Monday, July 14, 2008
Grilled Cod
Here's a relatively quick recipe that may be used to steam fish or lobster on a grill, if you like them well cooked but still moist.
Serves: 6
Need:
Grill Plate
2 oz. Sturgeon, trout, or salmon caviar
2 Lbs Cod
2 dozen Quahogs or Littlenecks
6 Medium Leeks
High quality Chorizo
Canola Oil
1 Cup-blended- Basil, Garlic, Parsley, Canola Oil, Salt, Peppar, lemon
Coat the fish with the blended herbs and oil. Use a brush or paper towel to grease the grill plate (may use foil with some small holes in it or a grill basket.)
Cut the leeks in half, using the whites for roasted vegetables. Take the green halves and separate them into 3-inch by 1-inch pieces. Cover the grill plate with these. Then layer clams on top, then chorizo, then the fish on top of everything.
Light the grill, raise the heat to 500 inside, and grill closed for 20 minutes.
The moisture from the leeks and clams will help steam the fish.
Cook until clams have opened. Some may stay partially closed because of the weight of the fish. If you want to be certain your clams are cooked, and you want them dry, lay them next to the fish instead of below. Grilled clams tend to keep some moisture in the bottom of the shell. If you really like dry clams, grill them mouth down, so they open and drain during cooking.
Garnish the fish with caviar down the center of the fillets to add flavor and color. My favorite is a sturgeon caviar like American Hackleback.
This dish can be duplicated with other firm, mild whitefish like Haddock, Halibut, Black Bass, or Striped Bass. Broiling instead of grilling will give you a dry, flaky fish, which is also nice. I like my fish cooked through, but I'm obssessed with it being moist inside, and dry outside with a little searing for flavor and texture.
We haven't substituted the fish with lobster, but we will later this summer and expect good things because the high heat and steam work a little like a clambake.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Seafood Rubs
We were grilling salmon last night and had a great seafood rub for it.
Often, I'll use some of the Nantucket Offshore seasonings for a lot of cooking. The "Herbs d'Provence" is really versatile. It does contain Rosemary, which can be strong for some dishes, but the flavor in this rub isn't overpowering, allowing the seasoning mix to be used in a broad range of dishes. At least for me, but I like the French and Italian herbs in most of my foods.
The one we used last night was Rub with Love by Tom Douglas, www.tomdouglas.com, from Seattle, Washington. The rub is basically brown sugar and paprika. You add olive oil. It's a sweet complement to salmon that doesn't overpower the fish, even when you put too much rub on like we did.
To me, these flavors make sense. One of my favorites ways to cook salmon is by quartering some figs (cut stems off,) sauteing them in maple syrup and either port or bourbon, and coating the salmon with the reduced liquid and serving the figs on top of the cooked salmon. You don't want this to be too sweet, so you can reduce the syrup if you use port, which has some natural sugar, especially if its ruby. Brown sugar or honey are good substitutes as well.
It never hurts when your salmon is wild Atlantic (apparently it still exists.) We bought this one from East Coast Seafood at 167 Hummock Pond Rd. The location is not huge, and they don't try and do too much. The products they offer are very fresh, well cleaned and cut, and presented beautifully. It's an idyllic spot to buy seafood in Summer. There's even a small flower nursery next door, and Bartlett's Ocean View farm is around the corner. Nantucket's a pretty nice place to be.
Enjoy,
Rich
Saturday, June 14, 2008
fish oil pill quantity
I'm on Nantucket and wanted to share a brief update on fish oil and seafood rubs.
It's probably not a bad idea to find a fish oil vitamin that has multiple softgels per dose. that way you can split up the recommended daily amount over different meals. If you take the pill ten minutes before you eat, that will satisfy your hunger.
You don't want to take over the daily recommended dose on the bottle. I've noticed a few prescription manufacturers like Omacor have multiple pills per dose (3-4,) Lavaza (4 pills daily,) as do Shaklee (3 pills per dose,) which is "over the counter" through catalog sales.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Caviar Diet 2008
Please see the articles database for a draft of the diet plan.
I've put in place a version that does not need caviar, but instead uses a lot of fish oil pills for people on the go.
I think the ideal way to do the diet, for enjoyment and health, is to consume more fresh salmon caviar. But for now, I like the convenience of the fish oil pills. The diet is easy for me to follow and is working.
More details in the articles section . . .
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Caviar Diet
Thanks for your patience, the diet is beginning in August, though most of the setup is complete.
I will be beginning a diet to identify some core foods that provide most of the nutrition people need with very little they don't need. One might look at this as an efficient way of eating, and the general plan will appear very healthy on paper. Eating more or less of these foods can define an actual maintenance or weight loss plan.
However, we want this way of eating to be practical to everyday lives, so there will be a few variations, including a vegetarian and non-fish. Ultimately, increasing long chain omega-3 fatty acids is a goal, since Americans often consume less than the recommended daily allowance. For most of us, the long chain omega-3's need to come from fish, either by eating it directly or through supplements.
Salmon and trout caviar are one such source we will in corporate into a daily meal plan. We may find caviar as part of daily diet is good, and we may find it is bad, or simply impractical. One theory we want to test is if the egg is the perfect food, caviar may be the egg perfected. But caviar is not for everyone, and it's really not in American culture. If caviar proves to be a healthy alternative for people, this diet may increase its presence in our diet, much like in Northern Europe and Asia. If we find it's not healthy we won't endorse the diet, even though we are a caviar company.
The goal at this stage is to determine which foods work best on the diet with the help of a Boston doctor, nutritionist, and our own researchers.
We don't recommend anyone follow the diet at this stage. Wait until we eat an excess of salmon and trout caviar and generate some data to suggest it's safe to eat everyday. Consult your doctor before trying any diet and make sure you are not allergic to foods any diet may focus on. In this case, do not eat salmon if you are allergic to salmon. If you're not sure, ask your doctor.
Before beginning this plan, I underwent nutritional tests, a physical, and began working with a personal trainer. You will likely notice that the diet you see next week looks very healthy, and the accompanying exercise would probably produce healthy results regardless of how healthy one's diet is. However, I have exercised hard for a month and so far have not lost weight.
Over the next 12 months, we should have a formal eating plan in place based on actual data. At this stage it's all hypothetical, but we encourage you to follow along and offer comments or questions.
Enjoy,
Richard Brauman
Founder, CEO
Monday, November 20, 2006
American or Imported Caviar - What Suits Your Fancy . . .
We like American because it's fresher, providing a cleaner taste and firmer texture. The burst is noticeable in your mouth and the clean flavor reminds you of the sea without being fishy or salty.
But, I know a lot of traditional customers like the buttery flavor from aged imports, and the sweetness of preservatives.
Tell me what you crave or what turns you off and we can incorporate it into our next product line.
