Salmon and Trout
In case you hadn't noticed, I actually like the rest of the salmon as much - if not more - than the fillet. This is salmon head soup, done Japanese style. And don't worry, there will be no eyeballs staring back at you: You only use the salmon heads to make the broth.
Recipe
If you want to make your own fruit wines - wines worthy of the snootiest wine snob - this is how to do it. I've been making fruit wines for 20 years, and here is my method. It requires some special equipment, a lot of patience, and a little math. But the result is more than worth it.
Mushrooms
It is chanterelle season in much of America right now, and I am even hearing a few isolated reports of chanties here in California. What to do when you want to extend your season? Pickle your chanterelles. They're awesome preserved this way.
Salmon and Trout
There are a lot of ways to smoke salmon, but this is the method I've perfected over the years. Making perfect smoked salmon requires a little attention, and a lot of time. Here's how to do it.
Recipe
Another good recipe for the dog days of August: Grouse salad with Sungold tomatoes and barley. It's meant to be eaten warm or at room temperature, on the porch at sunset, beer in hand.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
Taking a break from what has become the Summer of Salmon, this is my go-to summertime pasta sauce recipe. A mix of fresh or preserved tomatoes, lots of fresh fennel and a little bit of anise-flavored liqueur brighten up this sauce for warm days.
Salmon and Trout
This has been a memorable year for salmon fishing in California. I've caught quite a few chinooks already so far, and the first thing I cook on each one is the collar - the part behind the gills and head. Grilled like Japanese hamachi kama, it is spectacular.
Venison
Chimichurri is one of the best sauces for warm weather: It's an herby, garlicky, tangy sauce usually served with beef. Here I am using wild mountain pennyroyal and serving the chimichurri over venison.
Recipe
If there is a group that eats more crayfish than the Louisianans, it's the Scandinavians. August is all about crayfish (or crawfish or crawdads) in Sweden and Finland, and this light salad is perfect for long summer evenings.
Recipe
There is something naive and joyful about sitting on a stream bank, catching crayfish. I have vivid memories of catching crawdads as a kid, and jumped at the chance to catch them again in the Sierra Nevada.
Berries and Fruits
Hollyleaf redberry is sweet, pretty and abundant. It is also a mystery. I am confident about eating this berry now, but it took some research -- the kind of research anyone who dares eat something unknown ought to do before popping it into your mouth.
Fish
Remember the blackened redfish craze back in the 1980s? I do, and I am here to revive that old dish, only this time with catfish caught in Northern California.
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