Cuisine

 Only two more weekends and then I can almost take a deep breath.  The season has wound down and we are now into the nitty gritty details of end-of-season cleaning, closing and planning for next year. With so much going on around us, and with the holidays rapidly approaching (Yes, I said it) it is time to hammer out a game plan to survive the next three months. By the end,  I will have a semester under my belt as a college professor and will be enjoying the holidays. One of the greatest parts of my job is that I can focus on the curriculum, delving into the materials as I had hoped that I could. I have already completed one class and with five more to go this semester, I am enjoying the concentrations: Healthy cooking, International, American Regional, Introduction to Food Preparation and Desserts & Pastries. It is a heavy load, But what I love most is that I can concentrate on the subject matter.  On New England day, we studied and cooked the days of New E...

What a week it has been. The good news is, the kids are back in school and summer is almost over (good for those of us in the business). The bad news is … well, it’s what everyone’s been talking about. Scunny was a legend; hell, he is a legend. His is a tale that will be told for years to come. With a heart as big as the ocean, the man could find plenty of time to play his trademark role. Whether it was Scunny and Egg in front of the Greene Turtle during a snowstorm in their birthday suits (antiquated evidence forthcoming but not verified) or posing as a health inspector and scaring the living crap out of local chefs, he always seemed up for a good laugh. But then there was the other side. I remember the first year I worked for him in Baltimore. He confided in me how much money he put in his pocket the first year Nacho’s was open. He wasn’t bragging. On the contrary, he was very matter-of-fact when he told me that it was only after having given back t...

I don't know what's wrong with me.  I recall random movie quotes or lines from books and plays at the strangest of times; almost all of the time.  I guess that makes my life a touch strange. Maybe I see the relevance of such quotation while I regurgitate, always seeming to find such aforementioned quotes to be a propos; whether they are or not is often subject to review and opinion. Shakespeare is oft heard from my mouth and inked from my pen.  I am no scholar but the Shakespearean Literature courses I endured in college still remain among my favorites. At other times I might be reminiscing Emerson or Bukowski (as diametrically opposed as lamb chops and vegans) recalled from previous readings.   Now, for no particular reason, I find myself remembering Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, a short series from the 1980's. In one shockingly poignant albeit inane short entitled Hell Toupee, the antagonist is a rather annoying murderous hairpiece.  Our faithful p...

As the excitement mounts over the White Marlin Open, fishermen and onlookers alike are flocking to 14th Street to watch the weigh-ins along the Reel Inn docks. On the first day of the tournament, only 10 out of 250 (+/- 4 percent for statistical accuracy) boats actually fished on Monday so the event was non-existent. We are just glad that no one told the spectators. As the kitchen and bar employees crawled their way through the day, the conversation was constantly on how many people there were at the Reel Inn. They were everywhere. Even with such a tiny fleet fishing, the crowds came out to see that one big fish. As such, they’ll have to come back for the rest of the tourney in order to get a good view of one of the trophy fish that will unwittingly find themselves on the scale. Now, as I wrote last week, the fish that we go through the most during the White Marlin Open is tuna, not marlin. Tuna. And lots of it. But I can’t always write about seafood so I n...

With the White Marlin Open right around the corner, there is one fish on everyone’s mind, and it is not white marlin. No, the spiritus mundi in Ocean City will be tuna. Tuna is the quintessence of the WMO. As many of us remember, smoked marlin was a treat in the early 1980s, but it is not to be cooked now in fear of depleting the already shrinking population of this beautiful beast. So, we look to other ports in the storm, and in this case, the famed Yellowfin serves us well. Steaks, sandwiches and even salad can be pulled from the tuna loins. Poke (referring to one of my articles a couple of months ago) is another fascinating Hawaiian treat as long as the tuna is of a high enough grade. And then there is sushi. There is little better than fresh, top-grade tuna in a sushi roll, but we can one-up that at this point by making a very untraditional crispy tuna roll. The flavors of the tuna and the roasted seaweed nori are ever-present while the accoutrements listed bel...

They say the heat wave is over, but I have to disagree. I haven’t sweated off of my elbows since my days in the Mojave. In the overdramatic words of Ron Burgundy, “It’s so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice.” The rain has come and gone and I am still waiting for a reprieve from the muggy environs, but I guess I have to wait. The temperature drop is a wanted gift from the “cold” front that is passing through, but we are looking forward to some more sunny summer days as business is brisker when the sun is shining. What is the old saying? “Make hay while the sun is out,” I believe it is, and when you are running an operation in Ocean City, you know all too well that the money is really to be made 100 days per year. So the rain hurts, as important as it is at present for our physical and mental well-being. In the meantime, if you are able to relax and enjoy the sunshine, then this is the time and place to have a party with some fr...

Tuna, tuna everywhere, nor any a bite to eat Or so goes a poor variation of the fabled ancient mariner as I try to get ready for this week’s rendition of food fears. There is a slight problem with tuna in this day and age. If you haven’t noticed, tuna (steak and loin) is either disappearing from the store shelves or more expensive than in the past. While there is not a shortage of tuna, there is a shortage of consumable, radiation-free tuna. Rest assured that if you are eating tuna that you buy at a restaurant or grocery store, it has been tested. I don’t want to scare anyone; I just want to explain what is happening out there. Restaurants can still buy good tuna from their purveyors, but the shortage you may or may not have noticed comes from the events in Japan after the tsunami. Apparently, after the nuclear meltdown, concern was rampant with the safety of seafood as runoff was naturally found in the surrounding waters. Those fears were seemingly confirmed ...

 The school year is coming to an end for seniors. Others must stick it out until the buses park for the last time, preparing for their own two month hiatus. The trees are in full force, the flowers are blooming and there is an excitement in the air as people prepare for their dream vacation downy ocean, hon. The surfers’ wetsuits are getting thinner and shorter as the ocean temperature is warmer than usual and more bikes are present on the Boards and in the Pines. Yes, summer in Delmarva; it’s almost here.  If you are like me you are getting ready to jump into yet another summer job, a reality for many educators. Being in the kitchen especially benefits me as it keeps me sharp for the next school year. I will be running the kitchen at The Reel Inn on 14th Street and the Bay in Ocean City starting this Saturday. As with many restaurants in the area, we won’t go into full swing until June and after that I will be able to come up for air sometime in Septe...

 People are constantly asking me to write about meatloaf. People love meatloaf. They live for it. While I may not be one of those fortunate individuals, I can honestly say that meatloaf hits the spot every now and again. But you know me. It doesn’t serve me or you for me to offer up a Fannie Farmer rendition of the classic loaf known to so many of us in our youth. It just would not be right in any sense of the imagination for me to recite anything reminiscent of The Christmas Story dinners. No, I believe in challenging your senses; in making you work for your paycheck as it were. This meatloaf is inspired by the interim principal of our school, but as I could not in a million years give away his secrets, I have to give you a rendition that will leave you satisfied none the less. In making this wonderful meatloaf, you will undergo one of two scenarios. One, you will carefully smoke your meatloaf, delicately enhancing the nuances that will develop as the food is ‘ki...

 My diet this week has not been stellar, or at least from a health standpoint anyway. Tuesday, I noshed on brisket and brownies. On Wednesday it was pit beef and hot milk cake. On Thursday? Pit Turkey and cupcakes. And on Friday, more meat and chocolate cake. It’s a good thing that I at the very least committed myself to copious amounts of water. As we were prepping for a pit beef stand on Saturday as part of our annual fundraiser, I found myself surrounded by my favorites; pit beef, pit turkey, Berk’s hot dogs and BBQ brisket, of course paired well with the goodies from the bakeshop. Throwing in a few trays of our homemade bacon set the stage for me to act as Pavlov’s dog.  Bacon on hot dogs, bacon on the pit beef and bacon on the cupcake worked wonders. Bacon=drool. But now all I want is a salad. I feel like I’m playing a cameo in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as it is now time to eat through one green leaf and take a break, affording my body the...