In its recent heyday as the critical darling of the wine world, Aussie Shiraz was unstoppable. Massive scores, massive wines, massive prices. How the mighty fall. With a glut of jammy, indiscernible reds with cloying flavors and gimmicky labels flooding the market (combined, to put it mildly, with a bit of a economic downturn), the wine-buying public turned a blind eye to all Aussie reds that did not have a kangaroo on the label.  I do, however, ask that you ignore all that has come to pass in the world of Aussie Shiraz and focus on Riesling.  Yes.  Riesling.  From Australia.  Look for anything from the Clare or Eden Valley; these are dry, dry, dry Rieslings.  How dry?  Sahara dry.  Yet they have loads of zesty lime flavor, moderate alcohol, and (most importantly) are a delight to drink.  I fondly recall attending one of Seattle’s best oyster happy hours at a place with a mediocre wine list.  I asked for a bottle of Pikes Riesling that had clearly, based on the vintage, had been on the list for a few years;  unsurprisingly, the waiter said that in the four years he had worked there I was the first person to order it.  Well, fortune favors the bold.  This lively white, though gathering some dust, was as fresh as a daisy, reasonably priced, and phenomenal with oysters (especially when you top them with a frozen mignonette).  And if you have a fondness for ceviche, fish tacos, and/or sushi (just go easy on the soy sauce), you have found your perfect wine.

PS:  Sorry for all the parenthesis; my writing style clearly could use a shot in the arm.  (Seriously.)

PPS: I realize this wine has an animal on the label but pike (or any firm-fleshed fish) and Aussie Riesling would be delicious.  (Maybe with a fennel slaw.  Damn, I did that parenthesis thing again.  Twice.)

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood • wine	1 Comment
Tags:	australia • clare valley • pikes • riesling

Even though it’s mid-October, I am still picking tomatoes off my plants.  Yesterday I had an entire gallon-sized bag of tomatoes that I wanted to use up. So ripe, juicy and sweet- I knew  these tomatoes would likely be the last of the season and therefore needed to be used in a special dish. Earlier I had bought some wild salmon, fresh herbs, a sweet onion and some chanterelle mushrooms. Normally, I wouldn’t pair a delicate flavor like chanterelle mushrooms with rich salmon or tomatoes, but I was in a risky mood. What could those flavors be like together? Would the chanterelles get completely lost in the dish? I decided to find out.

I sliced about two cups of the tomatoes in half and gently coated them with olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Next I spread them out on a sheet tray and put them in the oven to roast. When sweet tomatoes are slow cooked, they get even sweeter. Candy-like actually. To really slow cook them, I would have had to cook them in a 200 degree oven for two hours, but most week nights don’t allow for that kind of time. So I put these in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes and reduced the heat to 300 degrees and cooked them for another 10 minutes.

While the tomatoes were cooking, I sauteed the onions and mushrooms with olive oil, added some garlic, salt and pepper and a little more fresh thyme. Once the tomatoes were done, I added them to the mushrooms and onions. Then I seared the salmon separately, just to medium rare, with only olive oil and salt and pepper. I placed the salmon on a plate and covered it completely with the rich tomatoes, chanterelles and onions. For a second I was like, oh man, you took something so great and you wasted it by drowning it in sweet tomatoes! But you know what- it worked! Juicy-sweet layers of flavor capturing the end of summer and the beginning of fall in one dish.

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood	3 Comments
Tags:	chanterelle mushrooms • end of summer • fall recipes • salmon • slow cooked tomatoes

Here in the Northwest we are blessed with a variety of wild fungi. It only takes a little bit of rain after the summer heat to suddenly ignite the growth of one of my favorite wild mushrooms; the delicious, velvety chanterelle. Every fall I say to myself, “this year I am going to forage for my own mushrooms!” and then I walk to the farmer’s market and I see overflowing baskets of porcini, lobster and golden chanterelle mushrooms and I instantly cave.

The idyllic vision of seeing myself with tall rain boots, scrunched up hiking pants and a thick rain jacket while tromping in the woods and seeking out chanterelles suddenly fades once I’m at the market. Now all I see are images of me tossing fettucini with chanterelles, cooking roast chicken and chanterelles or dipping my fork in to rich, gooey soft boiled eggs with sauteed chanterelles and toast. Getting hungry? Me too! Since we are celebrating national mushroom day, I suppose it’s only appropriate to inspire you with some earthy, umami recipes. Here is a recipe for a decadent Rib-eye with Chanterelle Mushrooms a frothy, vegan  Mushroom Cappucino soup, Salmon with Chanterelles and Slow Cooked Tomatoes or Lobster Mushroom Penne.

Need More Shroom Recipes!?
Christina Choi’s Porcini with Bay Leaves
Adventures in Shaw’s Mushroom Pizza
Too Many Chefs’ Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms

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Categories:	Cooking tips • Fish & Seafood • Vegetarian	Leave a Comment
Tags:	chanterelles • mushrooms • national mushroom day • salmon recipe

Open your fridge. Can you tell the exact history of where one item came from? Eating local doesn’t seem like a hard challenge until you start thinking about it. Last Sunday night, a group of us got together and cooked a meal that was made almost entirely with local ingredients. The best part of it all was that we didn’t intentionally mean to have a dinner made completely of locally sourced ingredients, but once we realized we had the beginnings of one, we made it our goal to get as a close as we could to a completely local dinner.

When you start learning where your food really comes from, you learn how much labor, transportation and energy and resources go  into everything you eat. Eating local doesn’t just mean you help out the farmers, gardeners and butchers in your area, you are also saving other costs that add up, including energy, gas, storage and other hidden resources used to get those items off a truck and onto a shiny display. Challenge yourself to make it a personal goal to eat one thing at one meal a day that is sourced locally, not only will you feel good, believe me, it will taste better!

The Menu

Locally Caught Salmon with Lemon, Herb Butter: The salmon was caught locally by my friend Neil. Oregano, thyme and dill all from Washington state. Our splurge was the lemon, salt and pepper and olive oil, purchased from the grocery store.

All Blue Potato Salad with Fresh Dill: The all blue potatoes came from a farm that I was apprenticing at, about 20 miles away. Fresh dill and a sweet onion came from the Ballard Farmer’s market that morning. Our splurge was purchased Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and salt and pepper.

Summer Corn and Tomato Salad: The corn, basil and sweet onion came from the farmers market. The tomatoes were grown in my garden. Our splurge was olive oil, red onion and salt and pepper.

Winter Greens with Garlic and Lemon: The Swiss chard, kale and collard greens were all from the Ballard farmer’s market, our splurge was olive oil, lemon, garlic- (although it should have been bought at the farmer’s market), and Parmesan Reggiano.

Katy’s Blackberry Pie with Lemon Verbena Infused Fresh Whip Cream: The blackberries were purchased at the farmer’s market, the whip cream was from a Washington state organic creamery and the lemon verbena was from my friend Katy’s lemon verbena plant. Our splurge: organic pie crust from PCC, lemon juice, purchased spices.

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Categories:	American • Baked Goods • Cooking tips • Fish & Seafood • Organic • Salads • Uncategorized • Vegetarian • Veggies • desserts	5 Comments
Tags:	all blue potatoes • blackberry pie • corn salad • eating local • eating local in the northwest • salmon • winter greens

I had images of barbecuing all weekend, kicking it in the sun while languidly listening to the waves lap against the side of our boat, reading my Kindle and favorite food mags.

But instead of sun we got rain.
Lots of rain.
And wind. (Give me a moment to dab my eyes).

Mean Mother Nature waylaid those grand plans (can’t you go down to the fires in LA where they need you?), and we’ve been stuck inside like it’s already fall. Instead of barbecuing we’ve been cooking up an International storm indoors. Last night, inspired by his days long ago in Spain, Barnaby created a fabulous forget-about-barbecue meal that made us feel like we were sitting in a Madrid cafe.

The day before, we made the picturesque trek over to Taylor Shellfish in Shelton, WA and picked up an assortment of oysters, mussels and clams. On our way home we stopped off Pike Place Market for chanterelle mushrooms and a visit to The Spanish Table for chorizo.

Off to our warm and dry shelter for dinner! Barnaby gently sweated some garlic in olive oil then cooked the chanterelles, topping them with freshly chopped parsley. In another pot, he sauteed slices of the smoky, bold chorizo with tender fingerling potatoes. Adding white wine and bay leaves he simmered the clams into a dish known in Spanish as Almejas con Chorizo. The aroma alone was enough to make you want to dance the Flamenco.

We served it up with a warm rustic bread, tender green salad, a good Rioja, and even better company.

Go to Foodista for the recipe:

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood • Shellfish • Spanish	4 Comments
Tags:	chanterelle m • chanterelle mushrooms • chanterelles • chorizo • clams • Spanish

Not too long ago Mark cooked live lobsters for the first time and because it was such a special occasion, it called for special butter. Of course there is nothing more delicious than lobster dipped into sweet hot butter, but what if you kicked it up a notch? After boiling the lobsters he split them in half, placed them on the barbecue for just a couple minutes and brushed them with chipotle butter. They were quite the treat. I can imagine this butter on grilled corn on the cob, added to steamed clams or even spread on a baked potato.

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Tags:	grilling • lobster butter • seasoned butter

Smelt season doesn’t last too long, so when I saw the glistening smelt in the seafood department, any previous thoughts I had for dinner were scrapped.  The cool thing about smelt is that you eat them whole. If you are a fresh sardine or fresh anchovy lover, then you’ll be excited to know that you have a new fish to fry! Simply roll the fish in seasoned flour, dip them into an egg wash, roll them in panko and fry them in hot oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and serve hot. Excellent with a lightly-oiled green salad and a cold glass of chardonnay.

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Categories:	European • Fish & Seafood • quick and easy	3 Comments
Tags:	appetizer • fried fresh smelt • smelt

Julia Child week continues at Foodista! Last night I prepared Julia’s appetizer of Mussels Marinated in Oil and Herbs. I was looking to cook something quick and delicious and slightly off the beaten path of weeknight dinners. If you are a shellfish fan like I am, you’ll love it. Fresh herbs, vermouth and sweet mussel meat creates one tasty dish! Although created as an appetizer, these herb-y mussels would be perfect added to a salad with some scallops or shrimp or just added to a light angel hair pasta.

Love mussels? Here are three other mussel recipes that I’m planning to make in the near future.
Sausage and Mussel Soup with Kale From imafoodblog

Cedar Planked Mussels From Steamy Kitchen Food Blog

Moules Fromage Bleu From Laura’s Best Recipes Blog

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood • French • Herbs • Salads • Shellfish • Uncategorized • quick and easy	2 Comments
Tags:	appetizer • Herbs • julia child • mussels • Shellfish

In case you hadn’t already heard this week is Shark Week! Each year the Discovery Channel hosts a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated to sharks.

Since we oppose the eating of our finned friends, we’ve whipped up these undersea treats to increase your viewing pleasure. Quick confession, I’ve never actually watched Shark Week, but with friends and family in a feeding frenzy over sharks, I just had to plan a little party menu.

Serve up some Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food for dessert!

Foodista CEO, Barnaby Dorfman, swimming with sharks in Honduras (watch those fingers!)

Other great shark week recipes on the high seas:
Strawberry Sharkcakes from LemonBasil
Host a fun shark party from AmazingMoms

Are you hosting a shark week party? What do you plan to serve?

Above Photo: StormyDog

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Categories:	Events • Fish & Seafood • Uncategorized	4 Comments
Tags:	discovery channel • shark food • shark week • sharks

I’m from New York City, my mother and grandmother were born in Rockville, Maryland. They always told me to never eat oysters in a month without an R (May, June, July, and August). Originally one of the most prolific oyster producing regions in the world, East coast water temperatures vary dramatically from winter to summer. I now live in Seattle, where water temperatures are always cold and people eat oysters year round, but I still hear that bit of folkloric advice from time to time even here. When it comes to food and folklore, I’ve found that folklore is usually spot on, which got me wondering if there’s more to this. My thinking was that it all had to do with modern refrigeration. Turns out the issue is more complex.

Last night I volunteered to do a bit of oyster shucking at an event for the Northwest Women’s Law Center. The oysters were provided by “Oyster Bill” Whitbeck, the market manager for Taylor Shellfish. Bill is one of the world’s leading authorities on oysters and co-author of The Joy of Oysters. Since we were about to shuck and serve 17 dozen oysters in July, I asked Bill about the whole “R” thing and offered my theory about water temperature. Bill smiled big and said “Oh that old wive’s tale! I get that question all the time.” He then went on to explain that, while refrigeration and water temperature used to be a part of the reason people didn’t eat oysters in the summer, the most important reason is because that’s when oysters spawn. In fact, a law was passed in 1762 in Connecticut prohibiting consumption during those months as a way of combatting the already declining oyster population. Today, it’s still important what type of oyster you choose to eat for each season. Last night we were shucking Pacific Oysters (crassostrea gigas) and Kumamoto (crassostrea skimea) Oysters.

Originally from the warmer waters of Japan, these two varieties are at just the right point in their breeding cycle (just before spawning) during the summer months here in Washington. During spawning, oysters use up much of their stored glycogen (a natural sugar) and lose their firmness. Still perfectly safe, they are just not as tasty. So, if you have been depriving yourself…stop it! Go get some oysters and enjoy! Do be sure to keep them very cold on ice. Also try my Yuzu Shiso Granita as a topping, it was very popular among our guests.

Oh and don’t forget the wine pairing! Jameson Fink, local wine steward and blogger at Sparkling Vouvray, brought a great set of whites for us to try. My favorite was an Austrian Grüner Veltliner.

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Categories:	Cooking tips • Fish & Seafood • Shellfish • condiments	3 Comments
Tags:	Folklore • Oyster Biology • oysters • Shiso • Summer • yuzu