Creamy Shiitake and Mussel Chowder with Tom Douglas Rub with Love Crab Cake Mix

Recipe of the Week October 26th 2007

If you prefer, you can substitute clams for the mussels; clams take a few more minutes to steam open. Serve bowls of this creamy chowder with toasted and buttered baguettes.

Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:
6 ounces bacon slices, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about ¾ pound) cut into ½ -dice
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
1 teaspoon Rub with Love Crab Cake Mix or more, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium canned
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds mussels, rinsed and de-bearded
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Cooking/Prep Time (30 Minutes)
Saute the bacon in a large pot over medium high heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is starting to crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
Add the onion, celery, and potato and cook stirring until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes. Add the butter, mushrooms, and 1 teaspoon Crab Cake Mix and sauté a minute or two.
Add the wine, chicken stock, and cream.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, covered until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the parsley and season to taste with more Crab Cake Mix. Then remove the pot of chowder from the heat.
Meanwhile, put the vegetable oil in another large pot over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mussels and cook, covered, shaking the pot occasionally until the mussels open, about 3 or 4 minutes.
As soon as the mussels open, remove the pot from the heat. Set a cheesecloth lined sieve or metal mesh sieve over the pot of chowder.
Using the lid to hold back the mussels, pour the mussel liquid through the sieve into the chowder. Return the chowder to the heat and return to a simmer.
Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the mussels to 6 warm bowls.
Ladle the chowder over the mussels and serve.

Enjoy!

Grilled Ahi/Shibi Steaks (Yellow Fin Tuna)

Recipe of the Week - October 21st 2007

Enjoy the "other red meat" with this easy & versatile recipe. Use the marinade for both the Ahi/Shibi Steaks and as a base for stir fried vegetables!

Ingredients:

2-6/9oz Wild Ocean Seafoods Yellow Fin Tuna Steaks

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 clove crushed garlic (for each steak)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

small amount of sea salt, to taste

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Prep Time: (15 Minutes)

In a shallow 9 X 13 inch glass dish, prepare all of the marinade ingredients. Remember, if you have more than 2 6/9oz tuna steaks, you might need to adjust the ingredients to marinate. Marinate both sides (baste or brush steaks and get marinade on both sides). Let sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes before grilling. *Soy sauce will overpower the tuna if you marinate for too long!Light the grill while tuna is marinating.

Cooking Time: (5 to 8 Minutes)

Grill for 4 minutes or less per side for 1 inch steaks, depending on how you like them. Steaks should be firm with pink in the middle. If you prefer steaks to be more rare, grilling time should be 2 1/2 minutes on each side.Recommended Side Dishes: Serve with white and long grain wild rice (We use Farmhouse® or Zataraines®)

Stir fry vegetables: Toss your vegetables in the remaining marinade, add 2 tbsp of Tom Douglas Chinese 12 Spice Rub. Either sautee or place in grill pan just before putting your Yellowfin Steaks on the BBQ

Pan Seared & Baked Hawaiian Wahoo (Ono)

Recipe of the Week - October 14th 2007

This recipe can be done inside or on your grill. If grilled, expect the cooking time to be 4 to 5 minutes per side. Ono provides a great canvass for all kinds of side dishes from fried rice to asian vegetable sautee.

Ingredients:
Wild Ocean Seafoods Hawaiian Wahoo (Ono) 4/6oz or 8/9oz Fillets
2 Tbsp Tom Douglas Smoked Paprika Rub
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions:
1. Spray pan with nonstick spray or brush with olive oil to prevent sticking.
2. Preheat on med-high for about five minutes. Pre-Heat Oven to 350 F
3. Sprinkle the Salt, Pepper & Tom Douglas Smoked Paprika Rub on the meat side of the Ono.
4. Place fillets on grill skin side down and cook, turning once or twice 3-4 Minutes per side.
5. Move Pan to Oven for 4 to 5 Minutes to finish.
6. Fish is done when the Ono flakes easily.
7. Squeeze on fresh lemon and serve hot.

Plating:
Place each Ono Fillet on a Plate with your Side Dish.

Some Product Updates:
We have removed the Promo Code on Alaska King Crab & Lowered the Price for October.
Opakapaka is in very short supply. Expect a 1 Week wait on Opakapaka Orders.
King Salmon 4/6oz Steaks are once again available!
Don't forget to put "Free Knife" in the comments section to receive the 7" Santoku Chefs Knife free on orders over $79.99 before shipping!

Wild Ocean Seafoods - October Seafood

It is getting cooler in Ferndale now, the boats are back from Alaska and our attention has turned to the upcoming Dungeness Crab Season & the Opening of the Bottomfish Season in Hawaii. This is the time we start getting ready for Christmas Orders, with the smoker running daily & the Crab Cookers & Brine Freezers being serviced for the Dungeness Season.

In This Issue:
Dungeness Crab Season Opens October 16th!
Hawaiian Open Ocean Fish, Snappers & Groupers
Wild Salmon
King Crab Legs (Promo Code)
Seafood Accessories for Holiday Parties
What’s Smoking at Wild Ocean Seafoods
The Santoku Knife – Get one Free! (See Below)

Dungeness Crab - It has been a slow year for Dungeness Crab. The good news is the local season opener is just around the corner! We expect some good catches thru early December. Our Dungeness Crab Clusters are available in 5lb, 10lb & 25lb sizes. Whole Cooked Dungeness Crab are available in 2 Crab, 6 Crab & 30lb Party Packs. Look for a promo code after the 16th in our “Recipe of the Week” email.

Hawaiian Fish - We are amazed at how quickly our Hawaiian Seafood has taken off! It has been impossible to keep up the last few weeks. We have shifted to a weekly shipment instead of every other week. Unfortunately, the shipment typically arrives on Wednesday Nights, so 2 Day Air orders will ship the following Monday. Expect a 3 to 7 business day delay on some items thru October until we can catch up. We are currently offering Yellowfin Tuna (Shibi), Swordfish (Shutome) , Wahoo (Ono) , Moonfish (Opah) & Pink Snapper (Opakapaka) . By the end of October, we expect to see Ruby Snapper (Onaga) , Mahi Mahi & Black Grouper (Hapu`upu`u) as well.

Wild Salmon - We have re-instituted many of our popular Wild Salmon Combos this fall. Our popular King-Coho-Sockeye Sampler is back as well as King-Sockeye & Coho-Sockeye Combos. These are excellent ways to introduce your friends & family to Wild Salmon. We will be featured as a supplier in Martha Stewart’s “Blueprint” Magazine in the Nov-Dec or Dec-Jan Issue. Blueprint is featuring a King Salmon holiday dinner recipe featuring a 3lb Boneless King Salmon Fillet. We sent 7 3lb fillets to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia last month for the photos & test kitchen. We will be posting the recipe(s) as a “Recipe of the Week” around Thanksgiving.

Alaska King Crab - We have been watching with some amusement as some companies are advertising “Jumbo” King Crab Legs that are not so “Jumbo”. King Crab legs are graded by size. The size count indicates how many legs plus a claw equals 10lbs. Our Jumbo King Crab legs are graded 6/9, which means there are 6 to 9 legs plus a claw in 10lbs. Looking around the net, lots of folks are calling 12/14 Count “Jumbo”. We feel that the objective should be to deliver the most edible meat. Our Jumbo King Crab are graded twice as big as many of our competitors, cost less… and because the meat to shell ratio is substantially higher, they have nearly 300% more crab meat! This Month, use Promo Code KING10 on checkout and save 10% on Jumbo & Super Jumbo King Crab Legs!

Seafood Accessories – Planning a holiday seafood party? We have some great stuff in our BBQ & Seafood Accessories Category! Bibs, Mallets, Sea Shellers, Planks, Butter Warmers & Crackers are being joined by some unique kitchen tools for the holidays.

What's Smoking - As we mentioned earlier, the smoker is going into overtime this month. We are getting a lot of orders for our Wild Smoked Salmon Bagel Toppers since our omelet recipe last month. This is a great addition to any seafood order! We also have Hot Smoked King Salmon Bellies, King Fillets in Traditional, Pepper & Garlic flavors. Our Wild Sockeye & King Salmon Pouches are great for gifts and are currently shipping with free freight!

The Santoku Knife:

The Santoku [san-TOH-koo] is a multi purpose knife that is essentially the Asian version of a chefs or cooks knife.

Chefs Knife vs. Santoku: A santoku can capably perform chefs knife duties like chopping, mincing & slicing. Most santoku knives have a very flat edge, making the suitable for carving duty as well. The blade features hollowed out ovals called kullens or grantons. These help trap juices and reduce drag for smooth slicing. The Chefs knife blade is usually curved more than a santoku, giving it a superior rocking motion. This is handy when cutting firmer vegetables, cheeses, meats or partially frozen foods.

The Surge® 7 Inch Santoku from Wild Ocean Seafoods combines the classic santoku with the curve of a chefs knife. Get all the santoku knifes advantages without the “learning curve”. The Surge® Santoku features full tang, stainless molybdenum Vanadium steel with a 7” tapered grinding & stone finished blade. Double bolstered for superb balance with a comfortable ergonomic soft grip handle.

With our new Online Store, we now have the ability to offer promo codes & discounts. We then had the idea to offer our 7” Santoku Knife Free on orders over $79.99. Then we found out the Online Store does not support free goods directly. Well, we already bought the knives, so, if you have a qualifying order of $79.99 or greater before shipping, just put “Free Knife” in the comments field!

Crustless Crab Quiche

Recipe of the Week - October 7th 2007

Ingredients:
1-lb Wild Ocean Seafoods Dungeness Crab Meat, thawed if frozen, save some larger leg pieces for presentation
4 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Tom Douglas Crab Cake Mix or Seafood Rub seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 oz coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (1/2 cup)
2 oz coarsely grated Swiss cheese (1/2 cup)
1 Pre-baked Pie Crust

Prep Time: (15 Minutes)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together eggs, cream, herbs, seafood seasoning, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Stir in cheeses and crabmeat.
Pour into pre-baked crust and place in oven.

Cooking Time: (40-50 Minutes)
Bake until filling puffs and is no longer wobbly in center when quiche is gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes.
Cool in pie plate on rack for 15 minutes.

Plating:
Cut Quiche into pie shaped portions
Serve with a reserved large piece of crab meat on top and a full strand of chives.

Enjoy!