Simply Recipes Food and Cooking Blog

Have you ever seen a ling cod? They are almost primeval looking - huge, gaping mouths with sharp teeth. As with any fish, the most important factor for how good it tastes is its freshness. I picked up this fillet...

My father had never eaten scallops before this year, but he was so inspired by this scallop dish prepared by his friends Fred and Patricia, he has spent much of the last month experimenting with them. What I love about...

For most California girls, the idea of "digging for clams" isn't really part of our cultural makeup. But out in Rhode Island, and the beaches south of Cape Cod, digging in the sand for your dinner is apparently a regular...

Recently I spent an afternoon helping my friend Becca cook up a large batch of jambalaya. Becca is from Biloxi, Mississippi and has been making jambalaya for years.

According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish. The fish should be extremely fresh...

The first time I made ceviche, I was amazed. I could actually see the lemon and lime juice turning the color of the fish from translucent pink to opaque white. The acid from the limes and lemons change the structure...

When I put the call out a few weeks ago for July 4th grilling suggestions, Simply Recipes reader Chuck mentioned bacon-wrapped shrimp. I'm sure this is a standard fare for many of you, but I can't remember ever eating bacon-wrapped...

"I'll make cioppino," my brother John announced as the family discussed what to make over the holiday weekend. "Great!" said my father and I, relieved that someone else would do the cooking for a night. "Have you ever made cioppino...

Preparation time: 40 minutes. Here is a delicious way to use up leftover fish or mashed potatoes. I made my first cod fish cakes after catching my first lingcod (which isn't actually cod by the way, but it still worked...

During the winter months, our local Whole Foods gets one or two shipments in a week of freshly cooked Dungeness crab. Like all seafood, crab tastes best when it is as fresh as possible. When buying crab, ask the guy...

About a year ago I tried my hand at making crab cakes using a compilation of various recipes found on the web. The problem? The cakes wouldn't hold together; I had "crab crumble" not crab cakes. A short time later...

Winter is fresh crab season here in Northern California. When our local Whole Foods gets in a shipment, we're first in line for the biggest (anything greater than 2 lbs) fresh, cooked crabs, already cleaned and broken. Dad calls it...

I first encountered a crab mango salad at Fringale, the exquisite French-Basque restaurant on 4th St. in San Francisco. Recently at a restaurant in LA I had another delicious crab mango salad, this time with avocado and surrounded by peeled...

Most crab lovers know that fresh crab pairs well with avocado. But have you ever tried it with roasted hazelnuts (also called Filberts)? I got this idea from a crab hazelnut pear appetizer prepared by Oregon chef Jason Stoller Smith...

Shown cooked with brown rice pasta. We were recently sent a review copy of Dave's Dinners: A Fresh Approach to Home-Cooked Meals by Dave Lieberman of the Food Network. Honestly, I've never heard of Dave as I don't watch much...

My father has been making this soup for several years now. It is incredibly easy to make, given how tasty the results. The key ingredient is the clam juice, though I have prepared it for people with shellfish allergies substituting...

In Mexico, practically every meal is accompanied by a stack of fresh warm corn tortillas, much in the way that bread is served here in America. As you eat, you can wrap whatever is on your plate in a fresh...

This simple but delicious salmon recipe comes via my friend Heidi in Carlisle, Massachusetts, who got it from the Boston Globe (Thanks Heidi!). Because there are so few ingredients, the recipe relies completely on the freshness of the ingredients.

My father walked through the door the other day with half of a fresh whole wild salmon, announcing to me that he would like me to grill it. Sure dad! When someone presents truly fresh fish to you, there really...

Years ago, on a little island off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts, a friend's aunt showed me how to eat a lobster, including the fine art of sucking the tender meat and juice out of the spindly legs. It was...

My friends Becca (Biloxi, Mississippi) and Carole ("Nawlins", Louisiana) are probably scratching their heads reading this ("What? You need to show people how to peel a shrimp?") But if you, like me, did not grow up on the Bayou or...

A few weeks ago I spent a morning with Chef David Lamonica of Scott's Seafood in Folsom, California, learning all about preparing seafood and sauces that work well with seafood. Of everything we prepared that morning, simple pan fried haddock...

We recently found this recipe using halibut in Real Simple magazine and decided to give it a go, but with ling cod instead. Mom and I loved it, dad wasn't so sure. For me, it was reminiscent of our favorite...

Beurre Blanc is a French sauce ("white butter") based on a reduction of shallots and an acid such as vinegar, citrus juice, or wine, mixed in with cold butter. Its creamy tanginess works well with mild fish such as trout...

My dad pulled out a favorite recipe today to make and share with "the people on the website." A "discussion" then ensued between the rental units for at least half an hour along the lines of "What do you mean...

"Bacon" variety avocados are in season in the winter; lighter in flavor than the more popular Haas variety, these large, thin-skinned avocados are exceptionally creamy and are perfect for using in sauces. While remoulade is typically made with mayonnaise, in...

Panko is a Japanese type of bread crumb that is especially light and crunchy, popular these days with chefs because it doesn't get soggy. What I love about this way of preparing salmon is that the panko topping seems to...

Canned tuna has never tasted this good. I came across this recipe on Sher's What did you eat? blog, where she got it from the San Francisco Chronicle. You make a sauce for the pasta with tuna, olive oil, garlic...

This poached salmon recipe is one of the first recipes my father taught me a few years ago. It's his favorite way to prepare salmon because not only can it be prepared in 10 minutes or less, but it doesn't...

The first time my friend and fellow food blogger Fernanda mentioned wanting to make a Portuguese salt cod stew, I was skeptical. (Though given how well Fernanda's salmon fish stew had turned out what was I thinking?) Salt cod isn't...

My sister Karen (Austin's mom) is in town, flush from completing a grueling, 500 mile bike ride from San Francisco to LA. Karen has always been a super athlete, and with her current passion for triathlons takes a lot of...

In Bahia in Northern Brazil, there is a savory fish stew called "Moqueca" that they make with local fish. Fernanda Guimaraes Rosa, who writes the Brazilian food blog Chucrute com Salsicha, brought a Vancouver friend's salmon version of Moqueca to...

This salmon macaroni salad is a delicious variation of your standard tuna macaroni salad.

Raising six kids on a teacher's salary, my parents were always cooking on a budget. Being Catholic, with the Lenten requirement of meatless Fridays, this meant that we ate a lot of tuna macaroni salad and fried fish. Frequently mom...

Here's a salmon dish made for summer. Fresh tomatoes, fresh chopped herbs, a few shallots, lemon juice, balsamic and olive oil make a perfect sauce to accompany baked salmon fillets.

Hot days are upon us. A great way to cool off is with a refreshingly chilled salmon salad. This salad is also one way to use up leftover salmon from a summer barbecue. Easy and quick.

One of the tastiest appetizers you can prepare for a gathering is a simple salmon spread. Usually salmon spreads are little more than smoked salmon mixed with cream cheese. This spread uses a combination of smoked salmon and freshly poached...

Now that grilling season is officially upon us, I've been experimenting with teriyaki salmon skewers. Last night's version (frozen salmon, canned pineapple) got two thumbs up from the rents, but there were too many leftovers for me to be convinced...

Every year in mid September, my friend Jim organizes a group of his friends to go salmon fishing off the coast of Marin, north of San Francisco. For the second year in a row, I didn't a catch a fish...

After completing graduate school in the late 80s, I spent a year studying martial arts at Kyoto University in Japan. The school cafeteria served many things that one would never encounter in the states (natto spaghetti for example), but one...

One of the benefits of having your own cooking website is that your friends and relatives start sending you recipes to try. This recipe comes by way of my cousin Laurie in Maryland (thanks Laurie!) and is adapted from one...

Fish sticks don't have to come from a box; they're easy enough to make. A friend recently gave me a great cookbook for kids (thanks, Nicky!) that had this fun-sounding recipe for sesame fish sticks, just the thing you might...

One of our hands-down favorite recipes is this one for shrimp cakes, my father's recipe. Dad doesn't even like shrimp, and usually refuses to eat it, but he loves making and eating these shrimp cakes. The base is made with...

From the recipe archive for the hot days of summer. With the warm days of summer upon us, a great way to cool off is with ceviche. Ceviche is typically made with red snapper that is "cooked" by the acidity...

Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who is doing a series of Chinese American food recipes for us here on Simply Recipes. ~Elise The first time I attempted to cook fried rice on my own, I was...

Quesadillas have to be my favorite go-to food for lunch. They're just so easy to make! Especially when you have tortillas and cheese in the fridge, which we almost always do. Recently I had lunch with an old friend at...

Okay, pardon me in advance, but I think I've just had a Sandra Lee moment with this dish. Wait, the parsley is fresh from the garden, does that count? Let's look at the ingredients - shrimp (best to get frozen...

What better way to cool down in the heat of summer than with a delicious cold salad? Freshly cooked shrimp and creamy avocado are a perfect match, especially with a crisp vinaigrette. The best news? It only takes a few...

At a recent cooking class at Scott's Seafood (Folsom, CA), Chef David Lamonica set us to work preparing shrimp with orange beurre blanc (a French butter and shallot sauce). Chef David says the best shrimp to get are fresh, Gulf...

A little trivia here. What makes a bisque a bisque and not a chowder? Both bisques and chowders are made with seafood and vegetables, with a cream base. Chowders tend to be more stew-like or chunky, and bisques puréed. Bisques...

What I love about this recipe, other than the ingredients (smoked salmon, pine nuts, yum!) is that it can be pulled together so quickly and it's not particularly heavy, as so many cream sauce pastas can be. There's also room...

The big food thrill of winter in Northern California is that it isDungeness Crab season. There is simply nothing better than fresh cracked crab, but you have to make sure the crab is very fresh. During the season we will...

Throughout the coastal areas of Latin America, you'll find local variations of "Camarones al Ajillo", freshly caught shrimp, fried quickly in olive oil with garlic and chiles. My friend Arturo grew up near the beaches of Acapulco and learned a...

Tilapia, a tasty farm-raised fish originally from Africa, has become more and more popular here in the states. I recently brought home a whole tilapia from our local Asian fish market and made quite a mess of trying to fillet...

My father and I have been reminiscing lately about my mom's tuna casserole, the one she used to make in the 60s, with cream of mushroom soup, broccoli, lots of cheese, and a crushed potato chip topping. Mom has only...

Almost every other Friday growing up my mother would serve the family this tuna macaroni salad. With six kids she loved this standard; it was easy to make, filling, relatively inexpensive, and best, we all gobbled it up.

My parents started making tuna fish salad sandwiches this way years ago, and as far as I'm concerned theirs is the best and only way to make a tunafish sandwich. First it helps to start with high quality canned tuna...