David Ford from Rhode Island
“Early in the week I provided my fish list for the week to The Local Catch. They replied that there was the possibility of scup or monkfish to come in later in the week. They did find monkfish and I purchased it at the Aquidneck Grower's Market in Middletown on Saturday. However, their newsletter for weekend farmer's markets, which comes out Thursday, did not list monkfish as an available fish at the markets. So, I'm unclear as to whether my choice should be treated as a special order or not. Regardless, I prepared the monkfish by roasting it on a bed of fresh rosemary and thyme with lemons and olives. The meatiness of the monkfish stands up well to the ingredients more commonly used to roast meat. I served an olive tapenade on the side. The result was outstanding.”
Zach Miller Hope from Maine
“Halibut is one of those fish that you assume you've eaten before but after purchasing and cooking, I am not sure that I have. I'm assuming it is because it is pricey and looks as though it would be a white flakey fish similar to Cod and Haddock...but its meat is a lot different. I was quite surprised at how meaty it was and am still surprised that I have not eaten it before.”
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
“This week I was looking for black sea bass, John dory, quahogs, and silver hake (whiting). The first store I contacted had everything but the one fish that I wanted to try, the John Dory….It was partly a toss up between silver hake and quahogs. I ended up with the silver hake. It is a very affordable fish. I got whole fish and cut fillets and prepared them simply. Sautéed them and ate on top of homemade bread with some vegetables. It was a very good meal.”
Jennifer L McCaffrey from Rhode Island
“I was pressed for time so I only made it to one market. Swordfish is my husband's favorite so I chose that. I tend to grill the same way all the time which is the way I first learned. You brush mayo on the fish (supposedly it retains moisture) and then just salt, pepper and lemon. I googled Swordfish and immediately found the lemon butter basil sauce. It was simple and I had basil growing in my garden. The fish came out wonderful.”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
“I called in a request to my favorite seafood store for one of my species this week (in order of preference, i.e. Tautog (aka Blackfish), John Dory, Dab (aka American Plaice), and halibut) and I was not disappointed. I was so glad to have the opportunity to speak to Robert Uberti when I arrived to purchase my Tautog. Robert informed me that he was making his purchasing choices for his customers based upon his concern of high PCB levels in the Long Island Sound waters. He also told me that he did find John Dory (aka St. Peter's fish) but that he chose not to get that for me since it didn't look as fresh as the Tautog. Apparently John Dory is a "bear" to fillet if it is even a day old due to the skin becoming tough. The Tautog was so easy to prepare. I baked it with an herbed butter which included lemon juice, fresh chives, dill, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. The fish tasted so fresh - Mmm Mmm good! Perfect as a company dish served with Pineapple Mojitos!”
Jacob Matz from Massachusetts
“I have eaten canned herring many times. It's always great in a spread with lots of other snacks. We are the herring on crackers alongside of pickled string beans, pickled cabbage, cheeses, and pesto.”
Sherri Darocha from Massachusetts
“I decided to give making clear chowder a whirl. It was my first time. In addition to the fish, I added other bits of seafood, cut into tiny pieces - littleneck clams and shrimp. The combination was delicious! I'm looking forward to experimenting with more types of seafood stews and soups in the future, they make a great meal that can be hearty or light, depending on the ingredients. The clear chowder was very underwhelming from a photo perspective. A beige liquid with little bits of darker beige and white, so I ended up skipping the photo. The flavor did not translate visually!”
Anne Ewert from New Hampshire
“This week I had smooth dogfish, sea scallops, wild mussels, and Mahi Mahi on my fish list. I couldn't find smooth dogfish at all, and I couldn't find local mahi mahi, but I did find both scallops and mussels. I chose to cook the scallops because they are so delicious, but they are pretty pricey so I don't usually buy them. Mussels are good, but I thought this was a good excuse to buy scallops :). I seared the scallops in a mixture of olive oil and butter with garlic, only a few minutes on each side. The trick with scallops is not to cook them too much. It kills the flavor and makes them all tough. I put the scallops on top of a salad with butter lettuce, spinach, and a fresh mango salsa that I made myself. Scallops are so delicious with mango. It came out pretty well, but I was not overwhelmed with the quality of the scallops I bought from Shaws. I recommend going to a real fish market for scallops, since they taste so much better when they are really really fresh.”
Christina Rodriquez from Rhode Island
“The sea robin was purchased whole (otherwise gutted and beheaded), at about 1/2 lbs each. We bought 2 and fed 4 people, though 1 whole fish per person would've been more filling. We roasted the fish with olive oil salt, pepper, and paprika. Our guests loved it and said it was quite tasty.”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
“This week the only option at the farmer's market was the Acadian Redfish, which I've never had before. I did a quick recipe search online and saw a blackened cajun redfish recipe which sounded amazing, so I was pretty excited to get cooking. Once I got home I looked at the recipe more closely and it sounded a bit difficult. At this point I was really hungry so definitely didn't want to mess around with a tricky recipe. I found another recipe that was much easier (wrapping the redfish in parchment paper with cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper and then baking for 10 minutes) so I went with that (also nice to be able to utilize produce from the garden). Had a few bones to pull out of the fish and mangled the fillets a bit (I need to learn how to pull the bones out), but the preparation was super easy otherwise and it was delicious! I will definitely be eating redfish again.”
Heather Fox from Rhode Island
“Love shopping at the local catch at the Hope Street farmers market. The variety is incredible, you can always get information from the fisherman regarding any fish he has available that day or any other fish for that matter. The selection of smoked fish this week was amazing and I purchased a beautiful piece of smoked bluefish There were two types of smoked bluefish available this week smoked and pepper smoked I chose the regular smoked”
Kim Gainey from Massacusetts
“My husband and I are on a staycation in N. Truro camping and spending our days at RacePoint, life is good and it's been great to find local connections at this end of the Cape . We are looking forward to the new fish list and Truro farmers market for some camp fire meals✌️Local cod an easy choice!”
Terry Hahn from Rhode Island
“Was steeling myself to cook a live conch-a little squeamish about it. Of the 4 things on my list this wk, I didn't think I'd find 2 of them, was pretty sure I would find haddock, but knew a local place had conch, cooked and live, a few wks ago and was going to step up to the experience of cooking a live one if they had it. But the 2nd place I looked for seafood surprised me by having headed and gutted sea robin. Didn't know if I would find it again and had never cooked it, so I bought that. well....thank goodness for the internet. None of my cookbooks had recipes, or the Local Catch (who I bought it from) site. Online I found out that it's a "bait-stealer"-often caught when fishing for something else and not used much for food. Although in france it's called something else and used in bouillabaisse and a US restaurant is making a ceviche course from it. It often is used for stock. Read instructions for skinning it and filleting-instructions not that specific but I did a decent enough job of it. Skin is thick and it can be a bony fish. Pan sauteed to a firm consistency-mild, tasty. Saved the 2nd fillet for making soup and the bones for stock. Would enjoy eating it again but only if I could find it already filleted!”
Maria Vasta from Massachusetts
“We have steamers and lobster every year for my mom's birthday, so cooking these was a breeze! Steamed and dipped in butter, they're perfect!”