and are indispensable. You might have noticed the boat is fifteen feet or more below the pier's edge. The tides in the Gulf of Maine are almost the most active in the world (Bay of Fundy is an eight hour drive away), plus the full moon was a day before, adding another several inches to the low and hightide marks. Are these guys fast or what? Just inside the receiving dock, the weigher adjusts the quantity per tote to reflect a constant, say 100 or 80lbs, so it is easier to count during transport and invoicing. Anything leftover is put into a tote and called a "partial". All totes are then tagged with the name of the fishing vessel, date, (and probably something else, but he was too busy to ask). Digital Scale Station. Everyone is bundled-up, it's about 16.F degrees here! These guys are moving a lot so it doesn't bother them, their core temperature is right up there. Marilyn and I on the other hand are freezing, but I think she can take the cold better than I, she's a born and bred Mainer from Friendship, a fishing town on Muscongus Bay, about an hour and a half east of Portland... Stay tuned for part two! Comments? Questions?

In the old days, cod was packed, flat in pine boxes of salt. If you do it yourself, prepare for a powerful smell!

The Revenge hath struck again! Slightly OT but I found this little article about new developments regarding the treatment of Motezuma's Revenge, while on the road (or apparently, downtown...)

So I went to the Auction house tonight and got my visitor's pass. Linda, the very kind front-line person showed me which door to use so I don't get mowed down by loading trucks. There were already stacks of totes (tough, poly fish boxes with interlocking corners) FULL of shrimp that were ACTUALLY JUMPING! So I took a quick picture on my way out to the 40-footer that was unloading more shrimp. Unfortunately, my new Canon shit the bed right at the pier's edge. No juice! I made arrangements to pop in tomorrow, but I hear the weather will deteriorate... should be fun!

[cue old-time, acadian sea shanty] Aaargh, maties! Maine shrimp are seeing robust activity at the auction this week although the volume is not as huge as last week: 2/21 - 18,869lbs - 8 boats Low price: $0.75 Average: 0.75 High: 0.76 2/22 - 11,320lbs - 4 boats Low price: $0.65 Average: 0.66 High: 0.82 Lifted the following graph from the Portland Fish Auction website (thanks, guys!) I can't claim to see any grand trend except when one introduces the terrible Nor'easters we have been getting nearly every week, then I recognize the cause for spikes. Made a massive pad thai yesterday. I was peeling some shrimp and dropping them into a bird chili, lime juice and fish sauce marinade. I realized there was no point in stopping as I would probably pick up more shrimp in a couple of days. There was probably fifty of the little buggers! I swear their incorporation make the best pad thai but the credit goes to Pim and Mamster's Pad Thai recipe (see up-thread). Opened the times today and saw Mark Bittman's "Shrimp Without Distraction" recipe? which I will just have to try. The hardcopy mentions blanching scallions, then pureeing with garlic to add to shrimp saute; finish w/fresh scallion and cilantro. Hmmm... might have to spritz at service with lime or meyer lemon, dude. .. Aaargh! [/cue old-time, acadian sea shanty]