Category Archives: Seafood

Scenes From “Cooking for Solutions” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Chef Chris Cosentino shows off his fave T-shirt that's a hoot -- at the "Cooking for Solutions'' gala.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosted its 10th “Cooking for Solutions” conference last weekend, bringing together chefs; food purveyors; marine scientists; fishermen; government officials; and celebrities such as Isabella Rossellini, Alton Brown and Ted Turner; as well as journalists such as yours truly, to learn about environmental issues gripping our oceans and planet.

There was good news: Experts from the Environmental Defense Fund don’t expect to see any health issues arising from Gulf seafood resulting from the dispersants used to combat the oil disaster.

Alarming news: Former Gourmet magazine editor Barry Estabrook and creator of the James Beard award-winning Politics of the Plate blog, uncovers in his new book, “Tomatoland” (Andrews McMeel), how many of the popular grape tomatoes sold in supermarkets are picked primarily by women of child-bearing-age who are exposed to pesticides regularly.

Troubling statistics: In California, cotton and rice make up only 3 percent of crops grown, but receive 44 percent of federal subsidies doled out in the state. That leaves the bulk of the farmers, who grow fruits and veggies, with few subsidies.

News to use every day: Experts agreed that of all the ecolabels out in the marketplace now, the most trustworthy ones are — Certified Humane, Free Trade, Certified Organic, Marine Stewardship Council, Country of Origin, and Seafood Watch.

Isabella Rossellini -- still stunning and still making powerful films.

Alton Brown, whose next project will highlight the 25 fish you're not eating, but should be.

And charming moments: Rossellini — who attended the conference with her son, who is studying marine biology — talked about her educational yet humorous “Green Pornos.” Rossellini produced, directed and stars in these short films, produced for the Sundance Channel, which highlight the reproductive lives of marine animals. These offbeat films are memorable with their sets made of paper and Rossellini portraying each species in costume. If you’ve never seen a “Green Porno,” they are definitely worth checking out.

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New Seafood Online Retail Store and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Fresh Loch Duart salmon delivered to my door that I cooked up on a grill pan.

Family-owned Anderson Seafoods, Inc. of Orange, Calif., which has supplied premium seafood to retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, has launched an online retail store for consumers.

Imagine both fresh and frozen fish sent to your door via overnight delivery.

Now, you’re probably thinking that shipping fish in doesn’t sound very PC, but Anderson Seafoods has teamed up with UPS to offer carbon neutral shipping to help mitigate that. You can purchase carbon neutral offsets that UPS will match at a very affordable 20 cents per package delivered.

In this day and age of heightened concerns about where our seafood comes from, though, I only wish the Anderson Web site had more detailed information on where some of the types of seafood come from. For instance, it sells “fresh Atlantic salmon,” but doesn’t mention that it’s farm-raised. It also sells Chilean Seabass, even though this species remains on the “avoid list” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide because it is still considered overfished.

Recently, I did have a chance to sample some of the seafood products, including fresh Loch Duart salmon ($22.01 for 12 ounces), billed as a sustainable farm-raised salmon from Scotland; fresh ahi ($28.50 for 12 ounces); and frozen mahi mahi ($24.11 for 12 ounces). The fish comes vacuum-sealed in insulated containers.

The fish is vacuum-packed for delivery.

The quality is definitely high. For instance, the beautiful piece of salmon was fresh and rich tasting, and arrived sans any pesky pin bones at all, which was quite impressive. I also tried one of Anderson’s frozen entrees — salmon potstickers ($12.38 for 14 ounces), which were very plump with a substantial filling of salmon, water chestnuts and panko bread crumbs.

Salmon potstickers crisped up in a pan till golden.

Contest: If you’d like to try some of the seafood, I’m happy to be able to give away a $125 gift card to Anderson Seafoods. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight May 28. The winner will be announced May 30.

How to win?

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A Return Visit to Nombe in San Francisco

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Chicken skin skewers at Nombe.

It’s never easy replacing a chef who has been with a restaurant since inception, especially one as talented as Nick Balla.

Balla opened the Japanese izakaya-style restaurant, Nombe in San Francisco, but departed at the end of last year. But not before creating quite the impression. Balla, who visits Japan regularly, is such an astute study of traditional Japanese cuisine that his techniques even impressed a group of visiting Japanese chefs at a conference in St. Helena last year.

Balla, who also lived in Budapest for three years,  is now at Bar Tartine in San Francisco, where’s he’s doing his take on Eastern European food.

Replacing him at Nombe is Vince Scofield, who was most recently at Ebb & Flow in San Francisco. He also was the opening executive chef at Kabuki Kitchen in San Francisco. In addition to Nombe, he’s also involved with Darwin Cafe and Taco Libre, both in San Francisco.

Whew, talk about a lot on his plate. But Scofield is giving it a valiant try at Nombe in the Mission District, a short drive from the Holiday Inn Civic Center San Francisco.

Recently, I was invited to be a guest at the restaurant to try his new dishes. The menu still has a wide array of small plates. Although you’ll find everything from grilled beef tongue to fried chicken livers to spicy grilled tripe, the menu is a little less progressive than it used to be.

The restaurant, a former taqueria and diner, is divided into two eclectic rooms. The back one is nightclub-dim, so definitely sit in the first room if you really want to see your food.

Taro chips with chunky edamame hummus.

Definitely have some sake, too, as the restaurant boasts more than 75 premium varieties to enjoy by the glass, flight or bottle.

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Dorie Greenspan’s Sensational Scallops

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A scallop dish that will make any day a whole lot better.

“Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce” should have to be registered as a mind-altering, mood-enhancing dish.

That’s because this dish from Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table” (Houghton Mifflin) is guaranteed to lift your spirits, put a delirious grin on your face and give you happy feet.

That’s how incredibly delicious it is.

Stressed over your job?

Eat this dish.

Stressed about not having a job?

Eat this.

There’s magic in this dish. It’s really just seared scallops, but it’s the thick, syrupy, buttery citrus glaze that gets spooned over that makes it extraordinary. Seriously, one taste and you’ll want to pour it over everything — grilled halibut, broiled shrimp, chicken tenders, pork loin and even French toast.

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An Evening at La Mar with Freeman Winery

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At La Mar Cebicheria in San Francisco, even dessert comes with a little pisco.

The quenching, tart Pisco Sour may be the usual drink of choice at La Mar Cebicheria in San Francisco, but about once a month, the restaurant also hosts winemaker dinners.  And you know these events are guaranteed to be stellar when they’re presided over by the restaurant’s consulting wine director, Emmanuel Kemiji, a certified Master Sommelier who not only makes his own wine, but has worked with some of the best chefs in the Bay Area.

In fact, Kemiji was responsible for introducing me to one of my new favorite Pinot Noir producers — Freeman Vineyards and Winery of Sebastopol.

Freeman wines.

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for Oregon Pinot Noirs, with their more earthy profiles, rather than the jammy fruit-forwardness of so many California-style Pinots. Freeman Winery — owned by Ken and Akiko Freeman — make Pinots in that elegant style with notes of dark cherry, loamy mushroom and gravel. They are pure silky pleasure to drink.

Recently, I was invited to be a guest of the restaurant at a special dinner spotlighting Freeman wines. When the San Francisco fog gives way to warmer evenings, the wine dinners are held in the spacious back patio with its spectacular view of the Bay. But on a chilly night like this one, it took place at a long chef’s table beside the bustling kitchen.

The chef's table at La Mar is next to, but separated from, the exhibition kitchen.

La Mar is famous for its cebiches — raw seafood that’s “cooked” with citrus. But Pinots and Chardonnays typically clash with such acidic fish preparations, so there was no cebiche on our tasting menu that night. Instead, there was an amuse that paid homage — a shot glass filled with spicy, tangy, prickly cebiche-like marinade transformed into almost aperitif.

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