Featured
My life is governed by the near-constant need to process, butcher and store the fish and game we bring home. This is the Imperative of Protein, and while it is indeed hard work, I would not choose to live any other way.
French
Nothing says luxury like a smooth, creamy lobster bisque. Sadly, I live 3,000 miles from Maine lobsters, but I do live near some of the best crayfish spots in America. And lemme tell ya, this crayfish bisque is every bit as good as one made with their big brothers.
Fish
There is no freshwater fish I'd rather eat than a yellow perch, and I recently got a chance to fish for them in Lake Erie, near Cleveland. It was a blast, and to celebrate the Rust Belt city's heritage, I made a Polish-style perch chowder with kielbasa, sour cream and dill.
Recipe
Salmon salad. Pretty ordinary, right? My version, as you might expect, comes with a twist: It's not made from salmon fillets. I make my salmon salad by grilling the bones after I've filleted the fish, then stripping the meat from the ribs for this salad. Thrifty, and awesome.
Recipe
Deviled eggs are one of those foods I have a hard time controlling myself with. I've been known to eat a dozen at a sitting, and even though I know I'll feel ill afterwards, I can't stop eating them. These deviled eggs, made with smoked salmon, are especially good.
Fish
As we close out summer, I refuse to give up the grill just yet. And while I did not actually catch these little octopi, I just had to share with you one of my favorite appetizers of all time: Grilled baby octopus, a Greek classic.
Recipe
I always order salmon at sushi restaurants, but I am no sushi master so at home I stick to easier preparations, like salmon tartare, which, if you've never heard of it, is chopped raw salmon. My version has a Northern European flair to it, with dill and a special pumpkinseed oil the Austrians use a lot.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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