Much envy here of the Dungeness crab dinner. We have an abundance of lobster but, frankly, I like crab better.

Gazpacho, corn on the cob, new potatoes... summer is here! Keep those summery food ideas coming. I'm really getting in the mood for it. Hmm... maybe some tabouleh and some sangria are in the offing. Not necessarily together mind you.

Lou, I like that photo of Saranna. Looks like she has attitude. Where would she have gotten that?

Ruthanna, that is a very interesting group of photos. Lots of home-style things along with dishes with a regional twist. It makes me want to spend some time in your area.

Jim

Jim, I think I like crab better than lobster too. I should cook it more often since it is available year around.

I forgot to post Saturday's breakfast.

I had presalted a rack of pork Thursday and planned to grill it on Friday and never did. Since we were committed to having the crab on Saturday night, I decided to grill the ribs for breakfast.

Moe was a very happy man.

When the ribs were almost done, I tossed some potato slices on the grill. They didnt' take long to cook. Maybe 12 to 15 minutes.

Oh Ann, I've been wanting ribs SO BADLY!

Ann, I forgot to ask. Did your neighbors who brought you the crab catch it themselves. I'm guessing they did. I'm always interested in what can be caught or gathered on a recreational basis. Here, a permit, either family or commercial is required for shellfish. A different permit, either commercial or recreational along with a lot of equipment and a suitable boat is required for lobster. If I recall correctly, your Dungeness crabs are the size of a small lobster, which makes me wonder what in the way of equipment or a permit is necessary for catching them. Crabbing requires no permit here, but local crabs are of smaller species and not much sought after.

Anyway, it's nice to have neighbors like those.

Jim

Jim, no, they bought the crab at a local seafood shop. Where I buy my halibut. Crab is $6.00 a pound and these crab were between 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each. Cheaper than lobster. The owner offered to clean the live crab and Clif took him up on the offer. I usually prefer to cook them whole and then clean but since I worked Saturday it did save me some time.

I don't think that individuals need permits to catch crabs or prawns. I only say this because I know people with pleasure boats that catch crab and prawns all the time and I've never heard them mentioning licenses or permits.

Hats off to you Ruthanna, for sticking it out at the festival. I barely left my house last week. I am headed to upstate NY this week end. I can't take this heat! The food looks awesome. My dad would be in heavan at that festival--all his favorite foods--meat, fat, starch, salt and sugar. He's skimp on the fresh produce though, but not me!!

Picked these up at an Amish Farmers Market.

Cooked a Porkchop til half done and added it to a Skillet with the cut up Zuccini and some Tomatoes.
Put in all the good spices and sprinkled with Parmesan.

Simmered until the Zuccini as Cooked.

That's all folks !!!
Lou

PS:
Jim, do you think I have an attitude problem ?
If I do, it is problably from dealing with nasty people.

I was always a nice person, to everyone.

Green bean casserole for tonight!

{{gwi:1534411}}

OMG Shaun! You can not believe how hard I just laughed. I am so happy I opened this thread - you just made my night.

To keep this food related, I just got home from school and reheated some baked ziti with fake meatballs. Sorry, no photo, but you can just use your imagination. DH and the kids had pancakes and eggs while I was gone. I offered to make a turkey breast, but my son really wanted to make pancakes and scrambled eggs by himself for the family. How could I step on those toes?

AM

No, Lou. I didn't mean it in the sense of a problem. Sorry. It was a poor choice of words. What I meant was style or outgoing personality. Which is unusual at her young age. I know you to be a nice guy at all times.

Jim

Uh....shaun...is that a new recipe?
Some things photograph better than others....I hope it was delicious.

Shaun did you share that with "Ricky"?

I made a Tomato Bisque for lunch. A quick and easy to make creamy tomato soup.

Shaun - could you please wipe the crud off the counter before you take pictures next time?

Anyway, here is the Garlic Chicken, Yellow Rice and Black Bean Salad all from The Three Guys From Miani Celebrate Cuban cookbook that lakeguy gave me a couple of years ago. All were excellent, but I think I would increase the saffron next time to get a little more yellow in the rice. And the black bean salad had an interesting twist..... the bell peppers were blanched before dicing them and putting them in the salad. It did soften the flavor and made for an tasty mix.

Just to clarify - here on the west coast of British Columbia, one does need a salt water fishing license in order to harvest crab or prawns. There are catch limits and minimum sizes and female crabs are not to be harvested. Sadly many people ignore these restrictions, however there are stiff fines for those who get caught doing so.
Jane

Jane, thanks for clarifying that. Do you buy one for the season?

Ann

Yes - one license per season. Kids' licenses are free. For the last couple of years they have been available on line from Oceans and Fisheries.
J

Here, on the New England coast, recreational clamming and lobstering licenses, catch limits etc. are done town by town. Previously, there was no license required for recreational salt water fishing. The politicians discovered this was something that they had neglected to tax and are in the process of correcting that by requiring a state license.

Jim

Mmmm, Alexa, that's my kind of salad.
Thanks, Jim. Since I first saw your photo, I was craving radish tea sandwiches and my friend and I had some for lunch today.

Well, back to cooking, at least for one night. We have a surfeit of cucumbers this year so I made a spicy beef and black bean stew and stirred in coarsely grated cucumbers just before serving to cool it down.

That's good looking stew, Ruthanna. Your cooking always looks tantalizing.

I wish I could see you radish sandwiches, but you ate them. :(

Jim

Jim:
In the early seventies ( I Think ? ) Croakers disappeared from Delaware Bay.(someone else might know dates )

My fishing buddy jokingly asked my wife to make a fishing Astrology Chart,
for Slaughters Beach, where we were going fishing.

She said at 2 PM, we will catch a lot of fish.

He said " we won't catch anything, that's dead low tide ",

We caught 157 Croakers. They just came back into the Bay, that week.
The party boats caught 10 to 12 per boat.
- - - - - - - - - -

Last week a friend of mine caught a 11 lb. 3 oz. Bass,
22 inches long, in the Lake behind my house.
LOU

Those are two amazing fishing stories, Lou. I don't put much stock in astrology but, since fish behavior is linked to tides, which are linked to the moon, maybe there is something to it. I never knew there was a bass more than half that big north of Texas or Florida!

Now, before we get jumped on, better get back on topic. Folks, you can blame me for instigating all the fish, crab, clam and lobster talk. I'm constitutionally unable to resist those subjects.

BTW, dinner tonight was fish. (Token on topic comment.) :-)

Jim

Ruthanna, that looks really good. Is that a pasta that the stew is on? It looks really yummy!

Alexa

Shaun, when I'm not laughing I'm speechless!

Arabella, how sweet is that! I love brinner.

Alexa, that sounds yummy. I like the idea of blanching the bell pepper. I much prefer cooked green bell to raw.

Ann, that looks so elegant and delicious.

Ruthanna, your stew looks great. I read the recipe on the other thread. The rice? Saffron?

I'm just here admiring. No cooking today. Maybe tomorrow. Alice ate a take out sandwich and went to her job at the mall. I tease her about spending 4 hours folding shirts. She works in an Abercrombie store where their job description is "model." She has other duties, too.

I have been hard at work since 5 am and have no interest in cooking or eating tonight. I just want a glass of wine and my pillow!

Couldn't resist a somewhat pricey piece of Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon yesterday. The fat streaked belly portion of this piece of a large fillet is being cured for lox. The thick back portion was marinated with just a bit of soy sauce and included in the dinner shown here. I think this was the best salmon I ever ate. OK, those who know my liking for Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon can have your little laugh now. :-)

The greens are Mei Qing Baby Bok Choy from the garden. It too was wonderful tonight. I highly recomment this good tasting, non-bolting variety of bok choy to you gardeners. My friend's bok choy bolted long ago. This stuff shows no sign of bolting (knock on wood). I was skeptical at first about a green petioled bok choy. Restaurants usually use the white petioled type. I'm now sold on the green.

White rice completed the meal. I don't like to gussy up rice when it's a side. Plain white or brown rice makes a nice foil for the other flavors I think. When rice is the main dish, I'll go all out with a deluxe fried rice.

Jim

Wow Jim, that fish looks to be cooked to perfection. The bok choi look like it might be the same type that was in my CSA box a few weeks ago. It was delicious.

Ruthanna, that stew also looks fantastic. I'm going to try grating cukes into my stew the next time, that sounds like a great addition.

Thanks for the garlic chicken recipe Alexa, I can't wait to try it.

Barnmom, our babysitter also works at Abercrombie - sometimes she comes over reeking from whatever scent they spray in that store! Another sitter works at the local grocery deli counter and my kids are constantly asking her if she "cut the cheese" today. She's a good sport.

Last night's dinner was as uninspired as the previous. Premade cheese tortellini and some tomato sauce I froze a few months ago. I made it at 4pm before leaving for school. This class is killing me. I'll cook on Friday night, I promise!

AM

My dinner was a post driving range frozen yogurt with my friend. I was happy!

Jimster, I love salmon with soy or tamari. Bok choy is another favorite. I nearly always cook rice in chicken broth or broth and porcini cubes. It's tasty. We usually have brown basmati or jasmine. I think I miss plain white rice.

Arabella, Alice jokes about hawking the latest scent to everyone who comes in but she never sprays it on herself. A good thing as those scents usually trigger a migraine.

That's saffron rice under the stew.

What a beautiful piece of salmon!

We're now into setting up for our annual Friends of the Library book sale so after a day of DH and I driving around and picking up and delivering literally truckloads of used books, we stopped at the Italian market to get a large hoagie to take home for dinner.

Jim, can't imagine anyone jumping on you for discussing fish. Your salmon dinner looks delicious. So colourful with the lovely pink salmon and the green of the bok choy.

Ruthanna, I would love your beef and black bean stew but without the cucumbers.

Alexa, I've added your Garlic Chicken to my to try soon list.

After a short four day heatwave, the temperatures dropped from the 90's back down to the high 60's. Cool enough to roast a small turkey for dinner.

Oh that salmon is calling my name! My very favorite fish!
Meals this week have been uneventful, lots of veggies. Trying to drop a few lbs.

I managed to work in a roast chicken, some baked Pollock filets (which I didn't care for, kind of flavorless...) and even a meat loaf last night.

Going up to my sister's lake place this afternoon for a couple of nights. That will be the true test! LOL

Linda

Barnmom....where do you get...or what are porcini cubes?
Ann the turkey looks wonderfful...are those diced carrots?????

My dinner last night was a tossed salad and that summer tart everyone was making last summer with the rapidly spoiling peaches on the counter.
I shared with neighbors.
Linda C

Linda, definitely not carrots. Rutabaga. My favourite side with roast turkey or chicken.

Ann

AWWW!! I thought you maybe had come over to the dark side....LOL!

Ann, the roast turkey looks great. I love rutabaga.

I have a houseful of company. Monday night we had lasagna (as requested by company), we grilled burgers Tuesday night and last night we ate out, on the way to the casino.

Tonight we're doing wings and who knows what else, we will be out on the float boat all afternoon.

Nancy

Linda, I have had to order them from an Italian food purveyor. I can't find them locally. I might look again, things change. I think I used the supplier in this link the last time. I found a different brand in a gourmet grocery store in Walnut Creek but they were not as good. I had forgotten that tart, time to make that again. I bought two pans for that purpose last summer.

Other Linda, I don't think I've ever had pollock.

Ann, that turkey looks delicious. I want stuffing now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Star porcini mushroom bouillon cubes

Pollock is a close relative of cod and haddock. It is sometimes sold under other names. At least it used to be. These days I see it under its own name.

"Jim, can't imagine anyone jumping on you for discussing fish."

It wasn't the "fish" I was concerned about, Ann. It was the "fishing", which I thought might be getting more thread space than some would think appropriate. But I had to know about the B.C. crabbing, etc., etc. :-)

Jim

Lots of good food and Photo's.

Jim:
That's a good looking Salmon Dinner.

We caught a lot of Weakies in Delaware Bay and
Brigantine , NJ.
I don't know how they compare to Salmon.
They are in the Trout family too.
But not the same as Salmon.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Tonight I made a small Marinara Pizza.
One half Chicken of the Sea, Crab Meat topping and half Tilapia fillets,
Sprinkled with all the good Spices Old Bay, Garlic Powder,
Onion Powder, Etc.
It was !!!
LOU

Now that's cute!

Never heard of a fish pizza but the presentation is adorable.

Lou, first you talk about croakers, now it's weakfish. I've heard of both but have never caught, seen or eaten either. The more you say, the more I need to visit down your way for some new seafood experiences.

I could tell what region you are from by the anatomy of the crab on your pizza. It's a swimming crab -- obviously a blue crab -- from the back fins. You got it just right.

I hope that crust is as thick as it looks. I don't like thin pizza, which seems so popular these days. To me, pizza is bread with a garnish. In your case, LOTSA garnish. It looks good. Nourishing too. I need to remember to make a pizza with real fish, not just those little anchovies.

Jim

Ann, I keep trying to emulate your food photography, with the help of Sharon's tutorial of course. The salmon plate might be my most successful to date in that regard. Now you have thrown me another challenge with that turkey dinner. The colors and lighting are like a renaissance painting. I'm sure it tasted good too.

Jim

Lou - Years ago I'd occassionally go to a pizza place in MA (I believe Brighton) that had every kind of pizza imaginable. Well I guess not every kind because I don't recall seeing anything like that! Now the tilapia I get of course, but I can't for the life of me figure out what your pink crab is made of? Help me out!

FOAS:
It is nothing special, just a can of Chicken of the Sea,
Crabmeat,
with a few drops of red food coloring added.
Gotcha !!!

Lou

We had breakfast for supper last night, I made corn pancakes from my cornbread batter, added slices of fresh local tomatoes and canadian bacon that elery smoked, and a fresh egg.

Today we had BBQ'd chicken, fresh local corn on the cob and cole slaw, I forgot to take pictures.

We spent the first part of the week with Elery's Dad and Stepmom in Ohio, so there was a whole lot of eating out, but nothing noteworthy.

Annie

Tonight, had mini crab cakes with Ann T's remoulade, pan-fried tilapia with lemon, and steamed mixed veggies.

Dessert was "Three Ingredients & Five Minutes!" Berry Blast Ice Cream!

After wandering through this thread I'm hungry again. I might have to have a midnight snack in a bit. So much great food and ideas! Ann's neighborly crabs are right at the top for me though. I love dungeness and rarely get it here. Your ribs and turkey look great too.

Ruthanna, you had me at birch beer. Brought back fond memories. My fathers club, a bar that specialized in shuffleboard, had a big picnic each summer and got birch beer in kegs. What a treat! Our little township is known for it's great produce and we always brought the corn... mmm... hundreds of ears to shuck. No wonder I can shuck corn in two pulls..lol.

Fish: Jim, speaking of fish, have you ever had blowfish? They pretty much got fished out around here around when Lou was saying the croakers got fished out. We used to catch them in Barnegat bay by the boatful. Small fish but the meat is soooo sweet, reminds me of crab a bit. Miss those buggers. So far here you still don't need a license for salt water, although I think there are limits on some things, crab, etc..

Around here the corn started so we have had just that for dinner several times. The bicolor comes in first so that's what we've been eating. Wonderful this year so far.

There have been a few tomatoes too so we had BLT's this week on some whole grain bread. The heat has kept a lot of the regular cooking at a minimum.

I mentioned on the pattypan thread that we had gotten some sunburst pattypan last weekend. I put some in the spaghetti sauce I made for my week long breakfast/lunch gallon of food. I had some potatoes left over from Sunday so I made gnocchi to have with some of my sauce. Gawd I love gnocchi!

Other recent cooking was a pork roast I crocked and made into pulled pork and had bbq sandwiches several times..last week. Another night we had grits with some veggies on the side. Too many days without meat so I had to roast a chicken for Christy. Smiles.

Here is the caps with the patty pan, and of course Jessie watching just in case the bowl slipped while I took the pic.

Ruthanna, you had me at birch beer.

And you just made me take a 20 minute drive to buy a bottle of root beer. At 4:30am. Yes, I know it's not the same.

(Lou - Ah, red velvet crab!)

Sorry for more fish talk but Coconut, your post certainly brought back happy memories for me. Until it was destroyed in the 1962 storm, my aunt and uncle had a place near Beach Haven on Long Beach Island so I spent part of many childhood summers there. My cousin and I must have hauled in a ton of fish over the years  fluke, blues, striped and black bass, porgies, blowfish and the dreaded sea robins. When weÂd hit a school of blowfish, the bottom of the boat would be covered with boxes of them, puffed up round and grunting all the way back to the dock.

Many fishermen threw blowfish back because they were such a pain in the butt to clean. Their skin was so tough that they had to be skinned rather than filleted and after all that work there was only a strip of meat about as big as my two index fingers. The flavor was wonderful, though, and my aunt would dust them with flour and saute them in a combination of oil and butter and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing on top.

One day in the early 1970Âs, I was in the fish department at MacyÂs Cellar in Manhattan and noticed the most expensive fish that day were something labeled "Chicken of the Sea" but I sure could recognize the lowly blowfish when I saw them. LOL

Another kid here who summered at Barnegat Light and Harvey Cedars....and also before that at Lavallette.
I never fished but remember well the pile of blow fish by a surf fisherman's pole....they were considered such a trash fish that they weren't even worth throwing back and were left for the gulls....and the excitement when the snappers were running

FOAS:
The closest I have found to the old Fountain Root Beer,
is Walmart's and It is only 69 cents,
for a 2 Liter bottle.
It is Root Beer float, time of the year. ( Ice Cream Soda ).

Ruthanna:
You just jogged my memory.
I was down Long Beach island then , helping a friend to rebuild.
The storm cut the Island in half.They were pushing cars and trucks into the gap to stop it.
They were good fishing days.
LOU

I do visit this thread when itÂs near the end. Of course by that time it is too late for me to comment on everyoneÂs wonderful creations. It would take me a whole day to do that.

Just a few notes on this thread:

Regarding quality of the dishes here, I donÂt see the difference between them and 95% of what nowadays being shown on TV cooking shows by famous chefs. Just mostly home cooking. Please keep posting. I enjoy reading them.

I get a lot of inspirations from here. I see a dish here and IÂd go make it my own way. I donÂt post it here because if I do it would cause an immediate uproar that I am trying to tell someone how things are supposed to be done.

Yes, I made a bean casserole after I saw it. LOL!

Lou, Saranna is un bear a bly cute, and so is the furry animal in your backyard. Yes, please go get a daylight CFL bulb to take pictures of your dishes.

Jim, what can I say? Your breathtaking photography and scrumptious creations! What I can say is your admirable eloquence in your use of words and humility in your demeanor. You serve as a great contrast to those whose self-aggrandizing "I know more them you do" obnoxiousness in putting others down. Carry on! You are my role model.

dcarch

Jim:
Actually the Tilapia was better than the Crabmeat.
Maybe because of the Seasoning.

I make the bottom Crust about thick as a cigarette or more.

The Sicilian Pizza is thicker.
I simmered the Tilapia in a frypan a few minutes before I put it on the Pizza.

I forgot to mention, if you have Drumfish up there.
Caught a Drummer one year that almost broke the record for the year,88 lbs. The record was 92 lbs.
Made a lot of fishcakes.

Dcarch:
Thanks for the nice comments on my GGD.

As for the Bear yearling, I didn't know I teaching him a lesson that will get him shot,
by giving him a couple of Peanuts.

How dumb of me not to know that,
being I worked with the Game Warden every year, trapping, tagging and weighing them.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have a daylight bulb and white umbrella. When I get my PC straightened out, I try to take better Photo's.
Not too interested in the Photo's right now, have other problems.

Lou