Anise, Sea Spray & Marseille

05 Apr 2013 16 Comments

by scolgin in Food, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Like I’ve said before — when it comes to dinner, we’re a theme family. And often a theme evolves around random happenings on my shopping route.

Reading all the various comments to my recent post on oyster bars got me in the mood, of course, for oysters. So at my Wednesday farmer’s market, I picked up a dozen oysters from the (somewhat) local aquaculture guys as well as, among other things, a head of frisee lettuce, two duck eggs and a fennel bulb. I remembered that I had a nice chunk of stinky cheese in the fridge, and thought perhaps I had the makings of a French night, some night soon.

Frisee

Frisee

I eyed some beautiful fresh sardines at the Japanese market later in the day. But there was rain in the forecast, and sardines are a food best eaten fresh off the grill. So I passed. More

More Tips for a Happier Kitchen, Pt. II

27 Jan 2013 6 Comments

by scolgin in Cooking Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It was so good, so helpful, I just had to do a follow up.

Actually, I mostly did a “part II” because of a fun video I wanted you all to see. And also because of a little trick I learned from our Mexican cook, Marilu, on our recent vacation south of Puerto Vallarta.

Enjoy!

Vietnamese spring rolls with lime peanut sauce

Vietnamese spring rolls with lime peanut sauce

Lime Juice on Apple Slices
This one I learned on our recent vacation to Mexico. Each morning, a platter of fruit would emerge from the kitchen. Of course, the tropical fruits — mango, pineapple and papaya — were perfectly ripe and wonderful. But the best thing of all was the apple slices. It took us some time to figure out that the reason they were so good was that Marilu, our resident chef, had squeezed lime juice over them. And, as a bonus for you folks with kids, the lime juice keeps the apples from oxidizing in school lunch boxes! More

Crab Week!

21 Nov 2011 6 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes, Video Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

If the Discovery Channel can have “Shark Week,” why can’t Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise have “Crab Week”! It’s kinda the same except less terrifying and more delicious!

Dungeness crabs — Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Shelve your shrimp and save the lobster for the nouveau riche — crab is, hands down, my favorite crustacean. Even scampi scurry in comparison. I find myself revisiting the subject of crab on my blog often because it is one of my favorite things. I have fond childhood memories of navigating through the crowded walkways of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, where large pots belched steam into the cold Bay air and Dungeness crabs were displayed in imposing piles taller than my head. That a creature so menacing looking could have such sweet, snowy white flesh was one of the wonders of the universe. More