Smithy

I tried a new (to me) recipe for potato salad from a fine cookbook, Feast of Eden: Recipes from California's Garden Paradise (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). It was published in 1994 so doesn't qualify as old by David's standards, but it is by the Junior League of Monterey County and I haven't had many misses from it. Mediterranean Potato Salad adds capers, chopped fresh basil, and scallions to the cooked potatoes. The dressing uses lemon, garlic, olive oil, caper liquid (I had to substitute pickle juice, because my capers are preserved in salt) and dried basil. My, oh my this is good! I don't like gloppy potato salad and I detest sweet potato salad. This is neither. It has a delightful tartness thanks to the lemon and capers, and the olive oil lets each of the ingredients shine through. I think I made enough for a week's worth of lunches. Hallelujah!

Sometime if you want to take us on a culinary tour of Hanford, feel free to do so. I'm very fond of Fagundes Farms' cheese (the Hanford Jack especially). In addition, there's a classic ice cream place downtown - I forget the name, but there's something like an oversized milk can atop the store. (Foster's? I don't think that's right. ) They made, or I hope make, wonderful shakes and ice cream desserts.

Hello and welcome! You'll find all sorts of help and inspiration around here - how-to advice, troubleshooting, great ideas, and even some cases where people say "it's really easier to buy this" and others say "yes, but homemade is better". Browse around, join in the fun, and ask for help when you need it!

Welcome, DaveCee! I grew up near Visalia ...actually, closer to Ivanhoe, which you may recognize given your apparent location. Are you in citrus country, stone fruit country, or something else altogether? That looks like mighty fine bread. I still work at it, but my loaves generally don't look as good as that. Yet. 🙂

Do the reviews suggest, then, that the two basket chambers aren't really independent of each other? The Amazon page to which @FauxPaslinked claimed that they are independent. That looked appealing. On the other hand, I can believe they might not be truly independent, based on experience with my household oven. It has a divider that slides into the chamber to make an upper and lower oven with different temperature set points and cooking modes. It adds versatility but the two chambers still affect each other.

I clicked on it, and discovered that I'd already bought it a year or so ago. How many times has that happened to me? How many books have I bought, downloaded, and forgotten? The only good aspect of this situation that I can see is that they aren't taking physical space on my overloaded bookshelves.

<snip> Following up on my post: I already got a response from Amelia at Wild Alaskan. Here's what she had to say, first about where the fillets are cut from and then about thawing and the texture I experienced. She also included links to their blog, with thawing instructions, as well as a video. I appreciate that level of customer concern. Next time I'll follow the instructions in the links she sent me - basically the same instructions that we've already commented on in this topic.

Yes, I just went to their web site and found the same information: thaw in the refrigerator, out of the package or at least with the package punctured to allow oxygen in, in a dish to catch the drips. I've just emailed them to ask whether the soak was responsible for the surface texture. I've also asked them rotuts' question about from where on the fish the fillets are cut.

Here's my first test of the Wild Alaskan shipment. I thawed 3 packages of Coho Salmon. Each package was around 6 oz worth of fish. @rotuts, I took a picture of each piece on edge, so you could see that at the thickest they were around 1" thick. I think these must be from nearer the head, or at least not near the tail. Can you tell from these shots? These fillets are glazed with salt water as the spot prawns were that @KennethT mentioned above. I took a cue from him and thawed the fish in salty water in the refrigerator. Was that useful or helpful? I don't know. The package instructions simply say to remove from the packaging and thaw under refrigeration. As it happened, I'd snapped the photos above when family called from out of town. We went out to dinner. The salmon were still icy in places the next morning, so the refrigerator thaw in salt water is indeed a slow and gentle method. When I pulled the fillets out to start cooking the fish flesh was VERY soft, almost mealy. Was that because of the long, slow thaw and hold in salty water? Should I have simply left them in a covered dish without the water? I've noticed that texture with some salmon in the past. I don't remember whether it's been a particular variety of salmon. I'll ask Wild Alaskan and see what they have to say. A normal person would use a familiar recipe and cooking method when testing a new supplier. I didn't do that. Salmon is my favorite fish, but it's one of my husband's least favorites, and I'm always looking for treatments that he too will like. Sear-roasted salmon fillets with lemon ginger butter, from The 150 Best American Recipes (2006) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), was the choice this time. (Yes, I've had that book since it came out. No, I'd never tried this recipe before.) It turns out to be messy to make, unless one is cooking outside or has a really good range hood. You heat a film of oil to medium-high heat, place the fillets skin-side down and let them cook until browned on the bottom, then flip them and place in a preheated very hot oven for a few minutes. The smoke and grease spatter were bad. The good news is that the fish held up well. The "mealy" surface stayed with the fish, for the most part, and the fish firmed up as it cooked. The final result was flaky but not overcooked. The real star of the recipe is the lemon ginger butter: minced ginger and chives, mixed with lemon juice and softened butter, dolloped on the fish. In our case it was also dolloped on the green beans and sopped up with his toast. Was this salmon better than we could have gotten at the store? I don't know, but it was at least as good: beautifully frozen, very fresh tasting. I'll ask Wild Alaskan about the texture and the proper thawing method, and report back.

If *I* were to visit Shelby, I probably wouldn't want to leave either! Her fried fish always looks so goooood. As does everything else she cooks. Nonetheless, I've spent the afternoon pulling out books with promising-looking recipes. First chance for me to cook will be this weekend. Oh, the choices!

rotuts, I just looked into the freezer and snapped some photos for you. The Coho salmon came in two types: the "Captain's Cut (circled in yellow) seems to be tail pieces. The regular Coho filets (circled in blue) seem to be from more nearly toward the head. I only dug out one Sockeye package (circled in red), and since the choice on that package was to show you the label or the skin, you're seeing the skin! This filet looks like it's from right behind the gills. Incidentally, the plastic bags that had held the dry ice were empty. They're headed for the recycler next.

KennethT, you raise a couple of good points: It's an interesting question. I put it in our chest freezer, atop the newly acquired fish. That freezer is outside in the garage, so I don't have to worry about the increased CO2. If I hadn't done that, I'd have just chucked it out on the driveway or maybe amused myself by chucking into our pond. That's a good point. Each package has 2 filets (or steaks) so in my mind's eye that's two portions. I may have to plan on 2 packages for 2 people, but I expect we'll have leftovers if I do that.

This was the Wild Combo 12-pack (the smallest box, with a mix of red and white fish). I added on the Wild Coho 6-pack because it was on sale, and of course there were the prawns as a freebie. I'll have to answer your other question (about which ends of the filets) after I go look again in the freezer, but I believe there were plenty from both ends.

@liamsaunt, I'd like to know more about how that cod was prepared...and what type of beans and seasonings were in the puree? I'm going to be experimenting with a fish shipment soon. My other half thinks all fish should be fried, but I'd like to try more creative dishes with some of it. Please tell more about the olive relish, while you're at it. Was it tart, like a muffaletta? I don't blame you for keeping all that dish to yourself!

My first shipment from Wild Alaskan Company arrived today. I am impressed with the packaging. The seafood was thoroughly frozen. The packaging is all recyclable or reusable. They are careful to warn about the dry ice in the plastic bags that lurks under the top lid: use gloves! They also stress the ways the packaging can be reused or composted or recycled. I particularly like the idea of simply dissolving the insulation in water and using it on the garden. The main attraction, of course, is the fish itself. Here's what arrived, all in lovely condition: 10 packages of Coho salmon; 2 packages of Pacific halibut; 4 packages of Pacific cod; 2 packages of Sockeye salmon. Each package contains enough fish for 2 people. Then there are 2 packages of those lovely-looking Spot prawns. Like others before me, I'll have to research a way to show them to best advantage. I think each prawn package could feed more than 2 people. Will we keep it up? I don't know. It's a struggle to get my darling to eat fish except when it's battered and deep fried, or when it was flipping in the water only a couple of hours before. (In that case it needs pan frying.) This may be too much seafood for the two of us for one month. I also wonder about taking business away from our "local" fishermen who spend months in Alaska and then bring / ship their produce back here, to be sold in our local markets. Regardless of whether we follow through on this subscription, I'm very impressed with the apparent quality of the product, and the thought that has gone into the program.

If you haven't pulled the trigger ye, you're safe! The price is now up to $487.43.

@Shelby, I wonder where they get mandarins at this time of year. Did the label or package say the source? It looks like a nice haul. I'd be challenged to use that much in a week, or even two. What's in the brown paper wrappers at the right edge of the pictures?

I had no idea about that trend. Thanks for the information, unwlecome as it is.

Right now I wish there was a double-funny belly-laugh emoji. One guffaw isn't enough.

Damn. The pub where I worked one summer, which had been in business since at least 1644, is also gone.

Enablers, indeed. I just placed my first order, to include those prawns.

This is the place where you chat about yourself, tell us what you like to cook and/or eat, where you live (if you want to say) and so on, so we can welcome you. Welcome! What's for dinner at your place today?

I think it's an entertaining article. I'd heard of perhaps half of the books, and I have (or have had) a few of them. The writer writes with a panache that I particularly enjoy. Unlikely as it may seem, the 1963 book by Robert Carrier, Great Dishes of the World (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), especially catches my eye. I love that "historical" stuff that overlaps my time on this earth, and I may have to go seek out a copy for the sheer fun of reading it. My question is, what the heck are those things on pedestals in the accompanying photo? They look like frosted bicycle seats.

Looking on the bright side: can you tell us more about the quince "spoon sweets" atop the yogurt in that last picture? I'd like to know how that quince was prepared. It looks more like strips of jellied fruit than chopped or stewed preserves.

*Bump* I've never been a fan of cole slaw. The stuff I grew up with was sweet and gloppy, and for some reason sweet and gloppy has rarely or never fit with vegetables for me. Later I learned that cole slaw doesn't have to be sweet and gloppy; some can taste pretty good. Still. The original knee-jerk distrust of the stuff has kept me from exploring it much. My husband buys the sweet 'n' gloppy stuff he loves and I leave it alone. Fast forward to this summer, and for some reason the idea of crunchy, juicy slaw has been on my mind. I finally got round to trying the first of several slaw recipes from the June/July issue (No. 159) of Fine Cooking Magazine. (Yes, I can be slow about these things.) First attempt: a riff on their "Taco Slaw" -- p. 64 if you have access to the magazine, or a partial link here. I started with a bag of prepared coleslaw mix. The dressing: the juice of half a lime (maybe more, to taste); salt and pepper to taste; mayonnaise to taste; chopped cilantro. My proportions were roughly that half lime's worth of juice, about 1/2 tsp salt; no pepper; 2 - 3 Tbsp Duke's mayo; nearly a cup of chopped cilantro (stems and all). Cole slaw, where have you been all my life?! I can't stop eating the stuff. So far I've been eating it straight but it would make a fine taco topping. My husband took a bite, said "too salty" and went back to his sweet gloppy stuff. Fine with me! It eliminates the competition. I've had vinegar slaws before and liked them well enough. The Cole Slaw topic elsewhere in these forums has good recipes. @kayb posted a recipe for her Jail Slaw that I quite like. But for right now, I intend to keep eating this tangy, tart, not-gloppy "Taco Slaw". Eventually I'll try their other recipes: Broccoli Slaw; Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint; their take on Vinegar Slaw. Has any one else been experimenting with new slaw recipes?